Jaren Hinckley

On this day (September 15) in 1945, after a stressful day, Anton Webern stepped outside his home in Salzburg to smoke a cigar.  At the time, American forces were occupying the city to keep the peace following the end of WWII.  When Webern stepped out of his home to smoke it was 45 minutes before the evening curfew was to go into effect.  Unfortunately an American soldier mistakenly thought the curfew had already started and shot Webern to death.  Afterwards, the soldier, realizing his mistake, was overcome with grief and less than ten years later, died of alcoholism.  To commemorate Webern’s death, I’d like to look at one of his earlier works.

 

TITLE:  Passacaglia für großes Orchester, op. 1

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE:

The title of this piece indicates that it is using a somewhat restrictive Baroque form, that of the passacaglia.  A passacaglia is almost the same thing as a ground bass, but with some more freedom (essentially). Any passacaglia has a bass line that repeats over and over again.  So in this piece, there are eight notes stated at the beginning of the piece, then those eight notes are repeated over and over again throughout the piece. If you listen to the first eight notes a bunch of times before you listen to the rest of the piece, you’ll be able to hear that basic bass line woven into every single variation for the rest of the piece.  Here is a clip of the first eight notes along with the score showing the first eight notes:

first eight notes (Webern)

Through all the repetitions in this piece, you should be able to hear those eight notes.  Here’s the second statement of those eight notes.  You can already hear how interesting Webern’s orchestrations are.

2nd statement (Webern)

I find it really awesome that Webern has taken a fairly conventional form (from the Baroque Era) and made it crazily interesting with enough dissonance to make it clearly “Modern” but not enough dissonance to offend listeners!  I love it.

 

HIGHLIGHT:  The last few variations—so inventive and wild, yet still identifiable!

Here’s one of them:

near the end (Webern)

Here’s a YouTube link of the whole piece.  Please listen to it and try to follow along with the numerous repetitions of the bass line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VMIhkU_XpQ

WHAT’S LEFT TO LISTEN TO BY WEBERN?: Not as much as a lot of other composers. Webern tended to bury/hide compositions he didn’t feel were near-perfect, so there are only 31 pieces of his that have opus numbers and less than that that do not have opus numbers. Plus, one of his compositional characteristics for much of his career was brevity.  As a result, a lot of his pieces are extremely short.  It would not take me too long to make my way through his entire compositional output.  And I plan to do it!

 

 

Dvořák was born on this day 172 years ago. Happy Birthday, Antonín!

Here’s me at his gravesite in Prague, Czech Republic.

To celebrate his birth, I chose a piece with which, until today, I was completely unfamiliar.

 

TITLE: Ze Sumavy (From the Bohemian Forest), Op. 68, B. 133

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE: This is a work composed for piano, four hands.  It has six movements, each one discussed briefly, below.  He wrote the pieces first and added the titles later. A few years ago, when I began composing, I relied on mental images/memories of events to guide me in my composing. But recently, I’ve found that some music springs out of my brain fully-formed, with no pre-thought-of program (storyline/image). So it actually doesn’t surprise me that he wrote these first and then later added titles.

No. 1. In the Spinning Room – This description fits very well.  You can picture a spinning wheel as you listen.  Here’s a brief excerpt in which it sounds as though the spinning wheels have stopped momentarily and are now getting back up to speed:

dvorak # 1

No. 2. By the Dark Lake – an effectively haunting and evocative movement

No. 3. Witches’ Sabbath – A witches’ Sabbath is essentially a meeting of a coven of witches—an unholy meeting. This may be a case in which the title (as mentioned, chosen AFTER the composition was composed) does not match the music.  Take a listen…

dvorak #3

It sounds more like horses prancing in a parade.  There are some moments later on that sound somewhat more nefarious, but still, twenty seconds into this clip and it becomes quite pleasant again—not exactly a witches Sabbath.

dvorak #3 nefarious

No. 4. On the Watch – sounds somewhat militaristic to me at first, but has some lovely, almost impressionistic moments as well.  Definitely worth a listen.

No. 5. Silent Woods – my favorite.  Peaceful, evocative; perfect music for self-reflection, or, dare I suggest that you put this on your iPod and get thee to a forest! At dusk! In the Czech Republic!

I suppose that may be asking too much, so instead, just listen to it and picture yourself there.  You won’t regret it and you may even have a profound experience.

No. 6. In Stormy Times – this title fits, whether you’re imagining an actual storm or a figurative mental or emotional tempest.

HIGHLIGHTS:  I am partial to No. 5 and No. 6.  And speaking of No. 5 – Silent Woods – Dvořák transcribed it, years later, for cello and piano, and then a few years later, for cello and orchestra.

When a composer re-writes their own music, there are two main thoughts on the matter—one is that they thought better of their earlier composition and wanted to re-work it to hopefully improve it; the other is that they simply wanted to make it more accessible for more performers (and, also, to make more money).  I personally like the version for cello and orchestra the best out of the three versions he wrote. The cello has a haunting quality that transports me right to the woods.

Today is not only Dvořák’s birthday, but also my sister’s birthday, and since she is an awesome sister and a great cellist, it makes sense to feature some cello music today!  Happy Birthday Nissna (my nickname for her).

And here’s a YouTube link so you can hear and watch “Silent Woods” by Dvořák.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dasjimQ9PU

WHAT’S LEFT TO LISTEN TO BY Dvořák?:  A ton.  But I’ll do it!

TITLE: Dornröschen (Sleeping Beauty)

 

In 1854 on this day, Engelbert Humperdinck was born! (Not to be confused with the pop singer of the 1960’s and 70’s.  Also not to be confused with Prince Humperdinck of “The Princess Bride”)

 

 

NO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NO

 

 

 

 

 

YES

 

 

 

 

Were he still alive today, he’d be 154 years old.  Happy B-day Humperdinck!

He is best-known for his opera “Hansel and Gretel.”  If you don’t think you know it, here are two of the most famous melodies from it:

hansel and gretel 1

hansel and gretel 2

I saw it when I was a child and was completely entranced by it.  For an opera it is relatively short (1 hour 45 minutes), and for some reason it has become traditional for opera companies to perform it near Christmastime and it is always marketed to young audiences (which is fine, but also limiting).

 

So as I was starting to write this post, I thought I’d pick a different, lesser-known piece by the birthday boy and I found that he had written an even shorter opera (1 hour 30 minutes) based on Sleeping Beauty.  Here we go…

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE: Simply put, it’s great!  I think it would look fantastic staged and I’m surprised more opera companies don’t do it regularly!

 

I hear a number of influences in this music.  At times this opera sounds Wagnerian in terms of chord progressions, the interplay between singers and orchestra, etc.  Another unusual thing is that Humperdinck is using the technique of sprechstimme (a type of singing in which the singer is supposed to speak on the indicated pitches—not sing, speak) for certain characters—a technique that is usually associated with the dissonant music of Arnold Schönberg.  In the recording I found online (Naxos Music Library), only the evil fairy Dämonia uses sprechstimme, but in the vocal score it appears that many of the characters, including Dornröschen herself, are supposed to use this technique at various times.  (If you’ve never seen sprechstimme look at the image below and you’ll see that instead of note heads, there are x’s).  Incidentally, Humperdinck is the first composer to use this technique, many years before Schönberg!

 

I suppose this work has its cliché moments; all the choruses and arias are quite tuneful and fairly predictable.  But I think this would be a real crowd-pleaser and might even win over some non-opera people to become opera people.  Recordings of this are fairly hard to come by, so I’m going to include a few samples.

 

First, here is the beginning of an aria by Dornröschen (I’m going to call her “Dorny” from now on because it’s easier to type) called “Ich fuhl’ ein leises Bangen.”  As you can hear, it starts out quite tuneful and fairly predictable.

 

Ich fuhl – tuneful

This next clip is from later in the SAME aria but it has evolved into something really quite Wagnerian:

Ich fuhl – Wagnerian-ish

 

If you’re wondering what makes it Wagnerian, listen to this next clip from “Die Walküre” by Wagner and I think you’ll hear the  similarities:

 

Wagner die walkure

 

Same interplay between singers and orchestra, similar extended solo string passage, and doesn’t this chord (image below, circled) from Dorny’s “Ich fuhl…” sound almost like the Tristan chord?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know that this chord contains a d-natural instead of the Tristan chord’s d-sharp, but still, the similarities are fairly obvious.  Listen to them excerpted here—first you’ll hear the Tristan chord from “Tristan and Isolde” by Wagner, then you’ll hear the circled part of “Dornröschen” by Humperdinck, then Tristan again, then Dorny again.  I think you’ll hear the similar nature of these two sections.

 

tristan -dornroschen comparison

HIGHLIGHT:

The scene where Dorny pricks her finger on the spindle.  Dorny is in the tower approaching the spindle in fascination, singing about it, while down below in the palace, a celebration feast is taking place—the guests are singing about how happy they are that Dorny made it to her fifteenth birthday without falling to the curse, and, off to the side, the table master and the chef are arguing about various things.  It’s a fantastic “ensemble” number (a musical number in an opera in which multiple characters are singing about their own individual thoughts and feelings, yet it all makes sense) and I’d love to see it staged.  Can’t you see it? A banquet hall filling the stage and high above it a room in a tower.  It would be so cool visually!  Here’s the translation so you can follow along with the mp3 clip:

spindle scene

 

GUESTS:  Lift your glasses thirsty drinkers, drink as long as life smiles on you!

Swing your glasses, merry drinkers, greet the sun’s radiant splendor!

It was in its golden sparkling shine that it ripened to gold, the sparkling wine!

Empty your glasses, happy drinkers, jubilate as long as life smiles on you!

 

DORNY (in the tower, singing to the spindle):

Always you’ll have to obey my wish and command,

Up and down, agile and nimble, swaying with a hop,

Spindle with a sharp point,

Spindle so pretty and fine,

Spindle that I’m never to touch,

Spindle so very dainty and sweet!

 

KING (in the banquet hall):

Prince Reinhold, who woos our Röschen, may this second glass be dedicated to him.

(GUESTS and DORNY overlapping)

GUESTS:

Hail!

Lift your glasses, happy drinkers, jubilate as long as there’s a song in your midst!

Swing your glasses, blessed drinkers, jubilate as long as joy shines our way,

As long as the song in its jubilation sounds, as long as joy enticingly shines our way!

Happy drinkers, empty your glasses, jubilate as long as life smiles on you!

DORNY:  Always you’ll have to obey my wish and command,

Up and down, agile and nimble, swaying with a hop,

Spindle with a sharp point,

Spindle so pretty and fine,

Spindle that I’m never to touch,

Spindle so very dainty and sweet!

DORNY (after being pricked by the spindle):  Oh Ouch!

 

DÄMONIA (evil fairy):  In vain, O King, you’ve sent out messengers

Through city and country far and wide;

In your wisdom, in your power,

You haven’t thought of what lies close by.

Now sink into the dark night of the grave;

Thus Dämonia’s revenge is made good!

 

MORPHINA (one of the good fairies):

Sweet slumber, gentle rest, close both of her eyes!

May slumber weave a thick, grey veil over all life;

Slumber spread throughout every room, sweet slumber, dear dream!

 

DORNY (as she falls asleep):  Sweet dream!

 

WHAT’S LEFT TO LISTEN TO BY HUMPERDINCK?   A very huge amount.  I have to admit I was surprised at how many works there are by him.  If this is any indication of the quality of his work (despite some of the clichés) I think I’ll be listening to everything by Humperdinck (it’ll just take a long time!).

Last week, the piece I investigated was so short, I thought I’d better go big this week! Leonard Bernstein’s Mass is the subject of today’s blog entry and it’s almost two hours long. So, yeah, long… And we’re also celebrating a birthday today. On this day 95 years ago, Leonard Bernstein was born. (He died in 1990) Most people know him as the composer of “West Side Story” and that is certainly what he is most famous for. But it shouldn’t be! He wrote so many wonderful pieces—vocal solos, chamber music, symphonies, concerti, etc.—it seems a shame to only focus on his musical theatre pieces. So…here we go…

TITLE: Mass

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE: Leonard Bernstein was a non-practicing Jew who wrote a Catholic Mass. It was composed as a protest against the Vietnam War. It questions authority and assumptions of belief. It challenges all who listen to reconsider the way they’re leading their lives and the way the country is heading (was heading in the 1970’s). It is rarely performed today in its entirety because of the score’s demands. In order to perform the Mass as Bernstein intended, you need to have a male singer, the “Celebrant” (a Catholic priest), a boys choir, a traditional choir, opera singers, jazz singers, rock singers, a full symphony orchestra, a marching band, a rock band, and an elaborate sound system, not to mention a roomy venue. Here are brief descriptions of each section of the Mass. (These descriptions are most effective if you listen to the Mass as you go.)

1. Devotions before Mass: Antiphon: Kyrie eleison The traditional Greek text for the Kyrie is presented here in continually more dissonant imitative polyphony.

2. Devotions before Mass: Hymn and Psalm, “A Simple Song” English text, sung by the Celebrant. Strong influence of 70’s pop music (chords, rhythms, etc.)

3. Devotions before Mass: Responsory, “Alleluia” Vocal jazz-ish choir complete with nonsense syllables and, of course, “alleluia”

4. First Introit: Prefatory Prayers Marching band style with traditional choir, later joined by boys choir and, eventually, kazoo choir—yep.

5. First Introit: Thrice-Triple Canon: Dominus vobiscum As the title implies it’s a three-part round. Simple and short.

6. Second Introit: In nomine Patris Features eastern rhythms and instruments.

7. Second Introit: Prayer for the Congregation, “Almighty Father” SATB hymn—very pretty.

8. Second Introit: Epiphany Oboe played through various speakers throughout the venue—stereophonic sound all over the place.

9. Confession: Confiteor Starts out dissonant and choral, evolves into a jazzy blues sound as the choir asks for forgiveness.

10. Confession: Trope, “I Don’t Know” Another 70’s rock song.

11. Confession: Trope, “Easy” A bluesy jazz song. Eventually the previous two numbers return in this number.

12. Meditation No. 1 Maybe it’s simply because I know Bernstein was Jewish, but this really sounds similar to his Symphony #1 “Jeremiah” which is based on the Hebrew Old Testament Lamentations of Jeremiah.

13. Gloria: Gloria tibi One of my favorite sections. Bass solo with boys choir.

14. Gloria: Gloria in Excelsis Probably my favorite choral piece in the entire Mass. I love his purposeful skewing of scansion (syllables being accented when they’re not supposed to be). Plus there’s a jazzy element to this that seems so out of place with the liturgical text.

15. Gloria: Trope, “Half of the People” This is really just a continuation of the Gloria but with English words (penned by Paul Simon no less).

16. Gloria: Trope, “Thank You” Slow, peaceful, female solo.

17. Meditation No. 2 Again, I’m hearing Symphony #1, but hey, it’s awesome.

18. Epistle: “The Word of the Lord” Some dramatic narrations interspersed with some pop-sounding solo and choral singing.

19. Gospel-Sermon: “God Said” This may offend some listeners because there’s some taking of the Lord’s name in vain. I think Bernstein chose to use the particular phrase because it is (sadly) part of our collective vernacular and because it is shocking when used in the context of a Mass.

20. Credo: Credo in unum Deum A highly rhythmic percussive re-imagining of plainchant?

21. Credo: Trope, “Non Credo” The Celebrant doubts the creed and questions God. I suspect Catholics would find this offensive? And possibly other Christians? Well, I’m a Christian and I’m not offended. I simply recognize that Bernstein was protesting authority and this was one of the ways he could depict/convey that.

22. Credo: Trope, “Hurry” – Sedet ad dexteram Patris Female solo prayer/demand followed by some more of the plainchant style of the Credo in unum Deum.

23. Credo: Trope, “World without End” – Et in Spiritum Sanctum Musical theatre-type song for female solo.

24. Credo: Trope, “I Believe in God” Another questioning of God’s existence. Again, I hope my readers will not be offended by this. Please listen to it in the context of what Bernstein was protesting. (Plus, there’s some funny music-related jokes near the end.)

25. Meditation No. 3 This time with choir!

26. Offertory Reprises “In Nomine Patris (#6)”

27. The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father … Unaccompanied version of the Lord’s Prayer, sung by the Celebrant.

28. The Lord’s Prayer: Trope, “I Go On” The Celebrant is sad and confused about the way the world is, but is determined to go on and praises God in the process.

29. Sanctus Another of my favorite sections—tuneful, pleasant, peppy, but melancholy and wistful at times, angry at other times. Uses Hebrew text at times as well.

30. Agnus Dei Not your normal Agnus Dei—usually the words “Dona nobis pacem (give us peace)” are set to quiet and peaceful music. Here (again, remember the context) they’re angry and demanding. Also a little beyond the halfway mark in this section, a heavy blues kicks in, the text changes to English, various jazz and rock instruments join in and it gets more and more cacaphonic through to the end.

31. Fraction: “Things Get Broken” The Celebrant has a nervous breakdown—accusing, demanding, turning away from God.

32. Pax: Communion, “Secret Songs” A boy soprano reprises the “simple song” from the beginning and seems to restore everyone, including the Celebrant’s, faith. The hymn from earlier (“Almighty Father” [#7]) returns sung by all the singers AND the instrumentalists.

HIGHLIGHT: It’s hard to pick a highlight simply because it works so well as a single work of art. But I really enjoy the Agnus Dei (#30) and the “Simple Song” (#2). There are some really interesting recordings out there of this work. For most of my adult life I’ve only been familiar with the original recording (1971) And it is fantastic! But in writing this entry, I’ve discovered a few more recordings that are quite awesome in their own ways. One is by the Baltimore Symphony with Jubilant Sykes in the lead role (as the Celebrant). This recording sounds like they acquired REAL jazz and blues singers. It’s got a grittiness that is marvelous to hear. The third recording that I found was recorded in Austria. It’s a tad odd/fun to hear German singers trying to get the English pronunciations correct, and also trying to get the jazz/blues sound correct. The female jazz singer is the most successful, but still an unusual effect.

WHAT’S LEFT TO LISTEN TO BY BERNSTEIN?: Approximately 70 more compositions. Not insurmountable. I’ll do it!

TITLE: Armonia per un tempio della note (Harmony for a Temple of the Night)

 

It’s Antonio Salieri’s birthday today!  Salieri was born in Legnago, Italy on August 18, 1750, but spent the majority of his career in Vienna, Austria.  That would make him 263 years old today!  Happy Birthday, Salieri!

 

You might be somewhat familiar with his name if you have seen the film (or play) Amadeus by Peter Shaffer, in which he is portrayed as a bitter, jealous, single man, tormented throughout his life by Mozart’s fame and genius. In reality, he was married, happy, quite famous as a composer, and taught music lessons to Mozart’s son.  In fact, the only evidence of animosity between Mozart and Salieri is that Mozart was jealous of Salieri getting all the top jobs.  But when it comes right down to it, all their meetings were cordial and even friendly.  They even wrote a piece of music together (now lost).

 

Over the course of his career, Salieri taught composition lessons to many students who later became successful composers, including Franz Schubert, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Liszt.  No slouch, this Salieri…

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE: a lovely, slow-tempo single-movement piece for two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, and two horns.  I love the blended tone color of this particular combination of instruments.  It’s rich and lovely, like an organ, but better (no offense, organists).

 

I found a lovely live recording on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDDeAE1GMXc

 

HIGHLIGHT: The fact that there are so many melodically interesting things given to the clarinet.

 

When I was in Vienna in April of 2012, I spent the better part of a day in the Zentral Friedhof (Main Cemetery) tracking down graves of famous composers.  Here are two photos of Salieri’s grave.  One, a close-up of the plaque and the other, the entire monument with me popping out from behind.

 

WHAT’S LEFT TO LISTEN TO BY SALIERI:  A lot, but now that I’ve heard this lovely piece, I’m much more inclined to seek out more.

TITLE: Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 6, No. 1

Composer: Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE:

As you look at the first page of the score (above) you can notice a few things right off the bat that let you know this was composed in the Baroque Era.  One is that it is a concerto grosso, or in other words, a concerto that features more than one soloist.  In this case, you can see the bracket labeled “concertino” which indicates the soloists.  The lower few staves show what the rest of the orchestra is made up of—mainly strings and harpsichord.  These are all things that are typical of the Baroque Era.  Yes, the genre of concerto grosso still exists to this day, but its heyday was during the Baroque.  And the presence of a harpsichord in a piece of music indicates the Baroque Era well over 90% of the time.

 

“But wait,” you might say, “there’s no harpsichord indicated on the orchestral score!”  Yes there is.  Look at the bottom stave—the one labeled “basso.”  See those little numbers underneath?  Those numbers indicate the types of chords the keyboard player should ADD to the bass line.  In the Baroque Era, the keyboard player read off the double bass part and improvised chords that went well with the bass line.  At some point, composers started helping the performers out by providing suggestions of which chords would sound best.  This shorthand is called “figured bass.”  And it’s a dead giveaway that the piece is from the Baroque Era.

 

Full disclosure:  I used to be bored by Baroque music, but over the years, as I’ve studied the composers, art, and architecture of the time period, I have discovered the vibrancy and life found within Baroque music.  There’s a crisp quality to Baroque music.  And the knowledge that the keyboardist is usually improvising adds a sense of freshness to any performance.

 

So now lets look at the title:    Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 6, No. 1.  We can infer that this is the first concerto he wrote (Concerto No. 1), but then the ending of the title can be somewhat confusing—Opus 6, No. 1.  What does that mean?  “Opus,” for the uninitiated, means “work,” as in, “work of art.”  So it is his sixth work, but his first concerto.  AND the “no. 1” after “op. 6” means that there are multiple concertos that are all categorized as Opus six.  In fact, Corelli’s Opus 6 has twelve concertos, all labeled with “opus 6” (“Opus 6, No. 1,” “Opus 6, No. 2,” “Opus 6, No. 3,” etc.).

 

This one (No. 1) has seven movements all quite short.

 

Movement one:  slow stately music featuring the full orchestra.

 

Movement two:  Fast imitative polyphony between the two solo violins while the solo cello goes crazy with sixteenth notes underneath alternating with brief adagio sections with the entire orchestra.

 

Movement three:  A beautiful slow harmonized melody stated by the two solo violins while cello provides the bass with the harpsichord playing the figured bass.  I was particularly pleased that, when the solo violins’ opening material returned a second time about halfway through the movement, they improvised extra notes so that the repetition wouldn’t come across as boring (another common practice in the Baroque Era).

 

Movement four:  No solo sections.  Just fast, bright, arpeggios played by all the violins.

 

Movement five:  The longest movement at about four minutes.  I am particularly fond of the moments when the three soloists are joined by the rest of the orchestra.  There’s a melancholy sweetness to the solo sections and a richness and warmth when the full orchestra joins in.

 

Movement six:  This movement begins with fairly obvious imitative polyphony (very much like a “round”) and continues the imitation throughout the movement.

 

Movement seven:  Fast and virtuosic, a fitting ending for any concerto.

 

HIGHLIGHT:  I guess I’m just a sucker for slow movements.  I feel that emotion is often easier expressed through slow tempi than fast.  In this particular work, I preferred movement three more than any others.  My second favorite movement is the fast and vibrant movement four.  In any event, listen to this work!  It’s definitely a quality composition and it’s only ten minutes long!

 

OTHER HIGHLIGHT, NOT DIRECTLY RELATED TO THIS COMPOSITION, BUT DEFINITELY RELATED TO CORELLI:

 

When my wife and I were in Italy a few weeks ago, I wanted to visit Corelli’s tomb in the Pantheon in Rome.  The Pantheon is an astounding edifice.  Constructed by the ancient Romans over 2000 years ago, it was turned into a Catholic church in the year 609.  Upon seeing it for the first time, I really felt as though I had gone back in time. There’s no way to experience it vicariously—you simply have to go there.  Nevertheless, here’s a pic of my wife and the Pantheon:

When we walked in, we discovered that we had a very short time because a church service was going to start soon, at which point they make all the tourists vacate the church, so I quickly asked a worker where Corelli’s tomb was.  She was very kind and showed me that, unfortunately it was fenced off due to restoration work.  I was quite sad about that, but she said, “Let’s go see if we can still see it.”  She walked to the fenced in area and there was a small gap between the wall and the fencing so she leaned way in and said I could see it that way.  Instead of leaning in, Jane and I squeezed past the fencing and went right in!  The first pic is me with the tomb behind me.  The second pic is a close up of the tomb so you can see Corelli’s name.

 

 

WHAT’S LEFT TO LISTEN TO BY CORELLI?: Actually not a lot.  He only had six opus numbers!  His first five opus numbers are sonatas and each opus number has 12 sonatas within it.  So there are about 80 total pieces of music attributed to Corelli.  I suspect I’ll actually succeed in listening to everything by Corelli a lot sooner than the other composers I’ve begun!

TITLE:  Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome)

 

Ottorino Respighi is best known for his piece “The Pines of Rome,” but since I just returned from Italy (I was performing at a music conference in Assisi) and my wife, Jane, and I spent a few days in Rome, including a visit to the Trevi Fountain, I thought that “The FOUNTAINS of Rome” would be a good piece to investigate for this week’s “I’m Listening to Everything by…”.

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE:

A fifteen-minute “tone poem” with four distinct sections or movements, this is programmatic music (it paints a picture in your mind as you listen) describing not only the fountains, but imagined scenarios happening nearby.

 

The first movement, La fontana di Valle Giulia all’Alba (The Fountain of Valle Giulia at Dawn), depicts a fountain in a pastoral setting.  It is not hard to allow your mind to paint pictures in your mind when you hear the woodwind instruments imitating bird song.

 

The second movement, La fontana del Tritone al mattino (The Triton Fountain in the Morning), depicts mythological characters dancing near the fountain.

 

The third movement, La fontana di Trevi al meriggio (The Trevi Fountain at Noon), starts with quite a grand fanfare.  I have to admit, having recently stood at the Trevi Fountain, the initial impression upon seeing it for the first time is quite grand and fanfare-worthy!  However, I suspect my experience at the Trevi Fountain was a tad marred by the vast amounts of vendors and other tourists swarming the place.  Here’s my wife and I just before we threw coins over our right shoulders, as is the custom.

 

 

The final movement, La fontana di Villa Medici al tramonto (The Villa Medici Fountain at Sunset), is a fitting close to this work.  It is easy to see the sun setting, particularly with the sound of church bells ringing (slowly) at the end.

 

HIGHLIGHT:  I really enjoyed the entire piece, but if I have to pick one, I’d probably pick the first movement.  I like the pastoral imagery and the way the woodwinds are used.

 

RANDOM OTHER HIGHLIGHT THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MUSIC ITSELF:

One of my hobbies is visiting the gravesites of famous composers, so whenever I travel anywhere, I go to “findagrave.com” and search the cities I’ll be in to see if any famous composers are there.  I always make a list to bring with me so that if I happen to be near one of the graveyards or churches where someone is buried, I can pay a visit. On our very first day in Rome, we were told by our B&B host, Francesca, that she thinks we should begin our Roman holiday at the gateway to the city, the Piazza del Popolo.  Since it was only a few subway stops from our B&B, we did exactly that.  As we walked through the gates onto the amazing oval-shaped piazza with its twin churches, I saw a church to our immediate left and when I saw the name of the church, Santa Maria del Popolo, I immediately thought it was one that I had on my list, but I couldn’t remember who or why.  We went in and I was reading the names on tombs in the floor and on the walls, but no names were familiar.  I was getting frustrated, but as we passed an open door that led to a hallway used mainly by the clergy to get from one part of the church to another, Jane said, “I know why you wanted to come here” and went through the doorway.  I followed her and here’s what we found:

 

 

The funny thing is, I didn’t have Respighi on my list because although he was originally interred here, a year after his death, his remains were taken to his birth city of Bologna and reinterred.  So the entire experience was extremely serendipitous!

 

WHAT’S LEFT TO LISTEN TO BY RESPIGHI?: a lot, but I’ll do it!

 

TITLE: Symphony #1 in D Major

 

A common misconception about a piece of classical music with “#1” or “opus 1” attached to the title is that the work is an example of juvenilia. In the case of Mozart, that may be true, but in the case of most composers, labeling something with a “1” is not an indication that it is an immature work. In most cases, composers had composed many pieces prior to their “opus 1”, but simply didn’t number the earlier works because the composers were students at the time, not yet established in their career, or simply didn’t feel that the early works were good representations of what they hoped to achieve as a composer. So, when you see “opus 1” or “#1,” do not dismiss it as juvenilia.  Instead, realize that it means that the composer felt that it WAS worthy of being counted as part of their overall oeuvre (say that ten times fast! “overall oeuvre – overall oeuvre – overall oeuvre”).

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE:

Haydn’s first full-time employment was when he was hired (at the age of 25) as Kapellmeister for Count Morzin. Prior to this, his reputation had been growing and he had been hired part time by a number of aristocrats. Haydn’s “Symphony #1” was composed when he was 27 years old and still in Count Morzin’s employment.

 

1^st Movement: Presto

This appears to be in basic sonata form (A-B-A, or “Exposition-Development-Recapitulation”).  I’ll try to walk you through it, step by step.  It may prove helpful to you to open up the orchestral score for this piece, since I’m going to refer to specific measure numbers.  You can find the score at http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/7/7a/IMSLP284168-PMLP71223-Haydn_SINFONIA_No_1_-_Full_Score_D.pdf

 

By the way, before you continue reading/listening, I’ve never felt very confident in my score analysis skills, so if you find any glaring mistakes, don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments section.  I won’t be offended and it will help me learn more.

 

The EXPOSITION’s first theme begins with a technique known as the Mannheim Crescendo, essentially a crescendo effected by the entire orchestra. It is in the key of D Major.  At measure 10, we’re still in D Major, but I think this is the start of the bridge which modulates at measure 14 to A Major.  Somewhere around m. 17 or 18 I believe is the start of the 2^nd theme, and then at measure 29, the cadence theme begins.  The exposition ends at m. 39, but then there is a repeat sign, so we get the entire exposition again!

 

The DEVELOPMENT begins at m. 40 and features lots of modulations (i.e., try to hum the tonic, it doesn’t stick around for very long).

 

The RECAPITULATION begins at m. 59, but this time it doesn’t modulate during the bridge.  Well, it does modulate ever so briefly, but only to artistically get us back to the tonic (D major).

 

At the end of the Recap, Haydn chose to use repeat signs so that we get to hear the entire Development AND Recap one more time!

 

2^nd movement: Andante

I’m not 100% certain, but I think this is also in sonata form.

 

Exposition

1^st theme

Bridge starts at pick-ups to m. 11

2^nd theme at m. 15 (I think?)

Cadence theme at pick-ups to m. 21.

 

Development starts at pick-ups to m. 29.  Fun little polyphonic back and forth exchanges between the first violins and second violins highlight the modulations.

 

Then at pick-up to m. 50, we have the Recap, but it is modified a bit.  It replicates and expands upon the material found in the Exposition in mm. 6-14 before getting to the more recognizable bridge (earlier at m. 11, now at pick-up to m. 61).

 

And again, Haydn repeats the entire Development and Recap.

 

3^rd movement: Finale: Presto

I’m fairly certain this is in a Rondo form in the following pattern

 

AABABA

 

I could be wrong…  (I almost always get lost in rondo form…)

 

HIGHLIGHT:  For me, this was mostly an exercise in simply noticing the characteristics of this time period.  This isn’t a symphony that I will listen to over and over again—it didn’t move me deeply—it didn’t make me cry, or really feel anything other than “Oh, how charming!”  And when it comes right down to it, that is to a great degree what the Classical Era of music was all about.  The composers of the day really wanted audiences to react with “Oh, how charming!”  Well, it is charming and it probably made Haydn’s patron, Count Morzin, happy that he had hired young Haydn. If I had to pick a highlight, I’d simply say that, at least in the recording I listened to (Sinfonia Finlandia, Naxos label, catalog #8.557571), the harpsichord player was having a grand time improvising chords to the bass line in the 2^nd movement.

 

WHAT’S LEFT TO LISTEN TO BY HAYDN?  A lot!  Especially considering he wrote over 100 symphonies.  It’s going to take me a while, but I’ll do it!

 

TITLE: Symphony #3 “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs”

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE:

This piece was composed in 1976 and was criticized at the time for being too tonal, mainly because the composer, Henryk Górecki, had become known for atonal music. The first time I hear of this piece was in 1992, when a new recording came out and shot up the classical music charts. According to Wikipedia, this is the best-selling classical album of a modern composition of all time. This piece is generally categorized as “spiritual minimalism”—music that puts one in a meditative “spiritual” state through the use of slow repetition (think Arvo Pärt).

 

1^st Movement: Lento—Sostenuto tranquillo ma cantabile (Slow—sustained and tranquil in a singing manner).  This is a very lengthy first movement. Because different conductors conduct at different tempi, recording lengths vary. Of the recordings I listened to, the shortest one was 27 minutes long and the longest was 40 minutes long.  That’s quite a span!  The movement begins with a very lengthy canon (basically, a round) featuring only the strings.  The first statement of the melody is by the double bass; with each new repetition more strings are added.  The slow build is quite effective in setting up the mood of the text, which is not heard until the middle section of this movement, sung by a solo soprano. The text is from the 15^th century and is meant to be the voice of Mary, mother of Jesus, speaking to her son on the cross.  The translation of the text is:

 

My son, chosen and loved,

Let your mother share your wounds

And since, my dear son,

I have always kept you in my heart,

And loyally served you,

Speak to your mother, make her happy,

Though, my cherished hope, you are now leaving me.

 

You don’t need to read the words while you listen to the piece. Just read through them once and you’ll have the gist of it. Even though the movement is slow and repetitive, I beg of you to take the time to listen to it without any other distractions. This will move you.

My favorite recording I’ve found so far is on YouTube:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV2P35Rj61A

This particular recording isn’t the prettiest to look at, but the tempo is just perfect!  I will warn you that it is one of the slower recordings of this movement that I’ve heard, but I feel like it is much more meaningful at the slower tempo.  It allows you to get into that meditative state and when the soprano starts singing…well…tears…

 

2^nd movement: Lento e largo—Tranquillissimo

The text for this movement was found etched into the wall of a Gestapo prison by an 18-year-old female prisoner.  Górecki said that he was touched by her words of comfort and prayer. Other prisoners had etched words of accusation or hatred toward their Nazi captors, but she just wanted to comfort her mother and gain strength from Mary.  The translation of this text is:

 

No, Mother, do not weep,

Most chaste Queen of Heaven

Help me always.

Hail Mary.

 

I found a marvelously-produced video of this movement on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miLV0o4AhE4

It is beautiful to listen to and beautiful to watch.  In fact, my five-year-old daughter, whenever she’s heard me start the music of the second movement, she comes running because she wants to watch the video.  And, despite its length, she sits and watches the whole thing.  This is the shortest movement, but also extremely beautiful, and for me, at least, tears occur.

 

3^rd movement: Lento—Cantabile-semplice

 

Text for this movement is a poem about a mother wondering what has become of her son, who was fighting in the Silesian Uprisings (1919-1921 between Poland and Germany).

 

Where has he gone,

My dearest son?

Killed by the harsh enemy, perhaps,

In the rebellion.

You bad people,

In the name of the Holy God,

Tell me why you killed

My dear son.

 

Will I have his protection,

Even if I weep

My old eyes away,

Or if my bitter tears

Were to make another River Oder,

They would not bring back

My son to life.

 

He lies in the grave

I know not where

Though I ask people

Everywhere

Perhaps the poor boy

Lies in a rough trench

Instead of lying, as he might,

In a warm bed.

 

Sing for him,

Little song-birds of God,

For his mother

Cannot find him.

And God’s little flowers,

May you bloom all around

So that my son

May sleep happily.

 

For this one, I’d suggest this YouTube video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_pn_cVqGJQ

It is the complete symphony, but the third movement starts at 37:50.  The older gentleman the camera keeps focusing on is the composer.  I believe this was filmed in 2001 and Górecki passed away in 2010.  I find the soprano leans sharp, but it is beautifully filmed in a beautiful venue.

 

HIGHLIGHT:  For me, it is when the first movement transitions from the opening section (the lengthy canon) to the middle section with the soprano. After hearing nothing but strings for fourteen to twenty minutes (depending on which recording you listen to), the single note played by the piano and harp is haunting and lovely, and then the soprano starts to sing those touching words of Mary, and I begin to cry.  I really hope you will all take the time to listen to this marvelous work.  It will change you as a human being.

 

WHAT’S LEFT TO LISTEN TO BY GÓRECKI?: At least 80 opus numbers, plus a fair amount of unpublished works.  I’ll definitely be seeking out more pieces by Górecki in the future.

TITLE: Carnaval, Op. 9

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE:  Carnaval is a set, or collection, of character pieces. A character piece is a relatively short piece of music for solo piano. Character pieces are meant to express a fleeting glimpse of an emotion or character. Robert Schumann grouped them together because each piece was intended to represent a person at a masked ball.   There are twenty-four pieces in this set, which sounds somewhat overwhelming to listen to, but again, they are character pieces which are generally quite short.  The longest piece in this set is the final piece (about 3 ½ minutes) and the thirteenth is the shortest (slightly under 30 seconds).  I’ll include the length of each piece next to its title so you can see how short these pieces really are. The entire work takes less than half an hour.

 

Here is a basic description of each piece in the set.  This may help you know what to listen for:

 

1. Préambule (this introduction to the set is about two minutes long) – I mentioned “ear bugs” in my post two weeks ago.  Well, here’s another one.  As I said a few weeks ago, I’m sure it’s entirely coincidental, but that’s how my brain works—I hear a tiny fragment of one tune and it sounds like a similar fragment from another. Don’t you think the first phrase in this piece sounds like a grand bombastic version of the first phrase in the LDS hymn “Sweet is the Work, My God, My King”?  Here’s a clip of the opening phrase of Préambule, then the opening phrase of “Sweet is the Work” and then both repeated:

 

Schumann Preambule from Carnaval – Sweet is the Work

 

2. Pierrot (about 2 minutes long) – A bunch of the pieces in this set are representative of stock theatrical characters from the “Commedia dell’Arte” tradition.  Pierrot is a sad clown, deeply in love with Columbine, but she runs off with Arlequin instead.  Here are two photos of Pierrot, one a painting in the Louvre, the other on a gravestone that I came across in the Zentral Friedhof (main cemetery) in Vienna:

 

 

3. Arlequin (just under one minute long) – another character from the Commedia dell’arte, known for his physical agility.  In the theatrical tradition, the character of Arlequin would never do a simple action, but would add a cartwheel or somersault or leap.  You can definitely hear that in this piece.

 

4. Valse noble (about a minute long) – a simple waltz

 

5. Eusebius (just under two minutes) – this piece depicts Schumann himself.  Well, at least one part of his personality.  Schumann wrote articles for a music magazine he co-founded  (the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik) and some of these articles were written in a conversational style between two characters – Eusebius and Florestan.  In actuality, these two characters were manifestations of Schumann’s own psyche; Eusebius his calm and peaceful side; Florestan his fiery passionate side.  In this piece you can hear what I consider one of the fingerprints of Schumann’s compositional style; I call it “cluttered in a good way.”  Whenever I turn on the classical music radio station and hear a piano piece that sounds “cluttered in a good way,” I generally assume it is Schumann. The clutter you’ll hear in “Eusebius” is simply that the right hand has seven-tuplets or quintuplets against the left hand’s duple or quadruple patterns—in other words, cluttered!  Listen to “Eusebius” and see if you agree.

 

6. Florestan (about a minute long) – and here’s the fiery passionate side of Schumann’s personality.

 

7. Coquette (just over a minute) – depicts a flirtatious girl.

 

8. Réplique (under a minute) – a response to the flirtatious “Coquette”

 

9. Papillons (about 30 seconds long!) – depicts butterflies.  I know that description may not be entirely tantalizing, but it’s only 30 seconds long!  Listen to it.  I’m quite positive you’ll be able to see butterflies (although they seem a tad violent in my opinion).

 

10. A.S.C.H. – S.C.H.A: Lettres Dansantes (about 30 seconds) – these letters represent a musical puzzle Schumann played with throughout Carnaval.  A. S. C. H. translates to the musical notes A, E-flat, C, and B and S. C. H. A. translates as E-flat, C, B, A. I’ve never bothered to try to literally hear that pattern—but it’s an “Oh, how interesting” type of thing.

 

11. Chiarina (just under a minute) – a depiction of Clara Wieck.  At the time Schumann wrote this piece, he and Clara were just friends (she was the 14-year-old daughter of
his piano teacher), but later, she and Schumann fell in love, were married and had eight children together.  It makes you wonder what sort of relationship she and Schumann had at that point—how he viewed her.  It also makes you wonder how she responded to hearing his impression of her through music.  I suspect she enjoyed the attention he was paying her—after all, she was a young teenager, and he was the 23-year-old student of her father that she had known since she was nine years old.

 

12. Chopin (about a minute) – a depiction of fellow composer Frédéric Chopin.  I find this one absolutely hilarious because it really sounds like the music of Chopin—flowery, dreamy, sentimental—I love it!  In fact, it even LOOKS like music written by Chopin—take a look:

 13. Estrella (30 seconds) – a depiction of Robert’s current girlfriend, Ernestine von Fricken.  Like “Chiarina” this one also makes one wonder what their relationship was like at the time because it’s quite fiery, too.

 

14. Reconnaissance (under a minute and a half) – depicting a meeting of Robert and his girlfriend at a social gathering.

 

15. Pantalon et Colombine (under a minute) – Pantalon and Columbine are characters from the Commedia dell’arte.  Pantalon represents money and ego; Columbine represents a servant with little money but great wisdom, constantly fending off the unwanted advances of Pantalon.

 

16. Valse allemande and Intermezzo: Paganini (the first part of the Valse is just over 30 seconds, then the Paganini section is also over 30 seconds and then there is a recap of the Valse again—Total time: about two minutes.)  The Paganini section is a depiction of the famous and virtuosic violinist Niccolò Paganini, so it makes sense that that section is quite virtuosic and rambunctious.

 

17. Aveu (about a minute) – depicts a declaration of love.

 

18. Promenade (about two minutes)

 

19. Pause (15 seconds!) – a very fast and brief passage from the opening Préambule which leads directly into the final piece…

 

20. Marche des “Davidsbündler” contre les Philistins (3 ½ minutes) – this translates as the March of King David against the Philistines, but Schumann may have been using this symbolically.  He co-founded the music journal (mentioned above) to champion new compositions and attack what he considered the “inartistic” music of the past.  It is no mistake that the word “philistine” is now used to refer to an uneducated person who does not appreciate the finer things in life (such as fine art, fine music, etc.).  This piece also briefly references a number of the earlier pieces in this set.

 

HIGHLIGHT: For me, it is hard to top “Chiarina” in charm and entertainment value.  Listen to it again and notice how fiery it sounds.  And again, I just love imagining how thrilled 14-year-old Clara would have been to be included as a subject in this set of pieces.

 

WHAT’S LEFT TO LISTEN TO BY R. SCHUMANN?: Well, he has around 150 opus numbers, so it’s a substantial oeuvre.  But I’ll do it!