Jaren Hinckley

 

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!

TITLE: Rondo No. 3 in A minor, K. 511

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE: a lovely single-movement piano piece in rondo form. I’ve liked this piece ever since I first heard it in a movie (to be discussed later in this post).  It has a lovely lilting melody with more than a hint of melancholy.  It is in typical rondo form—in this case A-B-A-C-A.  However, as with most pieces in rondo form from the Classical Era, each section can be subdivided down into smaller sections.  Here’s my interpretation of its form:

The first A is subdivided a-b-aˈ with the second “a” (aˈ) featuring more written-in embellishments.  In other words, Mozart didn’t simply use a repeat sign as was common in this era, he wrote it out fully to make it more interesting the second time around.  Here it is.  See if you can hear how the second small “a” is more interesting than the first small “a”:

 

Rondo first A

 

The B section features mostly sixteenth notes (by comparison, the A section is mostly eighth notes in 6/8 time) and can be subdivided essentially the same as the A section, but because it is new musical material, we have to use different letters—in this case, c-d-cˈ and the cˈ is quite extended.  Here it is.  Notice how the “d” section sounds very similar to the very first “a” (at least, in that they both use similar ornamentation).

 

Rondo B

 

Now we return to “A” again, but this time, we only hear the first little “a” (no b or aˈ) and it, too, features some variations to keep things interesting.  I’m particularly fond of the syncopated moment near the end of this section.

 

Rondo second A

 

The C portion of this rondo form features sixteenth-note triplets and can be subdivided as e-e-f-eˈ, again, with the last e section (“e prime”) extended.  Here it is. Notice that the first “e” is repeated exactly note for note.  Mozart did indeed use repeat signs here (to save ink?). See if you can delineate between the e and f sections:

 

Rondo C

 

And that brings us back to the final “A” section, which is essentially the same as the first A, but with a lot more elaboration and an extended “coda” section at the end which brings back some of the sixteenth-note triplets from the “C” part.

 

Rondo final A

 

HIGHLIGHT: I was planning to say that the first A was the highlight for me due to my initial encounter with this piece through a movie. However, I think I actually would have to revise that. The highlight for me is hearing the final A section AFTER having heard the first A section. The elaborations are so charming and interesting that you really need to hear the whole piece to get the full effect.  So…now that you’ve listened to it in chunks, go online and search for recordings of this piece and listen to it in its entirety. I hope you’ll love it as much as I do.  Incidentally, the movie to which I referred to (above) is “The Changeling,” a haunted house film from 1980 starting George C. Scott.  My family and I watched this film dozens of times in my youth—at countless sleepovers, Halloween parties, etc.  It scared the living daylights out of me. I still get chills thinking of certain parts of the film. I’ve included a YouTube link below of the first fifteen minutes of the film. If you will please skip ahead to the 10:11 mark, you’ll be at just the right moment to hear the portion of the film that features Mozart’s Rondo.  If you watch until the 12:11 mark, you’ll get to hear most of the first A section of the Rondo and you’ll get to see the first indication in the film that something eerie is afoot. Enjoy!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUKE_CGOjnE

 

TITLE: Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53 (“Heroic” or “Drum”)

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE:  I suspect most people have heard this piece before.  It’s fairly popular and has a catchy main melody:

Polonaise Op.53 in A flat major main melody

If you’ve never heard that before, go ahead and do a quick search for a recording on YouTube or Naxos and listen to it before you read on (it’s only 6 ½ minutes long).

 

Another detail about this piece is the fact that this is a polonaise, which is a type of Polish dance.  Chopin always felt loyalty to his homeland of Poland, even though he spent much of his career in France.  The middle section of this piece sounds somewhat like a military parade of sorts.

 

HIGHLIGHT: For me, the highlight is the main melody. It’s luxurious, catchy and memorable. It is featured at the beginning and then again at the end in a much grander way. And the third part of the phrase has an almost schmaltzy sentimental sound to it; almost cliché, yet still lovely.  Here’s the part I mean (first the main melody which ends with the schmaltzy part, then the schmaltzy part repeated a few times to get it to stick in your head):

Polonaise Op.53 schmaltzy part

 

Actually this schmaltzy part also contains something that I think may be unique to me, but perhaps some of you suffer from this too; I call it an “ear bug.” Perhaps you’ve heard the term “ear worm” which refers to a song that gets stuck in your head and you can’t get rid of it. An “ear bug” is different than an “ear worm;” it is when a small part of a melody sounds note-for-note like a small part of a completely different piece.  I notice this all the time. I do not think one composer plagiarized another composer in this case. It’s simply that the Chopin piece reminds me of this other piece every time I hear it—an ear bug! Here’s the song it makes me think of every single time I hear it:

Golden Ticket-1st example

Here’s the same “bug” from later in the song:

Golden Ticket-2nd example

By the way, how have I never noticed before what a bad singer Charlie was?

And here’s the comparison back and forth between Chopin and the first example:

Polonaise Op. 53 – 1st example of ear bug

And the comparison between Chopin and the second example:

Polonaise Op. 53 – 2nd example of ear bug

The existence of this ear bug doesn’t ruin the piece for me at all.  It’s just an amusing observation that makes me smile every time I hear it.

 

Do any of you have any ear bugs that afflict you?  If so, I’d love it if you’d leave a comment about them.  Perhaps I’ll feature them in a future blog post.

 

WHAT’S LEFT TO LISTEN TO BY CHOPIN?: Over 70 more opus numbers.  But I’ll do it!

NOTE: These are not intended to be “program notes.” I have done little or no research about the piece beyond what I already knew coming into the listening experience. These are simply my responses to the music.

 

TITLE: Symphony No. 1 “Titan”

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE: A multi-movement work for orchestra—and, as is usual with Mahler, the orchestra is expanded: double the winds, double the brass, expanded string and percussion sections.
I never know if I should refer to Mahler’s music as “program music” or not because it doesn’t necessarily tell a story in the manner of, say, Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique. Instead, Mahler tells any number of stories depending on your own perceptions and emotions. Mahler’s music is very personal and filled with dichotomies. For instance, the famous 3rd movement features a funeral march to the tune of Frere Jacques (in minor mode). Listen to some darling children singing Frere Jacques followed immediately by the beginning of the 3rd movement, second statement of the tune in a round between solo cello and solo bassoon.

Mahler 1 – Frere Jacques

 Is it about the deaths of numerous of his siblings to childhood diseases?  Is it about the “death” of childhood itself (since his was filled with turmoil)?  And then a few minutes into the funeral march, Jewish folk dances begin, interrupting the dirge.  Happy revelry in the midst of death? Many textbooks point to a particular drawing-The Huntsman’s Funeral-to provide a program for this movement. The animals are having a funeral for the huntsman, crying crocodile tears, but unavoidably, they forget that they’re pretending to be sad and start dancing in celebration (because everyone knows that forest animals are Jewish 🙂  Side note: it seems quite clear that certain melodies used in Fiddler on the Roof were either borrowed from Mahler, or that Mahler and Fiddler borrowed from the same folk source). Have a listen to the comparison (first Mahler, then Fiddler):

Mahler 1 – Fiddler on the Roof

Mahler’s father ran a pub attached to their home; often, when a dead sibling was being taken out the back door, the revelry from the bar provided a unique counterpoint to the sadness in the home.

One of my frustrations with this piece is that the 3^rd movement gets so much attention in Music Appreciation textbooks and Music History classes that the other movements are neglected.  My personal favorite is the first movement; it evokes nature in remarkable and glorious ways starting with wonderful evocations of nature. The programmatic depiction of forest animals (including the cuckoo by the e-flat clarinet) and the offstage trumpet choir are my favorite elements.  One of my good friends pointed out that the opening of the 1^st movement owes a lot to the first movement of Beethoven’s Symphony #9—check out the comparison (first Mahler, then Beethoven, then Mahler again):

Mahler 1 – Beethoven 9 – Mahler 1

HIGHLIGHT:  For me, I guess the first movement, but listen to the entire symphony–there are lots of great recordings of the complete symphony available on YouTube–it is lengthy, but worth it.

In fact, the first time I heard this symphony live, I was weeping through much of the final movement.  Something about Mahler’s music touches me to the very core. I like to think it is because he and I are kindred spirits.

 

WHAT’S LEFT TO LISTEN TO BY MAHLER?:  A lot.  But I’ll do it.

Hello, and welcome to my website!
By way of introduction, I am Jaren Hinckley. I am a clarinetist and a composer. Aside from my family, music is the all-important element in my life! I will be updating the blog weekly, if not more often, mainly with thoughts about music and the great composers, or events in which I will be participating.  If you want to contact me for any reason, please use the “Contact” link.