This was quite a short project, in fact only took me about four hours, helped my my regular attendance and reflection on live concerts.
Notes for this project attached:
23 Saturday Feb 2013
Posted 10. New Audiences
inThis was quite a short project, in fact only took me about four hours, helped my my regular attendance and reflection on live concerts.
Notes for this project attached:
23 Saturday Feb 2013
Posted 10. New Audiences
inI do regularly go to live concerts and write a review of each event I go to which can be found in the Research & Reflection category of this blog. For this exercise I will look back on the last concert I attended.
The concert was by the Philharmonia Orchestra, under the baton of Edward Gardener and was at St David’s Hall in Cardiff on February 13th. The programme was very suitable for this project as it was a programme of romantic music. The first half of the concert featured two works by Beethoven and the second half was a later Romantic work, Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony.
This concert offered music that covered the full range of the orchestra, and the piano in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 3. The opening piece was Beethoven’s Overture, Fidelio, op. 72 and was the final (fourth version) of the overture he wrote for his only opera. The work was written in 1814. The work that followed was Beethoven’s first mature piano concerto, No. 3, Op. 37 and was written at the earlier date of 1801 and links the early and middle periods of Beethoven’s output. His earlier concertos were from the classical period.
The Tchaikovsky work following the interval was an example of the later 19th century programmatic symphonies. Although not specifically set to a programme, the dark passages of parts of this symphony reflect the composers mood at the time, started before and completed after his failed marriage, which lasted only a few months, and was an attempt to quash rumours of his homosexuality. He attempted suicide during this time.
This is a wonderful symphony that is a fine example of orchestral work, with plenty of parts for all sections of the orchestra. Most the instruments you expect to find in a standard orchestra are represented with strings playing an interesting role in the third movement scherzo, where the entire movement is in pizzicato. The final movement is a great triumphant finish, which features leading solo parts for horn and trumpets and a variety of percussion is also featured. The woodwinds also feature strongly throughout, oboe having a particular role at the start of the second movement.
I always enjoy live performance and have been to quite a variety of live music since I began this course, including contemporary music, string quartets and other chamber music and my greatest passion, opera. Recorded or ‘live’ TV and radio cannot compare to the experience and more importantly the sound of attending live concerts. The acoustic advantages of concert halls and theatres give the sound a more natural resonance than can be found in recordings, even with enhanced technological features such as HD that are available now.
I always try to read programme notes and use the information about the works to help me write reviews of the works I see (I always credit the authors of the notes). I find the information, helpful in understanding the music and I like to know the background of the works as well. Programme notes do vary in content, and some are just free handouts, whilst other programmes can be as much as £5. The programme for the concert described above, part of the St David’s Hall International Concert Series, were well written and researched notes by Peter Reynolds with references to recommended CD recordings, further reading and relevant web sites. There were also detailed biographies of the conductor Edward Gardner, the scheduled pianist, David Fray, who unfortunately was taken ill and an insert on his replacement François-Frédéric Guy. There was also a brief outline of the work of the Philharmonia Orchestra. At the back of the programme is a preview of forthcoming events at St David’s Hall and a regular feature called “The Rough Guide to Classical Concerts”, which explains overtures. This programme was good value for the £3 cost. I do always keep programmes for future reference and research and have often found old programmes quite useful for this purpose.
23 Saturday Feb 2013
Here is the link to my notes on this project:
M1PTP – Part 3 Project 1 – Technical Innovation and the Orchestra
23 Saturday Feb 2013
Posted 10. New Audiences
inWhilst the piano transcription does not possess the dramatic affect of the orchestral version, it is melodically almost identical and is at the same tempo. Naturally the biggest difference between the versions is the dynamics. The orchestral version is able to naturally increase or decrease the level of sound with far more authority than can be achieved on a piano, although the quiet section of the movement in the symphonic version does come across a little louder on the piano.
I think I would have to say that I prefer the symphonic version, as the piano can never replace the orchestration intended for the work. Beethoven’s symphony in the C minor key has an expression of heroic proportions to it, that does not quite get fulfilled on the piano. Liszt’s transcription, does though work very well and he does add a greater lyrical quality to the work on the piano than exists in the full orchestral version.
22 Friday Feb 2013
Posted 09. Romantic Music
inI have now completed the project on Romantic Music. This has been a very interesting project and most enjoyable. I have spent quite a long time on this project and did quite a bit of additional research on Beethoven’s section. By coincidence Beethoven’s music has appeared in quite a few recent live concerts I have attended which has tied in with this project. My comments on these performances appear under Research and Reflection.
Attached are my notes for this project:
22 Friday Feb 2013
Posted 09. Romantic Music
inThe folk song I have chosen to look at here is the Welsh song Calon Lân. This has always been a favourite of mine. The song was written in the nineteenth century by Daniel James (1848-1920) and John Hughes (1872-1914). The words are by James and the music by Hughes. The song was originally intended as a hymn, but has certainly become a folk song to the Welsh public, and is a staple of Rugby crowds in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. It is rarely sung in English, unlike other well known ‘Welsh Anthems’.
My earliest memories of Calon Lân would be as a young boy going to Rugby Internationals in the old National Stadium of Wales (formerly Cardiff Arms Park) with my Dad, and would have learnt it from listening to the crowd sing it, although I am not a Welsh speaker. I would say that some folk songs are probably being passed onto to future generations, but I can see that some may well die out, especially the nursery rhyme type songs, as there are so many alternative forms of entertainment now.
Catherine Jenkins (2007) from the 2004 album Second Nature. This clip was uploaded on YouTube on July 1st 2011 [Accessed on February 22nd 2013].
I would think that folk songs would develop by becoming tunes that catch on, and are then shared with friends. With this in mind popular songs of any given age could go on to become the folk songs of subsequent generations. Contemporary tunes that may fall into this category could include songs by the Beatles or other cult bands since the sixties. These could include songs such as Eleanor Rigby or Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band. Other contemporary songs could be Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber, as this type of song that is a tribute or a memorial to a popular political figure could have nostalgic and patriotic features that might appeal to future generations of Argentinians.
With so much technological outlets now available to listen to music, it makes it harder for the oral tradition of folk songs to be preserved but I would hope that at least a small percentage of people will continue to sing songs and pass them on. A positive consequence of the digital age is that songs of all epochs will always be available on line to those who wish to find them.
Calon Lân constructed as a song of three verses of four lines each with a chorus, also of four lines between each verse. The chorus is a repeated section, whilst the lines of each verse are different. The lyrics are basically thanking god and hoping for a happy but virtuous life. The words Calon Lân actually translates as pure heart. The melody of Calon Lân has steady structure over the first two verses, but with a passionate chorus which is also evident in the final verse as the song is bought to a close. It is a quite lovely melody that allows the words to role off the tongue even though they are not in my native language.
19 Tuesday Feb 2013
Posted 09. Romantic Music
inFor this exercise I’m going to look at Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto and Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending.
Tchaikovsky’s work certainly has a Russian feel and atmosphere to it. There is a melody in the first few bars played in addition to the main thematic material of the work that hints of Russia and this is developed in the exposition. But the element that gives the work its Russian atmosphere is the rhythm. You can imagine Russian Peasants dancing to this rhythm, especially in passages in the first movement and the finale. From the point of a folk structure the title of the slow movement, canzonetta is interesting. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Music (2007 edition, by Michael and Joyce Bourne Kennedy) a canzonetta is a “short polyphonic dance like vocal piece”, which might place it as representing a Russian folk song, with the violin playing the part of the vocal.
I think there are two distinct styles for a typically English song. The first is the likes of Elgar’s Land of Hope and Glory that tend to celebrate the courtly aspect of English life as it used to exist, following the traditions of Purcell and Handel, with patriotic music that might celebrate a coronation or a victory in battle. The second type (these are in very broad terms, there is plenty more to be offered in English and British music) is the folk like melodies that depict life in rural England, a music with a more romantic texture.
It is a piece from the latter category that I am going to look at, Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. This quite beautiful piece of music captures the feeling of the idyllic English (or British, as I am Welsh) summers day. You can almost picture Wordsworth sat there writing poetry and describing such a day in the country. I will now attempt to describe how Vaughan Williams achieves this Englishness.
The very beginning of the work gives this piece a quintessentially English feel to it. The flute solo immediately sets the work in the English countryside, I think Vaughan Williams uses this instrument to imitate birdsong in this passage. The melodic line of the violin solo is reminiscent of an English folk song, with the violin representing the voice. The pizzicato strings behind this solo could also have their background in imitation of English folk song as it reminded me of possibly a lute playing as would have been common in medieval times.
Both these works manage to identify the nationality of their respective composers. Tchaikovsky’s rhythm creates the atmosphere of a Russian folk dance, whilst Vaughan Williams uses melodic characteristics of English folk songs to establish his nationality on The Lark Ascending.
18 Monday Feb 2013
Posted 09. Romantic Music
inGustav Mahler (1860-1911) wrote his Eighth Symphony in 1906, conducting its première four years later on September 12th 1910 in Munich. It was the greatest public success in his lifetime.
The symphony comprises two parts, the first based on a tenth century hymn, Veni, Creator Spiritus and the second on the final act of Goethe’s verse drama, Faust. Mahler was walking in the woods to the hut he worked in during the summer months when he got the inspiration to set Veni, Creator Spiritus, and he immediately composed part of the text he could remember, but realised that some of the words were not right. He telegraphed for the full Latin text and composed the work in sketch form in about three weeks in a period of inspired creativity. He later decided to set Faust as the second half of the symphony. Faust had always had a deep spiritual meaning for Mahler.
I think this symphony demonstrates a lot of the elements discussed in the course book. It is programmatic music comprising two parts, which are linked together. The hymn celebrating life and the holy father, linked thematically to the final act of Faust, where Faust gains redemption with The Virgin Mary. Religion and spirituality play a big part in most of Mahlers symphonies. Mahler was a Jew by birth who converted to Catholicism and had a great interest in religion. His wife Alma wrote that he could not pass a church without going inside (Schiavo, 2008).
Listening to the symphony you always have the sense through the elements of music that the music is taking the story along. The choral music is linked by orchestral music that keeps the work moving, linking each part of the text. The melodic instrumental parts always manage to set the right tone and atmospher for the choral part that is to follow.
It is the orchestration that is fundamental to the process that Mahler follows to convey the deep emotional content of these two texts. The sheer range of instrumentation that is used in this work is remarkable. Not only has Mahler used the traditional voices, in a very wide range (four flutes & piccolo, four oboes and cor anglais, four trumpets etc), but he has also used some instruments that are not usually found in symphonic music. The first couple of bars are organ, he also uses piano, mandolin, celeste and harmonium, all instruments that are rarely used in an orchestral context. Added to this is a great range of voice, the instrument Mahler thought of as the best sound created. There are roles for a full range of soloists and choirs. It is this large variety of instruments and vocalists that lead an impresario to dub the symphony ‘Symphony of a Thousand’.
I will leave the final word about this work to Alma Mahler, writing about the première: “Mahler…turned those tremendous volumes of sound into fountains of light. The experience was indescribable” (Schiavo, 2008).
Schiavo, P. (2008). Symphony of a Thousand. [online]. Seattle. Seattle Symphony. Available from: http://www.seattlesymphony.org/symphony/buy/single/programnotes.aspx?id=6112 [Accessed on February 18th 2013].
17 Sunday Feb 2013
Posted 09. Romantic Music
inOn the first listening to this work, I think, given the titles of the movements, some of the emotions you would expect are reflected in the format and orchestration of the music.
I thought the slow tempo’d and quiet opening to the first movement, Rêveries, Passions (Daydreams, Passions), was unusual for the opening to a symphonic work, but after a few bars the work soon picks up to a much quicker tempo and the dynamics also increase. Possibly though the slow tempo at the start could imply the dreamlike element of this movement. Certainly the middle section is passionate music, with percussion and strings having important roles to play. An important element used by Berlioz in changing the feel and the atmosphere of this sonata form movement is the change in tempo and dynamics throughout. Some of the tempo changes are small, Berlioz using poco (little) and rallent (gradual) fairly frequently at the start of the tempo instructions.
The second movement, Un Bal (A Ball). Following the opening harp glissando the music opens out into a waltz, thus clearly depicting a ball or dance of this period. Towards the end of the movement a flute solo takes over before the strings return to bring the movement to a climax. The flute solo could be described as bringing the ball to an end.
The third movement is called Scène aux Champs (Scene in the Fields) and I think there is a lot in this movement that would illustrate an outdoor scene. The movement is reminiscent of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. The cor anglais solo at the start leads into some very lyrical music indeed that evoke a lovely summers day. There is some pizzicato string playing about two thirds of the way through, that gave me the impression of either rain or a stream or waterfall. The drum rolls that follow could well be used to represent thunder as a storm is approaching. In terms of orchestration, the woodwind passages, especially oboe and cor anglais are very important in creating the atmosphere you would expect from the title of the movement.
The fourth movement, Marche au Supplice (March to the Scaffold), opens with a timpani being responded to by trumpet, cello and double bass, before settling into a march type of format. Trumpet and percussion have leading roles in this movement giving it a military timbre, further expanded by the march format of the music.
The final movement, entitled, Songe d’une Nuit du Sabbat (Dream of the Witches Sabbath), returns the work to the dreamlike theme of the opening movement. I did look at this movement whilst looking at the e-flat clarinet in the last project. Berlioz manages to evoke a folk like atmosphere to this movement and the full register of the orchestra is used. The e-flat clarinet, one of the highest instruments of the orchestra has an important role to play, whilst at the other end of the scale the tuba and double bass are of equal importance. Percussion again has an important role, as the glockenspiel is used with timpani is one section.
On my first reading of this work, based entirely on the titles of the movements, I can see that Berlioz has written some pretty descriptive music.
The programme Berlioz wrote to assist the listener were in two versions, 1845 & 1855. I am going to do this part of the exercise movement by movement.
Rêveries, Passions. In the 1845 version, Berlioz describes a young musician who “sees for the first time a woman who unites all the charms of the ideal person his imagination was dreaming of, and falls desperately in love with her”. In the 1855 version, Berlioz describes similar feelings, but has explained the synopsis of a young man awaking after taking opium in an introduction. The music in this movement, shows all the feelings the artist has for the woman of his dreams, the passion of love, jealousy and hate. I think the music describes very well the awakening, realisation of love and the different passions that are a consequence of that love. The key way in which Berlioz implements this is with the changes of tempo, from the largo at the start changing to the allegro, then back again and so on and so forth to the end of the movement.
Un Bal. The 1845 version of the programme describes an image of his beloved in a festive situation and not in a festive, whilst the 1855 version describes the scene as the artist meeting his beloved at a ball. This movement probably could fit both descriptions, the ball clearly featured by the use of the waltz as the main theme of the movement, but there are other parts, such as the flute solo, which could describe other emotions that the protagonist is going through.
Scène aux Champs. Berlioz described this movement in 1845 as the artist being in the countryside and hearing the dialogue of two shepherds “ranz des vaches”, and this peaceful atmosphere restores his feeling of calm, but his loneliness haunts him and he wonders if he will soon be with his beloved, but then anxiety sets in taking the form of an adagio, where he wonders if she has been faithful. The movement end with one shepherd’s “ranz des vaches”, but this time without response, thus symbolizing loneliness, followed by distant thunder. There is very little difference in the 1855 version in the programme for this movement. The opening dialogue between the two shepherds is represented by the cor anglais, which I discussed in my initial listening above and the oboe in reply. Berlioz depicts the calmness in the main section of the work very well with some lyrical music and generally uses orchestration to describe the distant thunder at the end and the lone oboe to describe the loneliness.
Marche au Supplice. In the 1845 version, Berlioz depicts the artist trying to kill himself with opium, believing his love to be doomed, but only takes enough to put him into a deep sleep where he dreams he has murdered his beloved and is at his own hanging for the crime. The mood changes, in the words of Berlioz, “sometimes sombre and wild, sometimes brilliant and solemn”. Footsteps are also heard following the louder bursts of music and the melody heard at the beginning of the allegro and reoccurring in each subsequent movement, are again heard at the end, signalling again the vision of his beloved. This description is identical in the 1855 version. The description of the music in this movement is a little more difficult to get from the description, except that the words Berlioz used, as quoted above, are a good description of the music in this movement. The footsteps are perhaps a little more difficult to spot. The key difference between the 1845 and 1855 texts is the reference to opium. This is mentioned in the introduction in the 1855 text, but only mentioned in the fourth movement in the 1845 version.
Songe d’une Nuit du Sabbat. I have done this exercise a little differently than described in the course book, in that I have give brief descriptions of how Berlioz set the music to the scene described for each movement. I will try and do that in a little more detail for this movement. In the 1845 text, Berlioz describes this as the protagonist being at his own funeral, with all kinds of “sorcerers and monsters” in attendance. Laughter and shouting are amongst the sounds described as well as the combination of Dies irae and Dance of the witches. The 1855 text is again very similar. There are some severe chords at the start, with the tempo marked larghetto, setting a sombre mood. The woodwind act as the voices of the attendees, with distant voices heard on the e-flat clarinet solo as the tempo changes to allegro. The same melody is then developed by the other woodwind instruments, as well as brass and strings into a rousing dancelike passage. Following another short burst from the woodwinds the timbre of the movements changes with the introduction of bell-like percussion, a bassoon solo and then tuba becomes the dominant voice, with the tempo slowed down. This is followed by the trumpet and trombone, and a mixture of light woodwind passages followed by heavy brass passages, with the bells ringing intermittently. The music then becomes much lighter, before light descending glissandos lead to the build up to the Witches Dance. The final part finally builds up to great, but frightening climax as the whole orchestra brings the work to an end.
I think that overall Berlioz describes the action very well, and he succeeds in painting a musical picture of the programme described. He uses many elements to do this and every movement is different, despite that one reoccurring melody that gets disintegrated as the protagonist falls into despair at his lost love, and is finally dissembled as a frightening melody at the Witches Sabbath.
The recording of this work I used on Spotify had an additional track with a talk by Leonard Bernstein with musical examples from the New York Philharmonic. Bernstein compared Symphonie Fantastique to a psychedelic trip, which was alluded to in Berlioz’s own programme for the music. The artist takes opium and goes into a deep sleep, where he dreams of the vision of his beloved and eventually his own death and funeral. This is an interesting talk with examples. Bernstein talks of the effect of the tempo changes and the violin parts between passages, rather than underneath as you would expect. He also talks about and demonstrates the importance of the idée fixe, the melody that reappears in each movement as the protagonist dreams of his beloved.
Berlioz, H. (1853). Symphonie Fantastique. [score][online]. Leipzig. Breitkopf & Härtel. Available from: http://erato.uvt.nl/files/imglnks/usimg/6/65/IMSLP01107-BERLIOZ-Sinfonia_Fantastica.pdf [accessed on February 17th 2013].
Berlioz, H. (1845). Symphonie Fantastique. The Symphonies Programme. Extracts from the Memoirs. [online]. The Hector Berlioz Website. Michel Austin. Available from: http://www.hberlioz.com/Scores/fantas.htm [Accessed on February 17th 2013].
Bernstein, L. [n.d.]. Berlioz Takes a Trip – Leonard Bernstein Explores the Symphonie Fantastique With Musical Illustrations by the New York Philharmonic. [CD track]. Available on Spotify. [Accessed on February 17th 2013].
15 Friday Feb 2013
Posted Research & Reflection
inOn Wednesday I attended a concert at St David’s Hall in Cardiff given by The Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Edward Gardner. The first half of the programme featured music by Beethoven, so is very relevant to the Romantic Music project I am currently studying.
Both works are from the middle period of Beethoven’s career, although the Third Piano Concerto (1803) was at the beginning of this period, however, as the programme notes explain:
When the young Beethoven arrived in Vienna towards the end of 1792, he was primarily regarded as a pianist. So, it was quite natural that the young composer wrote his first two concertos for his own performances and, as a result they were not published until 1801, several years after their [sic] were composed. The first two Concertos are the work of a young man, but with the composition of the Third Concerto there is, from its opening bars, a new authority, control and severity. The themes are more distilled and pregnant, and its form breaks new ground, providing the model for the romantic concertos of the burgeoning nineteenth century.
(Reynolds, 2013)
The first work on the programme, however, was the Fidelio Overture, op. 72. Beethoven had four attempts at writing this overture. The first three are known as the Leonore Overture (Leonore is the heroine of the opera), numbers one, two and three. The Fidelio Overture, featured in this concert is the final version and the one that is always played in productions of Fidelio now.
The exposition of this work is in the C minor key that Beethoven was so fond of when wishing to signify heroism, and featured in the fifth symphony and the Coriolan Overture. It is also the key of the third piano concerto, but more of that later. The key form of this work following the opening is the horn response which in turn is replied to by the strings. The work is in sonata form, returning to the opening theme at the end.
The soloist for the Piano Concerto No 3 in C minor, op. 37 that followed was the excellent François-Frédéric Guy, who replaced David Fray who was ill. I saw Guy perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 just over a year ago and thought him excellent then. He did not disappoint this time and played a very good encore following the ovation he received.
The first movement of this work has a long introduction by the orchestra before the soloist comes in and develops the theme introduced by the orchestra. A cadenza then follows which allows Guy to show his virtuosity on the piano, before the orchestra are again bought back to end the opening movement. The slow movement has some fine passages, changing the atmosphere with key changes. The final movement is a bright finish to the work in rondo form with a presto tempo.
Following the interval the spotlight was on Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 4 in F minor. This work signalled a change in Tchaikovsky’s demeanour from the brighter early symphonies to the pathway that would lead to the sixth’s dark theme (Reynolds, 2013). The fourth was written at a time when Tchaikovsky married in an attempt to cloak his homosexuality, but the marriage ended after he attempted suicide. So the work was written at a time when he was at an emotional low, and this is reflected in some of the music.
The dark atmosphere of the first movement is broken up a little by the clarinets in the middle of the movement. Woodwind and brass have significant roles throughout this work. In the second movement there is a poignant opening with an oboe melody, which sets a melancholy mood for this movement, which after a bright passage in the middle returns in the closing theme, best described by the composer himself:
“That melancholy feeling which comes in the evening when, weary from your labour, you are sitting alone…there comes a host of memories…when the young blood boiled, and life was satisfying…it’s both sad, yet somehow sweet to immerse yourself in the past.”
Reynolds (2013).
In the scherzo third movement, the whole string section put down their bows, as the beginning and the end of the movement is played in pizzicato, with a middle march for the woodwind section, as the movement ends, Gardner took us straight into the finale, where the full force of the orchestra comes into play. Percussion and brass have leading roles in what is a celebratory ending to the work, after the darkness of the first half of the symphony. There is a nice passage for the lead trumpet in this finale, tuba also has a role, as well as side drum, cymbals and timpani in what is fine finale to this excellent work.
This was a most enjoyable evening and Edward Gardner and the Philharmonia Orchestra were excellent. I’ve seen this orchestra before, and they are one of the finest orchestras we have in this country. Guy’s performance was an excellent demonstration of the virtuoso pianist playing a work that demonstrated Beethoven’s coming of age as a composer. The performance of Tchaikovsky’s fourth was also a scintillating example of the hold an orchestra can have over its audience.
Reynolds, P. (2013). Philharmonia Orchestra: Wednesday 13 February 2013. [programme notes]. Cardiff. St David’s Hall.