Tuesday, December 25, 2012

The Romantic Period

Trimester 2 -- The Romantic Period


As is true of most cultural movements, the Romantic Period was essentially a reaction to the preceding Classical period.  

Wikipedia notes the following:
The Romantic movement was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe and strengthened in reaction to the Industrial Revolution. In part, it was a revolt against social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature. It was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature, but had a major impact on historiography, education, and natural history. 

There were numerous traits that apply to this "new" period.  

Characteristics often attributed to Romanticism, including musical Romanticism, are
  • a new preoccupation with and surrender to Nature
  • a fascination with the past, particularly the Middle Ages and legends of medieval chivalry
  • a turn towards the mystic and supernatural, both religious and merely spooky
  • a longing for the infinite
  • mysterious connotations of remoteness, the unusual and fabulous, the strange and surprising
  • a focus on the nocturnal, the ghostly, the frightful, and terrifying
  • fantastic seeing and spiritual experiences
  • a new attention given to national identity
  • emphasis on extreme subjectivism
  • interest in the autobiographical
(Note:  the 6th point above could also be true for Mozart's Don Giovanni in the "classical" period.)

CHANGES IN THE ORCHESTRA:
The Industrial Revolution was in full effect by the late 18th century and early 19th century. This event had a very profound effect on music: there were major improvements in the mechanical valves, and keys that most woodwinds and brass instruments depend on. The new and innovative instruments could be played with more ease and they were more reliable. The new instruments often had a bigger, fuller, better-tuned sound. Orchestras grew larger from the days of Beethoven onward, and were on their way to professionalization.

The piano became a most serious and versatile instrument.  The problem with the harpsichord and clavichord was that the "strikers" or "pluckers" of the string could not produce a strong enough sound AND at the same time fall away from the string after hitting it.  The action of the piano solved all these problems and permitted very rapid repeating strikes of the keys/strings either loudly or softly.  Beethoven was a fantastic pianist.

Here is a video of the absolutely ingenious workings of a modern piano action.  Skip the commercial as soon as possible!  THIS IS NOT REQUIRED VIEWING.

The Modern Piano Action

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Ludwig van Beethoven   was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 concertos for piano, 32 piano sonatas, and 16 string quartets. He also composed other chamber music, choral works (including the celebrated Missa Solemnis), and songs.
Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire, Beethoven displayed his musical talents at an early age and was taught by his father Johann van Beethoven and Christian Gottlob Neefe. During his first 22 years in Bonn, Beethoven intended to study with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and befriended Joseph Haydn. Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792 and began studying with Haydn, quickly gaining a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. He lived in Vienna until his death. During the late 18th century, his hearing began to deteriorate significantly, yet he continued to compose, conduct, and perform after becoming completely deaf.

The "Moonlight Sonata" was not given that name by Beethoven

The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor "Quasi una fantasia", Op. 27, No. 2, popularly known as the Moonlight Sonata, is a piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1801 and dedicated in 1802 to his pupil, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, it is one of Beethoven's most popular compositions for the piano.

"Sonata Quasi una fastasia" means sonata in the manner of a fantasy."  The name Moonlight Sonata was given to the piece five years after Beethoven's death by a German music critic.

As a "sonata" it does NOT follow the Classical Period formula of fast-slow-fast.  Rather, the three movements become progressively more rapid and passionate as the sonata develops.  The title of the three movements reflects this "progression":  Adagio means slow and sustained; Allegretto means a lively pace; Presto means very fast and agitated.

Click on these links to hear the three movements:

 1st Movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata." REQUIRED
2nd Movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata  (not required)
Young kid playing the difficult 3rd mvt. of Moonlight Sonata  (not required)

Of course, Beethoven wrote more than piano sonatas (see above).  All of his work deserves a listening.  However, you are also required to know Beethoven's 9th Symphony -- arguably his most famous symphony.  It has four movements.  It is one of the only symphonies to have choral music in it.  This choral element is simply known as "The Ode to Joy."  Beethoven set music to a poem by Schiller and incorporated it into his last movement of the symphony.

Click on this link to hear the last movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony:  The Ode to Joy.   
Bernstein talks about the 9th and then conducts the first of several YouTubes REQUIRED (music begins around 3:30)
Continuation of the last movement of Beethoven's 9th
Finale of Beethoven's 9th conducted by Leonard Bernstein
Wiki article on Leonard Bernstein, composer, conductor, and ambassador of music  (Not Required)

Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky

He was a Russian Composer whose works included symphonies, concertos, operas, ballets, chamber music, and a choral setting of the Russian Orthodox Diving Liturgy.  Some of these are among the most popular theatrical music in the classical music world.  He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression around the world.  He used this fame to conduct his music in the rest of Europe and the United States.  He appeared in the inaugural concert of Carnegie Hall in NYC in 1891.

He was an unusually sensitive child who eventually developed an obsessive love of music.  It is said that he had a great memory for music and the constant presence of its beauty in his mind and imagination caused him to ask his mother to help the music "stop."

He studied for a career in law but never practiced beyond working in an office as a law clerk.  His obsession with music took over his life at the age of twenty-one.  Despite his many popular successes, Tchaikovsky's life was punctuated by personal crises and depression.  Contributory factors included his leaving his mother for boarding school, his mother's early death, and the collapse of the one enduring relationship of his adult life, his thirteen-year association with the wealthy widow Nadezhda von Meck.  She financially supported his work as a composer and admired both him and his music very much.  They did not have a physical relationship -- their "contact" was almost always by letters.  Although he was homosexually oriented, the influence of both his failed marriages and his same-sex friends has recently been downplayed by music critics.

Although he composed six symphonies, he is best remembered for his beautiful ballets:  The Nutcracker Suite, Sleeping Beauty,  and Swan Lake.  Another very popular work of his was the 1812 Overture.  This last piece is a required listening selection.  Here are two clickable links.  As you check out these links, realize that this is a perfect example of "program music."  The explanation below the links explains how this is the case.

 "1812 Overture" with real howitzer "cannons" at 8:00 & 10:00
Best Music recording of "1812 Overture" REQUIRED 
(shotguns firing blank shells into garbage cans)

"1812" as Program Music

The music can be interpreted as a fairly literal depiction of Napoleon's campaign against Russia.  In June 1812 the previously undefeated French Allied Army of over half a million battle-hardened soldiers and almost 1,200 state-of-the-art cannons and artillery pieces crossed the Niemen River into Lithuania on its way to Moscow.  The Russian Orthodox Patriarch of All the Russias, aware that the Russian Imperial Army could field a force only a fraction of this size (as well as being inexperienced and poorly equipped), calls on the people to pray for deliverance and peace.  The Russian people responded all together, gathering in churches all across the Empire and offering their heartfelt prayers for the divine intervention of God (this is the opening hymn in the piece).  Next we hear the ominous notes of approaching conflict and preparation for battle with a hint of desperation but great enthusiasm.  It is followed by the distant strains of La Marseillaise, the French National Anthem, as the French forces approach.  Skirmishes follow, and the battle goes back and forth, but the French continue to advance and La Marseillaise becomes more prominent and victorious -- almost invincible.  The Tsar desperately appeals to the spirit of the Russian people in an eloquent plea to come forward and defend The Rodina, (the Motherland).  As the people in their villages consider his impassioned plea, we hear traditional Russian folk music.  La Marseillase is heard in counterpoint to the folk music as the great armies clash on the plains west of Moscow, and Moscow burns.  Just at the moment that Moscow is occupied and all seems hopeless, the hymn which had opened the piece is heard again as God intervenes by bringing an unprecedented deep freeze with which the French cannot contend.  One can hear the winter winds blowing in the music.  The French attempt to retreat, but their guns, stuck in the freezing ground, are captured by the Russians and turned against the French.  Finally, the guns are fired in celebration and church bells all across the land peal in grateful honor of their deliverance from their "treacherous and cruel enemies."

Here is a link for just one selection from The Nutcracker Suite, "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy."  

 "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" -- Bolshoi Ballet    REQUIRED

 As you watch the ballet and listen to the music, be amazed at the grace, beauty, and sheer athleticism of the ballerina.  Ballet takes as much  more physical conditioning as do many, many athletic activities.  Additionally, ballet requires a drop-dead sense of rhythm as well as artistic grace.  One of Chaminade's best athletes studied ballet while he attended the US Naval Academy.  His superiors knew how demanding the physical training was, and they encouraged his pursuit of it.  Likewise, one of Chaminade's best "all-around" gymnasts danced in and helped to found  a ballet company in Florence, Italy.

Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1  REQUIRED

Johann Strauss II 

The Blue Danube is the common English tktle of An der schonen blauen Donau, Op. 314 (German for By the Beautiful Blue Danube), a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II (Junior), composed in 1866.  Originally performed 15 February 1867 at a concert of the Weiner Mannergesangsverein (Vienna Men's Choral Association), it has been one of the most consistently popular pieces of music in the classical repertoire.  Although it was originally composed for singing with a male chorus, it is usally and most commonly performed as a purely instrumental piece.  It made a surprise appearance in Stanley Kubrick's epic motion picture, 2001:  A Space Odyssey.

The specifically Viennese sentiments connoted in the waltz have made it a sort of unofficial Austrian national anthem.

Here is a link to the "Blue Danube." 

Johann Strauss Jr.'s "Blue Danube Waltz."    REQUIRED

Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)  

Chopin was known as the man "who wrote poems for the piano."  He was from Poland, but moved to Paris for most of his life.

From 1837 to 1847 he carried on a relationship with the French writer Amantine Dupin, aka George Sand. For most of his life Chopin suffered from poor health; he died in Paris in 1849 at age 39.

The vast majority of Chopin's works are for solo piano, though he also wrote two piano concertos, a few chamber pieces and some songs to Polish lyrics. His piano works are often technically demanding, with an emphasis on nuance and expressive depth.


His "Waltz" is an especially beautiful piece of music.

Chopin's Waltz   REQUIRED  

 He is quite famous for his "Funeral March" as well.  Bro. Rob used the beginning of it during the 3C program imaginary "silent film" when "Joe Chaminade" was killed in the train wreck (but then went to heaven!!)

Chopin's Funeral March  REQUIRED

As mentioned in class notes, Chopin brought piano playing to a new level.  In the "Revolutionary Etude," he gave real prominence to the pianist's LEFT hand.

Chopin's "Revolutionary Etude"   REQUIRED

Here is a non-required recording of a young organist who has taken the concert world  by storm.  In this selection he plays the rolling left hand-part of the piano version WITH HIS FEET!

Revolutionary Etude -- Watch Cameron Carpenter's feet!!  
(Not Required -- but amazing!)

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)  

 

This Hungarian composer has been considered by many to be the greatest pianist who ever lived.  The size of his hands was amazing, so some modern pianists have to struggle to play his works and aren't always as successful as they would like to be -- his work is that technically demanding.

In Vienna, Liszt received piano lessons from Carl Czerny, who in his own youth had been a student of Beethoven. He also received lessons in composition from Antonio Salieri, who was then music director of the Viennese court. His public debut in Vienna on December 1, 1822, at a concert at the "Landständischer Saal," was a great success.

Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody"   REQUIRED

 Cartoon Tom & Jerry & Hungarian Rhapsody  NOT REQUIRED


"Lisztomania"

Girls fainting and swooning over Justin Bieber can't compare to the following that Franz Liszt had.  Lisztomania was characterized by a hysterical reaction to Liszt and his concerts.  Liszt's playing was reported to raise the mood of the audience to a level of mystical ecstasy.  Admirers of Liszt would swarm over him, fighting over his handkerchiefs and gloves.  Fans would wear his portrait on brooches and cameos.   Women would try to get locks of his hair, and whenever he broke a piano string, admirers would try to obtain it in order to make a bracelet.  Some female admirers would even carry glass phials into which they poured his coffee dregs.   According to one report:
Liszt once threw away an old cigar stump in the street under the watchful eyes of an infatuated lady-in-waiting, who reverently picked the offensive weed out of the gutter, had it encased in a locket and surrounded with the monogram "F.L." in diamonds, and went about her courtly duties unaware of the sickly odor it gave forth.

Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840)  

Niccolo Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer.  He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and he left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique.  His Caprice No. 24 in A minor, Op. 1, is among the best know of his compositions, and it has served as an inspiration for many prominent composers.

Franz Liszt had the opportunity to hear Paganini's playing in concert.  He was so blown away by the man's virtuosity on the violin that he vowed to himself that by practicing between eight and twelve hours a day for a few years, he would become the "Paganini of the Piano."  He succeeded!  (See the above section on Liszt).

Jascha Heifetz was arguably the greatest violinist of the 20th century.  Here he is playing Caprice No. 24.

Jascha Heifetz Playing Paganini's Caprice 24  REQUIRED

OPERA

Opera is a play entirely in music.  The text of the story is called that opera's libretto.  The featured songs are called arias, and they are usually connected to each other by less fancy music called recitatives.  There are generally two genres of opera:  opera seria (serious opera showing the disastrous effects of human weaknesses) and opera buffa (humorous opera that reveals the human condition by poking fun at it.

Here is a silly, funny summary of the major important operas.  In its own way, it is very much a sort of opera buffa about opera!!

All the Great Operas in 10 Minutes  (This is NOT required.)

Now let's get down to the real deal about opera:

Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov  (1844-1908)

He was a master of orchestration (selecting the right instruments to play the right lines of music).  His best-known orchestral compositions -- Capriccio Espagnol, Russian Easter Festival Overture, and the symphonic suite Scheherazade -- are staples of the classical music world (along with various suites and excerpts from some of his fifteen operas).  Scheherazade is an example of his frequent use of fairy tale and folk stories.  His music has a pronounced Russian -- and even oriental -- feel to it.

"Flight of the Bumblebee" is an orchestral interlude from his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan composed in 1899-1900.  It's at the end of Act III during which the magic swan-bird changes the Tsar's son into an insect so he can fly away and visit his father (who thinks his son is dead).  Although in the opera the swan-bird sings during the first part of the "flight," her vocal line is often omitted; this feature, combined with the fact that the piece decisively closes the scene, made it easy to extract this piece as an orchestral concert piece.

Because this piece features musicians who can play very rapidly, it is often heard being played by other than traditional instruments.  For example, here it is played by an electric guitar:

The "electric" Bumblebee!!  (NOT required)

Giacomo Puccini  (1858-1924)

Puccini wrote the opera Madam Butterfly which has become one of the most liked and performed operas around the world (currently ranked the 7th most-liked).  

A very sad opera, Madam Butterfly tells the story of a beautiful Japanese girl (her name in Japanese means 'butterfly") who falls in love with Pinkerton, a U.S. naval officer.  Despite her family's opposition she devotes herself to him and can't wait for him to return after his tour of duty in the navy is done.  He does return, but with his new American wife.  When Pinkerton finds out how much Butterfly is longing to show him the child that he fathered with her, he realizes the mistake he has made in coming back with his wife, and he can't bring himself to see her -- even though his new wife has agreed to raise the child in America.  When he fails to show up, Butterfly despairs.  She puts a tiny American flag in her baby's hand, blindfolds him, and goes behind a screen to commit hara-kiri with her father's samurai sword.  Pinkerton rushes in, but he is too late to save her.

In the second act of the opera, (after Pinkerton has gone back to the USA while vowing to return),  Butterfly sings the most famous aria (song) of the entire opera -- "Un bel di," which means one beautiful day.  She sings that "one beautiful day" they will see a puff of smoke on the horizon; a ship will appear and enter the harbor, but she will not go to the ship -- she'll wait for him to come to her.  He will speak the names he used to call her, names like "little one; dear wife; orange blossom."  Unfortunately, this never happens the way she pictures it.  A very, very sad opera.


Georges Bizet  (1838-1875)

He was a French composer, mainly of operas.  In a career shortened by an early death, he achieved few successes before his final, very famous opera, Carmen.  It is in the top two or three of the most frequently performed operas.  At first this opera didn't cause rave reviews -- perhaps because it was performed in France's Opera comique -- (that doesn't mean they only performed comedies, and this is clearly not a funny opera.)  By the 19th century opera comique often meant little more than works with spoken dialogue performed at the Opera Comique Theatre, as opposed to works with a sung recitative delivery as performed at the more "upscale" Paris Opera House.

 He did not live very long after its debut, and he never came to know how wildly successful it would eventually become.  

If you've never seen an opera, Carmen is a good choice for your "opera baptism."  The story is engaging, and the music is VERY memorable.  Its songs have been used even in cartoons and commercials for years!  People who have not actually seen an opera recognize the music from this opera more than from any other opera. 

The woman known in the opera as "Carmen" is a low-life girl (downright slutty!) who works in a cigarette factory.  She is a "love-em-and-leave-em" type of girl -- a real tease.  We see how "earthy" she is in this piece called the "Habanera."


The "Toreador Song" is also well-know.  In this YouTube the recognizable melody does not start right away; you have to wait a little.  You'll hear the words "toreador, en garde," and you'll know you've found the right spot.  As children we used to sing, "Toreador, don't spit on the floor; use the cuspidor; that's what it's for!"   This song is sung by Escamillo, the guy with whom Carmen starts to bond -- much to Don Jose's distress.  He has left everything for her, but she's getting bored with his moodiness.  He confronts her infidelity, she laughs at him, and he stabs her to death.  

The "Toreador Song" REQUIRED

Richard Wagner  (1813-1883)

Wagner (pronounced VAGH-ner) was a German composer, theatre director, political & cultural debater, and conductor primarily know for his operas or "music dramas" as they are sometimes called.  His compositions (particularly his later ones) are know for their complexity, rich harmonies, orchestration, and the elaborate use of what he called "leitmotifs" -- musical phrases which symbolized individual characters, places, ideas, and plot elements.  He would mix these "leitmotifs" together in fantastic ways to show how the story was developing.  He had a profound influence on the development of classical music.  His opera Tristan und Isolde is sometimes described as marking the start of "modern" music.

He remains controversial to this day because of his strong German nationalism and anti-semitism -- both of which were exploited by the Nazis.  Nevertheless, he is one of the most significant composers in history because he was so musically ahead of his time.  His politics -- well, that's another story!  He is one composer whose works are not frequently performed in Israel!

Most operas are famous for the arias or specific songs contained in each opera.  A Wagnerian opera is somewhat different because of the whole "leitmotif" structure.

On a humorous note (and Wagner was decidedly NOT a funny man!), if you ever see scenes in ads or cartoons with characters running around singing loudly and wearing helmets that sprout horns -- they are poking fun at Wagnerian singers!  (If you have a structured settlement, but you need cash now -- Call J.G. Wentworth, 877-cash now.)

One of his most famous pieces is the Ride of the Valkyries which is the popular term for the beginning of Act III of Die Walkure, the second of the four operas by Wagner that make up Der Ring des Nibelungen which is simply called Wagner's "Ring Cycle."  The main theme of the Ride, the leitmotif labelled Walkurenritt, was first written down in 1851.  This piece together with the "Bridal Chorus" from the opera Lohengrin are two of Wagner's most famous pieces.

 Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin  NOT REQUIRED  This is where "Here Comes the Bride" originates.

Valkyries are Norse goddess-like women whose job is to select the warriors who are to die in battle.  The Ride of the Valkyries plays while four of the eight Valkyries gather in preparation to transport the fallen heroes to "Valhalla" (heaven).  They are joined by the other four Valkyries, and the melody grows wilder and wilder as they sing their battle cries to one another.  Outside of this opera, it is frequently heard as an instrumental piece, sometimes as short as three minutes.

 Robert Duvall (who plays Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird) is an air-cavalry (helicopter) officer in the move Apocalypse Now.  This movie is a re-casting of the famous Joseph Conrad novel, The Heart of Darkness which explores the depths of the corruption of the human heart.  This film is set during the Vietnam War rather than in darkest Africa.  Duvall attaches loudspeakers to his helicopter gunships to blast out this music while they attack the Communist forces -- the music scares the "heck" out of the Viet Cong.  The music is very stirring and powerful.  Duvall's character has the well-known quote, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning!"  Humans don't come off well in this anti-war movie. Some Americans in the film are compared with Kurtz, the character in Conrad's novel who loses his soul, even though he had gone into Africa to save the souls of the natives.

The Ride of the Valkyries" from the Apocalypse Now soundtrack  REQUIRED

Giuseppi Verdi (1813-1901)

He was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. Some of his themes have long since taken root in popular culture – such as "La donna è mobile" from Rigoletto, "Va, pensiero" (The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves) from Nabucco, "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" (The Drinking Song) from La traviataand the "Grand March" from Aida.
Verdi's first successful opera was Nabucco, a tale of the Hebrew slaves who had been transported to Babylonia by the Persian King, Nabucco.
The most famous song from that opera is still today one of the great pieces of music which is played to "confront" political leaders who have conquered others.  It is very loosely based on Psalm 137 which say, "By the rivers of Babylon there we sat and wept remembering Zion.  On the poplars that grew there we hung up our harps . . . How could we sing a song of the Lord on alien soil. . . If I forget thee, Jerusalem, may my right hand wither . . . may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth."
Here is a listing of Verdi's operas.  The titles of the most famous ones have been bolded.
Verdi's operas, and their date of première are:
Picture of Verdi's HUGE funeral (estimates of over 300,000 in attendance)
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