Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.1 (Sheet Music) – (Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No.1 (Sheet Music), 2014)
Brandenburg ConcertosNo1 is written around 1721 and it is set in four movements. Uniqueness of this composition is that Bach uses the hunting Horn. The sound of the horns stands out but the composer manages to make them blend into the ensemble using multiple winds. Along with the horn, the violin piccolo seems to draw more attention. Each movement has extraordinary counterpoint that inventively shades and blurs the contrast between the small concertino group and the tutti ensemble. The piece begins with a brisk tempo. The second movement is slow in tempo and a passionate musical sigh. The first oboe and violin piccolo dominate melodically. The strings have a supportive role and the horns are gone completely. At the end of this movement, we can hear a series of dissonant harmonies which leads from d minor to the dominant A Major.
The third movement is back in F Major and an allegro. The violin piccolo is playing the leading role again and the horns are prominent too adding strength to the texture. We can her repeated horn figure throughout the third movement.
This movement has a feeling of finale. A brief adagio interrupt the musical flow than we can hear the reprise of the opening material and a strong return to F Major.
The fourth movement is a little minuet (Polacca) and trio. This arrangement provides timbral and textural contrast as well as gives a grace to the concerto.
[Hist.Instr.] Telemann: Concerto for Flute & Recorder & Strings in e, TWV 52:e1 ([Hist.Instr.] Telemann: Concerto for Flute & Recorder & Strings in e, TWV 52:e1, 2012)
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) was a composer from Leipzig and a contemporary of Bach.
Concerto in E minor for Flute and Recorder, TWV 52:e1 written around 1712-1721. It is a Baroque concerto for the flute and recorder in E minor. The combination of these two instruments I find so beguiling as the two sonorities blend beautifully and spar off each other. It gives the piece a unique flavour of looking towards a more classical sound while retaining a very folky pastoral element. Particularly in the first ¾ Largo movement, which consists of the two solo instruments taking turns carrying the melody at first slowly before moving on to arpeggiated figures and a call and response section. The strings and basso continuo plays the underlying chords and marks the beat.
The second movement is an Allegro in Common time which moves at a cheerful pace. It is a very bright and fast-moving section with both the strings and the two soloists playing busy figures.
The third movement is again Largo but in Common time and in E# major played in a jovial and pleasantly lolling manner. The melodies are contrapuntal again with interplay between the flute and recorder with only pizzicato for accompaniment. In the last few bars, the continuo plays some figures while the rest of the instruments hold longer notes.
The fourth and final movement is a Pestro and feels very much like a dance. It starts quite forcefully with all instruments playing in unison and doubled at the octave before the first solo melody joins in with a busy quaver figure. This is followed by some imitation with the repeat of the first part. This is nearly `round` like in its structure. All is then repeated at a louder dynamic and played more forcefully. There are some melodic developments near the end before one last forceful, more accented reiteration played at a faster tempo.
Reference
2012. [Hist.Instr.] Telemann: Concerto for Flute & Recorder & Strings in e, TWV 52:e1. [image] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YSXpzuv8GU> [Accessed 21 February 2021]
Scarlatti Sonata K 380 – L 23 (Scarlatti Sonata K 380 – L 23, 2013)
Scarlatti became famous principally for his many keyboard sonatas, which were mostly one movement works in binary form.
Keyboard Sonatas or harpsichord sonatas is a group of 555 sonatas for harpsichord written by Domenico Scarlatti (1685 – 1757) dating from the early 18th century. In modern performance the sonatas are sometimes performed on the piano.
Sonata in E Major K.380, L.23
The Sonata in E Major K.380, L.23 is one of the most popular of Domenico Scarlatti`s Sonatas. It follows the typical Baroque bipartite scheme such as the first half ends in the dominant and the second half returns to the tonic. This piece clearly shows the Spanish elements that Scarlatti was influenced by. The Spanish flavour represented by the use of ornamentation and sometimes surprising dissonance, reminiscent of the Spanish guitar. This keyboard music was written primarily for the harpsichord. It has an elegant and lyrical melody and it can almost be called pastoral. Scarlatti used different octaves to create the effect of contrast in dynamics and in its structure, he composed long passages.
Antonio Vivaldi – Winter (Full) – The Four Seasons (Antonio Vivaldi – Winter (Full) – The Four Seasons, 2021)
Winter – Concerto in f-minor
Allegro non molto Shivering, frozen mid the frosty snow in biting, stinging winds; running to and fro to stamp one’s icy feet, teeth chattering in the bitter chill.
Largo To rest contentedly beside the hearth, while those outside are drenched by pouring rain.
Allegro We tread the icy path slowly and cautiously, for fear of tripping and falling. Then turn abruptly, slip, crash on the ground and, rising, hasten on across the ice lest it cracks up. We feel the chill north winds coarse through the home despite the locked and bolted doors… this is winter, which nonetheless brings its own delights. (VIVALDI: “Four Seasons” Sonnets texts in Italian & English, n.d.)
The four season is a group of four violin concerti written by an Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). Each of the violin concerti gives musical expression to a season of the year. The piece written around 1716-1717 and published in 1725 in Amsterdam.
Concerto No.4 in F minor, op.8, RV 297, “Winter”
This piece has three parts. First is Allegro non molto (in F minor). Vivaldi brilliantly reflects the biting cold, gusting wind, trembling bodies and chattering teeth on the violin. The first notes describe with a smooth and persistent rhythm the slow fall of the snowflakes. The violins reflect the teeth chattering caused by the intense cold. Then we listen to a gust of wind that shakes the fall of the snowflakes in the first violin solo. At the end of this part, little by little the force of the music increases and end with a great theme.
The second movement is called Rain and is Largo (in Eb major). The music excellently reflects a rainy winter day. We can imagine as we are sitting in our house next to the fireplace while outside is very cold, windy and rainy. While the violin solo plays a beautiful melody, which describes the warm and cosy home with a feeling of happiness, the rest of the instruments represents the rhythmically falling rain.
Third movement is Allegro on F minor. It begins with a violin solo than the orchestra appears imitating a smooth burst of wind that gradually grows until reaching great force, and the terrible winter storm arrives. The snow drifts of the North are interpreted by the violin solo and the orchestra, finishing in a great and beautiful ending.
F.V. Kramář – Krommer Partita Op.45 No.1 (Krommer, 2016)
Franz Krommer (1759-1831) was a Czech composer of classical music, although today he is mostly recognized for his music for woodwinds. His wind Partitas are authentic symphonies scored for pairs of oboe, clarinets, bassoons, and horns. He also uses double bass or contrabassoon to establish the bass line. In Op. 45 No. 2 he extends the instruments with a trumpet. In the earlier version of Partita in E flat the composer created a true double horn concerto with wind accompaniment. Krommer`s music mixes formal creativity with folk-influenced melodies and demonstrates an exceptionally high standard of performance. It has the qualities of charm, wit and sophistication.
Partita in E flat has four movements. In the first movement the tonic/dominant accompaniment is alternating and there are lyrical melodies can be heard above the accompaniment.
In the second movement the three-note motif and a chromatic line gives a Romantic feature to the piece.
The third movement is in a minuet form and it has a three beat in a bar pulse.
The fourth movement is in a Rondo from. It contains a melody which reoccurs and features a three note repeated note pattern.
Mozart Harmoniemusik from ‘The Marriage of Figaro” (Mozart Harmoniemusik from ‘The Marriage of Figaro” (1/2) Zefiro Ensemble, n.d.)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was one of the greatest Austrian composers in the history of Western music. (Sadie, 2020)
In the 18th century it was common practice to hear excerpts from famous operas and ballets. Harmoniemusik is a wind ensemble without percussion. A major characteristic is that the main instruments were used in pairs. This particular piece is an arrangement of the major themes from Mozart`s opera called The Marriage of Figaro. This transcription has its own texture and flavour that is different than the original. It offers a representation of the bright, varied, virtuosic, melodious, and grand music of the opera reflected through a wind ensemble. The wind instruments also perfectly portrayed the emotionally charged human voice, just as Mozart imagined in his opera. This is an example how popular operatic pieces were taken out of the opera house and played to a new audience.
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical Period. He helped establish the forms and styles for the string quartet and the symphony. (Landon, 2020)
J. Haydn – Hob III:1 – String Quartet Op. 1 No. 1 in B flat major (Haydn, 1751)
String quartet in B flat major was composed between 1757-1759. The fourth movement is the second minuet and trio within the composition. It has a vigorous rhythmic drive. While I was listening this composition, I discovered a strong feeling of three beats. The first beat is strong, the second is lighter and the third beat leads toward to the next first beat. This sequence gives a sense of formality to the dance form. There are two voices can be heard in the piece, which imitates each other. The trio features an elegant melody with an occasional chromatic slide, played over an accompaniment of repeated chords.
Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883) was a German dramatic composer and theorist whose operas and music had a revolutionary influence on the Western music. (Cooke, 2020)
Wagner lived during an era of widespread anger towards Jews in Europe because their economic liberalism. The 1873 stock market crash and agricultural crisis further deepened this anger, so it is not surprising that many Germans showed antagonism. Wagner himself blamed the Jews for the materialism and reactionary values that occupy Europe`s spiritual development. But he was not the only composer who shared this view against Jews. Chopin, Liszt, and Mussorgsky are also made comments that could be regarded as anti-Semitic. Wagner became involved with the underground nationalist movement, and with the idea of social regeneration, he joined to the German revolution between 1848-49. He wrote a number of articles advocating revolution and he also took part in the Dresden uprising of 1849. After all of this, it is not unusual that his dramatic works would contain anti-Semitic thoughts.
In 1850, he wrote an essay the Das Judentum in der Musik (Judaism in Music), in which he stated that Jews are not capable of true creativity. According to Wagner, “the Jewish artist can only speak in imitation of others, make art in imitation of others, he cannot really speak, write or create art in his own”. (Richard Wagner, 2020) Wagner`s antisemitism underpins not only his philosophy but his music as well. American academic Marc Weiner compared the corporeal images in Wagner`s dramatic works against the background of 19th century racist imagery. He found several elements that associated with Jews in the 19th century, such as the elevated, nasal voice (Jewish stench), the hobbling gait, the ashen skin colour, and the deviant sexuality. It is clear that these images were drawn from anti-Semitic platitude of Wagner`s time. (Can we forgive Wagner? | The Guardian | guardian.co.uk, 2000)
We cannot miss another fact from Wagner. Wagner was not, as we understand the term, a Nazi. Wagner died in 1883 and Hitler was born in 1889. Wagner was clearly a significant influence on Adolf Hitler. Hitler became passionate about Wagner from the age of 12. In 1924 he claimed that his vision of future Germany was manifest in the composer`s music. After he become the Chancellor of Germany in 1933, the Wagner Society promoted its idol`s music as symbolizing a solution to the threat of Bolshevism and Jewry, as well as being the purest representation of the glory of the Germanic race. (Burton-Hill, 2014)
In contradiction with Wagner`s anti-Semitic view, he added to Das Judentum in der Music when it was republished (this time with his own name on the title page) in 1869. In a theatrical language he is suggesting that Jews should rid themselves of their Judaism. This explains why Wagner offered to take Hermann Levi, a Jew conductor to have him baptized a Christian. He also maintained close personal relationships with many Jews.
Whatever the people thoughts, Wagner`s significance to music is undeniable. Although his impact to Hitler cannot be denied and he reflect a nationalistic world view in his works, they cannot legitimately be described as Nazi music. Also, it is more than likely that if Wagner had not written Judaism in Music, we would not find his music anti-Semitic. Art is a form of self-expression which influenced by many things, in Wagner`s case the evolved situation in the economy. Audiences should except that and should approach music with an open mind as one thing for sure Wagner created most complex, rich, and enigmatic dramatic figures as well as some of his most haunting and beautiful music.
Rossini – La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie): Overture (Rossini, 1817)
The Thievish Magpie is an overture from the opera semiseria, or melodrama called La gazza ladra which composed in 1817. The story is about a servant girl who accused of stealing a spoon which actually the magpie of the title did. The maidservant sentenced to death for her crime. Rossini`s overture evokes the image of the opera`s main subject, the devilishly clever, thief magpie.
The overture opens with a few intensifying rolls on the snare drum. This adds a military colour to the piece and also represents one of the characters who is returning home from the war as a hero. Later this effect by the snare drum has different meaning. This time it symbolizes the march of the young maidservant to the scaffold. At the beginning we can hear a brief, almost mournful chord played by the horns than drifting away before the magpie arrives. The following section comprises an elegant and silly melody shared between the woodwinds and the violins. It feels as a conversation with one another and as if one section is eluding the other. This melody continues to build until it reaches an almost dark climax. After the climax, the theme repeats again louder and bigger until it bursts by the snare drum and crash cymbals. Rossini introduced an opera which designated a melodrama, that shades a comic element with darker overtones. The opera sustains a fine balance between funny and tragic. (Causson, 2020)
Beethoven -5th Symphony, 1st movement: Allegro Con Brío (Beethoven, 1804)
Liszt: Faust Symphony: 1. Faust (Liszt, 1857)
The first difference between the two composition is the number of movements. Beethoven’s work consists four movements, but Liszt only wrote three. Also, these three movements are named after the three characters from Goethe`s drama (1. Faust, 2. Gretchen, 3. Mephistopheles). Beethoven’s first movement includes ten parts, such as exposition (theme 1, transition, theme 2,), development, recapitulation (theme 1, transition, theme 2) and coda. Liszt`s uses sixth themes which paints detailed pictures of the character`s emotions, psychology, and personality.
The opening of the two composition are similarly unique. Beethoven opens his symphony with four notes played by the lower strings and clarinet which repeated a step lower. The notes are filled with suspense (spiccato) which gives the music a lighter and airier tune that build up to the repetition of the notes. This time these notes are slightly altered so it is a little less grand sounding. Liszt`s opening motive uses all twelve notes of the chromatic scale which returns in various places in the movement.
Both symphonies are in sonata form, except Liszt extended his work with an introduction and a coda. Liszt also uses the relatively new additions to the orchestra such as harp, trombones, and tuba.
In the first theme Beethoven uses crescendo and ascension which gives a light texture and juxtaposed with the timpani drums. He also uses imitations and sequences to expand the theme. Liszt applies a double octave (second violins brought up to G#, two octaves above the opening note Ab) which formed by two enharmonic notes. This represents the distance between heaven and earth.
The tone of Beethoven`s second theme is more jubilant and happier. It employs flutes, piccolo and the upper strings to reinforce the difference between the tones of the first and second themes. Liszt uses falling dissonant major seventh at his second theme which gives a pondering and suffering feelings to the music. It is also in E flat major (the relative major) and it features the four-note motif in the string accompaniment.
Beethoven also applied a transition between the first and second theme, so he can tie up the two ideas. The first transition can be heard at the end of the first theme as a short, fortissimo motif played by solo horn. Also, he wrote a development, a recapitulation, and a coda section. The development includes a horn motif, key changes between the tonic and dominant keys. In the coda there is a short descending pattern in the violins which leads to a completely new theme.
In the first movement Liszt uses a process of thematic transformation such as augmentation. Three notes (C, E and Ab) provide the basic underlying tonal plan for the entire symphony. These three pitches converge in the augmented triad that dominates the introduction. C and E are the main tonal centers and A flat is a prominent and organizing pitch.
Liszt`s unique compositional techniques not just add to the original arrangement but it shows the symphony in a different way. He perfectly described the characters purely with music. I cannot choose which piece was better as I really enjoyed listening both composition. It was a great journey to hear first the original piece and than the transcription by Liszt.
Aname 