Category: Composer

Frederic Chopin was a great composer whose success in music was largely conditioned by his ability to accurately react, represent and reflect on the environment, and an inbuilt genteel, and graceful instinct of spontaneous creativity.

Films which have attempted to recreate the Polish iconic composer Frederic Chopin have centered on romanticism and patriotism as the two main ideologies that structured his life and career. The style and substance of his music is a creation of the dominant forces that acted in the world around him.

Chopins ability to accurately record the rhythms of the time and store them in his music is what elevated him as an accomplished artist. Most of his musical workmanship reflects an impeccable instinct of musical realism. The thematic concerns in the three films A Song to Remember, Impromptu and A Desire for Love sum up the forces that created Chopin into a composer of classical repute.

The thematic concerns that are explored in many of his songs include rebellion against oppression, love, peace and struggle. These have been captured adequately in the background music of these films.

A Song to Remember is a mid twentieth century film that gives a biographical account of Chopins life and times. The film was directed by Charles Vidor and had actor Cornel Wilde playing the role of Chopin, Paul Muni as Jozef Elsner, and Merle Oberon as George Sand among other prominent actors.

The thematic substance of this film must be understood from the geopolitical situation that marked the time setting of its production. Chopins life is captured from the time around the First World War. During this time Poland as a country was increasingly coming under domination from Russia and other competing forces (Niecks, 2004).

At the start of this film, young Chopin is seen attempting to play a tune from Mozart on the piano when he suddenly realizes that the Russian forces are taking his Polish people captive. This realization reflects in him physically as he starts banging on the piano with a kind of impatient rage that shows his developing patriotism.

As the film develops Chopin increasingly uses music and piano playing as a tool to express his patriotism and his romantic conceptualization of reality. The kind of composition he embarks on is that which promotes the themes nationhood and struggle (Wheeler, 1948). Some of his compositions that evoke patriotism include Etude, which was performed in C minor.

The Waltz which was performed in D evokes his romantic perceptions of reality. The Waltz in his own admission was a dedication to his youthful lover Constantia Gladowska. There is a palpable rhythm of freedom and liberation which he attempts to bring out in his compositions. In between these piano sessions Chopin is shown attending clandestine movies with fellow youth in some desperate attempt to liberate Poland from the seizure of Russians.

The height of this expression of patriotism is most manifest at the point when he stops playing in the middle of a concert after the Russian governor of Poland enters the concert hall. His indignation at this moment is that he does not play his piano for Russian butchers. The fictionalization of Chopins life achieves its most efficient artistic impulse through the action of the actors and the music. The biographical essence is however retained through Chopins own compositions that accompany the plot in the background (Chopin & Jerry, 2007). For instance when Chopin refuses to play piano for the Russian governor, one of his rebel tunes begins to play in the background.

To this extent therefore it might be argued that that the stylistic thrust of this movie is anchored on the portrayal of Chopin as a composer who reached his peak basically through an honest reaction to the social realities of his time. It is a film that testifies to the power of music to condense within its structure the rhythm of an ideology. In this case the ideology of struggle and contribute meaningfully towards the course of the emancipation of enslaved people.

Chopins biographical account as carried in the plot of this movie seems to portray his life as some kind of an odyssey where he travels away from home to a foreign land from where he plots the best possible way to fight the oppression back at home. In this movie after Chopin movies out of the concert, he quickly travels to France where he lives but appears to me continually tortured by the plight of his people back in Poland. His music career almost permanently revolves around the desire to create an alternative home for his oppressed kin and kindred.

While in Paris Chopin seems to dedicate much of his time to composing patriotic music in which he idolizes the scepter of freedom. At the same time he systematically dismantles through music the occupying powers that have settled in his homeland of Poland. However the entry of George Sand seems to dull the spirit of struggle as Sand endeavors to shift his attention away from home troubles into a romantic spheres of romance. This change at first seems to promise some sense of fulfillment but later gravitates towards despair and tragedy. For quite along time Chopin seems to forget his patriotism message until the times comes when he has to go round Europe where he tries to regain and improve his show amid failing health.

This film attempts to recreates and meshes the life and times of Chopin into the historical facts of his time. The factors that control the destiny of Poland are represented in this film as having a direct bearing on the music and attitude of Chopin. There is the hemorrhaging which happens at the point in time when Chopins life appears to be at the lowest ebb.

This point when the composer seems to be at the end of his medical health is metaphorical to the political difficulties that befell the state of Poland. This is because the failing of the composers life coincides with the collapse of the country under the pressure of invasion from foreign powers.

The potency of music to represent alternative forms of expression depends on the socio-political situations of the moment. At the time when the film was at its peak, there seemed to be little alternative is interpersonal relationships.

The dominant forms of communication at that wartime were propaganda. Nobody was willing to follow through any officialdom because the collapse of governments had already spelt the death of objective truths. Poland was even much more encumbered by the problems of logistics. Therefore music became one of the surest ways through which the ideologies of freedoms could reach the people.

The soulful compositions of Chopin became the only consolation for the frightened and hopeless citizenry. To this extent therefore it might be presumed that the desire to entrench patriotism into the hearts and minds of the population succeeded failrly because of the choice of music. Through music Chopin creates the tempo of rebellion, the rhythm of struggle and the tone of defiance which reach out the oppressed through several possibilities.

The composition of Chopin music therefore largely succeeded on the account that it gave voice to the Polish people so that their struggles became conditioned in the element of music. Whereas the movie A Song to Remember anchors its structure on the theme of patriotism, the movie Impromptu presents a romanticized biography of music composer Chopin (Venezia, 2000).

When Chopin flees his homeland of Poland to Paris, he encounters a divorced Baroness who has tried to change her identity into a manlike quality and now calls herself George Sand. Sands most consuming desire is to fall in love with Chopin and she knows she has to pursue him like a man if she wants him to yield. This reversal of roles also serves to bring out Chopin as decidedly feminine. But her endeavor is disturbed at the preliminary stages following another woman, Marie, a countess, who seemingly also desires Chopin.

Chopins stay in Paris is marked by lots of intrigues, suspicion and romantic mystery as women crave him while their lovers loath him. In the most memorable incident, Chopin is invited at a countryside party to entertain a duchess but ends up meeting Sand at the venue. There is the issue of the stolen letter which Sand had written for him but which dAgoult pretends to have authored. Later on however Sand proves that the love letter is indeed her and recites it romantically to Chopin.

In his early stages of romance there occurs a mix of romantic mysteries, drama and tension in the life of Chopin and Sand. Sand develops both romantic and maternal instincts towards Chopin which begin after a brief period of tending to his wounds. It is the same wounds he incurred during a fencing match with one of Sands former boyfriends. This development therefore draws Sand closer and closer into the central life of Chopin as the latter charts his musical career in the European metropolis (Liszt, 1998).

Love and passion are represented in this movie as structures that hold together music and composition. The two of them again leave Paris to a distant location so that they actualize an imaginative sense of freedom that they never felt anywhere in Paris. The two lovers develop a dislike for Paris because of petty jealousies and rivalries that seem to haunt them all through.

The place of music in society can also be explored through the act of Sand and Chopin of dedicating a whole volume of music to the countess as a sign of good relations. This shows that music in the world view of Chopin and his contemporaries would be accepted as transaction that would be used to mend relations (Karasowski, 2007).

The import of music had reached the stage of commodity that can be used in the transfer of power, feelings and other concerns of general and private interest. This film has an effect of carrying and portraying the cultural effects of the societies in which it is based. For instance through Impromptu, the viewer gets the chance to view the cultural life of the twentieth century France in terms of some of the fundamental values and mores that held the people together.

In the Desire for love Chopin social triumphs and down falls are curved around his music so that the growth and challenges of his art seems to externally guide the flow of his life. Like the mentioned two movies Desire for Love captures the tempestuous life of the acclaimed composer whose desire for an idyllic life full of love, and peace dislocates him from his national heritage and thrusts him into a spin of activities that resonate with the thematic concerns of his music. What begins as a promising relationship between him and Sand turns out to be a series of chaos as alliances within her household shift and tensions sour.

Eventually the marriage fails and Chopin retires to rebuild his problematic life. This failure carries the weight of the title for it suggests the elusive search for emotional fulfillment by a much profiled man. It is no doubt that the dying moments of Chopins life are full of misery. This is quite a contrast for a man who ruled the musical stage and won a place of honor in the society early enough.

In summary it might be argued that environmental factors of war, love, vanity, success, and failure governed the progress of Chopins life and music. His works as correctly represented in these three films show that patriotism and romanticism were the holding structures for most of the musical works and personal world view for the iconic singer.

The ability to capture the aspirations of the world around him and reproduce them into music is the quality that defines his mark of quality. The argument therefore is that probably the world would not have known much about Chopin had the jolting events of his formative years not have happened.

Nevertheless the fact that he flourished above fellow composers under similar influences is testament to the argument that there must have been something more intrinsic within the mould of Chopin that conditioned his triumphs.

References

Chopin, F. & Jerry, R. (2007). Simply Chopin: The Music of Frederic Chopin: 25 of His Piano Masterpieces. New York: Alfred Music Publishing.

Karasowski, M. (2007). Frederic Chopin: His Life and Letters. London: Kessinger Publishing.

Liszt, F. (1998).Frederic Chopin: Studies of Composers. Vienna: Vienna House. Web.

Niecks, F. (2004). Frederic Chopin as a Man and Musician, Volume 2. London: Kessinger Publishing. Web.

Venezia, M. (2000). Frederic Chopin. San Val, Incorporated. Web.

Wheeler, O. (1948). Frederic Chopin: son of Poland, Volume 1. London: Dutton.

Abstract

This research paper provides a discussion on an overview of the history Bach’s B Minor Mass based on how it was it created, evolution of B Minor Mass, and the impact of B Minor Mass in worship and its place today.

A Historical Overview of Bach’s B Minor Mass

B Minor Mass was written by Johann Sebastian Bach who was a musician in the Orthodox Church. He lived in Leipzig, the center of the Orthodox Church. One of the greatest works of the western art was B Minor Mass produced by Bach. The B Minor Mass was produced in a large scale setting of the ordinary of the Roman Mass. It covered approximately two hours in length. The Mass was referred to us Missa in Latin meaning a worship service in which the Eucharist was observed. The Eucharist is the re-enactment of the last supper. The Eucharist was referred by St. Ambrose as part of the service in the fourth century as “Missa Catechumen rum” which meant after the dismissal of members of the church who were not confirmed. The church members were “dismissed” at the end of the Eucharist referred in Latin as “Missa fidelium” (Stauffer, 2003).

There were two portions of the Mass in the beginning that is, the synaxis and Eucharist. Synaxis meant “to come together” and was a service originally observed in homes consisting of readings, a homily interpreting the readings, and partitioning of prayers based on the readings and homily. The Eucharist joined the synaxis in 313 C.E when the Milan edict removed obstacles to the public practice of Christianity. Eucharist means “giving thanks” and comes from the Greek Eucharista (Bernstein, 2005). The Eucharist is today commonly known as “The Great Thanks giving” in the communion liturgy of the United Methodists. Missa Catechumen rum was faced out by the Middle Ages and there remained one connected service maintaining the name Missa. The Mass was used both to instruct and observe “unbloodied” versions of sacrifices of Christ. Greek was used as the initial language of the Mass, later translated in Latin. In the late sixth and early seventh centuries, it was codified by Pope Gregory. It has since been maintained to date although with a few localized changes in Western Europe (Stauffer, 2003).

The Mass consisted of six portions referred to as “Ordinary”. These portions were Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, and the Ite Missa Est (Cunningham, 2008). This portion of the Mass was fixed, that is, it remained the same. The rest of the Mass has been dynamic changing in tandem with specific needs of the occasion, called proper. Initially the Mass was a means used to transfer words in the “live” acoustic of cavernous spaces over a distance from the priest to the faithful. The coming into existence of the polyphonic or multiple voice settings in the 12^th century was a way to embellish the mass on festival occasions. In the 13^th century, composers focused entirely on Ordinary portions of the mass because they could be used repeatedly. From the 14^th century, collected cycles of the ordinary began to appear. The Ite Missa Est portion had been dropped from inclusion in subsequent collections by the time of Renaissance. This left just five portions of the ordinary (Stauffer, 2003).

Evolution of B Minor Mass

Bach’s B Minor Mass is a musical setting of a text which was conceived as part of part of the extensive liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church in 1014. The Mass is central of the Catholic Church liturgy. It forms the central act of Catholic worship and it symbolically represents the last supper, a liturgical drama. The Mass text was not produced by any one individual or any one church but was formed as a result of a long process of development and evolution (Bernstein, 2005).

The Mass text was divided into two major parts: one, the Proper-Propium Missae; two, the Ordinary-Ordinarium Missae. The Proper has those elements of the Mass which change according to day or season. The Ordinary contains a text which has been fixed since it took the final shape. The Ordinary contains five fixed parts bearing designation such as Kyrie eleison, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. No other text has been set to music most frequently (Bernstein, 2005).

One may wonder how Bach, a Lutheran set a text closely related to the Roman Catholic Church. A gain Bach had extended interest in the Latin Church music. His library had several Mass settings by Italian composers. This kept a breast of Roman Catholic Church. The Lutheran Church kept many of the Roman Catholic Church ritual elements. While the Ordinary of the Mass was not used as an entity, each of the five parts was heard at different times during the church year. For instance, the Lutheran Mass was composed of the Kyrie and Gloria. In 1733, Bach sent a Kyrie and Gloria to Sovereign Frederick Augustus II who was a Roman Catholic (Stauffer, 2003). This was a petition requesting that he be appointed a court composer accompanied the music. Sovereign Augustus III conferred Bach him the title in 1736. However, there was no record of the Lutheran Mass performing in Dresden. Apparently, Bach’s nature was such as to compel him to complete a work. Therefore, he added more movements to the Lutheran Mass. In 1737, an entire Catholic Mass was created. Adopted from the church cantatas, were eight movements seven of which were choruses. The setting of the Mass by Bach is scored for chorus, soloists, and orchestra (Stauffer, 2003). These consists of twenty four movements of which 15 are choruses, 6 are arias, and 3 duets. Despite of being a Lutheran, Bach conforms to the Catholic tradition in not admitting recitative. The B Minor Mass comparatively larger orchestra consists of strings, two flutes, two oboes, two bassoons, one horn, three trumpets, and indispensable continuo. B Minor is the basic tone as shown by the designation B Mass Minor. However, the work does not remain in this key throughout; rather use is made of the closely related keys. Of the 24 movements, only five are in the key by which the Mass is known (Bernstein, 2005).

Four more additional Mass settings were written by Bach during the late1730s. He copied out and performed Palestrina’s Missa sine nomine, Kerll’s Sanctus from Missa superba, Pergolesi’s stabat mater in Leipzig (Stauffer, 2003). This exposed Bach to three different styles of composition. This was shown in B Minor Mass of renaissance a Capella style, Baroque concerted style, and Gallant style. In Renaissance a Capella style, the vocals and instruments were interchangeable in church music. Here, the vocal lines were either unaccompanied or doubled by the instruments. The manner of performance of this style of composition was flexible and easy as long as part of the structure was not tampered with. Renaissance a Capella style allowed three possibilities, that is, voice performances alone, application of instruments alone, and combining both instruments and voices. The combination of instruments and voices was the most common of the three possibilities. Baroque concerted style develops two musical elements of voice and instruments. The baroque composers developed them first in the concert style of the early baroque. Finally, the Gallant style with less complexity, less ornamentation, less polyphony, and emphasizes more on melody and regular length musical phrases (Bukofzer, 2007).

The Impact of B Minor Mass in Worship

Bach’s B Minor Mass had its debt in tradition. Despite of this, it’s use of Dresden models, Bach’s mass setting is still relegated in any historical overviews. First, B Minor Mass was delayed for many years and therefore was received late by later generations. By then, only portions of the work had been done by the time of Beethoven’s great mass. Secondly, the work of Bach originated from the Lutheran tradition and not from the mainstream of mass compositions of the Roman Catholic Church. Furthermore, Bach’s mass seems to have been written with no discernible purpose in mind. Most mass settings were composed for practical applications in specific institutions and for specific occasions (Cunningham, 2008).

The notion of using instruments and songs with praising God is of very ancient origin. It traces its origin from the Jewish worship traditions from which Christianity took its bearing. Bach’s B Minor Mass has been influential to the Christian tradition contributing to the ethical formation of Christians. In Europe, Christianity had deep and broad influence through the middle ages and well into the modern era. Therefore, most European music compositions were specifically tailored for Christian purposes: hymn tunes, with a variety of arrangements and harmonization of these tunes; mass settings of particular worship services such as requiem mass or the passion; anthems on a particular prayer book text, for the performance of a choir; and a wide variety of incidental music of all types of religious occasions (Cunningham, 2008).

Bach’s B Minor Mass has exerted more influence to the Christian tradition thus contributing to the ethical formation of Christians. The mass setting exerts this influence through hymns and religious songs. B Minor Mass sets narratives of faith to music. This makes it easy for the faithful to memorize and thus take a firmer hold of faith in their psyche. It also sets various verbal elements of worship service to music. For instance, this encompasses providing music for the six parts of the mass that are sung in response to the worship leader in a service (Stauffer, 2003). Bach’s musical settings have had tremendous influence in western culture. They derived their names from the initial Greek or Latin words in the six portions of the Ordinary: one, the Kyrie eleison which means “Lord has mercy”. It is an invocation at the start of mass for God to be present and to be merciful to worshipers; two, the Gloria which means “Glory”, a song of worship and praise; three, the Credo which means “I believe”, this is a recitation of the Nicene creed; four, the Sanctus which means “Holy”; fifth, the Benedictus which means “Blessed”, beginning the Eucharist prayer; sixth, the Agnus Dei which means “Lamb of God”, accompanies the breaking of bread and distribution of the Holy communion to the congregation (Cunningham, 2008).

Bach’s musical setting forms the traditional of the mass which has the primary response to the priest who speaks or sings the remainder of the liturgy in a single voice. The musical setting of these responses makes them memorable and beautiful. When these texts and hymns preoccupy the minds and lips of believers frequently, they begin to play a restructuring role in their entire lives (Cunningham, 2008).

References

Bernstein, M. 2005. An Introduction to Music. New Jersey: Kissinger Publishing.

Bukofzer, M. 2007. Music in the Baroque Era- From Monteverdi to Bach. New York: Read Books.

Cunningham, D. 2008. Christian Ethics. New York: Routledge.

Stauffer, G. 2003. Bach: The Mass in B Minor. The Great Catholic Mass. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Introduction

Born in 1930, Stephen Sondheim is a renowned composer and lyricist with an American origin. Throughout his career, Stephen has scooped numerous awards that have made him very popular in the music industry. The numerous lyrics and scores that inundate the music industry are just but the result of his great work. No wonder Scholars say that if not the greatest, then Sondheim is one of the best artists ever known in the theatre of music. The awards he has scooped range from the Academy Award to the Pulitzer Price.

Early Life

Sondheim’s Jewish parents, Herbert Sondheim and Etta Janet bore him in the city of New York back in the year 1930. His parents brought him up in Manhattan and divorced later in Pennsylvania. The career of Sondheim’s mother was the design of clothes while his father used to manufacture the same. Since he was the only son in a well-off family, Sondheim suffered so much emotional neglect in his upbringing (King 118).

While in New York, he attended Fieldston School among other schools as George school. While in Fieldston School, Sondheim wrote his first music and later graduated in the year 1940. When Sondheim’s father abandoned him, his mother ill-treated him psychologically; something that Sondheim hated so much that he refused to attend her funeral when she died.

Career

When he was only ten years old, Sondheim met a man who had a great impact in his career. The man was none other than the famous lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II who later became his surrogate father. It is during a ceremony marking one of Hammerstein’s music production centres that Sondheim met Harold Prince who in later years played a major part in directing Sondheim’ shows (Secrest 120).

During the period when he was in George school, Sondheim made a breakthrough in music through a comic that reflected on the happenings in his school. Though greatly appreciated by Sondheim’s peers, Hammerstein did not like the piece and took it as an opportunity to teach him what according to Sondheim, would keep other lyricists learning in their entire lives.

Since that time, Sondheim has been active in the music theatre and this has made him collaborate with successful lyricists like Hal Prince, James Lapine and others. Besides songs, Sondheim has written many books, and anthologies. He has also played a major role in the production of many films and articles that have appeared in television world all over.

Honors and Awards

On his birthday as he turned eighty, Sondheim’s works received a major positive boost; numerous concerts that mainly included Sondheim’s songs and music marked the day (Suskin 697). Some of the original performers were occasioned the birthday party, ready to perform the music and songs that Sondheim wrote.

Some of his work also got a boost in the film industry. Through his lyrics, songs and films, Sondheim has won many coveted awards including the Academy Award and Pulitzer Prize. He has also won several Grammy Awards, Tony Awards, Drama Desk Awards and OBIE award. Sondheim has also received honors like Kennedy Center Honors, the Hutchinson Prize, the Special Award and the Algur H Meadows Award.

Personal Life

At about the age of 40, Sondheim’s life had circulated in public circles. According to King, “Sondheim was a gay, but he did not cohabit with his partner, Peter John the dramatist, until he turned 61’ (310); however, when they came together they stayed together for many years. Sondheim’s practice as a gay did not bother him in any way; he was very free and could not mind discussing that issue with the media.

Conclusion

Stephen Sondheim is a successful dramatist and lyricist. Despite having many challenges in his life ranging from abandonment by his father, financial challenges in his career and a bumpy social life, he managed to scoop several awards, honors and collaborations with other successful lyricists.

Works Cited

King, Robert. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child. New York: Yale University Press, 1985.

Secrest, Meryle. Stephen Sondheim: A Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998.

Suskin, Steven. Opening Night on Broadway: A Critical Quotebook of the Golden Era of the Musical Theatre. New York: Schirmer Books, 1990.

Perhaps one of the most renowned Russian composers around the world is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893). His composing genius flourished in the late nineteenth century and seemed to comprise most of the romantic music genres that had developed by that time. Author of multiple operas, ballets, symphonies, symphonic poems, and numerous minor pieces, Tchaikovsky artfully combined the professionalism of classical writing, ingenious orchestration, and elements of truly Russian national melody in his works.

The present report comprises a review of three large-scale works by Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture (1880) performed by the Leningrad Philharmonic and The Leningrad Military Orchestras under Yuri Temirkanov, Piano Concerto #1 (1874–75) with the solo part played by Martha Argerich, and Symphony #4 (1877–78) presented by Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim.

Among Tchaikovsky’s creative heritage, 1812 Overture stands out by its rich imagery deployed by musical means. Written to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of Napoleon’s retreat from Russia, it represents a typical example of program music that is based on a certain event or story (Kavanaugh 50).

1812 Overture opens with the warm sound of strings expressively reciting a Russian hymn “Save, O God, Thy People” that is symbolic of Russian Orthodox Christianity (Kavanaugh 50). The wood winds join in this prayer, and the emerging dialogue with the strings reminds of an Orthodox service. This peaceful fragment is suddenly interrupted by a strike of timpani and intrusion of an agitated theme against a background of strings reiterating harmonies in a tense rhythm.

Culminating in the sounds of brass, the agitation slowly fades, giving way to a counterpoint of a military theme in the wind woods and a broad lyrical melody of the strings. This in turn leads to a conflict fragment where the whole orchestra engages in syncopated motion and swirling passages, through the sounds of battle songs break. After this follows another peaceful episode with two themes reminding of Russian tradition: a lyrical and a lively one.

And again the peace is broken by collision of battle songs against dissonant harmonies and disquieting signals of the brass. After a recapitulation of the lyrical and the lively Russian melodies, Tchaikovsky brings together the latter one with the battle song as if illustrating a battle scene in the end of which the battle song is crushed and the initial hymn appears in a triumphant sound of brass winds and carillons, later joined by sounds of canons.

Since Tchaikovsky did not associate himself with piano playing, his Piano Concerto #1 was by large inspired by Tchaikovsky’s contemporary, a great Russian pianist Nicolay Rubinstein (Lindeman 114). The composer’s initial dedication to the prominent virtuoso can be traced from the very beginning of the concert: the first movement opens with a lush melody of the whole string group accompanied by massive chords of the soloist spanning the whole keyboard.

The second time the theme is conducted by the pianist, varying it in amazing octave passages and crushing it into smaller motives that lead to a recapitulation by the orchestra. After that follows a bit ‘jumpy’ theme led by soloist and carried on in the imitations of the orchestra.

A dialogue of piano’s martellato and the orchestra’s thoughtful phrases leads to a lyrical, as if conversing, theme in a slower motion. This theme is exalted by the orchestra into a section developing small parts of all previous themes in one dramatic motion. The second movement of the Concerto opens with solo sounds of flute that lays out the key melody carried on by the piano.

The theme is further varied in different orchestrations, with the piano and orchestra suddenly bursting out in a chase of each other rapidly stopped by a loud bang returning the initial theme. The final movement is supposedly based on a national Ukrainian dance theme captivating in its syncopated flow (Lindeman 115). But to balance the grandiose beginning of the concert, Tchaikovsky writes a none the less majestic theme for the final Code.

When conceiving his Fourth Symphony, Tchaikovsky was pondering over the dramatic role of Fate in human life, and his music seems to reflect the transition from a deep emotional crisis to the bright ray of optimism (Steinberg 627). The Fate motive opens the first movement in the menacing sound of brass winds.

The strings reply in a disturbed melody that signifies the human confusion in view of almighty Fate. Those two principle motives struggle throughout the whole movement. The oboe melody opening the second movement reminds of the meditative Russian songs, as if taking a break from the twists and turns of life. The following Scherzo as if plays with the audience, approaching and moving away in a series of crescendos and diminuendos performed throughout by pizzicato strings.

In the context of tragic events of the first movement, the final of the Symphony appears the resolution of the conflict between the natural human optimism and the severity of Fate. To emphasize the human sphere, Tchaikovsky employs a Russian folk song “There Stood a Little Birch” which he develops in images raging from lyrical to dramatic (Steinberg 629). The Fate theme reappears again but the conclusion is optimistic, with an unprecedented use of cymbals to emphasize the life-asserting idea of the symphony.

All in all, the three compositions by Tchaikovsky reveal his composing versatility. He embraces large-scale genres easily and develops them accordingly to unique semantic concepts ranging from patriotic glorification to proclamation of the prevalence of optimism over dramatic fatalism.

Works Cited

Kavanaugh, Patrick. Music of the Great Composers: A Listener’s Guide to the Best of Classical Music. Great Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996. Print.

Lindeman, Stephen D. “The Nineteenth-Century Piano Concerto.” In The Cambridge Companion to the Concerto. Ed. Simon P. Keefe. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 93–117. Print.

Steinberg, Michael. The Symphony: A Listener’s Guide. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1998. Print.

Summary

Bach cantata is a famous term named after a great German composer, Johann Sebastian Bach. Approximately, only 200 cantatas of his greatest works can be found nowadays while the others are lost. A part of his duties included performing a church cantata on holidays and every Sunday.

These compositions were based on the Lutheran Liturgy readings. Bach loved his work, and every week, he composed new pieces of work during his first stay in Leizpig. As part of the church service, he performed in the orchestra. The number of cantata cycles that have survived amounts to three.

This is a great loss for people who honestly love his works. For wedding ceremonies, Bach composed sacred cantatas while for other occasions, such as anniversaries, he performed secular ones. Despite the popularization of the name cantata, Bach rarely used it when composing or performing his works (Dürr 2006).

Structure of a Bach Cantata

A traditional Bach Cantata has the following themes.

• Coro
• Aria
• Recitativo
• Chorale

At the very beginning, there is a polyphonic chorus. The contrasting part of musical fragment is also presented by the orchestra first. Most arias use the A da capo which is the most common form that is adopted. After the arias, the part before the middle section is usually repeated.

The homophone setting usually has a melody that is performed in the chorus finale. Bach never followed strictly any scheme. However, the way he expressed his words is the same way he composed. Cantatas, such as the BWV 76, is an example of a cantata that has a chorus with an opening that is purely instrumental.

Due to the calmness and almost silence of the first, a solo movement commences in the BWV 120. Bach was known to use soloists in the final chorale especially when he was in Weimar. The compositions sounded like chamber music. The closing chorale is set in four parts. Obligatory instruments were used in the chorale final as accompaniments (Arnold 2003).

Singers and Instrumentation

Some choirs were divided in four parts and utilized voices, such as bass and alto. Thus, especially for a traditional cantata composed by Bach, they were able to find singers for all the parts without any limitations. The composer preferred to use the various voices to dramatize some of the situations.

For instance, he would use the sopranos to show innocence while the altos were used to show the feelings that should have been motherly touching. The instruments that are dominant in the orchestra are the string instruments. Baroque music uses the rule of a bass that is continuous. Whenever it is absent, then it has a reason behind it; such as the description of fragility (Kennedy 2006).

Wind instruments are used to define single movements or characters specified in the cantata. Wind movements usually featured the bassoon. Festive occasions utilized many richer instruments. When Bach utilized some instruments, such as trumpet or some other, he usually used them to display a meaning that was symbolic and the audience was supposed to feel and understand its real meaning. In his earlier compositions, Bach preferred to use instruments that were old fashioned.

Parodies

A parody is a process that is used to revise and improve an earlier composition. Bach sometimes used earlier compositions through a process of parody. He preferred to use parodies to perform some pieces for Christmas, Easter, and other holidays. Examples of cantata movements include parodies of Bach’s short masses.

Oratorios

These are basically just cantatas that are expanded. Bach preferred to perform them in church during the service. An evangelist is used to tell a story from the Bible, but cantatas are also used to narrate the wordings from the Bible. The Christmas oratorio performed during Christmas usually has three parts all of which are showcased for six days during the Christmas season. Each of the six parts is usually composed like cantata. This means that it includes the opening chorus and a chorale for the closing.

Analysis of Compositions

Bekennen will ich seinen Namen, BWV 200

This is, perhaps, one of Bach’s compositions that are among the last ones that he managed to write. His lovers are greatly disappointed because most of the other parts of the piece have been lost. This aria has a tune that is mellow and common to his other works. The principle of ritornello forms the basis of this aria.

There is an A section ending at the cadence. Some musical echoes can be heard instead of the reprise that was proper. However, recent reports show that Bach only adopted this aria. It is worth noting that this piece was originally composed by Stolzel. The musical quality of the works must have been what attracted Bach to adopt it in the first place.

Sinfonia in D major, BWV 1045

The four voices in this piece are registered by the autograph score which qualifies it to be listed as a cantata despite it being an incomplete movement. Many people believe that this aria began as a violin that was lost in a concerto. However, many people have expressed doubt as to whether this could be the case. The solo violin twice oddly stopped is an indicator for a movement that is radical mainly due to the key board solo movement (Timms 2001).

Nun ist das Heil und die Kraft, BWV 50

The features in this piece are different from all the other choruses. There is a counterpoint that is busy which is meant to suggest armies that are massing and ready for the battle to begin. In addition, eyes of the audience symbolically raise heavenly due to the low and high registers which help to construct the main theme. In c130, these traits are less obvious. The permutation fugue has simple principles. The four themes do not follow any particular order.

The second exposition is usually the only indicator that is signaled by bar 68 at the middle. The same piece is repeated with a few adjustments such as beginning of the piece from the lowest entries to the highest ones. Bach composed this piece as a chorus that was divided into four parts. This explains the movement and the fact that it was composed for St. Michael’s day. It was later arranged for another purpose in a double chorus. Most of the parts of the piece, however, were lost (Chafe 2003).

Conclusion

Johann Bach still remains as one of the best composers that have ever lived. Even those few pieces of music that managed to survive to our days are used for musical reviews in institutions of higher learning. He composed cantatas for weddings and other special occasions, such as Easter.

Works Cited

Arnold, Frederick T. The art of accompaniment from a thorough-bass: as practiced in the XVII and XVIII Centuries. New York: Courier Dover Publications. 2003. Print

Chafe, Eric. Analyzing Bach Cantatas. New York: Oxford University Press. 2003. Print.

Dürr, Alfred. The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel text. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2006. Print

Kennedy, Michael. Cantata: The Oxford Dictionary of Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print

Timms, Colin. Cantata 2001, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London: Macmillan Publishers. 2001. Print.

If we talk about the best and the most influential composers of all the times, Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the first names that have to be mentioned. This German composer and organist created plenty of unbelievable works, which presented the Baroque period in all its glory.

In comparison to many other composers of the 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th, Bach’s life and career has quite limited boundaries from Eisenach to Leipzig. However, his works and ideas are known to the whole world and arouse interest of many people with different cultures and preferences.

His The Well-Tempered Clavier and Three Collections of Dance Suites are probably the greatest intellectual treasures all over the world. These keyboard works have their own peculiarities and captivate both the listeners and the performers.

Without any doubts, lots of pianists prefer to use the works by Bach during their performances, but they do not completely comprehend their style and background. Such lack of understanding turns out to be the major reason of why the same works may be presented and comprehended in many different ways.

This is why it is crucially important to know the background of each musical work and be able to analyze its style. This time, two above-mentioned Bach’s works will be under our consideration.

In Bach’s life, there are three major periods: Weimar, Cöthen, and Leipzig. During each of these periods, Bach created more and more captivating works and amazed people with his abilities to choose the best things in the world and represent them by means of music.

“It was in Weimar that this remarkable process of self-education culminated in consummate mastery and the crystallization of Bach’s personal style which be then had evolved as the synthesis of the international musical legacies.” ¹ The Well-Tempered Clavier is considered to be one of the brightest works during this period.

This is “much more than a compendium of contrapuntal devices, a role belonging more properly to the Art of Fugue.”²

In order to comprehend this work and be ready to read it, taking into consideration every detail, it is very important to analyze certain theoretical background and be aware of meaning of such notions like ‘equal temperament’, ‘just intonation’, ‘prelude’, and ‘fugue’.

There are two volumes, which present a prelude and a fugue in every key, major and minor. A prelude is a quite short piece of music that may change its form depending on the whole masterpiece. Preludes usually serve as introductory parts to succeeding movements of the rest of the work or as separate pieces of works.

The prelude consists of several repeating rhythmic motifs, so that it may considerably influence the general perception of the work. At the beginning of the 17^th century, German composers started uniting preludes with another type of contrapuntal technique of a work, a fugue.

The combination of preludes and fugues gained its recognition in numerous Bach’s works. Bach liked to participate in different events, where composers had to create and introduce fugues on organs or harpsichords in a short period of time.

German composers wanted to move toward expression by means of huge harmonic changes and had a need of wider tonality realm. Without any doubts, Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier serves as a good example of this musical tuning, known to lots of people as “just intonation”.

It is a kind of system, “in which all the intervals are derived from the natural (pure) firth and the natural (pure) third.” ³ Nowadays, well temperaments are replaced by another system of tuning that is called “equal temperaments”, where only octaves considered to be pure intervals. Sebastian Bach could not agree that equal treatment should take such an important place.

“The more mathematically minded writers on equal temperament have given the impression that extreme accuracy in figures is the all-important thing in equal temperaments, even if it is patent that such accuracy cannot be obtained upon the longest feasible monochord.” ⁴ Of course, the results of Bach’s own tuning deserve people’s recognition and analysis.

In 1722, Bach started the creation of the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier and the first cycle of different compositions in this very conception. The prelude in C Major that is followed by the fugue in C Major starts Book I. Then, the prelude and fugue in C Minor follow.

Each pair of prelude and fugue is presented in the chromatic scale till the last key. Book II was completed in 1744. More experienced and more educative Bach made a wonderful attempt to continue his work and add more interesting details to it.

He wanted to achieve one of his cherished goals during the creation of this Well-Tempered Clavier – to prove the feasibility of well temperament for each composition in every key. However, it was not the only purpose of Bach.

He was also eager to clear up how progressive work might contain some conservative ideas. This is why The Well-Tempered Clavier may be analyzed as a great source of information about various historical styles and idioms.

It is necessary to admit that ornamentation played a very important role in the sphere of music during the 17^th and 18^th centuries. Lots of Bach’s written-out notes may be regarded as ornamentation examples. Ornamentation in Bach’s compositions helps to comprehend better different melodic events and make them more beautiful.

People, who cannot notice any pieces of ornamentation, may see only a kind of surface layer of all the notes presented by the composer. The table of ornaments, offered by Bach in 1720 describes almost all commonly used ornaments: turn, appoggiatura and trill, ascending trill, etc. ⁵

Without any doubts, The Well-Tempered Clavier created by Bach is considered to be the greatest work of the Weimar period. In spite of the fact that this composition was created during the Baroque period, it had a considerable impact on Western classical music.

For lots of people, who deal with music, both theorists and composers, this masterpiece remains a good sources of various musical techniques, which were so inherent to the Baroque style. Bach tried to unite unbelievable things or just the things, the combination of which was still unknown to the composers of the 17^th century.

When people listen to The Well-Tempered Clavier, they get a wonderful opportunity to enjoy unbelievable sounds and ideas.

However, without proper awareness of such issues as equal temperament, just intonation, prelude, fugue, and different types of ornamentation, a professional musician will hardly evaluate this piece of work and find out what exactly the creator wants to represent to his listeners.

Another Bach’s work that deserves our attention and requires deep consideration is Three Collections of Dance Suites: The English Suites (BWV 806-811), the French Suites (BWV 812-817) and the Partitas for Keyboard (BWV 825-830).

In order to comprehend why Bach chose a certain style for his work, it is better to analyze the backgrounds of each of dance suite and clear up their tempos. There are so many kinds of dance suites like the allemande, the sarabande, the gavotte, or the bourree, and each of them has its own peculiarities and influences the further development of the masterpiece.

“The suite is usually denotes a cycle (or series) of dance pieces changing in tempo and meter yet preserving key unity throughout.” ⁶ The dance suite appeared in the 17^th century and was one of the most famous discoveries of the Baroque Era.

The Baroque dance suite’s major components, which are performed in one and the same key, are a prelude (it has already been discussed), the allemande, courante, sarabande, intermezzi (consisting of minuet, gavotte, or some other dance), and gigue. Usually, al these components turn out to be dependant on the composer’s wish.

If he/she wants to make the work really captivating, it is crucially important to think about the possible combinations and represent them in the composition. To make the right decision, it is necessary to be aware about the background of each dance suite and its tempo. First of all, it is better to remember that:

• Allemande has German origins and is represented within quadruple meter. The tempo of this movement is quite moderate and starts with an upbeat.
• Courante has more French origins and is characterized by quicker tempo in comparison to allemande, and presented in triple meter. If we look at the French dictionary, we will see that courante means run. According to such a simple translation, it is easier to guess a nature of this very movement.
• Sarabande is probably one of the slowest types of dance suite. It has Spanish origins and is performed in triple meter.
• Gigue attracts people attention by its fast tempo and lively atmosphere. This dance suite came from England, and its peculiar features are numerous triplets and a certain number of wide leaps. This very dance suite starts with eight meter.

These four movements were the major components of the suites during the times of Bach. It was also possible to add several optional movements, which may be placed between the sarabande and gigue. In Three Collections of Dance Suites, Bach preferred to use bourree, gavotte, minuet, and prelude, of course.

“His music speaks of initial hesitancy followed by confidence”⁷, this is why his unbelievably right choice of components for the suites always amazes the listener.

Almost all additional movements have French origins: bourree is characterized as lively dance, gavotte is a kind of moderately fast dance, and minuet is elegant French dance with three even beats performed in triple time. The minuet is the dance suite, which was the most preferable one by Sebastian Bach.

In his Collection of Dance Suites, each collection consists of six suites. The model to each collection is quite standard: prelude, allemande, courante, sarabande, optional movement, and gigue.

However, it is necessary to admit that Bach did not like to follow the rules precisely, but still could not create absolutely different pieces of music, this is why each collection has something in common that corresponds to the general model, and something different that underline the uniqueness of each collection.

The English Suites are one of those, which closely follow the ordinary model. All six suites have the prelude, allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue.

Between the gigue and sarabande, each suite presents own optional movement: bourree (1^st and 2^nd suites in A major and minor), gavotte (3^rd suite in G minor), minuet (4^th suite in F major), passepied (5^th suite in E Minor), and again gavotte (for 6^th suite in D Minor).

The French Suite does not have the prelude, but presents more movements between the gigue and the sarabande. This is why some of the French Suites have 5 movements (the 1^st suite), 7 movements (2^nd, 3^rd, and 5^th suites), and even 8 movements (4^th and 6^th suites).

The Partitas for Keyboard is interesting due to its introductory movements and the variety of movements between basic elements of the whole model. The first suite has the standard model with the prelude and minuet.

The 2^nd suite has sinfonia as the introductory movement, and rondeau and capriccio as the final movements. The following four suites have quite different structures represented in the same key.

After we look at the structures of each Bach’s suites, we can easily find out the differences and the peculiarities of each of them. It is impossible to say that some suite is better or worse than the other is.

It is rather understandable that the beginning of the composition is a bit simple in order to provide the listener with a chance to feel the melody and create the general picture of the events. With each suite, Bach adds more and more movements. Such addition may be compared with the development of a person.

With time, a human learns something new and enlarge his/her knowledge, he/she meets new people, and tries to make this life better than it is. Almost the same happens in Bach’s compositions. With time, each suite is enlarged with one or more movements. They influence the suite in its peculiar way and make the listener feel something that has not been inherent before.

Johann Sebastian Bach’s contribution into music during the Baroque Era remains to be rather considerable. People all over the world get a wonderful chance to enjoy his magnificent compositions. “His personal stamp on” ⁸the old forms of suites added something really new to the further development of classical music.

Even if Bach was a bright representative of the Baroque Era, his impact on Classical music is also great. It is impossible to analyze his works after listening them for one or two times. To grasp all the ideas, which Bach wanted to reproduce, it is better to learn their backgrounds and pay attention to each detail in the composition.

Each suite in Bach’s compositions has different components. These movements make the work sweeter, and the addition more and more different movements to each suite is a wining decision of the composer to attract the attention of many theorists and practical composers.

His works serve as good educative examples to learn more and more about the world of classical and Baroque music. His Dance Suite and The Well-Tempered Clavier are real treasures, which have to be kept, analyzed, and used in order to improve our modern music.

Bibliography

Apel, Willi. Harvard Dictionary of Music, Harvard University Press, 1969.

Barbour, James, M. Tuning and Temperament: A Historical Survey, Courier Dover Publications, 2004.

Gillespie, John. Five Centuries of Keyboard Music: An Historical Survey of Music for Harpsichord and Piano, Courier Dover Publications, 1972.

Lloyd-Watts, Valery Bigler, Carole L., and Palmer, Willard A. Ornamentation: A Question & Answer Manual, Alfred Publishing, 1995.

Melamed, Daniel, R. J. S. Bach and the German Motet, Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Neumann, Frederick. Ornamentation in Baroque and Post-Baroque Music: With Special Emphasis on J. S. Bach, Princeton University Press, 1983.

Schulenberg, David. The Key Board Music of J. S. Bach, CRC Press, 2006

Sharpe, R. A. Music and Humanism: An Essay in the Aesthetics of Music, Oxford University Press, 2000.

Footnotes

¹ Neumann, Frederick. Ornamentation in Baroque and Post-Baroque Music: With Special Emphasis on J.S. Bach (Princeton University Press, 1983), 7

² Schulenberg, David. The Keyboard Music of J. S. Bach (CRS Press, 2006), 199

³ Apel, Willi. Harvard Dictionary of Music. (Harvard University Press, 1969), 448

⁴ Barbour, James, M. Tuning and Temperament: A Historical Survey, (Courier Dover Publication, 2004), 87

⁵ Lloyd-Watts, Valery Bigler, Carole L., and Palmer, Willard A. Ornamentation: A Question & Answer Manual. (Alfred Publishing, 1995), 39

⁶ Gillespie, John. Five Centuries of Keyboard Music: An Historical Survey of Music for Harpsichord and Piano (Courier Dover Publications, 1972), 40

⁷Sharpe, R. A. Music and Humanism: An Essay in the Aesthetics of Music (Courier Dover Publications, 1972), 81

⁸ Melamed, Daniel, R. J. S. Bach and the German Motet, (Cambridge University Press, 1995), 54.

Introduction

Music is important in human life. Those who believe that music should be developed are right, still classical music will always remain the basic for all music trends. Listening to Bach, Mozart, and other famous contributors into the classical music, it becomes obvious that music is a miracle. Johannes Brahms is a prominent musician of his time. Additionally, his pieces of music are still remembered and many people love his performances.

Each piece of music has its own background, personal history and peculiarities connected with its composition. It is obvious that the time of music composition and the peculiarities of the personal condition impact the music outcome.

The main purpose of this article is to dwell upon two pieces of music created by Johannes Brahms, Clarinet Quintet and Clarinet Sonata. We are going to consider the background for music creation including the historic period of time and personal life of the composer and discussing the peculiarities of music performance.

Historical Background for Music Creation

To begin with, it should be mentioned that listening to Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 by Brahms one may easily create the parallels with Mozart’s clarinet quintet. These parallel points should be considered for better understanding of the historical background of music creation.

Two compositions express melancholy, they both integrate clarinets by means of string texture, they both use clarinet as a solo instrument that was not really spread in that time. Therefore, it may be concluded that Mozart influenced the development of Brahms’ music and vision of this music.

The tendency of the whole time period was regulated by Mozart’s vision of the music and his performances. Still, much attention should be paid to the epoch and personality of Johannes Brahms as even though music tendencies play much in composer’s development, vision of the music is really important.

Much attention is paid to clarinet during the early 19^th century. Colin James Lawson characterizes the time period as follows, “an age devoted to virtuosity the clarinet achieved a natural pre-eminence among wind instruments, whilst at the same time lending an important tone-color to the Romantic orchestra palette” (3).

Clarinets were used for solo and for quintets which may be considered as the time period tendency, but solo compositions were more appropriate during the second period of the 19^th century. The main reasons of shift from quintets to solo compositions may be divided into political and social.

From the political side, “many of the small courts were beginning absorbed into larger duchies or kingdoms, with a consequent loss in the number of the orchestras available” (Lawson 7) and from the social side, “the clarinet was becoming more accessible to a wider cross-section of general population, more an instrument of a drawing room or a small concert hall” (Lawson 7).

Thus, having considered the historical situation in the society when Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115 and Clarinet Sonata No. 1 and No. 2, Op. 120 were composed, the discussion of each of them should be completed for better vision of all of the peculiarities and specifics of sound.

Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115

Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115 was composed by Johannes Brahms in 189 and this piece of music may be considered as the greatest achievement in chamber music. It worse mentioning that only few compositions were created in this manner by the time when Brahms created his quintet. Hoverer, Mozart’s piece of music had already been composed and it may be concluded that Brahms based his clarinet quintet on Mozart’s one.

Richard Mühlfeld also influenced Brahms vision of the clarinet music. As the music he has composed encouraged Brahms for completing his already started piece (37). Dwelling upon this piece of music in detail, it should be mentioned that Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115 consists of four movements, Allegro, Adagio, Andantino, and Con moto. The first movement begins with the strings and clarinet appears only in the middle of the piece of music.

The melancholic mood supports while the whole composition. The second movement begins with the relaxing melody of clarinet and then shifts to the gloomy atmosphere. The clarinet sound introduces technical runs by means of playing from all ranges. The third movement is the shortest and is played like the first one (in the same mood).

To the point, this piece is played similarly as the first one with the only difference that it is performed in a 2/4 meter. The final forth movement is the most impressive due to high number of variations. It does not look like any particular piece if compared to the previous movements. The final notes are described as a loud chord which fades away unexpectedly.

Clarinet Sonata No. 1 and No. 2, Op. 120

Johannes Brahms dedicated his Clarinet Sonata No. 1 and No. 2, Op. 120 to Richard Mühlfeld, a person who impacted Brahms’ compositions greatly. The history of this composition is really interesting. Brahms promised to retire from composing in 1891. But, he could not keep this promise as his friendship with Richard Mühlfeld impacted him greatly. Fräulein Klarinette was one of the greatest impacts which encouraged Brahms for composing his Clarinet Sonata No. 1 and No. 2 ().

The Clarinet Sonata No. 1 consists of the following movements, Allegro appassionato, Andante un poco Adagio, Allegretto grazioso, and Vivace. Clarinet Sonata No. 2 consists of the following movements, Allegro amabile, Allegro appassionato-Sostenuto-Tempo I, and Andante con moto – allegro. The piece of music is played with tragic melancholy, the old bachelor music may be heard.

The sounds of waltz in this piece are explained by the genre popularity during the time when the music was composed and these notes may be easily heard in Brahms’s sonata. The meter of the composition changes from part to part, from movement to movement (2/4 and 3/4 meter. Generally, the composer uses moderate tempo. People consider some of the parts of the piece of music performed as intermezzos, but I can see only lightness (even gracefulness).

Conclusion

Therefore, it may be concluded that e pieces of music created by Johannes Brahms was composed after a small period in his work, after he promised to retire. However, the desire to create music was much greater. Johannes Brahms composed his clarinet pieces of music according to the tendencies which were in the society. Having created a clarinet quintet, he shifted to sonatas which were more appropriate in the later period of time.

Two people impacted Johannes Brahms, Mozart and Mühlfeld and both these people may be seen as the contributors to the compositions completed by Brahms. Each of the pieces of music is unique and each of them is a great contribution to the world of music both during the period of time when they were composed and now.

Works Cited

Lawson, Colin James. Brahms, clarinet quintet. Cambridge University Press, 1998. Print.

McClelland, Ryan C. Brahms and the scherzo: studies in musical narrative. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2010. Print.

Introduction

The All-Brahms Concert performed by Mr. Frank Peter Zimmermann was a stellar performance that was aimed at rewarding Brahms. With the audience expecting a lot from him, he managed to pull-out a stunning performance, which the audience at the Fishers Hall applauded in respect to Brahms.

The article has been named, “the Rewards of Brahms, Playful to Magisterial” in relation to the pieces of music, similar to this one, that were being played at that time. Therefore, the orchestra had an intention of giving honor to Brahms in a magisterial way. The Concert was held on Sunday 22^nd January, 2012 at the Avery Fishers Hall, New York (Tommasini, 2012). The author behind the intriguing New York Times article on the Rewards of Brahms, Playful to Magisterial is Anthony Thommasini.

Main Discussion

Basically, the author, Anthony Tommasini, is seen to have taken intertwined the review from dedicating a paragraph describing the concert to a general approach on what the Philharmonic violinist; Frank Peter Zimmermann has been doing as a residence at the philharmonic. In the first paragraph, he explains the combination of the German violinist, Zimmermann; Pianist, Enrico Pace, and members of the New York Philharmonic, who came up with an excellent performance at the Avery Fisher Hall. However, he laments why the chamber music was played at the Fisher’s Hall, which is too vast for such a performance (Tommasini, 2012). He reiterates that despite the quality of the music, the sound was disappointingly heard from a distant (Tommasini, 2012).

From the foregoing, it is evidently clear that Tommasini praises the quality of the music played at the concert. Despite the vast spaces in the Avery Fisher Hall, with 2,700 seats, the performance was stellar. However, he explains that with more seats empty, it was not clear as it should be according to Zimmermann, who had an urge to be heard by as many as possible; though, this would only have happened, if all seats were full to capacity. Tommasini gives an example of a place where Zimmermann wished the concert to be held, which was at Alice Tully Hall, which has a capacity of 1,100 seats. Literary, this would give Zimmermann an advantage, and nearly everyone would get a taste of his classical orchestra.

Generally, the review of such orchestral music would have many factors to analyze. First, the type of Orchestra and the number of participants would matter a lot, to be able to achieve that desired taste of classical music. This is also accompanied by the setting of the play. Generally, this would be affected by the number of people involved in the orchestral music. Additionally, the inclusion of any other member into the orchestra is a big tuning to the music. It might change the direction the music is headed to or change some aspects of the music.

These occurrences should be notable in any orchestral music. It is also important to note the techniques used to come up with a quality sound, just like the nimbleness and vitality of Mr. Pace’s playing.

When joining at the middle of performance, the demonstration should ensure that the performance is not distracted, yet is able to maintain the pace, without losing its quality, in an elegant manner (Tommasini, 2012).

Conclusion

With much expected from Mr. Zimmermann, hope lies in his forthcoming performances, and probably more is expected of him and colleagues. It is expected that the Avery Fisher Hall will house more people in the coming performances, which are scheduled for this week. Therefore, a lot is expected from the violinist, as he extends his performances on, “the Rewards of the Brahms, Playful to Magisterial.”

Works Cited

Tommasini, Anthony. “Analysis of the Brahms Concert.” Rev. of The Rewards of Brahms, Playful to Magisterial, dir. Richard Temine. New York Times.2012: C1. Print.

Prince Igor

Alexander Borodin’s Prince Igor was directed by Yury Lyubimov and performed at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow in 2013 (Frolova-Walker 24). The opera can be discussed as controversial in relation to both musical and theatrical aspects. The first impression is that the opera is modernized significantly. Thus, it is possible to notice that this production introduces the unexpected changes in terms of scenes and arias (“Alexander Borodin”). The opera seems to be shortened, and this aspect is rather surprising. Still, the musical performance is perfect. Much attention should be paid to the choreography used in the opera because dances are appropriate to accentuate the highly emotional moments in the work.

However, the theatrical scenery can be viewed as rather provocative and having a lot of modern details. Nevertheless, the play of colors is striking, it attracts the viewer’s attention, and it is used to accentuate different moods related to the plot (“Alexander Borodin”). The focus on the contrast of red and blue colors, as well as white and dark colors, is an interesting idea to be used in the scenery. However, the overall impression is rather difficult to describe because the opera seems to be more modernized than it is expected to be. Cuts in arias and other musical pieces provoke the following question: Is it reasonable or ethical to cut the opera in order to address the director’s idea and vision of the piece? Furthermore, it seems that decorations and costumes of performers are aimed at attracting more attention than musical pieces, and the other question to ask is the following one: Is the modern interpretation of Prince Igor effective to accentuate the best features of Borodin’s opera?

Sadko

While discussing the works composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, it is important to pay attention to Sadko (1894-1896), the opera that is viewed by Taruskin as important to explain the difficult relationships between the composer and the authorities in Russia. Tsar Nicholas II was that person who asked for excluding Sadko from the repertory of the Mariyinsky Theater (Taruskin 182). This situation can provoke the following question: What aspects of Sadko caused Tsar Nicholas II to make a decision regarding the exclusion of this particular piece from the theater’s repertory? According to Taruskin, Tsar asked to find “something a bit merrier” (182). However, more attention should be paid to aesthetical, musical, social, and political aspects related to the opera in order to find the reasons.

Still, it is important to note that the opera was not forgotten because it was staged at the Moscow Private Opera Company under the patronage of Savva Mamontov. This person supported the work by Rimsky-Korsakov, and this interesting detail can attract the attention of the reader who reviews Taruskin’s book. From this point, it is important to explore the following moment: What role did Savva Mamontov play in developing the Russian music while providing the protection for Rimsky-Korsakov and other composers and musicians? Thus, it is necessary to note that patrons of the arts were rather influential persons, and the success of composers depended on patrons’ interest in their works significantly (Fishzon 382; Jaffe 38). Sadko can be viewed as an example of the opera that was promoted among the public because of the efforts of such patrons (Haldey 54). Therefore, critics of the Russian music of the nineteenth century also pay attention to this fact.

References

“Alexander Borodin – Prince Igor by Yury Lyubimov – music editor Pavel Karmanov.” YouTube, uploaded by Pavel Karmanov. 2013, Web.

Fishzon, Anna. “When Music Makes History.” Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 14.2 (2013): 381-394. Print.

Frolova-Walker, Marina. “Fresh Prince.” Opera News 78.8 (2014): 24-27. Print.

Haldey, Olga. Mamontov’s Private Opera: The Search for Modernism in Russian Theatre. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010. Print.

Jaffe, Daniel. Historical Dictionary of Russian Music. London: Scarecrow Press, 2012. Print.

Taruskin, Richard. On Russian Music. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2008. Print.

John Coolidge Adams is a recognized American composer, whose music works are distinguished by minimalism performance. The winner of Pulitzer Prize is famous for such music compositions as Shaker Loops (1978), Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986), On the Transmigration of Souls (2002), as well as for operas, such as Nixon in China (1987) and Doctor Atomic (2005).

All pieces are premised on deep historic and biographical backgrounds interpreting important events from the human history. Being among the most standout composers, Adams is distinguished by minimalist style of performance that is characterized by repeating patterns and developmental climaxes.

Some Adams’s works are associated with the response to the ideology of serialism that displays composers as scientists. In this respect, the uniqueness of the musical pieces introduced by Adams consists in unusual synergy of various sciences, approaches, and styles that are typical for the post-modern era in the twentieth century.

John Adams represents a sophisticated mixture between hard-core post-modern and mainstream opera music. In this respect, Lee (2002) discusses Adams’s minimalist music in the context of systematic and process elements. All the motifs are largely influenced by World War II and post-war period, convincing that modern music can describe historical events.

Using a limited spectrum of musical instruments and being under the influence of such composers as Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass, John Adams approaches the composing process as the process of materials reduction, focusing on repetitive schemes. According to Lee (2002), “minimalism emerged as an effective alternative to the rigors of serialism and the randomness of indeterminate, or “change” music” (p. 2).

The core features of this music involve persistent rhythmic pulse that penetrates to the music fabric through prolonged repetition of music pieces. In this respect, Adams’s Shaker Loops (1978) is a bright illustration of minimalism. At a glance, the composition might seem to be dull and monotonous, but further development provides a deeper philosophical interpretation.

Nixon in China displays another example Adams’s adherence to minimalism, which is specifically uncovered through repetitive rhythmic pulses. Despite these features, the harmonic structure of the composition is premised on simple music patterns that are utilized by minimalists from earlier periods (Johnson, 2011). In this respect, the opera is inspired by Philip Glass’s opera, the predecessor of Adams’s future words.

Despite the fact, most of the elements of the composer’s works are premised on Glass’s compositions, there are many features that pertain Adams’s unique style. Harmonic landscapes of music composition can be reproduced through contrastive perspectives (Hoffer, 2011).

In Nixon in China, “the chorus of the Chinese people follows their repetitive passage with a wide-ranging palette of harmonic colors that rises from the low register of the repetitive passage” (Johnson, 2011, p. 22). In contrast, the Nixon’s part is represented through the repetitive monologue with a dismissive gesture.

Aside from minimalistic tendencies, the composer strives to recreate themes relating to geography, native culture, and ecology of his native land (Adams, 2009). These themes are reproduced not only by evocative titles, but also by anchoring the composition into the inspiring landscapes. The conception of place and location frequently occurs in Adams’s music compositions.

In this respect, the composer states, “…it might be a piece that could be realized at any location the earth, and that each location would have its unique sonic signature” (Adams, 2009, p. xii). Therefore, all musical works are developed through landscape associations.

Such an approach contributes to the uniqueness of the composer’s style. The invention of a new musical style aims to satisfy the composer’s needs and creative goals. The musical language should consist of the expressive needs that can render emotional change of mood through repetition, violent exposure, or monotonous and smooth sounding within one minute.

Although minimalism plays an important role in Adam’s creative work, these patterns do not stand at the core of his musical compositions. In particular, his early works are premised on minimalist textures of mow of these pieces are focused on the spatial and temporal characteristics which differ significantly from the minimalist essence.

Hence, the traditions stem from the musical styles by Aaron Copeland, Samuel Barber and David del Tredici (Hillier, 1997). More importantly, his later works also evocate the music style enriching the musical texture and its spatial attributes.

The transformation of minimalism into a synergy of other music techniques has contributed to the development of Adams’s authentic style of composing. In this respect, Sancher-Behar (2007), states that the composer’s vision on minimalism has undergone tangible shifts throughout years. There are different attributes that distinguish the musical style accepted in 1980s from its earlier expositions.

To begin with, the composers strived to combine minimalist features with dramatic and vocal works (Wright, 2010). Further, musical progression substituted musical succession. Finally, it has been asserted that minimalism was considered as an authentic element of mainstream modern music.

In addition, the influence of the minimalism was enhanced by the cultural, political, and economic development of American society. John Adams has confirmed that this music style is an important development in the field because it contributes to empirical development of contemporary art music.

Adams’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986) introduces faster tempo and repeating motives that remind of the machine engine and working cylinders. The rhythms, therefore, produce a dualistic effect (Hillier, 1997). On the one hand, the music focuses on traditional musical instruments to reproduce the sound.

On the other hand, the created passage reflects social and historical pace of the world development (May, 2006). The music piece under consideration focuses on the global and industrial trends in development. Technological advances are also brightly illustrated in the musical composition.

Adams’s later works has been considered rather contrapuntal and, therefore, they are opposed to earlier works. His stylistic progressions are specifically introduced in harmonic structure of the Chamber Symphony (1992) and the Death of Klinghoffer (1989-91). Both works are distinguished by break in harmonic structures and progress in contrapuntal style (Sancher-Behar, 2007).

Although the emphasis on such techniques as polyphony and counterpoint can be analyzed in detail from a theoretical viewpoint, its aesthetic function can be evaluated immediately after listening to Adams’s music piece (Hephaestus Books, 2011).

Nevertheless, these techniques are efficiently used to complement the composer’s ideas. According to Sancher-Behar (2007), “Adams’s own melodic patterns…typically exhibit stepwise motion, common in the beginning, middle, and end of a melodic segment” (p.19). Thus, the composer creates a strong rhythmic pulse with steady sixteenth notes.

While analyzing Adams’s work from historic and social perspectives, the music style of minimalism applied in his musical pieces is used to emphasize its functionality. In his interview with Lehman (2012), the composer states, “I have tried to create a body of work that give some feeling of what it means to be an American living in the latter part of this century and being exposed to so many different kinds of music” (p. 3).

Hence, the uniqueness of Adams’s sounding lies in a skillful combination of minimalist music with other styles although this approach is historically and theoretical considered a pure style.

In this respect, the composer asserts Shaker Loops is not premised solely on monotonous patterns that constantly repeat. Rather, the content is endowed with a set of moods and tempos contributing to the high expressiveness of the composition.

A straightforward and progressive style developed by the composer refers to the social and political environment in the second half of the twentieth century (Smith, 1995). This is of particular concern to the composer’s cultural and family background. Due to the fact that John Adams has been born to a family of jazz composers, most of his music works has American features of the period.

A strong historic background is introduced in Doctor Atomic, a musical composition that introduces a variety of iconic topics (Sheinberg, 2012). Specifically, different rhythmic patterns signify the abhorrent scenes of nuclear testing, spiraling motif in music suggest the storm and chain reactions of various chemical substances.

One again, each realistic objects from history acquires its authentic sonic signature. Such a mode of reproducing the reality testifies to Adams’s vision of music purpose.

The experiment with atomic bomb development initiated by Oppenheimer has been brightly described in John Adams’s operas. While working in cooperation with Peter Sellar, who created a complex stage lightning, design, and choreography, the composer introduces opera accompanied with documented film about scientific experiments, as well as Oppenheimer’s family background (Sheinberg, 2012).

The complex synergy of musical elements with choreography and visual effects has contributed to the reproduction of the overall atmosphere of that period.

In addition, the proposed approach “complements the male scientists’ preoccupation with objective speculations about the success of failure of the testing by taking into account the moral compass of the experiment at hands” (Sheinberg, 2012, p. 265). In this respect, the composer is fully aware of the consequences of the atomic disaster and introduces his own vision on the tragedy.

John Coolidge Adams is an outstanding American musician and composer whose creative work was premised on experimenting with minimalist styles and repetitive patterns. Although minimalism is a relatively independent style, the composer manages to combine expressive tones with progressive music to render social and historic atmosphere in the United States.

Interestingly, the uniqueness of his musical pieces lies in reproducing historic events, phenomena, and objects possessing their authentic sonic signature. Thus, each sound introduced in the composition resembles sounds and rhythms existing in reality. Repetitive passages, impulsive music, and the philosophy of serialism stand at the core of the musician’s work.

His progressive music style, therefore, is capable of interpreting the historic events and, therefore, most of his operas are escorted with sophisticated decorations, visual effects, and choreography.

Finally, the composer strongly beliefs that the music language allows the creator to deliver the most important messages that are impossible to reproduce by traditional means. Therefore, sophisticated combination of styles and techniques focuses on Adams’s personal vision of the world surrounding him. It is also introduced as a biographic narrative.

References

Adams, J. L. (2009). The Place Where You Go to Listen: In Search of an Ecology of Music. US: Wesleyan University Press.

Hephaestus Books. (2011). Articles on Electronic Musicians, Including: John Adam, Vladislav Delay, Counterstrike (Drum and Bass Group), Clara Rockmore, Seelenluft, Perrey and Kingsley, Robert Miles, Daniel Lentz, Jonah Sharp, Michael Cretu, Dr. Alban. US: Hephaestus Books.

Hillier, P. (1997). Arvo Part. UK: Oxford University Press.

Hoffer, C. (2011). Music Listening Today: Music Listening Today. US: Cengage Learning.

Johnson, T. A. (2011). John Adam’s Nixon in China: Musical Analysis, Historical and Political Perspectives. US: Ashgate Publishing.

Lee, D. A. (2002). Masterworks of 20^th Century Music: The Modern Repertory of the Symphony Orchestra. New York: New York.

Lehman, M. (1999). A Talk with John Adams. American Record Guide, 62(4), 12.

May, T. R. (2006). The John Adams Reader: Essential Writing on an American Composer. US: Hai Leonard.

Sancher-Behar, A. (2007). Counterpoint and Polyphony in Recent Instrumental Works of John Adams. US: ProQuest.

Sheinberg, E. (2012). Music Semiotics: A Network of Significations – In Honor of Raymond Monelle. US: Ashgate Publishing.

Smith, G. (1995). John Adams speaks his mind. American Record Guide, 58(5), 20.

Wright, C. (2010). Listening to Music. US: Cengage Learning.