Finnissy: English Country Tunes

For my last "chosen piece," I wanted to find something interesting to me. I researched to find out what pianists generally think is the hardest piece of music ever written. While it is clear that this is a loaded question (and depends heavily on the strengths and weaknesses of the performer), I did come across an interesting piece by Michael Finnissy (b. 1946). The score of one section is below:



(a side note: I can (barely) read music, and I really enjoy looking at piano scores, even if I can't come close to playing them. For some reason, I find them beautiful in their own way)

Of course, writing down a collection of the hardest notes to play doesn't make something music, but playing it does (YouTube video), at least in some respects. Listening to this piece is almost (but not quite) like listening to someone banging on a piano as fast as they can. It's the not quite that gets you. The piece is incredibly dissonant, and really hard to listen to as music. The movement and range is ridiculous, if you can even call it movement and not banging. But the difficulty is that at the end of the day, like John Cage's 4'33", we must admit that it at least resembles music.

Cage: 4' 33"

Author

John Cage (see author description in previous post)

About the Piece

• Genre is general instrumental
• indeterminacy plays large role in piece
• background noise "is" the music
• perhaps the most controversial piece of all time
• three movements
  
• Wikipedia Article
• YouTube Video
  

Purpose

• question the meaning of music and the distinction between music and noise
  

Reflections

I still don't know what I think about this piece. I could argue either way as to whether it is music, but I'm not really sure myself. It is certainly something that can never be imitated, and raises the interesting question that transends music: What is nothing? That is a far more loaded question even than "what is music?"

Prokofiev: Toccata in D minor Op.11

Author

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953: Russian)

• wrote first piano compositions at age 5
• composed his first opera at age 9
• graduated top of his class from the St. Petersburg Conservatory
• wife was arrested in 1948 for "espionage"
• died on March 5, 1953, the same day as Stalin
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

• Genre is piano toccata
• as title indicates, piece possesses minor key tonality throughout
• theme throughout involves alternating of two low D's
• piece is very tense throughout
• lots of fast movement throughout piece
• no clear melody is ever established
• strong use of dissonance
• huge range: parts of the piece are played with one hand in the highest register of the piano and the other in the lowest
  
• theme returns at the end, slows down, fades, then transitions to dramatic Coda including a glissando
• YouTube Video
  

Purpose

• entertainment
• virtuosity
  

Reflections

I love this piece. The amount of hand movement and the shear number of notes is incredible. I especially like seeing the pianist playing notes inside one hand with the other (the two hands superimposed). As for the musical quality of the piece, I love the tension built throughout the piece that finally bursts into a dramatic glissando in the Coda.

Copland: Billy the Kid

Author

Aaron Copland (1900-1990: American)

• born in Los Angeles, attended Pomona College
• studied in Paris
• realized that a new public for contemporary music was being created by the radio, phonograph, and film scores
• attempted to simplify music so that it would communicate to the larger public
• used many "old west" songs as inspiration for some of his works
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of the description comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is orchestral suite (originally for ballet)
• uses tunes from numerous cultural songs: Git Along, Little Dogies is the strongest of these themes
• also includes tunes from Great Grand-Dad, The Old Chisholm Trail, The Streets of Laredo, and Goodbye, Old Paint
• several meter shifts, including a dance meter
• extensive use of percussion
• upbeat, very "old west" sounding

Purpose

• entertainment
• American nationalism
  

Reflections

I am not so interested in this piece. It's too "new" to be exciting and old, but not different enough to grab my attention. It probably doesn't help that the romantic ideal of the old west never really apealed to me. It may also just be the context; after the fantastic experimentation of Rite of Spring, Tromba Lontana, and Sonata No. 5, I just didn't enjoy the return to the usual quite as much.

Cage: Sonata V

Author

John Cage (1912-1992: American)

• born in Los Angeles, attended Pomona College
• invented what he called the "prepared piano"
• much of his music reflects his preoccupation with East Asian philosophy
  
• composed many works involving chance and indeterminacy
  
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of the description comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is non-Western music
• Prepared piano is used to emulate non-Western sounds
• irregular length phrases
• score looks relatively normal, but piece doesn't even sound like a piano (it's amazing what a few screws and rubber bands can do)
• meter is unclear and rhythm is constantly changing
• binary form
• distinctly different timbre (actually, quite a few different timbres, all coming from the same instrument)
  
• YouTube Video
  

Purpose

• experimentation
• entertainment
• expression of Eastern ideas and music in Western instruments
  

Reflections

I love this piece! Of all the pieces in this course so far, this is probably my favorite. Wow! It's fascinating to me how all of those different timbres can come from a piano just by putting screws and rubber bands in the back of it. The preparing of the piano is something I think would be fun to experiment with. It's too bad that it's not good for the piano. Whatever people may say about Cage's 4'33", they cannot deny that this is art and creativity in its finest.

Adams: Tromba Lontana

Author

John Adams (b. 1947: American)

• minimalist
  
• educated at Harvard University
• went to teach at San Francisco Conservatory in 1972
• composes operas, symphonic works, film scores, chamber music, piano solo pieces, and other forms of music as well
  
• won a Pulitzer Prize for On the Transmigration of Souls (2002) about 9/11 terrorist attacks
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of the description comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is orchestral? (genre for this piece is not easily defined)
• title means "Distant Trumpet"
• commissioned by the Houston Symphony Orchestra
• piece consists mostly of call and response between two trumpets
• strings are there in the background, but barely audible
• triangle? or some other percussion instrument is the only other thing clearly heard (the book says it is a glockenspiel)
  
• piece is not pure call and response between the trumpets, since the two trumpets participate in some more complex counterpoint as well
  

Purpose

• entertainment
• piece was commissioned, so we can't say too much about the author's purpose or non-monetary reasons for writing it
  

Reflections

I don't know what I think about this work. The first time I heard it, I though it was dumb. Two trumpets, and not really doing that much exciting either. But it has grown on me. The more times I hear it, the more I realize how beautiful it is. The fact that the entire rest of the orchestra is there, and playing, but your concious mind never really percieves that fact is at the very least interesting. I actually also like the "minimalist counterpoint"(?!?) expressed in this piece. All told, I think this is a well written piece of music.

Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon

Author

Claude Debusse (1862-1918: French)

• impressionist
  
• parents kept a china shop
• entered the Paris Conservatory at age eleven.
• established a reputation as one of the wittiest critics of his time.
• died during the bombardment of Paris in March 1918
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of the description comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is symphonic poem
• "lyrical, sinuous melodies that repeat"
• ternary form, (very loosely)
• lots of fast moving sixteenth notes throughout, but they don't intensify the piece, but rather contribute to silkiness
• work has a very smooth feel to it
• characteristic instruments include strings, flute, oboe, harps, clarinets, and English and French horns
• free flowing; gives a sense of floating
• several melodic themes repeated throughout
  

Purpose

• entertainment
• inspired by a poem

Reflections

I like this piece too, but not this late in the quad, when I haven't had enough sleep and I am tired. It's a beautiful, dream-like piece, but listening to it without falling asleep can be difficult. I like all of the movement on the oboe and flute parts; movement is one of my favorite things to hear in orchestral pieces. The gliding sixteenth notes in this piece are fantastic. Not my favorite piece so far, but certainly worth hearing again.

Stravinsky: Rite of Spring

Author

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971: Russian)

• father was the leading bass singer at the (Russian) Imperial Opera
• parents wanted him to study law, pursued musical studies on the side at University of St. Petersburg
• received his first major commission in 1910
• became an American citizen in 1945
• considered the most celebrated figure in twentieth century music
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of the description comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is ballet, though it is often performed as a concert piece for orchestra
  
• harsh, percussive chords set rhythm that doesn't quite fit into any clear time signature (since accents are in weird places)
• melody smooths out a very little bit before tensing up again
• strange time signatures throughout, including 9/8 and 7/8
• uses strings for percussive effect, brass and woodwinds to eek out a melody of sorts
• this particular selection gains speed throughout
• more irregular accents and trills end the movement
  

Purpose

• entertainment
• perhaps he wanted to make a statement?
• perhaps he felt this was the next step in progression?
• perhaps he wanted to honor old Russian traditions?
• no one really knows what exactly Stravinsky was thinking
  

Reflections

I actually really like what Stravinsky is doing here. The huge, awkward sounding chords and strange folk melodies with weird time signatures keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what will come next. The strange time signatures (9/8?!?) also contribute to the sound of foreignness of the piece. Overall quite enjoyable.

Wagner: Die Walküre

Author

Richard Wagner (1813-1883: German)

• father was a minor police official
• only received about 6 months of instruction in music theory
• married and produced first operas at age 23
• was part of an unsuccessful revolution in 1849, fled to Switzerland
• music gained acclaim again in 1864 when an admirer of Wagner's music ascended the throne of Bavaria.
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of the description comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is music drama (German opera)
• based on Norse sagas and a Medieval German epic
• dotted rhythms heighten anticipation throughout
• "swirling" woodwinds
• vast size of orchestra is apparent from music
• female vocalist opens the "Call" section
• text language is German
• we hear a repeated "ride" theme (triumphant but anticipatory, major key) several times
  
• repeated use of the word "Hoyotoho" (no clear meaning)

Purpose

• entertainment
• German nationalism, resurrecting German myths
  

Reflections

I actually kind of like this piece, though as before, it is a little out of place (see previous post). The accompaniment definitely possesses similar qualities to the Lord of the Rings movies and the Star Wars movies, which feels good and brings back happy memories. Perhaps that happens a lot: pieces that we like often we like mostly because they bring back something fond.

Verdi: Rigoletto

Author

Giuseppi Verdi (1813-1901: Italiain)

• born in northern Italy, father was an innkeeper
• wealthy merchant supported him through his musical studies
• married his benefactor's daughter
• operas took on patriotic value.
• wrote a total of 28 operas, including one when he was almost 80
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of the description comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is opera
• inspired by Victor Hugo
• selection is a quartet
• text language is Italian
  
• begins with a male aria about the fickleness of women (intended to reflect more on the character of the singer than the character of women in general)
  
• first aria is strophic
• middle section is through-composed
• final section has ABAC form with a coda
• contains substantial vocal counterpoint
  

Purpose

• entertainment
• opera performance, to tell a story with music
  

Reflections

I feel like opera isn't meant to be heard this way...it should be performed as a whole and not in an excert and should be accompanied by acting. Also, I think it is designed to be in the dialect of the people, and I don't speak Italian. The arias are pretty, but not what I would call beautiful. Altogether, this was not one of my favorite pieces.

Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

Author

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869: French)

• father was a physician
• first started medical school, then gave up medicine for music
• loved Shakespeare and Beethoven
• had produced most of his most famous works by age 40
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of thedescription comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is symphony
• makes use of an idée fixe that runs through the whole symphony
  
• descending first theme
• triumphant, bright second theme
• second theme sounds vaguely like a march
  
• development plays with themes: more staccato, more brass, or even inverted theme A
• includes a lot of notes from a funny sounding brass instruments (are these the ophicleides?)...sounds almost but not quite like a trumpet
  

Purpose

• entertainment
  

Reflections

It is interesting to me that an artist in the 19th century would write a symphony about an opium trance (this sounds eerily like the favorite topic of the 1960s and 1970s). I suppose that really was the kind of thing that happened in the Romantic era, though. Unfortunately, the whole concept of idée fixe is lost if you listen to only one movement. Also, knowing what the symphony is about helps a lot, but it isn't self-evident from the music itself (hence some introduction would be needed in a performance setting).

Chopin: Polonaise

Author

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849: Polish)

• considered the national composer of Poland
• educated at the Conservatory of Warsaw
• moved to Paris at age 21, where he spent most of the rest of his life
• died at age 39 of tuberculosis
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of thedescription comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is polonaise (polish military dance)
• ternary dance form (A-B-A') with internal repeats:
  A (a-a b-a b-a)-B(c-c'-c-c' d-c-c' d-c-c')-A (a-b-a)
• completely in major keys
• "stuttery" rhythm that would be difficult to dance to
• lots of repetition
• lots of staccato
• wide spacing between chords in different hands
• 3/4 meter, though it is hard to pick out because of the jumpiness of the rhythm
• triplets pervasive throughout
  

Purpose

• military dance
  
• entertainment
• dance in general
  

Reflections

This piece doesn't do much for me. I generally like the solo piano pieces, but there is just too much repetition in this one. It really is meant to be background music to a dance, so listening to it as forground noise is a little boring. Also, it doesn't feel like a very "smooth" piece. The starting and stopping of the rhythm is interesting and unique at first, but then it just gets annoying.

Schubert: Erlkonig

Author

Franz Schubert (1797-1828: German)

• born in a suburb of Vienna
• learned the violin from his father and piano from his older brother
• immersed himself in German Romanticism
• died at age 31, dying wish was to be buried near Beethoven
• life was a romantic symbol of the artist's fate
  
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of the description comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is Lied
• piano with solo male vocal accompaniment
• minor key tonality, with one or two switches to major key
• very dark
• common time, but with lots of triplets.
• text language is German
• extensive text painting; piano is a "character" in the story
  

Purpose

• entertainment
• lieder were meant to be sung in small settings and not performed on big stages
  

Reflections

As I noted in one of my concert reports, I love solo piano music. This is close to the same thing (piano and one singer). I like the text painting and minor key usage. For some reason, I seem to like pieces in minor keys more. I hope that doesn't mean that I am a sad person. I think it must be that when people are sad, freightened, or in an otherwise "minor key" mood, their emotions seem to be more sincere.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5

Author

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827: German)

• father was a singer and abusive alcoholic
• moved to Vienna in 1792, studied under Haydn
• functioned under a modified patronage system: he did not work for a specific family of aristocracy, but rather was supported by the aristocracy as a whole
• went deaf later in life
  
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of the description comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is symphony
• Wikipedia Article
  

First Movement:

• exposition is introduced with the "four most famous notes in history"
• first four notes establish a motive for the rest of the piece
  
• first theme is fiery, intense, and in C major
  
• second theme is sweet, lyrical and in E-flat major
• second theme builds into closing theme
  
• closing theme is energetic, faster, but still in E-flat major
• the entire exposition is then repeated
• Development plays with the established motive
• motive decreases from 4 notes to three to two to finally 1, and then reestablishes the familiar 4 note motive to lead into the recap
• recapitulation includes an unexpected solo cadenza
• this time the second theme is in C major
  
• new theme added in recap, still in C major
• ends with an extremely long coda
  

Second Movement

• smooth and soothing first theme with mostly strings opens the movement
• theme two has more "tension" before it "bursts" in the middle
• a quiet transition leads back into the smoothness of theme 1
• Beethoven plays with rhythm and timbre in the first variation
• 2nd variation is embellished with 32nd notes, lots of "filled in" movement
• theme 2 does not appear in the second variation
• transition to 3rd variation follows
  
• theme 2 then appears with its second half first
• then theme 2's second half is repeated quieter and in a minor key
• finally a more triumphant variation of theme 1 before the long coda
  

Third Movement

• rising theme (Scherzo) on the lower strings gives way to rhythmic pattern from first movement
• scherzo gives way to fugal texture, c major, more quick movement on lower strings
• sherzo returns, resulting in a ternary form, ABA
• timpani leads low thumping transition into triumphant first theme of movement 4
  

Forth Movement

• first theme is strong and brilliant, in C major and G major
• second theme is similar in brilliance, contains more triplet rhythms
• development begins with a key change
• short-short-short-long throughout development (as well as both themes)
  
• recap avoids exposition's modulation between C major and G major
• long coda finishes this movement again
• coda gains energy and builds to a triumphant, staccato ending
  

Purpose

• entertainment

Reflections

Listening to this piece gave me the clear impression that I was hearing one of the greatest works of music of all time. The interplay of emotions between loud and soft parts is stunning, and the variety of instruments used demonstrates that finally, in Beethoven's era, the symphony seems to have arrived. Beethoven almost never does exactly the same thing twice, which captivates the listener's attention. The interplay between the four movements makes for an altogether coherant and beautiful piece.

Haydn: Symphony No. 94

Author

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809: German)

• father was a wheelwright and served as the village mayor
• at age 29 he entered the service of the Esterhazys, a wealthy family of Hungarian royalty
• spent almost 30 years there
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of thedescription comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is
  
• Begins with exposition of two themes, both very simple themes
  
• 4 variations in development
• Switches between C major and C minor
• several very loud accented notes (hence the name, surprise)
• calm ending
• quiet piece throughout, for the most part (excepting loud accented notes)

Purpose

• entertainment
  

Reflections

On the whole, I find this piece interesting, but not all that thrilling. The accents are quite startling, as they were intended to be, but the rest of the piece is just too quiet and simple to hold my attention (perhaps this is the composer's intent, to lull the listener to sleep and shock them awake)

Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro

Author

Wofgang Amadeus Mozart (1751-1791, Austrian)
(see previous post)

About the Piece

(much of thedescription comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is Opera buffa
• Starts with an aria by Chereubino about love, specifically love from the perspective of a young (~13 years old) boy.
• Aria takes form ABAC
• long dialogue section (recitative) next leads into a trio
• the trio is still dialogue of sorts, but much more dramatic
• several counterpunctual phrases simulate interruption in converstion
• as is characteristic of the Classical era, this piece maintains virtuosity without long single-word melismas
  

Purpose

• entertainment
• meant to be comic
  

Reflections

Once again the language barrier is an issue, though not as much in the singing sections. I find myself reading the "dialogue" (or recitative) section and hearing it in my head differently that it is being sung. But once the trio section starts, the phrases get shorter, and it gets easier to guess what words are being emphasized. Language aside, however, I like Classical opera better than Baroque because it is so much broader.

Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik

Author

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791: Austrian)

• father was a composer-violinist for Archbishop of Salzburg
  
• first started to compose at age 5
• had written sonatas, concertos, symphonies, religious works, and several operas by age 13.
• left the house of the Archbishop of Salzburg at age 25 after quarrel
  
• married in 1782
• died at age 35 of unknown causes
  

About the Piece

(much of thedescription comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is chamber music
• all in major keys
• stringed instruments only
  

First Movement:

• three themes alternate
• first theme is disjunct, ascending, has dotted rhythm
  
• second theme is more conjunct, graceful, smooth, has descending parts to it
• "closing" theme is very similar to the second; smooth, conjunct, and descending
  
• homophonic texture

Third Movement

• first theme (minuet) consists of two phrases, each repeated, AABB pattern
• minuet is fairly disjunct
• second theme (trio) is more conjunct, quieter, more expressive
  
• first theme is then repeated, this time with each phrase only once.
• homophonic

Purpose

• entertainment
• designed specifically for intimate settings, specifically for a string quartet
  

Reflections

An interesting piece, but I wouldn't say it's my all time favorite. Again it makes good "background" music, but listening attentively, I get too bored: there is too much repeating. It is also not a very virtuosic piece, so I think that plays into the fact that I don't enjoy it quite as much.

Handel: Water Music

Author

George Fredrick Handel (1685-1759: German)

• See previous biographical information on post about Handel: Messiah
  

About the Piece

(much of thedescription comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is dance suite
• Ternary form, A-B-A
• multiple motives repeated throughout by different instruments
• clearly designed for an outdoor performance, to be heard from a distance
• homophonic, with interspersed imitative counterpoint
• alternates between disjunct (motive a) to conjunct (motive b)
  
• switch to minor key in middle of piece
  

Purpose

• outdoor performance for a royal outing on the Thames River

Reflections

This piece must have sounded quite majestic when played from the Thames river. I certainly find it relaxing as background music, but I don't think I have a good enough appreciation of music (yet!) to enjoy listening to all of the movements of this work without doing something to keep my mind occupied. (I frequently feel the same about modern popular music also). I would like to get better about that over the course of this class.

Vivaldi: Spring Concerto

Author

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741, Venetian)

• father was a barber and later a professional violinist
• was ordained as a priest at age 25
• nicknamed il Prete Rosso ("the red priest") because of his red hair
• was violin master at an girls' orphanage early in life
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of thedescription comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is violin concerto
• string instrumental piece
  
• homophonic texture
• evokes feelings of spring: playful birds, flowing brooks, thunder and lightning
• several very virtuosic solos
• two contrasting types of sound (as with all concertos): light and happy spring versus thunder and lightning
• frequently repeated (and catchy) ritornello is pervasive throughout
• several key changes, including minor key usage in "thunder and lightning" section
  

Purpose

• entertainment
• used for instruction in violin
  

Reflections

I like this piece a lot. It evokes pictures so perfectly and precisely that if someone asked me what this piece was about, without telling me the name, I would probably say spring. Perhaps this is only because I have heard it in that context before. Particularly well done, in my opinion, is the bird section. The "catchiness" of the tune is also something missing from many previous pieces, except for perhaps the Hallelujah choras from Handel's Messiah.

Handel: Messiah

Author

G. F. Handel (1685-1759: German)

• embodies the worldliness of the late Baroque era
• son of a prosperous barber-surgeon
• appointed conductor to the elector of Hanover at age 25
• appointed a musical director of the Royal Academy of Music (England) at age 35.
  
• wrote more than 40 operas
  
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of thedescription comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is Oratorio
• aria is full of virtuoso
• aria is da capo form, A B A
• elaborate instrumentation
• Hallelujah chorus is strong and triumphant
• text language is English
• multiple changes in texture during Hallelujah chorus
• Hallelujah chorus comes to a strong polyphonic climax
• whole piece is quite majestic and regal
  

Purpose

• sacred
• oratorios were generally for telling stories (this is one of the few that does not really)
  

Reflections

Another piece that I would like to hear in its entirity, particularly since it is in English. Handel's style is clearly more elaborate than Bach's style, and it's decently clear that the two had different motives for writting music. I like the virtuosity of the aria, but perhaps it belongs more in a secular context.

Bach: Cantata No. 80

Author

J. S. Bach (German, 1685-1750)

• came from a family that was musicians for several generations back
• orphaned at age 10
• served as a chamber musician for the duke of Weimar, then for the prince of Anhalt-Cöthen
• later served as cantor at St. Thomas's Church in Leipzig
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of thedescription comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is Cantata
• 1st movement is elaborate counterpoint
• 8th movement is homophonic and unified, easy for congregation to join in on
• text is in German
• each line in the first movement is treated fugally
• majestic
• instruments are non-obtrusive, but do play a different melody in the first movement.
  

Purpose

• sacred
• cantatas were meant to be sermons in song
  

Reflections

Another great piece; though, sadly, I still find myself wishing it were in English. It also doesn't quite feel right to listen to just the first and last movements. If I have more time, I would like to listen to the whole thing from start to finish.

Purcell: Dido and Aeneas

Author

Henry Purcell (1659-1695: English)

• Served as singer, organist and composer in three different royal courts
• has often been called England's finest native composer
• very influential both in England and throughout Europe
  
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of thedescription comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is Opera
• Climax on "Remember me" in B section of Aria
• Very sorrowful
• Text language is English (!)
  
• Ground bass line characterizes emotion of piece
• Extensive use of strings in a decently diminutive accompaniment; focus is on performer.
  

Purpose

• entertainment
  

Reflections

This piece is beautiful! This is what opera has been missing for me whenever I have heard it before--a comprehension. I would be much more inclined to enjoy an English opera (or any classical piece in English for that matter), because the text painting makes sense. While I have the translations in front of me for songs in other languages, it's never the same. When a song climaxes on a particular word, I never know which English word that is. Also, something about an actual English word, with all of its connotations that I can understand, being sung with such grace.

Palestrina: Pope Marcellus Mass

Author

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525-1594, Italian)

• worked as an organist and choirmaster at various churches, including St. Peter's in Rome
• was appointed to the Sistine Chapel Choir even though he was married
• wrote over a hundred Masses
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of thedescription comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is Mass
• 6 voices (SATTBB)
• clear text setting
• mostly polyphony
• frequent splitting and recombining of the 6 voices into groups
• text is Latin
• very "clean"; never strays too far from polyphony
• some words are held in decently long melismas, but not too many
  

Purpose

• sacred
  
• Gloria, for the Mass Ordinary
  

Reflections

I also like this style. Palestria's simplicity when necessary and complexity when interesting makes for a great overall musical feel. Unfortunately, this piece is still a little bit difficult for the congregation to sing; it would have to be a choir. For this reason, I'm not sure it was "good" for the church, even if it is beautiful.

Josquin: Ave Maria...virgo serena

Author

Josquin des Prez (c. 1450-1521: French)

• served in several courts in Italy
• later in life, returned to France to serve as provost at the collegiate church of Condé
• at least 374 works are attributed to him
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of the description comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is motet
• 4 voices (SATB) in varied settings, including imitative polyphony, dialogue, and homorhythm
• text language is Latin
• frequent texture changes from homorhythm to imitative polyphony
• voice groupings also change, from 4 independents to 2 pairs to all voices together
  
• chant used as melodic basis
• lots of imitative counterpoint (sometimes all four parts follow in succession)
• ends with all voices unified in homophony
• still mostly in fifths, sounds hollow
  

Purpose

• sacred
  
• honors the Virgin Mary
• part of the Mass Proper
  

Reflections

This piece is beautiful. I love the open, hollow feeling the sound has to it; I can imagine this would sound great in a stone cathedral. The text is not perfectly understandable, but the important parts are. The general overall feel of the piece is really one of intense reverence.

Farmer: Fair Phyllis

Author

John Farmer (1570-1601, English)

• was active in the 1590s in Dublin, Ireland
• organist and master of the choirboys at Christ Church
• one of the less well-known composers of the English Madrigal School
  
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of thedescription comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is English madrigal
• 4 voices (SATB)
  
• changing textures, but mostly homophonic
  
• text is in English
• word painting
• lighthearted text
  

Purpose

• entertainment, inspired by Italian madrigals
  

Reflections

Part of me is excited about finally hearing a piece in English (having an untrained musical ear, I thus far in my life have mostly enjoyed music for its text). But this text isn't very deep, and I actually think I prefer the counterpoint in the previous work to the homophony (mostly) in this work.

Monteverdi: Ecco mormorar l'onde

Author

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643: Italian)

• father was a doctor, apothecary, and surgeon
  
• published eight books of madrigals
• ordained as a Catholic priest in 1632
• Wikipedia Article
  

About the Piece

(much of thedescription comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is Italian madrigal
• Written in 5 voices (SSATB)
• alternation of voice groups, from low to high in playful exchange
• opens with the bottom 3 voices
• imitative counterpoint
  
• natural images (although they don't mean anything unless you have a translation)
• parallel thirds
• no clear melody, counterpoint throughout
• ends with slow notes
  

Purpose

• entertainment
  

Reflections

In general, I really like the concept of counterpoint in music. It does seem to muddle the text quite a bit, but that doesn't really matter when the piece is in a language that I can't understand anyway. Anything in much more than 5 voices, though, would probably start to confuse me.

Machaut: Puis qu'en oubli

Author

Guillaume de Machaut (French, 1300-1377):

• took holy orders at an early age
  
• later became secretary to John of Luxembourg, king of Bohemia.
• active in the court of Charles, duke of Normandy
• spent his later life as a canon at the Cathedral of Rheims
• Wikipedia Article
  

Time and Place

• Ars nova era, mid 14th century
• Written in France
  

About the Piece

(much of the description comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is polyphonic chanson in 3 voices
• form: A-B-a-A-a-b-A-B
• Alternates between two different (melodic) phrases
• relatively low (male voice) range, but a decently wide range none the less
• very fluid and smooth
• slow
• emphasis on the word sui
• language is (Middle) French
• title means "Since I am forgotten"
  

Purpose

• Secular
• Very sad song
• author morns unrequited love
  

Reflections

I really like this song. The mornful tune fits so well with the text; it reminds me of something the modern-day band Evanescence would have sung in the Ars Nova era. For some reason, sad songs sound more like art to me than happy ones, perhaps because I feel like the artist is being honest with me.

Raimbaut de Vaqueiras: Kalenda maya

Author

Raimbaut de Vaqueiras (Southern French, c. 1155-1207):

• Was a troubador
• the son of a "poor knight" from Provence
• primarily performed in Italian courts
  
• died in 1207, in battle during the Fourth Crusade
• Wikipedia article
  

Time and Place

• Late twelfth Century
• Southern France
• Sung primarily in royal courts
  

About the Piece

(much of the description comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is Estampie, a type of dance song performed by a troubadour
  
• Instruments include a rebec, a pipe, a guitarra moresca, and nakers; however instrumental parts are improvised.
  
• form is strophic which means the same melody is repeated with every stanza of the poem
• the melody takes the form AABBCC
  
• language is (Old) French
• title means "The first of May"
• the text was written as a poem
• compared to sacred music of this era, the singer moves through the text very quickly, as if he is telling a story.
• triple meter
• sounds like a song to dance to
  

Purpose

• Love song to Beatrice, marquise of Montferrat
• Primarily for entertainment
  

Reflections

This is a fun piece, but I feel like I'm missing something. It feels that the piece is written to tell a story, but I can't understand the story because the music is in another language. Consequently, even though I have the translated words sitting right in front of me, I feel "left out". I don't know which word corresponds to which English word, so I don't know what the melody is emphasizing. Otherwise, though, the song seems much more advanced than I would have expected of a Medieval work. I would not have thought a piece like that was that old.

Notre Dame: Gaude Maria Virgo

Author

Anonymous

• In the style of Pérotin (French, fl. 13th century), head of the Notre Dame School
  
• Wikipedia article on Pérotin

Time and Place

• Notre Dame School, in Paris (Wikipedia), which was instrumental in the early development of polyphony and rhythmic modes
• circa 1200, during the period known as Ars antiqua.
  

About the Piece

(much of the description comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is organum in 3 voices
  
• Text praises Mary for destroying heresies
• Two top voices move over a sustained lower voice (tenor) in several rhythmic patterns.
• Still decently conjunct.
• Most of the piece is highly melismatic, only giving way to neumatic monophony at the end of the piece.
• The polyphony is sung in fifths, giving it a hollow sound
  
• Text is in Latin
  

Purpose

• Sacred
• Written for one of the Offices
  
• Sung at feasts to honor Mary
  

Reflections

I didn't really like this piece as much as the previous one. It makes good "background noise", but I think listening to it directly bores and frustrates me. I just wish the singer would hurry up and finish the word and move on to the next. I know this is exactly the opposite of what I said about the first chant; I think it depends on what mood I am in.

Hildegard of Bingen: Alleluia, O virga mediatrix

Author

Hildegard of Bingen (German, 1098-1179):

• Tithed to to church by her parents at a young age (she was the tenth child).
• Had lots of wisdom about many different topics: recipes, theology, music, etc.
• Had 'visions' on a number of different topics
  
• Wikipedia Article

Time and Place

• Written sometime in the twelfth century, in modern-day Germany

About the Piece

(much of the description comes from elements that were brought out by Forney and Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, and the accompanying DVD)

• Genre is chant, or specifically "plainchant"
  
• The text praises the Virgin Mary
• Alternating soloist chorus, "responsorial"
• Melismas on "Alleluia" to open and close the piece
• Much of the rest of the piece is neumatic
  
• conjunct movement
  
• Monophonic
• Text language is Latin
  
• Three different melodic climaxes: sancta viscera tua ("holy flesh"), pulchro flore ("beautiful flower"), and pudoris tui ("your chastity")
  
• Narrow range
  

Purpose

• Sacred
  
• The piece was written for the Mass Proper
• Sung at feasts to honor Mary
  

Reflections

To me, this piece is exactly what I would expect from a piece of chant. It makes me feel like I am moving through life to quickly; I think that is what much of the modern church admires in chant (at least those who listen to it). The fact that the monks take 45 seconds to say the word "Alleluia" leaves me wondering if my praise to God is too time-effecient.