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.