Domenico Alberti

Domenico Alberti, famous not only for his accompaniment pattern, was a popular harpsichordist and singer during his time. Domenico Alberti lived from 1710-1740. He was born in Venice, Itally and as we all know Venice is an important city during this time because of all the culture going on during the time period. Today I am going to tell you a little bit about the man behind the Alberti bass accompaniment.
Unbeknownst to Alberti, millions of beginning pianist will learn something from him. During his time on Earth Alberti would frequently accompany himself singing by playing the harpsichord. He was very popular amongst his audiences and was known primarily for his left handed accompaniment pattern. It is believed that he wrote 36 sonatas, however only 14 of those have survived.
Op. 1, Sonata VI in sol magggiore is one of his sonatas that survived. During my research I could not not find exactly where this piece would be performed. My best guess would be in a concert hall of some sort. The time period I would presume would be in the 1730's and would more than likely be in Venice, Italy.
He mostly wrote keyboard pieces for harpsichord. Harpsichord was the instrument to write keyboard pieces for it because it only made sense for him to write his sonatas for it. His compositions aren't unusual unless you account for his dedication to not learning any different accompaniment patterns.
The form is binary form. All of his sonatas we have record of were in binary form. It is pretty typical of the time period. He doesn't do anything very strange and confusing in his form. It is very simple but interesting to listen to in my opinion.
His compositions are obviously classical. He was born during that era. He lived in the heart of music culture. He played keyboard pieces.

http://imslp.org/wiki/8_Harpsichord_Sonatas,_Op.1_(Alberti,_Domenico)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domenico_Alberti

String Quintet in E Major, Op. 11, No.5 – Luigi Boccherini

String Quintet in E Major, Op. 11, No.5 – Luigi Boccherini

Luigi Boccherini was a virtuoso cellist born in Lucca, Italy in 1743 to double-bass and cellist player Leopoldo Boccherini, who was one of three brothers to produce successful work in the world of music during the classical period. There was ill to be gotten fortune for Luigi in Lucca, Italy concerning his musical works; it wasn’t until his experience in Rome, teachings from Giovanni Battista Sammartini (one of the great symphony composers of the time), and highly successful performances in Vienna did his career begin to flourish.

            It wasn’t until 1771 that Boccherini’s String Quintet in E Major, Op. 11, No, 5 was written and while it was not soon after was attributed as one of his best works, its claim to greatness was eventually realized by the masses. His cello string quintet consisted of 6 quintets beginning with a andantino mosso (amoroso) tempo for the 1^st movement and picks up with the following lively pace of allegro e con spirito in the second. The first movement carries bright melodies of  E major delivering a happy feeling to the audience which blends with his even more up-tempo movement 2. Arriving to his most famous of the 4 movements to his obviously classical style, Boccherini’s 3^rd movement takes the cake in delivering his beloved minuetto, with historical reference to its typical atmosphere of being played at a French dance, respectively with a 3/4 time signature. Albeit has a plethora of cadences which seem to give the musical phrases a focused sense of completeness, the final movement places the piece in its final key of A major. Boccherini stays true to the galant style in his Op. 11 no. 5 string quintet while throwing in dynamics and complexity, with intricacies parallel to that of the high boroque period.

Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Boccherini

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Luigi-Boccherini

http://www.classicalmidi.co.uk/boccherini.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Battista_Sammartini

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_Quintet_in_E_major,_Op._11,_No._5_(Boccherini)

Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPdExXhO8M4

Ch. W. Gluck, Iphigénie en Aulide

     Gluck, (1714-1787) is most known for his operas in both the Italian and French language. He was born in Germany and earned recognition at the Habsburg court at Vienna were he created the new genre of reform opera with the release of his 1760's version of Orfeo ed Euridice. The strong French influence in these works inspired Gluck to move to Paris. Gluck wrote many operas in France combining practices from both French and Italian styles. Gluck is said to have mastered this style of Opera with his work Iphigénie en Tauride. Later he returned to Vienna where he remained for the rest of his life. 

       Gluck was contracted for six operas in Paris. His first of Six, Iphigénie en Aulide, sparked a huge controversy within the city. Gluck's competitors brought in Niccolò Piccinni, which created a two sided argument within paris between "Piccinnists and Gluckists".  

      Iphigénie en Aulide was written and preformed 1779, and consists of four acts. In the reform opera style, Glucks’ goal is to create simplicity in opera. This is that is should be truthful and natural. Most importantly it should get back to its original ideology of telling poetry in a more lyrical style, specifically stories from the Ancient Greek culture. Just like his version of Euridice the recitatives are shorter and they are not companied by solely basso continuo, but by other instruments as well. In traditional Gluck fashion, this opera is based on an Ancient Greek story. This specific opera deals with stories from the Agamemnon family during the aftermath of the Trojan War. In this story Iphigenia is reminded of the sacrifice of her brother Agamemnon. Iphigenia is out to save Orestes from being sacrificed by Agamemnon. She is then sent on a journey with Orestes in search of a statue. After confrontation between Iphigenia, Orestes and Thoas, the temple king, in the temple after they had stolen the statue, Orestes visited by Athena and is thus saved from being sacrificed.

     Piccinni also wrote his own version of this opera but did not receive the popularity that Glucks did.  It was the fifth of his operas written and preformed in France. During the rehearsals for his sixth opera, Echo Et Narcisse, Gluck suffered a stroke. Echo was not very successful and the series of event caused Gluck to move back to Vienna. 

Scene From Act 1

Recitative from Act 2

                                                                                

     Fisher, Burton D., et al. Iphigénie En Tauride : Iphigenia In Tauris: Tragédie In French In 

Four Acts. [Boca Raton, Fla.?]: Opera Journeys Publishing, 2010. eBook Collection

(EBSCOhost). Web. 29 Jan. 2017..

    

      

     Kyriakou, Poulheria. A Commentary On Euripides' Iphigenia In Tauris. Berlin: De 

Gruyter, 2006. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 29 Jan. 2017 

     

    Pines, R. (2016). Gluck: Iphigénie en Tauride. Opera News, 80(11), 67-68.

   

Glenn Fischer

Music History II

Dr. Morgan-Ellis

29 January 2017

Franz Joseph Haydn

String Quartet Op. 20, no. 2 in C Major

Franz Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria in 1732. Unlike many other notable composers from his era, Haydn was not born into a family of established musicians. His father was a wheel maker with no formal education, and his mother was a cook for nobility. Haydn’s talent was noticed by his parents at a very young age, and by age six he was sent to live in a neighboring town with his cousin, who was a choirmaster. Throughout his early career, he composed, studied, and taught lessons to children while living in Vienna. In 1761, Haydn began his job as Kapellmeister for the extremely wealthy Esterhazy family. This was a very prominent point in his career. Haydn’s career consisted of many different stages, and during his time with the Esterhazy’s he composed Op. 20. Also at this time, a literary movement called Sturm und Drang was occurring, which was very focused on emotional expression and considered a catalyst of the Romantic Era’s creation. Much of the music Haydn composed at this time contained characteristics of the Sturm und Drang movement. Haydn is known as a highly influential figure in the evolution of string quartets, and this particular piece is considered one of his milestones. Haydn carried out a tremendously prolific career and eventually died of illness in 1809. 

1. The piece was composed while Haydn was working as Kapellmeister for Prince Nicholas Esterházy at the palace in Hungary. The palace had a symphonic chamber where the piece was first performed. He composed this work during the Sturm und Drang era, which influenced the heavy emotion conveyed in the piece. 
2. The genre is String Quartet, and it is a slightly unusual example of this genre. Although no. 2 is in C major, Haydn incorporated minor keys in some of the other sets of Op. 20. This blending of major and minor keys was a result of the Sturm und Drang movement, to emphasize extremes of emotion. 
3. This piece is in sonata form, and Haydn used fugues consistently as finales in movements. The piece is part of his rejection to the galant style. He followed many rules of the form by beginning with the exposition, and moving to the development and recapitulation. The piece is single tonic throughout and transposes to c minor occasionally. The simplicity of the form is an appeal to natural and elegant emotion. Some of the other notable advancements in the music are the ensemble textures and techniques. The violins became more equal voices, and the cello and viola became more independent. In addition, the music has more symmetry and counterpoint. 
4. Some characteristics of the music are considered to be influential to the development of the Romantic era, particularly because of how emotionally driven the music became. However, Op. 20, no. 2 does share characteristics of the Romantic era with the Classical era, and in many peoples’ opinion, this piece would fall in between. 

Sources:

Taruskin, Richard, and Christopher Howard. Gibbs. The Oxford history of Western music. New York: Oxford U Press, 2013. Print.

Hadden, J. Cuthbert. Haydn. Adelaide: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2002. Print.

Grave, Floyd K., and Margaret G. Grave. The string quartets of Joseph Haydn. New York: Oxford U Press, 2006. Print.

Jean-Phillipe Rameau: Les Paladins (1760)

Jean-Phillipe Rameau (1683-1764) was a French composer and music theorists. however, it was not until Rameau reached his 40s that he reached true success in the compositional field (Chapter 15--Baroque). He was one of the most important French composers of the Baroque Era, as he was a brilliant harpsichordist and was perhaps the most accomplished composer of the time for the instrument. Rameau later composed works for orchestra, voice, an even composed music for the opera and the ballet—though not until his 50s.

Rameau faced much controversy throughout his musical career, specifically regarding his first opera Hippolyte et Aricie (1733). Opera was a huge tradition in France, and had rules and regulations that were set in place for others to follow. These basic guidelines for the opera came from Jean-Baptiste Lully, and it was believed by many that Rameau—a once stylistic follower of Lully—had strayed from Lully’s ideals. Though his first opera struck up controversy, it was astoundingly successful and directed the course for the rest of Rameau’s musical dramas.

Rameau’s last produced work was his opera Les Paladins, a comedie lyrique that was first performed at the Paris Opera in 1760. Les Paladins is a three-act opera based on the story Le petit chien qui secoue de l'argent et des pierreries by La Fontaine. The opera has a seven-character cast, with a plot that follows the love triangle of Argie, Anselme, and Atis. Argie is in love Atis, but Anselme—Argie’s guardian—wants to marry her. Anselme pretends to give his blessing, but instead sends for Atis’s death. In a series of events, Anselme is outwitted and Argie and Atis share love and celebration at last.

 There are many interesting facts about Rameau’s opera which illicit wonder and even controversy. Les Paladins was a work that was revised multiple times before its first production—a strikingly different approach to his compositional efforts, as Rameau rarely made revisions. Also, a rare compositional tactic by Rameau was that Les Paladins was a comedie lyrique as opposed to his usual comedie ballet. This particular opera was among the first of such works to be performed in the Opéra (Wolf).

Stylistically, Les Paladins fits completely in the category of classical. Les Paladins was highly infused with the sound of the Baroque period. Musically and harmonically difficult, Rameau was able to show off his theoretic prowess with the immense amount of detail and bold musical choices—including techniques that combatted those of Lully. Throughout his opera there is musical variety, the distinct classical technique basso continuo, as well as dance-like interludes. While the musical techniques combatted those of Lully’s opera, Rameau creates his very own, profound classical work. Les Paladins is beautifully and masterfully orchestrated, and was unlike any other piece of its time.

Below is a link to the Overture and the Introduction of Act I. In both recordings, the Baroque, classical sound is immediately evident.

Works Cited

Chapter 15—Baroque Music. Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780195379884/student/chapter15/

Jean-Philippe Rameau: a biographical note. Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://www.baroquemusic.org/biorameau.html

Wolf, R. P. (1983). Rameau's Les Paladins From autograph to production. Early Music,11(4), 497-504. doi:10.1093/earlyj/11.4.497