Franz Schubert "Mass no. 2 in G major"

Franz Schubert is well known for his lieder, secular vocal works, but not many know about the 7 complete masses that he composed. The masses were composed from 1814 to 1828. The mass that we are going to look at today is Schubert's 2nd mass called Mass no. 2 in G major, also known as Schubert's Mass in G major". This is Schubert's 2nd mass that he wrote and he wrote it between March 2-7 in 1815. He only needed less than a week to compose it! This mass is one of Schubert's most popular short masses that he wrote. Schubert wrote the piece in G major to make it easier to compose and gave the mass more of  a "traditionally folksy [t]one" (franzpeterschubert.com). The piece is very simple like and is not to terribly difficult. It requires a string orchestra, organ, soprano soloist, tenor soloist, a bass soloist, and a choir. However, it was found in the 1980's that he had also written it for timpani and trumpets as well. 

Schubert wrote the mass for Therese Grob. Schubert fell in love with Therese and would write many soprano solos just for her. She is the soprano soloist for Schubert's Mass in G major. It was first premiered at parish church in Lichtental, but there is no proof that it was ever premiered there in 1815.

The mass is a Missa brevis which includes all 6 movements of the mass. It is a very typical thing that composers would write a mass. Most composers wrote masses, but Schubert's is different. His is very simple and short. Schubert wrote a lot of "folksy" music that was simple and short during his time. 

As stated earlier, the mass is in the form of a missa brevis which means short mass. It is very typical for composers of Schubert's time to create larger masses as well as short ones. He didn't have any rules to follow.

This piece is obviously a classical piece because Schubert doesn't follow the same emotional attachment that composer's like Beethoven would have used. Schubert believed that his listeners should connect to the piece through the "overall devotional mood of a religious composition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_No._2_(Schubert)

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

http://www.franzpeterschubert.com/sacred_music.html

Schubert- Drang in die Ferne, Op 71, D770

Franz Schubert was born in 1797 with innate musical ability. His family was supportive of his gifts and his older brother and Father both helped him receive proper teachings on music. By 1808 he was enrolled at Stadtkonvikt as a choir boy but his fortune would run out in 1812 when his voice broke. This inclined him, as well as pressure from his family, to join a teaching college under his father. He continued as a schoolteacher until 1818 when he decided to pursue his musical interests. Up to this point in his life, Schubert had created numerous piano pieces, string quartets, symphonies and a 3 act opera. 

He wrote music to Karl Von Leitner's poem Drang in die Ferne, translating to Drawn to the Distance a.k.a. Longing to Escape, in 1823, originally appearing in the newspaper Wiener Zeitschrift für Kunst. This vocal waltz-like song is introduced with urgency at a lively pace, starting in the first verse with A minor. The song is in strophic form, having ten verses in all. Given the new practice of music being put to poems, Schubert does not take away from the value of the poem by having eccentric and complex improvisations. He follows the sincerity and longing of the singer with the piano, which acts by insinuating physical body gestures in support of the singer's pleas of freedom in nature. This in turn brings about lively articulation and ends the third verse in A major. Following the romantic pleading to explore the world, the song shifts with even more sincerity at verse six when the singer asks for a "parting kiss" from his parents, whom he is leaving. Schubert then builds up even more sincerity by chromatically expressing and exploring F major all before the seventh verse. Once more this technique is used in the ninth verse, giving rise to the idea that the singer perhaps will never see his family again. But he rejoices in the thought of finding a happier place and the singer ends in A major. The piano goes on and doubts the claims and ends in A minor, adding a personal expressive thought provoking ending to the story, parallel to the markers of Romanticism.

Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTA7QyLaJJo

http://www.biography.com/people/franz-schubert-9475558
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dw.asp?dc=W2086_GBAJY9301811

Ètieene Méhul

Ètieene Nicolas Méhul (1763-1817) was a French composer. He was the most important composer in France during the Revolution and the first composer to be labeled as romantic. Méhul was born in France but studied music with Wilhelm Hanser, in Germany.  In 1778 he went to Paris to study with Jean-Frédéric Edelmann. He originally began composing piano pieces and arranging arias for popular operas. From those successes he began his career in opera. His first two operas were to be preformed were failures. First Alonzo et Cora was originally set to be preformed in 1789 and was flopped by the opera house until 1791. His second opera, Adrien, was banned for political reasons.  Amongst this his third opera premiered, Euphrosine. This opera was extremely successful and put Méhul on the map as a new talent. During the revolution in France he wrote operas, patriotic songs, and propaganda music. His most famous piece is Chant du depart, or Song of the Departure.  This song is what marks him as a true Romantic composer.   First performed in 1794 with each stanza sung by a different group or characters in the choir for instance the first stanza is a speech of an officer cheering on his soldiers, the second, is of a mother offering her sons life to the fatherland and the Fourth, is sung by children.  This Song survived both the Revolution and the Empire and is still sung by the French Army.

Lyrics:

A deputy of the People

Victory sings
Opens its gate for us
Liberty guides our steps
And from North to South
The horn of war
Rang the battle hour
Tremble, enemies of France

Kings drunk on blood and pride
Sovereign People comes forth
Tyrants go down to your graves

Song of the Warriors (chorus)

The Republic is calling us

Let's know how to vanquish or let's know how to perish
A Frenchman must live for her [the Republic]
For her [the Republic] a Frenchman must die

A mother of a Family

Do not fear that our motherly eyes shall weep From us begone, cowardly grief! We shall triumph when you take up arms It is kings who should shed a tear We gave you life Warriors, it is no longer yours All your days belong to the Motherland She is your mother more than we are (Chorus)

Two old men

May their fathers' blade be placed in the hands of the brave, Remember us on the Field of Mars (on the battlefield) Baptise in the blood of kings and slaves The blade thus blessed by your elders And by bringing back home Both wounds and virtues Return to shut our eyes When tyrants are no more (Chorus)

A child

The fates of Barra and Viala fill us with envy They died, but they prevailed Cowards crushed by the weight of years never truly knew life He who dies for the People has lived You are brave, so are we Lead us against Tyrants Republicans are men Slaves are children (Chorus)

A wife

Leave, valiant husbands! Battles are your feasts Leave, models for warriors We shall pick flowers to crown your heads Our hands shall braid laurels And if the temple of memory (death) Should open for your victorious manes Our voices shall sing your glory Our wombs shall bear your avengers (Chorus)

A young girl

And we, sister of the heroes, we who of Hymenaios marriage's sweet bonds Are still ignorant If someday to join his fate to ours A citizen should express the wish Let them come back within our walls Embellished with glory and liberty And let their blood, in battle Have spilled for equality (Chorus)

Three warriors

On the iron, before God, we swear to our fathers to our wives, to our sisters to our representatives, to our sons, to our mothers that we shall annihilate oppressors Everywhere, into the deep night by sinking the infamous royalty the French shall give to the world peace and liberty (Chorus)

https://www.marxists.org/history/france/revolution/1794/chant-du-depart.htm

http://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1025&context=dhp

Franz Schubert, Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667 “Trout”

Franz Schubert was born in Himmelpfortgrund, Austria in 1797. His father was a teacher/schoolmaster and mother was a housemaid (before marriage) and it was expected of young Franz to also become a teacher. Schubert’s father was also a musician, although he was not formally trained, he did teach Schubert fundamentals at an early age. After noticing Franz’s musical capabilities early in life, he began learning at his father’s school. His brothers and father taught him, and they even had a family string quartet. Schubert taught at his father’s school for two years, but hated it and eventually left. During this time he proceeded to study with Salieri and continued to craft his style as a composer. Schubert was well-known for his large and highly prolific musical output. He was very well-received throughout much of his career, but he did endure a great deal of hardship, particularly after contracting syphilis. Despite his illness, Schubert still composed high volumes of music. Schubert experienced popularity while working in Vienna, but still faced many financial hardships, and did not truly receive due recognition until after his early death. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMr4pDGo0KE&t=1215s 

1. The piece was composed in 1819 when Johann Vogl, a famous opera singer and admirer of Schubert, took him on a trip to Vogl’s birthplace of Steyr, Austria. On this trip, Schubert became the focus of the evening musicales which were hosted by an arts patron named Sylvester Paumgartner, who also happened to play cello (not professionally). Paumgartner loved a song of Schubert’s called “Die Forelle” (the trout), which led to the composition of Piano Quintet in A Major, as it was commissioned by Paumgartner.
2. The genre is Piano Quintet, however it is unusual instrumentation because he replaced cello with double bass. Since Schubert composed the piece for Paumgartner, who was an amateur cellist, it is speculated that he changed cello to double bass to relieve Paumgartner of the duties, as it was too difficult for his abilities on cello. 
3. The form would be sonata, containing a four movement format, but there is an interpolation with variations in the fourth movement before the unusual fifth movement concludes the piece. Most of the form is conventional, until the fourth movement which has a set of variations from Schubert’s song “Die Forelle.”
4. The piece contains classical elements that are modified in ways that reflect the Romantic period. The form is a good example because of its five movements, rather than four. In addition, the instrumentation is unusual because of the double bass taking place of the cello. In addition, this quintet was composed for private salons and domestic music consumption, which was a staple of the Romantic era. Since the piece contains these unusual elements, I would consider it to be Romantic. 

Sources:

"Classical Notes - Classical Classics - Schubert: Trout Quintet, Death and the Maiden Quartet, Wanderer Fantasy, By Peter Gutmann." Classical Notes - Classical Classics - Schubert: Trout Quintet, Death and the Maiden Quartet, Wanderer Fantasy, By Peter Gutmann. Accessed March 15, 2017. http://www.classicalnotes.net/classics/trout.html.

Schwarm, Betsy. "Trout Quintet." Encyclopædia Britannica. November 08, 2015. Accessed March 19, 2017.https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trout-Quintet.

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

Schubert: “Gretchen am spinnrade"

Schubert: “Gretchen am spinnrade", op.2, D.118

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY0eeotSDi8

Schubert wrote this song in 1814, when he was about 17 years old. He had just ended his short career in the Imperial Court’s chapel choir in Vienna two years earlier when his voice broke. Antonio Salieri had been teaching him while he was there, and those lessons continued until 1815. In 1814 he began his education to become a teacher like his father, and got a job at his father’s school. He continued his education until about 1818 and composed many pieces while he was there. It was during this time that he began composing Lieder (alongside string quartets, operas and symphonies), the first based on Goethe’s poems. After he left the college, he dedicated his full attention to composing and a career in music.

a)      Schubert was inspired to write this song after reading Goethe’s dramatic story of Faust. In this story, a man, Faust, sells his soul to the devil in exchange for a carefree, exciting life. The girl he meets in the story, Gretchen, is the narrator of Schubert’s song (translated as), “Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel”. In this scene, she has fallen in love with Faust and sits in her room spinning yarn and expressing her anguish and feelings about her love. As was common at the time, this song was probably first performed at a private salon concert (as was most of Schubert’s music).

b)       “Gretchen am spinnrade" was Schubert’s first Lied. Before him, the Lied was a German language song with a folk-music style. It was simple and strophic (as seen as authentic to folk-culture), with the piano as accompaniment. However, Schubert transformed the genre to be more expressive and explorative of human emotion, with the accompaniment emphasizing and aiding the expression of the text. As a Lied, this song is a solo voice accompanied by piano, but the music reflects the drama of the text, rather than being simple and folksy.

c)      This song is through-composed instead of the traditional strophic form; each stanza of the song reflects the developing emotion and message of the lyrics. It changes to distant keys multiple times throughout, rather than repeating the same melody line for each stanza. In a traditional Lied, the accompaniment only provides a harmonic structure for the melody, but Schubert commonly gave his piano part a dramatic role. In this song, the piano acts as her spinning wheel – the right hand replicating the sound of the wheel, and the left the sound of the bobbin. A little over halfway through the song, it builds to a dramatic moment (“ah, his kiss!”) where the accompaniment stops briefly, as if the girl pauses her spinning distractedly before continuing – an extremely unusual moment for a Lied.

d)      Schubert’s deviations from the classical Lied are clearly indicative of the Romantic period. The lyrics develop the deep feelings and thoughts of the girl, exploring her inner emotional turmoil, mirrored by the accompaniment in distant keys and harmonies. The Romantic artists valued this intense, individual expression of emotion that overcomes the rational and controlled expression common to the Classical period. Schubert took the original and simple design of the Lied and “broke the rules” to develop it into a deeply expressive and interesting genre.

Sources:

http://www.biography.com/people/franz-schubert-9475558

http://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2014/10/19/352513546/after-200-years-a-schubert-song-still-resonates

http://behindthespinningwheel.blogspot.com/2008/12/analysis.html

Beethoven's 7th Symphony in A major, II Allegretto



Beethoven’s 7th symphony premiered on December 8th, 1813 in Vienna. The event was a charity concert for soldiers wounded in the Battle of Hanau, a battle between the Austro-Bavarian corps and Napoleon's retreating French during the War of the Sixth Coalition. Beethoven himself conducted all of his works, and the concert also included Wellington’s Victory. To Beethoven’s irritation, the symphony was introduced as a “Companion piece” to Wellington’s Victory.

The symphony is in four movements, Poco sostenuto, Allegretto, Presto, and Allegro con brio. The symphony is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in A, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in A, 2 trumpets in D, timpani, and strings. The orchestra that premiered the symphony was considered by Beethoven to be an all star group, led by his good friend and preferred concertmaster Ignaz Schuppanzigh.

The second movement, Allegretto,  was by far the most popular portion of the symphony, and one of the most popular compositions by Beethoven during his lifetime. At its premiere, the symphony received a standing ovation and was performed again before the orchestra moved on to the rest of the symphony. The movement was so popular, in fact, that it would sometimes replace the slow moments of earlier Beethoven symphonies when they were performed.

The movement is in A minor and is in “Double Variation” form. In this form, a type of theme and variations form, the first theme is stated, followed by the second theme. The two themes are then put through a series of variations in an alternating fashion (A,B,A,B…). The A theme in particular is interesting due to its lack of melodic or harmonic movement. The violas and cellos begin the movement with an ostinato on an inverted A minor chord. The theme is much more rhythmically interesting than melodically, changing harmonies only twice. The two themes are then elaborated on with variations, before entering a fugal section on the A theme.

Sources:

http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/music/symphony-no-7-ludwig-van-beethoven

http://www.classicalnotes.net/classics4/beethovenseventh.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._7_(Beethoven)

Friedrich Kuhlau

The Danish composer Friedrich Daniel Rudolf Kuhlau was born September 11, 1786. He died at the age of forty-five in 1832. Although he is Danish, he was born in Germany, and he didn't become a Danish citizen until 1813. He composed during the Classical and Romantic periods and was well-known for his piano skills. At the age of seven, Kuhlau lost his right eye due to a falling accident. When he was eighteen, he premiered as a pianist.

In the Danish opera, he introduced the styles and works of Beethoven because he admired the musicianship of Beethoven. Many of his unpublished manuscripts are lost because of a house fire; however, he still was able to publish two-hundred manuscripts in a variety of genres.

One of the well-known operas Kuhlau helped with was Elves' Hill. Elves' Hill, or Erlenhügel, premiered in 1828 at the Royal Opera House in Copenhagen, Germany. The text was written by Johan Ludvig Heiberg and is written in Danish. This was the first work of Danish National Romanticism and is considered the national play. It is a Romantic opera with simplified music.

Elves' Hill is considered a comedy genre. It was commissioned by Frederik VI for his daughter's wedding. Since then, in the Royal Danish Theater, Elves' Hill has been performed more than one thousand times. Both text and melody of traditional ballads were used.

Jeg gik mig i lunden is a piece from Erlenhügel. The following video is a recording of the piece. The text at the beginning talks about how the girl needs to be aware that the elf king is watching. It then begins to tell a story of how the girl becomes the elf king's bride, and she has to be his now. The music is simple and the same for each verse. There are multiple verses to this song.

 

 

This is a contrasting video to the same piece. The woman singing does a some dynamic contrast and makes the piece more musical. The guitar part is closer to the original music that was written.

This is the overture to Elves' Hill. The orchestra for the overture includes: trumpets, a variety of percussion (i.e. triangle, timpani, etc.), bass trombone, flutes, oboes, clarinets, etc. There is also a need for a chorus and individual voices.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Kuhlau
http://imslp.org/wiki/Elverh%C3%B8j,_Op.100_(Kuhlau,_Friedrich)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elves%27_Hill
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jeg_gik_mig_i_lunden.ogg
https://da.wikisource.org/wiki/Jeg_gik_mig_i_lunden
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=10&ved=0ahUKEwjHh8yKzN7SAhULllQKHYBMAqYQFghMMAk&url=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.kb.dk%2Fma%2Fdmb%2FI-136a.pdf&usg=AFQjCNEPnGidREUXh1aORTNwJruQSBIPSA&sig2=GSmocnVDmW8MSBDbn9JIOw&bvm=bv.149760088,d.cGw

Mozart - Eine kleine Nachtmusik

Eine kleine Nachtmusik, (“A Little Night Music”) is serenade for two violins, viola, cello, and double bass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of his most memorable pieces. Originally an evening song for courtship, the term serenade by the late 18th century was used basically to describe a chamber work intended for light entertainment on a social occasion. Serenades were popular particularly in Vienna, where Mozart spent the last decade of his life. At that time, it was customary for ensembles to perform serenades in Vienna’s parks and gardens, and composers found that this genre could easily bring in money and appease audiences.

Mozart produced many serenades, the 13th of which, nicknamed Eine kleine Nachtmusik, is his best known. The four-movement work opens with a bright allegro in sonata form, and a slow, lyrical second movement follows. The third movement is a light minuet, and the finale is a brisk rondo. Originally, the piece contained a second minuet, but that movement has been lost. This piece was completed on August 10, 1787. We do not know the specific occasion, if any, for which Eine kleine Nachtmusik was composed.

Regardless of its original performance context, Eine kleine Nachtmusik became one of Mozart’s most popular pieces. In the 21st century, Eine kleine Nachtmusik remains among the most frequently performed and iconic of all classical compositions.

Things to listen for:
•String chamber music style.
•Quick-paced movement with 3 themes, sonata-allegro form.
•Overall homophonic texture.
•Primary theme is disjunct, marchlike, and ascends quickly (“rocket theme”); secondary theme is graceful and conjunct.

This is a classic example of sonata form; Mozart followed the formula almost to the letter.

(also just watch the first violin. homegirl is GETTIN IT.)

Exposition:
PT: G major
Bridge: modulating
ST: contrasting in D major
CT: D major. Repetitive.

Development:
Short, begins in D, intertwines PT and CT.

Recapitulation:
PT: G major
ST: G major
CT: G major
Coda: G major

Sources:

YouTube

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eine-kleine-Nachtmusik

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/music/listeninglab/shared/listening_guides/mozart_eine_kleine_nachtmusik.pdf

Mozart ~ 12 Variations in C Major

1778 found Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the age of 22.  At this time, he composed a set of twelve variations on the theme, “Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman.”  This translates to, “Shall I tell you, Mother?  Many people credit Mozart with the creation of this well-known melody.  You will know it as, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”  However, Mozart does not receive the glory for the origin of this piece.  This French melody first appeared in 1761, known as a French folk tune and used in various children’s songs including, “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” and the “Alphabet Song.”  The original publication in 1761 by M. Bouin was intended for extravagant entertainment for garden parties in Paris.  Years later, Mozart’s 12 Variations in C Major are speculated to have been written for his students as practice keyboard exercises.  Created for solo piano with thirteen sections, this piece was first published in Vienna in 1785. 

Below is the original theme in C major:

From here, the variations give the melody to the right and left hand, embellish melodies with running sixteenth notes, add triplets, switch to off-beat patterns, find running scale patterns, move to the parallel minor, give staccato and legato expressions, and decorate with other melodic embellishments.  All of these variations support the theory that this piece was composed for student exercise.    

The original presentation of the melody in two part harmony allows ample room for Mozart's imagination to run wild.  Various suspensions and chromaticism gives way to the enriched harmony and the final variation shifts to triple meter and allegro tempo for an exciting close.  

https://www.thoughtco.com/mozart-origin-twinkle-twinkle-little-star-723916

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1767/who-wrote-the-melody-to-the-alphabet-song

http://www.cengage.com/resource_uploads/downloads/049518974X_78467.pdf