Dvorak: Rusalka- Song to the Moon

Towards the latter of his life, Dvorak goes on to compose many fairy tale based operas, Rusalka being his ninth. Rusalka is the most common Czech opera in circulation though not being noted as one his prominent compositions during his lifetime.

After accepting the text titled Rusalka from librettist Jaroslav Kvapil, Dvorak spent 6 months working on the opera until its completion on November 27, 1900. The poem's chief source of inspiration can most notably be given to Erben's ballad's in his Bouquet. Premiering at the Prague National Theatre in 1901, Rusalka is attributed as being Dvorak's his "most wagnerian" opera he ever composed. Being through-composed, he utilizes the art contrast with respects to the two differing world's within the opera: the human and supernatural. By doing so, he embodies Kvapil's portrayal of being incapable of uniting the two opposing world's together.

Dvorak utilizes a proper amount of leitmotifs in his opera, most importantly being the leitmotif he uses for the title character Rusalka; however, one would assume that the main theme of the opera is representative of the main character but it is his use of his "water magic" theme that takes the cake for being most prominent in the opera. It is represented by it's romantic motif of frustrated yearning, being omnipresent both in the music and the plot.

The Act I synopsis of the story goes as follows: Rusalka, a water-sprite, falls in love with a human prince who hunts near the lake in which she resides. Asking a witch to turn her human, she gives up her voice and her existence as a water-sprite. If she turns out not able to keep the love of a human she will be damned and will have to return to the depths of the lake. Unwaiveringly, she meets the prince in her human form and he falls in love with her, taking her back to his castle, thus ending the act. Within this act, Rusalka sings a song to the moon, asking it to reveal her love to the prince.

Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusalka_(opera)
http://www.antonin-dvorak.cz/en/rusalka

Camacho's wedding

1.     Die Hochzeit des Camacho (Camacho’s wedding), overture Op. 10 by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dutIso2X0o4

 

2.     This Singspiel is a story taken from the book Don Quixote a story of a man who believes himself a hero. The story told in Die Hochzeit des Camacho is about a man who is forcing his daughter to marry a man she does not love. The man she does love makes attempts to stop the wedding and eventually does. The piece ends happy and the daughter and her love end up together. This was not the first Singspiel that Mendelssohn wrote, but it was the only one that he gave a performance for. It was also the last one he ever wrote. He composed this piece in 1825, but it was not performed until 1827. Upon hearing this piece, it was described as a failure. People did not take to the music. Could have been a lack of a good melody. But he also had a friend, Devrient, who spoke about this work as something that Mendelssohn had grew out of. So it could have been that he would have composed the piece a different way.

 

3.     A. He composed this piece to a libretto by Karl Klingeman, a familiar person to the Mendelssohn family. He wrote this piece around the age of 15 and was not the first mature piece that he had completed. His first performance of this piece was in 1827. It was staged at the Royal Court Theatre, located in Berlin.

 

B. The genre of this work is a Singspiel, which is German for singing play. It is more of a comic opera with spoken dialogue. The Singspiel is in two acts. Although a German genre, it is one that can be described in two different ways depending on which part of Germany one lived in. Those who lived in the southern part of Germany composed Singspiels that reflected similarities to Italy’s opera buffa. Those who lived in the northern parts however were more influenced by the French comic opera. This is an ordinary example of the genre, but it was not well received by the people or anyone else for that matter.

 

C. The form of the overture, in this work is usually in a fast-slow-fast sequence. It sort of tells its own story or what the mood may be like when the Singspiel starts. It is the introduction to the Singspiel. It is pretty typical of the period. There are fast sections that are interrupted by short slow sections. There is a reoccurring theme that starts right at the beginning when the strings come in and it comes back up throughout the overture.

 

D. This piece does hold more Romantic qualities about it. A Singspiel was sort of based in Romantic aspects. A Singspiel was also a lot of times meant to show German nationalism. I think that the using a larger orchestra for his work, especially with the use of the trombones and horns made it sound more nationalistic. The story is about a man who has deceived himself into thinking he is a hero, which reflects the individual. He wants to be a hero of those who need it which also reflects the Romantic nationalism. The overture being simply instrumental can reflect to the idea that German’s saw instrumental music as transcending and external, a Romantic idea.

References

Posner, H. (2001, May). Overture, Camacho’s wedding. Retrieved from http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/music/overture-camachos-wedding-felix-mendelssohn

Skelly, E. (2008, January 7). Singspiel. Retrieved from https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/arts-culture/2008/01/07/9068/singspiel/

Wikipedia. (2015, October 6). Die hochzeit des Camacho. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Hochzeit_des_Camacho

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 1

Anton Bruckner, born in 1824 in Ansfelden, Austria. His father passed when he was only 13 and Bruckner was sent to the Augustinian monastery in Sankt Florian, to train as a choirboy.  Here he educated himself in violin and organ. He began his working musical career in 1845 as the organist at Sankt Florian. After studying music theory with Simon Sechter, and Otto Kitzler Bruckner took a job as teacher of Music Theory at the Vienna Conservatory.

            Bruckner is most known for his symphonies. While studying music theory he came up with a new model of a symphony that expanded on Beethoven’s style and capitalizing of the Romantic era.  His new style is best laid out in his Symphony No. 1 .  In the first movement Bruckner opens his symphony fairly quietly, with the melody in the winds and the strings that crescendo on a tremolo for the first minute or so of the movement. This eventually builds up to a rather large climax, which seems to be the case in every movement. This movement is in sonata form but uses three contrasting themes in the exposition rather than the typical two.  In the second movement, Bruckner elaborates on a long drawn out ABABA form. The third movement in his symphonies, are all based on dance rhythms and very greatly in tempo.  Bruckner tends to use rhythmically heavy dance themes in the third movement with the trio section of this movement being completely contrasting and light. The final movement is modeled the same as his first but with a much more expanded coda. What makes his finale so unique is the use of a double fugue.  

            His Symphony No.1 was not completed until 1865, and has since been revised 3 times. It is in C minor, as all of Buckners symphonies were in a minor key.  This recording is a performance of its first revision were Buckner added trumpet and trombone to the score. 

Watson, D. (2009, February 12). Anton Bruckner. Retrieved April 09, 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anton-Bruckner

Clara Schumann - Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 17

      Clara Schumann (1819-1896) set herself apart from the women of her time period.  It was highly uncommon for women, not including renowned singers, to perform in public or compose. Clara Schumann participated in both activities and is known as one of the most accomplished pianists of the Romantic era. 

      Clara was born into a family that fostered musical involvement. Her father made a living by teaching piano, selling instruments, and maintaining a music library.  At the age of five, Clara’s parents separated and custody of Clara and her four brothers was given to their father.  Clara’s mother remarried and relocated to Berlin, leaving the majority of influence on Clara to her father, Friedrich.  Friedrich recognized his daughter’s skill at a young age and ensured that her musical education was thorough.  She studied piano, violin, theory, and various other areas of composition under her father and other excellent teachers in Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin.  By the age of nine, Clara began performing in Leipzig and made her formal debut by the age of eleven.  

      Clara further set her self apart from the crowd in that she was one of the first to perform music entirely from memory.  (Thank you, Clara.)  During this time she performed her own compositions as well as works by other major composers including Beethoven, Bach, Scarlatti, Schubert, and of course, Robert Schumann. 

      Under the disapproving eye of her father, Clara became infatuated with Robert Schumann.  Friedrich was able to keep them apart for a time, but ultimately the two married after nearly a year of legal battles.  The marriage ultimately resulted in a combined musical life.  Clara lived out an uncommon life in the sense that both men in her life, her father and husband, encouraged her to perform and compose. 

 

      During Clara’s fourth pregnancy, she was unable to tour as a pianist and instead stayed home and produced Piano Concerto in G minor, Op.17.  Four movements belong to this piece: Allegro, Scherzo and Trio, Andante, and Allegretto.  The first movement, Allegro, is similar in style to that of Robert’s. With its harsh but somewhat yearning, lyrical first theme, with the second theme being lighter, more chordal, and syncopated.  It is evident to see Bach’s stylistic influence in the development section with her driving counterpoint and her controlled approach.  She breaks the norm by inserting a Scherzo as the second movement. This is a lighthearted piece based on a dotted rhythm.  The Trio section is more lyrical.  The third movement, Andante, falls more in line with the routine harmonization yet provides more flavor melodically.  The outer sections reflect sweet and lyrical with the middle section transitioning back to minor mode.  The final section, Allegretto, brings back major mode and sonata form.  The first theme being dark and looming, the second provides more optimism.  Tension is ultimately released just before the last chords of the piece.  

Resources: 

http://www.musicacademyonline.com/composer/biographies.php?bid=51

http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/clara-schumann

http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/clara-wieck-schumann-393.php

http://www.kapralova.org/journal13.PDF

http://study.com/academy/lesson/clara-schumann-biography-music-compositions.html

http://earsense.org/chamberbase/works/detail/?pkey=687

Ave Maria-Schubert

            I don't know about you, but I really had no idea that the Ave Maria tune we all know and love is by Schubert. However, the Latin text that we hear almost exclusively with this tune is not the original. This was surprising to me, even though it shouldn't have been since...Schubert is definitely German. He composed this piece as the 6th in a setting of 7 songs from Walter Scott's epic poem "The Lady of the Lake", loosely translated into German.

1.     "Ellens Gesang I", D. 837, Raste Krieger, Krieg ist aus / "Soldier rest! the warfare o’er"

2.     "Ellens Gesang II", D. 838, Jäger, ruhe von der Jagd / "Huntsman, rest! thy chase is done"

3.     "Bootgesang", D. 835, Triumph, er naht / "Hail to the chief", for male voice quartet

4.     "Coronach" (Deathsong of the women and girls), D. 836, Er ist uns geschieden / "He is gone to the mountain", for female choir

5.     "Normans Gesang", D. 846, Die Nacht bricht bald herein ("Night will soon be falling")

6.     "Ellens Gesang III" (Hymn to the Virgin), D. 839, Ave Maria! Jungfrau mild! / "Ave Maria! maiden mild!"

7.     "Lied des gefangenen Jägers", D. 843, Mein Roß so müd / "My steed is tired"

            Originally titled "Ellens Gesang III" (Hymn to the Virgin), Schubert’s Ave Maria is a prayer to the Virgin Mary by Ellen Douglas (the Lady of the Lake). Schubert's arrangement is said to have first been performed at the castle of Countess Sophie Weissenwolff in the Austrian town of Steyregg and dedicated to her, which led to her becoming known as "the lady of the lake" herself. The beginning words and refrain beginning with "Ave Maria" is most likely the reason that people later set the Roman Catholic prayer "Ave Maria" to this tune. Schubert’s song is strophic, meaning he used the same melody for each verse. This has become one of Schubert's most famous melodies and has been set and sung in many different forms by many different composers and vocalists.

Sources:

YouTube

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=18531

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ave-Maria-song-by-Schubert

Louis Moreau Gottschalk, The Banjo, op. 15

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

Louis Moreau Gottschalk was born in New Orleans in 1829 to immigrant parents. His father was from London and his mother was Creole, and of French ancestry. Young Gottschalk grew up surrounded by music of Caribbean and African descent, and was very attracted to the Sunday afternoon public dances that slaves would perform near his house. These experiences helped define his sound and style as a Romantic era composer. When he was 13 years old, he went to Paris to study music at the Paris Conservatoire, but met difficulties upon being there, mainly for being American. He eventually made his way into the fold and performed music extensively in Paris before moving back to the U.S. in 1853. He was successful throughout much of the 1860’s but eventually moved to Brazil because he was involved in a scandalous relationship with one of his students. His life as a composer was very successful in South America, and it was in Brazil that he passed away in 1869.

1. The Banjo was composed in 1855 after Gottschalk returned from Europe. There is much speculation as to what influenced the piece, and Gottschalk never left detailed indications other than a sketch on one of his scores calling it “a melody for Negroes.” It is certain that Gottschalk encountered banjo performers all around New Orleans as a child, but also throughout his extensive travels. This piece was first heard and performed in March of 1855.
2. The genre is a Piano Fanstasy, which is meant to be improvised but still follow a formal plan. Due to the fact that Gottschalk grew up in New Orleans, he was exposed to ubiquitous folk, African, and Creole music all the time. But in addition to this naturally absorbed style of music, he was classically trained and able to blend cultures and styles through those experiences. 
3. The form is five parts with two alternating A and B sections. There is an intro as well as a coda in which Gottschalk incorporated Foster’s “The Camptown Lady” melody. It is rather typical of the period and Gottschalk followed many conventional rules, while still being creative and innovative in terms of texture and style. 
4. This would be a Romantic piece because it contains unusual characteristics that would be found in Romantic era music. For example, it is a piano piece, but it is meant to sound like and be performed like banjo music. There are banjo techniques being incorporated, such as brushless down-stroking, forward backwards rolls, hammer-ons, and many other techniques that were a mix of American, African, and European styles.

Sources:

Smith , Paul E. "Gottschalk's The Banjo, op. 15, and the Banjo in the Nineteenth Century." Palouserivermusic.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2017. <http://palouserivermusic.com/files/banjo.pdf>.

Gelfert, Axel. "Biography." Biography. N.p., 2001. Web. 09 Apr. 2017.

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

Ferdinand Hiller

Ferdinand Hiller was a German pianist, teacher, and composer born October 24, 1811 and died may 11, 1885. His family was of Jewish descent, however, his father changed his name in order to hide their Jewish ties. At an early age Hiller began to learn piano and violin, and quickly was set apart as a talented musician. At the age of 10, Hiller made his concert debut doing a public performance of a Mozart concerto. Only two years later Hiller composed his first work. In 1822, Hiller became long-time friends with Felix Mendelssohn, as the Mendelssohn family lived with the Hillers for a while. Later on, at the recommendation of Mendelssohn himself, Hiller became a pupil of Johann Nepomuk Hummel—a pupil of Mozart and a foremost pianist and composer in Europe. Fun fact: Hummel and Hiller attended the premiere of Schubert’s Winterreise, which was performed by Schubert himself.

The next milestone of Hiller’s life came when he moved to Paris in 1828 where he became a pupil of many notable names including Rossini and Cherubini. While in Paris, Miller was a teacher of composition at Charon’s School of Music. He also spent some time in Italy, in hopes of becoming and established opera composer. With the help of Rossini, Hiller composed the opera Romilda—which ended up being a total flop. In 1836, Hiller returned to Frankfurt were his spent the majority of the remainder of his career before his death in 1885.

            In 1840, Hiller composed his oratorio Die Zerstörung Jerusalems (The Destruction of Jerusalem). The libretto which was written by Salomon Steinheim, Is based on the biblical story of the siege of Jerusalem. The premiere of Hiller’s work was at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, again under the recommendation of Mendelssohn. The premiere was well-received, and often was compared to Mendelssohn’s Paulus (American Symphony). The goal of Hiller’s oratorio was to please the present time. His conservative nature in regard to music is evident in his very traditionally classic music, which is noticeable throughout the oratorio, especially in the Duett. Simple in texture, with clear melodic lines and simple harmonies, Hiller’s work is more focused on the classical ideals than the forward-progressing music of the New German School.

Ferdinand Hiller (1811-1885) on Hyperion Records. Retrieved from http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/c.asp?c=C1251

The Destruction of Jerusalem. Retrieved from http://americansymphony.org/the-destruction-of-jerusalem_2/