| |
|
| TRIPLE TREAT |  | Henry Purcell
Chacony in g minor (arranged by Benjamin Britten)
A major composer of the Baroque era and one of England’s greatest of any period, Henry Purcell came from a distinguished family of musicians. Although he was employed in the royal court of three British monarchs, Charles II, James II and William & Mary, little is known about his biography. In 1679 he became organist at Westminster Abbey and in 1683 organ maker and keeper of the king’s instruments. He was greatly esteemed by his contemporaries, as can be seen from the burial tablet: “Here lyes Henry Purcell, Esq.; who left this life, and is gone to that blessed place where only his harmony can be exceeded.”
In spite of a short life, Purcell’s musical output was prodigious. He composed in all the musical genres of the period, including sonatas and dance suites. He is best known, however, for his vocal music, especially his music for the stage. He also composed a large body of church music and odes celebrating special royal occasions. His Ode to St. Cecilia’s Day and the opera Dido and Æneas (the latter composed for high school aged children) are still widely performed today.
Purcell wrote instrumental music from early childhood, partly as a way of teaching himself the rules of counterpoint. In September 1677 he took his first adult job, as composer for the court violin band known as the Twenty-Four Violins, replacing Matthew Locke, who had died that August. The g minor Chacony for strings is probably one of the pieces he wrote in his new position. We do not know why Purcell called it a chacony rather than a chaconne; Purcell's term appears nowhere else in the literature of the time. In 1945, perhaps to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Purcell’s death, Benjamin Britten used it as the title of the third movement of his String Quartet No. 2.
Britten was a great fan of Purcell’s music. He prepared performing versions of Dido and Æneas and The Fairie Queen and edited many of Purcell’s songs. In 1948 he arranged the Chacony for string quartet or string orchestra. He revised his arrangement in 1963.
“Chacony” is a variant of the French chaconne, which corresponds to the Italian passacaglia (Chaconne). A popular form dating to the early Baroque, it generally refers to a work that uses a short theme in the slow notes in the lowest voice, continually repeated while the other contrapuntal voices weave increasingly elaborate variations around it. Purcell’s Chacony, however, differs from standard chaconne in that it is based on a short melody, the theme for a set of variations.  The piece as a whole maintains a melancholy mood with more emotional wallop through sharp dissonances and chromaticism than with fancy decoration. He also occasionally strays into new keys – unheard of in the standard form. Such surprises suggest why he ranks above the crowd.
Another famous Purcell chaconne is "When I am laid in earth," from Dido and Aeneas, which occurs before Dido commits suicide at Aeneas's departure from Carthage to found Rome. |
| | |  | | | | Ludwig van Beethoven | | | 1770-1827 | | |
Ludwig van Beethoven
Concerto for Piano, Violin and Cello and Orchestra in C major, Op. 56
By 1803-4, Ludwig van Beethoven had become Vienna's favorite musician and felt confident enough to break away from the traditional Classical musical language so dear to the Viennese. He shocked his admirers with the "Eroica" Symphony, as did some of his piano music of the period, including like the "Waldstein" (Op. 53) and "Appasionata" (Op. 57) Sonatas. The self-confidence also extended to his choice of libretto for his only opera, Fidelio – a story of governmental misdeeds – which was sure to run afoul of the ever-present censor.
Dedicated to "…his serene highness Prince Lobkowitz," Beethoven's Concerto for Piano, Violin, Cello & Orchestra was composed during those years. There is no record of commission or of intended performers, but one theory is that it may have been for his fifteen year old pupil, Archduke Rudolph, who became, in later years, one of Beethoven's staunchest supporters. Another theory, in light of the Concerto's difficult cello part, is that it was intended for Anton Kraft (1749-1820), a superb cellist for whom Haydn composed his D Major Cello Concerto, and who by that time had settled in Vienna.
The Concerto was published in 1807 and premiered in 1808, although there may have earlier private performances. Its form harks back to the sinfonia concertante that was so popular in the second half of the eighteenth century, especially in France. Beethoven's choice of instrumental combination, however, was unique, and he took special pains to balance the contrasting sonorities of the three soloists to avoid their overpowering one another. The public response was cool at best.
The Concerto is played less frequently than many of Beethoven's other orchestral works in part because of the technical requirements for its performance and the cost of hiring three soloists. While it is often played by an established piano trio, it is important to recognize that it is not a concerto for trio and orchestra, but rather a work for three soloists. While neither the piano nor violin part offers unusual difficulties, Beethoven, with Olympian disregard, gave little consideration to the technical limitations of the cello, making it one of the most difficult parts in the repertoire.
The Concerto also does not have the emotional intensity or the momentum of Beethoven's other concertos. This is especially true in the exposition and development section of the first movement, where Beethoven repeats the themes in new keys on the different instruments and instrument combinations rather than developing them. This approach, while unusual for Beethoven, was largely dictated by the necessity of giving each solo instrument equal time to expand on each of the three main themes in its own particular way, an issue that does not arise in a solo concerto. Beethoven also forgoes formal cadenzas, which would have been unwieldy with three solo instruments.
The Concerto opens directly with the first theme, but as a section solo for the basses; only towards the cadence do the rest of the strings enter in, giving a musical image of a sunrise. The image is completed as the entire orchestra chimes in on its way to the second theme. A third theme, based on a little rhythmic figure from the first theme completes the exposition.
The Largo is a short lyrical movement with a single theme, first presented by the orchestra, followed by beautiful solos for each of the instruments, which vary the theme in slightly different ways. With minimal orchestral accompaniment, the soloists go on to play variations on the theme more in the style of a piano trio. The movement is actually an intermezzo, or transition, linking directly to the Finale. The bridge, however, is very long, building up considerable tension before finally resolving in the Finale. Beethoven used this effect in the Fifth Piano Concerto as well, in which instead of creating anticipation with over a minute of empty calories, he used the bridge to gradually introduce the notes of the main theme of the finale.
The rhythm of the rondo theme is that of a polonaise, hence the designation Rondo alla polacca. The movement is shaped like an arch; Beethoven pours out several new themes for the episodes between the refrain, then repeats them before the coda. & & Its already vivacious theme becomes more boisterous in the coda through a sudden change in tempo and rhythm. |
| | |  | | | | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | | | 1756-1791 | | |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 29 in A major, K. 201
During the second half of the eighteenth century, Mozart’s hometown of Salzburg was a culturally (and politically) conservative backwater to the progressive capital, Vienna. The cultural atmosphere became even more conservative after the election in 1772 of a new and autocratic Archbishop, Hieronymus von Colloredo. Mozart’s father had finagled an appointment for his son under Colloredo, and Mozart’s letters about his boss become strident with complaints. Amid the constant whining that he and the Archbishop were constantly at loggerheads, Mozart redoubled his efforts to find employment in a more culturally congenial environment.
The trend nowadays is to hear only Mozart’s side of the argument. In all fairness, the Mozarts, father Leopold and especially son Wolfgang with his creative independence, were not the easiest persons to have at court, and it was inevitable that they would clash with the conservative Archbishop. Their desire to leave Salzburg and the Archbishop’s employ was an open secret. Mozart took extensive “leaves of absence” brazenly in pursuit of another job. Their extensive travels throughout Europe further incurred the prelate’s displeasure. It took nearly nine more years until Mozart and the Archbishop finally parted company for good in 1780, giving Mozart the opportunity to try his luck as a freelance composer – one of the first, and the most illustrious of the breed.
In the summer of 1773, Wolfgang and his father spent ten weeks in the capital, and the effect of Wolfgang’s exposure to new musical ideas can be seen in the three symphonies he composed in the year after his return. The symphonies written just prior to the visit had been mostly three-movement works, patterned after the Italian operatic sinfonia, while after the visit they acquired the classical four-movement format, becoming more dramatic and emotionally complex.
Symphony No.29 was composed in April 1774 for a modestly sized orchestra of only strings, oboes & horns. The four movements comprise what had by now become the classic four-movement symphonic form that had been developed and promoted by Joseph Haydn: an opening allegro (often with a slow introduction), a slow movement, a minuet and trio (with contrasting instrumentation) and an exuberant finale. Sometimes the order of the two inner movements was reversed. In general Mozart's minuets are lighter and more "aristocratic" than Haydn's, which often resemble the German peasant Ländler. In the eleven symphonies that followed No, 29, it is possible to observe how far Mozart came in developing the model. Taking up the tragically abandoned baton, Beethoven, in turn, would revolutionize the symphony, armed with the lessons learned through Mozart and Haydn.
Symphony No. 29 is without an introduction. While its opening theme is short and to the point, the second theme is a veritable stream of musical ideas. Mozart was in the habit of creating such themes, then using their constituent motives to develop on their own later on. In this case, however, he abandons his hoard to go off in pursuit of new tunes to develop, his first, a major scale!
Mozart's slow movements can be quite surprising. Here he illustrates how close the traditional ABA structure is to sonata form with its exposition, development and recapitulation forming its own kind of ABA form. The A section, or exposition as it is here, contains two major themes, & the second in the expected dominant, concluding with a brief closing theme. The B section, like a development, explores new harmonic territory. In this instance the whole section is based on a little cadence in triplets from the tail end of the A section (exposition). The movement concludes with a harmonically modified repeat of A that conforms precisely with the purpose of a recapitulation in sonata form.
The Minuet, with its syncopated dotted rhythms is a rather limping dance with a little fanfare at the end of each strain. The Trio is more regular in rhythm.
The Finale is another sonata form. The opening theme is repeated, making it resemble a rondo, but Mozart adheres strictly to the sonata allegro model with a contrasting second theme. He does, however, bring back the first theme as a flamboyant coda with horn calls. |
| | | | Copyright © Elizabeth and Joseph Kahn 2008 | |
|