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SESSION SEVEN NEGLECT OF UNUSUAL INSTRUMEMTS OR COMBINATIONS OF INSTRUMENTS NEGLECTED GEM OF THE WEEK This week’s neglected gem is by a well-known composer of orchestral and organ music. WHY NEGLECTED? ◊ ◊ ◊ NEGLECT BECAUSE OF UNUSUAL INSTRUMENTS Today’s topic is an interesting one, and more complicated than at first it seems. We’re going to explore the neglect of classical music because of unusual instruments or combinations of instruments. Of course, in every era of music history there have been unusual instruments – instruments which, for various reasons, were not as popular, or well-known, or accessible as were others. But we’re not going to take a historical approach today. We’re just going to consider the present day, and the neglect of some excellent music in 2015. As we will see, the instruments, or combination of instruments, for which a piece is written, can result in several possible kinds of neglect. WHY COMPOSE MUSIC FOR UNUSUAL INSTRUMENTS? Why have composers, from time to time, written music for unusual instruments, or combinations of instruments? There are many reasons, from personal ones such as the desire to perform with a friend or family member, to more public ones, such as wanting to honor an excellent performer, or being commissioned by a performer to write such a piece. As we listen to some of these pieces, we’ll find out more about why they came to be written, and why they are neglected in the 21st century. ◊ ◊ ◊ NEGLECT OF MUSIC WRITTEN FOR ARCHAIC INSTRUMENTS One obvious reason for the neglect of some music today is that the instruments for which they were originally written are no longer used, or even available for us to hear. As a result, the availability of excellent performers may be very limited. CLAVICHORD For example, here in Brunswick, which is really a performing venue for of all kinds of excellent music, we seldom hear pieces written for the clavichord, a keyboard instrument widely known and widely available in the 17th and 18th centuries. • Beginning in about 1760 composers began writing music that depended for its dramatic effect on the contrast between loud and soft sounds. Clavichords fell into disuse and were replaced by the fortepiano, which was able to play both loud and soft music with ease. • And beginning about 1810, when public concerts in larger venues began to replace concerts held in private venues, the clavichord did not have the sheer volume of sound to be effective. THE WELL-TEMPERED KLAVIER J S Bach published his “Well-Tempered Klavier in 1722. The word “Klavier” in the title is a generic term that refers, not to any specific type of keyboard instrument but to any and all such instruments. At various times the WTC has been performed on organs, clavichords, harpsichords, electronic keyboard instruments and, of course, modern pianos. You can hear performances on all these instruments on YouTube, but let’s listen to two this morning: first the modern piano, and then the clavichord. MODERN PIANO VERSION AND CLAVICHORD VERSIONS ◊ ◊ ◊ NEGLECT OF MUSIC FOR MODERN INSTRUMENTS VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: CONCERTO FOR TUBA AND ORCHESTRA Ralph Vaughan Williams was 82 years old when he wrote a Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra in 1954. It was written for Philip Catelinet, who was then the principal tuba player of the London Symphony Orchestra. At first this might seem like an eccentric idea of an aging composer, but in fact this Concerto has become one of Vaughan Williams’ most often-played works, and a required part of every tuba player’s repertoire. It’s a typical, three-movement concerto, happy and melodious despite the vision we may have of the solo instrument. We’re not going to listen to this work this morning, but I have given you a link to it on our class links page. MALCOLM ARNOLD: CONCERTO FOR HARMONICA AND ORCHESTRA Although the harmonica was originally a folk instrument, and later a jazz instrument, several mid-20th century composers wrote concert pieces for it. One of these pieces is Malcolm Arnold’s Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra, written in 1954, inspired by and dedicated to the American harmonica virtuoso, Larry Adler. Take a listen this week – I’ve provided a link to a wonderful performance on our class links page. FRANK MARTIN: BALLADE FOR SAXOPHONE AND ORCHESTRA, 1938 We are, however, going to listen to an excellent piece by the 20th century Swiss composer, Frank Martin, a largely neglected composer in the United States but much better known in Europe. Martin’s “Ballade” for tenor saxophone and orchestra is one of several such pieces, really one-movement concertos, which he wrote. It owes its existence to Martin’s thorough familiarity with American jazz, which became very popular throughout Europe beginning around 1920, primarily through phonograph records and later through live performances. Listen to this work ◊ ◊ ◊ NEGLECT OF MUSIC FOR NEWLY CREATED INSTRUMENTS HARRY PARTCH: THE BEWITCHED Harry Partch was an American composer who broke new ground by creating and building new musical instruments to produce the sounds he wanted to use in his compositions. In a long career from 1930 to 1970 he created many new instruments. Although he was respected as an innovative composer the instruments he created and wrote for were not adopted by other composers. A characteristic work of Partch is his suite for instruments and dancers, “The Bewitched.” Written in 1955, it combines existing instruments and several instruments created by the composer specifically for this composition. Listen to this work ◊ ◊ ◊ NEGLECT BECAUSE OF UNUSUAL COMBINATIONS OF INSTRUMENTS BEETHOVEN SEPTET, 1800 We don’t know exactly why Beethoven wrote his Septet, a six- movement suite for clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, and double bass. Despite its unusual combination of instruments, the Septet became a very popular piece in Beethoven’s lifetime. You may wonder how this could be, since finding excellent players of all seven instruments was not easy then, or now. This piece also became popular as arranged for other combinations of instruments – a common practice in that day. In 1937 Arturo Toscanini arranged the Septet for string orchestra and performed it several times with the NBC Symphony. Listen to this work BARTOK, SONATA FOR TWO PIANOS AND PERCUSSION, 1937 You may remember from last week’s class that Mozart’s Sonatas for Piano, Four Hands was written for him and his sister, Nannerl, to perform together. The desire of composer-performers to play music with family members also led to one of the most brilliant and original works of the 20th century, Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion. Bartok’s wife, Ditta Pasztory, was a fine pianist but so shy that she did not like to play solo concerts in public. Bartok wrote the Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion for him and Ditta to perform together. Long recognized as one of the most difficult – and most rewarding – pieces in all of chamber music, the Bartok Sonata has taken its place in the standard repertoire of many concert pianists. It has been performed twice in Brunswick in the past few years, once by George Lopez and a pianist colleague, and also at the Brunswick International Music Festival. Listen to this work WEB RESEARCH This week’s web research is either easier - or more difficult - than any so far. Please listen to the the piece by clicking on the link on our Links page and wrack your brain as to why it might be neglected. Or do some web research on the piece and discover for yourselves the not-so-subtle reason for its neglect. .