DOCSLIB.ORG

Table of Contents

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

2 Gateway to Italian Art Songs Table of Contents About This Edition . 3 Gaetano Donizetti Page CD Track Leonora . 108. 18 The Composers and Their Times . 5 Se a te d’intorno scherza Songs (Romanza) . 113. 19 Luigi Rossi Page CD Track Che vuoi di piú? (Duet) . 117. 20 Anime voi (Cantata) . 9. 1 Vincenzo Bellini Mario Savioni Per pietà, bell’idol mio (Arietta) . 125. 21 Fugga Amor/Segua Amor (Duet) . 18. 2 Vaga luna, che inargenti (Arietta) . 130. 22 Il zeffiro (Arietta) . 136. 23 Alessandro Scarlatti Alfin m’ucciderete (Cantata) . 26 Marietta Brambilla Recitative: Alfin m’ucciderete . 29. 3 L’allegro (Ballata) . 140. 24 Aria: Io morirei contento . 32. 4 Recitative: Clori mia, Clori bella . 36. 5 Giuseppe Verdi Aria: Faría la pena mia . 38. 6 In solitaria stanza (Romanza) . 146. 25 Deh, pietoso, o Addolorata Francesco Conti (Romanza) . 153. 26 Dopo tante e tante pene (Cantata) . 44 Aria: Dopo tante e tante pene . 46. 7 Luigi Arditi Recitative: Dubbio di vostra fede . 49. 8 Il bacio (Valzer) . 162. 27 Aria: Quella fiamma che m’accende . 50. 9 Amilcare Ponchielli Dimenticar, ben mio (Romanza) . 174. 28 Francesco Durante Alfin m’ucciderete (Duet) . 57. 10 Francesco Paolo Tosti Donna, vorrei morir (Melodia) . 179. 29 Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Ideale (Melodia) . 182. 30 Dite ch’ogni momento (Aria) . 67. 11 Ruggiero Leoncavallo Vincenzo Righini Mattinata . 188. 31 Nò, non vedrete mai (Arietta) . 74. 12 Lasciati amar . 192. 32 Isabella Colbran-Rossini Giacomo Puccini Già la notte s’avvicina (Barcarola) . 80. 13 Sole e amore . 198. 33 E l’uccellino (Ninna-nanna) . 202. 34 Nicola Vaccai Non giova a sospirar Gabriele Sibella (Canzonetta veneziana) . 83. 14 Un’organetto suona per la via (Romanza) . 206. 35 Gioachino Rossini Madrigale (Romanza) . 210. 36 Chi m’ascolta il canto usato (Arietta) . 88. 15 Musical Terms in Italian . 215 La dichiarazione (Arietta) . 94. 16 La pastorella dell’alpi . 101. 17 Phonemes of Italian . 216 Gateway to Italian Art Songs 3 About This Edition The title, Gateway to Italian Art Songs, embraces Song texts have been edited for uniformity; spelling is what Italians call musica vocale da camera, that is, songs modernized. In older sources words and syllables were written for the home or concert hall, not for the church often written carelessly or spaced incorrectly under the (musica da chiesa) or opera (musica da teatro). notes, resulting in inappropriate accentuation. Italian sing- ers would simply correct such errors at sight, as they have The story of musica vocale da camera begins in the been corrected here. same time and place as the history of opera, with the often told story of the Camerata of Florence. This volume The first word of a line of verse is capitalized when it begins with the next generation, the cantata composers is printed in verse form, but not when the text is printed who flourished in Rome in the mid-1600s. The story with music. continues with selections from the Baroque to the early 1900s. This is the first anthology that offers a “gateway” Old manuscripts typically had no more punctuation for singers to explore beyond the early music with which than a period at the end of the aria. Even in printed music, their study customarily begins into the Romantic songs of punctuation was not standardized before the 1900s. I have the bel canto composers and beyond. punctuated the texts in a modern style to clarify the mean- ings of the texts. Our constant goal—artistic communication with an audience— can only be accomplished when a singer Some written punctuation signs stand for breaths but clearly understands the message and meaning of the song. others do not. The difference is found only by reading the The commentary pages before each song help with the poem aloud. I have inserted two kinds of phrase markings preparatory steps that should come before actual singing: above the vocal line: translating and analyzing the text and researching the historical background of both text and music. 1) ≤, where the musical line must be interrupted in order to articulate the text correctly; Because these songs come from manuscripts and from , publishers in several countries it is necessary to impose 2) where a breath may be taken if it is uniformity on them without altering them significantly. needed for convenience. Modern clefs are used, small note values are beamed together, and obvious misprints are corrected without any special notice. Practicing with the CDs Coordinated with this book are two CDs containing all Throughout the book, slurs are used in the modern of the piano accompaniments, artistically recorded by Joan way to indicate that a sung syllable extends over more than Thompson, pianist, under my close supervision. The per- one note. In works composed after 1800 dotted slurs are formances are intended to be expressive and faithful to the used to show where composers placed slurs for other rea- composers’ wishes, while avoiding extreme interpretations sons, e.g., to show expressive legato, to mark breath phras- that could be misleading to students. The recordings are a portamento ing, or to indicate a between two notes. learning tool that is meant to be used until you have the opportunity to enjoy the collaboration of a live pianist. If the original sources contain ornaments, they are They cannot substitute for the excitement of interactive reproduced exactly here. If they are ambiguous, the cor- music making, and you should not feel that you must rect performance is suggested in a footnote. In the 1600s, adhere to their exact tempos and nuances in your own real singers may have improvised vocal ornaments more or performances. less constantly and intuitively. However, historical sourc- musica da camera es state that should be ornamented In songs without an introduction, you will hear your much less than operatic music. Certainly, composers after opening pitch played on the piano several times in the 1800 wrote out the ornaments they wanted, and one should tempo of the first measure. Also, if there is a difficult seldom add more. entrance after a pause in the music, the piano may play the next notes of the voice part and then continue with the Tempos in Italian music are seldom metronomic, but accompaniment. metronome markings are suggested as starting points. Italian tempo and style markings are translated in an appendix at the back of the book. 4 Gateway to Italian Art Songs Sources The commentary before each song states where it was Appreciation is also due to the Music Library of the found (except for published songs that are in my personal University of Southern California, Rodney Rolfs, Librarian, collection). Thanks are due to the foundations and govern- where much basic reading was done. ments that maintain these treasures and to the staff members who helped me access them. In the commentaries, libraries Every writer about music must acknowledge the rich are identified by their cities, as follows: resources of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Another important reference work is known Berlin: Staatsbibliothek preussischer Kulturbesitz, by the acronym of its publisher, UTET; its full name is Musikabteilung; Dizionario enciclopedico universale della musica e dei musicisti (Turin, 1985). Brussels: Bibliothèque Royale Albert Ier; Budapest: Research Library for Music History, Acknowledgments Franz Liszt Academy of Music; Joan Thompson, my wife, often passed up the usual London: British Library; pleasures of vacations in Paris and Rome. Instead, she shared in the excitement of discovering songs and spent Los Angeles: University of California, hours copying scores by hand when we were not allowed to Walter H. Rubsamen Music Library; photocopy them. I am grateful for her unending enthusiasm and support, her musical insights, and her careful proofread- Milan: Biblioteca del Conservatorio di Musica ing and editorial suggestions. ‘Giuseppe Verdi,’ Dr. Agostina Laterza, librarian; Prof. Luigi Marzola of the Conservatorio di Musica ‘G. Naples: Biblioteca del Conservatorio di San Pietro a Majella; Verdi,’ Milan, worked closely with me to resolve questions about the phonetics and translations. His musical and lin- New York: Mary Flagler Cary Music Collection of guistic insights were invaluable (but any errors that may The Pierpont Morgan Library; remain are mine, not his). Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale; Valuable musical insights came from harpsichordist Roswitha Klotz and cellist Udo Klotz, who performed the Regensburg: Bischöfliche Zentralbibliothek; Rossi and Scarlatti cantatas with me in Regensburg, Germany. Rochester: Eastman School of Music Library; Rome: Biblioteca Musicale Governativa del Among the talented professionals at Alfred Music, I Conservatorio di Musica di S. Cecilia; would particularly like to acknowledge the guidance of Karen Surmani and the masterful layout design by Bruce Vatican: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana; Goldes. Vienna: Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek. If this Gateway is successful, it will awaken young singers’ curiosity and provide some of the necessary tools to explore more Italian art songs, especially reaching into the rich repertoire of the 1900s, the songs of Ottorino Respighi, Francesco Cilea, Barbara Giuranna, Luigi Dallapiccola and many others. John Glenn Paton Los Angeles Anime voi 9 Anime voi Luigi Rossi (c1597–1653) /luidi rossi/ anime voi ke sete per involar kwel bεl ke si mi pjatʃe 1. Anime voi, che sete 18. Per involar quel bel che sì mi piace. Souls you, who are to abduct that beauty who so me pleases. dalle fuɾje dabisso opprεsseooɾa mindʃeloziʃʃeunastro 2. Dalle furie d’abisso oppresse ogn’ora, 19. M’ingelosisce un’astro, by-the Furies of-Abyss oppressed every-hour, me-makes-jealous a-star, kredetea me kredete mi turbaoi pjaneta 3. Credete a me, credete 20. Mi turba ogni pianeta. believe – me, believe me upsets every planet. ke kwel mal ke vakkɔɾa tεmo kil tʃεloistesso 4. Che quel mal che v’accora 21.
Recommended publications
  • The Complete Early Variations

    The Complete Early Variations

    BEETHOVEN THE COMPLETE EARLY VARIATIONS Alessandro Commellato fortepiano Ludwig van Beethoven 1770-1827 1. 32 Variations in C minor 8. 10 Variation in B flat WoO73 14. 8 Variations in C WoO67 WoO80 on an original theme 11’43 on Salieri’s air ‘La stessa on a theme by Count Waldstein 2. 5 Variations in D WoO79 la stessissima’ 12’28 for piano four hands 8’58 on ‘Rule Britannia’ 5’36 9. 8 Variations in C WoO72 on 15. 13 Variations in A WoO66 3. 7 Variations in D WoO78 Grétry’s air ‘Un fievre brûlante’ 7’12 on Dittersdorf’s air ‘Es war on ‘God save the King’ 8’43 10. 12 Variations in A WoO71 on a einmal ein alter Mann’ 14’55 4. 6 Easy Variations in G WoO77 Russian Dance from Wranitsky’s 16. 24 Variations in D WoO65 on an original theme 7’27 ballet ‘Das Waldmädchen’ 12’20 on Righini’s air ‘Venni amore’ 23’29 5. 8 Variations in F WoO76 11. 6 Variations in G WoO70 17. 6 Easy Variations in F WoO64 from Süssmayr’s theme on Paisiello's air on a Swiss air 2’57 ‘Tändeln und Scherzen’ 9’21 ‘Nel cor più non mi sento’ 5’45 18. 9 Variations in C minor WoO63 6. 7 Variations in F WoO75 12. 9 Variations in A WoO69 on on a march by Dressler 12’41 from Winter’s opera ‘Das Paisiello’s air ‘Quant’è più bello’ 6’07 unterbrochene Opferfest’ 11’54 13. 12 Variations in C WoO68 Alessandro Commellato fortepiano 7.
  • From the Vocal Studio to the Practice Room: an Overview of the Literature on Effective Practicing and an In-Depth Study of Vocal Exercise Books

    From the Vocal Studio to the Practice Room: an Overview of the Literature on Effective Practicing and an In-Depth Study of Vocal Exercise Books

    ABSTRACT Title of Document: FROM THE VOCAL STUDIO TO THE PRACTICE ROOM: AN OVERVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON EFFECTIVE PRACTICING AND AN IN-DEPTH STUDY OF VOCAL EXERCISE BOOKS. Rebecca Bell Echols, Doctor of Musical Arts, 2013 Directed By: Professor Dominic Cossa, School of Music The purpose of this dissertation was to compile a list of resources to aid singers in their pursuit toward effective practicing. A survey was given to one hundred anonymous participants: fifty vocal students and fifty vocal teachers. The data collected from this survey showed that vocal students would like more resources available to aid in practicing more effectively. Additionally, the study reveals that many of the vocalise books that are in the vocal repertoire have fallen from tradition for reasons unknown, while one composer’s vocalise book, Nicola Vaccai’s, still remains in the teacher and student repertoire. This study provides resources culled from journals, text books, and musical scores. Also provided is a library of vocalises, which are divided into categories on specific vocal matters. The vocalises are categorized alphabetically, by both the category and composer. The final chapter shows the results of the surveys. FROM THE VOCAL STUDIO TO THE PRACTICE ROOM: AN OVERVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON EFFECTIVE PRACTICING AND AN IN-DEPTH STUDY OF VOCAL EXERCISE BOOKS. By Rebecca Bell Echols Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DMA 2013 Advisory Committee: Professor Dominic Cossa, Chair Professor Martha L. Randall Professor Timothy McReynolds Professor Delores Ziegler Professor Denny Gulick, Dean’s Representative © Copyright by Rebecca Bell Echols 2013 Dedication I’d like to thank my friends, family, and mentors for all of their support not only throughout this process, but throughout my entire musical career.
  • Songs of the Classical Age

    Songs of the Classical Age

    Cedille Records CDR 90000 049 SONGS OF THE CLASSICAL AGE Patrice Michaels Bedi soprano David Schrader fortepiano 2 DDD Absolutely Digital™ CDR 90000 049 S ONGS OF THE C LASSICAL A GE FRANZ JOSEF HAYDN MARIA THERESIA VON PARADIES 1 She Never Told Her Love.................. (3:10) br Morgenlied eines armen Mannes...........(2:47) 2 Fidelity.................................................... (4:04) WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART 3 Pleasing Pain......................................... (2:18) bs Cantata, K. 619 4 Piercing Eyes......................................... (1:44) “Die ihr des unermesslichen Weltalls”....... (7:32) 5 Sailor’s Song.......................................... (2:25) LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN VINCENZO RIGHINI bt Wonne der Wehmut, Op. 83, No. 1...... (2:11) 6 Placido zeffiretto.................................. (2:26) 7 SOPHIE WESTENHOLZ T’intendo, si, mio cor......................... (1:59) ck Morgenlied............................................. (3:24) 8 Mi lagnerò tacendo..............................(1:37) 9 Or che il cielo a me ti rende............... (3:07) FRANZ SCHUBERT bk Vorrei di te fidarmi.............................. (1:27) cl Frülingssehnsucht from Schwanengesang, D. 957..................... (4:06) CHEVALIER DE SAINT-GEORGES bl L’autre jour à l’ombrage..................... (2:46) PAULINE DUCHAMBGE cm La jalouse................................................ (2:22) NICOLA DALAYRAC FELICE BLANGINI bm Quand le bien-aimé reviendra............ (2:50) cn Il est parti!.............................................. (2:57)
  • Shakespeare in the Music Library (PDF)

    Shakespeare in the Music Library (PDF)

    If music be the food of love: Shakespeare in the Music Library An exhibit in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare Curated and written by John Bewley, Ph.D. Associate Librarian Music Library University at Buffalo April 2016-June 2016 Music provides a kaleidoscopic array of perspectives through which scholars can view the works and influences of William Shakespeare. While many people are familiar with the most famous uses of Shakespeare in music in such works as Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy, Verdi’s Shakespeare operas (Falstaff, Macbeth, and Otello), Mendelssohn’s incidental music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet ballet, this exhibit will highlight some of the most significant topics related to the intersections of Shakespeare and music with some lesser-known examples from the holdings of the Music Library. The use of music in Shakespeare’s plays Music plays a significant role in Shakespeare’s plays through three guises: music performed as part of the play, references in the text to song titles, and the use of words with musical connotations. Shakespeare’s use of performed music in his plays was so extensive that only The Comedy of Errors is without music. One of the remarkable aspects of Shakespeare’s use of music is how integral it is to the dramatic structure in the plays. Some of the music serves as a direct part of the action, such as fanfares associated with processions or to mark royal entrances. In other instances Shakespeare used music as an agent for an action, such as when a lullaby is sung to put a character to sleep.
  • Musical and Dramatic Structure in the Opera Buffa Finale

    Musical and Dramatic Structure in the Opera Buffa Finale

    Trinity College Trinity College Digital Repository Faculty Scholarship Spring 1989 Musical and Dramatic Structure in the Opera Buffa Finale John Platoff Trinity College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/facpub Part of the Musicology Commons Musical and Dramatic Structure in the Opera Buffa Finale* JOHN PLATOFF he study of the opera buffa of the late eighteenth century has for many years been virtually synonymous with the study of Mozart's mature operas. Scholars have recently shown an increased interest in the operas of Haydn, but operatic works by the leading contemporaries of these two great figures remain almost completely unknown.l It is thus not surprising that what is believed to 191 be true about the finale in opera buffa applies quite well to Mozart's finales, but far less well to those of Paisiello, Salieri, Martin y Soler, and Volume 7 ? Number 2 * Spring 1989 TheJournal of Musicology ? 1989 by the Regents of the University of California * A shorter version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Musicological Society, Louisville, Kentucky, in October 1983. I am grateful to Leonard B. Meyer, Ruth Montgomery, Gary Tomlinson, and Piero Weiss for many useful suggestions. Studies of Mozart's Viennese operatic contemporaries have been very limited in number. Those that deal in some detail with musical matters (as opposed to biographical or bibliographical issues) include Hermann Abert, W. A. Mozart: neubearbeitete und er- weiterteAusgabe von OttoJahns Mozart, 8th ed., 2 vols. (Leipzig, 1973-75), in particular the chapter on "Opera Buffa," I, 332-82; idem, "Paisiellos Buffokunst und ihre Be- ziehungen zu Mozart," Archivfiir Musikwissenschaft I (1918-19), 402-21, repr.
  • Larry Weng Piano

    Larry Weng Piano

    BEETHOVEN Larry Weng Piano Variations on themes by Grétry • Paisiello • Righini •Winter Sonata in C, WoO 51 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) relations with the changing governments of the period, as The opera Richard Coeur-de-lion (‘Richard the Lionheart’) Piano Variations on themes by Grétry, Paisiello, Righini and Winter Bourbons replaced Bonapartists and vice versa. Paisiello by André Grétry (1741–1813) was first performed at Piano Sonata in C major, WoO 51 • Waltzes, WoO 84 and 85 served at the court of Catherine II in Russia for eight years, Fontainebleau in 1785. The plot centres on the imprisonment and spent time in Vienna and Paris. His opera La molinara of Richard, taken captive as he returns from the Third Born in Bonn in 1770, Ludwig van Beethoven was the eldest 1827, his death the occasion of public mourning in Vienna. (‘The Mill Girl’), otherwise known as L’amor contrastato Crusade, and sought by his faithful minstrel, Blondel. Une son of a singer in the musical establishment of the The art of variation lies at the heart of a great deal of (‘Love Contrasted’), was originally written for carnival in fièvre brûlante (‘A Burning Fever’) has an important part to Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, and grandson of the music. Extended works may include movements consisting Naples in 1789. It was given several performances in Vienna play, heard by Richard, who joins in his favourite song, Archbishop’s former Kapellmeister, whose name he took. of variations, whether so titled or not. In improvisation in 1794, when Beethoven is said to have heard it, and he hearing Blondel sing from outside the castle where he is The household was not a happy one.
  • Don Giovanni Opera Box Lesson Plan Title Page with Related Academic Standards

    Don Giovanni Opera Box Lesson Plan Title Page with Related Academic Standards

    Opera Box 620 North First Street, Minneapolis, MN 55401 Kevin Ramach, PRESIDENT AND GENERAL DIRECTOR Dale Johnson, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Dear Educator, Thank you for using a Minnesota Opera Opera Box. This collection of material has been designed to help any educator to teach students about the beauty of opera. This collection of material includes audio and video recordings, scores, reference books and a Teacher’s Guide. The Teacher’s Guide includes Lesson Plans that have been designed around the materials found in the box and other easily obtained items. In addition, Lesson Plans have been aligned with State and National Standards. See the Unit Overview for a detailed explanation. Before returning the box, please fill out the Evaluation Form at the end of the Teacher’s Guide. As this project is new, your feedback is imperative. Comments and ideas from you – the educators who actually use it – will help shape the content for future boxes. In addition, you are encouraged to include any original lesson plans. The Teacher’s Guide is intended to be a living reference book that will provide inspiration for other teachers. If you feel comfortable, include a name and number for future contact from teachers who might have questions regarding your lessons and to give credit for your original ideas. You may leave lesson plans in the Opera Box or mail them in separately. Before returning, please double check that everything has been assembled. The deposit money will be held until I personally check that everything has been returned (i.e. CDs having been put back in the cases).
  • COJ Article Clean Draft 1

    COJ Article Clean Draft 1

    [THIS IS AN EARLY DRAFT (APOLOGIES!): PLEASE DO NOT CIRCULATE] ‘Sounds that float over us from the days of our ancestors’: Italian Opera and Nostalgia in Berlin, 1800-1815 Katherine Hambridge To talk of an identity crisis in Berlin at the end of the eighteenth century might sound curiously anachronistic, if not a little crass – but one writer in 1799 expressed the situation in exactly these terms, and at the level of the entire state: All parties agree that we are living in a moment when one of the greatest epochs in the revolution of humanity begins, and which, more than all previous momentous events, will be important for the spirit of the state. At such a convulsion the character of the latter emerges more than ever, [and] the truth becomes more apparent than ever, that lack of character for a state would be yet as dangerous an affliction, as it would for individual humans.1 The anxiety underlying this writer’s carefully hypothetical introduction – which resonates in several other articles in the four-year run of the Berlin publication, the Jahrbücher der preußichen Monarchie – is palpable. Not only were Prussia’s values and organising principles called into question by the convulsion referred to here – the French revolution – and its rhetoric of liberté, égalité, fraternité (not to mention the beheading of the royal family); so too was the state’s capacity to defend them. Forced to settle with France at the 1795 Peace of Basel, Prussia witnessed from the sidelines of official neutrality Napoleon’s manoeuvres around Europe over the next ten years, each victory a threat to this ‘peace’.
  • Adetu, E.G.: Biblical and Religious Symbols in Italian Romantic Opera

    Adetu, E.G.: Biblical and Religious Symbols in Italian Romantic Opera

    Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VIII: Performing Arts • Vol. 13(62) No.2 - 2020 https://doi.org/10.31926/but.pa.2020.13.62.2.1 Biblical and religious symbols in Italian romantic opera. Perspectives of musical hermeneutics Edith Georgiana ADETU1 Abstract: The 19th century brings in opera music new ways of thematic and stylistic approach. The escalation of revolutionary and political events influences the artistic life of the Italian nation, awakening in composers such as Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi another kind of spirituality. During this period, the Italian lyrical theater is moving towards new ways of expression, emphasizing the relationship between man and divinity. In these conditions, we can observe a stylistic evolution of the musical discourse, dominated by the influence of the biblical themes that the opera composers develop through dramaturgy. Numerous scenes taken from the Old Testament are found in the music of Italian operas from this period, marking an initiatory path of Italian spirituality and ethos of the nineteenth century. In this research we will present relevant musical examples from works such as Mose in Egitto - Rossini, Il diluvio universale - Donizetti, Nabucco - Verdi, Jerusalem – Verdi, highlighting the symbolic elements taken from the biblical text, rendered through music and stage action. Key-words: Opera, Italian Romanticism, Biblical symbols, Hermeneutics 1. Introduction: the science of hermeneutics and the understanding of opera music According to historical evidence and testimonies, the hermeneutic sciences developed accordingly with the evolution of society. “Plato approaches a hermeneutics of symbols, Aristotle leaves as a legacy a treatise on interpretation, Jewish and Christian theology deepens the understanding of holy books, and later, in the Middle Ages and Renaissance patristic theology and the art of interpreting philological texts stand out as branches of hermeneutic sciences” (Coroiu 2018, 34).
  • Dear All a Couple of Things to Cheer You up This Month. Firstly a Link to A

    Dear All a Couple of Things to Cheer You up This Month. Firstly a Link to A

    Dear All A couple of things to cheer you up this month. Firstly a link to a Guardian article about Pavel Kolesnikov which was sent to me to send to you all for you to enjoy and to dream of concerts to come: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/oct/29/js-bach-goldberg-variations-review- pavel-kolesnikov?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other Secondly, I don't know how much notice you take of the adverts on the television or whether you tend to record your programmes and fast-forward over them. However, if you happen to see the current advert for an insurance comparison site, which features a certain opera singer, and if you listen to the orchestra playing in the background you may be reminded of the last concert we held back in 2019. The orchestra which played at Sir Karl Jenkin's 70th Birthday celebration concert is the same one playing on the advert. It is The Chamber Orchestra Of Wales which has performed many times in the Gower Festival over the years and is Swansea’s only professional Orchestra. So, even though there won’t be any opportunity to hear that Orchestra playing ‘live’ this year, we can still see and hear it on TV over for the next few months and hopefully remind ourselves of the Gower Festival and the thought of better days to come. Finally, our wonderful Mumbling Maestro has penned another little article to keep us amused over the next month. I hope you all enjoy it! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now, before I get my Mumbling mojo going, I’d like to draw your attention to a short series that's playing this week on BBC's Radio 3.
  • Malibran Harps

    Malibran Harps

    Malibran recalled (Harps and tears) Alexander Weatherson No one knows when this multicomposer cantata in memory of Maria Malibran was actually conceived, nor who was responsible for the idea in the first place. Vaccai's letters tell us nothing of significance, nor do those of Donizetti and Mercadante. How and when its short list of composers was decided-upon too is a mystery, only the state of their autograph material - showing haste or otherwise - can supply a clue. This five-composer cantata came and went very quickly - it was performed just once and then went the way of all such lachrymose ephemera. Ephemera? Above is the frontispiece of the vocal score that followed in its wake, that is, after its single appearance on the stage at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 17 March 1837, five months or so after the disappearance of the great diva at the height of her fame. No one can accuse the theatre of failing her (as she failed the theatre on so many occasions) but her memorial cantata failed to survive. Now it is to reappear. Its protagonists were the very best that could be got together at short notice: Sofia Dell’Oca Schoberlechner, Francesco Pedrazzi, Pietro Milesi, Benedetta Colleoni-Corti, Marietta Brambilla, Teresa Brambilla, Ignazio Marini, Orazio Cartagenova, Carlo Marcolini, Carolina Lusignani and Felicità Baillou- Hilaret - a starry roster including all those in the current scaligero stagione with an added artist or two. And the cantata ended the season, the great theatre did not reopen again until the beginning of the following July.
  • La Ópera En México, 1841-1843

    La Ópera En México, 1841-1843

    HISTORIA La ópera en México, 1841-1843 por José Octavio Sosa emodelado el Teatro de los Gallos o Provisional, como se le conocía, y al que después se llamó Teatro de la Ópera, se Rpresentó en julio de 1841 la Compañía de Ópera Italiana de Anaide Castellan de Giampietro (Lyon, 1821 - París, 1861) y del empresario Roca. El 9 de octubre de 1822 se había inaugurado ese modesto coliseo, llamado así porque en ese sitio había funcionado un palenque con peleas de gallos, con la obra teatral Aradín Barba Roja o Los piratas en el bosque de los sepulcros, de cuyo autor se desconoce el nombre. El teatro estaba ubicado en la calle Las Moras, actualmente República de Colombia. Un incendio lo destruyó, casi en su totalidad, en 1824. Su propietario, Diego Ramón Somera lo hizo reconstruir, añadiéndole techo de vigas y otras mejoras notables, reinaugurándolo con el nombre de Teatro Provisional, el 21 de agosto de 1825, con la comedia La niña en casa y la madre en las máscaras. Se anunciaron para la temporada de ópera abonos para 90 representaciones, dos o tres por semana, con los siguientes precios: palcos con seis asientos para la temporada, 540 pesos; balcón, 96 pesos; luneta, 86 pesos; galería en primeras filas, 30 pesos; segunda y siguientes, 22 pesos. La orquesta estaba formada por 36 elementos italianos y mexicanos, y el coro por 12 damas y 14 caballeros mexicanos e italianos, destacando en la orquesta el compositor, pianista y violinista irlandés William Vincent Wallace (1812-1865), que fue concertino y director sustituto, además de Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) José Ma.