The Composers: Fact File
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The Composers: Fact File Lesson 1: The World Around Me: What does Summer Mean to Me? The Composer: Antonio Vivaldi Born March 4, 1678 in Venice, Italy Died July 28, 1741 in Vienna, Austria Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was an Italian Baroque musical composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher, and priest. He composed many instrumental concertos, for the violin and a variety of other instruments, as well as sacred choral works and more than forty operas Many of his compositions were written for the all-female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned children. Vivaldi had worked there as a Catholic priest for 1 1/2 years and was employed there from 1703 to 1715 and from 1723 to 1740. After meeting the Emperor Charles VI, Vivaldi moved to Vienna, hoping for royal support. However, the Emperor died soon after Vivaldi's arrival, and Vivaldi himself died, in poverty, less than a year later The Music: Summer from ‘The Four Seasons’ Summer is part of the Four Seasons, a collection of four concerti, in which Vivaldi represented flowing creeks, singing birds (of different species, each specifically characterized), a shepherd and his barking dog, buzzing flies, storms, drunken dancers, hunting parties from both the hunters' and the prey's point of view, frozen landscapes, and warm winter fires The Four Seasons was one of Vivaldi’s most popular works, for which he wrote sonnets (poems) to match the seasons. Vivaldi’s personality was said to be one of contrasts - quickly changing from irritated to very calm and his Four Seasons shows this in the contrasts in dynamics, harmony and varied rhythms Unusually for the period, Vivaldi published the concerti with accompanying sonnets (possibly written by the composer himself) that explored and explained what this music was intended to represent. The concerti therefore stand as one of the earliest and most detailed examples of what would come to be called program music—i.e. music with a narrative element or tells a story. Vivaldi divided each concerto into three movements (fast–slow–fast), and, likewise, each linked sonnet into three sections The Composers: Fact File Lesson 2: Mi música The Composer: Alberto Ginastera Born April 11, 1916 in Buenos Aires, Argentina Died June 25, 1983 in Geneva, Switzerland Ginastera liked to include Argentinian folk themes in his music. Many of Ginastera's works were inspired by the Gauchesco tradition; the Gaucho, or native horseman of the plains, is a symbol of Argentina. The Music: Estancia, Mvt 4: Malambo An estancia is a large cattle ranch on the pampas in Argentina, and Alberto Ginastera composed this music, which was original a ballet, to depict the busy activities on an estancia from one dawn to the next A Malambo is a quick and vigorous Argentinean folk dance in which men compete to demonstrate their agility and skills and express themselves by themselves. They have no dance partners and the expression takes place with intense, energetic movement You might hear sounds of nature that occur throughout this dance, which is ideally performed at night by firelight in an open setting; a thumb roll on the tambourine mimics an insistent cicada, the flutes interrupt the melody with the unmistakable twitter of birds The Composers: Fact File Lesson 3: A Journey through Landscapes The Composer: Peter Sculthorpe Born April 29 1929 in Sydney, Australia Died August 8 2014 in Australia He was inspired by the sounds and feeling of the Australian bushland and outback: Sculthrope wanted to bring traditional, native Australian music together with orchestral music Sculthorpe said he was political in his work – and that his work had also always been about "the preservation of the environment and more recently, climate change". His 16th String Quartet was inspired by extracts from letters written by asylum seekers in Australian detention centres The Music: Kakadu He stated that he wanted his music to make people feel better and happier for having listened to it. He was known primarily for his orchestral music, such as Kakadu (1988) and Earth Cry (1986) The composer explained that he wanted to write “quick and joyous” music, that also encapsulated his feelings about Kakadu: “The work, however, takes its name from the Kakadu National Park in northern Australia. This enormous wilderness area stretches from coastal tidal plains to rugged mountain plateaux, and in it may be found the living culture of its Aboriginal inhabitants, dating back for fifty thousand years. Sadly, today there are only a few remaining speakers of kakadu or gagadju. The work, then, is concerned with my feelings about this place, its landscape, its change of seasons, its dry season and its wet, its cycle of life and death. In three parts, the outer sections are dance-like and energetic, sharing similar musical ideas. The central section is somewhat introspective, and is dominated by a cor anglais solo representing the voice of Emanuel Papper, who commissioned the work. Apart from this solo, the melodic material in Kakadu, as in much of my recent music, was suggested by the contours and rhythms of Aboriginal chant.” Peter Sculthorpe The Composers: Fact File Lesson 4: Beautiful Things: Sunset The Composer: Rachel Portman Born December 11 1960 in Surrey, England. She became interested in music from a young age, beginning composing at the age of 14 After finishing school, Rachel studied Music at Worcester College, Oxford. It was here that her interest in composing music for films began as she started experimenting with writing music for student films and theatre productions The Music: Sunsets from The Little Prince The Little Prince, subtitled A Magical Opera, is an opera in two acts by Rachel Portman to a libretto (words) by Nicholas Wright, based on the 1943 book of the same name by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry It was filmed by the BBC following a nationwide talent search for children to play the roles of the Prince, the Rose and a chorus of thirty-six vocalists. Over 25,000 children applied, with over 6,500 taking part in auditions: Blue Peter documented the search for the singers, and filmed their training and rehearsals The Little Prince was broadcast on BBC Two in 2004 and Rachel has written over 100 scores for film, television and theatre The Composers: Fact File Lesson 5: Flying South The Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara Born October 9 1928 in Helsinki, Finland Died July 27 2016 in Helsinki, Finland He included recordings of natural sounds in his work: Cantus Arcticus includes parts for magnetic tape recordings of bird song to be played with the orchestra The Music: Cantus Arcticus, Mvt. 2: Melankolia Cantus Arcticus, Op. 61 was composed in 1972 and is probably Einojuhani Rautavaara’s best-known work Subtitled Concerto for Birds and Orchestra, it incorporates tape recordings of birdsong recorded near the Arctic Circle and on the bogs of Liminka in northern Finland The work is in three movements: The Bog opens with a flute duet, after which the other woodwinds join in, followed by the birds. The second movement, Melancholy, features a slowed-down recording of the song of the shore lark. The final movement, Swans Migrating, takes the form of a long crescendo for orchestra, with the sounds of whooper swans. At the end both birdsong and orchestra fade, as if into the distance The Composers: Fact File Lesson 6: The Penguin The Composer: Raymond Scott Born September 10, 1908 in New York, U.S.A. Died February 8, 1994 in Los Angeles, U.S.A. He was an American composer, band leader, pianist, record producer, and inventor of electronic instruments Raymond Scott’s music is familiar to millions because Carl Stalling adapted it in over 120 Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and other Warner Bros Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. His compositions may also be heard used in The Simpsons! The Music: The Penguin (arr. Alasdair Malloy) Raymond Scott’s music and songs were popular with the public, jazz critics disliked them, describing them as novelty music Scott believed in composing and playing by ear. He composed not on paper but "on his band"— by humming phrases to his musicians or by demonstrating ideas on the keyboard and instructing players to play their own version. This process was all done by sounds with no written scores, a process known as head arrangements Scott, who was also a skilled sound engineer, recorded the band's rehearsals on discs and used the recordings as references to develop his compositions. He reworked, re-sequenced, and deleted passages, and added themes from other discs to construct finished works. During the developmental process, he let his players improvise, but once complete, he regarded a piece as finished and this was the version that the audience heard The Composers: Fact File Lesson 7: Stormy Weather The Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven Born December 16, 1770 in Bonn, Germany (no known birth date but Beethoven’s baptism was recorded on this date) Died 26 March 1827 in Vienna, Austria Beethoven grew up in Bonn, Germany in a very unhappy home; he was forced to practice the piano by his father, who would punish him when he made mistakes. By the time he was twelve, he was earning a living for his family by playing organ and composing. He was eventually known as the greatest pianist of his time. One of Beethoven's favourite foods was macaroni and cheese. He also loved strong coffee - exactly 60 coffee beans to one cup The Music: The Storm from 6th Symphony Beethoven was a lover of nature who spent a great deal of his time on walks in the country.