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Music Then and Now
Music Then and Now
Thomas Forrest Kelly
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
W. W. N O R T O N & C O M P A N Y
NEW YORK L O N D O N
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kelly, Thomas Forrest.
Music then and now / Thomas Forrest Kelly.— 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-393-92988-1 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-393-91842-7 (pdf ebook)
1. Music appreciation—Textbooks. I. Title.
MT6.K353 2013
780—dc23
2012013066
W. W. Norton & Company. Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
wwnorton.com
W. W. Norton & Company Ltd., Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street, London W IT 3QT
1234567890
Listening Guides ............................................................................................................. xi
Listening Excerpts (alphabetical list).................................................................................... xiii
Metropolitan Opera Videos ..............................................................................................xvi
Author Videos (by chapter)............................................................................................... xvii
Maps ..........................................................................................................................xvii
Preface..................................................................................................................... xviii
CHAPTER 1 Fundamental Musical Concepts and Form s........................................ 2
Introduction • Some Basic Terms and Concepts about Sound • Musical Instruments • The Orchestra
• Musical Forms • Chapter Review
p a i r 1 Music and Prayer:
Medieval and Renaissance Music
19
Timeline: The Middle Ages • The Middle Ages • Arts and Ideas: The Middle Ages • Timeline: The
Renaissance • The Renaissance • Arts and Ideas: The Renaissance • Style Comparisons at a Glance
CHAPTER 2 Friday, December 25,1198, Paris:
Christmas Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral...........................................................30
Introduction • The Setting • Christmas Day at Notre Dame • The Music • LG 1 Introit: “Puer natus
est” • LG 2 Kyrie • LG 3 Alleluia: Dies sanctificatus • LG 4 Leoninus: Alleluia, Dies sanctificatus • LG 5
Perotinus: Viderunt omnes • Notre Dame Then and Now • Chapter Review
CHAPTER 3 Thursday, July 23,1586, Harleyford Manor, England:
William Byrds Mass for Four Voices and Other Domestic M u sic ............................... 56
Introduction • The Setting • The Performance • The Music • Listening to the Music • LG 6 Byrd:
Agnus Dei, from Mass for Four Voices • LG 7 Byrd: “This sweet and merry month of M ay” • LG 8
John Dowland: “Can she excuse my wrongs,” for Voice and Lute • LG 9 Dowland: "Can she excuse
my wrongs,” arrangements • Renaissance Music Then and Now • Chapter Review
V
PclXT II Music and Speech:
Baroque Music
83
Timeline: The Baroque Era* Baroque Musical Style • Style Comparisons at a Glance • Arts and Ideas:
The Baroque Era
CHAPTER 4 Saturday, February 24,1607, Mantua:
Claudio Monteverdi s Orfeo............................................................................ 90
Introduction • The Setting • The Performance • Listening to the Music • LG 10 Toccata • LG 11
Opening Ritornello and Prologue • LG 12 “Vi ricorda, o boschi ombrosi” • LG 13 “Tu se’ morta" •
LG 14 "Possente spirto" • Listening Map of Orfeos Act 2 • Orfeo Then and Now • Chapter Review
CHAPTER 5 Tuesday, April 13,1742, Dublin:
George Frideric Handels M essiah.....................................................................118
Introduction • The Setting • The Performance • Listening to the Music • LG 15 “There were
shepherds” • LG 16 “Comfort ye, my people” • LG 17 “Ev’ry valley” • LG 18 "And the glory of the
Lord • LG 19 “Hallelujah” chorus • LG 20 “He trusted in G od" • How Did It G o? • Messiah Then and
Now • Chapter Review
CHAPTER 6 Friday, September 18,1739, Leipzig:
Johann Sebastian Bach at Zimmermanns Coffeehouse......................................... 146
Introduction • The Setting • The Performance • Listening to the Music • LG 21 Prelude and Fugue in
C Minor, BWV 847 • LG 22 Suite in D Major. BWV 1068, Overture • LG 23 Concerto in F Major for
Harpsichord, Two Recorders, and Strings (arr. from Brandenburg 4), BWV 1057,1• Bach Then and
Now • Chapter Review
V I C o n te n ts
P 3.IT I I I Music and Reason:
Classical Music
i69
Timeline: The Classic Period • Political Events • Arts and Ideas: The Age of Enlightenment • Classic
Musical Style • Style Comparisons at a Glance
CHAPTER 7 Monday, October 29,1787, Prague:
W. A. M ozarts Don Giovanni........................................................................... 176
Introduction • The Setting • The Performance • The Music • Listening to the Music • LG 24 Act 1,
Scene 1: “Notte e giorno faticar” • LG 25 Act 1, Scene 1: Ensemble • LG 26 Act 1, Scene 5: Catalogue
Aria • LG 27 Act 1, Scene 9: “La ci darem la mano” • LG 28 Act 1: Finale • Don Giovanni Then and
Now • Chapter Review
CHAPTER 8 Thursday, December 22,1808, Vienna:
Ludwig van Beethoven s Symphony No. 5 in C M in o r ............................................ 208
Introduction • The Setting • The Performance • The Music • Listening to the Music • LG 29 First
Movement • LG 30 Second Movement • LG 31 Third Movement • LG 32 Fourth Movement • The
Fifth Symphony Then and Now • Chapter Review
CHAPTER 9 November 1826, Vienna:
A Schubertiade at Joseph von Spauns............................................................... 234
Introduction • The Setting • The Performance • Listening to the Music • LG 33 Die Forelle (The Trout) •
LG 34 Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel) • LG 35 Der Erlkonig (The Erlking) •
LG 36 The "Trout” Quintet, IV • Schubert Then and Now • Chapter Review
PclXT IV Music and Feeling:
Romantic Music
Timeline: The Romantic Period • Politics, Economics, and Technology • Romantic Musical Style •
Arts and Ideas: The Romantic Period • Style Comparisons at a Glance
CHAPTER 10 Sunday, December 5,1830, Paris:
Hector Berliozs Fantastic Symphony (Symphonie fantastique)..........
Introduction • The Setting • The Performance • The Music • Listening to the Music • LG 37
"Reveries— Passions,” I • LG 38 “Un bal,” II • LG 39 "Scene aux champs,” III • LG 40 “Marche du
supplice," IV • LG 41 "Songe dune nuit de sabbat,” V • How Did It G o? • The Fantastic Symphony
Then and Now • Chapter Review
CHAPTER 11 Thursday, March 13,1845, Leipzig:
Felix Mendelssohns Violin Concerto in E M in o r ...........................
Introduction • The Setting • The Performance • The Music • Listening to the Music • LG 42 First
Movement • LG 43 Second Movement • LG 44 Third Movement • How Did It G o? • The Violin
Concerto Then and Now • Chapter Review
CHAPTER 12 Saturday, March 29,1862, Paris:
Clara Schumann Performs Robert Schumanns Carnaval......................
Introduction • The Setting • The Performance • The Music • Listening to the Music • LG 45
“Preambule” • LG 46 “Arlequin” • LG 47 “Eusebius” • LG 48 “Florestan” • LG 49 “Chopin” • LG 50
“Pause” and "Marche des Davidsbundler contre les Philistins” • How Did It G o? • Carnaval Then and
Now • Chapter Review
CHAPTER 13 Monday, August 14,1876, Bayreuth:
Richard Wagners The Valkyrie (Die Walkure)...................................
Introduction • The Setting • The Performance • The Music • Listening to the Music • LG 51 Act 1,
Prelude (Storm) • LG 52 Act 1, Scene 1: Siegmund and Sieglinde M eet and Fall in Love ("Wess Herd
V I I I C o n te n ts
dies auch sei”) • LG 53 Act 1, Scene 2: Sieglinde and Siegmund in Love, and Siegmunds Sense of
Foreboding • LG 54 Act 1, Scene 3: “Wintersturme wichen dem W onnem ond” • LG 55 Act 1, Scene 3:
"Siegmund heiss’ ich" • How Did It G o? • The Valkyrie Then and Now • Chapter Review
C H A P T E R 14 Friday, December 15,1893, New York:
Antonin Dvoraks Symphony No. 9 in E Minor (From the New World) ........................372
Introduction • The Setting • The Performance • The Music • Listening to the Music • LG 56 First
Movement • LG 57 Second Movement • LG 58 Third Movement • LG 59 Fourth Movement • How
Did It G o? • The New World Symphony Then and Now • Chapter Review
pair V
Music and Politics:
Twentieth-Century Music
399
Timeline: The Twentieth Century • Political Events • Music in the Twentieth Century and Beyond •
Arts and Ideas: The Twentieth Century • Style Comparisons at a Glance
CHAPTER 15 Thursday, May 29,1913, Paris:
Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (Le sacre du printemps).....................................406
Introduction • The Setting • The Performance • The Music • Listening to the Music • LG 60
“Introduction” • LG 61 "Signs of Spring: Girls’ Dance” • LG 62 “Spring Rounds” • LG 63 "Procession
of the Oldest and Wisest O ne" • LG 64 "Glorification o f the Chosen Victim” • LG 65 "Sacrificial
Dance” • How Did It G o? • The Rite o f Spring Then and Now • Chapter Review
CHAPTER 16 Monday, December 14,1925, Berlin:
Alban Bergs Wozzeck....................................................................................434
Introduction • The Setting • The Performance • The Music • Listening to the Music • LG 66 Act
1, Scene 3: March and Lullaby • LG 67 Act 3. Scene 2: Invention on a Note • LG 68 Act 3, Scene
3: Invention on an Irregular Rhythm • LG 69 Act 3, Scene 4: Invention on a Chord • LG 70 Act 3,
Interlude: Invention on a Key • LG 71 Act 3, Scene 5: Invention on a Regular Rhythm • How Did It
G o? • Wozzeck Then and Now • Chapter Review
C o n te n ts
IX
CHAPTER I . Wednesday, January 15,1941, Stalag VIIIA, Zgorzelek, Poland:
Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time................................................... 466
Introduction • The Setting • The Performance • The Music • Listening to the Music • LG 72 “Liturgie
de cristal” (Liturgy of Crystal) • LG 73 “Vocalise, pour I’A nge qui annonce la fin du Temps” (Vocalise,
for the Angel W ho Announces the End o f Time) • LG 74 "Abime des oiseaux” (Abyss of the Birds) •
LG 75 “Intermede” (Interlude) • LG 76 “Louange a I'Eternite de Jesus” (Praise to the Eternity of Jesus) •
LG 77 "Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes” (Dance of Fury, for the Seven Trumpets) •
LG 78 "Fouillis d’arcs-en-ciel, pour lAnge qui annonce la fin du Temps” (Tumult of Rainbows, for the
Angel W h o Announces the End o f Time) • LG 79 “Louange a I’lmmortalite de Jesus” (Praise to the
Immortality of Jesus) • How Did It G o? • The Quartet Then and Now • Chapter Review
CHAPTER 18 Thursday, September 26,1957, New York:
Leonard Bernsteins West Side Story................................................................ 498
Introduction • The Setting • The Performance • Listening to the Music • LG 80 Prologue • LG 81 “Jet
Song” • LG 82 “Dance at the Gym ” • LG 83 “Tonight” • LG 84 “America" • How Did It G o? • West Side
Story Then and Now • Chapter Review
CHAPTER 19 Coda: Into the Twenty-First Century........................................... 526
Introduction • Listening to Modern Music • John Adams’s Doctor Atomic • Chapter Review
APPENDIX
More Technical M atters............................................................... A-l
Glossary...................................................................................................................... A-9
Endnotes................................................................................................................... A-17
Credits ...................................................................................................................... A-27
Index..........................................................................................................................A-31
X C o n te n ts
© Listening Guides
1 Introit, “Puer natus est” (chant)............................................................................................................... 42
2
Kyrie (chant)...................................................................................................................................... 45
3
Alleluia, Dies sanctificatus (chant)............................................................................................................47
4
Leoninus: Alleluia. Dies sanctificatus (2-voice organum).................................................................................50
5
Perotinus: Viderunt omnes (4-voice organum).............................................................................................52
6
Byrd: Agnus Dei. from Mass for Four Voices................................................................................................ 67
7
Byrd: “This sweet and merry month of M ay”...............................................................................................69
8
Dowland: “Can she excuse my wrongs." for Voice and Lu te ............................................................................ 76
9
Dowland: “Can she excuse my wrongs." arrangements
a) Four voices with lute......................................................................................................................... 77
b) Lute so lo ....................................................................................................................................... 78
c) Harpsichord s o lo ............................................................................................................................ 78
d) Consort of five viols and lute.............................................................................................................79
e) Mixed consort................................................................................................................................. 79
10
Monteverdi: Orfeo. Toccata.................................................................................................................. 104
11
Monteverdi: Orfeo. Opening Ritornello and Prologue................................................................................. 105
12
Monteverdi: Orfeo. “Vi ricorda. o boschi ombrosi" (Orfeo’s Song). Act 2 .......................................................... 108
13 Monteverdi: Orfeo. “Tu se’ morta" (Orfeo’s Lament), Act 2............................................................................109
14
Monteverdi: Orfeo. “Possente spirto” (Orfeo’s Song). Act 3 ............................................................................ Il l
15
Handel: Messiah. Recitative. “There were shepherds”.................................................................................. 129
16
Handel: Messiah. Recitative. “Comfort ye, my people”.................................................................................. 131
17
Handel: Messiah. Aria. “Ev’ry valley” ........................................................................................................ 134
18
Handel: Messiah. Chorus, "And the glory of the Lord” ................................................................................ 137
19
Handel: Messiah. “Hallelujah” c horus.......................................................................................................139
20
Handel: Messiah. Fugue chorus, “He trusted in G o d ”.................................................................................... 141
21
Bach: Prelude and Fugue in C Minor. BW V 8 4 7.......................................................................................... 158
22
Bach: Suite in D Major, BW V 1068, O verture.............................................................................................. 161
23
Bach: Concerto in F Major for Harpsichord. Two Recorders, and Strings. BW V 1057,
Arranged from the Fourth Brandenburg Concerto, I .................................................................................. 164
24
Mozart: D on Giovanni, Act 1, Scene 1, “Notte e giorno faticar"...................................................................... 193
25
Mozart: D on Giovanni. Act 1, Scene 1. Ensemble......................................................................................... 194
26
Mozart: D on Giovanni. Act 1, Scene 5, Catalogue A ria .................................................................................. 197
27
Mozart: D on Giovanni, Act 1, Scene 9, “La ci darem la m a n o ".........................................................................198
28
Mozart: D on Giovanni. Act 1, Finale..................................................................................................... 200
29
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67,1(Allegro con brio)................................................................ 224
30
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67, il (Andantecon m oto).............................................................227
31
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67. ill (Allegro)..........................................................................229
32
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67. IV (Allegro)..........................................................................230
33
Schubert: Die Forelle (The Trout)........................................................................................................... 246
34
Schubert: Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel).............................................................247
35
Schubert: Der Erlkonig (The Erlking)....................................................................................................... 250
C o n te n ts
XI
36
Schubert: The "Trout" Quintet, Piano Quintet in A Major, IV ........................................................................ 253
37
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, I, “Reveries— Passions" (Reveries— Passions)........................................................283
38
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, II, “Un bal" (A Ball)........................................................................................ 284
39
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, III, “Scene aux champs” (Scene in the C ountry).................................................... 285
40
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, IV, “Marche du supplice” (March to the Scaffold)................................................. 287
41
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, V, “Songe dune nuit de sabbat” (Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath)............................. 288
42
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 6 4.1(Allegro molto appassionato)............................................... 307
43
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, II (Andante)..................................................................... 309
44
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, III (Allegro molto vivace)..................................................... 312
45
Schumann: Carnaval, “Preambule” (Preamble)........................................................................................... 333
46
Schumann: Carnaval, “Arlequin” (Harlequin)..............................................................................................335
47
Schumann: Carnaval, “Eusebius” ............................................................................................................336
48
Schumann: Carnaval, “Florestan”............................................................................................................337
49
Schumann: Carnaval, “Chopin”.............................................................................................................. 338
50
Schumann: Carnaval, “Pause” and “Marche des Davidsbundler contre lesPhilistins"
(March o f the League of David against the Philistines)................................................................................. 339
51
Wagner: The Valkyrie, Act 1, Prelude (Storm)............................................................................................. 359
52
Wagner: The Valkyrie, Act 1, Scene 1, Siegmund and Sieglinde Meet and Fall in Love (“W ess' Herd dies auch se i")...... 360
53
Wagner: The Valkyrie, Act 1, Scene 2, Sieglinde and Siegmund in Love,and Siegmund s Sense o f Foreboding............. 362
54 Wagner: The Valkyrie, Act 1, Scene 3, “Wintersturme wichen dem W onnem ond” .............................................. 364
55
Wagner: The Valkyrie, Act 1, Scene 3, “Siegmund heiss' ich” .......................................................................... 366
56
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor (From the New World), I (Adagio— Allegro m olto)....................................... 386
57
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor (From the New World), II (Largo)........................................................... 388
58
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor (From the New World), III (Scherzo: M olto vivace— Poco sostenuto)................ 390
59
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor (From the New World), IV (Allegro con fuoco).............................................392
60
Stravinsky: The Rite o f Spring, “Introduction"........................................................................................... 422
61
Stravinsky: The Rite o f Spring, “Signs of Spring: Girls’ Dance"......................................................................... 423
62
Stravinsky: The Rite o f Spring, “Spring Rounds” .......................................................................................... 425
63
Stravinsky: The Rite o f Spring, "Procession of the Oldest andWisest One”.........................................................426
64
Stravinsky: The Rite o f Spring, "Glorification of the Chosen Victim"................................................................. 428
65
Stravinsky: The Rite o f Spring, “Sacrificial D ance"....................................................................................... 429
66
Berg: Wozzeck, Act 1, Scene 3, March and Lullaby....................................................................................... 447
67
Berg: Wozzeck, Act 3. Scene 2, Invention on a N o t e ................................................................................. 449
68
Berg: Wozzeck, Act 3. Scene 3. Invention on an Irregular Rhythm.................................................................... 452
69
Berg: Wozzeck, Act 3. Scene 4, Invention on a C h o rd ..................................................................................454
70
Berg: Wozzeck, Act 3, Interlude, Invention on a K e y ................................................................................... 457
71
Berg: Wozzeck, Act 3. Scene 5, Invention on a Regular Rhythm...................................................................... 459
72
Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f Time, I. "Liturgie de cristal" (Liturgy of Crystal)............................................ 480
73
Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f Time, II. Vocalise, pour I’A nge qui annonce la fin du Temps"
(Vocalise, for the Angel W h o Announces the End of Time)...........................................................................481
74
Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f Time, III. “Abime des oiseaux” (Abyss o f the Birds)...........................................483
75
Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f Time, IV. “Intermede" (Interlude)................................................................ 485
76
Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f Time, V. “Louange a I’Eternite de Jesus” (Praise to theEternityo f Jesus)................ 486
x i i C o n te n ts
77
Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f Time, VI. "Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes"
(Dance of Fury, for the Seven Trumpets)................................................................................................ 488
78
Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f Time, VII. "Fouillis d’arcs-en-ciel. pour I’Ange qui annonce la fin du Temps"
(Tumult of Rainbows, for the Angel W h o Announces the End o f Time).......................................................... 490
79
Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f Time, VIII. “Louange a I’lmmortalite de Jesus”
(Praise to the Immortality of Jesus)........................................................................................................492
80
Bernstein: West Side Story, Prologue.................................................................................................. 515
81
Bernstein: West Side
82
Bernstein: West Side Story, “Dance at the G ym ".................................................................................... 518
83
Bernstein: West Side Story, “Tonight” ................................................................................................. 519
84
Bernstein: West Side Story, “America” ................................................................................................. 521
Story, “Jet Song”................................................................................................ 516
© Listening Excerpts (alphabetical list)
Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 ,1(harpsichord)
Berg: Wozzeck, Act 1, Scene 2, Andres’s hunting song
Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 ,1(original, followed by
transcription)
Berg: Wozzeck, Act 1, Scene 3, March
Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 ,1(recorder)
Bach: Cello Suite No. 1,1
Bach: Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, BW V 847, opening of
fugue
Bach: Sanctus, B Minor Mass
Bach: Suite in D Major, Air
Bach: Suite in D Major, Bourree
Bach: Suite in D Major, Gavotte
Bach: Suite in D Major, Gigue
Bach: Suite in D Major, Overture (trumpet and drums)
Beethoven: Piano Sonata in C Minor, Op. 13 (Pathetique), III
Beethoven: Piano Sonata in Cft Minor, Op. 27, No. 2
(Moonlight), III
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 9 in C Major. Op. 59
(Rasumovsky), No. 3, III, Minuet
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5,1, opening 4-note motive
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5,1, transition 1st to 2nd theme
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, II, modulation
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, II, opening
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, III (double bass)
Berg: Wozzeck, Act 3, Scene 3, Wozzeck’s descent into
madness
Berlioz, arr. Liszt: Fantastic Symphony, II
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, I, "Estelle" melody
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, I. first theme, following
introduction
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, I, opening
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, I, recapitulation
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, I, theme returns in the
middle
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, II, idee fixe theme
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, III, appearance o f idee fixe
with recitative-like passage
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, III (oboe and English horn)
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, IV, Coda
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, IV, “March to the Scaffold”
(conjunct)
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, IV, “March to the Scaffold,”
dominant chord
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, IV, “March to the Scaffold,”
harmonic alteration
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, IV, “Ode to Joy”
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, IV, “March to the Scaffold,"
march theme
Berg: Lyric Suite, Allegro misterioso
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, V, Dies irae, originally
performed by serpent and ophicleide
Berg: Violin Concerto, I
Berg: Wozzeck, Act 1, opening
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, V, first theme, following
introduction
C o n te n ts
X III
Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony, V, Witches’ Dance
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9, II, 3rd and 4th phrases
Berlioz: Harold in Italy, I (viola solo)
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9, II, 5th and 6th phrases
Berlioz: Romeo and Juliet, IV, Scherzo
Bernart de Ventadorn: Can vei la lauzeta mover
Earl o f Essex Galliard (lute)
Earl o f Essex Galliard (viols)
Earl o f Essex Galliard (virginal)
Bernstein: Candide Overture
Bernstein: Chichester Psalms
Bernstein: Mass, Alleluia
Bernstein: West Side Story, “America”
“Goin’ Home"
Gradual: “Viderunt omnes,” chant
Bernstein: West Side Story, “Cool," fugue
Gregorian chant: example o f melismatic setting
Bernstein: West Side Story, “Maria"
Gregorian chant: example o f neumatic setting
Bernstein: West Side Story, Prologue (drums)
Gregorian chant: example o f syllabic setting
Bernstein: West Side Story, “Somethings Coming”
Bernstein: West Side Story, “Tonight”
Handel: Acis and Galatea. Sinfonia (baroque oboe)
Handel: Messiah, “And he shall reign for ever and ever”
Brahms: Violin Concerto in D Major, I
Byrd: Agnus Dei, from Mass for Four Voices, final major
chord
Byrd: Agnus Dei, from Mass for Four Voices, middle section
Byrd: “Civitas sancti tui,” from Cantiones sacrae, Book 1
Byrd: “The Galliarde for the Victorie,” from M y Lady
Neville's Virginal Book
Byrd: Kyrie, from Mass for Four Voices
Byrd: “This sweet and merry month of May"
Byrd: “Ye sacred muses"
Handel: Messiah. “And he shall reign for ever and ever”
(disjunct)
Handel: Messiah, “And the glory of the Lord,” opening
Handel: Messiah, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive”
Handel: Messiah, “For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth"
Handel: Messiah, “Hallelujah" chorus
Handel: Messiah, “He shall feed his flock”
Handel: Messiah, “He trusted in God,” final minor chord
Handel: Messiah, “He trusted in God,” opening
Handel: Messiah, “Rejoice," basso continuo
Handel: Messiah, “The trumpet shall sound"
Chopin: Prelude. Op. 28. No. 11
Debussy: “Jeux de vagues," from La mer (The Sea)
Handel: Messiah, “Thus saith the Lord"
Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks, “Rejouissance"
Debussy: Prelude to “The Afternoon o f a Faun"
Haydn: Symphony No. 82,1, opening
Dowland: “Can she excuse my wrongs" (ensemble of viols)
Hildegard o f Bingen: “O euchari in leta via”
Dowland: “Can she excuse my wrongs" (voice and lute)
Dowland: “Flow, my tears"
Liszt: Transcendental Etudes, No. 4, “Mazeppa"
Dowland: “Semper Dowland. semper dolens”
Machaut: “Puis qu’en oubli”
Dvorak: Humoresques, Op. 101, No. 7
Mahler: Symphony No. 2.1(crescendo and explosion)
Dvorak: Slavonic Dances, Op. 46, No. 1
Dvorak: Stabat Mater
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9,1,1st theme
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9,1(flute solo)
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9,1, melody with lowered 7ths
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9, II, opening
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9, II, 1st and 2nd phrases
X IV
C o n te n ts
Melismatic organum
Mendelssohn: Elijah (oratorio)
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Overture
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Scherzo
Mendelssohn: Songs without Words, No. 6, "Spring Song”
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor, I, first theme
Messiaen:L’Ascension, “Transports de joie dune ame devant
la gloire du Christ qui est la sienne"
Palestrina: Kyrie. from Missa Aeterna Christi munera
Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f Time, “Abyss o f the Birds”
(clarinet)
Pentatonic scale
Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f Time, “Dance of Fury”
Perotinus: Viderunt omnes, 4-voice organum
Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f Time, “Interlude”
“Puer natus est," opening notes
Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f Time, “Praise to the
Eternity o f Jesus”
Reich: New York Counterpoint
Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f Time, “Tumult of
Rainbows”
Rodgers and Hammerstein: Carousel, Overture
Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f Time, “Vocalise"
Saltarello
Messiaen: Turangalita-symphonie
Schoenberg: Five Piano Pieces, Op. 23, V
Monteverdi: 1610 Vespers
Schoenberg: Five Pieces for Orchestra. Op. 16, No. 4. Farben
Monteverdi: Orfeo, “Ahi! Caso acerbo"
Schoenberg: Pierrot lunaire, No. 1, Mondestrunken (Moondrunk), Sprechstimme
Monteverdi: Orfeo (cornetts and sackbuts)
Monteverdi: Orfeo (2 cornetts with organ and lute)
Monteverdi: Orfeo, “E intenerito"
Monteverdi: Orfeo, opening ritornello (ensemble of violins,
viola, and cello)
Monteverdi: Orfeo (recorders)
Monteverdi: Orfeo, Toccata
Monteverdi: Orfeo, “Vi ricorda. o boschi ombrosi"
Monteverdi: Scherzi musicali
Schubert: “Death and the Maiden” Quartet, II
Schubert: Der Erlkonig
Schubert: Die Forelle, first verse
Schubert: Die Forelle, instrumental version
Schubert: Gretchen am Spinnrade
Schubert: String Quartet No. 10, IV
Schubert: “Unfinished” Symphony, I
Schubert: “Wanderer” Fantasy
Morley: Galliard. “Can she excuse my wrongs"
Schubert: “Das Wandern," from Die schone Mullerin
Mozart: Clarinet Quintet, II
Schumann: Carnaval, “Chopin”
Mozart: Clemenza di Tito. Overture
Schumann: Carnaval, “Paganini”
Mozart: Dies irae, from Requiem
Schumann: Carnaval, “Pantalon et Columbine"
Mozart: D on Giovanni, Act 1, Scene 9, “La ci darem la mano”
Schumann: Carnaval, “Pause"
Mozart: D on Giovanni, Act 1, Scene 12, “Non ti fidar"
Schumann: Carnaval, “Preambule,” crashing chords
Mozart: D on Giovanni, Act 1, Trio, “Protegga” (bel canto)
Schumann: Carnaval, “Preambule,” octaves
Mozart: D on Giovanni, Ottavio, “ll mio tesoro”
Schumann: Carnaval, “Reconnaissance"
Mozart: D on Giovanni, Overture
Mozart: D on Giovanni, Overture, opening
Schumann: “Im leuchtendem Sommermorgen,” from
Dichterliebe
Mozart: “Prague” Symphony, No. 38. IV
Schumann: Piano Quintet. I
Mozart: Symphony No. 30,1, opening
Mozart: Symphony No. 4 0 ,1. opening
Schumann: Piano Sonata in F# Minor. I (theme from Clara’s
Dance o f the Phantoms)
Mozart: Symphony No. 4 0 ,1, transition 1st to 2nd theme
Schumann: Symphony No. 1, IV
Mozart: “Tuba mirum," from Requiem
Mussorgsky: “The Field Marshal"
“Old Folks at Home”
C. Schumann: Piano Trio, IV (Allegretto)
Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, II
Sousa: “Stars and Stripes Forever" (piccolo)
C o n te n ts
XV
Stravinsky: The Firebird
Stravinsky: L'histoire du soldat
Stravinsky: Petrushka
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, III
Varese: Deserts, excerpt 7
Stravinsky: Requiem Canticles
Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Prelude
Stravinsky: The Rite o f Spring, “Games o f Rival Cities”
Wagner: The Rhinegold, Prelude
Stravinsky: The Rite o f Spring, “Glorification of the Chosen
Victim"
Wagner: The Rhinegold, the Valhalla leitmotif
Stravinsky: The Rite o f Spring, “Glorification of the Chosen
Victim" (timpani)
Stravinsky: The Rite o f Spring, “Introduction
Wagner: Tannhauser, Pilgrim’s chorus
Wagner: Tristan and Isolde, Prelude
Wagner: The Valkyrie, “Du bist der Lenz”
Wagner: The Valkyrie, Hunding’s leitmotif
Stravinsky: The Rite o f Spring, “Procession of the Oldest and
Wisest One"
Wagner: The Valkyrie, Hunding’s tuba
Stravinsky: The Rite o f Spring, “Procession o f the Oldest and
Wisest One” (tuba ostinato)
Wagner: The Valkyrie, Sieglinde's pity leitmotif
Stravinsky: The Rite o f Spring, “Signs o f Spring: Girls' Dance"
Stravinsky: Sym phony o f Psalms
"Swing Low" theme
Wagner: The Valkyrie, love leitmotif
Wagner: The Valkyrie, Siegmund s leitmotif, at end mixed
with Sieglinde's
Webern: Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 10, No. 4
"Will you go walk in the woods so wild?"
® Metropolitan Opera Videos
Chapter 7: W. A. M ozart’s D on Giovanni
Act 1, Scene I, “Notte e giorno faticar" — "Leporello, ove
sei?" (Track 11)
Act 1, Scene 5, “Ah! Chi me dice mai"— “Chi e la?”—
“Madamina, il catalogo e questo" (Track 12)
Act 1, Scene 9, “La ci darem la mano” (Track 13)
Chapter 13: Richard Wagner’s The Valkyrie (Die
Walkure)
Act 1, Scene 3, “Wintersturme wichen dem W onnem ond"
(Track 21)
Act 1. Scene 3, “Siegmund heiss' ich” (Track 22)
Act 3, Prelude. Ride o f the Valkyries— “Hojotoho!" (Track 23)
Act 3, Scene 3, Magic Fire Music (Track 24)
Part IV: Music and Feeling: Romantic Music
Giacomo Puccini: La Boheme, Act II, “Quando me’n vo"
(Track 15)
Giuseppe Verdi: Rigoletto, Act III, “La donna e mobile"— “Un
di, se ben rammentomi"— “Bella figlia dell'amore” (Track
19)
Giuseppe Verdi: Act III, La Traviata, “Signora"— “Parigi, o
cara” (Track 20)
Chapter 16: Alban Berg’s Wozzeck
Act 3, Scene 2, “Dort links geht’s in die Stadt” (Track 3)
Act 3, Scene 3, “Tanzt Alle; tanzt nur zu" (Track 4)
Act 3, Scene 4, “Das Messer? W o ist das Messer?" (Track 5)
Interlude and Act 3, Scene 5, “Ringel, Ringel, Rosenkranz,
Ringelreih’n!” (Track 6)
Chapter 19: Coda: Into the Twenty-First Century
John Adams: Doctor Atomic, Act I, Scene 3: "Batter my
heart" (Track 1)
X V I C o n te n ts
(?) Author Videos (by chapter)
Chapter 1
Melody
Rhythm and meter
Phrase
Harmony
Expression
Chapter 10
Berlioz’s idee fixe
Chapter 11
Basic techniques in violin playing
A demonstration of violin virtuosity in Mendelssohn’s Violin
Concerto
Chapter 2
Notation for chant and polyphony
Chapter 12
Chapter 3
The Sphinxes and the A-S-C-H motive in Schumann’s
Carnaval
Imitation in Renaissance music
Rhythm in Dowland s “Can she excuse my wrongs"
Chapter 13
The sword leitmotif in Wagner’s Valkyrie
Chapter 4
The use of basso continuo in Orfeo
Rhythm in Orfeo’s song, “Vi ricorda,” from Act 2
Chapter 14
Syncopation and the spiritual in the first movement o f the
New World Symphony
Chapter 5
Recitative in oratorio
Structure of the “Hallelujah” chorus in Handel’s Messiah
Chapter 15
Folklike melodies from The Rite o f Spring
New sounds in "Signs of Spring: Girls’ Dance," from The Rite
o f Spring
The building blocks o f “Glorification o f the Chosen Victim,"
from The Rite o f Spring
Chapter 6
Bach’s C Minor Fugue: subject and countersubject
Bach’s C Minor Fugue: episode and sequence
Chapter 7
The aria “Notte e giorno faticar," from Mozart’s Don
Giovanni
The duet “La ci darem la mano,’’ from Mozart’s Don
Giovanni
Chapter 16
The use of note and rhythm in Act 3 of Berg's Wozzeck
Chapter 17
The nightingale and the blackbird in “Liturgie de cristal,”
from Messiaen’s Quartet for the End o f Time
Chapter 8
How to make a theme out of a motive in Beethoven's Fifth
Symphony
Rhythmic unity of themes throughout Beethoven’s Fifth
Symphony
Chapter 9
Accompaniment in Gretchen am Spinnrade
Chapter 18
Meter and rhythms in “America.” from Bernstein’s West Side
Story
Appendix
Scales
Harmony
Maps
Europe in 1050
Western Europe, ca. 1500
Europe, ca. 1610
Northern Italy around the time of Orfeo (1607)
21
25
84
92
Europe. 1815-1848
Europe, ca. 1871
Europe during the Cold War (1945-91)
170
259
400
C o n te n ts
X V II
I
A “You Are There” Guide to
Masterpieces of Western Music
This is a book for people who like to listen to music. It may be that some students
who use Music Then and Now are not accustomed to hearing the music described
in these pages, but all music has common elements. Even if we have varying tastes
and like to listen to different music, we’re all looking for that same something:
what you might call aesthetic pleasure—that warm feeling in the pit of our stom­
achs. We know how we feel when we hear music we love.
Music happens in time; you can’t listen faster or know what’s going to happen
next (unless, of course, you already know the music). Sometimes we get to know
music passively, by noticing that we’re hearing a piece we like, or by recognizing
that we’ve heard it before. Many people do their listening this way—by letting it
happen while doing something else. That’s fine, and we’re blessed with a lot of
music that is available to us in many different ways.
But in this book we plan to listen a little more actively; to pay attention to w hat’s
happening, and to try to articulate why we like it—or don’t. In a way it’s the kind
of listening we do at a concert, when a favorite artist or group plays music that we
specifically want to hear. For some of us, it’s rock music that we like, for others it’s
jazz, and for still others it may be the latest indie group.
That concert experience, of hearing music in real time, projects a particular
kind of excitement: on a recorded track or video, we know that the music will
be fine—no one distributes a bad performance except as a joke; but in a live situa­
tion, anything can happen—and it sometimes does. The excitement of watching
and hearing performers walk tightropes o f difficulty, of hoping it will go well, of
feeling the tension and the effort that a musician puts into giving the very best
possible performance, all this is part of the thrill of live performance—along
with the fun of being physically present, with other people, when the music is
happening.
This book is about such specific musical moments; it's about music, yes, but
really about the process and the pleasure of hearing music. Each chapter discusses
a precise moment in time, in which a new piece of music was given its first perfor­
mance. The people who were there were the only people in the world who had ever
heard this music: the sounds begin, the listeners don’t know how it will continue, it
spins itself out, and it ends. And if you weren’t there you didn’t hear it.
The chapters are arranged in chronological order and grouped by musical style
periods, with general introductions for each group. If you choose, you can create
a history of Western classical music using these examples. But taken another way,
each chapter stands on its own as an exploration of a particular place and time, and
more importantly, of the beauties of a specific musical moment.
The excitement of performance, and of the new, is what we seek to capture
here. The music discussed in this book is now classic, in that it has stood the test
of time and continues to be loved by listeners. But there was a moment when each
piece was cutting-edge, contemporary, when no one had ever heard it before and
no one was sure if it would ever be heard again; it is this moment that we want to
X V I I I Preface
capture, to regain the tension and anticipation of the new, and of the now, which is
sometimes missing in modern concert and recorded performances.
We have chosen interesting moments, and beautiful pieces, in the hope that
they will appeal both by their cultural context and by their intrinsic musical worth.
The cultural context can be important when it tells us who the people were who
first heard this music. What sort of music did they usually listen to? What did they
expect? What might have surprised them? What else could they have done on that
same day? When we place music in the THEN of its original time and place, we
learn a lot about music, about people, and, most important, about ourselves and
our own expectations and preferences.
When we return to NOW, we can consider the music just as music, and com­
pare it with other music, either from our own time or from other times and places.
This is a luxury that was not available to any of the people who listened to the
music described in this book: until the twentieth century no one could hear any
music unless they performed it themselves or were physically present when the
music was played. And they would probably not have wanted to hear music from
the past, or from the future. They wanted music for now. And so do we. But our
now includes all times and all peoples.
In this book we will focus on one kind of music, and pay close attention to it.
Western Classical music, or art music, often has a privileged place compared to
other kinds of music. We are not claiming that this type of music is better, or more
important, or more significant than other music—it’s just the music that I like, that
I hope you will too, and that many other people have also liked.
And to like it you need to pay close attention, to listen carefully, and to figure
out how to describe what you hear. This book is designed to facilitate that process.
Using the Book
Music Then and Now is accompanied by many useful and instructive features that
will help in the study of music. The chapters have a clear three-part structure—
the setting, the music, and the performance—that unpacks both the musical and
cultural meanings of each work. All chapters end with a Then and Now section
that links the past to the present day.
The book begins with a brief unit on Fundamental Musical Concepts and
Forms, teaching you how to listen and what to listen for; further details on ele­
ments are introduced as they are needed. Throughout this opening chapter, each
music element is illustrated with brief excerpts from the core repertoire. When
you read the historical chapters that follow, you will not only understand essen­
tial concepts, but the works will be familiar companions. Instrum ents o f the
Orchestra videos show each instrument family in action—strings, winds, brass,
percussion—and five Author Videos walk you through the elements of music—
Melody, Rhythm and meter, Phrase, Harmony, and Expression—illustrating each
with pithy music examples. In addition, a short but important Appendix at the
back of the book discusses the more intricate issues of music notation, including
an Author Video on Scales.
There are five historical Part Introductions, and they give concise overviews of
the major political, artistic, and intellectual trends in each period, including—
Arts and Ideas boxes that present capsule accounts of some of the leading
figures in literature, the arts, science, and history.
Style Comparisons at a Glance boxes that list quick comparisons between
successive eras, highlighting their similarities and differences.
Timelines that set the musical events and venues in historical context.
Features that are common to all chapters include sidebars that bring the cultural
context alive—
woLFGanG AmaDfc M ozarr (i756-i79i)
as an
Don Giovanni w as n o t. how ever, a success in V ienna. D espite
inspired genius, a co m p o se r w hose
M ozart
has a
rep u tatio n
his a p p o in tm e n t as a C h a m b e r M usician to th e em p ero r, and
com positions hose a perfectio n an d a
despite fu rth e r o p eratic v en tu res, in clu d in g Cast fan tutte (1790,
clarity th a t has rarely b ee n equaled.
M usic is th o u g h t to have p o u re d o u t
lib retto by D a P o n te) a n d The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflbu, 1791),
a p o o r eco n o m y a n d M o zart's inability to m an ag e his affairs
o f h im in an inspired to rre n t.
left h im a n d his fam ily in increasingly diificult circum stances,
T h e tr u th is a little m o te pedes­
an d th ey rep eated ly m o v ed to sm aller a n d ch e ap er ap a rtm en ts.
trian. T h e ta le n te d so n o f a Salz­
1 le d ied fro m a n u n k n o w n disease in D ecem b er 1791, leaving
b u rg violinist, M ozart an d his sister,
w h o m he called N an n erl, w ere to u re d a ro u n d E u ro p e , perhaps
beh in d his u n fin ish e d R eq u iem Mass.
exploited, as child p rodigies (sec F igure 7.3). T h e y o u n g Wolf­
p u n s a n d off-color h u m o r. I Ic h a d a ta le n t fo r com plexity, as his
M o zart w as w itty, am u sin g , full o f fu n a n d jo k e s, a n d loved
g a n g w as em ployed, as his fath er w as. by th e prince arch b ish o p
skill at billiards a n d c o u n te rp o in t attest; h e even devised a set
o f Salzburg. T ours w ith his fath er (th ro u g h o u t Italy, England,
G e rm a n y an d A ustria) m ad e th e son's ta len t w ell k n o w n , and
o f dice th a t an yone co u ld use to co m p o se a m in u et. 1lis bril­
liant a n d im p ro m p tu lifestyle le d to his re p u ta tio n fo r to ssing
M o zart d ecided to seek his fo rtu n e in d e p en d en tly in V ienna,
off his m u sic, b u t th e re w as actually a g o o d deal o f h ard w o rk
w here he h o p ed to establish him self in a c o u rt-sp o n so red posi­
involved in M o zart's efforts, an d th e clarity an d p erfectio n o f
tio n a n d gain fam e as a n o p e ra com poser. 1 le did n o t succeed,
his m usic is a n ach iev em en t o f a g e n iu s as w ell as a su p erb
b u t his fam e is n o w secure.
In V ienna. M o zart stru g g le d to find his w ay as a com poser.
craftsm an.
In a d d itio n to his o p eras, h e is rem em b ere d for his s y m p h o ­
I le o rg an ized concerts, c rea ted p ia n o c o n c erto s fo r his ow n
nies an d c h a m b e r m usic.
Concise com poser biographies
summarize the personal details and
professional activities o f the com­
poser’s life, works, and style.
A short list of principal works—
with brief audio excerpts streaming
from StudySpace (the student
website)—helps you identify the
composer’s major contributions.
v irtu o so p erform ances, an d co m p o se d sym phonies, c h a m b er
m usic, an d o th e r w orks. M o stly how ever, he so u g h t com m is­
sions for operas, since th at w as w h ere he felt his ta le n t la y and
© Mo a r t ; Symphony No. 4 0 .1 opening
© Mozart: Clarinet Q u n te t. II
th a t w as h o w co m p o se rs achieved success. 1lis Abductioit from
© Mozart: Dies iroe. from Requiem
the Seraglio (D ir Entfuhrung a m Jem Serail. 1782) w as a n en o r­
m o u s success, a n d o n th e s tre n g th o f it h e bro k e w ith th e arch­
M AJO R W O R K S: O p eras, in clu d in g M arriage o f Figaro. Don
bishop. d efied his father, a n d m a rried th e singer C o n stan z e
W eber (sec Figure 7.4). U nfortunately, th e hoped-for c o n tin u ed
Giovanni, Abduction from the Seraglio. Cosi fa n tu tu , an d The .Magic
Flute; 41 sy m phonies; c h a m b er m u sic, in clu d in g Fine klcine
success a n d financial security evaded h im . I le scored a h it w ith
Xochrmusifc; a b o u t 23 p ian o c o n c erto s a n d o th e r concertos;
D a P onte's lib retto o f The Marriage o f Figaro (I78S ). w hich,
M asses a n d 1 R eq u iem (u nfinished); an d n u m e ro u s key-board
along w ith The Abduction, m a d e him fam ous in P rag u e before
w o rk s an d songs.
he tra w le d th e re in Ja n u a ry 1787.
Pierre Monteux Hears
Stravinsky Play the Rite
ith only Diaghilev and myself as an audience.
Stravinsky sat dow n to play a piano reduc­
tion o f the entire score. . . . The very walls
resounded as Stravinsky pounded away, occasionally
stamping his feet and jumping up and dow n to accentu­
ate the force o f the music. Before he got very far I was
convinced he was raving mad.
W
■ In Their Own Words boxes allow composers,
audiences, and critics to speak for themselves.
■ You Are There sidebars establish the setting
for each musical event—who heard the music
and where, and what they thought about it.
M ozart on Zerlina’s Scream
Joseph Svoboda. the concert master, recollecting the
rehearsal:
t the final rehearsal o f the opera Mozart was not
at all satisfied with the efforts o f a young and very
pretty girl, the possessor o f a voice o f greater pu­
rity than power, to w hom the part o f Zerlina had been al­
lotted. The reader will remember that Zerlina. frightened
at D on Giovanni's to o pronounced love-making, cries for
assistance behind the scenes. In spite o f continued rep­
etitions. Mozart was unable to infuse sufficient force into
the poor girl's screams, until at last, losing all patience, he
clambered from the conductor’s desk o n to the boards.
A t that period neither gas nor electric light lent facility to
stage mechanism. A few tallow candles dimly glimmered
among the desks o f the musicians, but over the stage
and the rest o f the house almost utter darkness reigned.
Mozart's sudden appearance on the stage was therefore
not noticed, m uch less suspected, by poor Zerlina. who
at the m oment when she ought to have uttered the cry
received from the composer a sharp pinch on the arm.
emitting, in consequence, a shnek which caused him to
exclaim: “Admirable! M ind you scream like that tonight!”
A
Preface
xxi
There are other features common to all chapters as well:
■ Key Terms are boldfaced throughout and highlighted in red in the margins.
Most of these terms are defined, for easy reference, in the Glossary at the
back of the book, which offers clear and concise definitions.
■ Many chapters feature a segment called “How Did It Go?” After reading
about the contextual background and listening to the music—making up your
own mind on how the music sounded—you’ll have a chance to read about
what actually happened.
■ Each chapter ends with a Chapter Review that provides a Summary o f Musi­
cal Styles, important terms to know (Flashcards), and a list of the Interactive
Listening Guides (iLGs) and Author Videos. End-of-chapter material also
includes resource and review materials—online Chapter Quizzes, Listening
Quizzes, and Music Activities—all available on SudySpace, and will test your
understanding of the music and facts in each chapter.
Marginal icons direct your attention to important media resources on StudySpace—
■ © Eighty-four Interactive Listening Guides highlight essential musical fea­
tures of each work in real time and, along with the online Listening Quizzes,
teach you how to listen critically to all musical styles and genres.
■ © Over two hundred short Listening Excepts —drawn from the core rep­
ertoire or from related works from all periods—highlight essential musical
concepts and enable you to instantly make comparisons to other works across
periods and genres.
■ ^ T h irty -tw o Author Videos linked to our online Listening Guides demon­
strate how to listen and what to listen for. There is an Author Video for most of
the pieces featured in the text.
■ ® M etropolitan Opera Videos make you feel as if you’re right there, placing
you in front-row seats to enjoy stunning performances of Don Giovanni, Die
Walkiire, Wozzeck, Doctor Atomic, and others.
Full-color photographs and illustrations highlight and bring to life important
ideas, architecture, people, and events from the text.
In addition, we’ve inserted some quick reference guides:
■ A Table o f Listening Guides (inside the front and back covers) gives quick
and easy access to each Listening Guide in the book.
■ All short Listening Excerpts, M etropolitan Opera Videos, and Author
Videos are listed in the front of the book for easy reference.
■ Important historical Maps give clear overviews of changing political boundar­
ies throughout the history of the Western world.
About the Listening Guides
The Listening Guides—both in-text and online—highlight the essential musical
features of each work in real time. These easy-to-follow guides will teach you how
to listen critically to all musical styles and genres and will augment your listen­
ing and understanding. Icons in the green strip at the top of all in-text Listening
Guides indicate, when applicable, the following:
■ © : the work is available on StudySpace for streaming.
■ DVD: the work is available on an mp3 disc.
■ ® : a Metropolitan Opera Video is available on StudySpace for streaming.
an Author Video to enhance your understanding of the work is available
on StudySpace for streaming.
LISTEN IN G GUIDE 24
(§ ) | DVD | © Video |<f>
M o z a r t D o n Giovanni, A c t 1, Scene 1, “N o t te e g io rn o faticar”
Composer, title,
and total duration
1:41
DATE; 1787
GENRE; A n a
Brief information
TEXT: L o r e n z o D a P o n te
LISTEN FOR
MELODY: S im p le b a la n c e d p h ra s e s
TIME
TEXT
0:00
I n tr o d u c tio n
m a s te r
TRANSLATION
DESCRIPTION
N o tte e g io r n o faticar
W o r k in g n ig h t a n d d ay
L e p o re llo c o m p la in s a b o u t th e m o n o ­
p e r c h i n u lla s a g ra d ir;
pcova e s e n to s o p p o rta r.
F o r th is th a n k le s s m a s te r;
E n d u r in g r a in a n d w in d .
to n y o f h is life. E a ch p h r a s e o f m e lo d y
c o n sists o f a le a p b a c k a n d f o r th
m a n g ia r m a le e m a l d o r m i r.
E a tin g b ad ly , s le e p in g b a d ly ;
b e tw e e n s a m e tw o p itc h e s , w h ic h g e t
h ig h e r w ith e a c h n e w p h ra s e .
L eporello
0:15
Listen For
EXPRESSION: C o n tr a s tin g c h a ra c te r iz a tio n o f s e rv a n t
TEXTURE: S hifts o f m u s ic a l sty le : d is ju n c t; s m o o th ; p a t te r s o n g
Text and translations
m------------------------
Short music examples
0:27
V o g lio fa r il g e n tilu o m o .
1 w a n t t o a c t th e g e n tle m a n .
L e p o re llo w is h e s to b e a g e n tle -
e n o n v o g lio p iu s e rv ir
I w o n 't s e rv e a n y m o re .
m a n like h is m a ste r. M e lo d y is m o re
e le g a n t— s m o o th , s te p w is e , a n d in a
e n o n v o g lio p iu se rv ir.
1 w o n 't s e rv e a n y m o te .
W h e n L e p o re llo e x p re s s e s h is w ish
no. no. no, no. no, no
n o n v o g lio p iu serv ir.
N o. no. no. no. no.
I w o n 't s e rv e a n y m o re .
n o t t o b e a s e r v a n t, h e first slavishly
fo llo w s th is m e lo d y b u t th e n r e v e rts to
■
Moment-by-moment
descriptions
s till h ig h e r ra n g e .
a m e lo d y fu ll o f le ap s.
0:47
O h . c h e c a r o g a la n tu o m o !
V oi s ta r d e n t r o c o n la b e lla .
W h a t a h a n d s o m e g e n tle m a n !
Y o u 're in th e r e w ith th e lady.
H e a g a in re fe rs to h is n o b le m a s te r
a n d sin g s a s lig h tly a lte r e d v e rs io n o f
e d io ta r la se n tin e lla !—
A n d 1 s ta n d g u a r d ! ___
th e s m o o th m e lo d y , w h ic h is r e p e a te d .
M e lo d y d e s c e n d s to a lo w e r r e g is te r
Cumulative timings
a n d is m o r e re p e titiv e w h e n re fe rrin g
t o h is o w n m o n o t o n o u s s e n tr y d u ly .
1:04
V o g lio fa r il g e n tilu o m o .
e n o n v o g lio p iu se rv ir.
e n o n v o g lio p iu se rv ir.
1 w a n t to a c t th e g e n tle m a n ,
I w o n 't s e rv e a n y m o re .
1 w o n 't s e rv e a n y m o r e .
R e p e titio n o f te x t a n d m u s ic o f sec­
o n d s e c tio n .
no, no. no. no. no. no.
n o n v o g lio p iu serv er.
N o. no. no. n o . no.
1 w o n 't s e rv e a n y m o r e .
1:20
M a m i p a r c h e v e n g a g e n te
B u t 1 th in k p e o p le a re c o m in g
L e p o re llo b e c o m e s a n x io u s a n d
a lm o s t fr o z e n w ith fear. M elo d y
1:28
n o n m i v o g lio fa r se n lir.
(H e hides.)
I d o n 't w a n t t o b e h e a rd .
A ria c o n c lu d e s w ith r e p e titio n o f te x t
a n d m u s ic o f th is lin e .
b e c o m e s s tu c k o n sin g le n o te .
Preface
xxiii
Every Listening Guide includes a recording of the music in both streaming and
mp3 formats.
The LGs offer other important information as well (see sample LG, p. xxiii, for
boldfaced terms):
■ Each piece lists the composer and title as well as brief inform ation about the
work.
■ The total duration of the piece is found to the right of the title. Cumulative
timings, beginning with zero, run down the left side of each Listening Guide.
■ A Listen For section spotlights the big ideas—the “can’t miss” features of each
work.
■ Text and translations, when appropriate, are given for all vocal works.
■ Short musical examples are provided that identify themes and other impor­
tant musical events.
■ Detailed moment-by-moment descriptions allow you to follow the work
throughout, carefully guiding your listening.
Media Resources for Students and
Instructors
The Total Access Package includes full access to all online media, including
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total access.
FOR THE STU DEN T
StudySpace: Your Place for a Better Understanding
StudySpace tells you what you should know, shows you what you still need to
review, and then gives you an organized study plan to master the material.
Our effective and well-designed online resources will help you succeed in this
course—StudySpace is unmatched in providing a one-stop study solution that’s
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■ Chapter Outlines.
■ Chapter Quizzes: each chapter quiz includes questions to sharpen your
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■ Flashcards provide you with an at-a-glance reference for definitions to the
Terms to Know that appear at the end of each textbook chapter.
■ Music Activities: twelve activities are designed to get you thinking about
musical connections and mastering concepts. Activities include brief exer­
cises on Melody and Harmony, Rhythm and Meter, Keys (major/minor),
Texture, Tempo and Dynamics, and the Instruments of the Orchestra. Style
comparisons include musical examples that span chapters so you can assess
your understanding of musical contrasts in specific eras—Middle Ages, Renais­
sance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern.
■ Listening Quizzes: each StudySpace listening quiz includes questions (with
music excerpts) to help you grasp the important moments of the works cov­
ered in each chapter.
■ Playlists combine all the selections for a chapter into an easily scanned and
accessed listening menu. This section of StudySpace includes:
■ Streamed audio selections of all eighty-four listening guides covered in the
book.
■ Interactive Listening Guides (iLGs) for every selection.
■ Author Videos, which tell you what to listen for.
■ M etropolitan Opera Videos, including scenes from Mozart’s Don Giovanni,
Wagner’s Valkyrie, Berg’s Wozzeck, and Adams’s Doctor Atomic.
■ Listening Excerpts: over two hundred brief, illustrative excerpts that
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Music Then and Now mp3 + iLG Recordings Disc
Providing an option for offline listening, the recordings disc assembles all twentyeight works and their eighty-four corresponding iLGs into a rapidly accessible and
stable platform. Also included on the disc arc the Author Video lessons and, as a
bonus, all additional Listening Excerpts arc indexed to maintain a direct correla­
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FOR THE IN ST R U C T O R
Coursepacks
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Content includes chapter-based assignments, Test Banks and quizzes, interactive
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■ Links to all StudySpace content.
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■ Total Access Package (Music Then and Now textbook registration code
required) includes the following:
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■ Ebooks links.
Instructor’s Resource Disc (1RD)
The ultim ate tool for transition, this disc contains everything an instructor needs
to start from scratch or to augment his or her music appreciation lectures. Con­
tents include:
■ Chapter PowerPoints, integrated with all the art from the book.
■ Listening Guides, as they appear in the textbook (iLGs are not included on the
IRD).
■ Art JPGS and PowerPoints.
■ Listening Excerpts—over two hundred short examples to illustrate a compos­
ers range beyond the primary repertoire covered in the LGs.
■ Author Videos.
Instructor Website (w w norton.com /instructors)
This instructor-only password-protected site features instructional content for use
in lecture and distance education, including a Coursepack, Test-item files, Power­
Point lecture slides, images, figures, and more. The Instructor Website for M usic
Then and Now includes:
■ Chapter PowerPoints, integrated with all the art from the book.
■ Listening Guides, as they appear in the textbook.
■ Art JPGS and PowerPoints.
■ Test Bank.
■ Instructor’s Manual.
■ Coursepack.
Test Bank, by Nathan C. Bakkum, Columbia College Chicago
The Test Bank includes over 1,300 multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and
essay questions. Each question is identified with a topic, question type (factual,
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and on a CD-ROM.
Instructor’s Manual, by Blake Stevens, College of Charleston, and Yen-Ling Liu,
College of Charleston
The Instructor’s Manual includes detailed teaching advice for new and experienced
instructors alike. Each chapter offers:
■ An overview and outline.
■ A list of learning objectives.
■ Lecture suggestions and class activities.
■ Suggested writing assignments.
■ Advice for responding to the challenges of teaching music appreciation.
■ Supplemental repertoire and a detailed annotated bibliography of books and
audiovisual resources.
In addition, the manual includes sample syllabi and advice for crafting writing
assignments for music appreciation classes. It is available online as a PDF file.
Acknowledgments
This book began as a conversation with Maribcth Payne, Music Editor at W. W.
Norton & Company, with whom I had collaborated on several projects in the past;
and with Pete Lesser, currently Associate Director for Digital Media, who was the
acquiring editor. They assured me that a new textbook is a lot of work, and that
it requires many hands to bring it to completion. I had no idea how right they
were. I had written books before, but never a textbook, and I have learned a great
deal about collaboration, incremental improvement, repeated consultation, and
the wonderful synergy that sometimes happens when many talented people bring
their skills to bear on a single project.
No one individual—certainly not this author—can have all the skills, insights,
and creative ideas that have made this book so much more interesting, compre­
hensive, and clear that I could ever have made it by myself.
The number of people who need to be credited for their substantial contribu­
tions is large, and if the list below seems almost numbing, please remember that
these are not just names but individuals with talent and skill, each of whom has
contributed something indispensable to the result that you hold in your hands.
From W. W. Norton, in addition to Maribcth Payne and Pete Lesser, Kathy Talalay, Developmental Editor and Project Editor, has worked tirelessly, patiently, and
creatively with me (and with many others) as a sort of control center for the whole
project, and it’s hard to imagine ever doing any sort of project without her wit, her
ceaseless help, and her gentle reminders. Ariella Foss, Assistant Editor, coordinated
all the reviews, from generous generalists and outstanding experts, and prepared
enormously useful summaries. Justin Hoffman, Associate Editor, coordinated and
worked on the many ancillaries that make this project so comprehensive. Jane
Searle, Director of Production, College, did all the production on this book, which
requires a staggering amount of coordination.
Steve Hoge, Electronic Media Editor, ably and expertly created, coordinated,
and tracked the outstanding media package for this book, assisted at Norton by
Nicole Sawa and Stefani Wallace, Emedia Editorial Assistants, who coordinated the
various aspects of electronic enhancements, including the listening guides and the
many author videos. Online quizzes are by Rebecca G. Marchand (Longy School
of Music, Boston Conservatory); Interactive Listening Guide programming is by
John Husser; the Author Videos were produced by Erica Rothman of Nightlight
Productions.
Stephanie Romeo, Photo Editor, managed the photo side of the book and
selected the cover art. Indispensable in their areas of expertise are Megan Jackson,
Permissions Manager; Leah Clark, Senior Designer, who designed the cover; and
Rubina Yeh, Art Director.
A number of other experts have collaborated in this book, called into service
by the publisher to contribute to the communal effort. Harry Haskell, an old and
admired friend, improved much of the writing here in a crucial stage of creation.
Jodi Beder, Manuscript Editor, improved the book at a later stage, and taught
me much; she also helped develop Chapter 1, Fundamentals. Julie Tesser, Photo
Researcher; Allison Courtney Fitch Hirschey, Recordings Consultant; David Botwinik, Music Typesetter; Randy Foster and Monica Combs at Naxos, have all con­
tributed expertise in their particular areas that no one person could hope to match.
The book itself has been brought to its state of perfection with the expert help
of Lissi Sigillo, Book Designer; Carole Desnoes, Page Layout; Scott Gleason, who
vetted endnotes and in-text quotations, checked musical examples and some tim­
ings; Barbara Necol, proofreader; and Marilyn Bliss, Indexer.
I
am particularly grateful to those colleagues who were kind enough to read and
evaluate early versions of this material. Some of them are experienced teachers
who have a good sense of what is likely to be effective and attractive to students;
others, no less expert in those matters, also read specific chapters with a view to
accuracy and clearness of interpretation. Nobody could be an expert about all the
things in this book, and do not be fooled for a moment into thinking that the infor­
mation herein is all my own; it is owed to a community of scholars and teachers to
whom I hope to give back here just a bit of the gratitude I feel. Those teachers and
scholars who read and commented are:
Nicole Baker (California State University, Fullerton)
Nathan C. Bakkum (Columbia College Chicago)
Anthony Barone (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Michael Beckerman (New York University)
Geoffrey Block (University of Puget Sound)
Cathryn Clayton (University of Utah)
Julie E. Cumming (McGill University)
Andrew Dell*Antonio (The University of Texas at Austin)
Robert Fallon (Carnegie Mellon University)
Lisa Feurzeig (Grand Valley State University).
David Gramit (University of Alberta)
Thomas Grey (Stanford University)
James Grier (University of Western Ontario)
James A. Grymes (University o f North Carolina at Charlotte)
Patricia Hall (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)
D. Kern Holoman (University of California, Davis)
Jennifer L. Hund (Purdue University)
Orly L. Krasncr (City College, CUNY)
Jeffrey Kurtzman (Washington University in St. Louis)
Michael Marissen (Swarthmorc College)
William McGinney (University of North Texas)
Gerald Moshell (Trinity College)
Nancy Newman (University at Albany)
Alison Nikitopoulos (Louisiana State University)
James Parsons (Missouri State University)
John Platoflf (Trinity College)
Peter Schimpf (Metropolitan State University of Denver)
Glenn Stanley (University of Connecticut, Storrs)
Blake Stevens (College of Charleston)
Joseph N. Straus (Graduate Center, City University of New York)
Marie Sumner Lott (Georgia State University)
Andrew Talle (Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University)
R. Larry Todd (Duke University)
Mary Wolinski (Western Kentucky University)
Scott Warfield (University of Central Florida)
Susan Youcns (University of Notre Dame)
Particular thanks go to those students, at Princeton and Harvard, who test-drove
earlier versions of this material, and to their teachers, Wendy Heller and Ellen
Exner.
Wendy Strothman helped bring this book into W. W. Norton’s competent hands,
and has followed its development with generosity and hospitality. Peggy Badenhausen, some of whose beautiful art appears here, has put up with the whole thing
with characteristic patience and understanding.
—Tom Kelly
M a y 2012
Preface
X X IX
Music Then and Now
Fundamental Musical Concepts
and Forms
© V ID E O S
■ Instruments of the Orchestra
(available on StudySpace)
A U T H O R V ID E O S
■ Melody
■ Rhythm and meter
■ Phrase
■ Harmony
■ Expression
Introduction
“Music expresses that which cannot be said, and on which it is impossible
to be silent. ”
—Victor Hugo
Music, even familiar music, can be very difficult to describe. We may only be able
to say that we know what we like when we hear it. This chapter is an introduc­
tion to the conventional terms and concepts that are used to describe the music
covered in this book, and it provides a good introduction to thinking about music.
An Appendix at the back of the book (see pp. A-l-A-8) deals with more technical
matters, including musical notation, and a Glossary provides definitions of all the
main terms used (see pp. A-9-A-16). These, along with other online study materi­
als, form the reference portion of this book.
Some Basic Terms and Concepts
about Sound
We value music for its effect on us, and when we talk about it, this is often what
we have to say: “I like this piece, I don't like that one; do you like the other one as
much as I do?” Sometimes, however, we want to be more specific, to describe some­
thing about music, to let someone else know about the sound of something, to
say what it was that we liked, to compare two or more songs. Ordinary language
can be wonderful for poetic, suggestive descriptions (‘‘It sounds like fleecy clouds
on a summer afternoon "), but these mean different things to different people, and
sometimes we may want to be more concrete.
This book covers a particular musical world: that of the European and Ameri­
can “classical" tradition, composers such as Bach and Beethoven, symphonies and
operas and chamber music, Gregorian chant and West Side Story. As this music has
evolved, a special vocabulary has evolved along with it, much as football, basket­
ball, and soccer have their own vocabulary. Some of the terminology might be
thought of as instructions, used by composers to tell performers how to under­
stand what is on the page: for example, how fast to play, or in what mood. Other
terms are descriptive, used by listeners who want to articulate what they hear,
by music historians to place musical developments in a historical context, and by
students of music to delve into the intricacies of what sets one musical style apart
from another or makes a particular symphony great. The vocabulary we will look
at is standard for talking about this music, and you will see it in concert programs
and music reviews of similar music. (Other kinds of music, such as the classical
music of India or China, and even jazz and blues, may use different musical instru­
ments, scales, rhythms, and techniques; each tradition has its own musical vocab­
ulary, and may require its own names for its special musical instruments, tech­
niques, and features.) It may take some time and effort to learn the terms, because
4
CHAPTER!
Fundamental M usical C oncep ts and Forms
music itself is a wordless and ephemeral art, but for that very reason, the special
vocabulary is useful, and can even help us hear music more clearly.
Music has many aspects, but all of them have to do with sound and time. Every
sound, every event in music, has numerous ways in which it might be described. In
addition, a single moment has numerous characteristics—it can be, say, loud, fast,
high, polyphonic, played on a clarinet, and speeding up, all at the same time. The
terms that follow are ways of separating out some of these variables that coexist.
In this opening chapter we will use many examples from the pieces discussed in
this book. Chapter 1, then, is not only a reference but also an introduction to the
music to come.
NOTES A N D MUSIC: PITCHED A N D UNPITCHED
FIG. 1.1 A tuning fork, which pro­
duces a very pure tone.
<t >Melody
Sound has a definition in physics, but what we're interested in here is sound as we
perceive it: a sensation that we perceive through our ears, created by the vibration
of airwaves. We hear in the range of 20 to 20,000 vibrations (“cycles”) per second
(or hertz, abbreviated Hz). There are a lot of sounds in this world, and any of
them could be music if we listen to them for pleasure (“That's music to my ears”).
We define music more by how we behave toward the sound than what the sound
actually is. By “noise” we usually mean sound that is not communicating anything
and is annoying. But some music incorporates sounds that are usually thought of
as noise: there’s a string quartet with a helicopter, by Karlheinz Stockhausen, for
example; a ballet with airplane propellers, by George Antheil; and a piece with a
typewriter and a Wheel of Fortune, by Erik Satie.
Noise has a more specific technical meaning: sound without specific pitch. In music
we distinguish between pitched and unpitched sound. By “pitch” we mean, techni­
cally, the frequency of the vibrations: if something vibrates 440 times per second, it
is sounding the note that we call “A.” It's also the note that the oboe plays when an
orchestra tunes up, and the note that most tuning forks play (see Figure 1.1).
But there are sounds that contain many pitches and, as a result, we can't distin­
guish a single pitch: a waterfall, for example, has so many kinds of vibration that it
has an unpitched sound. Many instruments, too, are unpitched, including cymbals,
triangles, and most drums; and foot stamping, hand clapping, and finger snapping,
all examples of unpitched sounds, are often used in music.
UP A N D DO W N: PITCH A N D M ELO DY
We speak of pitches as being higher and lower: women’s and children’s voices are
higher in pitch than men's, and a trumpet plays higher than a tuba. (Interestingly,
this use of spatial terms to describe pitch differences holds in various languages.)
Higher notes vibrate faster: the A used for orchestra tuning, at 440 Hz (vibrations
per second), is higher than what we call middle C, which is approximately in the
middle of the piano keyboard, at about 262 Hz. We don't actually perceive the fre­
quency of the vibrations, but they can be measured in a laboratory, and the vibra­
tions are what’s causing the difference we hear. The lowest note on most pianos
(all the way to the left) is a low A at 27.5 Hz; the highest (all the way to the right) is
a high C, at 4,186 Hz, although, as we shall see, because of overtones, we do make
use of our hearing above this level. The word “note” is often used to mean pitch,
as in "the note A.” "the note B,” and so on, but each note has other aspects too,
which we'll discuss later.
We use the first seven letters of the alphabet to indicate the ascending series of
notes: A, B, C, D, E, F, G (these correspond to white keys on a piano; see Figure
C H A P T ER 1
5
Fundamental M usical C oncep ts and Forms
1.2). After G, the series repeats: the next note is again A, an octave
Qft
A? Mf
\y>
(eight notes) above the previous A, and vibrating exactly twice as
fast. (Some countries use syllables instead of letters: do, re, mi, fa,
sol, la, ti. You can read more about note names in the discussion
of musical notation in the Appendix as well as hear a Video about
scales—collections of pitches arranged in ascending or descend­
ing order.) The other pitches we use, which we call sharps and
flats, correspond to the black keys of the piano. Note that some cultures around
the world, not to mention traditional American blues, use pitches that are not
even in our system. But the systems of naming notes, whether A, B, C or do, re,
mi, all reflect an interesting aspect of how humans around the world perceive
pitch: we actually hear notes that are an octave apart as being the same in some
fundamental way.
When we put several notes together in sequence, we are creating what is called
a melody: a series of musical notes designed to be sung or played in succession.
We usually use the word melody for a series of notes that is somehow memorable,
often because it is singable, or catchy in some way. We can t always say why it’s
memorable, but we can try to describe it. Later we ll talk about rhythm and meter,
the other main elements of melody. But just in terms of pitch, we can talk about
whether notes rise or fall, and whether the movement from one note to the next,
the melodic motion, is conjunct (by step, to an adjacent pitch) or disjunct (skip­
ping pitches). Some melodies are primarily conjunct ("My Country, Tis of Thee”);
other melodies are primarily disjunct: ‘The Star-Spangled Banner” is a good exam­
ple. You can often tell that a melody is disjunct if you try singing it: disjunct melo­
dies tend to be harder to sing than conjunct melodies.
Many melodies are a mixture of conjunct and disjunct motion. Listen to the
first segments or phrases of a melody from Berlioz’s Fantastic Symphony. Each
phrase begins with disjunct motion and ends with conjunct motion.
But there’s more to say about disjunct melodies: how far apart are the pitches—
how large are the melodic skips? We tend to hear larger skips as being more ener­
getic, more dramatic (they are also harder to sing). We call the distance between
two pitches an interval. The interval between two notes a letter name apart (e.g.,
A-B, F-G, G-A) is called a second; a third is the interval between two notes that skip
a letter between (A-C, D-F, etc.), afourth is one note wider (A-D, etc.), and so on.
TIME: RHYTHM, BEAT, A N D METER
Music happens in time, and the temporal aspect of music is often described in
terms of rhythm and meter. Rhythm is the hardest word to spell in all of music,
and it is the central fact of music: rhythm is the sequence of events in musical
time. We perceive time, and rhythm, when we perceive change. A single unchang­
ing and unending tone would be impossible to perceive as music, but once there
are two notes, one after another, we have rhythm—and music becomes possible.
Most music that you are familiar with, as well as most of the music we will be
discussing in this text, has an underlying pulse or beat, a regular unit of musical
time, like the ticking of a clock, or a heartbeat. The speed of the beat is referred to
as tempo (the Italian word for time), which is often given in terms of number of
beats per minute (see metronome, below).
Meter is a grouping of beats. Regular meter in which beats are grouped in twos
(1-2, 1-2, etc.), threes, or fours is common to most of the music in this book, and
indeed, most of the music in our lives. Meter occurs naturally in the way we move,
even breathe, and is central to music for dancing. Walking produces a meter of
C
a /
ds/
Db
E»
D
E
a / DS/
F8/ CS/ A#/
G> A>
F
G
A
B
C
D>
li
D
E
FIG. 1.2 Piano keyboard
© Berlioz: Fantastic Sym phony.
“March to the Scaffold” (conjunct)
© Handel: Messiah. "And he shall
reign for ever and ever" (disjunct)
© Berlioz: Fantastic Sym phony. I.
first theme, following introduction
Interval
<?> Rhythm and meter
6
C H A P T ER 1
Fundamental M usical C oncep ts and Forms
two beats, waltzing produces a meter of three beats. While most of us are familiar
with meters of 1,2, 3, 4, and 6, other meters are common in the traditional music
of some cultures (for example, meters of 5 or 7 are common in Greek music).
Occasionally a classical composer will try something unusual (one movement of a
symphony by Tchaikovsky is in quintuple meter, 1-2-3-4-5; so is the Dave Brubeck
Quartet’s Take Five), but duple and triple meter are the norm for most classical
music, as well as the popular music you probably know. The earliest music we dis­
cuss, Gregorian chant (see Chapter 2), may have been sung with a feeling of beat,
but it did not have a meter. Parts of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring (see Chapter 15)
have frequently changing meter. But most music has a more or less regular meter.
Meter is the yardstick by which we measure the passage of musical time.
Countless melodies have the same meter; it is the rhythm that gives them their
distinctive temporal character. While meter is (normally) regular, rhythm is highly
variable; it creates a sense of motion that is interesting mostly with respect to
the underlying meter. In the following example, you’ll note that the beats come
regularly, 1-2-3, 1-2-3: that’s the meter, a triple meter where the first beat of each
group (the downbeat) gets an accent but has the same length as the other beats.
The rhythm—that is, the placement of the syllables, the timing of the events of
the song—occurs sometimes at the same time as one of the beats (we say it comes
"on the beat ’), and sometimes between beats; and some of the syllables last longer
than others, as in the familiar “Happy Birthday”:
©Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring,
Signs of Spring: Girls Dance
Downbeat
M eter:
3
1
2
3
1
Rhythm:
Happy
birth-
day
to
you,
2
M eter:
3
1
2
3
1
o
2
Rhythm:
Happy
birth-
day,
dear
Wolf-
gang,
3
1
2
3
1
H appy
birth-
day
to
you,
3
1
2
3
1
Happy
birth-
day
to
you!
2
2
3
When we sing “Happy Birthday," we only sing the melody and its rhythm, we
don’t sing the meter—hut we feel the meter, and that’s what makes the rhythm
interesting. (Incidentally, this song provides some good examples of a common,
very characteristic uneven long-short rhythm often referred as dotted, rhythm, dis­
cussed in the Appendix: each time the word “Happy” occurs in the song, it is sung
as a long note followed by a much shorter one, all in the space of one beat. Also,
you might have noticed the little symbol over "-gang.” It’s called afermata; and if
you think about how you sing the song, you might guess what it signifies.)
^
Phrase
Melodies
© Mozart: Don Giovanni.
Act 1. Scene 9. "La ci darem la mano”
C O M B IN IN G PITCH A N D RH YT H M
Melodies are a combination of pitch and rhythm—notes in time. There are fur­
ther ways too, of thinking about melodies.
Melodies may have regular or irregular rhythm. “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”
is essentially regular: most of its notes are the same length. Some melodies have
regular rhythmic patterns such as short-long or long-short-short, but others such
as “The Star-Spangled Banner” are more irregular.
A melody may have phrases of regular or irregular lengths. The vast majority of
songs you know—“Twinkle, Twinkle,” “Old Folks at Home,” “Take Me Out to the
Ball Game,” folk songs, show tunes, jazz standards, national anthems, hymns, and
many more—are built of phrases of regular lengths. Regular phrases are rather like
lines of poetry, one phrase suggesting an answering phrase, so that phrases tend to
come in pairs, as in the opening of a duet from Mozart's Don Giovanni.
C H A P T ER 1
Fundamental M usical C oncep ts and Forms
Many melodies in classical music don't have such regular phrases. Phrases of
irregular lengths are particularly common in classical music written before 1750
and after 1900, as in Stravinsky’s Introduction to The Rite of Spring.
Several other terms you will commonly see are closely related to melody. In
some contexts, a melody is referred to as a theme (for example, ' theme and varia­
tions” or rondo theme”) or a subject (the main melody of a fugue). Themes and
subjects are essentially melodies that are used in some structural way, by being
altered, for example, or by returning later in the music. Thus they become part of
larger-scale musical form. Another important term is motive, indicating a small
melodic unit, perhaps only two or three notes, that is, again, used in some struc­
tural way. A good example of a motive is the famous opening of Beethoven's Sym­
phony No. 5, a four-note motive.
© Stravinsky: The Rite o f Spring.
"Introduction”
HARMONY
<?> Harmony
One of the most characteristic—and pleasurable—aspects of Western music is the
use of harmony. Harmony makes use of chords—collections of three or more
pitches sounded together to produce a pleasing sound. Chords are commonly used
to accompany melodies; and series of chords provide much of the sense of direc­
tion in music, of tension or of finality. Harmony is the art of arranging and order­
ing these sounds.
The interval names we mentioned earlier in relation to melody (seconds, thirds,
etc.) are also useful in talking about consonance (notes that sound well together)
and dissonance (notes that sound harsh together). Much of the dramatic and
emotional impact of harmony has to do with the tension and relaxation created
by the succession of dissonant and consonant intervals and chords.
Intervals and harmony are discussed at greater length in the Appendix.
FAST A N D SLOW: TEM PO
Theme and subject
Motive
© Beethoven: Symphony No. S. I.
opening 4-note notive
Chords
Consonance and dissonance
<f> Expression
Music seems to be going fast when there are many short notes close together.
Generally we use the Italian word tempo (which means 'time”) to indicate the
concept of speed in music.
Composers may indicate tempo by using an Italian word (see the list below).
You’ll notice that some of these words are about speed, but others are about
mood. The list is far from complete—and not everyone agrees on how slow is
"slow” or whether Largo is slower than Adagio—but generally, these terms are the
most commonly used tempo indications, proceeding from slow to fast:
Grave
grave, serious (very slow)
Moderato
moderate
Largo
broad
Allegretto
fairly happy (fairly fast)
Adagio
slow
Allegro
happy (fast)
Lento
slow
Vivace
lively
Larghetto
fairly broad
Presto
veryfast
Andante
going, walking
(somewhat slow)
Prestissimo
asfast as possible
All of these terms can be modified in various ways: as diminutives, superla­
tives, and the like (adagietto, adagissimo), or by qualifying them (un poco
adagio—somewhat adagio; allegro assai—very allegro). Or composers can give a
7
8
C H A P T ER 1
Fundamental M usical C oncep ts and Forms
Metronome
description that combines mood, emotion, and speed in order to create a kind of
feeling for the piece—for example, "Allegro ma non troppo con molta passione”
(Fast but not too fast, with much passion).
Composers may choose to give tempo indications in their own language, or to
give no indication at all. Much music before Mozart's time had little or no indica­
tion of tempo—you had to figure it out from the musical context.
An alternative way to indicate tempo is by using a metronome. The original
metronome was a mechanical device, an inverted pendulum, patented in 1815 by
Johann Nepomuk Maelzel, a friend of Beethoven's. Nowadays most metronomes
are electronic, but they work the same way: giving signals, usually clicks, at a speed
selected by the user. A composer might give a metronome mark such as "* = 60,”
meaning that sixty notes of this length should fit into a minute. The metronome is
then set at 60, so that it clicks sixty times in a minute (once per second, or the speed
of a relaxed heartbeat), and the musicians adjust the performance accordingly.
Often a composer wants the performer to change tempo: speed up, slow down.
There are conventional Italian indications for that too (the abbreviations are in
italics), such as
accelerando, accel.
speeding up
ritardando, n't., rilard.
slowing down
rallentando, rail.
slowing down
a tempo
back to the original speed
piu mosso
faster (usually refers to the tempo of a new section)
meno mosso
slower (usually refers to the tempo of a new section)
While tempo indications are a communication from the composer to the per­
former, they also allow listeners to identify and distinguish sections of a piece of
music, and to talk about how the music communicates to us. When we listen, we
have our own sense of tempo. Once you are familiar with the tempo terminology,
you might try assigning tempo designations as you are listening to a musical work.
<§> Expression
LOUD A N D SOFT: VO LU M E A N D D Y N A M IC S
Sounds can be loud, soft, and everything between; they can stay at one level,
or change slowly or quickly to a different loudness. In music, we use the word
dynamics to refer to the level of loudness or softness of music. Traditionally (for
historical reasons), many indications in written music are given in Italian, and
this is generally true for dynamics: piano means soft, and forte means loud. (The
instrument we know as the piano was originally named the pianoforte or the
fortepiano: when it was invented in the eighteenth century, it was notable for
being able to play gradations of soft and loud.) Here are some of the common
terms for dynamics, and their abbreviations:
pianissimo
very soft
fortissimo
P
mezzo piano mp
soft
piu forte
louder
somewhat soft
piu piano
softer
mezzo forte
nf
somewhat loud
crescendo
forte
f
loud
descrescendo decresc. becoming softer
PP
piano
s
cresc.
very loud
becoming louder
C H A P T ER 1
Fundamental M usical C oncep ts and Forms
9
SM O O T H A N D ROUGH: TEXTURE
Most of the music we listen to consists of more than a single melodic line. Perhaps
several different instruments play together, each with its bit of melody; or a chorus
sings rich chords, all in the same rhythm; or a song has a chordal accompaniment
on piano. We refer to these overall effects as texture.
Sometimes it is easiest simply to describe the individual elements, but there are
some basic textures that are worth pointing out, because they can serve as catego­
ries that allow us to describe a much larger range of textures.
Monophonic texture refers to music with a single melodic line sounding the
same thing at the same time—whether played or sung, performed on a single
instrument or by a voice or voices and instruments playing in unison. Examples
include the clarinet solo that forms the third movement of Messiaen’s Quartet
for the End of Time; the choir singing the Gregorian chant "Puer natus est”; the
moment in Handel’s "Hallelujah" chorus where the choir all sing “For the Lord
God omnipotent reigneth”; and the opening of the middle movement, for clarinet,
violin, and cello, in Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. (The last two of these
are perhaps not strictly monophonic; the choir in the Handel, and the instruments
in the Messiaen Interlude, are in octave—but octaves, as we’ve seen, sound almost
like unisons.)
Homophonic texture refers to music where there are many notes at once, but
all moving in the same rhythm. Examples are a choir or a congregation singing a
hymn in harmony; the moment in the ‘Hallelujah” chorus where the chorus sings
a series of “Hallelujahs" in the same rhythm; and the ensemble of trombones in
Monteverdi's Orfeo.
The word “homophonic” is also used to apply to another texture: that of a
melody and accompaniment, when this accompaniment may have something of
a texture of its own. Examples include the opening melody of Mendelssohn’s Vio­
lin Concerto, and the waltz theme from Berlioz's Fantastic Symphony.
Polyphonic texture refers to a web of autonomous melodies, each of which
contributes to the texture and to the harmony but is a separate and independent
strand in the fabric. Examples are the Agnus Dei from Byrd’s Mass for Four Voices;
the Fugue in C Minor, from Book 1 of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier; and the section
in the “Hallelujah” chorus where the choir sings “And he shall reign for ever and
ever.” In all three cases, the texture is also imitative, that is, each voice imitates the
previous voice, singing or playing the same melody, often at a different pitch level.
Polyphonic texture need not be imitative; Stravinsky provides one of the most
complicated polyphonic textures in the introduction to The Rite of Spring, but it is
not imitative.
Most textures are not all one texture or another. A singer and a guitar, for exam­
ple, are not exactly homophonic, but close. A section of a polyphonic piece might
be homophonic, or almost so. There are cases where two voices, often a melody
and a bass line, are more important than other parts—for example, in the music
of Handel and Bach, often the harmony is filled in by the harpsichord or other
instruments, but it is still the melody and bass line that are dominant. A melody
sung by a voice, with a rippling accompaniment on the piano, might be hard to
classify as to texture. It’s often best to give as clear a description of the texture as
possible without relying on these categories. The terms of texture can be regarded
as a shorthand, convenient ways that we—not the composer—sort music into cat­
egories for our own purposes of description.
Monophonic
© Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f
Time, “Abyss of the Birds" (clarinet)
© ‘Puer natus est," opening notes
© Handel: Messiah." For the Lord
God omnipotent reigneth"
© Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f
Time, “Interlude"
Homophonic
© Handel: Messiah. "Hallelujah"
chorus
© Monteverdi: Orfeo. Toccata
© Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in
E Minor. I. first theme
Polyphonic
© Byrd: Agnus Dei. from Mass for
Four Voices, middle section
© Bach: Prelude and Fugue in C
Minor. BWV 847. opening of fugue
© Handel: Messiah, "And he shall
reign for ever and ever"
10
C H APTER 1
Fundamental M usical C oncep ts and Forms
® Video: Instruments of the
Orchestra
Musical Instruments
Musical tones, even if they have the same loudness, pitch, and duration, sound
different if they come from different instruments. We call this quality tone color
Timbre
or timbre. We use various terms to describe tone color: reedy, nasal, piercing, mel­
low, dark—all are useful, but there are not really any technical terms for timbre.
The difference in quality between one sound source and another is related to
the physical nature of sound and to the fact that almost any natural sound is not
really one sound but many, consisting of what we hear as the fundamental pitch,
and a great number of much softer overtones. (That middle C on the piano that we
talked about in our discussion of pitch may vibrate at 262 Hz,
but it also produces overtones that vibrate twice, three times,
Overtones and the Harmonic Series
four times, five times as fast. See Overtones and the Harmonic
Series, left.)
The tone colors of different human voices and of the vari­
ound is created by vibrations, and the pitch of a
sound is determined by the speed of those vibra­
ous instruments vary in large part because the relative strengths
tions. Overtones are generated by secondary vibra­
of their overtones vary. A clarinet, for example, has relatively
tions of whatever is vibrating, e.g.. the string, the column
strong odd-numbered partials (the third, fifth, seventh, and so
of air, and so on. For example, a plucked harp string vi­
on, overtones); this is partly owing to the cylindrical shape of
brates at its full length, which is known as its fundamental
the inside of the instrument; a saxophone, conical on the inside,
pitch. But at the same time, it is also vibrating in halves,
has a very different timbre.
producing a sound an octave higher: this is the first over­
tone. or partial; in thirds, giving a sound of an octave plus
In addition to the overtone signature that differentiates
a fifth (the second partial); in quarters of its length (the
instruments from each other, there are differences result­
third partial, two octaves higher), and so on. Each of these
ing from how the air is set in motion (by striking, blowing,
subsidiary vibrations is much less pronounced than the
scraping, and so on), and how the vibration resonates within
fundamental, and generally cannot be discerned individu­
a soundbox (as with a violin or a piano) or within a tube (as
ally. (Those of you who have played guitar or a bowed
string instrument are probably already familiar with the
with a flute). The combination of variables means that there
phenomenon when you play harmonics.) We call the se­
is an enormous range of tone colors available, and we are able
ries of overtones, always the same in relation to any given
to enjoy and distinguish a great range of sounds. There is also
fundamental pitch, the harmonic series. All these notes
music that is generated electronically, either by computers or
are present whenever a note is sounded.
synthesizers, and in these cases there is no other intermedi­
ary between the creation of the sound and us. (Electronically
generated sounds, as in synthesizers, or electronically reproduced sounds, as in
recordings, provide as wide a range of possibilities as the traditional acoustic
instruments.)
Most of the music we will listen to in this book is made by traditional musical
instruments. These—or at least the instruments we discuss in this chapter—are
categorized by a combination of how they are made and how they are played.
Acoustic instruments are sorted into strings, winds, and percussion. Winds are
further categorized as woodwinds and brass. Keyboard instruments are really
mechanical devices and can be wind (organ), string (harpsichord, in which strings
are plucked), percussion (celesta, a mechanized xylophone), or electronic (synthe­
sizer, Hammond organ). Although the piano has strings, it is often called a percus­
sion instrument because its strings are struck with hammers.
S
® Video: Instruments of the
Orchestra
© Bach: Brandenburg Concerto
No. 4.1(harpsichord)
STRINGS
String instruments are divided into plucked and bowed strings according to how
the string is set in motion.
Plucked string instruments include the guitar, mandolin, lute, harp, and harp­
sichord (a sort of mechanized harp).
C H A P T ER 1
Fundamental M usical C oncep ts and Forms
11
Bowed string instruments include the violin and its larger relatives: the viola,
cello, and string bass or double bass. These instruments are the backbone of the
symphony orchestra.
The viola da gamba, or viol, a six-stringed bowed instrument favored in the
Renaissance and Baroque periods, familiar to Monteverdi, Handel, and Bach, fell
out of use in the eighteenth century; today it is enjoying something of a revival
because of a renewed interest in Renaissance and Baroque music. The most com­
mon viol is the bass, an instrument about the size and range of a cello, but it was
often played in ensembles of treble, tenor, and bass instruments.
© Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in
E Minor. I. first theme
W O O D W IN D INSTRUM ENTS
® Video: Instruments of the
Orchestra
Woodwind instruments include flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons; they are
not all made of wood now, but they used to be. What they have in common is
a length of tube with holes drilled through the side; these holes can be closed
by keys or fingers, altering the vibrating length of the tube, thereby producing a
range of notes. The means of setting the tube’s air in motion varies: sometimes
air is blown over a sharp edge (flute, recorder); sometimes a single piece of reed
vibrates against a fixed mouthpiece (clarinet, saxophone); sometimes two narrow
pieces of reed vibrate against each other (oboe, bassoon).
Many of these instruments come in a number of sizes. In addition to the famil­
iar flute (which is played holding the tube crossways to the body and blowing
across an open hole), there is the piccolo, a wonderful little flute that plays an
octave higher than the flute. The most common other sizes are alto flute and bass
flute (both quite rare, but Stravinsky uses them in The Rite of Spring).
The recorder, the favorite flute” of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, is
played by blowing directly into one end; it has a mouthpiece that directs air over
a sharp edge.
The clarinet is a single-reed instrument, widely used in jazz, concert bands, and
orchestras. It comes in various sizes; most common are the B-flat and A clarinets;
there is a high-pitched clarinet in E-flat and a bass clarinet. A relative of the clari­
net is the saxophone, rare in orchestras but widely used in jazz and popular music.
Its most common sizes are soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone.
The oboe is a double-reed instrument; its alto version is the English horn (even
though it is not English and is not a horn). Perhaps the most famous English horn
solo in the classical repertory is the main theme of the slow movement of Dvorak s
New World Symphony (see Chapter 14).
The bassoon is the bass instrument of the double-reed group; it has a long tube
doubled up on itself so as to be manageable. The contrabassoon is an even lower
instrument. A very famous bassoon solo is the opening melody of Stravinsky's Rite
of Spring (see Chapter 15). Stravinsky has the instrument play so high that it can
barely be recognized as a bassoon.
BRASS INSTRUM ENTS
Brass instruments are usually made of brass, but what really sets them apart is
the way sound is produced: the air column in their tubing is set in vibration with a
cup-shaped mouthpiece into which the player buzzes her lips so that she becomes
a sort of double reed. These instruments are generally the heavy artillery of the
band or orchestra, the blaring, fanfare instruments, but they can also be used to
play a beautiful lyrical melody.
© Monteverdi: Orfeo. opening
ritornello (ensemble of violins, viola,
and cello)
© Beethoven: Symphony No. S, III
(double bass)
© Dowland: “Can she excuse my
wrongs" (ensemble of viols)
© Dvorak: Symphony No. 9.1(flute
solo)
© Sousa: “Stars and Stripes Forever”
(piccolo)
© Bach: Brandenburg Concerto
No. 4.1(recorder)
© Messiaen: Quartet for the End o f
Time. "Abyss of the Birds" (clarinet)
© Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony. Ill
(oboe and English horn)
© Dvorak: Symphony No. 9. II. 1st
and 2nd phrases
© Stravinsky: The Rite o f Spring.
“Introduction”
® Video: Instruments of the
Orchestra
12
C H A P T ER 1
Fundamental M usical C oncep ts and Forms
© Handel: Messiah.
"The trumpet shall sound"
© Beethoven: Symphony No. S. I
transition 1st to 2nd theme
© Mozart: "Tuba mirum"
from Requiem
© Wagner: The Valkyrie.
Hundings tuba
® Video: Instruments of the
Orchestra
© Bach: Suite in D Major.
Overture (trumpet and drums)
© Stravinsky: The Rite o f Spring.
"Glorification of the Chosen
Victim" (timpani)
© Bernstein. West Side Story.
Prologue (drums)
The trumpet, in its simplest form, has been around for a long time. Through
the age of Beethoven, it was a tube with a mouthpiece, about eight feet long, bent
back on itself for ease of holding. With no valves or finger holes, it played only the
notes of the harmonic series—only overtones.
In the nineteenth century, valves or pistons were added to the trumpet, which
increased its flexibility enormously; each valve (or piston) added a lengh of tube
to the instrument, and thus added another set of notes it could play; three valves
make for eight different combinations, and it became possible to make shorter
trumpets that could still play any note of the chromatic scale. The modern trum­
pet is such a valved instrument. Occasionally, as in Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, a
composer calls for piccolo trum pet or a bass trumpet.
The horn (or French horn), originally a hunting instrument, is a long coiled
tube played with a cupped mouthpiece. Because of the coil, the bell or flaring end
of the tube is close to the player, and it is possible not only to play notes of the har­
monic series, but also to inflect those notes by pushing a hand into the bell of the
instrument so that more notes are available. Not until Berlioz’s time were horns
fitted with valves, as were trumpets.
Because of its slide, the trombone has the greatest flexibility of the brass instru­
ments. It has existed in this form for a long time. Orchestral music only occasion­
ally uses the trombone (commonly, the alto, tenor, and bass sizes), often to accom­
pany vocal music, and often in relation to death, as in Mozart’s Requiem.
The bass instrument of the brass family is the tuba. It was not invented until the
nineteenth century, when Wagner, among others, particularly favored it.
PERCUSSION INSTRUM ENTS
Percussion instruments include those that use vibrating membranes, like drums
and tambourines, and those that themselves vibrate, like blocks, gongs, and tri­
angles. In the orchestra, the most-used percussion instruments are the timpani or
kettledrums. For centuries these have been paired with trumpets in the orchestra;
they are used that way by Handel, Bach, and Beethoven, so that when the trum­
pets play, the timpani are like the bass. Timpani are tuned to specific pitches (unlike
most drums, and indeed triangles, blocks, gongs, and many other percussion
instruments, which make unpitched sounds) and there are usually two (although
Berlioz calls for four, and Stravinsky uses six in The Rite of Spring). Unpitched
drums include bass drum and snare drum. Bernstein uses a group of four drums
to make a jazzy, exciting effect in the Prologue of West Side Story (see Chapter 18).
There is another category of pitched percussion instrument in which pieces of
metal or wood, sized to produce specific notes (and often arranged like a piano key­
board), are struck with a mallet. These mallet instruments include xylophones,
marimbas, vibraphones ("vibes”), and chimes. Mallet instruments can be used to
play melody and harmony.
The Orchestra
Many of the works in this book are for orchestra. The modern orchestra is a more
or less standard ensemble characterized by an ensemble of string instruments,
normally divided into five groups: first violins, second violins (there is no differ­
ence between the instruments: they just play different parts); violas; cellos; and
double basses. To this central group are added woodwind, brass, and percussion
C H APTER 1
Fundam ental M usical C oncep ts and Form s
TABLE 1.1
Instrumentation in Orchestras through the Centuries
Handel,
Messiah
Flute
Oboe
2
Clarinet
Bassoon
1
Horn
Trumpet
2
Trombone
Beethoven,
Fifth Symphony
Berlioz.
Stravinsky,
Fantastic Symphony
The Rite of Spring
2
(+piccolo)
2
5
2
2
2
2
2
(+contrabassoon)
4
5
5
5
4
2
4
4
8
5
3
3
3
2
2
Tuba
1
2
4
S
Violin 1
6
4
15
14
14
Violin 2
Viola
2
7
Cello
2
8
6
4
4
12
8
8
Double bass
1
2
8
7
Percussion
Strings
13
instruments (see above, pp. 11-12). These are normally solo instruments, each
playing its own part, while the strings play as groups—all the first violins on a
single melody, and so on.
Modern symphony orchestras have a more or less standard size—rather like
that of the Berlioz symphony in Table 1.1 above; they add or subtract players as
the music warrants.
The original orchestras of the seventeenth century were made up of string
instruments. Over the next two centuries, woodwinds and brass were added, usu­
ally as pairs of flutes, oboes, trumpets, and so on. In the nineteenth century the
numbers of winds were often increased.
Table 1.1 lists the instrumentation of a few characteristic orchestras for pieces
studied in this book, including the approximate numbers of strings used in the
premieres of those works. Figures 1.3 and 1.4 show an image of a typical orchestra
and the typical seating arrangement.
Musical Forms
Much of what makes music interesting has to do with contrast and familiarity,
memory and surprise. “Have I heard this (melody, rhythm, harmony, and so on)
before, or is this new?” Same or different, new or old; this is the essence of musi­
cal structure. When we hear something, we do not know whether we will hear
it again. If we do hear it again, we hear it differently, because we already know it.
^ Phrase
13
14
C H A P T ER 1
Fundam ental M usical C oncep ts and Forms
FIG. 1.3 Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Paavo Jarvi. Music Director. 2005.
B asses
FIG. 1.4 Typical seating plan for an orchestra.
C H A P T ER 1
Fundamental M usical C oncep ts and Forms
And if we do not hear it again, we hear the new thing in comparison to what we
have already heard.
That’s how music is made; and some very long musical structures are based on
this very simple and basic principle.
Think of the song "Old Folks at Home.” There is a first line (“Way down upon
the Swanee River, far, far away”). What will happen next? This line does not sound
like the end of a song, because it does not end on a final-sounding note. Will the
next line be the same or different? When it comes (“That’s where my heart is turn­
ing ever. . . ”), we hear that it is the same music, but with different words; the end­
ing, though, is a little different, and sounds more like a possible ending.
Now that we’ve heard two lines, there is a pattern; sing a line, sing it again; is
this what will happen next? No: composers like to set up patterns so that we will
expect something, and then surprise us with something new. The third line is very
different indeed. It makes a big leap up to begin very high (“All the world is sad and
dreary...
and is totally different from the previous lines. What can happen next?
After having given us a contrasting line, Stephen Foster (the song’s composer)
returns to the music of the opening for the fourth line; it sounds so familiar to us
now—although we can’t tell whether it’s the melody of the first line or the second
line, because they are the same at their beginnings; only at the end do we hear that
it’s the same music as the second line—the one that sounds like an ending—and
this time it is an ending, the end of the first verse.
All that musical experience, all that psychology, we might summarize by saying
that “Old Folks at Home” has the musical form AA'BA' (A' is read as “A prime”;
the "prime” sign, which you may know from math or science, here means that the
second A is not quite the same as the first). This formula says a lot, but of course it
omits a lot, because there are many songs that have this same shape; it’s an effective
musical shape, and perhaps that’s why it gets used so often. (The famous tune in
the last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony uses this same form, though
the musical content is quite different.) The formal diagram that we’ve invented is
only a very small part of the story, but it is useful because it helps us see why the
music has the effect on us that it does.
Suppose then that we wanted to create a larger form. We might put some differ­
ent music next, another melody with the same general shape but different notes:
CC'DC'. And then if we returned to our original melody afterwards, we’d have
made a larger shape like this: AA'BA' CC'DC' AA'BA'. That’s the shape that
Beethoven and Dvorak use in the scherzos of the symphonies in this book: a first
section, a second section, the first section again. Stepping back a little, we could
call that form ABA, where now the letters stand for much longer sections of music
(in this case, sections of four phrases each).
You can see that musical forms can get bigger and bigger, even when they are
built on the basic psychological idea: same or different. And we have to remem­
ber that musical forms are not like architecture, in which you can see the whole
building at once; in music there is only one instant—now. Everything else is either
memory or expectation based on memory. This is the special pleasure of listening
to music.
We will explore many musical forms and genres (categories) in this book; here’s
a partial list, including some important components of form:
Renaissance motet, imitative polyphony: pp. 23 and 62
Ritornello form: pp. 104-06
Baroque melodic phrases: pp. 130-32
Patterns
Forms
Largerforms
15
16
C H APTER 1
Fundam ental M usical C oncep ts and Forms
Baroque fugue: p. 140 (Handel), pp. 157-60 (Bach)
Baroque concerto: pp. 163-65
Sonata form, or first-movement form: pp. 220-23 (Beethoven); p. 384 (Dvorak)
Symphony: p. 219
Classical genres: p. 223
Concerto first-movement form: pp. 305-07
There are really as many forms as there are pieces of music, and we will discuss
many pieces in this book. Each deserves to be heard, listened to, and understood
on its own terms.
It is this act of listening that makes the music work for us. The more attention
we pay, the more we can hear and remember, and the more we can marvel at how
effectively made the music is. Sometimes we listen to a piece we already know, and
when we do we temporarily acquire the skills of really expert listeners: we know
when to be surprised, we know when it’s the end. But in a piece that is not so famil­
iar, we have to be particularly sharp; in order to tell whether what we’re hearing is
new or old, we have to be able to hear the present, predict the future, and remem­
ber the past, all at the same time. Such listening requires careful concentration, but
you will find that it is superbly rewarding.
Chapter Review
© M ultim edia Resources and Review Materials on
StudySpace
Visit wwnorton.com/studyspace for review of Chapter 1.
W h at D o You Know ?
Check the facts for this chapter. Take the online Quiz.
W h at D o You Hear?
Listening Quizzes and Music Activities will help you understand the musical
concepts in this chapter.
^ A u t h o r Videos
■ Melody
■ Rhythm and meter
■ Phrase
■ Harmony
■ Expression
C H A P T ER 1
Fundamental M usical C oncep ts and Forms
Flashcards (Terms to Know)
Terms
beat
brass instruments
chords
conjunct
consonance
disjunct
dissonance
downbeat
dynamics
fundamental pitch
harmonic series
harmony
homophonic
imitative
interval
melody
meter
monophonic
motive
octave
overtone
partial
percussion instruments
phrase
polyphonic
rhythm
string instruments
tempo
texture
theme
timbre
tone color
winds
woodwind instruments
Instrum ents
string instruments
bowed strings: violin, viola, cello, double bass; viola da gamba
plucked strings: harp, guitar, lute, mandolin, harpsichord
piano
woodwind instruments
flutes: flute, piccolo, alto flute, bass flute; recorder
double-reed instruments: oboe, English horn, bassoon; contrabassoon
single-reed instruments: clarinet, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone
brass instruments
trumpet; piccolo trumpet, bass trumpet
(French) horn
trombone (alto, tenor, bass)
tuba
percussion instruments
timpani (kettledrums)
snare drum
bass drum
triangle
mallet instruments (marimba, vibraphone, xylophone)
17
HR
w
m
m
a s
m
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9
m
M
THE M ID D LE AGES
H IST O RIC A L EVENT s
476
476 Fall of the Roman Empire
ca. 480-547 Benedict writes his Rule
M U S IC A L EVENTS
• 4th-7th centuries Christianity spreads across
Europe
600
7th century Rise of Islam
768-814 Reign of Charles the Great (Charlemagne)
800
• 8th century Repertory of Gregorian chant
stabilized
800 Charlemagne crowned emperor by p o p e ---• 10th century First notated books of chant
9th century Raids of Europe by Vikings in the
north. Arabs in the south
• 10th—11th centuries Flourishing of tropes
and sequences
843 Treaty of Verdun divides Charlemagne's realm
1098-1179 Hildegard of Bingen-------------
1099 First Crusade captures Jerusalem from
Muslim rule
11th century Troubadours (Provencal poetcomposers) flourish
1000
1100
1182 Main altar of Notre Dame Cathedral
dedicated
1181/82-1226 St. Francis of Assisi
• 12th—13th centuries Trouveres (French poetcomposers) and Minnesanger (German
poet-composers) flourish
1150s—1201 Leoninus
1200
1225-1274 St. Thomas Aquinas. Christian
theologian
ca. 1200 Perotinus
1308-1321 Dante Alighieri writes Divine Comedy
1300-1377 Guillaume de Machaut,
French poet and composer
1300
1305-1308 Giotto di Bondone paints fresco cycle
in Arena Chapel, Padua
ca. 1335-1397 Francesco (Landini) of Florence,
composer of secular music
1305-1378 Popes reside in Avignon
1337-1453 Hundred Years' War (between France
and England)
1346-1351 Black D eath-------------------------------1370-1371 Giovanni Boccaccio finishes revised
Decameron, begun 1349
1383 Geoffrey Chaucer begins Canterbury Tales
1400
Italy
France
England
• Germany
# Various
M usic an d Prayer:
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R enaissance M usic
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The Middle Ages
Historians often use the term Middle Ages or medieval period to describe the
period from around 450 to 1450, of roughly one thousand years (“in medio” means
“in the middle,” in Latin, and the adjective “medieval” comes from the same word).
But what “middle” are they talking about? Prior to the Middle Ages is a period
called the Ancient or Classic era, which spans the Ancient Greek and Roman world
to the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century c .e . After the Middle Ages is
a period known as the Renaissance, with its revival of Classical learning and art
beginning in the fifteenth century. The Middle Ages, then, is defined not by what
it is, but by what it is between. It is also a defined by what it is not—neither Clas­
sic nor Renaissance—and by people who mostly valued the classical arts of the
Greeks and Romans.
During this time that was neither Classic nor Renaissance, many important
events took place—the emergence of modern European languages and their lit­
eratures; the formation of the countries of Europe; and the foundation of vital
institutions such as universities and hospitals.
Perhaps most important, the medieval period saw the rise and spread of Christianity across the European theater. The Christian Church had extraordinary influ­
ence and importance in politics, in literature, and in the arts. It affected everyone,
from monarchs to peasants. Throughout the Middle Ages, until the time of the
Reformation in the sixteenth century (see below), there was just one church in the
West, whose head was the pope.
Renaissance
Rise o f Christianity
20
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
The church
The church had a centralizing presence. Its organization, international scope,
continuing use of the Latin language, and uniform rituals and ceremonies uni­
fied the Western world. It was also the church that became the main outpost for
education during most of the Middle Ages; as a result almost all the literature, art,
and music that survives today was created in the name of religion. Only clerics
(members of religious orders) were literate, and most of the significant literature
was written and copied in church settings.
The church was heavily hierarchical (as, indeed, it is today), with the pope as
the representative of Christ on earth, and a vast international network of bishops
who represented the pope. Bishops were in charge of the clergy in their individual
regions, called dioceses; each bishop had his official seat in a great church called
a cathedral (“cathedra” is Latin for seat), and ruled over the
many clergy in his area. Most cathedrals were in cities, and it
From The Rule o f St. Benedict
is the schools associated with cathedrals (originally established
for teaching the boys who sang cathedral services) that often
gradually developed into groups of schools called universities.
St. Benedict o f N u rsia w as b o rn in the late fifth century
in Italy a n d be cam e the fo u nd er o f o n e o f the m a in
Monasteries were familiar sights in medieval cities and in the
traditions o f W estern Christian m o n a stic com m unities.
countryside. Women and men who set themselves apart from
H e w rote a kind o f h a n d b o o k o n m o n a stic living called
the world to pray, read, and work lived a communal life, guided
The Rule of St. Benedict. The follow ing excerpt gives an
by The Ride written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century
idea o f the m o n k s ' daily (a n d nightly) routine:
(see left). Benedictine monasteries were everywhere, and their
monks copied books, founded schools, and sang music every
n wintertime, that is. from the first of November until
Easter, it seems reasonable to arise at the eighth hour
day. It was not until the later Middle Ages, in the thirteenth and
of the night [about three a.m.], so that the brethren do
fourteenth centuries, that other kinds of monastic orders came
so with a moderately full sleep after midnight and with
into being and learning became separate from religious life.
their digestion completed. And whatever time remains
In a time when people were encouraged to think seriously
after Vigils should be devoted to the study of the psalms
about their preparation for the afterlife, monasteries fulfilled
and lessons by those brothers who lack sufficient knowl­
edge of them. And from Easter, in turn, to the first of
the indispensable role of praying for the souls of the dead. Many
November, let the hour of rising be postponed so that
people therefore provided endowments to monasteries—lands
Lauds, which are celebrated as the light of day sets in.
with incomes—to guarantee perpetual prayer on their behalf.
are separated from Vigils by a brief interval in which the
As a result, some monasteries grew very wealthy.
brothers may attend to the necessities of nature.
Political power in the earlier Middle Ages was based on oaths
of loyalty, the so-called feudal system, in which a hierarchy
of kings, lords, and knights were knit together by vows of mutual support and
defense. The castles and knights that for many of us comprise the standard image
of the Middle Ages are aspects of this system—the lord’s fortress on the one hand
and the mounted warrior at the service of his lord on the other. Women’s roles
were indispensable, but women did not figure in the legal and political system
except as dependents on fathers or husbands.
Beginning as early as the fifth century, the great kingdom of the Franks (stretch­
ing from northeastern Spain to central Europe) reached its apogee with its king
Charlemagne (r. 768-814) but failed to achieve a lasting political unity. The Treaty
of Verdun (843) divided the realm into East, West, and Middle (Burgundy and
Treaty o f Verdun
the Low Countries) kingdoms. Although the three kingdoms as such did not last,
this division was the basis of much of the rest of European history. The kings of
England, Spain, and France (the West) and the Holy Roman Empire (the East)
gradually centralized their powers (see Figure 1.1, map of medieval Europe, p. 21).
The pope, too, claiming higher authority, asserted his right to rule—a matter that
led to frequent and long conflicts with secular rulers of the day.
Starting in the late eleventh century, rulers of the West launched a series of
The Crusades
Crusades, expeditions designed to recapture territories taken from the Christians
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
by Islamic invaders in the waning days of the Carolingian empire. Although the
Crusades had a religious basis, the resulting political chaos had far-reaching social,
cultural, and economic impact. While the Crusades failed in their goal of captur­
ing and holding Jerusalem, they did succeed in recapturing Islamic-held parts of
Spain, Portugal, and Italy
The Franciscan and Dominican monastic orders arose during the thirteenth
century, teaching, preaching, and ministering to the people. In addition, new tech­
nologies and goods from other cultures contributed to the welfare of humankind
(clocks, silk) and to their destruction (cannons, gunpowder).
The fourteenth century was in some ways disastrous. A great famine ravaged
the land at the beginning of the century. In the aftermath, the Holy Roman Empire
disintegrated completely, and war and confusion dominated the political land­
scape. The papacy was contested, with two, even three, popes vying for authority,
resulting in what became known as the papal schism. Under the influence of the
French king, various popes resided for much of the fourteenth century in Avignon
in southern France, far from Rome. Compounding the crisis was the Hundred
Years’ War (1337-1453)—actually a sporadic series of wars—the result of a long­
standing territorial dispute between France and England.
Adding to the misery, the Black Death (bubonic plague) recurred several times
throughout the century, reducing the population of Europe sometimes by as much
as half, and causing immense changes in society, especially in cities, while greatly
increasing the cost of labor. But cities continued to grow in size and importance in
the later Middle Ages, as a rising commercial and professional class contributed to
the gradual decline of feudalism.
Fourteenth century
Black Death
NORWAY
IRELAND
W ALES
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RU SSIA
ENGLAND
.Oxford
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HOLY
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EM PIRE
Mainz.
Reims
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NAVARRE
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Genoa.
.Bologna
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AL-ANDALUS
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FIG. 1.1 Map of Europe
in 1050.
21
Religion, Literature,
and the Arts
Schools an d universities developed
aro u n d m onasteries an d cathedrals, and
learning flourished. T h e liberal arts w ere
ta u g h t by m asters, w h o tran sm itted and
created know ledge in a system know n
as S cholasticism , a m e th o d o f learning
and teaching th a t em p h asized reaso n ­
ing. T h e m ain p u rp o se o f Scholasti­
cism w as to find answ ers to questions
and to resolve contradictions. As these
arg u m en ts w ere resolved, hu g e bodies
o f know ledge accu m u lated and w ere
passed o n in th e schools an d universi­
ties. O ne o f the g reatest w orks o f m ed i­
eval Scholasticism is T h om as A quinas’s
unfinished treatise, th e Summa Theologica, prop o sin g to explain all o f theology.
M any w riters and artists o f th e M id­
dle Ages to o k pride in creating w ith o u t
seeking recognition, an d by following
authority. As a result, m uch o f th e a rt o f
the p eriod is an o n y m o u s.
Religious a rt flourished, o n walls as
frescoes (see Figure 1.2), o n panels as
FIG. 1.2 An eleventh-century mural in the Italian church of Sant’Angelo in Formis
depicting one of the archangels.
altarpieces, and o n o th e r devotional
objects d eco rated w ith gold, enam el,
and precious stones. As in terest in bo oks
grew, artists created h an d so m e m a n u ­
scripts— h an d w ritten b o oks on p arch ­
m en t— w hose som etim es ex u b eran t
illu m in ation s (decorative figures o r
illustrations) m ade th e m th e finest and
m o st precious surviving w o rk o f the
p eriod (see illustration, p. 19).
R om anesque architecture— nam ed
for th e ancient R om an buildings it
resem bled— h ad given form to g reat
churches o f the earlier M iddle Ages like
M EDIEVAL M U S IC A L STYLE
Puer natus est.” opening notes
Strophic verse
Polyphony
22
PART I
Music of the Middle Ages survives in written documents, most of it religious.
Music for church, called Gregorian chant (see p. 32), consisted mostly of Latin
texts sung in unison by men’s or women’s voices without accompaniment (chant
is monophonic in texture, meaning it has one melodic line). The rhythm of chant
was flexible, so far as we can tell, although there are no specific rhythmic indica­
tions in the notation.
Some vernacular music survives from later in the Middle Ages, the work of
poets in various parts of Europe, writing in their own languages (troubadours in
Old Provencal, trouveres in Old French, Minnesanger in German). Their surviving
music is mostly strophic, each verse of the poem being sung to the same music;
the music itself sounds not so different from Gregorian chant.
Beginning in the eleventh century, techniques of polyphony were created in
some of the great churches, to embellish the music of the liturgy. At first, polyph­
ony consisted of singing a second melody along with the prescribed chant. By the
twelfth century, such second melodies were more ambitious in style, and the chant
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
the abbeys o f C luny an d Vezelay (see
Figure 1.3]. In th e tw elfth cen tu ry this
style gave w ay to th e g re a t G othic c ath e­
drals, like N o tre D am e in Paris, w ith
th e ir p o in ted arches, soaring vaults, and
w alls Filled w ith su m p tu o u s stained-glass
w indow s (see Figure 2.5, in C h ap ter 2).
In th e pictorial arts, G io tto di Bondone, co m m o n ly k n ow n as G io tto (ca.
1267-1337), is m o st fam o u s today for his
m agnificent frescoes o f Jesus and M ary
and th e Last Ju d g m e n t in th e A rena C h a­
pel in P adua (see Figure 2.2, p. 31), the
cycle o n th e life o f St Francis in th e g reat
basilica in Assisi, and th e bell to w er o f
the C athedral o f Santa M aria del Fiore in
Florence. G io tto is credited w ith m oving
tow ard a m o re lifelike and natu ral depic­
tion o f th e h u m a n fo rm and is consid­
ered o n e o f th e first artists to bridge the
artistic divide b etw ee n th e M iddle Ages
and th e Renaissance.
M uch o f th e Latin literatu re o f the
M iddle Ages is a b o u t religion: serm ons,
co m m en taries o n th e Bible, and th eo lo g ­
ical and o th e r religious w o rk s based on
the in terp reta tio n o f authority. But the
M iddle Ages w as also a tim e for g ro w th
of
v ern acu lar
languages— English,
French, Italian, Spanish, P ortuguese,
and G erm an — an d th e beginnings o f
th e ir literatures.
D ante Alighieri, co m m o n ly k n ow n as
D ante (ca. 1265-1321), is considered th e
fath e r o f th e Italian language. His expan­
sive allegorical p o em , th e Divine Comedy,
a b o u t a m a n ’s personal and spiritual
jo u rn e y to w ard salvation, is unlike ear­
lier epic poem s, such as th e Iliad o r Odys­
sey, w hich rely o n m y th s an d legends.
T h e Italian p o e t and w riter G iovanni
B occaccio (1313-1375) w ro te a collec­
tio n o f prose stories k n o w n as th e Decam­
eron. Set in Florence d u rin g th e Black
Plague, it p o rtray s a changing m edieval
society, b u t it does so w ith a lig h th earted
attitu d e. Boccaccio's style w?as m o re
d o w n to e arth th an o th e r w riters o f th e
tim e— his m en and w o m en m o re natu ral
and unaffected.
L o n d o n -b o rn G eoffrey C haucer (ca.
1343-1400) is b est rem em b ered for his
Canterbury Tales, a collection o f stories
to ld by traveling pilgrim s. T h e tales are
FIG. 1.3 Sculpted figures adorn the central
portal of the Romanesque basilica St. Mad­
eleine in Vezelay. France, showing the Last
Judgement.
by tu rn s satirical, pious, ironic, bawdy,
and dam ning, especially o f th e C ath o ­
lic C hurch. His style is said to have been
influenced by Boccaccio’s tales.
itself, although still present, took a secondary role. Later still, two or three simulta­
neous voices were sometimes added to the original chant.
In some polyphonic chant settings, the melodies accompanying the chant were
given additional texts, creating motets. A great repertory of these pieces arose, in
which several texts might be sung, in more than one language, at the same time:
perhaps a religious poem in Latin and a love song in French, together with a series
of notes taken from a chant. The motet was a favorite sort of poetical-musical
combination.
By the fourteenth century, composers had started creating a repertory of secu­
lar songs, mostly from France and Italy, in which the structure was not based on
a preexistent chant or a "fixed melody” (cantus firmus) but on a new melody
accompanied by one or more other melodies, perhaps played on instruments.
Many of the fundamentals of Western art music can be traced back to the Mid­
dle Ages. Our concepts for notating pitch and rhythm, as well as the development
of polyphony, harmony, form, and structure, came from this enormous span of
one thousand years.
PART I
© Perotinus: Viderunt omnes,
4-voice organum
Motets
© Machaut: “Puis qu’en oubli"
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
23
9
9
P
9
H
H
H
THE REN AISSANCE
H IST O RIC A L EVENTS
1350
M U S IC A L EVENTS
1304 -1374 Francesco Petrarca, known as the
“Father o f Humanism"
1377-1446 Filippo Brunelleschi
1397-1474 Guillaum e Dufay
1404-1472 Leon Battista Alberti
ca. 1410-1497 Johannes Ockeghem
1400
ca. 1415-1492 Piero della Francesca
1431 Joan of Arc burned for heresy and witchcraft
1444-1514 Donato Bramante
ca. 1450-1521 Josquin des Pres
1453 End o f Hundred Years' War
1473-1543 Nikolaus Copernicus
1492 First voyage o f Columbus to America
1500
1495-98 Leonardo da Vinci, Last Supper —
1501-04 M ichelangelo Buonarroti. D a vid
1509-1564 John Calvin, French Protestant
reformer
1514 N iccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
1516 Thomas More, Utopia
1517 Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses, leading
to Protestant Reformation
1519-1522 Ferdinand Magellan's voyage around
the world
1528 Baldassare Castiglione. The B oo k o f the
Courtier
1545-1563 Council of Trent
1525/26-1594 Giovanni Pierluigi da
Palestrina
® 1530/32-1594 Orlande de Lassus
ca. 1540-1623 W illiam B yrd ---------
1558-1603 Reign of Queen Elizabeth I
1557/58-1602 Thomas Morley
1564-1616 W illiam Shakespeare
1563-1626 John Dowland
1564-1642 G alileo Galilei
H
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
The Renaissance
The word Renaissance literally means "rebirth,” but historians o f literature, art,
and architecture most often use it to refer to the rediscovery of the literature of
ancient Greece and Rome that began in Italy at the start of the fifteenth century.
Music has borrowed much o f its terminology from the history of art, and the term
“Renaissance” is no exception: we use it to describe music of the fifteenth and six­
teenth centuries, when Renaissance art and culture were flourishing.
During these centuries, the kingdoms of Spain, France, and England and the Holy
Roman Empire were frequently at odds with each other and with the pope, who was
not only head of the church but also the ruler of a large portion of Italy. Burgundy,
Mantua, and many other smaller areas were independently ruled by dukes and
princes. Rulers great and small defined their nobility through prowess in warfare.
But equally, they showed their standing through generous patronage of the arts;
under their influence, painting, sculpture, poetry and music flourished. The greatest
buildings from this time were paid for by these rulers, and even by the church itself.
Two influential books, both by Italians, reflect the Renaissance ideals of behavior
stemming from secular courtly circles. Nicolo Machiavelli, a Florentine nobleman,
wrote The Prince (Il principe) to describe how a ruler ought to behave; his recommen­
dations of practicality, and his conclusion that a prince is better off being feared than
loved, gave rise to the adjective "Machiavellian,” used for sly and devious actions.
Baldassare Castiglione wrote The Book of the Courtier (Il libro del cortegiano) as a
reflection of his experience at the Italian court of the duke of Urbino. In his text, he
defines the ideal of a Renaissance courtier (a member of the court’s circle)—how a
----- Boundary of Holy Roman Empire
□
Maximilian’s land
Nicolo Machiavelli
Baldassare Castiglione
NORTH
SEA
ENGLAND
Lon d on
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
FRANCE
M u n ich
ANJOU
N A V A R R E -^ X
(to Spain
/
1512)
AVIGNON
(p ap al lands)
^
I PAPAL
STATES
CASTILE AND ARAGON
TajusMadrid. (unified 1479)
REPUBLIC
OF SIENA
SPAI N
GRANADA
(conquered
1482-1492)
V ienna'
BALEARIC
ISLA N D S
SARDINIA
(Aragon)
NAPLES
&
(to Aragon 1504)
•Naples
^eD'TERRANEAN
SIC ILY
(Aragon)
FIG. 1.4 Map of Western
Europe, ca. 1500.
25
26
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
© Dowland: “Can she excuse my
wrongs" (voice and lute)
gentleman and a lady ought to behave, what skills they should have, and how they
should treat each other. Courtiers should, he wrote, be educated; men should be
athletic, that is, able to ride and fence; all should be musicians—for example, able
to sing and play the lute—able to compose poetry (see p. 59). A gentleman or a
lady should not display too much enthusiasm, should never show off, and should
be modest and courteous. Throughout the Middle Ages, a gentleman showed his
prowess through feats on the battlefield. Castiglione changed all that: now a gen­
tleman had to be educated as well.
POLITICS
Courts
Cities
Renaissance monarchs surrounded themselves with nobles, artists, and with oth­
ers who could lend splendor to their surroundings or their courts. Part of this
princely environment included a court painter, a philosopher, an astrologer, and a
court composer with his musicians, who were expected to perform both in church
and in private, secular entertainments. The greater his artists and musicians, the
greater the prince. Rulers such as the Medici family in Florence, the Este in Fer­
rara, and the Sforza in Milan vied with each other and with the popes for the ser­
vices of the greatest artists and musicians.
After the disasters of the fourteenth century, economic stability and growth dur­
ing the Renaissance allowed a rising merchant and professional class to accumu­
late wealth, and spurred a desire for education, leisure, and the arts. Cities formed
republics based on commerce and trade; Florence and Venice in Italy are only
two of many such republics that managed to retain a degree of democracy, and a
degree of independence, from monarchs and popes. The freedom of the republic
suggested the freedom to learn and to create. In addition, the creation of the print­
ing press allowed the wide dissemination of literature, pictures, and music.
H U M A N IS M , REFO RM ATIO N , A N D C O U N T ER -R EFO R M A T IO N
Martin Luther
Humanism, the study and learning related to knowledge about the world and about
humankind, gradually replaced the medieval ideals of Scholasticism. In contrast
with the focus on God and the church in the Middle Ages, the human spirit and the
natural world now became subjects for intense scrutiny. Humans were considered a
link between the mortal world and the spiritual one. This shift from a predominantly
religious society to a more secular one created conflicts between traditional religion
and the more “human” study of men and women and of their place in nature and
history. Martin Luther was one of several reformers who, in seeking to privilege
personal faith over ecclesiastical doctrine, ended by breaking away from the church
in protest. These Protestants, as they were called, created the movement we now
call the Reformation. The Catholic Church reacted (the Counter-Reformation) by
making every attempt to regain lost territory, building ever grander buildings (culmi­
nating in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome), and making efforts at excellence in preach­
ing, in art, in architecture, and in music. Some countries remained predominantly
Catholic (Italy, Spain, most of France), while others witnessed conflict between Prot­
estants and Catholics that sometimes led to violence and bloodshed.
R E N A ISSA N C E M U S IC A L STYLE
While the revival of Classical learning was important to the literature of the
Renaissance, the music of the Renaissance is not a rebirth of anything, but the
continuation of the traditions and changes that came out of the Middle Ages. In
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
fact, in music the Renaissance can be best understood as a time of continual and
overlapping changes rather than as a unified style or movement.
As mentioned above, every Renaissance gentleman and lady, especially those
who spent time at courts, was expected to be able to sing or play an instrument.
Like dancing, riding, fencing, and creating poetry, music was practiced by anyone
who had pretensions of belonging to polite society.
One result of this courtly world of the arts was that the music of the Renais­
sance, at least a good deal of it, did not distinguish between music for amateurs
and music for professionals. Music was for everyone, and everyone was expected to
appreciate and perform it. Music based on dances, and on popular song, gives us a
view, almost for the first time, of music at all levels of society.
Despite the rise of secular courts, the church in the Renaissance, as in the Mid­
dle Ages, remained a powerful institution and patron of the arts; the foremost
composers of the sixteenth century were still composers of church music, perhaps
owing to the education and the stability that the church continued to provide. This
is essentially the last time in history that the church would be in the musical avantgarde. By the seventeenth century it was the creators of instrumental and secular
music—operas, concertos, and sonatas—who would herald the new. But in the
Renaissance, as in the Middle Ages, it was church music that led the way.
This might seem odd to us today, when the music in churches and in other reli­
gious settings tends to be traditional and conservative, perhaps even old-fashioned.
But during the Renaissance, musical innovations came in the form of Masses and
motets. It was the singing, the praise of God, that was important, so important
in fact that people often left endowments in their wills for the support of reli­
gious music. All over Europe, in court chapels and churches, expert professional
choirs were customary. Indeed, most of the famous composers of the Renaissance
started their careers as choirboys. Many of them (Guillaume Dufay, Josquin dcs
Pres, Orlande de Lassus) came from the Low Countries (modern-day Belgium,
Holland, and northern France), traveled to Italy, and performed in the choirs
of princes or popes, sometimes staying on as composers in their newly adopted
homes. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina worked primarily in Rome; Johannes Ockeghem, in the court of the king of France; and Lassus, though he too was from the
Low Countries and worked in Italy, finished his long career at the court of Munich.
Two well-known composers from England—William Byrd and Thomas Morley—
also sang in choirs as young boys.
Vocal polyphony is the norm in Renaissance music, and although the styles of
the great composers are different from each other, they each created their most
famous works for choirs of several voices, usually for the chapels of great princes
or the churches or Rome. Although composers of the early Renaissance—Dufay,
Ockeghcm, Josquin—often based their Masses, and sometimes motets, on a cantus firmus—that is, a preexisting melody—by the sixteenth century the sound
ideal was one of several, usually four or five, voices singing together, all in different
ranges from soprano to bass, but all alike in having shapely melodies, and gener­
ally woven together with the technique of imitation.
In imitation, a technique that has since become very familiar, one voice begins
with a theme, or motive; the motive is taken up by the next voice while the first con­
tinues with new material; then the third voice begins to sing, using the same motive,
and so on. This process of imitation, in the expert hands of a Byrd or a Palestrina, cre­
ates a seamless fabric of equal strands. The music achieves a classic, timeless quality
that puts it on the same level as the great visual art of the Renaissance, and has made
it a model for many kinds of music composed in later ages, as we will see.
Music and the church
Vocal styles
Imitation
© Palestrina: Kyrie. from M issa
Aeterna Christi munera
27
m u
rts an d Ideas ^The R e n a is s a n c e ® !
Science and Religion
In the spirit o f h u m an istic learning, G reek
literatu re w as in tro d u ced to Renaissance
scholars w ho learn ed th e language
and translated P lato an d th e G reek
tragedies into Latin and m ade th em
w idely available for th e first tim e.
T h e study o f th e ancient classics w as
in ten d ed to im prove th e m ind, th e spirit,
and th e society.
A long w ith this rediscovery and
stu d y th ere arose a n ew curiosity ab o u t
th e w o rld beyond E urope— th e w orlds
o f Africa, Asia, and the N ew W orld— all
o f w hich w ere explored by adventurers
such as C h risto p h er C olum bus and Fer­
d inand M agellan. It w as an age o f scien­
tific inquiry as well, w ith b o th N ikolaus
C opernicus (1473-1543) and G alileo
Galilei (1564-1642) proving th a t the
e arth w as n o t th e c e n te r o f the universe
after all.
T he C atholic C hurch, despite its best
efforts, lost its u n iq u e position in the
C hristian w o rld as a result o f the Ref­
o rm atio n ; various religious reform ers,
like Martin Luther (1483-1546) in G er­
m any and John C alvin (1509-1564) in
Sw itzerland, challenged the au th o rity o f
th e church, and the theological bases o f
papal authority.
Literature and the Arts
FIG. 1.5 The Legend o f the True Cross: The Battle between Heraclius
a n d Chosroes (detail, ca. 1455-60). by Piero della Francesca, created with
the new art of “perspective."
Mass
28
PART I
From the lyric p o e try o f Francesco
Petrarca. o n e o f th e earliest hum anists
(1304-1374), to the poem s and plays o f
W illiam Shakespeare (1564-1616), the
w o rks o f g reat w riters and p oets show ed
w h at could be done to express h u m a n ­
k in d ’s highest an d noblest th o u g h ts
The most usual kinds of sacred music were the Mass (settings of the invariable
chants of the mass—Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei) and the motet.
Unlike the medieval, polytextual secular motet, these were imitative settings of
sacred texts, almost always in the Latin that was the language of the church.
Sometimes Renaissance composers focus attention on a single voice—as in a solo
song with accompaniment. And sometimes they add a lot of embellishment to the
melodic lines, as when lutes or harpsichords—which cannot sustain long notes—
need to find ways to keep the sound alive. But even in these other media, the melodic
genius and classical balance of the Renaissance stand out. The main text of the piece
is clearly understood, and, as in Renaissance painting, the subject shines through.
Within the church, organ music flourished. Outside the church, the great
variety of instrumental music—for keyboards, for instrumental ensemble, and for
combinations of voices and instruments—provided for recreation and entertain­
ment: banquets, weddings, dances, and private music-making all benefited from
the efforts of superb composers, and we benefit from it still today.
But let us first turn back to the roots of Western music—the Middle Ages—to
a Christmas day in the twelfth century, in the city of Paris, and watch and listen to
one of the most important aspects of the community: a Mass.
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
in elevated verse and in v ernacular
languages.
A m ong th e g reat achievem ents o f
W estern civilization are th e a rt and
architectu re o f th e Renaissance.
T he tren d to w ard g re a te r realism
in a rt w as en h an ced by th e study o f
anatom y ; th e pleasure taken by artists
and view ers in th e ideal h u m a n body, in
sculpture and painting, stands in stro n g
co n tra st to th e m edieval idea o f sham e
at nudity.
T h e a rt o f P iero della Francesca,
M ichelangelo B u o n arro ti, a n d L eo­
n ard o da Vinci d ep icted w h at m arv el­
ou s crea tu res h u m a n s can be a t th e ir
best; th e rediscovery o f perspective,
an d a n ew c o n c e rn fo r realism in p a in t­
ing an d scu lp tu re, have m a d e th e w o rk
o f R enaissance artists a m o d el for th e
ages. P iero della Francesca (ca. 1415—
1492) w as a p a in te r— an d m a th e m a ­
tician— fro m th e early R enaissance,
skilled in th e relatively n ew a rt o f “p e r­
spectiv e” (see F igure 1.5). His w o rk s are
m a rk e d by a ce rta in poise a n d se re n ­
ity. L eonardo da V inci (1452-1519),
k n o w n p rim arily as a p ain ter, w as also
a m usician, an arch itect, an en g in eer,
a scientist, an d an inventor. H is Last
Supper reflects his in ten se in terest in
h u m a n expression, a n d his fam o u s Vir­
gin o f the Rocks, his passion for n a tu ra l
settin g s (see Figure 1.6). M ichelangelo
B u o n arro ti, k n o w n sim ply as M ich el­
a n g elo (1475-1564), w as a p ain ter, a
scu lp to r, an d an arch itect. H e is p e r­
h ap s b e st k n o w n for th e ceiling frescoes
in th e Sistine C h ap el in R om e as w ell
as his rem ark ab ly p o w erfu l scu lp tu res,
su ch as his David.
T h e architects o f the R enaissance
have left us g re a t buildings, and g reat
ideas: Filippo B runelleschi (1377-1446),
w h o built th e g re a t d o m e o f th e C ath e­
dral o f Santa M aria del Fiore in Florence,
Leon Battista A lberti (1404-1472), th e
th e o rist o f Renaissance architecture, and
D o n a to Bram ante (1444-1514), w h o
Finished th e g reat ch u rch o f St. P eter’s
in R om e (begun by M ichelangelo). T hey
rein terp rete d th e elem ents o f Classical
G reek and R om an architecture, p ro d u c­
ing m agnificent buildings arran g ed to
p ro d u ce a sense o f harm ony, order, and
h u m a n scale.
FIG. 1.6 The Virgin o f the Rocks, by Leo­
nardo da Vinci. Mary's beauty is idealized,
but she is surrounded by precisely ren­
dered plants, flowers, and rock formations.
Style Com parisons at a Glance
MEDIEVAL MUSICAL STYLE
RENAISSANCE MUSICAL STYLE
Moves by step within narrow range
Emphasis on melody
Much m onophonic music; polyphony is developed
Polyphonic texture
Simultaneous melodies create the concept of harmony
Polyphonic texture controls harmony
Polyphonic lines create strong dissonances
Polyphony favors smooth, consonant harmony
Vocal genres: Gregorian chant, vernacular song
(both have polyphonic versions in the later M iddle Ages)
Vocal genres: mainly Mass, motet, madrigal, and song
Very little instrumental music survives
Instrumental genres mainly keyboard or lute solos, often
based on vocal styles, and music for instrumental ensemble
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
29
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1198, PARIS
C h r i s t m a s M a s s at
N o tre D a m e C a th e d ra l
Q
c o r e
■ LG 1
<|!) A U T H O R V I D E O S
r e p e r t o ir e
Introit, “Puer natus est” (chant)
■ LG 2
Kyrie (chant)
■ LG 3
Alleluia, Dies sanctificatus
(chant)
■ LG 4
Leoninus: Alleluia, Dies
sanctificatus (2-voice
organum)
■ LG 5 Perotinus: Viderunt o m n e s
(4-voice organum)
■ Notation for chant and polyphony
Introduction
“For nothing so uplifts the mind, giving it wings and freeing it from the earth
. . . as a modulated melody and the divine chant. . . . ”
—St. John Chrysostom (ca. 347—407)
The millennium from roughly 450 to 1450 is often known as the medieval period
or the Middle Ages, the span connecting the civilizations of Greece and Rome
to the revival of classical learning in the Renaissance. This definition, of an era
sandwiched between cultural high points, conjures a bleak image of backward­
ness, ignorance, and conflict. But quite to the contrary, the Middle Ages was an
era of far-reaching social, political, and cultural innovation that laid the founda­
tion for the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. Its legacy includes some of the
greatest works of art, literature, and architecture that Western civilization has ever
produced, from the awe-inspiring stained-glass windows of Chartres Cathedral in
France (see Figure 2.1) to the astonishing fresco paintings of Giotto (see Figure 2.2)
and the bawdy Canterbury Tales of Geoffrey Chaucer.
The medieval period is also the source o f a great deal of beautiful music. But
because as a rule only those trained by the Catholic Church knew how to read
and write in the early Middle Ages, the oldest music we have in the Western
tradition is for religious purposes. In fact, most of the music that survives from
the entire medieval era was created for use in the church. This is not to say that
people did not play instruments, compose dance music, and sing lullabies to their
The Middle Ages
FIG. 2.1 Detail of a medieval stainedglass window depicting Jesus’ Last
Supper with his disciples, ca. 1150.
Chartres Cathedral. Paris. France.
FIG. 2.2 Giotto di Bordone (12661337). The Raising o f Lazarus, detail
from the murals at the Scrovegni
Chapel in Padua. Italy, depicting the
life of Virgin Mary, painted around
1305.
32
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
Medieval Secular Music
e know something about nonreligious music from the
later Middle Ages, when schools and universities arose
outside the church. People have always sung and danced,
but music created for domestic and secular use comes to us only
sporadically until the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Secular songs in Latin and in the emerging European languages
survive from almost everywhere. The troubadours and trouveres
in what is now France (they wrote in Old Provencal and Old French,
respectively), the Minnesinger in Germany, and the laudesi (sing­
ers of devotional songs) in Italy, as well as songs in Old Spanish and
Portuguese, make it clear that poetry and music were thriving in the
universities, in noble families, and in the growing cities and wher­
ever literacy was increasing. Among the secular poet-composers of
this period are some of the first women composers whose names
we know, such as the Spanish troubairitz (the female form of trou­
badour) Beatriz de Dia.
The songs that have come down to us are generally monophonic
(written for a single voice) and use the same notation as for medi­
W
Music flotation
Gregorian chant
© “Puer natus est," opening notes
eval chant, with no indication o f rhythm. (We’ll learn more about
medieval musical notation later). Most of the songs are strophic—
that is. they use the same music for each verse. It may be that they
were sung with instrumental accompaniment and in highly rhythmic
fashion, but we do not have enough information to be sure. Go to
Bernart de Ventadorn to hear a verse of a strophic song in Old Pro­
vencal. the language spoken in southern France.
Very little medieval instrumental music survives, but what there is
makes us wish we had more. A few isolated pieces date from before
the fifteenth century, along with two fourteenth-century groups of
dances (one Italian, one French), which were written down on pages
of parchment left blank in two manuscripts of secular songs. Listen
to a brief example from a lively saltarello (the name means jumping)
from the Italian fourteenth century.
© Bernart de Ventadorn: Can vei la lauzeta mover
© Saltarello
children. It is simply that most of that secular music was never written down (see
Medieval Secular Music, above).
In this chapter we are going to spend a day in the musical life of the Cathedral
of Notre Dame (Our Lady) in Paris, France, at the end of the twelfth century. Our
glimpse into the Middle Ages will show us not only some of the fundamental
aspects of music, but also how these fundamentals were developed and deployed—
how to compose a melody, for example, or how to create harmony. Our modern
musical staff, with its lines and spaces, was invented then, and so was the idea of
syllable-names for notes (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la). This was a time when concepts basic
to the subsequent history of music were created, and when music itself held a
position of considerable power in both religious and secular life.
Music was indispensable to worship in the church—the one institution that was
nearly universal throughout medieval Europe—and its repertory was known to
peasantry and nobility alike. For centuries, church musicians kept their music alive
by transmitting it orally from teacher to pupil or chorus master to chorister. The
burden of memory was great, considering that singers had to know a whole year’s
worth of chant by heart. Eventually, however, the enormous significance of sacred
music made it imperative to find a way of preserving the repertory by writing it
down. Musical writing, or notation, is surely one of the greatest achievements of
Western culture, as important in its way as the invention of the alphabet (see Early
Musical Notation, p. 33). The ability to transcribe the sounds musicians heard,
clearly and accurately, was one of the innovations that made it possible for us to
listen to the music in this book.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the music known as Gregorian chant—
monophonic religious melodies (chant) sung in Latin to accompany worship—
was performed in churches all over Europe; travelers recognized it anywhere
they went. On Christmas Day, for example, the Mass of the day began with the
entrance song “Puer natus est” (A boy is born to us); in Italy, England, Spain,
France, Germany—everywhere, the church prescribed the same chant at the
same moment.
CHAPTER 2
33
C hristm as M a ss at N o tre D am e C athedral
Early Musical Notation
monk named Guido, probably bom around 990 near Arezzo,
in Italy, is credited with some o f the most important inno­
vations in the notation of music. He devised the system of
lines and spaces that we call the musical staff, which made it possi­
ble. for the first time, to sing or play a piece that one did not already
know by heart. Until Guido’s day. music was mostly an oral tradition,
passed down from generation to generation, the way folk music has
been transmitted for time immemorial. (An earlier form of musical
notation was used as a reminder for those who had learned the
music by practice.) Unlike the modem staff. Guido’s had only four
lines; the addition o f a fifth line in the late Middle Ages reflected
the increasing range and complexity of music being written then.
Guido also invented the precursors of our note names, which
he derived from a familiar Latin hymn that begins “Ut queant laxis.”
Guido showed a melody in which each phrase of the hymn began
one note higher than the last, and he named the notes for the syl­
lable sung at the beginning of each line; ut, re, mi, fa. sol, la (see Fig­
ure 2.3. right). Since his time, the note ti has been added for the 7th
note of the scale, and the ut is commonly changed to d o (because
it sounds better and is easier to sing). Guido’s musical syllables are
still widely used in European music schools; many people know
them from the teaching song that Maria sings to the children in The
S o u n d o f M u sic: “Doe. a deer, a female deer. Ray. a drop of golden
sun . . . ” and so on.
A
Guido’s notation enabled composers and performers to identify
specific pitches for the first time, and therefore to sing a chant at
sight. (Followers o f Guido developed a pedagogical visual aid called
the “Guidonian hand"; see Figure 2.4.) Notating the durations and
rhythms o f notes would have to wait until the polyphony o f the
Cathedral o f Notre Dame.
^
t
Bn
U t que-ant laxis
<
M i r a gesto-rum
1
" >
. ■
■ ■
re-sona-re fibris
r..
t V
ft .
• •
famu-li tu-6-rum,
■ ■a ■. ■• ■ ■ ■■
■
1^
S ol-ve pollu-ti
labi- i re-a-tum,
i ■
*11
S an ctejo-an n es.
FIG. 2.3 This is the first verse of the hymn U t q u e a n t laxis. in
which each line begins on a higher note. Guido of Arezzo sug­
gested using the opening syllables of each line (ut, re, mi. fa. sol, la)
to identify the notes.
As a core area of knowledge in the Middle Ages, music was one of the seven lib­
eral arts taught in schools and universities. These arts were called liberal because
they were “free,” that is, not tied to a specific calling or profession. (We draw a
similar distinction today between a broad liberal arts education and specialized
professional or vocational training.) They were divided into the Trivium (the “triv­
ial” arts) of Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic, and the Quadrivium of Arithmetic,
Music, Geometry, and Astronomy.
In the medieval curriculum, arithmetic described the art of number in the
abstract, geometry the art of number in space, music the art of number in time,
and astronomy the art of number in space and time. The discipline of music,
known as the Queen of the Arts, included the science of proportion, which schol­
ars believed not only governed music but also held the universe together in a har­
monious “music of the spheres” and maintained the balance between body and
mind. No wonder music (and the theory of music) loomed so large in the medieval
world view.
Medieval music is unfamiliar to most modern listeners, so let us step out of our
time for a moment into the multicolored light of the giant rose windows that grace
the interior of Notre Dame (see Figure 2.5) and simply bask in the glorious sounds
of the Mass for Christmas Day. (The Mass is the central service of Christian wor­
ship, commemorating the Last Supper and the death and resurrection of Jesus.)
We have chosen this building not only because it was—and still is—so famous, but
also because it witnessed such important and beautiful music. And we have chosen
this particular day, Christmas, because it allows us not only to experience Grego­
rian chant, which lies at the base of all Western music, but also to encounter a
<tu
FIG. 2.4 The so-called Guidonian
hand. This was a means of visualizing
the notes o f the musical scale by
placing the syllables (ut, re. mi, etc.)
in the joints of the hand. The notes
were laid out in a counterclockwise
spiral, beginning with the lowest
note (ut) at the tip of the thumb.
34
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
group of works collectively called the Notre Dame
repertory, one of the first great compilations of
music whose composers are known to us.
The opening chant “Puer natus est” is the first
sound (other than the church bells) that we hear as
the Mass begins. It is sung, like all church chant, in
Latin and without accompaniment or harmony—a
single line of melody, performed in unison (with
all voices singing the same notes). Even though its
words speak of the joy of Christmas (“A boy is born
to us, and a son is given to us . . .”), the melody is
neither particularly joyful nor sad; it seems to float
in another world. The celebrant (usually the priest,
but on an important day like Christmas it would
have been the bishop himself, a great ruler of the
church) and his assistants slowly approach the altar
through the center of the choir stalls, incense waft­
ing through the air as the men’s voices swell to fill
the enormous space.
The Setting
THE CH U RCH IN THE M ID D L E AGES
FIG. 2.5 Interior of Notre Dame
Cathedral. Paris, showing one of the
enormous rose windows.
Monasteries and abbeys
Books
Situated on an island in the middle of Paris (see
Figure 2.6), the Cathedral of Notre Dame domi­
nated the medieval city physically (even though the
massive towers we see today were not completed
until about 1250; see Figure 2.7) as well as symboli­
cally. In much the same way, the Catholic Church
had an important centralizing presence through­
out Europe. Its organization, international scope,
continuing use of the Latin language (French and other vernacular languages had
not yet achieved Latin’s prestige), and universal rituals and ceremonies unified the
culturally diverse and often warring kingdoms of the Western world.
The intellectual and spiritual legacy of the church was preserved in monaster­
ies and abbeys scattered around the continent. Then as now, monks and nuns took
vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience to God. They divided their time between
contemplation and work, living by a strict timetable of prayer, labor, and study
(see p. 20). Much of their day was devoted to transcribing the Bible and other
texts, as well as tending their gardens, producing wine from their vineyards, fast­
ing, helping the poor, and praising God in song. In a sense, a medieval monastery
or abbey was a farm, an inn, a hospital, a school, a library, and a spiritual refuge,
all in one.
Apart from what we can learn from surviving artifacts like buildings, sculpture,
and coins, almost all the direct information we have about the Middle Ages comes
from books created by nuns or by men known as clerics, or clerks—that is, mem­
bers of the clergy. (Nuns and monks were a special kind of cleric, set apart from
the world, unlike clerics who worked in cathedrals and other churches.) Most
education, whether in a monastery or in a university, was under the sponsorship
CHAPTER 2
C hristm as M a ss at N o tre D am e C athedral
35
FIG. 2.6 A map of Paris in 1223. The
large island in the middle of the
Seine River is the site of the Cathe­
dral of Notre Dame.
of the Catholic Church, which is another reason why most medieval books—
Bibles, sermons, the lives of saints—have to do with belief and faith.
And then there is the music: thousands of medieval manuscripts filled with
sacred music, almost all of them containing Gregorian chant created for the con­
tinuing praise of God. Chant is still sung today in countless
churches and religious communities around the world. Like
the church itself, it is part of an ongoing tradition that stretches
back more than a thousand years. Today, chant is not confined
to religious settings; it is frequently sung in concert halls by
choirs of mixed voices, or by all-male or all-female ensembles.
One of the most remarkable composers of the twelfth century
was a German nun named Hildcgard of Bingen (see biography,
p. 36), whose compositions were designed for the nuns under
her charge.
M ED IEV AL PARIS
Paris in the Middle Ages, as now, spread out on both sides of
the Seine River. An island in the middle of the stream, the
lie de la Cite, was the site of the original Roman settlement,
and it was still the center of government and religious life in
the 1100s. Paris's 200,000 inhabitants made it one of the larg­
est cities in Western Europe. On the southern, ‘left” bank (as
you face downstream) of the Seine, where the population was
concentrated, stood the schools, monasteries, and student
residences that would grow into the great University of Paris.
Because Latin was the language of instruction and learning,
FIG. 2.7 Facade of Notre Dame
Cathedral. Paris.
36
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
H iL D e G a r D
of
B in G e n (1 0 9 8 - 1 1 7 9 )
T h e first fem ale co m p o ser w hose
follows m an y o f its stylistic conventions. Like G regorian chant,
n am e has com e d o w n to us, Hilde-
h e r songs w ere in ten d ed for use in religious services, as w as
g ard w as fam ous in h e r lifetim e for
h e r m o rality play Ordo virtutum (The Order o f Virtues), w hich
h e r visions, prophecies, and richly
m ay have been p erfo rm ed at the dedication o f th e church at
im aginative religious poetry. H aving
R upertsberg in 1152. Today she is the m o st recorded know n
taken h e r vow s a t age fo u rteen , she
co m p o ser o f sacred m onophony.
rose to b eco m e prioress o f h e r co n ­
v en t in G erm an y and later founded
M AJO R W O RK S: Scivias (Know the Ways), p o e try and visions;
h e r o w n m onastic c o m m u n ity at
Ordo virtutum (The Order o f Virtues); a m usic d ram a , no t
R upertsberg, n ear Bingen. A very influential figure in h e r
attach ed to liturgy; and n u m e ro u s chants, hym ns and o th e r
tim e, she w as th e a u th o r o f m ystical, dram atic, an d th eo lo g i­
religious m usic.
cal texts. T he highly idiosyncratic m usic th a t H ildegard w ro te
to accom pany h e r Latin verses so unds like liturgical ch an t and
© Gradual: “Viderunt omnes." chant
FIG. 2.8 A typical street scene in
Paris today, showing many surviving
medieval buildings.
© Hildegard of Bingen: “O euchari in leta via"
this area was called the Latin Quarter, as it still is today. Not until the marshes (in
French, marais) north of the river were drained in the twelfth century did extensive
commercial and residential districts spring up on the right bank.
Modern Paris, with its grand boulevards, stately architectural facades, and mag­
nificent public spaces, is largely the result of nineteenth-century urban redevel­
opment. Medieval Paris, like all cities of the time, was a tangled web of narrow,
winding streets, where most people lived in crowded, unhealthy conditions. (You
can still get a sense of the medieval city in the densely populated
marais district, just across the river from Notre Dame; see Fig­
ure 2.8.) A circuit of defensive walls, long since dismantled, sur­
rounded the city, and King Philippe Auguste (reigned 1180-1223)
had begun building a new royal palace called the Louvre. He also
paved some of the streets and established a new central market
called Les Halles.
The typical Parisian house in the 1100s was timber-framed,
faced with plaster or a similar material, and roofed with thatch or
reeds. The upper stories (many houses had as many as five floors)
leaned out above the lower ones, shrouding the streets in a kind of
perpetual dusk. A number of wooden bridges spanned the Seine,
two of which crossed over the lie de la Cite. These bridges were
lined on both sides with little shops, since that was where custom­
ers were most frequent. Elsewhere boatmen ferried passengers
from one side of the river to the other. Clogged with docks, barges,
fishing boats, and other craft, the Seine must have experienced fre­
quent traffic jams.
The sound of chant © was almost as familiar to medieval Pari­
sians as the cries of street vendors or the noise of horses and carts.
The city was home to many monasteries and other religious estab­
lishments, including one of the oldest and largest abbeys in France,
St. Germain des Pres. The grounds of the Cathedral of Paris (of
which Notre Dame was the centerpiece) was a little city in itself.
Within the close—the land closed off' from the rest of the city for
CHAPTER 2
C hristm as M a ss at N o tre D am e C athedral
the use of the cathedral—were the bishop’s palace, houses for
the clergy, several smaller churches, a school for the boys who
sang in the cathedral choir (at the time, only males sang aloud in
public worship, although women sang in their convents), and the
schools of philosophy and theology that formed the nucleus of
the future University of Paris.
N O TRE D A M E CATHEDRAL
In 1198 the vast Cathedral of Notre Dame was about half com­
plete; even so, it dwarfed every other building in the city. Con­
struction began shortly after Maurice of Sully became bishop
of Paris in 1160, and tradition says that Pope Alexander III him­
self laid the cornerstone. The eastern end of the church was
complete—except for the roof—by 1177. Services seem to have
started shortly after that, maybe as early as 1178. The main pub­
lic part and the side-arms, with their dramatic flying buttresses
(a special kind of arched support), were built between 1180 and
1220, and by 1225 the great west rose window was in place. The
facade and towers were not finished until about 1250.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame could hold several thousand
people (most large churches today hold many fewer; Saint Pat­
rick’s Cathedral in New York seats 2,200). For the major religious
feasts, such as Christmas and Easter, the church could well be
full of worshippers. Even before entering the cathedral, church­
goers were meant to know that something important lay in store:
the sculptures that adorned the facade were designed to tell them
about this world and the world to come. The kings of Israel are
sculpted in a row across the front. Below them, over the three
doorways, are depictions of the Last Judgment (on the left),
Saint Anne (mother of Mary, on the right), and Mary (to whom
the cathedral is dedicated), holding the infant Jesus, in the cen­
ter. All the portals are surrounded by statues of saints in niches
(see Figure 2.9). This was the planned effect, at least; actually, the
entrance wall with its sculpture was still under construction in
1198.
Inside, the public part of the cathedral, called the nave (from
the Latin for ship, perhaps signifying a voyage to the afterlife),
soars on lofty columns to a vaulted stone ceiling of stupendous
height. The side-arms of the cross-shaped building, called the
transepts, have walls filled with huge circular windows of stained
glass, casting many-hued beams of light from above. The numer­
ous windows—not just the big circles—arc filled with colorful
religious imagery (see Figure 2.10). However, all of the sunlight
that passed through them was not enough to penetrate the cathe­
dral’s murky interior, which was illuminated by candles at all
hours of the day and night.
The part of the cathedral in front of the main altar, called the
choir, where the singers were positioned and the services were
performed, was set off by a partition of carved and painted wood
(it was replaced with a stone screen in the fourteenth century). It
FIG. 2.9 The central portal of Notre Dame Cathedral,
showing Christ seated in judgment as the central sculp­
tural detail.
FIG. 2.10 The famous south rose window from Notre
Dame Cathedral depicting scenes from the New
Testament.
37
38
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M edie va l and Renaissance M u sic
Choir
South
rose
window
Transept
Nave
was usual to furnish choirs with tapestries, hang­
ings, rugs, banners, and paintings. Banks of choir
stalls faced each other across the central aisle, each
row a little lower than the one behind it, with long
benches for the choirboys in front. Facing the altar,
and closing the choir into a U-shape, were special
seats for the highest dignitaries of the cathedral—
the dean, the archdeacons, and the cantor and his
assistant (see Figure 2.11).
In a city that had few public spaces, Notre Dame
Cathedral was open to people from all parts of
society. Nobles, clerics, and scholars mingled with
tradesmen, merchants, and laborers. Everyone’s
attention was focused on what took place beyond
the ornate screen that separated the nave from the
choir, where the main altar and the seats for the
clergy provided ceremonial space for the worship
services. In the context of the cavernous space,
the impressive sculpture, and the dazzling stained
glass, it is only fitting that music should also play an
important role in the overall experience.
The effect of chant in a gigantic and resonant
cathedral is marvelously impressive. In fact, the
acoustics of Notre Dame are almost perfect for this
kind of music, which is designed to be a vehicle
for prayer. The unaccompanied melody reverber­
ates throughout the building, producing a sense
of unity, of a group of singers melded into a single
voice with a single purpose. This unity is an impor­
tant aspect of chant, as it is of all public worship.
For both performers and hearers, then, a Christmas
Day service at Notre Dame must have been a richly
rewarding experience.
Christmas Day at Notre Dame
THE SIN G ERS
FIG. 2.11 Diagram o f Notre Dame
Cathedral.
Cantor
As we have seen, the Cathedral of Paris was a large and busy
place, with many buildings and many workers. The clergy
were workers too. Foremost among their duties was the per­
formance of the regular religious services at Notre Dame, the
official seat of the bishop of Paris. The cathedral building and its operations were
supervised by a small army of officials, organized in a complex hierarchy.
The highest-ranking musical officer was the cantor. He “ruled” the choir (that
is, kept good musical order in the services and started off' the most important
musical pieces), assigned solo parts to individual singers, and maintained and cor­
rected the music books. By the late twelfth century, however, a subcantor had
taken over most of these duties, because the cantor had so many official financial
and legal matters to attend to. The subcantor was assisted by a chancellor, who
had responsibility for assigning scriptural readings, appointing and rehearsing the
CHAPTER 2
C hristm as M a ss at N o tre D am e Cathedral
readers, and looking after the nonmusical books containing prayers and readings
for use in services.
The canons, clerics nominally in charge of the cathedral and expected to be
present at all services, could (and usually did) hire replacements for themselves,
since many of them had other things to do—teaching in the university, for exam­
ple. These substitute canons were called vicars (hence our word “vicarious”). In
order to have even the lowly job of vicar, a candidate had to know by heart all the
psalms (the 150 poems of the Old Testament’s Book of Psalms, usually attributed
to King David) and all the pieces of chant required for every feast day in the church
calendar.
Most of the regular singing at the cathedral was done by the clerks of Matins.
(Matins was one of the eight services that clergy performed at designated hours
of the day and night.) Solo parts were awarded to the most accomplished clerks.
Finally, there were the choirboys in residence at the cathedral, who were instructed
in music, Latin, and theology, and played an important role in the various services;
they assisted in carrying incense and holy water, occasionally took turns as readers,
and sang specific solo parts.
In all, the choir for Mass at Notre Dame numbered about forty men and eight
boys—larger than a modern cathedral choir.
On major feast days like Christmas, the cantor himself stood in the choir of the
cathedral holding the baton that symbolized the importance of his office. On such
days he was one of four rulers of the choir, whose job was to go with their books to
the person designated to begin the next chant and, when the time came, to sing
the first few notes to him quietly so that he remembered the melody and started
it at a convenient pitch.
The members of the singing clergy faced each other across the choir, in two
ascending rows of stalls. Each place had a hinged wooden seat that flipped up like
a modern stadium seat, with a small platform attached to the underside against
which a singer, officially standing, could lean during longer services. The best sing­
ers stepped forward to perform the solos from the book placed on the elaborate
reading desk, or lectern, that stood in the middle of the choir.
The Structure of the M ass Mass on Christmas Day began with the Introit, sung
by the choir from the stalls, with a short solo section in the middle. The Introit
(from the Latin word for “entrance”) accompanied the procession of the bishop
from the sacristy (a room, usually near the altar, in which sacred vessels, vest­
ments, and books are kept) to his place in front of the altar. The next two chants,
the Kyrie and the Gloria, were performed antiphonally, half of the choir alter­
nating with the other half in a kind of question and answer. The bishop himself
intoned the Gloria (that is, he sang the opening few words). After the Gloria, he
greeted the community from the altar with the words “Dominus vobiscum” (The
Lord be with you), to which they responded, “Et cum spiritu tuo” (And with your
spirit). Then the bishop sang the first of the Mass's three prayers specific to Christ­
mas. Everybody sat down and a cleric assigned for the day went to the reading desk
in the middle of the choir and sang the Epistle (a reading from one of the letters
of the New Testament).
After the Epistle came the Gradual and the Alleluia, performed by solo singers
in silk copes (long, capelike vestments) standing in the middle of the choir. These
two pieces were ordinarily sung, like the rest of the Mass, in chant. But on this
particular Christmas Day, in 1198, a marvelous thing happened: the Gradual and
the Alleluia were heard in glorious polyphonic (multivoice) settings by two compos­
ers closely associated with Notre Dame, Master Leoninus and Master Perotinus.
The singers
Introit
Kyrie and Gloria
Gradual and Alleluia
39
40
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M ed ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
© Perotinus: Viderunt omnes,
4-voice organum
One of Perotinus’s most magnificent four-voice pieces, Viderunt omnes, is a set­
ting of the Gradual of the Christmas Mass, and we know that the bishop in that
very year provided for the possibility of singing it in four parts. So, although we
have no way of knowing for certain, we may well imagine that the congregation
was hearing Perotinus's music for the first time in 1198.
The effect on the listeners crowded inside Notre Dame Cathedral was surely
electrifying. Following immediately after the chanted and intoned sections of the
Mass, the amazing outburst of polyphony must have been a little like the scene
in the movie The Wizard of Oz in which Dorothy opens the door of her house in
black-and-white Kansas and steps out into the full-color wonderland of Oz. No
one who heard Perotinus’s dazzling virtuoso showpiece could ever have listened
to chant in the same way again. This celebration of the birth of Jesus also marked
the birth of a new musical era.
M U S IC A L SHAPE O F THE M A S S
Proper
Ordinary
Before we listen more closely to the Mass, we need to understand something
about its musical shape. The texts for certain chants of the Mass that vary from
day to day, according to the church calendar, are collectively called the Proper;
their names come from their function in the ceremony. The texts for other parts
of the Mass, the Ordinary, do not change, although their melodics may vary. The
five chants in the Ordinary are so called because they are always present in the
ordo, the order of service. We refer to them by their opening words: Kyrie, Gloria,
Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. (There is also a final dismissal, Ite tnissa est, usually
sung to the melody of the Kyrie. See the Outline of the Mass, p. 41.) All of these
chants are acclamations, that is, texts of praise or supplication.
And now, let’s turn to the glorious music of the day.
The Music
1>L 61
THE M A S S BEGINS: THE IN TRO IT
The Mass begins with the Introit, sung by the choir from the choir stalls. The text
from the Proper makes a fitting opening for the Christmas service: “Puer natus
est nobis, et filius datus est nobis” (A boy is born to us, and a son is given to us).
The piece is intoned by the cantor—that is, he sings the notes of the first word,
“Puer,” alone, both to give the pitch to the choir and to make sure everybody
knows which chant is to be sung. The chant is moderately ornate, having some­
times two or three notes to a syllable (see LG 1, p. 42).
After the choir finishes the main part of the Introit, a soloist sings a verse from
Psalm 97: “Cantate Domino canticum novum, quia mirabilia fecit” (Sing to the
Lord a new song, for he has done marvels). The verse is sung to a melody that is
always used for chanting the psalms, even though in this case only one verse of the
psalm is actually sung. (It is possible that in the earlier Middle Ages whole psalms
were sung at entrance processions; this single verse may be what is left of that
tradition.)
The cantor then sings the Doxology, the verse of praise to the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit that is always added to the ends of psalms and sung to the same
melody as the verse. Afterwards, the choir repeats the Introit, this time without the
cantor’s intonation (after all, they now know the starting pitch and the melody).
CHAPTER 2
C hristm as M a ss at N o tre D am e Cathedral
Outline of the M ass
Blue: Sung by Choir
Orange: Intoned by Celebrant or Reader
Proper
Ordinary
Introit
Kyrie
Gloria
Collect
Epistle
Gradual
Alleluia
Sequence (on major feasts)
Gospel
Credo
Offertory
Secret (prayer said quietly)
Preface
Sanctus
Canon
Pater Noster (Lord’s Prayer)
Agnus Dei
Communion
Postcommunion prayer
Ite missa est
Many modern listeners might expect the opening song for Christmas to be par­
ticularly joyful, but Introits are always poised, melodious, and not particularly exu­
berant; they sound like Introits, regardless of the meaning of their words.
BACKG RO U N DS: M U S IC A N D RITUAL
Gregorian Chant In a church like Notre Dame, everything in the service was
sung. Even the readings and the prayers were sung by the readers and the presiding
bishop or priest. The many psalms recited by the religious community throughout
the day were also sung. But there were particular places in the service where the
music was more elaborate and where the main focus was the singing (instead of
reading or praying). These pieces—the Gregorian chants—were the places where
music came to the fore.
The singers of the medieval church thought that chant arose from the efforts
of Pope Gregory the Great (reigned 590-604), hence the name Gregorian chant.
But scholars now believe that the chant repertory may have been organized sys­
tematically in the eighth century, at least one hundred years after Pope Gregory.
Whatever its origin, by the time of our Christmas Mass in 1198, chant (also called
plainchant or plainsong) had been sung for a very long time.
Plainchant
41
42
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
LISTENING GUIDE 1
(§)| D V D
Introit Puer natus est
2:00
DATE: 12th cen tu ry (origin, 8th cen tu ry )
GENRE: G regorian chant, P ro p er o f th e Mass (Introit)
LISTEN FOR
MELODY: Little internal repetition: each p h rase is different
SCORING: A ltern atio n o f choir w ith solo singer
FORM: Larger shape: Introit-V erse-Introit
EXPRESSION: A sense o f hovering: each p hrase has repetitions
o f th e sam e n o te
TEXTURE: N eum atic style: approxim ately o n e to th ree notes
p e r syllable
TIME
MUSIC, TEXT. AND TRANSLATION
DESCRIPTION
INTROIT
T h e c an to r sings u p to th e asterisk, the choir continuing. T he piece
begins w ith a big u p w ard leap, th e n rem ains in a 3-note range, paus­
ing o n n o te D th a t w as at th e to p o f th e leap.
0:00
P
JL
* -- - - -
=
U -c r • n a -tu s est no- bis,
A boy is b o rn to us,
0:07
Parallelism in w o rd s ("a b o y ” ... “an d a so n ”) suggests th e sam e big
leap again, b u t this tim e th e phrase sinks to the op en in g n o te o f the
initial leap.
f tiV ."________ a .
et fi- li- us (14-tuscst n6- bis :
and a son is given to us;
0:16
Every n o te used so far is sw ept th ro u g h , u p to a n o te higher than any
before; this is th e m usical high p o in t a t th e c en ter o f th e piece.
cu jus im p£- ri- um
w hose p o w er
T h e m elody hovers, sinking slightly at the end.
0:21
super hu- m c-rum
jus :
is u p o n his shoulder:
0:31
Sim ilar to th e p revious phrase, hovering th e n sinking.
et vocA- bi-tur n6m en
«5-
jus,
and his n am e shall be called
0:40
m ig n i c o n sM i-
i
T h e In tro it concludes w ith leaps at th e begin n in g o f a p hrase (note
th a t leap b etw ee n w ords "m ag n i” and “consilii” is th e reverse o f the
leap at th e beginning); it concludes o n th e sam e n o te (G) th at began
A n g c - lus.
the M essenger o f g re a t counsel.
th e piece.
VERSE
. ! ■
■
'
'
-
•
.....
P s . Can-ta-te D o m in o cinti-cum n<S-vum :
Sing to th e Lord a new song,
T h e soloist sings a psalm verse to a standard form ula; like all psalm to n es, it has tw o halves. T h e first h a lf has an intonation (sung to first
m o syllables), a recitation on a single n o te (sung to m iddle syllables);
and a termination (sung to last five syllables, “canticum n o v u m ”).
CHAPTER 2
0:58
r ,
,
•qui-a mi-rabi- li-a 16- cit.
C hristm as M a ss at N o tre D am e Cathedral
43
T h e seco n d half, sung h ere by choir, also has an in to n atio n (tw o
syllables), recitation (here only tw o syllables), and te rm in atio n (five
syllables).
for he has d one m arvels.
INTROIT
1:06
Entire In tro it repeats.
U-cr • na-tus est n6- bis,
A boy is b o rn to us . . .
Gregorian chant is sung in unison, blending many voices into a single sound.
Chant has a practical purpose, since the singing voice is more readily audible than
the spoken one, especially in large cathedrals, and singing a text helps keep a group
together. Moreover, words and music reinforce each other, so that the effect of the
text is in a way more than doubled. “For he that singeth praise, not only praiseth
but only praiseth with gladness,” wrote St. Augustine. Chant singing provides a
symbolic sense of unity, not only within the community but also with those sing­
ing elsewhere, and with the faithful long departed and those yet to come.
The music of Gregorian chant reflects the accents, grammar, and syntax of the
text. The shape o f the melody lets you know about beginnings and endings, paus­
ing places, and where the accented syllables fall. What the music does not reflect is
the meaning of the words: it does not get quicker and livelier when the text speaks
of joy, or slower and sadder when the text speaks of grief.
However, the style of the music is closely related to the role the piece plays in
the service. A single text (for instance, “All the ends of the earth have seen the sal­
vation of our God,” from Psalm 97) may be sung in a number of different settings,
ranging from the simple s y l l a b i c setting (each syllable of text has one note) used
when the psalm is sung in the regular round of psalm-singing in the daily service
to the musically complex version we will see in the Christmas Gradual.
The difference does not depend on the day—Easter or Christmas, for example—
but rather on the function of the piece. Where the clear delivery of words is fore­
most—as with readings, prayers, and psalms—the musical setting is very simple and
syllabic. Where the music is the primary focus, as in the Gradual and Alleluia, the
setting is sometimes so elaborate that it is hard to keep track of the words. Florid
melodies (known as m e l i s m a s ) of twenty or thirty notes sung to a single syllable are
not uncommon; such pieces arc said to be in m e l i s m a t i c style. In between are set­
tings like the Introit, Offertory, and Communion that accompany specific actions;
their so-called n e u m a t i c style may have two or three notes per syllable.
Syllabic, neumatic, and melis­
matic settings
© Gregorian chant: example of
syllabic setting
© Gregorian chant: example of
melismatic setting
© Gregorian chant: example of
neumatic setting
Ritual and Liturgy By the twelfth century, chant had been sung in the Christian
church for hundreds of years. Church services were essentially fixed; musical
books prescribed exactly what ought to be sung on each occasion and where in the
service it should happen. Worshippers felt part of an unbroken and unbreakable
tradition; those who performed the ritual actions and sang the chants understood
that these procedures had always been executed in this manner, and that identical
celebrations were being held more or less simultaneously in every church through­
out the Western world; that tradition continues to this day.
The complete round of ceremonies and rituals—everything that made up a
sacred service—was called the l i t u r g y , from a Greek word meaning “public work.”
Liturgy
44
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
€
FIG. 2.12 A diagram showing the
eight daily services of the monastic
Office and their distribution over
the course of a day.
The Office
© LG 2
Midnight
Sunrise
6 am
9 am
O
Noon
3 PM
Matins
Lauds
Prime
Terce
Sext
Nones
Sunset
9 PM
([
Midnight
Vespers Compline
L ittle H ours
There are a few basic ideas concerning the liturgy that are worth knowing because
they will help us understand why the people of the time attached such importance
to the celebration of the Mass, spent so much time performing the rites, and tried
so hard to make them as beautiful as possible.
Medieval men and women believed that praising God was not something to
be done once or twice a week, but at all times. To them, worshipping God meant
being not only in God’s presence but also in the presence of the angels who sing
around the throne of God, as described by the prophet Isaiah in the Bible. It was
important to maintain a tradition ordained by the church, and to perform the
sacred rites in a way that was pleasing to God. The best that humankind could
produce, including architecture, sculpture, painting, and music, was in reference
and submission to God.
The church calendar includes a Mass for every day of the year. As we have seen,
the Mass, a reenactment of the Last Supper and the sacrifice of Jesus, is the central
moment of Christian ritual; as such it contains the most elaborate ceremonies and
music. The actions of the participants culminate in the transformation of bread
and wine into the body and blood of Jesus, and all present are actors in this mys­
terious drama.
Besides the Mass, eight other services are performed at specified hours through­
out the day; collectively, we call them the D i v i n e O ffic e , or O f f ic e (see Figure 2.12).
The liturgical cycle is deeply repetitive, marking out the hours, the days, and
the seasons in the same way from year to year. Yet in another sense the liturgy is
anything but repetitive, because its contents are constantly changing. There is a
complete set of prayers, readings, and chants for every Sunday, every feast day, and
every saint’s day. This means that there is always an entrance chant at the Mass, but
it is not always the same chant. The combination of regular, repetitive elements
with the ever-changing repertory of contents makes the liturgy a many-faceted
and highly intricate piece of machinery.
The main Mass of Christmas Day (Christmas, unusually, has three Masses) in
1198 was thus like every other Mass in its structure but different in its contents from
all the other Masses that had been celebrated since the previous Christmas.
THE M A S S C O N TIN U ES: THE KYRIE
The Kyrie is part of the Ordinary—that is, its words are always the same and are
sung in every Mass. It is performed by the full choir. Unlike the other sections of
the Mass, the Kyrie is sung in Greek.
The Kyrie is a ninefold invocation: each of the three phrases—“Kyrie eleison”
(Lord, have mercy), “Christe eleison” (Christ, have mercy), and “Kyrie eleison”
—is sung three times. The chant is sung antiphonally, with the two sides of the
choir passing the florid phrases of music back and forth (see LG 2, p. 45). There
is something mesmerizing about the repetitions, especially when the melody is
CHAPTER 2
45
C h ristm as M a ss at N o tre D am e C athedral
p a r tic u la r ly e l a b o r a t e . S o m e o f t h e s h a p e lie s t a n d m o s t m e m o r a b l e m e l o d i e s o f
t h e c h a n t a r e t o b e f o u n d in K y rie s.
T h e n e x t c h a n t is t h e
Gloria in excelsis,
a h y m n o f p r a is e t h a t , o n C h r is tm a s , is
b e g u n b y t h e a r c h b i s h o p h i m s e l f a n d c o n t i n u e d b y t h e c h o ir.
LISTENING GUIDE 2
© | DVD
Kyrie
1:58
DATE: 12th cen tu ry (origin, 10th cen tu ry )
GENRE: G regorian ch ant, O rd in ary o f th e Mass (Kyrie eleison)
LISTEN FOR
MELODY: Florid, m elism atic style, w ith m any n o tes p e r syllable
o f text
SCORING: A ntiphonal perform ance, w ith tw o halves o f choir
singing in altern atio n
FORM: N ine-fold p attern , 3 + 3 + 3
TIME
MUSIC, TEXT. A N D TRANSLATION
0:00
3
K
Y ri-e
•
16- i-son.
DESCRIPTION
T he cantor begins the first few notes; one side o f the choir continues
w ith the melisma. This phrase begins fairly high and descends to its
close.
Lord, have mercy
0:13
0:26
Lord, have m ercy
O p en in g K y rie is rep eated by the o th e r side o f choir. This alternation
side-to-side co n tin u es to the end.
K y rie e le iso n
O p en in g K y r ie is su n g for a third tim e.
K y rie e le iso n
Lord, have m ercy
0:39
T he phrase begins on the same note as K y rie , and its ending is the
same; otherw ise it is different and does not rise so high.
_ L 4 i v , ' h^ =
Chri-ste
e- 16- i-son.
Christ, have mercy
0:52
C h r is te e le iso n
C h r is te
is repeated.
C h r is te
is su n g for th e th ird tim e.
Christ, have mercy
1:03
C h r is te e le iso n
Christ, have mercy
1:16
K£-ri- c
c-
B eginning w ith a large leap upw ard, this K y rie begins w ith the sam e
low n o te th a t en d ed th e previous phrase, an d ends w ith the sam e
n o te (A) th a t b eg an it.
16- i-son.
Lord, have m ercy
1:26
Previous K y rie is repeated.
K y r ie e le iso n
Lord, have m ercy
1:37
K^-ri- e
Lord, have mercy
• • e-
16- i-son.
T h e previous K y rie is le n g th en ed by repeating the op en in g section,
sung first by one side o f choir, th e n by the o th e r side. Final e le iso n is
sung by b o th sides together.
46
PART
M u sic and Prayer: M ed ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
i>LG3
T H E M A S S C O N T IN U E S : T H E G R A D U A L A N D T H E A L L E L U IA
After the Kyrie and Gloria, the presiding priest sings the first prayer, and a reader
intones the first reading, called the Epistle. Then follow the two most elaborate
chants of a Mass, those that are rcponses to the readings; they are purely musical
moments, not intended to accompany any action or procession: they are musical
meditations.
Both of them, the Gradual (so called because it is sung from the altar step or
gradns) and the Alleluia, follow the performance pattern of the Introit, as we will
see. Let us first listen to the Alleluia chant, Dies sanctificatus (sec LG 3, p. 47).
Both the Gradual and the Alleluia require the skills of expert singers. But on this
particular day in 1198, they were sung in polyphony, in a kind of composition that
combines the music of the standard Gregorian chant with newly composed music
sung at the same time. It is one of the triumphs of medieval music, and a specialty
of Notre Dame Cathedral. A bit of background will help us to appreciate what
we’re about to hear next.
Embellishing the Liturgy A sense of tradition, regularity, and unchangeability is
Tropes and sequences
Polyphony
essential to the medieval conception of worship. And yet there are artistic spirits
in every generation who desire creative change. Even though new feasts in the cal­
endar of the later Middle Ages sometimes required new chants, the creative era of
Gregorian chant had essentially come to a close centuries earlier, when the com­
plete repertory had been established. It might seem, then, that poets and musicians
had very little chance to contribute creatively to the liturgy. We have evidence to
the contrary, however—evidence of marvelous innovations that embellished and
updated the medieval liturgy without changing or affecting the underlying tra­
dition. Seeing how this was accomplished requires a medieval understanding of
tradition and change.
If you sing all the words and the notes of the liturgy in the prescribed order,
you are performing the rite as required by the church. But you are not necessar­
ily required to perform the rite continuously and without interruption, or to do
that and only that. These two loopholes in the liturgical regulations allowed for
two large bodies of medieval musical creativity: tropes (and a special kind of trope,
called sequences) and polyphony. While tropes (interpolated musical meditations
or glosses on liturgical texts) and sequences (extensive poems appended to the Alle­
luia) continued to provide an outlet for creativity until the sixteenth century, wor­
shippers at our Christmas Mass in 1198 witnessed another kind of innovation during
the Gradual and Alleluia that in the long run would prove vastly more important.
Another way of embellishing Gregorian chant was to sing something else at
the same time as the liturgical melody. This practice is known as polyphony, music
in which more than one note is sounded simultaneously, and it lies at the heart
of Western musical culture. Polyphony—as distinct from monophony, music that
consists of only one melodic line, such as chant—was one of the glories of the
Cathedral of Notre Dame. It is here that we can identify the first great repertory
of polyphonic church music attributed to specific composers.
The concept of performing two melodics at once is easy to understand. When
two people sing a round such as “Row, row, row your boat,” the two sections of the
melody overlap is a kind of simple, two-part polyphony. It is a more complicated
matter to write melodies that sound good together and create what we call har­
mony—the pleasing sound of several sounds together. It is perhaps a further chal­
lenge if one of the melodics already exists—say, in the form of a Gregorian chant.
CHAPTER 2
47
C hristm as M a ss at N o tre D am e C athedral
© | D VD
1:45
Alleluia Dies sanctificatus
DATE: 12th cen tu ry (origin, 8th cen tu ry )
GENRE: G regorian ch ant, P ro p er o f th e M ass (Alleluia)
LISTEN FOR
MELODY: M ixture o f syllabic an d m elism atic styles
SCORING: A ltern ation o f choir an d soloist
FORM: Internal repetition: Alleluia is rep eated at th e end;
phrases 1 an d 3 o f th e verses use sim ilar m elody altered to fit
different texts
TIME
MUSIC, TEXT. A N D TRANSLATION
DESCRIPTION
0:00
2.
The cantor begins alone.
H
Llclti-ia.
Praise the Lord!
0:04
ZTg^
2- «C
H
The choir repeats the opening “Alleluia,” adding a
melisma.
L lelu-ia.
Praise the Lord!
0:21
y . 1 ) 1-
es
sancti- ficAtus
illu x it
bis
116-
Verse, part 1: the soloist begins the verse: notice the
melisma on "no-bis.”
The holy day has enlightened us.
a .— j
0:42
vc-
ni-tc gtfntes,
ct adorA-te
D 6 m i- m im :
Verse, part 2: notice the low melisma on “ve-nite” and
the alm ost syllabic recitation in the middle.
C om e, ye peoples, and adore the Lord
0:58
qui-a h6-di-
e
desc^ndit lux m4-
gna
Verse, p a rt 3: the m usic is very sim ilar to p a rt 1, w ith
an o th er m elism a o n "mag-n a.”
For today has descended a great light
1:15
• su-per t«5r- ram.
The final words are sung by the choir. The music is
not related to the previous music.
Upon the earth.
1:25
TT -
IJe-lu-ia.
The opening Alleluia, w ith melisma, is repeated by
the choir.
Praise the Lord!
In fact, the earliest surviving examples of polyphonic music arc Gregorian
chants to which a second melody has been added. In the simplest versions, the sec­
ond voice is the same chant sung at a different pitch (as when two people sing the
same song starting on different notes). In other early examples, the added melody
48
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
Leoninus anD peroTinus
T rained at the U niversity o f Paris, M aster Leoninus (active from
Leoninus w as n o t th e only co m p o ser o f o rg an u m at N otre
th e 1150s until a b o u t 1201) w as n o t only a high-ranking canon
D am e. By 1198 a n ew er an d m ore elab o rate style h ad com e
o f N otre D am e C athedral b u t also a p o e t w hose w o rk s w ere
in to fashion. It is associated w ith th e o th e r co m p o ser o f o rg a­
w idely copied an d highly praised. H e seem s to have started
n u m w hose n am e is k n o w n to us, M aster Perotinus (active in
w ork o n his Great Book o f Organum (M agnus liber organi) in
th e late tw elfth and early th irte e n th centuries). A ccording to an
th e 1180s. L eoninus m ay have b een presen t at o u r C hristm as
a n o n y m o u s stu d e n t at th e U niversity o f Paris, The Great Book
Mass in 1198, b u t w as probably far to o sen io r to b e called o n to
o f Organum "w as in use u p to th e tim e o f P erotin th e G reat,
sing his ow n com position.
w h o ed ited it and m ade very m any b e tte r [su b stitu te sections
The Great Book o f Organum co n tain ed m usic for m a jo r feast
o r clauses], since he w as th e b est co m p o ser o f discant, and b e t­
Organum w as th e Latin w o rd used to
te r th a n Leonin. . . . M aster P erotin [com posed excellent four-
designate any piece o f polyphonic m usic; it w as also th e nam e
voice w orks], like Viderunt an d Sederunt, w ith an abundance
for a particular style, in w hich one voice sings a n o te o f the
o f [h arm o n ic color]; and also several very noble [three-voice
ch an t w hile a n o th e r voice sings a g re a t m any notes. A lthough
w orks].”
days th ro u g h o u t th e year.
this style is associated w ith th e n am e o f Leoninus, it is likely
T h e su rv iv in g copies o f The Great Book o f Organum include
th a t it developed over tim e and th a t a w h o le bo d y o f singer-
so m e gigantic four-voice pieces w hose texts beg in w ith the
com posers w ere involved w ith its creation.
w o rd s Viderunt an d Sederunt; these copies o f th e b o o k m u st
This style of organum has a mesmerizing, improvisatory
effect, but it also makes the performance of the chant very
long. Partly to remedy this, Leoninus developed his so-called
discant style, in which both the chant and the upper (added)
voice move along at a good speed and in regular rhythms.
rep resen t th e revised version by P erotinus. O n e o f these four-
Counterpoint
© Melismatic organum
voice pieces, Viderunt omnes, is a se ttin g o f the G rad u al o f the
C h ristm as Mass, w h ich w as h eard p erh ap s for th e first tim e
in 1198.
has some degree of independence; it may move in the opposite direction from the
chant, for example, or the distance between the two voices may vary so that the
second voice has its own, separate melodic character.
All such early examples of polyphony have one thing in common: each note in
the added voice corresponds to one note in the chant. This basic kind of polyph­
ony was described in Latin as punctus contra punctum (point against point), from
which we get our word counterpoint, the musical term for composing simultane­
ous independent melodies.
The big breakthrough in polyphony came shortly before the time of our Christ­
mas Mass, when composers decided that they could add more than one note to the
new melodic line for every note of the original chant. This gave them much greater
flexibility and fluidity in composing a new melody than the older note-againstnote style, and their music began featuring flights of melody above longer notes
of chant. At the same time, this newer style created new problems for singers by
making coordination between the melodic lines more difficult, because the musi­
cal notation used for Gregorian chant did not provide for this kind of polyphony.
It presented notes and matched them with the words, but gave no information
about how long the notes lasted. (Scholars believe that singers of that time gave
each note of chant approximately the same length.) In other words, the music was
written down, but not in such a way that the relative lengths of the notes in the
different parts were clear (see Early Musical Notation, p. 33).
These limitations persisted until composers at the Cathedral of Notre Dame
devised a way of notating rhythms. Only then did it become possible to write
down, and perform in a consistent and predictable way, complex polyphonic
CHAPTER 2
C hristm as M a ss at N o tre D am e Cathedral
49
music. Credit for this innovation, as far as we know, goes to a composer, poet, and
official of Notre Dame named Master Leoninus. His successor, Master Perotinus,
wrote music that survives in an even more evolved system o f rhythmic notation,
characterized by amazing musical complexities. It was music by these two great
composers that listeners at Notre Dame may have heard on Christmas Day in 1198
(see Leoninus and Perotinus, p. 48).
THE ALLELUIA IN P O LY P H O N Y
Until Leoninus’s time, the Alleluia at Notre Dame, as elsewhere, was performed
in traditional Gregorian chant. This Christmas Mass, however, is different. The
mode of performance alternates not only between soloists and choir, but between
monophony (chant) and polyphony, as follows:
A lle lu ia (firs t fe w n o te s )
S O L O I S T S ( w i t h p o ly p h o n y )
R e p e a t A lle lu ia , w i t h l o n g m e lis m a
C H O IR
V e rse
S O L O I S T S ( w i t h p o ly p h o n y )
L a s t t w o w o r d s o f v e rs e
C H O IR
R e p e a t t h e l o n g A lle lu ia
C H O I R ( o r s o lo a n d c h o ir )
Only the solo singers needed to know how to sing in parts; the choir did what it
always did, but the soloists enriched the air with “modern” polyphony. One of the
surviving works in Leoninus’s Great Book of Organum is a polyphonic version of the
Alleluia of the Mass of Christmas—a two-voice setting of the solo portions listed
above. The choral sections are not in Leoninus’s book, because it is a book for the
expert soloists. The choir knew what and when to sing; they could have relied on
their standard chant books. The combination of soloists (singing from Leoninus’s
book) and choir made a single performance of the Alleluia.
Lconinus's polyphony switches between two styles. Most of the Alleluia is in
sustained-note organum, or pure organum, in which one voice sings the notes of
the original chant slowly, while a second voice performs a melody above it, using
as many as twenty notes, in a free, improvised-sounding rhythm, for each note of
the chant (see Figure 2.13).
Lconinus’s second, or discant, style usually occurs when the original chant has
a melisma—many notes on a single syllable. (In the Christmas Alleluia, mclismas
happen on the words “no-bis,” “vc-nite,” and “mdg-na.”) In these cases Leoninus
arranges the chant in regular, repeating rhythmic patterns; here he chooses groups
of four notes of equal length (or, for “mag-na,” groups of three). In the upper part
the rhythms consist of alternating long and short notes, producing a rhythmic pat­
tern in a rapid triple meter. Listen to the chant version of the Alleluia again (see
LG 3); now listen to Leoninus’s version (see LG 4, p. 50).
FIG. 2.13 A version of Leoninus’s
setting of the Alleluia. Dies sanctifi­
catus for Christmas. The manuscript
is written in score, the chant voice
(having many fewer notes) written
below the added organum voice.
The bottom four staves on this
page, marked with large initial let­
ters for each pair of staves, show
the opening notes of the Alleluia,
and the beginning of the verse Dies
sanctificatus.
THE G R A D U A L O F THE M ASS: PEROTINUS, V ID ERU N T O M N E S
© LG 5
Viderunt omnes
^ Notation for chant and
polyphony
( “A ll s h a ll s e e ” ) is P e r o t i n u s ’s v e r s io n o f t h e G r a d u a l o f t h e M ass.
In t h e o r d e r o f s e r v ic e , t h e G r a d u a l c o m e s b e f o r e t h e A lle lu ia , b u t w e h a v e s a v e d
it f o r la s t b e c a u s e its e l a b o r a t e p o ly p h o n ic s ty le r e p r e s e n t s t h e c u l m i n a t i o n o f th e
p r o c e s s t h a t L e o n in u s i n i tia te d .
Viderunt omnes
is a m a g n if ic e n t p ie c e , o n a sc a le
n e v e r b e f o r e a t t e m p t e d ; in d e e d , it m i g h t b e c o n s i d e r e d a k i n d o f G o t h i c c a t h e d r a l
o f c o m p o s i t i o n in its e lf.
50
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M edie va l and Renaissance M u sic
LISTENING GUIDE 4
© | DVD
6:41
Leoninus Alleluia, Dies sanctificatus
DATE: 12th cen tu ry
GENRE: O rg an u m (2 voices)
LISTEN FOR
RHYTHM: Difference b etw een sustained-note o rg an u m (free
rhythm s) and discant style (repeating rh y th m ic p attern s)
SCORING: A lternation o f tw o-voice p o lyphony an d chant
FORM : ABA, Alleluia, Verse, Alleluia repeated
TIME
TEXT
TRANSLATION
DESCRIPTION
0:00
Alleluia
Praise th e Lord!
Sustained-note o rg an u m for th e o p en in g o f the Alleluia;
a slow er voice sings the notes sung by the can to r in
ch an t version (see LG 3).
0:46
Alleluia (repeated
w ith m elism a)
Praise th e Lord!
T h e ch o ir sings th e opening Alleluia in ch an t style, w ith
m elism a.
1:07
Dies
T h e day
T h e verse begins in sustained-note o rganum ; each slow
n o te o f th e ch an t is accom panied by the additional
voice m oving in free, rhapsodic rhythm ; it sw itches to
discant style, b o th voices m o ving in regular patterns.
1:47
sanctificatus illuxit
sanctified has en lightened
Sustained-note o rg an u m continues.
2:07
nobis;
us;
D iscant style. R etu rn to sustained-note o rg an u m at
th e end.
2:38
Venite,
C om e,
D iscant style: b o th voices m ove in regular p attern s,
w ith fo u r equal n o tes in chant, and again retu rn in g to
sustained-note o rg anum .
3:00
gentes, e t ad o rate
dom in u m ;
ye peoples, and adore
th e Lord;
Sustained-note o rg an u m continues.
3:44
quia h o d ie descendit
fo r today has descended
Sustained-note o rg an u m continues.
4:31
lux m agna
a g reat light
D iscant style: b o th voices m ove in regular p attern s,
this tim e w ith th re e notes o f equal length in the chant.
R eturn to su stained-note o rg an u m at th e end.
5:18
super te rra m .
u p o n th e earth.
T h e ch o ir sings th e last tw o w ords o f the verse in ch an t
style.
5:32
Alleluia
Praise th e Lord!
T h e o p en in g in to n atio n in sustained-note style.
6:12
Alleluia
Praise th e Lord!
T h e ch o ir continues w ith the m elism a o f th e opening
Alleluia.
CHAPTER 2
C hristm as M a ss at N o tre D am e C athedral
51
Viderunt works in the same way as Leoninus’s Alleluia in that it is a polyphonic
setting of the solo portions of the chant, with the choir singing the rest. In these
solo portions, however, the chant is accompanied not by one but by three added
voices, each of which is independent of the others. The pattern is as follows:
I n t o n a t i o n ( f ir s t t w o w o r d s )
S O L O I S T S ( w i t h p o ly p h o n y )
T h e re s t o f th e G ra d u a l
C H O IR
V e rse
S O L O I S T S ( w i t h p o ly p h o n y )
L a st tw o w o rd s o f th e v e rse
C H O IR
Some aspects of Perotinus’s piece are familiar—the same alternation of poly­
phony and chant and the same alternation of sustained-note organum and discant
sections (where the chant has a melisma). But what a difference there is between
his music and Leoninus's! Those differences, mostly ones of scale, would have had
magical effects on listeners in the twelfth century.
Since there are four voices, instead of Leoninus’s two, Perotinus had to work
especially hard to coordinate the different parts (see Figure 2.14). The clear rhyth­
mic patterns of the sort that Leoninus used only in discant sections are now used
everywhere, even in the sustained-note organum section. (This means that the
rhapsodic-sounding upper voice of the Leoninus organum is a thing of the past.)
There are compelling repetitions and exchanges among the upper voices, little pat­
terns that ascend or descend, with slight changes; overall the effect is of a giant
fabric woven from many small threads.
FIG. 2.14 Perotinuss four-voice orga­
num setting of the gradual Viderunt
omnes for Christmas. The manu­
script is written in score, all four
voices parallel, with the text written
only under the lowest stave. Note
the three active upper voices, and
the very slow chant voice (which
here has only one note per line).
52
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
LISTENING GUIDE 5
©
|D V D |
11:38
Perotinus Viderunt omnes
DATE: 12th cen tu ry
GENRE: O rg an u m (4 voices)
LISTEN FOR
RHYTHM: Sw irling p attern s o f rh y th m s using lo n g and sh o rt
notes
TEXTURE: A lternation o f c h an t an d polyphony, and w ithin the
polyphony, o f sustained-note and discant styles
HARMONY: E xtrem e len g th en in g o f th e original chant; each
n o te o f ch an t underlies m any n o tes o f polyphony
SCORING: A ltern atio n o f ch an t an d p olyphony
TEXT:
V iderunt o m n es fines te rra e salutare dei nostri.
Jubilate d eo o m n is terra.
VERSE:
N o tu m fecit dom inus salutare suum :
an te co n sp ectu m g en tiu m revelavit iusticiam suam .
The Lord has made known his salvation:
in the sight o f the nations he has revealed his justice.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Rejoice in God, all the earth.
TIME
TEXT
DESCRIPTION
0:00
V i(-derunt)
T h e o p en in g ch o rd is follow ed by m an y repetitions in a sim ilar rhythm ic p attern ,
w hile o n e voice holds th e single n o te o f a chant.
1:01
(Vi-)de(-runt)
Second n o te o f th e chant!
1:29
(V ide-)runt
T h ird syllable o f th e chant; this syllable has tw o notes from th e original chant.
2:33
om (nes)
O n this first syllable o f th e second w ord, P erotinus includes a section in discant
style; th e m usic th e n retu rn s to sustained-note organum .
3:51
fines te rra e salutare dei nostri.
Jubilate d eo om n is terra.
T h e ch o ir sings th e rest o f th e G rad u al in chant.
4:49
N o(-tum )
T h e soloists sing th e verse: sustained-note o rg an u m continues.
5:55
(N o-)tum
N ew syllable; th e change o f vow el affects th e so u n d o f th e m usic.
6:19
fe(-cit)
Sustained-note o rg an u m continues.
7:10
(fe-)cit
Sustained-note o rg an u m continues.
7:44
do(-m inus)
Sustained-note o rg an u m co n tin u es . . .
8:14
(do-)m inus
leading to a pause.
8:21
sa(-lutare)
D iscant section— th e ch an t has a m elism a o n this syllable.
8:50
(sa-)lutare
R etu rn to su stained-note style.
9:13
suum
Sustained-note o rg an u m continues.
9:35
ante
Sustained-note o rg an u m continues.
10:03
consp ectu m
Sustained-note o rg an u m continues.
10:25
g en tiu m
Sustained-note o rg an u m continues.
10:44
revelavit
Sustained-note o rg an u m continues; final cadence for polyphony.
11:11
iusticiam suam .
T h e ch o ir sings th e en d o f th e verse in chant.
CHAPTER 2
C h ristm as M a ss at N o tre D am e C athedral
The sustained-note organum sections are extended far beyond Leoninus's in
length. Consider that over the opening note of the chant there are more than a
hundred notes in each of the upper parts. (It makes you wonder how the chant
was performed—did several singers sing the chant voice, taking turns breathing
so as to sustain each note?) The piece is a long one, and it would be longer still if
Perotinus, like Leoninus before him, did not insert a number of sections in discant,
where the chant voice is given a brisk rhythm nearly as fast as the upper parts.
There is one such section in the opening (on “om-nes”) and one in the verse (on
“do-minus”).
No one could follow the original melody of the Gradual—or for that matter its
words—in this sort of performance. And yet every note of the original chant gets
performed, and every syllable is pronounced, even when the listener does not rec­
ognize or understand them. Apparently, it was sufficient to produce the words and
notes in order, and the strict liturgical requirements would be fulfilled. Like the
anonymous medieval artists who adorned the facade of Notre Dame Cathedral,
often concealing their creations from viewers on the ground. Master Perotinus
fixed his gaze on a higher authority. In Viderunt omnes, it must be God, not we,
who is the intended listener to the chant; we have the good fortune to overhear it
(see LG 5, p. 52).
Notre Dame Then and Now
The age of the great cathedrals could almost be called the Age of Leoninus and
Perotinus, or the age of St. Thomas Aquinas (see p. 22). They all have in common
the making of an enormous construction out of the ceaseless accumulation of
many small elements. The cathedral, made as it is of a series of bays, each one
with columns, windows, roof, vaults, and buttresses, becomes an impressive and
majestic presence partly because of the similarity of many smaller parts: looking
down the nave of a Gothic cathedral is looking at many repetitions. Likewise the
logical series of propositions that adds up to the systematic philosophy of Aquinas
is typical of the scholasticism of the time, in which one authority is confronted
with another, with the intention of reconciling apparent differences.
The spellbinding music of Perotinus, with its enormous length made of many
small repetitions, rather like a rose window of many brilliant small pieces of col­
ored glass, never fails to inspire. The effect of Viderunt omnes and other polyphonic
pieces must have been stunning in the context of an otherwise monophonic lit­
urgy of chant. Sung in the stone choir of Notre Dame Cathedral by expert solo
singers wearing exquisitely embroidered silk copes, the music would have been
memorable and powerful—grand in both scale and effect.
Gregorian chant and polyphony existed side by side on this Christmas Day in
1198. The chant was considered timeless, a gift from the past to be transmitted to
the future, while the polyphony was entirely up-to-the-minute, evolving as com­
posers came and went and as tastes changed. Whatever church music is, it is not
always the same thing—except, perhaps, for Gregorian chant, which, despite many
changes in the world, is still being sung in the Catholic Church (and elsewhere
too). Today Gregorian chant is heard in concerts as well as in churches, and it has
continued to inspire composers of both secular and religious music. There is also
a revival of interest in other kinds of medieval music that would not have been
heard in church. The ancient and the new, the traditional and the innovative, are as
much in evidence in our own world as they were at Notre Dame in 1198.
53
54
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
Chapter Review
Summary of Musical Styles
T w o m a i n m u s ic a l s ty le s a r e c o n s i d e r e d in th is c h a p t e r :
phonic
monophonic
poly­
and
m u s ic . B o th s ty le s a r is e f r o m t h e m u s ic o f t h e m e d ie v a l c h u r c h , in w h ic h
G r e g o r i a n c h a n t is t h e m a i n v e h ic le f o r m u s ic in w o r s h ip .
Monophonic music
Gregorian chant is m o n o p h o n i c
m u s ic , s u n g b y a s o lo is t o r a c h o ir , u s in g t h e L a tin
te x t o f t h e m e d ie v a l c h u r c h . M o s t o f t h e te x ts a r e d r a w n f r o m t h e B ib le , e s p e c ia lly
t h e b o o k o f P s a lm s . T h e r e l a t i o n o f t e x t t o m u s ic v a r ie s a c c o r d in g t o t h e i r re la tiv e
i m p o r t a n c e ; w e c a n d is tin g u is h t h r e e s ty le s :
■ Syllabic style:
e a c h s y lla b le o f t e x t h a s a s in g le n o t e , r e s u l t i n g in a s o r t o f
m u s ic a l r e c i t a t i o n . T h i s s ty le is u s e d f o r p la c e s w h e r e t h e te x t n e e d s t o b e
c le a r ly h e a r d , f o r e x a m p l e , in r e a d in g s a n d p r a y e r s .
■ Neumatic style:
e a c h s y lla b le m a y h a v e s e v e r a l n o te s ; th is is t h e s ty le f o r m o s t
m u s ic a l p ie c e s in t h e G r e g o r i a n r e p e r to r y , s u c h a s t h e I n t r o i t o f t h e M ass.
■ Melismatic style:
o n e o r m o r e s y lla b le s m a y h a v e a v e r y l o n g
melisma,
a
s e r ie s o f n o t e s s u n g t o a s in g le s y lla b le . T h e e f f e c t is o n e o f g r e a t m u s ic a l
e x p a n s io n , a n d t h e p o s s ib ility t h a t t h e te x t m a y b e h a r d t o u n d e r s t a n d .
Polyphonic music
In p o ly p h o n i c m u s ic m o r e t h a n o n e n o t e is s o u n d e d a t t h e s a m e tim e . T h is c h a p t e r
d r a w s e x a m p l e s f r o m t h e m u s ic a l e l a b o r a t i o n s p r a c t i c e d a t t h e c a t h e d r a l o f N o t r e
D a m e in P a ris . T h e r e , s o m e o f t h e G r e g o r i a n c h a n t s o f t h e l i t u r g y w e r e e m b e l ­
lis h e d b y t h e a d d i t i o n o f o n e o r m o r e v o ic e s . T h i s s ty le o f e m b e l l i s h m e n t o f c h a n t
w a s g iv e n t h e g e n e r ic n a m e o f
organum.
W i t h i n t h e p r a c tic e o f o r g a n u m , th e r e
a r e t w o c h i e f s ty le s :
■ Sustained-note organum
(o r
pure organum):
o n e v o ic e s in g s t h e n o t e s o f th e
o r i g i n a l c h a n t slo w ly , w h ile o n e o r m o r e v o ic e s p e r f o r m s a m e l o d y o r s e v e ra l
m e lo d ie s a r o u n d it, u s in g m a n y n o t e s f o r e a c h n o t e o f t h e c h a n t.
■ Discant style:
a ll v o ic e s s in g in p a t t e r n e d r h y t h m s ; c o m p o s e r s o f t e n u s e th is
s ty le in p la c e s w h e r e t h e o r i g i n a l c h a n t h a s a m e lis m a .
T h e t w o m a i n c o m p o s e r s o f o r g a n u m a t N o t r e D a m e a r e L e o n in u s a n d P e r o ti n u s .
L e o n in u s , t h e e a r l i e r o f t h e t w o , c o m p o s e d o r g a n u m in t w o v o ic e s ; t h e s u s ta in e d
o r g a n u m s e c tio n s f e a t u r e a s in g le u p p e r v o ic e w i t h a f r e e , i m p r o v i s e d - s o u n d i n g
r h y t h m . P e r o t i n u s c o m p o s e d o r g a n u m in t h r e e o r e v e n f o u r v o ic e s ; in h is w o r k s ,
t h e s u s t a i n e d - n o t e o r g a n u m s e c tio n s h a v e u p p e r v o ic e s w i t h m e s m e r i z i n g p a t ­
t e r n e d r h y th m s .
CHAPTER 2
C hristm as M a ss at N o tre D am e Cathedral
© M ultim edia Resources and Review Materials
on StudySpace
V isit w w n o r t o n .c o m / s t u d y s p a c e f o r r e v ie w o f C h a p t e r 2.
What Do You Know?
C h e c k t h e fa c ts f o r th is c h a p te r . T a k e t h e o n lin e
Quiz.
What Do You Hear?
Listening Quizzes
and
Music Activities
w ill h e lp y o u u n d e r s t a n d t h e m u s ic a l
w o r k s in th is c h a p te r .
^ A u th o r Videos
■
N o ta tio n fo r c h a n t a n d p o ly p h o n y
Interactive Listening Guides
LG 1
LG 2
LG 3
LG 4
LG 5
Introit, “Puer natus est” (chant)
Kyrie (chant)
Alleluia, Dies sanctificatus (chant)
Leoninus: Dies sanctificatus (2-voice organum)
Perotinus: Viderunt omnes (4-voice organum)
Flashcards (Terms to Know)
Alleluia
antiphonal
cantor
counterpoint
discant
discant style
Divine Office
Gloria
Gradual
Gregorian chant
Introit
Kyrie
liturgy
Mass
melismas
monophonic
neumatic
Notre Dame repertory
Ordinary
organum
plainchant
plainsong
polyphony
Proper
pure organum
sequences
strophic
sustained-note organum
syllabic
troubadours
trouveres
55
THURSDAY, JULY 23, 1586, HARLEYFORD MANOR, ENGLAND
William Byrd’s Mass for Four Voices and
Other Domestic Music
Q
c o r e
■ LG 6
<|!) A U T H O R V I D E O S
r e p e r t o ir e
Byrd: Agnus Dei, from Mass for
Four Voices
■ LG 7
Byrd: “This sweet and merry
month of May"
■ LG 8
Dowland: “Can she excuse my
wrongs," for Voice and Lute
■ LG 9 Dowland: "Can she excuse my
wrongs," arrangements
a) Four voices with lute
b) Lute solo
c) Harpsichord solo
d) Consort of five viols and lute
e) Mixed consort
■ Imitation in Renaissance music
■ Rhythm in Dowland’s “Can she excuse
my wrongs”
Introduction
“I am not satisfied with our Courtier unless he be also a musician, and unless,
besides understanding and being able to read music, he can play various
instruments. ”
—Baldassare Castiglione. T h e B o o k o f
th e C o u rtie r .
1528
This chapter leaps four centuries and the English Channel to present an evening of
music-making in a great English country house at the end of the Renaissance when
the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) witnessed a golden age of the arts, a
prolonged period of peace and general prosperity that allowed music, drama, and
literature to flourish as never before. The playwrights William Shakespeare and
Christopher Marlowe; the poets Edmund Spenser and Thomas Campion; and the
composers William Byrd, John Dowland, and Thomas Morley are some of the
bright stars in the Elizabethan galaxy of creative artists.
® Byrd: "This sweet and merry
month of May”
© Dowland: “Can she excuse my
wrongs” (voice and lute )
© Morley: Galliard. “Can she excuse
my wrongs"
T h e m u s ic a l f a re o n o c c a s io n s s u c h a s t h e o n e w e p r o p o s e h e r e ty p ic a lly fe a ­
t u r e d a v a r i e d m e n u o f s e c u la r a n d s a c r e d m u s ic — d a n c e s , s o lo s o n g s ,
music
consort
( t h e E n g lis h n a m e f o r e n s e m b l e m u s ic ) f o r s in g e r s a n d i n s t r u m e n t s , a n d
m u s ic f o r k e y b o a r d a n d l u t e . S o m e o f t h e m u s ic w a s f o r m a l a n d c o m p o s i tio n a l ly
c o m p le x , s o m e m o r e r e la x e d a n d d e s ig n e d p u r e l y f o r e n t e r t a i n m e n t . A l t h o u g h th e
c h u r c h c o n t i n u e d t o p la y a c e n t r a l r o le in R e n a is s a n c e m u s ic a l life , a s it h a d in th e
M id d le A g e s , s e c u l a r m u s ic ( w h ic h h a d a lw a y s e x is te d ) n o w b e c a m e a m a j o r c o m ­
p o n e n t o f t h e w r i t t e n tr a d i t i o n : p e o p le w e r e w r i t i n g d o w n m u s ic , a n d a m a t e u r
m u s ic ia n s w e r e l e a r n i n g t o r e a d m u s ic a n d t o p e r f o r m , in t h e i r h o m e s , f r o m w r i t ­
t e n m u s ic . T h i s b u r g e o n i n g t r e n d w a s lin k e d t o a n e w m a r k e t f o r p r i n t e d m u s ic .
A m a t e u r s r u b b e d s h o u l d e r s w i t h p r o f e s s io n a l m u s ic ia n s , f a m ily m e m b e r s m a d e
m u s ic t o g e t h e r . A lm o s t e v e r y o n e p a r tic ip a te d .
One such musical evening took place at Harleyford Manor in the summer of
1586. We know that William Byrd, one of the greatest composers of his day, was
present and that his aristocratic host was a music lover. There is no record of the
music that was performed, so I have taken the liberty of choosing a group of
favorite works of the time. Although some of the pieces we will hear in this chap­
ter were not published until several years after the house party in question, it was
common in the sixteenth century for music to circulate in manuscript form long
before it was printed. Byrd’s Mass for Four Voices was written somewhat later, in
the early 1590s, for private performance at a country house much like Harleyford
Manor. In any case, these pieces are among the treasures of the musical Renais­
sance, and we would not want to miss them.
The Setting
H ARLEYFO RD M A N O R
In July 1586, William Byrd attended a week-long gathering at a secluded estate in
the county of Buckinghamshire, northwest of London, belonging to a wealthy
Consort music
58
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
gentleman named Richard Bold. The composer's fellow guests
were men and women of varying backgrounds, but they had
Music in an Elizabethan
one thing in common: they all refused to attend the services of
Country House
the Protestant Church of England and to swear allegiance to
Queen Elizabeth as head o f the church. Known as recusants,
Meals at a country house like Harleyford Manor were
these beleaguered members of England's Catholic under­
often accompanied by music. As this job description
ground had traveled to Harleyford Manor (see Figure 3.1) in
from the 1580s suggests, musicians were generally
utmost secrecy to meet two itinerant Jesuit missionaries: Father
considered servants and treated accordingly. Byrd was
Henry Garnet, a musician and singer newly arrived from the
an exception; he would have sat with his host at the high
Continent, and Father Robert Southwell, a noted poet. It was
table. (For a description of the instruments mentioned,
see Elizabethan Musical Instruments, p. 72.)
dangerous business being a Catholic.
An Elizabethan manorial estate—even a middling-sized one
t great feasts, when the Earls service is going to
like Harleyford—was a self-contained community. English noble­
the table, they are to play upon Shagbutte. Cor­
men typically maintained one or more country residences in addi­
nets. Shalms and such other instruments giving
tion to a town house in London. Each was staffed by a “house­
with wind. In meal times to play upon Viols. Violins, or
hold” of a hundred or more servants and retainers. On special
other broken music. They are to teach the Earl’s children
to sing and play upon the Base Viol, the Virginals. Lute,
occasions, the lords of the manors welcomed visitors with much
Bandera or Cittern. In some houses they are allowed a
pomp and ceremony. Guests partook of elaborate feasts in the
mess o f meat in their chambers, in other houses they eat
so-called great chamber, adorned with ornate tapestries and
with the waiters.
carved plasterwork, while more intimate gatherings were held in
an adjacent withdrawing room or parlor. The periods between
meals were filled with banquets (lavish buffets of sweets and drinks), dancing, music­
making, and other festivities (see Music in an Elizabethan Country House, left). Once
or twice a day, the lord’s family, his household, and guests interrupted their revelries
for quiet prayers in the private chapel or a corner of the great chamber.
Father Garnet’s description of his stay at Harleyford gives some sense of the
possibilities of a great house:
A
FIG. 3.1 A typical Elizabethan manor
house (Harvington Hall). The original
Harleyford manor, the site of this
chapter’s musical events, no longer
exists.
O n reaching this g en tlem a n ’s house, w e w ere received, as 1 said before, w ith every
atten tio n th a t kindness an d co u rtesy could suggest. W e m et also som e g en tlew o m en
w h o h ad com e th ere to hide; and alto g eth er we w ere eight days at the house. We
w ere very happy, an d o u r friends m ade it ap p aren t h o w pleased they w ere to have
us. Indeed, th e place w as m o st su ited to o u r w o rk and m inistrations, n o t m erely
for th e reason th a t it w as rem o te an d had a
congenial ho u seh o ld an d com pany, b u t also
because it possessed a chapel, set aside for the
celebration o f the C h u rc h ’s offices. T he g e n ­
tlem an w as also a skilled m usician, and had
an o rgan an d o th e r m usical instru m en ts, and
choristers, m ale an d fem ale, m em b ers o f his
hou seh o ld . D u rin g those days it w as ju s t as if
w e w ere celebrating an u n in te rru p te d octave
[a liturgical te rm m eaning a w eek o f celebra­
tion] o f som e g re a t feast.
Bold was a staunch Catholic who lived under
constant threat of persecution, or even death,
as England’s sectarian conflict intensified in
the late 1500s (see The English Reformation,
p. 59). Bold prudently distanced himself from
Elizabeth’s court in London and maintained a
low profile at Harleyford on the outskirts of
CHAPTER 3
W illiam Byrd's M a ss for Four V o ices and O th e r D o m e stic M u sic
59
G r e a t M a rlo w , a s le e p y m a r k e t t o w n b e s id e t h e R iv e r T h a m e s . ( H is r e s p o n s ib ilitie s
i n c lu d e d c u s t o d y o f t h e r o y a l s w a n s , u n d e r a s p e c ia l g r a n t f r o m t h e q u e e n .) T h e r e
h is f a m ily a n d s e r v a n t s — i n c l u d i n g a s iz a b le c o m p l e m e n t o f m u s ic ia n s — c o n t i n u e d
t o p r a c t i c e t h e i r f a ith d is c re e tly . B y rd , a fe llo w C a t h o lic , h a d b r o u g h t h is o w n f a m ­
ily t o live in n e a r b y H a r l i n g t o n , a t le a s t in p a r t t o k e e p t h e m o u t o f h a r m ’s w ay.
A c c o r d i n g t o a n o t h e r o f B o ld ’s g u e s ts ,
M r Byrd, th e very fam ous m usician an d organist, w as am o n g th e com pany. Earlier
he h ad been attach ed to th e Q u e e n ’s chapel, w here he gained a g re a t rep u tatio n : he
had sacrificed everything for the faith— his position, th e co u rt, and all those aspira­
tions co m m o n to m e n w h o seek p referm en t in royal circles as a
m eans o f im proving th e ir fortunes.
The English Reformation
Byrd did indeed pay a price for his recusancy: fines were
repeatedly levied against him (though they never seemed to
amount to much), and his house was ransacked by the authori­
ties in August 1586, shortly after the meeting at Harleyford.
Thanks to his carefully cultivated relationship with the queen,
however, his career barely skipped a beat. In 1575, Elizabeth
had granted Byrd and his teacher, Thomas Tallis, a monopoly
on the printing of music. They shrewdly dedicated their first
publication, an anthology of Latin m otets (choral pieces on
sacred Latin texts), to their royal benefactor. Byrd went on
to write another sacred piece ("Rejoice unto the Lord”) to
mark the twentieth anniversary of Elizabeth’s ascendancy to
the throne. As further pledges of his allegiance, he composed
music to an English text that the queen had written in grati­
tude for the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, as well as
a madrigal (see p. 68) in her honor, “This sweet and merry
month of May.”
M U SIC IN ELIZABETHAN EN G L A N D
he Church of England, also known as the Anglican
Church, is one of the great Protestant churches
that split off from the Roman Catholic Church in
the early sixteenth century. In 1517 Martin Luther nailed
his famous 95 theses (arguments) to a church door in
Wittenberg: his protest of what he considered abuses in
the Catholic Church led to the establishment of today’s
Lutheran Church. In 1534. England’s King Henry VIII— the
father of Elizabeth I— also broke with the Roman church:
in defiance of the pope and many of his advisors, he de­
clared himself supreme head of the Church in England.
In his desire for a male heir. Henry asked the pope to
annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (the first of six
wives) and allow him to wed Anne Boleyn (who would
become Elizabeth’s mother). When the pope refused.
Henry denied the authority o f Rome and set about
systematically dismantling the wealth and power of the
English clergy.
After Henry's death in 1547. the crown passed first to
Edward, a sickly child who reigned only six years, and then
to Elizabeth’s half-sister Mary Tudor (daughter of Cath­
erine): she lost no time in reversing her father’s Reforma­
tion with a vengeance (she is known to history as “Bloody
Mary.") By the time Elizabeth assumed the throne in
1558. at age twenty-five, sectarian conflict threatened to
engulf the country. She pursued a middle course, steering
England back into the Protestant fold while taking pains
to appease her Catholic subjects.
T
Byrd and his fellow composers had ample reasons to ingrati­
ate themselves with “Good Queen Bess.” In addition to being
a munificent patron of the arts, she was a gifted singer, lutenist (see Figure 3.2), and keyboard player. In their anthology of
motets (1575), Byrd and Tallis praised her as an “outstandingly
skilled” musician, “whether by the elegance of [her] voice or
the nimbleness of [her] fingers.” Elizabeth maintained an instrumental ensemble
at St. James’s Palace to entertain her at mealtimes, and an organist and a choir of
men and boys to celebrate services in her private Chapel Royal. It is said that the
queen's love of music was no less keen on her deathbed, when she summoned her
court musicians to give a command performance so that “she might die as gaily as
she had lived, and that the horrors of death might be lessened; she heard the music
tranquilly until her last breath.”
For the queen and most of her noble subjects, music was far more than a gen­
teel pastime; it was an essential accoutrement of every cultivated person (see Fig­
ure 3.3). They took their cue from Baldassare Castiglione, whose classic book on
courtly etiquette was published in Italy in 1528 and quickly became required read­
ing throughout Europe. Castiglione has one of his model courtiers declare:
60
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
My lords, you m u st kn o w th at 1 am n o t c o n te n t w ith the C o u rtie r unless he be also a
m usician and unless, besides u n d erstan d in g an d b eing able to read notes, he can play
u p o n divers in stru m en ts. For if we consider rightly, th e re is to be fo u n d no rest from
toil o r m edicine for th e tro u b led spirit m ore b eco m ing an d p raisew orthy in tim e o f
leisure, th a n this; an d especially in courts, w here besides the relief from ted iu m that
m usic affords us all, m any things are d o n e to please the ladies, w hose te n d e r and
gentle spirit is easily p e n e tra te d by h a rm o n y and filled w ith sw eetness.
Music was an integral part of official ceremonies, banquets, tournaments, and
courtly entertainments, such as the one held in Queen Elizabeth’s honor at Sudeley Castle in 1592, at which John Dowland—one of England’s greatest Renaissance
composers and performers—dazzled the monarch with his virtuosity on the lute.
If aristocratic patrons were the paymasters of this lively musical culture, its
foot soldiers were the legions of amateur musicians from all walks of life. In the
preface to his Psalmes, Sonets, and Songs of Sadnes and Pietie (1588), Byrd listed the
advantages of learning to sing, regardless of one’s wealth or social station (see
Why Learn to Sing?, p. 61). This not only reflected the Renaissance ideal, expressed
by Castiglione, that music is an indispensable social skill, but also may have helped
to sell Byrd’s own book.
W IL LIA M BYRD
FIG. 3.2 A miniature, by Nicholas
Hilliard, of Queen Elizabeth playing
the lute.
FIG. 3.3 A ball at court. The couples
in the foreground are dancing a
pavan. to the accompaniment of
musicians (lute. viol, and other
instruments). Louis de Caullery
(71580-1621).
Byrd was arguably the greatest of the many celebrated composers in Elizabethan
England; certainly he was the most influential. Not only did he compose in vir­
tually all the major forms and genres of the day—sacred music, secular song,
instrumental music for consort and for keyboard—he also left a deep impression
on a generation of younger composers, notably his pupils Thomas Morley and
Thomas Weelkes. Byrd’s work, like that of his contemporary William Shake­
speare, is imbued with the confident, innovative, all-embracing spirit of the Eliza­
bethan age (see biography, p. 62).
Byrd was a tough-minded man of business who successfully parlayed his exten­
sive social connections into political and financial security. The dedicatees whose
CHAPTER 3
W illiam Byrd’s M a ss for Four V o ices and O th e r D o m e stic M u sic
names grace his works arc among the greatest of England’s
Catholic nobility. Prominent among them were the Earl of
Worcester, who placed a special room in his London house
at the composer’s disposal, and Sir John Pctre, whose largesse
eased Byrd’s later years.
Byrd’s most powerful protector, of course, was Queen Eliza­
beth herself. Despite his stubborn refusal to acknowledge her
spiritual authority, she permitted the composer to keep his titles
(and salary) in the Chapel Royal, without having to perform
the duties of the office. When Byrd’s publishing monopoly
generated a lower-than-expected profit, the queen compen­
sated him with a lucrative lease on a manor in Gloucestershire.
(Byrd owned many properties at various times in his life and
was continually embroiled in real-estate litigation.) Elizabeth
turned a blind eye to his association with Jesuits and saw to
it that his fines for recusancy were knocked down. Byrd was
evidently a jewel in the monarch’s crown, even though people
were arrested for owning his books and it was dangerous to be
involved in singing one of his Masses. We know that two of the
itinerant Jesuit missionaries at the weeklong gathering, Father
Southwell and Father Garnet, were ultimately hanged (Father
Garnet was also drawn and quartered).
The Performance
61
Why Learn to Sing?
easons briefly set down by th’author, to perswade
every one to learne to sing.
( First, it is a knowledge easely taught and quickly
learned, where there is a good Master, and an apt Scholler.
2 The exercise of singing is delightfull to Nature. &
good to preserue the health of Man.
3 It doth strengthen all parts of the brest, & doth open
the pipes.
4 It is a singuler good remedie for a stutting and stamering in the speech.
5 It is the best means to procure a perfect pronounciation. & to make a good Orator.
6 It is the onely way to know where Nature hath
bestowed the benefit of a good voyce : which guift is so
rare, as there is not one among a thousand, that hath it:
and in many, that excellent guift is lost because they want
Art to expresse Nature.
7 There is not any Musicke of Instruments whatsoeuer,
comparable to that which is made of the voyces of Men.
where the voyces are good, and the same well sorted and
ordered.
8 The better the voyce is. the meeter it is to hon­
our and serue God there with: and the voyce of man is
chiefely to be imployed to that ende.
Omnis Spiritus Laudet Dominum
[Let every spirit praise the Lord]
Since singing is so good a thing
I wish all men would learne to sing.
D
Richard Bold’s guests might well have entertained themselves
with all sorts of music, but what they cared about most passion­
ately was their faith. Our proposed program begins, therefore,
with a piece of sacred music for four voices that was perfectly suitable for music­
making in a Catholic house. (Byrd's Mass seems to be intended for use as part of
the liturgy, but nothing prevents its use elsewhere.) Next comes a sampler of Eliza­
bethan secular music: a madrigal (a secular song for several voices) by Byrd fol­
lowed by one of Dowland’s most memorable songs, a piece so famous that it soon
appeared in many different settings and arrangements. Although the song begins
“Can she excuse my wrongs,” many of the instrumental versions of it are called
the “Earl of Essex Galliard,” perhaps because the Earl of Essex was the author of
the anonymous text of the song. The program might have gone like this:
1. Agnus Dei, from Byrd's Mass for Four Voices
2. Byrd’s “This sweet and merry month of May”
3. Dowland’s "Can she excuse my wrongs,” for voice and lute
4. Five further versions of “Can she excuse my wrongs”:
a. Version for four voices and lute
b. The Earl of Essex Galliard, lute version
c. The Earl of Essex Galliard, keyboard version
d. The Earl of Essex Galliard, viol consort version, from Dowland’s Lachrimae or Seaven Teares
e. The Earl of Essex Galliard, from Thomas Morley’s First Booke of Consort
Lessons
The program
62
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
wiLLiam BYrD (ca. 1540-1623)
W illiam Byrd's early life is obscure,
sacred m usic: th ree Masses— o n e each for th ree, four, an d five
b u t he seem s to have b een m usically
voices— and tw o b o o k s o f
active from an early age; as a te e n ­
th e liturgical texts o f th e P ro p er o f the Latin Mass. U pon his
ag er he sang in th e C hapel Royal
death o n July 4, 1623, h e w as m em orialized in the records o f
(th e m o n a rc h ’s official ch u rch choir)
th e C hapel Royal as “a F ather o f M usick.”
Gradualia, collections o f settings o f
u n d e r th e C atholic M ary T udor. In
Byrd w ro te vocal m usic o f all kinds: secular m adrigals and
1558, M ary died and h e r half-sister
co n so rt songs (accom panied by a group, o r consort, o f stringed
Elizabeth assum ed th e th ro n e. T h u s
in stru m en ts); sacred an th em s in English, and sacred m o tets in
Byrd
C atholic
Latin. P erhaps Byrd’s greatest, and m o st m ovingly personal,
church m usic (sung in Latin) and P ro testan t m usic (in Latin and
religious w orks are th e tw o collections o f Cantiones sacrae
English) as it w as revived u n d e r Q u e e n Elizabeth. D espite his
(Sacred Songs), published in 1589 an d 1591. Even w ith th e ir rich
service to the P ro testan t co u rt, he staunchly rem ain ed faithful
polyphonic textures, these songs trea t the th e m es o f la m en ta­
to his C atholic roots.
tion, oppression, and en tre aty w ith a pow erful directness.
experienced
b o th
In 1563 Byrd w as ap p o in ted organist an d m aster o f the
A prolific keyboard com poser, Byrd is associated w ith m usic
choristers at Lincoln C athedral. By 1572, n o w m arried and the
for th e virginal (a sm all h arpsichord), w hich h e elevated to a
fath e r o f tw o children (he eventually h ad five), he w as back
n ew level o f sophistication. In 1591 he m ade a com pilation o f
in L ondon as a G en tlem an o f th e C hapel Royal, a very high-
his b est keyboard m usic for the Nevell family. My Ladye Nevells
ranking and w ell-paying position. H e sang in th e ch o ir and
Booke w as an en o rm o u sly im p o rta n t an d influential collection
shared th e organ-playing w ith th e ag in g T h o m as Tallis. Byrd
o f p o p u lar dances, elab o rate variations, free-form fantasies,
w as w ell connected, especially w ith influential fellow C atholics,
and su n d ry o th e r pieces. As this w ide-ranging an th o lo g y d em ­
and for m ore th a n tw en ty years h e m ain tain ed his h ead q u arters
on strates, Byrd w as ju s t as at h o m e in the older c o n tra p u n tal
as co m p o ser and publisher in th e capital city. A n u m b e r o f his
style as he w as in m o re up-to-date idiom s.
w orks w ere covert p ro tests against th e p ersecu tio n o f C ath o ­
lics, a fate th a t Byrd h im self m an ag ed to avoid, probably by
g race o f the q u e e n ’s p ro tectio n .
Eventually, however, the rising anti-Catholic sentim ent
© Byrd: “Ye sacred muses”
© Byrd: “The Galliarde for the Victorie." from My Lady Neville’s
Virginal Book
© Byrd: “Civitas sancti tui." from Cantiones sacrae. Book I
prompted him to seek refuge in Stondon Massey, Essex, where
he passed his last three decades in seclusion and continued to
M AJO R W ORKS: O ver 180 m otets; dozens o f psalm s and
practice his faith in secret. Along with keyboard music and
an th em s; 4 Services; 3 Masses; secular songs; and w orks for
songs, he published som e overtly Catholic, and very beautiful,
keyboard and for viol consort.
The Music
R E N A ISSA N C E P O LY P H O N Y
Polyphony
Imitative polyphony
There were many kinds of music in the Renaissance—vocal and instrumental,
sacred and secular, public and domestic. Then as now, a piece of music was catego­
rized according to its function and its stylistic attributes. One of the main contribu­
tions to music of this period, and one that has affected and informed music ever
since, is the style of imitative polyphony (see below). And one of its most beautiful
examples is the Agnus Dei from Byrd’s Mass for Four Voices.
Polyphony, as we learned in Chapter 2, is music in which more than one note is
sounded simultaneously. The term usually refers to two or more continuous melo­
dies moving more or less independently, rather than to, say, a texture characterized
by a single prominent melody with accompaniment.
In imitative polyphony each of the melodies in the polyphonic texture is of
CHAPTER 3
W illiam Byrd's M a ss for Four V o ices and O th e r D o m e stic M u sic
63
m o r e o r le s s e q u a l i m p o r t a n c e ; t h a t is, n o o n e v o ic e is “t h e m e lo d y ,” w h ile t h e o t h ­
e r s a r e “ t h e a c c o m p a n i m e n t .” (W e u s e t h e t e r m
voices
f o r t h e in d iv id u a l m e lo d ie s
Voices
e v e n w h e n t h e p o l y p h o n y is f o r c h o i r s o r i n s t r u m e n t s .) N o t e t h a t e q u a l i m p o r t a n c e
d o e s n o t m e a n t h a t a ll t h e v o ic e s h a v e th e s a m e r a n g e — f o u r s o p r a n o s , f o r e x a m ­
p le . R a th e r , it m e a n s t h a t a ll t h e v o ic e s , f r o m h i g h t o lo w , a r c e q u a lly p r o m i n e n t
in t h e o v e r a ll p o ly p h o n ic t e x t u r e a n d m o v e in d e p e n d e n t l y o f o n e a n o t h e r . N o t all
m u ltiv o i c e d m u s ic w r i t t e n in t h e R e n a is s a n c e is p o ly p h o n i c in t h e s e n s e o f h a v ­
in g v o ic e s o f e q u a l i m p o r t a n c e ; m a n y s i x t e e n t h - c e n t u r y m a d r ig a ls , f o r e x a m p le ,
c le a rly d if f e r e n tia te b e t w e e n t h e m e l o d i c lin e a n d t h e a c c o m p a n i m e n t , a l t h o u g h
t h e m e l o d y ty p ic a lly s k ip s f r o m o n e v o ic e t o a n o t h e r .
In im ita tiv e p o ly p h o n y , o n e v o ic e c o p ie s w h a t a n o t h e r v o ic e h a s j u s t d o n e , as
in t h e f a m ilia r r o u n d “ R o w , ro w , r o w y o u r b o a t . ” T h e b a s ic id e a c o u l d b e p i c t u r e d
a s fo llo w s ;
M .......................................
M ..............................
M .......... ............
M ----------O n e v o ic e s in g s s o m e t h i n g , a t u n e f u l p h r a s e o f a fe w n o t e s , r e p r e s e n t e d h e r e b y
Soprano, alto, tenor, and bass
M ------- . A s it c o n t i n u e s , a s e c o n d v o ic e b e g i n s t o s in g t h e s a m e p h r a s e , b u t u s u a lly
in a d if f e r e n t r e g i s t e r (a
by an
alto—t h e
soprano —
t h e h i g h e r r a n g e o f f e m a le v o ic e s — f o llo w e d
lo w e r f e m a le r a n g e , f o r e x a m p le ) , w h ile t h e f ir s t v o ic e c o n t i n u e s
s i n g in g o t h e r , h a r m o n i o u s m u s ic , h e r e r e p r e s e n t e d b y d o t t e d lin e s . A t h i r d v o ic e
(a
tenor,
s a y — a h ig h m a le v o ic e ) e n t e r s a f t e r t h e a lto , w h ile a lto a n d s o p r a n o c o n ­
bass, p e r h a p s )
motive. T h a t w h o le
t i n u e t o s in g , u s in g o t h e r m a te r ia l; a n d p e r h a p s a f o u r t h v o ic e (a
e n t e r s s in g in g t h e s a m e c h a r a c te r is tic p h r a s e — l e t ’s c a ll it a
Motive
p r o c e s s , in w h ic h e a c h v o ic e e n t e r s u s i n g t h e s a m e m o tiv e ( t h a t is, e a c h v o ic e im i­
ta t e s t h e firs t) c r e a te s a
point o f imitation.
W h a t h a p p e n s n e x t? W e ll, t h e v o ic e s c o u l d s to p , b y m a k i n g a
cadence
( a n e ffe c ­
© Byrd: Kyrie. from Mass for Four
Voices
tiv e m u s ic a l c lo s e ), a n d t h a t w o u l d b e t h e e n d o f t h e p ie c e (s e e C h a p t e r 1). O r
t h e y c o u l d b e g i n t h e s a m e p r o c e s s a g a in w i t h a n o t h e r p o i n t o f i m i t a t i o n , u s in g
t h e s a m e m o tiv e o r a d if f e r e n t o n e . I n d e e d , th is is h o w a l o t o f R e n a is s a n c e m u s ic
is m a d e — u s i n g a s e r ie s o f p o i n t s o f i m i t a t i o n . V o c a l p ie c e s in p a r t i c u l a r a r e o f t e n
g u i d e d b y t h e i r te x ts , e a c h s u c c e s s iv e p h r a s e o f t e x t a s s o c ia te d w i t h a d if f e r e n t
m o tiv e .
H e r e is a d i a g r a m o f a l o n g e r c o n s t r u c t i o n , m a d e o f t h r e e p o i n t s o f i m i t a t i o n .
T h i s is t h e m i d d l e s e c tio n o f t h e A g n u s D e i o f B y r d ’s M a s s f o r F o u r V o ic e s , in
w h ic h t h r e e o f t h e v o ic e s s in g ; e a c h s e g m e n t o f t e x t h a s its o w n m o tiv e , a s fo llo w s :
Agnus Dei, ( m o tiv e A )
qui tollis peccata mundi, ( m o tiv e B)
miserere nobis ( m o tiv e C )
© Byrd: Agnus Dei. from Mass for
Four Voices, middle section
P o in t s o f i m i t a t i o n
S o p ran o :
T e n o r:
B ass:
A ---------
B-------------------
A ---------------B--------------------
C -------------
B-------------------C -
A ---------------B---------------A g n u s D e i, q u i to llis p e c c a ta m u n d i ,
C -----------G
m i s e r e r e n o b is
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M ed ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
Imitation in Renaissance music
T h is s e c t i o n b e g i n s w i t h t h r e e v o ic e s e n t e r i n g o n e a f t e r a n o t h e r u s i n g m o tiv e
A ; b u t n o t e t h a t th e y d o n o t c o m e t o a c a d e n c e . J u s t a s t h e s o p r a n o v o ic e is f in is h ­
in g m o tiv e A , t h e te n o r , a f t e r a b r i e f r e s t ( t h e m u s ic a l t e r m f o r a s ile n c e ), b e g in s
a n o t h e r m o tiv e (it is c o m m o n t o g iv e e a c h v o ic e a n o c c a s io n a l p a u s e , e s p e c ia lly
j u s t b e f o r e it is a b o u t t o s in g a n i m p o r t a n t m o tiv e — t h e r e s t c a lls a t t e n t i o n t o th e
v o ic e w h e n it r e e n t e r s ) . T h e o t h e r v o ic e s , in a d if f e r e n t o r d e r th is t i m e , e a c h e n t e r
w i t h t h e n e w m o tiv e
B; t h e n
t h e b a s s b e g i n s a n e w m o tiv e ( C ), w h ic h is i m i t a t e d in
t h e o t h e r v o ic e s , in a n o t h e r o r d e r still, u n til all v o ic e s h a v e e n t e r e d , a n d t h e th r e e
m ake a cadence.
T h e r e a r e p r o b l e m s w i t h th is s c h e m e , h o w e v e r : is n ’t it lik e ly t o g e t b o r i n g , o n e
p o i n t o f i m i t a t i o n a f t e r a n o t h e r ? H o w d o e s a c o m p o s e r p r o v id e v a rie ty ? T h e r e a re ,
a s y o u m i g h t s u p p o s e , a n u m b e r o f w a y s t o k e e p th in g s in te r e s t in g . T h e y in c lu d e :
■
Varying the number of voices.
F o r e x a m p l e , o n e s e c t i o n o f t h e p ie c e m i g h t b e
c o m p o s e d f o r t w o o r t h r e e v o ic e s , i n s t e a d o f t h e fu ll c o m p l e m e n t .
■
Varying the texture.
O c c a s io n a lly , a c o m p o s e r w ill i n s e r t a s e c t i o n in h o m o ­
p h o n y , w h e r e all t h e v o ic e s s in g t h e s a m e w o r d s a t t h e s a m e t i m e a n d in m o r e
o r le s s t h e s a m e r h y t h m .
■
Varying the imitation.
T h e r e a r e s e v e ra l w a y s o f m a n a g i n g th is , d e p e n d i n g
o n w h e t h e r t h e m o t i v e is f a s t o r slo w , a n g u l a r o r s m o o t h , l o n g o r s h o r t . It is
s o m e t i m e s p o s s ib le t o o v e r la p t h e m o tiv e w i t h its e lf, s o t h a t t h e s e c o n d v o ic e
e n t e r s b e f o r e t h e f ir s t v o ic e h a s fin is h e d t h e m o tiv e , a n d s o o n w i t h o t h e r
v o ic e s ( a g o o d e x a m p le o f th is is t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e A g n u s D e i). A m o n g
t h e s p e c ia l ty p e s o f i m i t a t i o n is p a i r e d i m i t a t i o n , in w h ic h t w o m o tiv e s a re
c o m b in e d :
A .......... ................
B...........................
A ----------B----------T h e r e a r e o t h e r w a y s , to o , o f c r e a t i n g t e x t u r e s a n d s ty le s o f c o m p o s i t i o n . O n e
Cantus firmus technique
is c a lle d c a n t u s f i r m u s t e c h n i q u e , in w h i c h o n e v o ic e s in g s a p r e e x i s t e n t m e lo d y
(a p ie c e o f G r e g o r i a n c h a n t f o r t h e c h u r c h , o r s o m e o t h e r p r e v io u s ly c o m p o s e d
m e lo d y ) w h ile t h e o t h e r v o ic e s w e a v e a w e b o f p o l y p h o n y a r o u n d it. T h i s is n o
e a s y t h i n g t o d o , b u t it is a m e a n s o f e n s u r i n g a k i n d o f u n i t y in a m u l t i s e c t i o n
c o m p o s i t i o n lik e a M a s s ( w h ic h n o r m a l l y h a s fiv e d if f e r e n t s e c tio n s ) , i f e a c h s e c ­
t i o n u s e s t h e s a m e c a n t u s f ir m u s .
It is a ls o p o s s ib le , o f c o u r s e , t o m a k e p o ly p h o n y t h a t is n o t im ita tiv e a t all.
V o ic e s c a n b e in d e p e n d e n t l y b e a u t i f u l , b u t w i t h o u t s in g in g o n e a n o t h e r ’s m u s ic .
D o w l a n d ’s s o n g is a b it lik e t h a t , in its f o u r - v o ic e v e r s io n : t h e v o ic e s a r e i n d e p e n ­
d e n t , b u t d o n o t i m i t a t e e a c h o th e r .
W h a t R e n a is s a n c e p o ly p h o n y is r e a lly a b o u t is te x tu r e : t h e m i r a c u l o u s f a c t t h a t
s e v e ra l v o ic e s c a n b e s i n g in g ( o r p la y in g ) a t t h e s a m e tim e , e a c h v o ic e a s a tis fy in g ly lo v e ly m e l o d y in its e lf, a n d t o g e t h e r p r o d u c e m a r v e l o u s h a r m o n i e s . A n o t h e r
Counterpoint
n a m e f o r th is k i n d o f m u s ic is c o u n t e r p o i n t ; w e h a v e a lr e a d y e n c o u n t e r e d a n
early , a n d s o m e w h a t m o r e a u s t e r e , f o r m o f it in t h e m u s ic o f L e o n in u s a n d P e r o t i ­
n u s . T h e c o n t r a p u n t a l te c h n i q u e s t h a t B y rd a n d h is c o n t e m p o r a r i e s d e v e lo p e d t o
s u c h a h i g h d e g r e e h a v e in s p ir e d a d m i r a t i o n f o r c e n tu r ie s . In fa c t, c o m p o s e r s still
c o n s id e r c o u n t e r p o i n t a n e s s e n tia l s k ill a n d s t u d y it in c o n s e r v a t o r i e s a s p a r t o f
t h e i r b a s ic tr a in in g .
CHAPTER 3
W illiam Byrd’s M a ss for Four V o ices and O th e r D o m e stic M u sic
The polyphonic tradition was second nature to the company assembled under
Richard Bold’s roof. Polyphony was the mother tongue of their musical culture
and as such needed no explanation. They knew what to listen for in a piece of vocal
polyphony, and when they heard Byrd’s Mass, we can be sure they recognized it as
a masterpiece of its kind.
Listening to the Music
BYRD: A G N U S DEI, FR O M THE M A S S FOR FO UR VO ICES
The Mass for Four Voices is one of three Masses that Byrd published late in his life
(the others call for three and five voices, respectively). Although it was intended to
be sung at private worship services attended by a small number of Catholic recu­
sants, both the musical structure and the liturgical texts were the same as those
used in the grand public Christmas Mass celebrated at Notre Dame in 1198. The
five sections—Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei—are present in every
Mass, and are the same texts found in thousands of polyphonic Masses by Byrd,
Palestrina, Lassus, and other Renaissance composers. They are also used in Masses
written by composers we will encounter later in this book, such as Bach, Mozart,
Beethoven, Dvorak, and Bernstein.
The Latin words of the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) are always the same as well.
Three times the choir invokes Christ by that name; on the third repetition, the final
phrase, “have mercy on us,” is changed to “give us peace.”
0LG6
The words
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, give us peace.
Byrd sets the words to music in a way that builds on the structure of the text:
each phrase of the text is sung to a new motive, producing a series of points of
imitation that becomes steadily denser in texture. Each motive is designed to be
melodious and readily identifiable (so that we can easily hear the imitation), and
also to fit well with the shape and accentuation of the words. As is generally true
of such motives in imitative polyphony, the motives are most characteristic at their
beginnings, and trail off into other material as our attention is drawn away from
one voice to the entrance of the motive in another voice.
Each new motive is marked in the text below:
A----------- B---------------------------- C----------Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
D----------- E---------------------------- F----------Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
G----------- H----------------------------I-----------------Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.
The motives
65
66
PART
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
Cation
The structure
The opening “Agnus Dei” is sung by the altos and sopranos, the altos always
leading, so that it sounds almost like a relaxed canon (a continuous imitation, one
voice always following along after the other).
The three lines of text are set for an increasing number of voices; the first is
given to soprano and alto; the second to soprano, tenor, and bass; and the final one
to soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. The entry of the additional voices at the ends of
the first two sections provides a couple of magical moments for this piece.
The general layout of the motives in the various voices is summarized in the
diagram below. Capital letters stand for musical motives (all the As sound alike,
etc.), with the words shown below. You can see that there arc nine points of imi­
tation (A through I), and that even though the words repeat (“Agnus Dei,” for
example, comes three times), the music does not—the “Agnus Dei” in each line of
text has its own motive.
The diagram, of course, gives no idea of the beauty of Byrd’s music, but it does
show the structure and the increasing density of the piece.
S:
A:
A--------A-----------
B--------------------
C------------
B------------------------- C----------------
T:
B:
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
S:
D----
E................
F...............
F...............
A:
T:
B:
D---------
E..... ..............
D------
E---------
E...........................
F...... ............. F----F................F............
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
S:
G ...............
A:
G ........ ..............
T:
G -----
B:
G ...... .........
Agnus Dei,
H...... ............
H— .......
H...... ......... H—.............
H..................
H------H------ H
H...... ........................... H— ....................
qui tollis peccata mundi,
S: [I]— ......... 1— ................. I— ....... I— ....................
A:
T:
I.................1--------I------- I........ ....... I----- I-------1...... ......... I................
B:.......................................
I-------
I.............
I..... ..........................................
[do]na nobis pacem.
Suspensions
In the final “dona nobis pacem,” the entrances come closer and closer together.
As you listen, note how Byrd uses wrenching suspensions—sharply dissonant
notes that clash with the prevailing harmonies—on strong beats to give the prayer
an extra measure of passion and poignancy.
Perhaps this long, tension-filled, and beautiful plea was intended as a secret
message to Byrd’s fellow Catholics, who, like him, were awaiting an end to strife.
Only at the end of the Agnus Dei does a brief ray of sunlight illuminate the final
cadence (see LG 6, p. 67).
CHAPTER 3
LISTENING GUIDE 6
©
W illiam Byrd's M a ss for Four V o ices and O th e r D o m e stic M u sic
67
|D V D |
3:45
Byrd Agnus Dei, from Mass for Four Voices
DATE; About 1592-93
GENRE: “Agnus D ei” section from a Mass
LISTEN FOR
FORM: Increasing lengths o f section
SCORING: Increasing number o f voices
TEXTURE: Points o f imitation
EXPRESSION: Passionate suspensions at final “dona nobis pacem ”
TIME
TEXT
MOTIVE
DESCRIPTION
0:00
Agnus Dei
Motive (A):
Alto begins; soprano enters while the alto is still
singing the first note: imitation is d o selv over-
|J M
■
r
.V— T:■r
ZJJ
Ag
nus Dc
— 2 ------“ ----'•
lapped. 1 he motive, w ith its highest and longest
note at the beginning, has effect o f a cry.
Ag
0:10
qui tollis peccata
mundi
-
nus
Mew m otive (B):
i— [ _ ------qui
0:21
miserere nobis
tol
,
J
»
N ew m otive
(D):
T
A gnus Dei
J
Y
q u i tollis peccata
m undi
Ag
m iserere nobis
j
—j
|
lis
pcc
ca-
Alto followed by soprano. N ote repetition o f
words "miserere,” alto singing three times, each
higher and more intense, com ing to a cadence.
f=
-1—
-
re
----(5*——ft______
----- 1—
^
-
nus
T en o r voice is added! T h e new m otive (n o t the
sam e as first “A gnus D ei”) em phasizes “D ei.”
T h e te n o r is follow ed by bass (also new!), then
soprano. A lto rests th ro u g h o u t m iddle section.
i.
Dc
(D)
N ew m otive (E):
$J 1 -----T
f J f “I
qui
1:08
=
mi - sc - rc
-j)—
f a ‘
0:50
n
Alto followed by soprano. N ote soprano leap to
“tollis.” Imitation is not exact.
N ew m otive (C):
-JPi>
0:41
u
L
-
Dc"
tol
lis pcc - ca
W hile so p ran o is still singing
m otive, te n o r
begins new m otive (E), w hich is quicker and
strives upw ard u rg en tly T h ere are four entrances
because te n o r sings the m otive tw ice.
=M
-
ta
N ew m otive (F):
JM
.0$
V
mi
4 ■IlZi
-
eJ
sc
rc
rc
J !> ' i
=1 ~
no
-
l
Bass begins— this m otive is slow er, an d begins
w ith stepw ise dow nw ard m otion. Each voice
sings the m otive tw ice: bass-soprano-tenor,
bass-soprano-tenor, the last tw o accom panied by
u n u su al repetition o f the sam e figure in bass.
—h r-!-----
-
-
J
J J
w
bis.
Byrd is p o in tin g us to w ard a stro n g cadence. To
th e th ree voices, a final voice is added (alto) to fill
o u t th e ch o rd and to s ta rt the next m otive.
(continued)
68
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
TIME
TEXT
MOTIVE
DESCRIPTION
1:37
A gnus D ei
N ew m otive (G):
M otive’s upw ard leap an d dow nw ard scale give
j? ,i, o .
. i
% ----------------f M
Ag
1:55
2:25
qui tollis peccata
m undi
d o n a nobis pacem
nus
N ew m otive (H):
y
1
-
f
qui
J
tol
= 3 = I= F
-
lis pcc - ca
N ew m otive (I):
k \?
Y
2:47
-
i . r-i t »
= t z E p jz z h f _
Dc
i.
(dona nobis pacem
continues)
p'
"
p
-
bis
ta
Bass beg in s (H), follow ed by alto and ten o r
sim ultaneously; th e n soprano; alto. W h at
appears to be a cadence, leads to fu rth e r set o f
entrances: bass, soprano, tenor, alto, tenor. T he
sections are g ettin g longer.
T h e n ew m otive is full o f suspensions (notes
th a t begin h a rm o n io u s and tu rn dissonant w hen
r-~ T r- rr lE ^ E
do - na no
-
an im pression of u rg e n t yearning. A lto begins;
so p ran o an d bass en te r sim ultaneously; the fol­
low ing tenor, alto, bass en tran ces closely overlap.
C lear cadence w ith th ree voices.
pa
o th e r voices m ove). T his is alm o st always the
case w ith th e notes for do-na no-bis. T he effect,
o f piling dissonance o n dissonance to an alm ost
excruciating degree, is at odds w ith the peace
th a t th e text asks for. Bass provides a stro n g h a r­
m o n ic u n d erp in n in g in lo n g notes.
Bass n o w joins in singing th e m otive, w hile the
so p ran o sings lo n g notes. Bass re tu rn s to longn o te role, so p ran o h o lding high notes w hile
in n e r voices co n tin u e the m otive. T h ere is a sur­
prising— an d finally peaceful— tu rn to a bright
m ajor-chord h a rm o n y for the final cadence.
LG 7
Madrigal
Word painting
BYRD : “T H IS S W E E T A N D M E R R Y M O N T H O F M A Y ”
The jovial, outgoing mood of Byrd’s madrigal “This sweet and merry month of
May” contrasts sharply with the intensity of the Agnus Dei. A madrigal is a poly­
phonic setting of a secular poem in a modern language—in this case, English.
(Both the name and the musical genre were imported to England from Italy.) Many
madrigal composers made a point of putting as many amusing details into their
compositions as possible. They often chose poems describing birdsongs, rushing
waves, chirping crickets, and so on, which gave them an opportunity to display
their talent for word painting—that is, imitating the sounds described by the text.
The poem is a lighthearted salute to Queen Elizabeth (or Eliza, as she is some­
what familiarly called here). On this first day of May, the poet (Thomas Watson)
and composer greet the beauteous “Queen of second Troy”—the implication is
that Elizabeth is as beautiful as Helen of Troy. It was also believed that the English
crown descended from the Trojans, and since the Trojans founded Rome, England
was a New Rome (it was a lot to pack into a single compliment). Composer and
poet beg the queen not to place too much value on their rhyme, or on a “simple
toy”—a light literary and musical amusement:
CHAPTER 3
W illiam B y rd ’s M a ss for Four V o ice s and O th e r D o m e stic M u sic
69
This sweet and merry month of May,
While Nature wantons in her prime,
And birds do sing and beasts do play,
For pleasure of the joyful time:
I choose thefirst for holiday
And greet Eliza with a rhyme:
0 beauteous Queen of second Troy
Take well in worth a simple toy.
Byrd’s lively madrigal for six voices is essentially a secular counterpart of his seri­
ous sacred music. Here, as in the Agnus Dei, each new element of text calls for a
new musical motive, which allows the words to be sung in a fairly natural rhythm
(and therefore to be readily understood). In addition, the points of imitation arc inter­
spersed with sections of homophony, with varied rhythms and groupings of voices
(see L G 7, below).
This kind of multisectional, imitative music was used for a great deal of poetry
in the Renaissance period. Interestingly, the poems often represent one person
speaking, even though the musical settings may require several singers. In a sense,
a group is playing the role of a single actor or poet: no one voice is the speaker,
and no one voice has “the tune.” The use of a group also allows for imitation and
other effects that are impossible for a single singer to produce. The musical variety
characteristic of the madrigal made it a favorite genre of listeners and performers
in the sixteenth century.
LISTENING GUIDE 7
©
The poet's voice
| DVD
Byrd “This sweet and merry month of May”
2:01
DATE: Published 1590
GENRE: M adrigal
L IS T E N F O R
FORM: Each n ew e lem en t o f text calls for a n ew m usical m otive
SCORING: Variety o f g ro u p in g s o f the six voices
TEXTURE: Varied texture: h o m o p h o n y relieves th e im itative tex tu re
TEXT: W ord painting: m usic reflects text m eaning
TIME
TEXT
DESCRIPTION
0:00
T his sw eet and m erry
m o n th o f May
Paired im itatio n in th e to p pairs o f voices (tw o sopranos, later jo in e d by alto and
tenor); n o te lig h th earted scale o n “m e rry m e rry m o n th .”
0:07
W hile N atu re w an to n s
in h e r prim e,
N ew p o in t o f im itation, overlapped w ith previous cadence. B eginning in low est tw o
voices (bass and tenor); m otive has a lo n g n o te on accented syllable o f "N a tu re,”
and th e n a d o tted descending figure gives flippant to n e on “w a n to n s”:
1 ,2
••('
r --
"
-
f------ N
—
While Na
turc
wan - tons
in
her prime.
(continued)
70
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M ed ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
TIME
TEXT
DESCRIPTION
0:17
A nd birds do sing and
beasts do play
D ivided in to tw o m otives, tw o po in ts o f im itation: “an d birds d o sing” (note tw itte r
o n "sing”) is follow ed w ith o u t cadence by "an d beasts d o play.” A stro n g cadence
ends section.
sing.
■ r - r - P - l—
0:36
For pleasure o f th e
jo y fu l tim e:
C hange o f pace; triple rh y th m s co n n o te pleasure an d joy. "For pleasure” has one
triple rh y th m , " o f th e jo y fu l tim e” has an o th er, faster rhythm . H o m o p h o n ic g ro u p s
o f 3, 4, o r 5 voices.
0:43
I choose th e first for
holiday
Back to duple tim e. A p o in t o f im itation begins after cadence; voices gradually accu­
m u late for a 6-voice cadence.
A nd g re e t Eliza w ith
a rhym e:
T h e nam e "Eliza” repeats m any tim es, like tru m p e t calls; the cadence is preceded by
lo n g series o f sam e n o te (C) in so p ran o , calling everyone to atten tio n . C adence in all
0:53
voices.
1:13
1:29
O b eau teo u s Q u een o f
second Troy
Solem n alm o st-h o m o p h o n y begins section after a rest (text now addresses the
Take w ell in w o rth
a sim ple toy.
Section overlaps w ith previous section. T w o 4-note m otives
"take w ell in w o rth ”:
Q u een directly); g radually gets m o re polyphonic, w ith o u t bein g im itative.
4
take
well in worth
an d “a sim ple to y ”
2
t
a
m
sim - pic toy.
are co m b in ed in a n u m b e r o f inventive ways: above, below, overlapped.
T h e tw o m otives are co m b in ed in th e bass.
-f— |T-T-ftake
well in worth
M f
a
r
r
sim - pic toy.
All voices jo in in a cadence o n "a sim ple toy.”
JO H N D O W L A N D
John Dowland was not present in person at Harleyford Manor, but most of Bold's
houseguests would have known him by reputation as a leading light of English
music and a virtuoso lutenist (see biography, p. 71). At twenty-three, Dowland
was Byrd’s junior by almost a generation. The two composers moved in differ­
ent spheres and probably never met; but they were both Catholics, and they were
surely familiar with each other’s music.
Dowland’s musical style and career path could scarcely have been more different
CHAPTER 3
W illiam Byrd's M a ss for Four V o ices and O th e r D o m e stic M u sic
71
J0H I1 DOWLailD (1563-1626)
B orn in E ngland in 1563 (his precise b irth p lace is unknow n),
characterize b o th th e m an and his m usic. A case in p o in t is his
D ow land sp en t m uch o f his life ab ro ad in th e service o f various
lute song "Flow, m y tears,” w hose o p en in g p hrase— four notes
noble patrons. A fter a p erio d in France in th e 1580s, he w orked
descending stepw ise— becam e a kin d o f m usical s h o rth a n d for
and traveled in G erm an y and Italy, and ultim ately accepted a
intense grief.
lucrative p o st a t th e c o u rt o f th e k in g o f D en m ark in 1598.
D o w lan d ’s a rran g em en t o f “Flow, m y tears” for a co n so rt o f
pavans (a pavan is a slow, stately
D ow land h ad co n v erted to C atholicism in France and claim ed
five viols is th e first o f seven
th a t this prev en ted h im fro m ob tain in g a p o st at th e c o u rt o f
dance) th a t explore the possibilities o f this four-note them e;
Q u een Elizabeth (w ho had, o f course, b een w illing en o u g h
they are th e seven pieces th at begin his Lachrimae or Seaven Tea res
to overlook Byrd's religion). O nly late in life, after th e queen's
Figured in Seaven Passionate Pavans. T h e b o o k also includes som e
death, did he get a position as lute player for h e r successor. King
other, less doleful, m usic. D ow land, in his preface, described
Jam es I, w h o m he served from 1612 until his o w n d eath in 1626.
th e collection as “this long an d tro u b leso m e w orke, w herein I
D ow land is E ngland’s g reatest co m p o ser o f lute m usic and
have m ixed n ew songs w ith olde, grave w ith light.”
lu te songs (th at is, songs for solo voice w ith lute accom pani­
© Dowland: “Flow, my tears”
m ent). His solos for th e in stru m e n t range from sim ple jigs to
© Dowland: “Semper Dowland. semper dolens”
brilliant c o n tra p u n tal fantasias. D o w lan d ’s te m p e ra m e n t was
fam ously m elancholy. O n e o f his m o st b eau tifu l lu te pieces is
M AJO R W ORKS: N u m ero u s vocal w orks, including “Flow,
titled “S em per D ow land, sem p er d o len s” (Latin for “Always
m y tears”; lute m usic, including fantasias, galliards, and pavans;
D ow land, always do lefu l”), a play on w ords th a t seem s to
co n so rt w orks, including Lachrimae, or Seaven Teares.
from Byrd’s. Despite his international fame, he found it difficult to get a good
position at the English court; in part this may have been because of his religious
convictions. Several published books of lute songs and a collection of ensemble
music for viols have assured his immortality. In addition, a great deal of wonder­
ful solo music for lute survives. The lute was a popular domestic instrument in
Elizabethan times (see Elizabethan Musical Instruments, p. 72), and Dowland was
its acknowledged master.
Renaissance composers tended to write for groups of instruments of the same
family, but of different sizes. A “whole” consort of instruments is a group of the
same type: a consort of lutes, a consort of viols, and so on. A mixed (“broken”)
consort groups instruments of different kinds, like those that play the pieces in
Morley's First Booke of Consort Lessons (see LG 9 and figures on pp. 71 and 79).
It is characteristic of Renaissance music that it could be adapted for whatever
vocal and instrumental forces were at hand. If at Bold’s house there were not four
singers, or four viol players, then some of the parts could be assigned to other
voices or instruments. This flexibility is possible when the individual parts are not
so specialized that they can be played on only one instrument (as is true of much
instrumental music of the seventeenth century and later). And it is characteristic
of Dowland’s music that everybody wanted to sing and play it.
It’s easy to imagine the company in Bold’s great chamber joining together with
instruments and voices to play and sing some of the finest and most popular music
of the day. They lived in a time when a lot of music was made, not by professional
musicians, but by people who simply liked music and poetry, and were able to
savor them by writing poetry and singing and playing music themselves. They
were lucky to live in a time when inspiration could be provided by the likes of Byrd
and Dowland.
FIG. 3.4 A mixed instrumental con­
sort: front to back: bass viol, harp,
lute, and flute.
72
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
Elizabethan Musical Instruments
nstrumental music flourished during the Renaissance, as the cen­
ter of musical life shifted from the great medieval cathedrals to
royal courts and private estates like Harleyford Manor. Among
the favorite instruments in Elizabethan households, both great and
small, were the lute, the viol, and the virginal.
The lute (see Figure 3.2. p. 60) is a pear-shaped, flat-topped
instrument held like a guitar and played by plucking the six (or more)
courses (a course is one or two strings tuned to the same pitch). A
series of frets, or ridges crossing the fingerboard, tells the player
where to press down the fingers of the left hand to produce differ­
ent notes. (The modern guitar has frets too. but they are bars set
into the fingerboard rather than strings tied around it.) The sound of
the lute resembles that of an acoustic guitar, but is softer.
© Earl o f Essex G alliard (lute)
Like the lute, the viol, or viola da gamba. has six strings and frets,
but instead of being plucked by the fingers, they are played with a
bow. Viols come in three basic sizes: the small treble viol, the middlesized tenor viol, and the large bass viol. All are played vertically (like a
cello rather than a violin), with the instrument resting on or between
the player’s legs. (Viola da gamba means “leg viol” in Italian, to dis­
tinguish it from the viola da braccio, or “arm viol,” held like a violin.)
Compared to the modern violin, viola, and cello, viols have a more
subdued and less penetrating sound, in part because their strings are
made of animal gut instead of metal. An ensemble of viols sounds
something like a softer version o f a modern string quartet.
The virginal is a small, oblong portable keyboard instrument
whose strings are plucked (rather than being struck by hammers,
as on a modern piano) by depressing a key. The origin of the word
is not clear; some think the virginal, an instrument overwhelmingly
English, is named for Elizabeth, the “Virgin Queen.” Related to the
virginal is the wing-shaped harpsichord, which plucks the strings in
the same way and often has more than one keyboard. The organ, a
keyboard instrument that sounds by means of air passing through
long pipes, was (and is) most often found in churches.
© Earl o f Essex G alliard (virginal)
All these instruments— lute. viol, and keyboards— were popu­
lar among musicians at various levels of proficiency. Renaissance
wind instruments, on the other hand, were mostly the province
of professionals. They include the recorder (an end-blown flute),
the flute (played by blowing across a hole in the side o f the tube),
the shawm (a loud, buzzy, double-reed instrument, ancestor of the
modem oboe); and the traditional brass instruments: trombone
(in England called the sackbut). trumpet, and horn. The cornett.
a curved wooden horn with fingerholes like a recorder but played
with a trumpetlike mouthpiece, was a favorite, especially among
the Italians. (See Figures 3.4. 3.5, and 3.6 for images of some Renais­
sance instruments.)
© Monteverdi: O rfeo (recorders)
© Monteverdi: O rfeo (cornetts and sackbuts)
© Monteverdi: O rfeo (2 cornetts with organ and lute)
© Earl o f Essex G alliard (viols)
t ) LG 8
The poem
Strophic musical setting
D O W L A N D : “C A N SHE EXCUSE M Y W R O N G S ”
Dowland’s song “Can she excuse my wrongs” is written for solo voice and lute,
with an optional version for four voices (with additional alto, tenor, and bass vocal
parts). It comes from his First Booke of Songs or Ayres of 1597, an enormously suc­
cessful collection that was reprinted several times in the composer’s lifetime. One
reason for its popularity was its novel and convenient layout: instead of printing
the four parts in separate partbooks, as was the norm, Dowland combined them
in a single, large-format volume. Each song is spread across two facing pages, with
the parts oriented in different directions (see Figure 3.5). Hence a group of singers
and a lutenist can gather around a table and perform the piece using only one copy
of the music.
Dowland's text is a poem by Robert Devereaux, the second Earl of Essex. Essex
was a suitor to Queen Elizabeth (he is said to have proposed to her more than
once). Ultimately, owing to Essex’s rash disobedience, he was imprisoned and exe­
cuted for treason. His poem may well be addressed to the queen; it is a lover’s com­
plaint about his mistress’s failure to return his affection. (Note that when the poet
refers to “my wrongs,” he does not mean his own misdeeds, but the wrongs done
to him by the lady.) Both verses of poetry are set to the same music; this is called
a strophic musical setting. The six couplets of each verse are set to three musical
sections, each of which is repeated. The first two sections have new words when
CHAPTER 3
W illiam Byrd’s M a ss for Four V o ice s and O th e r D o m e stic M u sic
73
FIG. 3.5 “Can she excuse my
wrongs.” from John Dowlands' First
b o o k o f Songs or Ayres (1597). Note
that the four voice parts face in dif­
ferent directions, so that a single
copy is enough for ensemble per­
formance.
th e y a r e r e p e a t e d ; t h e t h i r d s e c t i o n r e p e a t s its w o r d s . T h e m u s ic a l s h a p e , t h e n , o f
e a c h o f t h e t w o v e r s e s is A A B B C C , a s fo llo w s :
Can she excuse my wrongs with virtue's cloak?
Shall I call her good when she proves unkind?
A Are those clearfires which vanish into smoke?
Must I praise the leaves where nofruit Ifind?
B No, no: where shadows dofor bodies stand,
Thou may'st be abused i f thy sight be dim.
B Cold love is like to words written on sand,
Or to bubbles which on the water swim.
C Wilt thou be thus abused still,
Seeing that she will right thee never?
If thou canst not overcome her will,
Thy love will be thus fruitless ever. (C repeats)
A
Was I so base, that I might not aspire
Unto those high joys which she holdsfrom me?
A As they are high, so high is my desire:
If she this deny what can granted be?
B I f she will yield to that which reason is,
It is reason's will that love should bejust.
B Dear make me happy still by granting this,
Or cut off delays if that I die must.
C Better a thousand times to die,
Than for to live thus still tormented:
Dear but remember it was I
Who for thy sake did die contented. (C repeats)
A
On one level, Dowland’s song is an extraordinary study of triple rhythms, but his
handling of the melody is no less brilliantly imaginative. The fifth couplet of each
verse alludes to a popular tune of the day, surely known to everyone at Harleyford
Manor, called “Will you go walk in the woods so wild?” In the first verse, the lute
plays the popular tune once while the singer asks, “Wilt thou be thus abused still,”
and again, one step higher, at the words “seeing that she will right thee never.” The
quotation is a sly wink at the woman addressed in the poem, a wordless invitation
to a lovers’ tryst. The singer’s repeated notes divert the listener’s attention to the
melody in the lute (it’s the only thing moving, and it’s moving in the same rhythm
as the voice). In the four-voice version of the song, Dowland complicates the situa­
tion further by arranging for that same tune to be sung in canon between the alto
and the tenor (see L G 8, p. 76).
^ Rhythm in Dowlands "Can she
excuse my wrongs”
© “W ill you go walk in the woods
so wild?"
74
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M ed ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
FIG. 3.6 A plate from Michael Praetoriuss treatise on musical instru­
ments: depicted here are (starting
on the left) bass viol, harpsichord,
trombone, and two views of a bas­
soon.
j. Cli»kTTnbe!,f8<fn(Qiurtfkffirr«!fC1>0f-^e!!. ». OAiT-^faan. j. (*r<f X'<'ttvIQuinr.<lSrr"m<r. 4 .
FIG. 3.7 A group of instruments
played in procession: (back to front)
a bassoon, a straight shawm, a
curved cornett. two more straight
shawms, and a trombone (or pos­
sibly a slide trumpet).
t)l_G9
Popularity of the song
D O W L A N D : “C A N SHE EXCUSE M Y W R O N G S ”
(THE EARL O F ESSEX GALLIARD)
“Can she excuse my wrongs” is one of many songs by Dowland that became hits
throughout England and the Continent. Like a modern pop tune, it was dissem­
inated in a variety of arrangements, so that it could be performed by virtually
any combination of players and singers that happened to be available. In addition
to the “original” version for voice and lute (and the alternative version with four
voice parts, which could be either sung or played on viols), there are arrangements
CHAPTER 3
W illiam Byrd's M a ss for Four V o ices and O th e r D o m e stic M u sic
75
Renaissance Dances
uch music written in the 1500s (and later periods) was
originally intended for dancing. Like music-making, danc­
ing was a social skill that members o f the Elizabethan ar­
istocracy took great pains to acquire. Most households of any pre­
tension employed professional dancing-masters to teach the steps.
Published manuals offered not only dance instruction but also tips
on social etiquette (for example, “Spit and blow your nose spar­
ingly”). Dance parties were held regularly at court and at houses like
Harleyford Manor. In addition to showing off the dancers’ grace and
deportment, they afforded an opportunity for socially acceptable
flirtation and matchmaking. Indeed, one leading dance writer of the
day said that the main reason for learning to dance was to find a
suitably accomplished wife or husband.
Renaissance dances go by many names— pavan. galliard. corrente, saltarello. branle, balletto, and so on— each characterized by
distinctive rhythmic patterns, geometrical floor figures, and steps.
To dance Dowlands Earl o f Essex Galliard. for instance (or any gal­
liard), you take three little hops on alternating feet (“Can she ex-"),
then a big leap on the next foot (“-cuse”). hang in the air. and then
put the two feet down quickly one after the other (“my wrongs").
The pavan. as represented by Dowland’s famous Lachrimae. was
comparatively sedate: one manual describes it as follows:
M
The pavane is easy to dance, consisting merely of two single
steps and one double step forward, [followed by] two single
steps and one double step backward. It is played in duple time:
note that the forward steps begin on the left foot and the
backward steps begin on the right foot.
FIG. 3.8 An Elizabethan couple dancing the Lavolta. This picture
was long thought to be of Queen Elizabeth and the Earl of Essex.
for different instrumental ensembles and for solo lute, solo harpsichord, and solo
bandora (a wire-strung cousin of the lute). The differences between these versions
are subtle but telling, and the listeners at our imaginary concert would have taken
pleasure in being able to pick them out (see LG 9, p. 77).
Dowland himself made an arrangement of his song for five viols and included
it in his Lachrimae or Seaven Teares Figured in Seaven Passionate Pavans. There it is
called The Earl of Essex Galliard, in honor of the queen’s disgraced favorite, and the
author of the text. Dowland may have had this kind of dance in mind all along,
because the opening of the song—the six notes that accompany the words “Can
she excuse my wrongs”—is a perfect example of g a l l i a r d rhythm (see Renaissance
Dances, above). The galliard was perhaps the Elizabethans’ favorite social dance,
and Dowland’s arrangement for five instruments, even though it preserves the
tune and the intricate rhythms of the song, also has enough regular rhythm to be
an effective piece of dance music.
We also have a version of The Earl of Essex Galliard for lute, arranged by Dow­
land; for keyboard (probably arranged from Dowland’s song by somebody else);
and a wonderf ul version from Thomas Morley's First Booke of Consort Lessons (see
L G 9, p. 77). Morley, composer, author, and publisher, compiled pieces by vari­
ous composers and arranged them for the marvelous mixed consort of flute (or
recorder), violin or treble viol, bass viol, lute, cittern (a little wire-strung plucked
instrument), and bandora. In this version, the lute plays a kind of solo role: it per­
forms a decorated version of the melody when the various sections get repeated.
Adding ornaments (they were called “divisions”) was standard practice in the
Renaissance, as it would be in the Baroque era, but in this case only a virtuoso like
John Dowland would be able to do them justice.
Arrangements
Galliard
76
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
LISTENING GUIDE 8
( § ) | D V D |<?ji>
Dowland “Can she excuse my wrongs,” for Voice and Lute
1:26
DATE: Published 1597
GENRE: Lute song
L IS T E N F O R
RHYTHM: T h ree levels o f triple rh y th m s
SCORING: Lute com es to fo reg ro u n d w ith a p opular tu n e
TEXTURE: M usic rep eated w ith n ew w ords
TIME
TEXT: Lyrical settin g o f p o em
FORM TEXT
DESCRIPTION
First musical section, repeated w ith new text
0:00
A
1. C an she excuse m y w ro n g s w ith
T w o big u p w ard leaps (“C an she ex-”) follow ed by stepw ise m o tio n
v irtu e ’s cloak?
dow nw ards th a t fills th e gaps; o p en in g triple rh y th m becom es a slow er
triple:
-»
Can
2. Shall 1 call h e r g o o d w h en she
proves unkind?
0:07
she
cx
1
r.
-
cusc
my wrongs
with
vir
-
r1 2 3
tuc’s
cloak?
M elody m ade o f descending thirds. Fast triple tu rn s to sam e slow
version as above:
1
Shall
2
3 '' i
I
call
2
T
her
good
0:14
3. Are those clear fires w hich vanish
into sm oke?
R epeat m usic o f line 1.
0:20
4. M ust 1 praise th e leaves w h ere no
fru it 1 find?
R epeat m usic o f line 2.
r
t
T "1
when
she
proves
un
-
1 2 3
¥
kind?
Second musical section, repeated w ith new text
0:27
B
5. N o, no: w h ere shadow s do fo r
bodies stand,
R hythm begins like th a t o f line 1, b u t n o leaps: m elody has very narrow range:
M
I I |l
No,
0:34
6. T h o u m ay’st be ab u sed if thy
sight be dim .
B
7. C old love is like to w ords w ritten
sha - dows do
may’st be
ab
R epeat m usic o f line 5.
o n sand,
0:47
8. O r to bubbles w hich on th e
w a te r sw im .
for bo
|l
-
dies
stand.
R hythm an d m elody are sim ilar to line 2, b u t w ith new ending, leaving
a feeling o f suspense:
Thou
0:41
no; where
' I j
R epeat m usic o f line 6.
Tif
thy
sight
be
£
dim.
CHAPTER 3
W illiam Byrd’s M a ss for Four V o ice s and O th e r D o m e stic M u sic
77
Third musical section, repeated with new text
0:54
C
9. W ilt th o u be th u s abused still.
Lilting triple rh y th m , all o n one note. Lute plays tu n e called "W ill you
g o w alk in th e w oods so wild?” a not-so-subtle, b u t unspoken, invita­
tio n to his m istress:
Jh J
Wilt thou be thus
ab - us
e
cd still.
0:58
10. Seeing th a t she w ill right th ee
never?
Sam e lilting rh y th m , o n e n o te higher (lute plays sam e tu n e, also one
n o te higher).
1:02
11. If th o u canst n o t overcom e h e r
will,
Still o n a single n o te , m elody is perh ap s a picture o f insistence.
1:05
12. T h y love will b e th u s fruitless ever.
1:09
C
9. W ilt th o u be th u s abused still,
1:12
10. Seeing th a t she w ill right th ee
never?
1:16
11. If th o u canst n o t overcom e h e r
R epeat m usic for lines 9-12.
will,
1:19
12. T h y love will b e th u s fruitless ever.
© | DVD
Dow land “Can she excuse my wrongs,” arrangements
a) Four voices with lute
d) Consort of five viols and lute
b) Lute solo
e) Mixed consort
7:26
c) Harpsichord solo
DATE: Various arran g em en ts o f th e late 16th cen tu ry
GENRE: Various arran g em en ts o f a song
LISTEN FOR
FORM: Shape o f th e original so n g is retain ed
TEXT: All versions em phasize the q u o ta tio n o f
TEXTURE: O rn a m e n ta tio n o f rep eated sections
"W ill you g o w alk in th e w oods so wild?”
SCORING: E laborate figuration for solo in stru m en ts (lute, harpsichord)
TIME
FORM TEXT
DESCRIPTION
a) F O U R V O IC E S W IT H L U T E
1:24
First musical section, repeated with new text
0:00
0:13
A
A
1. C an she excuse m y w ro n g s w ith v irtu e ’s cloak?
2. Shall I call h e r g o o d w h en she proves unkind?
T u n e in so p ran o voice; th e o th e r voices provide h a r­
3. Are th o se clear fires w hich vanish in to sm oke?
4. M ust 1 praise th e leaves w h ere n o fru it 1 find?
R epeat m usic o f lines 1-2.
m o n y and rhythm ic variety.
(continued)
78
TIME
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M e d ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
FORM TEXT
DESCRIPTION
Second musical section, repeated with new text
0:27
B
5. No, no, where shadow do for bodies stand,
6. Thou may’st be abused if thy sight be dim.
The lower voices (alto, tenor, bass) are somewhat inde­
pendent rhythmically in the interior of the phrase.
0:40
B
7. Cold love is like to words written on sand,
8. Or to bubbles which on the water swim.
Repeat music of lines 5-6.
Third musical section, repeated with same text
0:54
C
9. Wilt thou be thus abused still,
10. Seeing that she will right thee never?
Alto and tenor sing melody of “Will you go walk in
the woods so wild?” in canon; difficult to hear.
11. If thou canst not overcome her will,
12. Thy love will be thus fruitless ever.
1:08
C
9. Wilt thou be thus abused still,
10. Seeing that she will right thee never?
Repeat music of lines 9-12.
11. If thou canst not overcome her will,
12. Thy love will be thus fruitless ever.
b) LUTE SOLO
1:39
First musical section, repeated
0:00
A
The songs words aregiven herefor reference
1. Can she excuse my wrongs with virtue’s cloak?
2. Shall I call her good when she proves unkind?
The lute provides melody, rhythm, and harmony.
0:15
A
3. Are those clear fires which vanish into smoke?
4. Must I praise the leaves where no fruit 1find?
Repeat music of lines 1-2; note ornamentation in the
lute.
Second musical section, repeated
0:30
B
5. No, no, where shadow do for bodies stand,
6. Thou may’st be abused if thy sight be dim.
The melody begins with many repeated notes.
0:45
B
7. Cold love is like to words written on sand,
8. Or to bubbles which on the water swim.
Repeat music of lines 5-6; ornamented.
Third musical section, repeated
1:01
1:16
C
C
9. Wilt thou be thus abused still,
10. Seeing that she will right thee never?
Note emphasis in quotation of “Will you go walk in
the woods so wild?”
11. If thou canst not overcome her will,
12. Thy love will be thus fruitless ever.
Insistent repeated notes in melody.
9. Wilt thou be thus abused still,
10. Seeing that she will right thee never?
Repeat music of lines 9-12, ornamented.
11. If thou canst not overcome her will,
12. Thy love will be thus fruitless ever.
c) HARPSICHORD SOLO
1:27
First musical section, repeated
0:00
A
(By now the tune should be familiar!)
0:14
A
Repeat music of lines 1-2; note the characteristic quick
ornamentations of individual notes.
CHAPTER 3
79
W illiam Byrd’s M a ss for Four V o ice s and O th e r D o m e stic M u sic
S eco n d m u sical s e c tio n , re p e a te d
0:28
B
0:42
B
R epeat m usic o f lines 5-6.
T h ird m u sical s e c tio n , re p e a te d
0:57
C
1:11
C
R epeat m usic o f lines 9-12.
d) C O N S O R T O F FIVE V IOLS AND LU TE: Earl o f Essex Galliard, fro m Lachrimae or Seaven Teares
1:29
F irst m u sical s e c tio n , re p e a te d
0:00
A
0:14
A
R epeat m usic o f lines 1-2; n o te th e characteristic o rn a ­
m e n tatio n s o f repeated sections.
S eco n d m u sical s e c tio n , re p e a te d
0:28
B
0:42
B
R epeat m usic o f lines 5-6.
T h ird m u sical s e c tio n , re p e a te d
0:56
C
“Will you go w alk” in lu te and viol.
1:10
C
R epeat m usic o f lines 9-12.
e) M IX ED C O N S O R T : Galliard: Can shee excuse, fro m M orley’s First Booke o f Consort Lessons
1:27
F irst m u sical s e c tio n , re p e a te d
0:00
A
0:14
A
R epeat m usic o f lines 1-2; n o te th e elaborate o rn a ­
m e n tatio n by th e lute.
S eco n d m u sical s e c tio n , re p e a te d
0:27
B
0:39
B
R epeat m usic o f lines 5-6; lute o rn am e n tatio n .
T h ird m u sical s e c tio n , re p e a te d
0:52
C
N o te flute m elody o f "W ill you go w alk.”
1:05
C
R epeat m usic o f lines 9-12.
Renaissance Music Then and Now
W illia m B y rd w a s r e c o g n i z e d a s a g r e a t c o m p o s e r in h is lif e tim e , a n d h is r e p u t a ­
t i o n c o n t i n u e d t o g r o w in t h e c e n t u r i e s a f t e r h is d e a t h . I f h is m u s ic is n o t h e a r d
to d a y a s m u c h a s it m i g h t b e , it m u s t b e b e c a u s e t h e s ty le o f R e n a is s a n c e v o c a l
p o ly p h o n y t o w h i c h h e d e v o t e d t h e g r e a t e r p a r t o f h is g e n i u s is n o l o n g e r in v o g u e .
L ik e m o s t o f t h e m u s ic w e ’ll e n c o u n t e r in th is b o o k , B y r d ’s is w r i t t e n in a l a n g u a g e
t h a t c a m e n a t u r a l l y t o h is c o n t e m p o r a r i e s b u t fe e ls le s s f a m ilia r t o u s . N o w t h a t
w e h a v e s e e n h o w B y r d ’s m u s ic w o r k s a n d h o w s k illfu lly it is p u t t o g e t h e r , p e r h a p s
80
PART I
M u sic and Prayer: M ed ie va l and Renaissance M u sic
we can appreciate some of its nuances and hear how the individual motives weave
themselves into a magical musical tapestry.
At first hearing, John Dowland’s lute song may seem simpler and easier to fol­
low than Byrd’s multilayered polyphony. Yet despite its brevity, “Can she excuse my
wrongs” is as sophisticated as any of Byrd’s Masses, motets, or madrigals. Dow­
land’s treatment of rhythm, melody, and word-setting is astonishingly intricate and
subtle. Moreover, he could write polyphony with the best of them (even if his
most grandly polyphonic pieces are not for voices but for solo lute). All of this
explains why Dowland is regarded as one of the consummate masters of English
song, a field in which he reigns supreme just as Byrd does in his.
Today, many of us pride ourselves on being good athletes, or skilled at video
games, or attentive as students. We spend a lot of time practicing these skills
because they arc useful in modern society. In the same way, people in the Renais­
sance period worked hard to acquire skills that would make them useful members
of their world. Music was as important for them as sports are for many of us today.
Both activities teach the same basic lessons: if you have skill, you will be admired;
people need to work together as a team; regular practice produces improvement.
In sixteenth-century England, the growing number of people who could read
music meant more people could enjoy complex polyphony, and it was because of
these increased skills that the special talents of musicians like a Byrd or a Dowland
could be appreciated and admired.
Chapter Review
Summary o f Musical Styles
■ Imitative polyphony is one of the main textures of the Renaissance: imitative
because the voices engage in imitating each other; polyphony because there are
several voices of equal importance. This texture can be used for voices or for
instruments.
■ A point o f im itation is the use of a motive by all voices, one after another.
■ Accompanied song makes a contrast with imitative polyphony. Here a single
voice carries the main melodic interest, and the accompaniment is provided by
an instrument, several instruments, or several voices.
■ Arrangements are versions of a piece of music for some other medium. We
have in this chapter a number of arrangements of what was originally an
accompanied song (“Can she excuse my wrongs”).
© M ultim edia Resources and Review Materials
on Studyspace
Visit wwnorton.com/studyspace for review of Chapter 3.
What Do You Know?
Check the facts for this chapter. Take the online Quiz.
CHAPTER 3
W illiam Byrd’s M a ss for Four V o ice s and O th e r D o m e stic M u sic
What Do You Hear?
Listening Quizzes and Music Activities will help you understand the musical
works in this chapter.
^ A u th o r Videos
■ Imitation in Renaissance music
■ Rhythm in Dowland’s “Can she excuse my wrongs”
Interactive Listening Guides
LG 6
LG 7
LG 8
LG 9
Byrd: Agnus Dei, from Mass for Four Voices
Byrd: “This sweet and merry month of May”
Dowland: “Can she excuse my wrongs,” for Voice and Lute
Dowland: “Can she excuse my wrongs,” arrangements
a) Four voices with lute
b) Lute solo
c) Harpsichord solo
d) Consort of Five viols and lute
e) Mixed consort
Flashcards (Terms to Know)
accompanied song
alto
arrangements
bass
cadence
canon
cantus firmus technique
consort music
cornett
counterpoint
galliard
harpsichord
homophony
imitative polyphony
lute
madrigal
motet
motive
paired imitation
pavan
point of imitation
polyphony
recorder
rest
sackbut
shawm
soprano
strophic
suspension
tenor
viola da gamba (viol)
virginal
voices
word painting
81
THE BARO Q U E ERA
H IST O RIC A L EVENTS
1564-1642 Galileo Galilei
1571-1630 Johannes Kepler
1596-1650 Rene Descartes
M U S IC A L EVENTS
1567-1643 Claudio Monteverdi
1598- 1680 Gian Lorenzo Bernini
1599- 1660 Diego Velasquez
1603 Death of Queen Elizabeth I
1606-1669 Rembrandt van Rijn
1607 Jamestown Colony founded
1608-1674 John Milton
1616 Deaths of Shakespeare and Cervantes
1623 Death of William Byrd
1626 Death of John Dowland
1632-1687 Jean-Baptiste Lully
1620 Pilgrims land at Plymouth
1622-1673 Moliere
1638 Louis XIV of France (to 1715)
1639-1699 Jean Racine
1653-1713 Arcangelo Corelli
1659-1695 Henry Purcell
1642 (to 1649) English Civil War
1643-1727 Isaac Newton
1646-1716 Gottfried Leibniz
1648 Peace of Westphalia ends 30 Years War
1666 Great fire of London
1678-1741 Antonio Vivaldi--------1683-1764 Jean-Philippe Rameau
1685-1750 Johann Sebastian Bach1685-1759 George Frideric Handel
1692 Salem witch trials
1711-1776 David Hume
1714 George I of England (to 1727)
1740 Frederick the Great of Prussia (to 1786)
Italy
France
® England
• Germany
M usic and
Baroque Music
W
e chose a late Renaissance composer, William Byrd, and his con­
temporary John Dowland, as examples of Renaissance music at
its best. And we portrayed a musical evening in 1586 as a point
of departure to illustrate this music. In Part II we will start on the next period
in music history—the Baroque—through an event that occurred in 1607—-just
twenty-one years later.
There were many stylistic changes between the Renaissance and the Baroque
Renaissance vs. Baroque
eras. But none of them happened overnight, and a good deal of overlapping
occurred while these transformations were evolving. We will see, however, that
Byrd and Dowland belong mostly on the Renaissance side of the balance, while
Claudio Monteverdi—the man we arc about to meet—belongs mostly in the
Baroque era, at least for his opera V Orfeo in 1607.
We will also see that things are never quite as simple as our hindsight might
tempt us to think. Byrd and Dowland were already using elements from the later
style, and in 1607 a musical play composed by Monteverdi, a master musician of
the late Renaissance, combined elements from the older tradition with something
uniquely new. That new clement is what we now call Baroque music, which is
about passion, communication, and language.
In the next three chapters we will discuss three significant composers from the
Baroque period: Claudio Monteverdi, George Frideric Handel, and Johann Sebas­
tian Bach. The word “baroque” originally referred to an irregularly shaped pearl.
Definition o f baroque
and in a way it is a perfect image for the music we are about to consider. Although
84
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
the term was initially derogatory, the notion o f a precious item—like a pearl—
with a unique and characteristic shape, turns out to be an accurate description of
Baroque music, but without the negative connotation.
The Baroque period extends roughly from 1600 to 1750. It was an age of abso­
lute monarchs, of the rise of Louis XIV in France, of the emperors of Austria,
and, after a difficult time of revolution and reformation, of the restoration of the
monarchy under George I in England (see Figure II. 1 map of Europe, below). Italy
was a little different—it was a collection of smaller princely states, sometimes
under the power of northern monarchs but always with the pope as the spiri­
tual ruler of the Catholic Church and absolute temporal ruler of the area around
Rome. This age of sovereignty extended overseas as well: Europeans continued to
establish lucrative colonies throughout the world, creating a new, and cruel, world
of colonialism.
Europe was also in the midst of a scientific revolution. Sir Isaac Newton dis­
covered the laws of gravity, and the scientific world has never looked the same.
Johannes Kepler showed that planets moved around the sun. Galileo Galilei
improved the telescope and used it to prove that moons orbited the planet Jupi­
ter. In the field of medicine, physician William Harvey studied the circulation
of blood and the function of the heart. Other men and women studied diabetes
500 Mites
250
EN G LA N D
'
Hamburg
(Danzig)
London'
Magdeburg
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
.Paris
DS
1
1- —\
<C
\
.Warsaw
HOLY
ROMAN
EMPIRE
FR AN cJ
COMtE / ^ urich.
)
POLANDLITHUANIA
M
Salzburg
FR A N CE
Geneva*
SAVOY
S
a9us
P A I
-Madrid
-•RArrpInoa
Barcelona
CORSICA
(To
Genoa) ■
Rome*
FIG. 11.1 Map of Europe,
ca. 1610.
|
|Austrian Habsburg lands
I
I Spanish Habsburg lands
I
I
I Other German states
I Swedish lands by 1648
I
I Ottoman Empire and Tributary States
----- Boundary of Holy Roman Empire
S A R D IN IA
S IC IL Y
MEDITERRANEAN
SEA
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
and scarlet fever, and developed a cure for scurvy, a vitamin deficiency that often
killed large numbers of passengers and crew on long-distance voyages. Italian
physician Santorio Santorii measured human body temperature with his inven­
tion, the thermometer.
In art, in architecture, in literature and music, the Baroque was an age of gran­
deur, of spectacle, of drama, and of passion. An attempt to dazzle the eye with
enormous scale and tiny detail at one and the same time was characteristic of
the great architectural marvels of the day: the palace of the king of France at
Versailles (imitated by many other monarchs); the colonnade leading the eye
up to the entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome (see Figure 11.2). These grand
structures were also enriched with countless detailed ornaments, of a kind that
made the whole sparkle. A comparison with a sober and balanced monument of
Renaissance architecture like Brunelleschi’s Pazzi Chapel in Florence (see Figure
II.3) makes clear that this Baroque style is meant to impress, to centralize, and to
theatricalize.
The Baroque buildings look like stage settings, and this is indeed the period of
drama, of gesture, of theater. The literature of the age is dramatic—it includes
poets John Milton and John Donne in England; the classical playwrights Pierre
Corneille, Jean Racine, and Molierc in France; the adventure writer Miguel de Cer­
vantes from Spain; and in Italy, the impressive theatrical display called opera (see
Arts and Ideas, pp. 88-89). Because it involves grandeur, rhetoric, drama, passion,
and elaborate presentations, but also, and most of all, music, opera is the perfect
expression of Baroque art.
The idea of passion, of the expression of emotions by means of words, ges­
tures, and actions, is central to Baroque art. Comparing Michelangelo’s David
(1501) with the ca. 1620 sculpture of David by the Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo
Bernini makes clear that Bernini has in mind the expression—maybe even the
exaggeration—of a particular moment: David’s extreme focus is on the instant he
hurls the stone at Goliath, and we are in no doubt about what he feels or the level
of his effort (see Figures 11.4 and II.5).
The painters and sculptors of the Baroque era emphasize an almost theatri­
cal setting, in which characters are posed like actors, and demonstrate, through
85
LEFT. FIG. 11.2 An aerial view of St.
Peter’s Basilica. Rome. The Renais­
sance church, the work of many
famous architects, stands at the
end of Bernini’s immense, keyhole­
shaped Baroque colonnade.
RIGHT. FIG. 11.3 The Pazzi Chapel, in
the cloister of the church of Santa
Croce. Florence, is a masterpiece
of Renaissance simplicity. Based on
designs by Filippo Brunelleschi, it
shows simple relationships of circles
and squares.
Sculpture and painting
86
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
gestures, not only their actions but also their passionate feelings. The great works
of Nicolas Poussin, of Rembrandt van Rijn, of Peter Paul Rubens, and of many
others are all infused with this Baroque gestural quality.
It was generally understood during this period that human emotions were con­
trolled by the “four humors”—blood, yellow bile, phlegm, and black bile. When
the humors shifted and moved about the human body, they dictated the dispo­
sition of one’s passions—or put more simply, how one felt. The passions were
therefore external expressions of an inner state, and they could be codified, listed,
explained, and described. And so it became possible, and desirable, to express each
passion (or affect, as it was sometimes called, e.g., rage, anger, jealousy, love, or
remorse; see Figure 11.6) with specific language, specific gestures, or specific musi­
cal expression. This led to the stylized gestures of music and dance, to the careful
delineations of the passions in opera, and to the efforts of Baroque composers to
express each passion in music.
Baroque Musical Style
© Monteverdi: Orfeo: "E intenerito"
D r a m a , p a s s io n , a n d l a n g u a g e c o a le s c e d in o n e o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t in n o v a tio n s
o f t h e B a r o q u e m u s ic a l s ty le — t h e r e c i t i n g s ty le , c a lle d
recitative (R E S S -it-a -T E E V E )
stile recitativo
in Ita lia n , o r
s ty le in E n g lis h , a n d d e f in e d a s a t y p e o f s i n g in g t h a t
r e s e m b le s s p e a k in g b y f o llo w in g t h e n a t u r a l r h y t h m s o f t h e te x t.
In t h e n e x t c h a p t e r w e w ill l e a r n h o w t h e c o m p o s e r C l a u d i o M o n te v e r d i u s e d
th is n e w s ty le in h is d r a m a o n t h e m y t h o f O r p h e u s , a p la y in w h i c h
ters sing their parts ( w e
n o w c a ll th is k i n d o f w o r k a n
opera).
all the charac­
S o m e c h a r a c t e r s s in g
t h e i r p a r t s in t h e r h y t h m , a n d a t t h e s p e e d , t h a t a n a c t o r w o u l d n o r m a l l y u s e in
s p e a k in g .
T h e w o r d s a r e s u n g t o a m e l o d y d e s ig n e d t o e m p h a s i z e t h e s o u n d a n d s o m e ­
ti m e s th e m e a n i n g o f t h e w o r d s — a c c e n t e d s y lla b le s a r e s e t t o l o n g e r a n d h ig h e r
n o te s ; t h e w o r d s a c c e l e r a t e i f t h e c h a r a c t e r fe e ls e x c ite d , o r s lo w d o w n if t h e c h a r ­
a c t e r is s a d ; t h e a c c o m p a n y i n g h a r m o n i e s a r e s m o o t h o r h a r s h , d e p e n d i n g o n th e
m e a n i n g . T h e r e s u l t is n o t a t u n e f u l m e l o d y b u t a m e l d i n g o f m e l o d y a n d la n ­
g u a g e t h a t e m p h a s i z e s t h e l a n g u a g e — a s M o n te v e r d i p u t it, in th is s ty le “ t h e m u s ic
s h o u l d b e t h e s e r v a n t o f t h e w o r d s a n d n o t t h e m is tr e s s .”
W h a t d o e s h e m e a n b y th a t? C o n s id e r t h e d iff e r e n c e s b e t w e e n t h e R e n a is s a n c e
a n d t h e B a r o q u e s ty le s : a R e n a is s a n c e c o m p o s e r o f t e n u s e d a p o ly p h o n ic w e b o f
c o n t i n u o u s s o u n d (a s in B y r d ’s v o c a l m u s ic ). A B a r o q u e re c ita tiv e p r e s e n t e d a o n e ­
TOP. FIG. 11.4 Michelangelo's famous
statue of David, carved 1501-04.
Calm and poised, the adolescent
hero is depicted before his battle
with the giant Goliath.
BOTTOM. FIG. 11.5 David, by Gian
Lorenzo Bernini, carved 1623-24.
David, his face full of determination
and strain, is in the act of launching
the stone that will kill Goliath. His
posture involves many curves.
t i m e d e liv e r y f o c u s e d o n a s in g le te x t a n d m e lo d y . C o n s id e r a ls o h o w d iff e r e n tly
t h e w o r d s a n d m u s ic a r e r e la te d : in t h e R e n a is s a n c e , m e lo d ie s a r e g e n e r a t e d f r o m
g r o u p s o f w o r d s , a n d e a c h g r o u p r e p e a t s s e v e ra l tim e s t o c r e a te t h e te x tu r e ( “d o n a
n o b is p a c e m , d o n a n o b is p a c e m , d o n a n o b is p a c e m ”). In B a r o q u e r e c ita tiv e , a o n c e t h r o u g h d e liv e r y b y a s in g le v o ic e , in a r h y t h m t h a t a p e r s o n m i g h t u s e w h e n s p e a k ­
in g t h e w o r d s , c r e a te s t h e t e x t u r e . B y rd s e e m s t o u s e th e w o r d s t o e m p h a s iz e th e
m u s ic ; in h is o p e r a s , M o n te v e r d i u s e s th e m u s ic t o f o c u s o u r a t t e n t i o n o n t h e w o r d s .
B y t h e t i m e w e g e t t o l a t e r B a r o q u e m u s ic , t h e id e a o f r e c ita tiv e r e m a in s , b u t it
a p p e a r s s e p a r a t e f r o m o t h e r m u s ic a l d e v ic e s w h e r e m u s ic ta k e s p r e c e d e n c e o v e r
l a n g u a g e (a s in t h e “ H a l l e l u j a h ” c h o r u s ) . B a c h a n d H a n d e l m i g h t s e e m v e r y fa r
r e m o v e d f r o m M o n te v e r d i, b u t a t t h e e n d o f th is s e c tio n w e w ill s e e w h a t t h e y all
h a v e in c o m m o n , i n c lu d in g t h e i r c o n n e c t i o n t o W illia m B yrd!
A ll m u s ic f r o m t h e B a r o q u e p e r i o d s h a r e s s o m e b a s ic m u s ic a l te c h n i q u e s . W ith
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
87
th is in m i n d , le t u s e x a m i n e s o m e o f th e s e , s o t h a t w e
c a n b e o n th e lo o k o u t fo r th e m th r o u g h o u t th e n e x t
fe w c h a p te r s .
A t e n d e n c y t o w a r d m u s ic a l p o la r i z a t i o n , w i t h a focus
on a single melody,
is a n i m p o r t a n t a s p e c t o f B a r o q u e
m u s ic . W h e r e a s a B y rd m o t e t c o n s is ts o f a w e b o f
e q u a lly
i m p o r t a n t v o ic e s , B a r o q u e
m u s ic
te n d s
to
f o c u s a t t e n t i o n o n a s in g le v o ic e ( o r i n s t r u m e n t ) , w h ic h
b e c o m e s t h e m a i n m e lo d y .
I f t h e f ir s t p o le , a s it w e r e , is t h e m e l o d y lin e , t h e n th e
o t h e r p o le is th e
Messiah),
bass line
( © “ R e jo ic e ,” f r o m H a n d e l ’s
t h e l o w e s t s o u n d i n g s e r ie s o f n o te s . B e t w e e n
t h e m e l o d y a n d t h e b a s s , i n s t e a d o f m a n y o t h e r v o ic e s ,
w e h e a r a s e r ie s o f c h o r d s p la y e d b y a h a r p s i c h o r d ,
o r g a n , l u t e , o r s o m e c o m b i n a t i o n o f t h e m . T h i s th r e e p a r t s t r u c t u r e — m e lo d y , b a s s , a n d c h o r d a l a c c o m p a n i m e n t — is m o r e o r le s s th e
s t a n d a r d B a r o q u e s o u n d . In fa c t, t h e c o n t i n u o u s b a s s lin e , w i t h its c o n t i n u o u s
basso continuo o r t h e
k n o w n a s thoroughbass. T h e
c h o r d a l a c c o m p a n i m e n t , w a s c a lle d t h e
“c o n t i n u o u s b a s s ,”
b y t h e Ita lia n s ; in E n g l a n d it w a s
s o u n d o f th e h a r p ­
s ic h o r d , s o o f t e n u s e d o n m o d e r n r e c o r d in g s , is a l m o s t a g u a r a n t e e t h a t t h e m u s ic
FIG. 11.6 Drawings of facial expres­
sions by Charles Le Brun (1619-1690).
These images depict the various
passions, the dramatic emotional
states that are at the core of
Baroque artistic expression.
is f r o m t h e B a r o q u e e r a .
T h e id e a o f b a s s lin e s a n d c h o r d s le a d s t o a n o t h e r e s s e n tia l a s p e c t o f B a r o q u e
m u s ic , t h e u s e o f
harm ony
a s a s t r u c t u r i n g d e v ic e . B y h a r m o n y w e m e a n th e
© Handel: Messiah. 'Rejoicebasso
continuo
c h o ic e o f c h o r d s a n d t h e i r r e la t i o n s h i p t o e a c h o t h e r . T h i s c a n b e a d e e p ly c o m p l i ­
c a t e d m a t t e r , b u t s o m e o f t h e m o s t b a s ic a n d e s s e n tia l r e la tio n s h ip s a r e in s ta n tly
r e c o g n iz a b le . T a k e , f o r e x a m p l e , t h e c o m m o n s e q u e n c e o f c h o r d s k n o w n as
dom inant-tonic ( s o m e t i m e s
n o t a t e d w i t h t h e R o m a n n u m e r a l s V-I). T h i s p r o g r e s ­
s io n s im p ly m e a n s t h a t t h e c h o r d b u i l t o n t h e fifth n o t e o f t h e s c a le is f o llo w e d b y
t h e c h o r d b u i l t o n t h e firs t n o t e o f t h e s c a le (s e e C h a p t e r 1 a n d A p p e n d ix f o r m o r e
i n f o r m a t i o n ) . T h i n k , f o r e x a m p l e , o f t h e la s t t w o w o r d s o f " H a p p y B ir th d a y — “t o ”
is d o m i n a n t , a n d “y o u ” is to n ic .
A n o t h e r i m p o r t a n t a s p e c t o f h a r m o n y is h o w o f t e n t h e a c c o m p a n y i n g c h o r d s
c h a n g e . T h i s is k n o w n as
harm onic rhythm. A g a in , t h i n k
o f t h e d if f e r e n c e b e t w e e n
Harmonic rhythm
Style Com parisons at a Glance
RENAISSANCE MUSICAL STYLE
BAROQUE MUSICAL STYLE
Emphasis on melody
Emphasis on meaning of words
Polyphonic texture
Focus on a single melody
Polyphonic texture determines harmony
Harmony as structuring device
Modal harmony
Major and minor tonality
Sequences are avoided
Many melodies are extended using sequences
Vocal genres mainly Mass, motet, madrigal, and song
Vocal genres mainly opera and oratorio
Instrumental genres mainly keyboard or lute solos,
often based on vocal styles
Instrumental genres mainly sonata and concerto
(1646-1716), in d ep en d en d y o f each
o ther, invented th e calculus.
R ationalism , based o n the idea th at
logical stru ctu re s can lead to tru th , w as
characteristic o f the period. O ne o f
its m ajo r Figures w as R ene D escartes
(1596-1650), fath er o f the “C o g ito ergo
s u m ” (1 think, therefore I am ) thesis.
D escartes opposed the so-called em piri­
cist philosophers w h o believed th at
know ledge com es from experience.
T h ese philosophers included T hom as
H obbes (1588-1679; his Leviathan w as an
im p o rta n t d o c u m e n t in social tho u g h t),
John Locke (1632-1704, fam ous for the
idea th a t o u r m ind begins as a tabula
rasa, a blank slate), an d David H um e
(1711-1776).
Science and Philosophy
T h e seventeenth an d eig h teen th cen ­
tu ries w itn essed p erio d s o f e n o rm o u s
advances in science, p artly because
o f th e increased im p o rtan ce given to
o b serv atio n an d m e a su re m e n t (ra th e r
th a n th e rational logical philo so p h izin g
th a t h ad also b een th e basis o f m o st o f
science). K now ledge o f th e universe,
the n a tu ra l w orld, an d h u m a n m ed i­
cine an d physiology all m ad e e n o rm o u s
strides.
G alileo G alilei (1564-1642), son o f
a fam ous Florentine m usician involved
in the b irth o f op era, im proved th e tele­
scope, discovered th e m o o n s o f Jupiter,
and argued for th e su n -cen tered solar
system th at h ad b een posited by N iko­
laus C opernicus. Galilei w as tried as a
heretic and ultim ately confined to house
arrest.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), the
G e rm a n astrono m er, im proved th e tele­
scope and is rem em b ered for th e laws o f
planetary m otion.
In m ath em atics and physics, Isaac
N ew to n (1643-1727) developed th e
basic laws o f m o tio n and gravitation,
FIG. 11.7 The church of San Carlo alle
Quattro Fontane by the Roman Baroque
architect Francesco Borromini. The building
seems to burst out of its little footprint.
fu n d am en tal to all successive science.
Both he and th e G erm an m a th em a ti­
cian and p h ilosopher G ottfried Leibniz
Literature and the Arts
D escartes’s treatise The Passions o f the
Soul is a g o o d exam ple o f the trad i­
tional view o f em o tio n s as b eing dis­
tinct, clearly delineated, and describable.
E m otions w ere th o u g h t to com e from
th e changing balances in the body o f the
fo u r hu m o rs, o r bodily fluids (see p. 86).
T h ese em otions, o r passions, w ere the
a m e l o d y w h o s e a c c o m p a n y i n g c h o r d s s ta y t h e s a m e — s u c h a s “ R o w , ro w , r o w
y o u r b o a t ”— a n d o n e w h o s e a c c o m p a n y i n g c h o r d s c h a n g e o f te n , lik e m o s t P r o t ­
e s t a n t h y m n s , s u c h a s ”A M ig h ty F o r tr e s s Is O u r G o d .” B a r o q u e m u s ic te n d s t o
p r e f e r a v e r y r e g u l a r h a r m o n i c r h y t h m — t h a t is, c h o r d c h a n g e s a t a r e g u l a r r a te .
T h i s c o n s t a n c y p r o v id e s a n a r c h i t e c t u r a l s e n s e o f s t r u c t u r e , g iv i n g t h e l i s t e n e r th e
im p r e s s i o n t h a t a p ie c e is b e i n g c r e a t e d f r o m r e g u la r - s iz e d b lo c k s o f s o u n d .
P a r a lle lin g h a r m o n i c r h y t h m is t h e B a r o q u e t e n d e n c y t o u s e r e g u l a r
Melodic rhythm
rhythm,
melodic
t h a t is, r e p e a t i n g t h e s a m e p a t t e r n m a n y ti m e s in a k i n d o f m e s m e r i z i n g
re g u la rity . T h i s c o m b i n a t i o n o f r e g u l a r m e l o d i c r h y t h m w i t h s lo w e r b u t e q u a lly
r e g u l a r c h a n g e s o f h a r m o n y c o n t r i b u t e s t o t h e B a r o q u e im p r e s s i o n o f g r a n d
a r c h i t e c t u r e d e c o r a t e d b y a w e a l t h o f s u r f a c e d e ta il.
A B a r o q u e m e l o d y t e n d s t o b e lik e a s e n t e n c e f r o m a n o r a t o r o r a p r e a c h e r :
a r h e t o r i c a l p e r i o d i n t e n d e d t o c o n v in c e . A s p e a k e r b e g i n s w i t h a s t a t e m e n t o r
a g e s t u r e ; c o n t i n u e s w i t h a m p lif ic a tio n in t h e f o r m o f e x a m p le s , r e p e t i t i o n s , o r
88
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
subjects o f painting, sculpture, litera­
tu re, dram a, and m usic. T h e clear dis­
tinction an d expression o f these passions
is a key to all th e arts o f th e Baroque.
T he d eath s o f M iguel de C ervantes
(Don Quixote) and W illiam Shakespeare,
b o th in 1616, left a large gap, filled by
John Dryden (1631-1700), John Milton (1608-1674), an d o th e rs in England,
and by th e dram atists Lope d e Vega (d.
1635), T irso de M olina (d. 1648), and
C alderon (d. 1681) in Spain. T h e sev­
en te e n th cen tu ry w as the golden age
o f French d ram a, w h en u n d e r th e reign
o f the “Sun King,” Louis XIV, th e play­
w rights Jean R acine (1639-1699), Pierre
C orn eille (1606-1684), and M oliere
(1622-1673) p ro d u ced th e g re a t classic
dram as o f French literature. T h e depic­
tion o f th e passions, and th e ir display
on the stage, reached a highly stylized
climax.
P ainters reveled in th e depiction o f
passions, o f Figures in d ram atic poses
an d highly ch arg ed m o m en ts. M any
o f the en d u rin g m asters co m e from
this period: Peter Paul Rubens (15771640), R em brandt van Rijn (16061669), D ieg o V elasquez (1599-1660),
Johannes Verm eer (1632-1675), and
N icolas P ou ssin (1594-1665).
B aroque a rt is p erhaps b est seen in its
arch itectu re and sculpture. T h e R om an
architects Gian
L oren zo
Bernini
(1598-1680) and Francesco B orrom ini
(1599-1667) are th e m odels for m any
w h o cam e later. T hey so u g h t dram a,
expression, and g ran d eu r. If th e ir bu ild ­
ings so m etim es lo o k like a stage setting,
it is probably n o accident. B o rro m in i’s
tiny San C arlo alle Q u a ttro Fontane,
w ith its u n d u latin g curves and niches,
seem s to b u rst o u t o f its tiny space (see
Figure II.7).
B ernini— arch itect o f th e keyhole
colo n n ad e in fro n t o f Saint P eter’s
Basilica in R om e— w as a scu lp to r o f
asto u n d in g ability. His chapel arran g e­
m e n t depicting Saint Teresa o f Avila in
ecstasy show s th e saint w hile an angel
w ith d raw s th e arro w o f divine love from
her. T h e frenzy o f h e r clothing, h er
o p en -m o u th ed awe, h e r curved, even
tw isted p o sture, create a pow erful effect
th ro u g h th e ex ag g eratio n o f a variety o f
aspects (see Figure 11.8).
In m usic, as in th e o th e r arts, the
co m b in atio n o f passion, rheto ric, and
d ram a w orked to produce som e g ran d
expressive m usic and led to th e com bi­
n atio n o f all o f these in the m e d iu m we
now call opera.
FIG. 11.8 Saint Teresa in Ecstasy by the
Roman sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo
Bernini. Note the saint’s twisted posture,
and the nervous folds of her garments.
intensification; and arrives at the concluding point: gesture, amplification, conclu­
sion. Many Baroque melodies operate in this fashion. A perfect example is the
opening melody of the chorus “And the glory of the Lord,” from Handel’s Mes­
siah, which we'll hear in Chapter 5. The opening melodic gesture will fit the words
“And the glory of the Lord,” but we don’t know this yet. A series of repetitions
follows the opening gesture, a favorite Baroque technique called the sequence—a
group of notes (or sometimes notes plus their harmony), repeated several times, at
increasingly higher or lower pitch. In this case a four-note figure is repeated, each
time lower; and then followed by the conclusion in the form of a cadence (the
musical word for a close, like a semicolon or a period in writing).
This list of musical techniques may seem overwhelming at first, but your ears
will get used to them, and they are concepts that will recur over and over again
throughout our three case studies of Baroque music.
For now, let’s have some music.
PART II
© Handel: Messiah. “And the glory
of the Lord." opening
Sequence
Cadence
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
89
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1607, MANTUA
Claudio M onteverdi’s Orfeo
0
C O R E R E P E R T O IR E
■ LG 10 Toccata
■ LG 11 Opening Ritornello and
Prologue
■ LG 12 “Vi ricorda, o boschi ombrosi”
(Orfeo's Song), Act 2
A U T H O R V ID E O S
■ LG 13 “Tu se’ morta" (Orfeo’s
Lament), Act 2
■ LG 14 “Possente spirto” (Orfeo’s
Song). Act 3
■ The use of basso continuo in Orfeo
■ Rhythm in Orfeo’s song, “Vi ricorda,
from Act 2
9f
Introduction
“Tomorrow evening the Most Serene Lord the Prince is to sponsor [a play] in the
main room in the apartments which the Most Serene Lady of Ferrara had the
use of. It should be most unusual, as all the actors are to sing their parts; it is said
on all sides that it will be a great success. No doubt I shall be driven to attend out
of sheer curiosity, unless I am preventedfront getting in by the lack of space.. . . ”
— Carlo Magno, Mantua. February 23, 1607. to his brother Giovanni in Rome
By 1607 the forty-year-old composer Claudio Monteverdi was living in the city of
Mantua, in northern Italy, with his wife, Claudia, a court singer, and his two sur­
viving children. He had served the duke of Mantua as his chief musician for almost
two decades, beginning as a string player and singer at court (sec biography).
Although Monteverdi might have seemed to be enjoying the benefits of a suc­
cessful life, in fact he had financial difficulties, and he felt underappreciated by his
patron; his wife would die that year, leaving him with their small children to look
after. But February 1607 also saw the first performance of his Orfeo, a play in which
all the characters sang their parts. We call such a performance an opera; the term
Monteverdi in Mantua
CLauDio momeverDi (1567-1643)
Claudio Monteverdi was born in
Cremona, in northern Italy, the son
of a physician. He was a musical
prodigy; at about the age of twentythree, having already published sev­
eral musical collections, he moved
to Mantua, where he served at the
court of Vincenzo Gonzaga, duke of
Mantua, until 1612. There, he mar­
ried the singer Claudia Cattaneo. Monteverdi’s duties as music
director included composition, performance, and supervision
of entertainments. While in Mantua he composed madrigals,
instrumental music, ballets, and operas, and continued to pub­
lish his works and achieve substantial fame.
In 1613, after a miserable last few years in Mantua (the duke
was succeeded by one who cared little for music, and the city
was captured), Monteverdi was appointed maestro di cappella
(master of the chapel) at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, the most
prestigious musical post in Italy. He remained there for thirty
years, until his death in 1643. During the last years of his life,
when he was often ill, he composed his two last surviving mas­
terpieces, both operas: Il ritorno dVlisse in patria (The Return of
Ulysses, 1641) and L’incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of
Poppea, 1642) on the life of Roman emperor Nero. Remarkably,
Monteverdi wrote these operas while in his seventies, when the
average lifespan was probably in the forties.
Monteverdi’s music spans the Renaissance and the Baroque
eras, beginning with expressive madrigals, and concluding with
operas in the innovative recitative style (see p. 86). His care­
ful attention to the meaning and expression of words, and his
harmonic daring, give his music a characteristic lively quality.
To hear the full range of Monteverdi’s expression, listen to
selections from his Scherzi musicali (Musical Jokes) of 1607 and
his magnificent Vespers of the Blessed Virgin (1610), composed
for the full vocal and instrumental grandeur of the Mantuan
court.
© Monteverdi: Scherzi musicali
© Monteverdi: 1610 Vespers
MAJOR WORKS: Masses, motets, and operas, including Orfeo
and L’incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppea), 9 books
of madrigals, Vespers, and other sacred works.
92
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
© Monteverdi: Orfeo. “Vi ricorda.
o boschi ombrosi"
did not exist in 1607, but this piece is one of the great foundations of that long
tradition.
P r e s e n t e d in a s m a ll, n a r r o w r o o m a t t h e d u k e ’s p a la c e t o a n e x c lu s iv e c lu b
o f n o b l e m e n (a c lu b c a lle d t h e
L o v e s tr u c k ) ,
Orfeo
Accademia degVItivaghiti,
o r A c a d e m y o f th e
w a s p e r f o r m e d o n ly tw ic e , f o r s m a ll a u d ie n c e s . M o n te v e r d i
c o u l d n o t k n o w t h a t h is m u s ic a l p la y — w h i c h l a s t e d all o f n i n e t y m i n u t e s — w o u l d
b e c o m e a k e y e v e n t in m u s ic h is to r y , a n d a b e lo v e d m u s ic a l m o n u m e n t . W e n o w
t h i n k o f it a s t h e f ir s t g r e a t o p e r a , t h e b e g i n n i n g o f w h a t w o u l d b e c o m e a r e m a r k ­
a b le t r a d i t i o n c o m b i n i n g d r a m a a n d m u s ic .
The Setting
M A N T U A IN 1607
In the beginning of the seventeenth century, Italy was made up of numerous and
distinct geographical and political units (principalities, republics, and papal states),
having their own currencies, capital cities, ambassadors, and governments. The
balance of power was constantly shifting, with a seemingly endless series of wars
and arranged marriages between princely families; those in power needed plenty
of spies and armies to maintain (or extend) their position in the balance.
In Monteverdi’s day, Mantua was one of the more important artistic and civic
centers in Italy (see Figure 4.1, map of northern Italy, left) as well as the resi­
FIG. 4.1 Map of northern Italy around
dence of the great Gonzaga family, which had ruled this northern city-state and
the time of Orfeo. showing Mantua
its territories since the fourteenth century (see Figure 4.2). The city was rich;
as well as other important artistic and
commerce and trade flourished; and the sub­
civic centers.
stantial Jewish population added significantly
to the city's cultural life. Today much of the
city still retains its medieval and Renaissance
flavor, and if you walk the streets of the city’s
center, you will see many of its old buildings,
.Bergamo
grand palaces, and private houses, alongside
N ovara.
•i/rtan
Snssc“
huge piazzas designed for markets, public
MILAN
SAVOY
Guirot
T u rn .
Ver»ce
gatherings, and evening strolls (see Figure 4.3).
.Mantua
}M O N TFE R R A TO
MANTUA
In 1607 the duke of Mantua, Vincenzo Gon­
Parma,
PARMA
zaga, who was only three years older than
MODENA ‘ Bologna
Monteverdi, was the absolute ruler of Mantua.
F1VIZZANO
N He led an indulgent life—hunting, gambling,
ADRIATIC
LUCCA
.Lucca
SEA
traveling, and pursuing his other pleasures of
#Urt»no
theater, music, and women. Like many Renais­
PAPAL
REPUBLIC
S iena.
sance princes of his day, Vincenzo showed
OF GENOA
STATES
i t
off his grandeur and nobility by joining the
.Spoteto
O n eto .
Holy Roman Emperor on military campaigns,
.Term
PIOMBINO
.;/ O i
spending lavishly, and being a generous patron
Viterbo*
L’AquIa
of the arts. He also succeeded in dissipating a
substantial amount of the family fortune.
•Home
NAPLES
Painters, architects, poets, dramatists, and
Camoobasso*
musicians had all been employed by the Gon­
T Y R R H E N I A N SEA
zaga family for generations to decorate their
■j.mw
palaces and to entertain the many people—
family, nobles, administrators—who formed
CHAPTER 4
C lau d io M o n te v e rd i's O rfe o
93
FIG. 4.2 A The Expulsion of the
Bonacolsi (1494). by Domenico
Morone. which shows the main
piazza of the Ducal Palace in Man­
tua. The Bonacolsi were a noble
family who were overthrown in
a revolt backed by the rich and
powerful Gonzagas.
the “court,” as it was called, o f a great prince. The palace at Mantua (see Figure
4.4), thought by some to be the biggest building in the world at the time, had
grown over the centuries, and it now incorporated a medieval fortress, a large
and looming church, a separate floor on a reduced scale for the court dwarves
(who performed a variety of duties, including entertaining and serving), a grand
riding ring, many courtyards and gardens, and over five hundred rooms and apart­
ments. The court was an enormous operation that hired a huge number of peo­
ple, including footmen, physicians, pharmacists, barbers, tutors, stewards, waiters,
cooks, wood gatherers, alchemists, clock-winders, falconers, and carvers of meat,
to mention only a fraction of the in-house staff.
Duke Vincenzo had always been fond of music and the theater. He kept on
staff a group of court musicians, led by Claudio Monteverdi, who was involved
whenever music became a part of the many court entertainments. Monteverdi
was constantly busy, said his brother Giulio Cesare Monteverdi,
Palace at Mantua
because o f his responsibility for b o th church an d ch am b er m usic, b u t also because
o f o th e r extrao rd in ary services, for, serv in g a g reat prince, he finds th e g re a te r p art
o f his tim e taken up, n o w w ith to u rn am en ts, n o w w ith ballets, n o w w ith com edies
and various concerts, and lastly w ith th e playing o f th e tw o viole bastarde [rare solo
stringed instrum ents].
FIG. 4.3 Modern-day Mantua during
an evening stroll.
94
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
FIG. 4.4 The medieval Palazzo del
Capitano. one of the many con­
joined parts of the palace of the
dukes of Mantua.
By 1607 Claudio Monteverdi was already a composer of some renown. He had
published several books of music, and his reputation far exceeded the boundaries
of Mantua. But he was still a servant. In 1608 he complained that “the fortune I
have known in Mantua for nineteen consecutive years has given me more occasion
to call it misfortune, and inimical to me, and not friendly.” The duke expected all
of his musicians to perform not only at the highest level but also in a variety of
jobs. A letter from Monteverdi to Prince Francesco Gonzaga, the duke’s eldest son
(see Figure 4.5), gives us an idea of what was expected from these overworked
court musicians: “His Highness the Prince . .. very much likes not only to hear a
variety of wind instruments, he also likes to have the said musicians play in private,
in church, in procession, and atop city walls; now madrigals, now French songs,
now airs, and now dance-songs.”
FIG. 4.5 Francesco Gonzaga. son
of the reigning duke and the chief
organizer of the first performance
of Orfeo.
THE BIRTH O F O PER A
As we have read in the previous chapter, music played an important role in the
sacred, civic, religious, and courtly life of the Renaissance. It was also important
in drama; plays often included music, be it song, dance, or instrumental inter­
ludes performed between acts. In addition, the courts created lavish spectacles that
included song, dance, magnificent costumes and stage effects, and large instru­
mental ensembles, all for the benefit of a small noble audience. But music’s role in
drama was about to become much more central.
In t h e la te - R e n a is s a n c e F lo r e n c e o f t h e 1580s a n d 1590s, a s m a ll s e le c t g r o u p
o f I ta lia n p o e ts , c o m p o s e r s , a n d i n te lle c t u a ls m e t r e g u la r ly t o d is c u s s t r e n d s in
a r t. L e d b y t h e n o b l e m a n a n d c o m p o s e r G io v a n n i d c ’ B a rd i, t h e y s o u g h t t o s tu d y
a n d p u r if y t h e a r t s o f t h e i r day. M o d e r n m u s ic h a d b e c o m e c o r r u p t , t h e y d e c id e d ,
Greek tragedy and opera
a n d t h e i r s o l u t i o n w a s t o r e t u r n t o t h e s ty le o f a n c i e n t G r e e k tr a g e d y , w h i c h s o m e
b e lie v e d h a d b e e n s u n g t h r o u g h o u t . T h e y b e lie v e d t h a t d i r e c t d e liv e r y o f a te x t,
t h r o u g h a s in g le s i n g i n g v o ic e , w o u l d n o t d i s t o r t t h e w o r d s o r c o n f u s e t h e lis­
t e n e r a s t o t h e e m o t i o n a l m e s s a g e o f t h e te x t. A s th is g r o u p o f e x p e r i m e n t e r s
e x p r e s s e d it, t h e s in g e r b e c a m e a n o r a t o r , a n d t h e n u a n c e s o f t h e m u s ic e n h a n c e d
t h e r h e t o r i c a l in f l e c tio n s o f t h e te x t.
CHAPTER 4
M o n te v e r d i w a s w e ll a w a r e o f t h e c u r r e n t i n te lle c t u a l t r e n d s , a n d h is
C lau d io M o n te v e rd i’s O rfe o
95
Orfeo w a s
b a s e d o n t h e s e F lo r e n t i n e id e a ls . It w a s c a lle d a “fa b le in m u s i c ,” t h a t is, a p la y in
w h ic h “ all t h e a c t o r s a r e t o s in g t h e i r p a r t s ” (a s o n e o f t h e p e o p l e p r e s e n t a t th e
p re m ie r w ro te ).
Imagine, for a second, what it must have been like in 1607, for the first time
witnessing this scene of people standing on stage, looking at each other and sing­
ing. Somehow you needed to accept the idea of a world in which singing was the
sound of speaking.
Why would anyone have sat through this new form of entertainment? We do
now, of course, because we like the idea that music and drama can happen at
the same time and that each can enrich the other. But in 1607, people were not
accustomed to this concept, and they attended this fable in music as much out of
curiosity as anything else.
This particular opera stands at the beginning of a long tradition; other repre­
sentatives of this tradition will also appear in this book. Those works come from
later times, when opera was the absolute height of the arts, when every city had its
own opera house, and when high technology and fabulously expensive stars came
together in major events at high prices. But it was this early fable in music (favola
in musica; see Figure 4.6), this small, experimental piece, that would remain such a
formidable and enduring monument.
THE STO RY O F O RPH EU S (ORFEO)
Presenting an opera about Orpheus—the greatest musician who ever lived,
according to the myths—was a good idea, for two reasons. First, the story was
familiar. In 1607 every cultured member of society would have known about the
legend of Orpheus, the demigod son of Apollo who falls in love with the beautiful
mortal Eurydice. When Eurydice dies, the desperate Orpheus
resolves to do what no human has ever done—descend to the
world of the dead and bring her back to life. He crosses the
River Styx, where the boatman Charon (Caronte) ferries the
souls of the dead to the underworld, and succeeds, with the
help of Pluto’s wife Proserpine, in convincing Pluto to release
his beloved Eurydice—but on one condition: Orpheus may lead
Eurydice out, but he must not look back to see whether she is
following him.
T h i s is t h e c ritic a l is s u e a t t h e c e n t e r o f t h e m y t h . O r p h e u s ’s
h e a d a n d h e a r t a r e a t w a r : h is r e a s o n te lls h i m t h a t h e m u s t n o t
l o o k b a c k , b u t h is h e a r t u r g e s h i m o t h e r w i s e . H is p a s s io n u l t i ­
m a t e l y g e t s t h e b e t t e r o f h i m , h e lo o k s b a c k , a n d E u r y d ic e d is ­
a p p e a r s i n t o e t e r n a l d a r k n e s s w h ile O r p h e u s is t h r u s t b a c k i n t o
t h e d a y lig h t in w h ic h h e w ill h a v e t o w a n d e r a lo n e , fo re v e r. W e
u n d e r s t a n d th is s t o r y w h e n w e h e a r it, b e c a u s e w e e n a c t it e v e r y
d a y — o u r h e a r t te lls u s o n e t h i n g a n d o u r h e a d te lls u s a n o th e r .
(See Figures 4.7-4.9 for illustrated examples of the Orpheus
myth through time.)
T h e o th e r re a so n th a t m a k e s th e O rp h e u s m y th su c h a g o o d
music.
What better subject for a play in music than a story about the
greatest musician who ever lived? Orpheus is the son of Apollo,
who is the god of the sun but also the god of balance in all
c h o ic e is t h a t a n o p e r a a b o u t O r p h e u s is a n o p e r a a b o u t
FIG. 4.6 Title page of Monteverdi’s
1615 publication of the score of
Orfeo. It reads "The Orfeo. fable in
music, by Claudio Monteverdi...
presented in Mantua in the year
1607, and newly reprinted.”
96
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
th i n g s ( n o t e t h e c o n n e c t i o n : A p o llo k n o w s h o w t o k e e p e m o ­
t i o n s in c h e c k ) a n d t h e g o d o f m u s ic ( n o t e t h e o t h e r c o n n e c ­
tio n : t h e g r e a t e s t m u s ic ia n s o f h e a v e n
and
e a r t h , A p o llo a n d
O r p h e u s ) . In a d d itio n , O r p h e u s is s u c h a fin e s in g e r t h a t b ir d s
fall s ile n t a n d s t o n e s w e e p w h e n h e s in g s . W h a t a c h a ll e n g e t o a
c o m p o s e r— to p u t m u s ic in to th e m o u th o f O rp h e u s !
T h e m u s ic t h r o u g h o u t M o n t e v e r d i ’s
Orfeo
is g lo r i o u s , a n d
th e m e ssa g e , a d d re ss e d to th e le a rn e d m e m b e rs o f th e A c ad ­
e m y , is e m o t i o n a l b u t a ls o p h ilo s o p h ic a l: b a l a n c e in a ll th in g s .
O r p h e u s lo s e s w h e n h e le ts h is h e a r t o v e r p o w e r h is r e a s o n . H e
liv e s, a s w e a ll d o , in a w o r l d b e t w e e n r e a s o n a n d p a s s io n . O v e r ­
h e a d , in t h e h e a v e n s , w h e r e A p o llo d riv e s t h e c h a r i o t o f t h e s u n
t h r o u g h t h e s k ie s e v e r y day, is t h e r e a l m o f p u r i t y a n d lig h t,
o f r e a s o n a n d b a la n c e . A n d b e l o w o u r f e e t is t h e u n d e r w o r l d ,
r u l e d b y p a s s io n a te P lu t o , w h o l o n g a g o s n a t c h e d P r o s e r p i n e
f r o m t h e w o r l d o f t h e liv in g b e c a u s e o f h is lu s t f o r h e r . In M o n ­
t e v e r d i ’s o p e r a , s h e p le a d s f o r t h e lo v e r O r p h e u s , u n d e r s t a n d i n g
FIG. 4.7 A sixth-century mosaic
from a church in Libya depicting
Orpheus playing a four-stringed
instrument.
h is p lig h t o n ly t o o w e ll.
O r p h e u s is lik e u s in liv in g in t h e w o r l d b e t w e e n . H e lo o k s
b a c k w h e n h e s h o u l d n ’t, a n d t h e r e s u l t is t h e lo s s o f e v e r y t h i n g h e c a r e s a b o u t . H e
is o u t o f b a l a n c e a t t h e e n d , a n d h is f a t h e r A p o llo r e s c u e s h i m , b r i n g i n g h is i n c o n ­
s o la b le s o n u p t o h e a v e n .
Orfeo is
a b o u t c la s s ic a l f ig u r e s , b u t it is a ls o a b o u t h u m a n b e in g s , a n d t h a t w a s
p a r t o f its a p p e a l t o t h e n o b l e m e n o f M a n t u a , a n d w h y it s till a p p e a ls t o u s to d a y .
T h e a u t h o r o f M o n te v e r d i’s te x t, A le s s a n d r o S tr ig g io , w a s a p o e t , a n d a ls o a la w ­
y e r, a m u s ic ia n , a n d a d i p l o m a t w h o h a d s e r v e d t h e d u k e a s a m b a s s a d o r . H e w a s
w e ll e d u c a t e d in t h e c la s s ic s , a n d h e w a s p a r tic u la r ly a w a r e o f t h e w o r k o f O tta v io
R in u c c in i, t h e F lo r e n t in e n o b l e m a n w h o h a d b e e n o n e o f t h e e a r ly e x p e r i m e n t e r s
in w r i t i n g p o e t r y f o r s in g in g . R in u c c in i h a d w r i t t e n a d r a m a a b o u t O r p h e u s a n d
E u r y d ic e , w h i c h S tr ig g io k n e w a n d t r i e d t o e m u l a t e .
S tr ig g io t o o k g r e a t c a r e t o m a k e s u r e h is p la y r e s e m b l e d a f a m ilia r ( t o t h a t
FIG. 4.8 Orpheus rides over the
Styx, by Eduard Engerth (1818-1897),
from the Vienna Opera House.
e le v a te d a u d ie n c e ) c la s s ic a l G r e e k o r R o m a n tr a g e d y , c o m p l e t e w i t h p r o lo g u e ,
CHAPTER 4
C lau d io M o n te v e rd i’s O rfe o
97
long poetic speeches, and a chorus that comments on what is
happening. Sometimes the chorus members are the nymphs
and shepherds who inhabit the pastoral scene, and sometimes
they are the spirits of the underworld. But in either case, they
all participate in the action and comment on it: at the news of
Eurydice’s death, the chorus cries out “Ahi! Caso acerbo!” (Oh,
bitter fate!); but they follow this outburst with a little lesson:
“Mortal man should not trust frail joy; it suddenly flees away,
and often at the greatest height the precipice is nearby.” Mon­
teverdi displays his musical wit in portraying the sudden fleeing
away, the great height, and the deep plunge; it’s a little madrigal,
of the sort he was already famous for.
As in a Greek tragedy, each act of the play ends with a great
choral ode—a series of pieces for chorus and soloists that brings
each of the five dramatic units of the play to a close. There
is action followed by reflection, which would become a timehonored device in later opera.
Ironically, this effort at historical re-creation, the attempt to
present drama as it had been presented to the ancient Greeks,
had the contrary effect: it created a new cutting-edge art form.
The Performance
PREPARATIONS
You might imagine that Francesco Gonzaga, as eldest son of the duke of Mantua,
and the one organizing the production of Orfeo, would not have had any trouble
gathering the singers and the musicians or creating the sets and the costumes that
were needed to present this play for the Academy, but it was not so easy. A tem­
porary theater had to be built in the palace, sets constructed and painted, cos­
tumes made, and rehearsals held. And most problematic of all was getting the
right singers.
We actually know more about the first performance of Orfeo than we do about
almost any other performance of its time because Monteverdi’s published score
survives; it is really a memory book, a souvenir program for those who were not
fortunate enough to be there. It describes what actually happened on that particular
occasion, rather than how one should perform the piece in the future. There are
many little references scattered throughout the music. “This sinfonia [an instru­
mental piece] was played very quietly,” reads one typical remark, “with viole da
braccio, and organ, and a contrabasso de viola da gamba. ”
We also have information about some of the musical personnel who were
employed by the duke and who must have taken part in the performance. In addi­
tion we have a series of letters from Francesco Gonzaga—as he tries to organize
the performance—to his brother Ferdinando. We know where the performance
was given and who must have created the sets. And yet there is still a lot we will
never know.
What might seem to us the strangest of all the circumstances that we do
know about is that Orfeo was sung by an all-male cast. The beautiful Eurydice, on
whom the plot turns; Proserpine, queen of the underworld; the feminine Music
(La Musica), who sings the prologue; and the female personification of Hope
FIG. 4.9 The So n g o f Orpheus, by
twentieth-century American artist
Barnett Newman (1905-1970).
All-male cast
98
PART II
Plot o f
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
Orfeo
O rfeo is b a se d o n th e a n c ie n t G r e e k m y th o f O r p h e u s , w h o trie s to
ACT 3
rescu e h is d e c e a se d lover, E u r y d ic e , f r o m th e u n d e r w o r ld .
■ H ope guides O rp h e u s to the en tran ce o f the underw orld,
w here at th e River Styx he m eets C haron (C aronte), the
ferrym an, w h o carries souls do w n to the underw orld.
■ O pening Toccata. 0 LG 10
PROLOG UE
■ P rologue (La M usica) invites th e audience to h ear th e sto ry
o f O rp h eu s (O rfeo) and his pow ers to tam e th e w orld w ith
his singing and playing o f th e lyre. 0 LG 11
O rp h eu s attem p ts to charm C haron by singing "Possente
sp irto ” (M ighty spirit), b u t to no avail. 0 LG 14 C haron falls
asleep to soft m usic an d O rp h eu s steals C haron's boat.
ACT 4
ACT 1
■ O rp h eu s an d Eurydice celebrate th e ir w edding, each sing­
ing a song.
■ T he act ends w ith th e ch o ru s singing "Ecco O rfeo ” (H ere is
O rpheus).
■ P lu to ’s wife P roserpine is m oved by O rp h e u s’s plight, and
convinces h e r h u sb an d to release Eurydice.
■ P lu to agrees, b u t o n one condition: th a t O rp h e u s n o t look
back.
■ O rp h eu s an d Eurydice begin th e ir ascent from H ades.
■ Im pelled by do u b t, O rp h e u s looks back; Eurydice vanishes
before his eyes.
ACT 2
■ O rp h eu s is ejected, against his will, into the u p p e r w orld.
■ T he C h o ru s co n tin u es in celebration, and O rp h eu s sings his
so n g "Vi ricorda, o boschi o m b ro si” (D o you rem em ber, o
shady w oods). 0 LG 12
■ A M essenger tells O rp h e u s th a t Eurydice has died.
■ O rp h eu s sings his p o ig n an t "Tu se' m o rta ” (You are dead)
a b o u t the im p erm an en ce o f happiness. 0 LG 13
■ O rp h eu s vow s to go to th e u n d erw o rld to rescue Eurydice
by using his p o w er o f love th ro u g h song to convince P luto
(god o f the u n d erw o rld ) to free her.
■ A ct 2 ends w ith th e C h o ru s singing "Ahi! C aso acerbo!” (O h,
b itte r fate!).
ACT 5
■ O rp h eu s, co n su m ed by grief, cries o u t an d is answ ered by
th e lone voice o f Echo.
■ O rp h eu s becom es angry, vow ing to reject all w om en.
■ His father, Apollo, descends from th e heavens to console his
son. H e prom ises to take O rp h eu s to the heavens, w here
his disconsolate son can look forever u p o n the im age o f
Eurydice in th e stars.
■ F ather an d son ascend to heaven. A final ch o ru s and dance.
(L a S p c r a n z a ) , w h o le a d s O r p h e u s t o t h e e d g e o f t h e u n d e r w o r l d , w e r e all s u n g b y
m e n . (S e e P lo t o f
Orfeo, a b o v e .)
It is n o t t h a t t h e r e w e r e n ’t s p e c ta c u la r ly g o o d w o m e n s in g e r s in M a n t u a . T h e
d u k e h a d g a t h e r e d t o g e t h e r a f a m o u s g r o u p o f w o m e n s in g e r s lik e t h e s im ila r
Women singers at court
concerto delle donne in F e r r a r a (a g r o u p o f p r o f e s s io n a l f e m a le s in g e r s r e n o w n e d fo r
their technical and artistic virtuosity, whose signature style of florid, highly orna­
mented singing brought prestige to Ferrara and inspired composers of the time).
Not only was Francesco’s father, Vincenzo, a competitive man, wanting to keep up
with rival courts, but he was known to have a weakness for the ladies, so it might
seem strange that he would not employ some of his outstanding women singers.
But on this occasion, and apparently on all previous occasions, the duke refused to
allow his women singers to appear before a public audience. Only a year later, in
1608, did he allow a woman to appear in an opera.
CHAPTER 4
With the shortage of singers for women’s roles in Orfeo, Francesco Gonzaga
sought to “borrow” a c a s t r a t o from the Grand Duke of Tuscany by way of his
brother Ferdinando. (A castrato was a male singer who was castrated before his
voice changed—such singers were in great demand and were famous for their pow­
erful voices. Today castrato roles arc usually sung by women or by countertenors.)
On January 5, 1607, Francesco Gonzaga wrote a letter to his brother requesting to
borrow a castrato from the Grand Duke’s stable of singers:
C la u d io M o n te v e rd i’s O rfe o
Castrato
I have decided to have a play in m usic p erfo rm e d at C arnival [th e festivities before
th e beg in n in g o f Lent] this year, b u t as w e have very few sop ran o s here, and those
few n o t good, 1 should be g ratefu l if Your Excellency w o u ld be k in d en o u g h to tell
m e if th o se castrati 1 h eard w h en I w as in T uscany are still there.
Ferdinando succeeded in locating a good singer; but he was slow in arriving,
wrote Francesco:
Arrangingfor the singers
F ebruary 9: . . . I h ad expected th a t th e castrato w o u ld have arrived by now, and
indeed it is essential th a t he should be h ere as soon as possible. H e w ill now have n ot
only to play th e p a rt th a t w as sen t to him , b u t also to learn th a t o f P roserpine, as the
singer w h o w as to take th e role can n o lo n g er do so. So 1 am aw aiting h im from day
to day w ith g re a t eagerness, as w ith o u t h im th e play w o u ld be a com p lete failure.
Francesco was frantic; but finally the singer—Giovanni Gualberto Magli—
arrived to sing the roles of Proserpina and the Prologue (La Musica), and at least
one other female role in the play.
F ebruary 16: . . . th e castrato arrived yesterday. . . h e know s only th e p rologue, and
seem s to th in k th at h e w ill n o t have tim e to learn th e o th e r p a rt before th e C arnival;
in w hich case I shall have no choice b u t to p o stp o n e th e p erfo rm an ce o f th e play
until Easter. This m o rn in g , how ever, h e b eg an to stu d y n o t only th e m usic, b u t the
w ords as well; and if he w ere able to learn th e p a rt (alth o u g h it does contain to o
m any n o tes [“tro p p o voci”], as Your Excellency says), he w o u ld at least k n o w the
melody, th e m usic could be altered to suit his needs, and we w o u ld n o t w aste so
m uch tim e en su rin g th at he know s it all by h e a r t .. . .
Wc also know the names of some of the other singers. The role of Eurydice
was most likely played by Girolamo Bacchini, a soprano castrato who was a com­
poser and also a priest. He may have been hired because he had a beautiful voice—
Eurydice’s role, though brief, has two exquisite speeches—or perhaps because he
was short and therefore fit the part. We do know that he was later referred to as
that “little priest [pretino] who played Eurydice in the Orfeo of the Most Serene
Lord Prince.”
The star of the show, however, was Francesco Rasi, a singer in the employ of the
duke of Mantua. Rasi was not only a famous singer but a published poet and com­
poser as well. He was described in his role of Orpheus as “that signor Francesco
Rasio, so famous for his excellence in his profession that everyone agrees that there
are few in the world who can excel him.” He was a handsome, jovial man, with a
strong voice; his singing was sometimes described as angelic. Rasi sang, according
to one critic, “with a range consisting of many notes, and with exquisite style and
passage-work [rapid ornaments], and with extraordinary feeling and a particular
talent to make the words clearly heard.” Monteverdi surely had Rasi in mind when
composing the role of Orpheus.
The singers
99
100
PART
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
T H E IN S T R U M E N T S
Although Monteverdi was creating a play for a small, elite audience, he did so for
one of the richest court establishments in the world. No expense, apparently, was
spared, and in the arena of instrumental colors, Orfeo is much richer than almost
anything else we know of from the period, except for the entertainments written
for the grandest princely events.
The instruments in Orfeo represent a panorama of the sounds of the time. Mon­
teverdi followed two basic principles: (1) that instruments be used in groups of
similar sound (a group of strings, or flutes, or trombones, for example—rather
than a mixture of different types) and (2) that melody instruments not play while
characters are singing. The instruments that played in groups were usually either
in pairs or in groups of five, as outlined below:
Paired in strum en ts
(“flautini ”), used in Acts 1 and 2, suggestive of shepherds’ pipes in
the charming ritorncllo.
Violins, as well as a pair of “violini piccioli alia francese,” probably little
dancing-masters’ pocket violins, used just once, in the sequence of songs
in Act 2.
Cornetts, used in the underworld acts, sometimes to enrich the ensemble of
trombones, and on one occasion heard by themselves in “Possento spirto,”
Orfeo’s virtuoso appeal to Caronte. Cornetts—not to be confused with
the modern trumpetlike instrument—are a family of wooden instruments
with finger holes like a clarinet or other woodwind but with a small cupped
mouthpiece like a trum pet’s. A cornett has a beautiful silvery sound that
some likened to the human voice.
Recorders
G ro u p s o f 5
used in the opening Toccata.
Stringed instruments, two groups of five, one in the front and one backstage,
each group ranging from high (violin) to low (cello).
Trom bones played in the underworld scenes, Acts 3 and 4.
Trum pets,
Three viole da gamba are sometimes added to one of the string groups. In
Orfeo’s song “Possente spirto” there is a splendid solo for harp, which is the earliest
surviving solo music for that instrument. Perhaps this represents Orpheus’s lyre.
Monteverdi calls for an "arpa doppia,” a double harp that has some extra strings so
that it can play sharps and flats.
And then there were the instruments that played the accompaniment, the basso
continuo (see p. 101), comprising at various times harpsichords, wood and reed
organs, chitarroni, harp, viole da gamba, and contrabasses (see pp. 72 and 156 ).
Later in his life, when Monteverdi lived in Venice and wrote opera for commer­
cial opera houses, his orchestras were very small: four or five string players and a
harpsichord would often be enough. But here in Mantua, where Monteverdi was
at the head of a large musical establishment, and where splendor was expected, the
array of instruments was as grand as anyone could imagine.
It was a group of instruments specific to the musical personnel of Mantua. We
know the names of some of the expert performers who worked for Monteverdi,
CHAPTER 4
C la u d io M o n te v e rd i’s O rfe o
101
and, as if happens, they correspond almost exactly with the virtuoso parts in Orfeo.
The two Rubini brothers were accomplished violinists; Monteverdi’s pupil Giulio
Cesare Bianchi was an expert on the cornett; and there was a consummate harpist
named Lucrczia Urbana who was probably present (she appears in payment records
from 1603 to 1605, although the ones from 1607 are missing). These arc precisely
the solo instruments that Monteverdi used in his virtuoso songs for Orpheus.
T H E V O IC E A N D ITS A C C O M P A N IM E N T
When any of the characters on stage sang, they were accompanied by one or more
instruments that could play chords—the lute, organ, harpsichord, or, as in Act 3, a
buzzy reed organ called a regal. But the actual notes for these instruments were not
written out by Monteverdi. Instead, he provided a kind of shorthand in the score:
a series of bass notes, which gave the player a sense of the required harmony. The
player was expected to improvise an appropriate chord for each bass note. When
Monteverdi thought there might be some confusion on what exactly he wanted,
he gave extra signs to indicate, for instance, a major chord or a minor chord (see
Appendix, pp. A-6-A-7 or how the notes should be arranged in the chord. This
shorthand notation was called figured bass, and the continuous bass melody to
represent chordal accompaniment was called basso continuo, as we mentioned in
the Part Opener. These were techniques used not only by Monteverdi but by many
other composers and performers of the day (see Figure 4.10).
Figured bass and basso continuo
(@>The use of basso continuo
in Orfeo
W h ile s o m e t i m e s M o n te v e r d i s p e c if ie d w h a t t h e a c c o m p a n y i n g i n s t r u m e n t s
s h o u l d b e , m o s t o f t h e t i m e h e d id n o t . B u t w e d o l e a r n a c o u p le o f th in g s f r o m
h is in d ic a tio n s in t h e s c o r e : o n e is t h a t c h a r a c t e r s w e r e n o t s p e c ific a lly a s s o c ia te d
w i t h o n e i n s t r u m e n t o r a n o t h e r ( e x c e p t f o r C a r o n t e , w h o is a c c o m p a n i e d b y th e
r e g a l) . A n o t h e r is t h a t s o m e t i m e s a m e l o d y i n s t r u m e n t — u s u a lly a c e llo — p la y e d
t h e b a s s n o t e s a l o n g w i t h th e c h o r d a l “c o n t i n u o ” i n s t r u m e n t s . (W e w ill s e e l a t e r
t h a t t h e m u s ic o f H a n d e l a n d B a c h a lw a y s u s e d a m e l o d y i n s t r u m e n t — a g a in , u s u ­
a lly t h e c e llo — t o a c c o m p a n y t h e c h o r d - p la y in g i n s t r u m e n t .)
Speaking and Singing T h e s i n g in g i t s e l f p r e s e n t e d a n o t h e r k i n d o f p r o b l e m : i f all
th e c h a ra c te rs a re s in g in g th e ir p a rts , w h a t h a p p e n s w h e n o n e o f th e c h a ra c te rs
w a n t s t o “s in g ” a s o n g — h o w is t h a t t o b e d i s t i n g u i s h e d f r o m s p e a k in g ? H o w c a n
a c h a r a c t e r s in g , a s it w e r e , m o r e ? It is a p r o b l e m t h a t a ll o p e r a c o m p o s e r s fa c e in
o n e w a y o r a n o t h e r , a n d h o w th e y w o r k th is o u t is o n e o f t h e m o r e in t e r e s t i n g
th in g s t o lis te n fo r.
In t h e c a s e o f t h e s t o r y o f O r p h e u s , it is p a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t b e c a u s e
O r p h e u s h i m s e l f is a s in g e r . S o h o w d o e s M o n te v e r d i m a k e a c o n t r a s t b e t w e e n
s p e a k i n g a n d s in g in g ?
'
Songs
t e n d t o b e r h y t h m i c , fall i n t o r e g u l a r p h r a s e s , a n d
atto secondo
O K I
==~
fc <).
FIG. 4.10 Orfeo’s song at the begin­
ning of Act 2. from Monteverdi’s
original printed score. Orfeo’s music,
with its words, is the top line of
music: below it is a series of notes
that provide the basso continuo for
accompanying instruments.
102
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
o fte n re p e a t th e w o rd s. T h e y
sound
lik e s o n g s . In
speaking— e v e n
in o p e r a — th e
w o r d s a r e r e c i t e d , w i t h o u t r e p e a t i n g t h e m , in a r h y t h m d e s ig n e d t o m a k e t h e m
u n d e r s t o o d . In a s o n g lik e O r f e o ’s “V i r ic o r d a , o b o s c h i o m b r o s i ,” f r o m A c t 2
( w e w ill h e a r m o r e o f it, in d e ta i l, in L G 12), M o n te v e r d i h a s g iv e n u s a liv e ly
t u n e , m a n y r e p e a t e d lin e s , a n d a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c r h y t h m i c p a t t e r n t h a t r e p e a ts . T h e
© Monteverdi: Orfeo. "Vi ricorda.
o boschi ombrosi"
m u s ic a l c o n t r a s t b e t w e e n “ Vi r i c o r d a ” a n d t h e M e s s e n g e r ’s a n n o u n c e m e n t o f
© Monteverdi: Orfeo.
“Ahi! Caso acerbo”
a n a n g u la r , n o n r e p e a t e d m e l o d y t h a t r e f le c ts h e r a n g u i s h e d e m o t i o n . T h e w o r d s
E u r y d i c e ’s d e a t h ( “A h i! C a s o a c e r b o ! ” ) c o u l d n o t b e s t r o n g e r . T h e M e s s e n g e r h a s
a r e d e liv e r e d a s i f s h e w e r e c r y i n g o u t in a n g u is h , a n d a s id e f r o m t h e r h e t o r i c a l
r e p e t i t i o n o f t h e e x c l a m a t i o n “A h i!,” t h e r e is n o r e p e t i t i o n o f e i t h e r w o r d s o r o f
m u s ic a l p h r a s e s .
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24,1607
A r r iv in g f o r t h e p e r f o r m a n c e , i f w e w e r e m e m b e r s o f t h e A c a d e m y , w e w o u l d
h a v e e n t e r e d t h e p a la c e f r o m t h e p u b lic s q u a r e , g o i n g i n t o t h e g r o u n d - f l o o r r o o m s
t h a t s e r v e d a s a s o r t o f tr a n s i t i o n a l s p a c e b e t w e e n t h e p u b lic a n d p r i v a t e p a r t s o f
t h e p a la c e . W e w o u l d t h e n h a v e e n t e r e d t h e r o o m w h e r e t h e m u s ic a l p la y w a s
a b o u t t o ta k e p la c e .
The “theater”
There is some good historical evidence on where the performance was given—
in a room measuring about twenty-eight by thirty-nine feet—with its vaulted ceil­
ing still intact. It was fitted up as a temporary theater and was barely large enough
for the small membership of the Academy (see Figure 4.11). The room is still part
of the palace, although it is now used as commercial and office space.
F o r th e p r o d u c t i o n , t h r e e w i n d o w s o n t h e r ig h t w e r e c u r t a i n e d t o e n h a n c e th e
t h e a t r ic a l l i g h t i n g c r e a t e d b y c a n d le s a n d r e f le c to r s ; t h e s e p r o v id e d t h e p r o p e r
a tm o s p h e re fo r
Orfeo.
A t t h e f a r e n d o f t h e r o o m w a s a p r o s c e n i u m s ta g e c o v e r e d
w i t h a c u r t a i n , in f r o n t o f w h ic h a la r g e n u m b e r o f i n s t r u m e n t a l i s t s w e r e s e a te d
a n d b e h i n d w h ic h , p r e s u m a b ly , t h e c o s t u m e d p la y e r s a n d b a c k s ta g e i n s t r u m e n t a l ­
is ts w e r e p r e p a r in g .
A n t o n i o M a r ia V ia n i, t h e p a in te r , a r c h ite c t, a n d P r e f e c t o f t h e D u c a l F a b ric (h e
w a s in c h a r g e o f a ll t h e b u ild in g s ) , w a s f a m o u s f o r h is s k ill in c o n s t r u c t i n g t h e a t e r s
FIG. 4.T1 A reconstruction of the
room in which Orfeo was per­
formed. created by P. Guillou for the
Musee de la Musique. Paris. Recent
research suggests that the stage was
at the short end of a room on the
ground floor of the palace.
CHAPTER 4
C la u d io M o n te v e rd i’s O rfe o
a n d m a c h i n e s ( s u c h a s f ly in g c lo u d s ) f o r t h e c o u r t ; h e w a s s u r e ly t h e d e s i g n e r o f
t h e p la tf o r m s , th e s c e n e ry , a n d t h e d e c o r a t i o n s .
T h e p e r f o r m a n c e b e g a n w h e n t h e lig h ts w e r e lo w e r e d , t h e c a n d le s b e h i n d th e
s ta g e w e r e lit, a n d t h e a u d i e n c e w a s in p la c e .
W e d o n o t h a v e a n y p i c tu r e s o f h o w t h e s ta g e w a s a r r a n g e d o r o f t h e c o s t u m e s
o r t h e p e r f o r m e r s . T h e s e ts d o n o t s u r v iv e , b u t th e y a r e d e s c r ib e d f o r u s b y t h e
s in g e r s .
“ B e s ile n t,” s a y s t h e P r o l o g u e , “le t th is riv e r, t h e s e h ills , t h e s e tr e e s , all a t t e n d t o
t h e s t o r y o f O r f e o .” A n d la te r , w h e n O r p h e u s is e j e c t e d f r o m t h e u n d e r w o r l d a f te r
h e lo s e s E u r y d ic e fo r e v e r, h e t o o d e s c r ib e s t h e fie ld s a n d r o c k s a n d m o u n t a i n s t h a t
h e o n c e lo v e d a n d n o w h a te s .
In t h e m id d le o f t h e play, t h e s e t c h a n g e s t o d e p ic t t h e u n d e r w o r l d ( t h e i n s t r u ­
m e n t a t i o n c h a n g e s a s w e ll, f r o m t h e lig h t t i m b r e o f v io lin s t o t h e d e e p e r , d a r k e r
t r o m b o n e s a n d c o r n e t t s ) . T h e n e w s c e n e is d e s c r ib e d t o O r p h e u s ( a n d t o u s ) b y L a
S p e r a n z a ( H o p e ) , w h o le a d s O r p h e u s t o t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f t h e lo w e r w o r ld . H e r e
a r e t h e d a r k m a r s h e s , s h e sa y s, t h e r e is th e b o a t m a n w h o r o w s t h e d e a d a c r o s s th e
riv e r; a n d o v e r t h e r e is t h e r e a lm o f P lu to .
It w a s all t h e r e o n t h e s ta g e ( o r m o r e likely, p a i n t e d o n t h e s e t) . T w o r e la tiv e ly
s im p le s e ts , t w o s e t c h a n g e s ( p r o b a b ly d o n e w i t h a q u i c k c h a n g e o f p a i n t e d s id e
p a n e ls a n d b a c k d r o p ) , a n d p e r h a p s o n e m a c h i n e : A p o llo ’s “ f ly in g c l o u d .”
T h e r e a r e o n g o i n g d e b a t e s a s t o w h e t h e r o r n o t t h e s m a ll r o o m w o u l d h a v e
a llo w e d f o r a
deus ex machina (lite ra lly ,
D e u s ex m a c h in a
a g o d f r o m a m a c h i n e ) , in th is c a s e a c r a n e ­
lik e m a c h i n e a llo w in g A p o llo t o d e s c e n d f r o m t h e h e a v e n s t o r e s c u e O r p h e u s f r o m
h is m a d n e s s , a t t h e e n d o f h is in c r e a s in g ly u n b a l a n c e d s o lilo q u y . O r p h e u s , t o w a r d s
t h e e n d o f h is d ia lo g u e w i t h t h e m o u n t a i n e c h o , r e je c ts all w o m a n k i n d f o r e v e r
b e c a u s e t h e o n e w o m a n h e lo v e s is lo s t. A p o llo c o m e s d o w n in a c lo u d t o sa v e h is
s o n f r o m t h e i r r a t i o n a l i t y o f im b a la n c e . H e ta k e s O r p h e u s w i t h h i m i n t o t h e h e a v ­
e n s , w h e r e h e c a n c o n t e m p l a t e E u r y d i c e ’s b e a u t y in t h e s u n a n d t h e s ta r s . T h e y
s in g a d a z z lin g d u e t a s th e y ris e in A p o llo ’s c lo u d ; t h e s h e p h e r d s s in g a c h o r u s a n d
p e r f o r m a fin a l d a n c e . I f i n d e e d t h e r e w a s a
dens ex machina,
it w o u l d o n ly h a v e
a d d e d t o t h e b r e a t h t a k i n g s p e c ta c le o f th is firs t p r o d u c t i o n .
A c c o r d in g t o w h a t w e k n o w , t h e p e r f o r m a n c e w e n t w e ll, d e s p ite t h e s lig h tly
r u s h e d r e h e a r s a ls . T h e r e w a s a s m a ll c a s t, o n a s m a ll s ta g e , in a s m a ll r o o m . E v e n
t h o u g h t h e r e a r c m a n y c h a r a c t e r s in
Orfeo,
t h e r e w e r e s u r e ly n o t m a n y s in g e r s .
W e k n o w t h a t M a g li s a n g t h r e e r o le s , a n d o t h e r s in g e r s p r o b a b ly p e r f o r m e d m o r e
t h a n o n e r o le , g iv e n h o w m a n y c h a r a c t e r s a p p e a r o n ly o n c e a n d n e v e r r e t u r n :
L a M u s ic a , L a S p e r a n z a , C a r o n t e , P l u t o n e ( P l u t o ) , P r o s e r p i n a , a n d A p o llo . T h e
c h o r u s , to o , is n o t r e a lly a c h o r u s ( w h ic h w e w o u l d n o r m a l l y d e f in e a s a v o c a l
e n s e m b le w i t h s e v e r a l s in g e r s o n e a c h p a r t ) b u t a n e n s e m b le m a d e o f th o s e p e o p le
w h o a r e o n s ta g e — n e v e r m o r e t h a n six o r s e v e n a t a tim e . T h e w h o l e p la y c o u l d
b e a c t e d a n d s u n g b y a g r o u p o f n in e s in g e r s , a n d m i g h t h a v e l a s t e d a b o u t n i n e t y
m i n u t e s . In s u c h a s m a ll r o o m m o s t o f t h e a u d ie n c e w o u l d p r o b a b l y h a v e s to o d ,
b u t it w o u l d h a v e b e e n c o n s i d e r e d a p riv ile g e j u s t t o b e th e r e .
Listening to the Music
Q lg 10
TOCCATA
Orfeo b e g i n s
cata, a w o r d
w i t h a b la s t f r o m t h e t r u m p e t s , a f a n f a r e . M o n te v e r d i c a lls it a
toc­
m e a n i n g “t o u c h e d , ” a t e r m ( m o r e o f t e n u s e d f o r a k e y b o a r d w o r k )
103
104
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
LISTENING GUIDE 10
© | DVD
M onteverdi Orfeo, Toccata
1:36
DATE: 1607
GENRE: Fanfare, played th ree tim es
LISTEN FOR
HARMONY: A single h a rm o n y th ro u g h o u t th e en tire piece
SCORING: T h e sam e m usic played th ree tim es b u t w ith varied
FORM: O pening, m artial-sounding to ccata played by tru m p ets;
rep eated by strings and recorders, th e n by all th e in stru m en ts
in stru m en tatio n fo r each playing
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
0:00
Toccata, 1st tim e
Five tru m p ets.
0:30
Toccata, 2nd tim e
Strings, recorders, lutes, and keyboards.
0:59
Toccata, 3rd tim e
All in stru m en ts together.
suggesting that the performers need to “touch” their instrument with great
dexterity, in other words, to create a kind of showpiece.
Monteverdi tells us in the score that the toccata should be performed three
times: the first is surely to call the audience to attention, the second to announce
the arrival of the duke, and the third to signal the start of the play (see LG 10,
above). The curtain rises, and the Prologue begins.
t>LG ii
Ritornello
PROLOG UE
In a play, especially one modeled on classical antiquity, a prologue is a device that
introduces the audience to the action that will follow. In this case the Prologue is a
person (La Musica), the personification of Music. She addresses the audience (“You
noble descendants of kings”); calls for their attention; tells what the story will be,
specifically about the power of Orpheus, whose music is so commanding that it
can move the gods; and describes the set. She sings five varied verses of a song,
alternating with an instrumental piece (a ritornello) played by stringed instru­
ments (violins, violas, violoncellos) with lute and harpsichord. Monteverdi calls
these short pieces ritornellos because they continue to “return” throughout the
opera. We hear this particular ritornello five times in the Prologue, so we become
quite familiar with it. This ritornello comes in two versions, long and short. Before
and after La Musica sings, we hear the long version (four phrases), like bookends;
and between stanzas, we hear the short version (three phrases), as interludes.
The Prologue introduces us to the basic premise of Monteverdi’s musical plan:
a character has a line of poetry to deliver; she will sing it in more or less a spoken
rhythm, with an accompaniment that provides a harmonic foundation but does
not intrude by playing anything that might distract from the speaker/singer. The
speaking/singing alternates with music played by groups of instruments, often in
the form of recurring, easily recognizable ritornellos. (See LG 11, p. 105.)
CHAPTER 4
LISTENING GUIDE 11
105
C lau d io M o n te v e rd i’s O rfe o
© | DVD
Monteverdi Orfeo, Opening Ritornello and Prologue
5:53
DATE: 1607
FORM: Strophic variation
LISTEN FOR
MELODY: M elody is similar, b u t n o t identical for each strophe
HARMONY: H arm o n y is th e sam e for each stro p h e
TEXT: Lines o f 11-syllable Italian poetry. Text delivered in a
spoken rh y th m
La M usica sings five verses; each verse uses strophic variation: th e sam e basic m elodic shape an d the sam e series o f h arm onies,
w ith variations.
TIME
FORM
0:00
Ritornello A
0:15
Ritornello A
R epeated
0:33
Verse 1
Dal m io p erm esso a m ato a
voi ne vegno,
I co m e to you from m y
beloved River Perm essus,
P rologue accom panied by
harpsichord.
Incliti eroi, sangue gentil de
Regi
R enow ned heroes, noble
b lo o d o f kings
N o te th a t she sings w ith th e sam e
rh y th m an acto r m ig h t use if speak­
ing these lines.
Di cui n a rra la fam a eccelsi
pregi,
W h o se high praises are told
by Fam e,
Ne g iu g n e al v er p e rc h ’e
tro p p o alto il segno.
N o r d o th ey reach th e tru th ,
since th e stan d ard is to o high.
1:20
Ritornello B
1:33
Verse 2
TEXT
TRANSLATION
DESCRIPTION
R itornello m ade o f 4 sim ilar phrases.
R itornello repeated.
T his rito rn ello consists o f phrases
2 -4 o f R itornello A.
lo la M usica son, c h ’ai dolci
accenti
I am M usic, w h o in sw eet
accents
In this verse, singer accom panied by
harpsichord.
So far tran q u illo ogni
tu rb a to core,
Know h o w to calm any
tro u b led heart,
M elody is a varied version o f the
o th e r verses.
Ed o r di nobil ira, ed o r
d ’am ore,
A nd now w ith noble anger,
n o w w ith love,
Posso infiam m ar le piu
I can inflam e th e coldest m inds •
gelate m enti.
2:15
Ritornello B
2:28
Verse 3
Io su cetera d ’o r can tan d o
soglio
1 am used to singing w ith
g olden lyre
In this verse, singer accom panied by
harpsichord.
(continued)
106
TIME
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
FORM
3:10
Ritornello B
3:23
Verse 4
4:03
Ritornello B
4:17
Verse 5
5:14
Ritornello A
5:30
Ritornello A
TEXT
TRANSLATION
DESCRIPTION
M ortal orecchio lusingar
talora,
A nd ch arm in g every m o rtal
ear,
M elody is a varied version o f the
E in guisa tal de l’arm o n ia
so n o ra
A nd in this w ay to inspire
souls to long
De le ro te del ciel piu l’alm e
invoglio.
For th e so n o ro u s h arm o n ies
o f heaven's lyres.
Q uinci a dirvi d ’O rfeo desio
m i sprona,
T h u s desire urges m e to
tell you o f O rfeo,
In this verse, singer accom panied by
harpsichord.
D ’O rfeo che trasse al suo
can tar le fere.
O f O rfeo w h o attracted w ild
beasts w ith his singing.
M elody is a varied version o f the
o th e r verses.
E servo fe’ l’inferno a sue
preghiere,
A nd m ade H ades his serv an t
w ith his prayers,
G loria im m o rta l di Pindo e
d ’Elicona.
T h e im m o rta l g lo ry o f Pindus
and H elicon.
O r m e n tre i canti alterno,
o r lieti, o r m esti.
Now, w hile I altern ate happy
and sad songs,
In this verse, singer accom panied by
harpsichord.
N o n si m ova augellin fra
queste piante,
Let n o bird m ove am o n g
these trees,
M elody is a varied version o f the
o th e r verses.
Ne s’oda in queste rive
o nda sonante,
N o r let any wave m ake a so und
o n th ese banks,
Ed ogni au retta in suo
cam in s’arresti.
A nd let every breeze halt
in its course.
o th e r verses.
N ote th a t verse ends w ith a
suspended effect.
R epeated
0LG12
^ The use of basso continuo
in O rfeo
Rhythm in Orfeo's song "Vi
ricorda." from Act 2
SONG : “VI R IC O R D A ”
The action proper takes place in the fields of Thrace (in Greece) where nymphs and
shepherds have few cares and many delights. The pleasures of this ideal world are
depicted by Monteverdi in songs, and those songs allow him later to make a stark
contrast between singing and speaking, and between happiness and its opposite.
In order to understand and appreciate the contrast, let us begin with a song. In
Act 2, Orfeo sings a song with four verses, in which he describes how happy he is
now (he is in love with Eurydice), and how it contrasts with his former unhappiness.
The poet gives Monteverdi a four-line stanza for the first verse:
ricorda, o boschi ombrosi,
De' miei lungh’aspri tormenti,
Vi
Do you remember, shady woods,
My long and bitter torments,
CHAPTER 4
Quando i sassi, ai miei lamenti,
Rispondean fatti pietosi?
C la u d io M o n te v e rd i’s O rfe o
When the stones, at my lamenting,
Replied with their own sadness?
If the vowels are elided as marked below (which is how they would be sung, and
how Italian poetry is scanned), it’s clear that each line has eight syllables, alter­
nately stressed and unstressed:
VI riCORdao BQSchi omBROsi.
DE’ miei LUNGH’asprI torMENti,
QUANdoj SASsLai MIEI laMENti
RIsponDEAN fatTl pieTOsi?
But Monteverdi makes a longer song out of it, by repeating some of the lines. Here
is the text as Orfeo sings it:
Vi ricorda, o boschi ombrosi,
Vi ricorda, o boschi ombrosi,
De' miei luttgh'aspri tormenti,
Quando i sassi, ai miei lamenti,
Rispondean fatti pietosi?
Vi ricorda, o boschi ombrosi,
Vi ricorda, o boschi ombrosi.
You’ll hear that the first line of text is sung to two different melodies, and that
Monteverdi makes a refrain out of those two phrases by repeating them at the end
of the verse. You could make a musical diagram of the song as AB ede AB (where
capital letters arc used for music that is repeated).
Interestingly, Monteverdi makes this song out of only two note lengths: a short
note, and a note twice as long. So, using the symbols S and L for the notes, we
could sketch the rhythm of the first line as SSLSLSLL
Each verse is preceded by a ritornello in the same characteristic rhythm as the
verses. It’s the same sort of alternation we know from the Prologue (except that
here there are not two forms of the ritornello; see LG 12, p. 108).
LAMENT: “TU SE’ M O R T A ”
Q l G 13
We focus here on Act 2, where Monteverdi makes the stark contrast between song
and speech. Shepherds sing and dance, but the celebration is interrupted when
Silvia, a friend of Eurydice’s, rushes on stage with terrible news, describing how
Eurydice has been bitten by a serpent and is dead. Orfeo, overcome with grief,
finally speaks: in the heart-wrenching lament “Tu se’ morta” (You are dead) he
addresses himself to Eurydice, even though she is not there. He seems to be in a
state of disbelief. He then vows to go to the underworld to rescue his beloved. In
this speech, one of Monteverdi’s finest examples of recitative style, Orfeo is using
poetic rhetoric, and Monteverdi uses striking harmonies, a variety of jagged and
smooth melodies, and changing rhythms to give as much added emotion as he can
to what is a speech, not a song. Orfeo speaks more or less in the rhythm that an
actor would use in speaking this text, but the value added by the music is incalcu­
lable (see LG 13, p. 109).
As Orfeo's world literally breaks apart, the chorus joins in a final ode of lament
that combines madrigal and recitative styles. Pages 113-15 provide a map to the
whole of Act 2, which should allow you to follow the sudden shifts in musical
styles.
(jl) The use of basso continuo
in Orfeo
107
108
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
LISTENING GUIDE 12
© |DVD |<^)
Monteverdi Orfeo, “Vi ricorda, o boschi ombrosi”
(Orfeo’s Song), Act 2
2:38
DATE: 1607
GENRE: Strophic song w ith rito rn ello
LISTEN FOR
RHYTHM: Lively rh y th m m ade o f lo n g an d sh o rt n o tes
FORM: R epetition o f o p en in g lines and m usic a t th e en d o f
each verse, as a refrain
TIME
FORM A N D TEXT
TEXTURE: A lternation o f m usic for strings w ith m usic for voice
and basso co n tin u o
TEXT: S ong text in 8-syllable poetic lines
TRANSLATION
DESCRIPTION
Orfeo returns to the stage, and with this song Act 2 begins.
0:00
Ritornello
R itornello m ade o f 4 phrases w ith differ­
e n t m elodies b u t very sim ilar rhythm s.
M eter alternates 2 and 3.
Verse 1
0:12
Vi ricorda, o boschi om brosi,
D o you rem em ber, shady w oods.
Vi ricorda, o boschi om brosi,
D o you rem em ber, shady w oods.
D e ’ m iei lu n g h ’aspri to rm en ti,
My lo n g an d b itte r to rm en ts,
Q u an d o i sassi, ai m iei lam enti
W h en th e stones, at m y lam en tin g
R ispondean, fatti pietosi?
Replied w ith th e ir ow n sadness?
Vi ricorda, o boschi om brosi,
D o you rem em ber, shady w oods,
O p en ing w ords are repeated to a new
melody.
O p en ing w ords are rep eated to the
original melody.
Vi ricorda, o boschi om brosi?
0:37
Ritornello
0:50
Verse 2
D o you rem em ber, shady w oods?
Sam e rito rn ello as before.
D ite, allor n o n vi sem brai
Say, did 1 n o t seem to you
D ite, allor n o n vi sem brai
Say, did 1 n o t seem to you
Piu d ’ogni altro sconsolato?
M ore desolate th a n anybody else?
O r fo rtu n a h a stil cangiato
N ow fo rtu n e has ch an g ed h e r style
E ha volti in festa i guai.
A nd h ad tu rn e d tro u b les in to a festival.
D ite, allor n o n vi sem brai
Say, did 1 n o t seem to you
Piu d ’ogni altro sconsolato?
M ore desolate th a n anybody else?
1:15
Ritornello
1:28
Verse 3
Second phrase o f melody, slightly varied.
Sam e m elody as verse 1.
Same ritornello as before.
Vissi gia m esto e dolente,
T h e n 1 lived sad and sorrow ful,
Vissi gia m esto e dolente.
T h e n 1 lived sad and sorrow ful,
O r gioisco e quegli affanni
N ow I rejoice, an d th o se w orries
Same m elody as verse 1.
CHAPTER 4
C he sofferti h o p e r ta n t'an n i
T h a t I suffered for so m any years
Fan piu caro il b en presente.
M ake m y p resen t jo y m o re precious.
Vissi gia m esto e dolente,
T h e n I lived sad an d sorrow ful,
Vissi gia m esto e dolente.
T h e n I lived sad an d sorrow ful.
1:53
Ritornello
2:06
Verse 4
C lau d io M o n te v e rd i’s O rfe o
109
Sam e rito rn ello as before.
Sol p e r te, bella Euridice,
O nly th ro u g h you, beau tifu l Eurydice,
Sol p e r te, bella Euridice,
O nly th ro u g h you, beau tifu l Eurydice,
B enedico il m io to rm e n to :
I bless m y to rm e n t:
D opo T duol vie p iu co n ten to ,
A fter so rro w th e re ’s m o re c o n ten tm e n t,
D o p o il m al vie p iu felice.
A fter evil, m o re happiness.
Sol p e r te, bella Euridice,
O nly th ro u g h you, beau tifu l Eurydice,
Sol p e r te, bella Euridice.
O nly th ro u g h you, beau tifu l Eurydice.
LISTEN IN G GUIDE 13
©
Sam e m elody as verse 1.
T he piece is b ro u g h t to a close.
| D V D |( f )
Monteverdi Orfeo, “Tu se’ morta” (Orfeo’s Lament), Act 2
2:43
DATE: 1607
LISTEN FOR
HARMONY AND MELODY: Recitative style uses harm ony and
EXPRESSION: Change o f mood: lam ent at first, resolution later
m elody to em phasize em otional m om ents
TEXTURE: Solo voice with basso continuo
THEMES: Text painting: low notes for “abysses,’ high notes for
«€stars
. »>
TIME
TEXT
TRANSLATION
DESCRIPTION
Orfeo, having learned the news o f Eurydice's death, laments in a speech addressed to his departed beloved.
0:00
T u se’ m o rta
You are dead,
A cco m panim ent is sustained chords played
by o rgan and chitarrone. O rfeo begins w ith a
highly dissonant interval (1), a dim inished 4th.
His second n o te (2) creates dissonance w ith the
acco m p an im en t as well. Both show his b itte r­
ness an d anguish.
0:14
se’ m o rta, m ia vita
r VC
1
^ ----------------- 1
sc
dead, m y life,
1
1
k
I
m or
- ta ,
^ ---------------------- 1
t ..
m ia
vi
ca
R epetition o f “se’ m o rta ” (3) has sim ilar dis­
sonance b u t w ith new chord; "vita” (life) (4),
how ever, is a bright, shining m ajo r chord.
It----- ~ — --- -------------- u -------------------------------------------------- 1—
rr
(continued)
no
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
TIME
TEXT
TRANSLATION
0:25
ed io respiro?
and I breathe?
.
y
\rJ
«
0:31
•
I
-6>------— 0— ^ -----*------- - r -------cd io rc - spi - r o?
L
*
♦ t:
DESCRIPTION
tr
Sudden shift o f h a rm o n y (5) from b rig h t m ajor
(life), recollecting the b eau tifu l Eurydice, co n ­
trasts w ith O rfeo ’s ow n situation (m in o r chord).
t
T u se’ d a m e partita,
You, g one away fro m m e,
®—
#
Tu
m
0:39
-*v-
CT
se ’ da m e p artita, p e r m ai piu,
Q
O rfeo rephrases th e sam e question, b u t w ith
g re a te r em phasis. H e speaks faster an d starts on
h ig h er n o te (6) than before, b u t drops to sam e
dissonant n o te as in first phrase.
msc’ da me par - ti - ta.
g one away, and never,
R epetition o f "sei da m e p a rtita ” has sim ilar dis­
sonance as before, b u t w ith new chord.
t— t — t — t — t--------- k— k— k----------------
-------------------- * - -----------------------------------------------------1------------sc da me par - ti - ta, per mai piu.
0:51
m ai piu n o n to rn are
ed io rim ango?
/ V
VO
never m o re to retu rn ,
and 1 rem ain?
L
----- —
m m— F
*------ kzz---- *---------- W
^, ------r
t - =P -------------ar—
m
w
.
n
■
i
1
) 1) 1
^ i
1
V
I k
F r r
v.
mai piu
non tor- na - re
cd o ri - man
0---------
go?
p
I'
-
1
»
O n last w o rd (7), bass lags behind— a picture o f
"rem ain in g ” behind.
r.
^
0:56
No! N o, che se I versi alcuna
cosa p o n n o
No! N o, if verses can do
an y thing
O rfeo changes from g rie f to resolve— in m id ­
dle o f his second "N o ,” he decides w h at to do.
1:06
n ’an d ro sicuro a piu p rofondi
abissi,
I will surely go dow n to the
deepest abysses,
D escending m elodic line an d low notes
o n abissi.
e in ten erito il c o r del re del
and having softened th e h e a rt
o f th e k in g o f darkness
C h ro m a tic m elody (descending h a lf steps)
o n "in te n erito ” represents his softening.
I’ll draw you u p w ith m e to see
th e stars again.
A scending melody, high notes o n "stelle”
1:13
o m bre
1:27
m eco tra rro tti a riveder le stelle;
(stars).
1:39
o se cio n eg h era m m i em p io
destino
O r if cru el fate denies this to m e,
D issonant n o te o n "em p io ” (cruel),
1:48
rim arro teco, in com pagnia
di m o rte.
I’ll rem ain w ith you, in th e
co m p an y o f death.
Low m elody for H ades; unusual ("blue
n o te ”) effect ju s t before “m o rte ” (death).
2:03
A ddio te rra , addio cielo, e sole,
addio.
Farewell heaven, farew ell earth ,
and sun, farewell.
His farew ell salute, each tim e higher as he
addresses earth , sky, sun.
Q lg M
SO N G : “PO SSENTE SPIRTO ”
Act 3 opens on the banks of the river that leads to the kingdom of Pluto, the
underworld where the spirits of the dead reside. Orpheus, abandoned by his guide
Hope (La Speranza), tries to convince Charon, the ferryman, to take him across to
Eurydice, even though mortals are not allowed to cross the river.
CHAPTER 4
C lau d io M o n te v e rd i’s O rfe o
111
Monteverdi saves his most dazzling music for this moment; Francesco Rasi, the
singer of the role of Orfeo, has the task of creating his most persuasive musical
argument. In his song “Possente spirto,” he summons up all of emotion, and all
of music, in his plea. Striggio provides a classic poetic form, a capitolo, of five
three-line stanzas and a final four lines; Monteverdi gives Rasi stupendously dif­
ficult and virtuosic music, and the superb instrumentalists of the court of Mantua
are engaged in embellishing his music; violins, cornetts, harp, and a trio of strings,
insert commentaries, interludes, and ritornellos between the lines of his song and
at the ends of the verses. As Orfeo reaches his intense conclusion, he is accompa­
nied by a quartet of strings—the only place in the opera where singing is accom­
panied by anything other than the instruments of the basso continuo. The song
is virtuosity at its height, Monteverdi’s and Rasi’s expression of what the greatest
singer of myth can do (see LG 14, below).
LISTEN IN G GUIDE 14
© | DVD
Monteverdi Orfeo, “Possente spirto” (Orfeos Song), Act 3
8:49
DATE: 1607
L IS T E N F O R
SCORING: Rich variety o f solo instru m en ts. In th e last verse,
strings accom pany O rfeo
FORM: M elody in stru m en ts p u n c tu a te the lines, and perfo rm a
series o f ritornellos
EXPRESSION: H ighly virtuosic singing: this is one w ay to
im press C h aro n
TIME
TEXT
TRANSLATION
DESCRIPTION
Verse 1
0:00
Possente sp irto . . .
Pow erful s p ir it. . .
First line in te rru p te d by pair o f solo
violins, o n e follow ing th e other.
0:16
. . . e form idabil num e,
. . . an d form idable deity,
V irtuosic fast notes in violin.
0:33
Senza cui far passaggio a l’altra riva
W ith o u t w h o m a soul
loosed fro m its bod y
V irtuosic violins again.
0:50
Alma da co rp o sciolta in van presum e,
P resum es in vain to cross to th e
o th e r shore.
Vocal line is even m ore virtuosic,
w ith m o re fast notes.
1:16
Ritornello
Violins, now playing together, close
the verse w ith w h at M onteverdi calls
a rito rn ello (even th o u g h it does not
return).
Verse 2
1:45
N on viv’io n o . . .
1 am n o t alive, n o , . . .
1:57
. . . che p o i di vita e priva
. . . since m y beloved wife
First line in te rru p te d by a pair o f cornetts, o n e follow ing the other.
C ornetts.
2:09
Mia cara sposa, il co r non e piu m eco,
Is deprived o f life, m y h e a rt is no
lo n g er w ith m e,
(continued)
112
TIME
PART 11
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
TEXT
TRANSLATION
DESCRIPTION
C o rn etts.
2:25
E senza co r c o m ’esser p u o c h ’io viva?
2:43
R ito rn e llo
and w ith o u t a h eart, h o w can it be
th a t 1 live?
C o rn etts, now playing together, close
verse w ith ritornello (th at does n o t
retu rn).
V erse 3
2:59
A lei v o lt’h o il cam m in . . .
I have tu rn e d m y steps to w ard
h e r...
3:20
. . . p e r l’a er cieco,
. . . th ro u g h th e blind air.
First line is in te rru p te d by
solo h a rp (“arp a do p ia”)
H arp.
3:34
A l’inferno n o n gia, c h ’o v u n q u e stassi
N ot yet to H ades, for w herever is
found
H arp.
3:55
T anta bellezza il paradiso ha seco.
4:25
R ito rn e llo
Such beauty, Paradise is there.
H a rp closes verse w ith ritornello (that
does n o t return).
V erse 4
5:19
O rfeo son io . . .
I am O r f e o ,. . .
5:47
. . . che d ’Euridice i passi
. . . w h o follow E urydice’s steps
First line in te rru p te d by
trio o f tw o violins an d cello.
Trio.
6:02
Seguo p e r queste ten eb ro se arene,
T h ro u g h these shadow y sands,
6:17
O ve gia m ai p e r u o m m o rta l n o n vassi. W h ere no m o rtal m a n has y et trod.
In stru m en ts d o n o t provide an in ter­
lude betw een these tw o lines.
Instead, trio accom panies close o f
O rfeo ’s last line. N o rito rn ello at end
o f this verse.
V erse 5
6:39
O de le luci m ie luci serene;
O serene light o f m y eyes;
6:52
S’u n vo stro sgu ard o p u o to rn a rm i
in vita.
If a glance from you can re tu rn
m e to life.
7:04
Ahi, chi nega il c o n fo rto a le m ie pene? Ah, w h o denies co m fo rt to m y pains?
Verse su n g straig h t th ro u g h , w ith ­
o u t the vocal firew orks o f preceding
verses.
O rfeo repeats this passionate last line.
Again, n o rito rn ello a t en d o f verse.
V erse 6
7:48
Sol tu , nobile dio, p u o i d arm i aita,
O nly you, noble god, can give
m e help,
8:04
Ne te m e r dei che sopra u n ’aurea cetra
N o r sh o u ld you fear, since 1 arm
m y fingers
8:12
Sol di corde soavi a rm o le dita
O nly w ith sw eet strings o n a golden
Singing even m ore simply, O rfeo is
accom panied by “h alo ” o f four strings.
lyre
8:28
C o n tra cui rigida alm a invan s’im p etra. A gainst w hich a rigid soul arm s itself
in vain.
N o te th a t this verse has four lines,
w hile the o th e rs h ad three.
CHAPTER 4
C lau d io M o n te v e rd i’s O rfe o
113
gSgigg^lSTENING MAP OF ORFEO S A c g g ^ g ^ g g g g ^ g ^ g ^ g g g g ^ g g
FORM
TEXT/TRANSLATION
PERFORMING FORCES
DESCRIPTION
Five-part strings, w ith basso
co n tin u o (= b. c.)
Slow triple m eter, b u t w ith m an y syn­
copations and o th e r devices to m ake it
irregular.
O rfeo, w ith b. c
Begins like th e sinfonia. Six m usical
phrases (4 text phrases, som e repeated);
each w ith alm o st th e sam e rhythm .
T w o “little French violins”
w ith b. c.
D uple m e ter; 4 violin phrases, each
introduced by a series o f quick rising
notes in the bass.
A shepherd, w ith b. c.
N ote the quick surprise o f the last line.
T w o “little French violins”
w ith b. c.
R epetition o f ritornello 2.
A shepherd, w ith b. c.
Sam e m elody as verse 1.
T w o “o rd in ary violins”
w ith b. c.
Q uick triple tim e.
T w o shepherds
T hey sing in harm ony, in th e sam e
rhythm ; m e te r derives from the
ritornello.
T w o “o rd in ary violins”
w ith b. c.
R epetition o f ritornello 3.
T w o shepherds w ith b. c.
T hey sing in harm ony, in th e sam e
rhythm ; m e ter derives from the
ritornello.
T w o recorders w ith b. c.
Q uick duple tim e.
T w o shepherds w ith b. c.
T hey sing in harm ony, in th e sam e
rhythm ; m e te r derives from the
ritornello.
T w o recorders w ith b. c.
R epetition o f ritornello 4.
C h o ru s o f shepherds w ith b. c.
T hey sing in harm ony, based o n the
m usic o f verse 1.
Five-part strings and b. c.
M eter altern ates 2 an d 3.
PART I: SIN G IN G
A. Orfeo returns
S o n g 1:
R itornello 1
Song 1:
Verse (O rfeo)
Ecco p u r ch ’a voi rito rn o . . .
I’m now re tu rn in g to y o u .. .
B. Invitation to music
S o n g 2:
R itornello 2
S ong 2:
Verse 1
M ira c h ’a se n ’alletta . . .
H ere is a shady place . . .
Song 2:
R itornello 2
S ong 2:
Verse 2
Su q u e st’erbosa sp o n d a . . .
H ere is a grassy b an k . . .
S o n g 3:
R itornello 3
S ong 3:
Verse 1
In q u esto p ra to ad o rn o . . .
H e re ’s an en ch an tin g m ead o w . . .
S ong 3:
R itornello 3
Song 3:
Verse 2
Q u i Pan dio d e ’ P a s to ri. . .
H ere Pan th e G o d o f Shepherds
S o n g 4:
R itornello 4
S ong 4:
Verse 1
Q u i le N apee vezzose . . .
H ere th e nym p h s g a th e r . . .
S ong 4:
R itornello 4
Song 4:
Verse 2
D u n q u e fa d eg n o O rfe o !. . .
So O rfeo, sing! . . .
C. Orpheo's song
S o n g 5:
R itornello 5
Song 5:
Verse 1
Vi ricorda, o boschi o m b r o s i. . .
R em em ber, shady w oods . . .
M eter altern ates like ritornello. Seven
m usical phrases, using 4 lines o f poetry.
(continued)
114
PART II
FORM
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
TEXT/TRANSLATION
PERFORMING FORCES
DESCRIPTION
Five-part strings w ith b. c.
M eter altern ates 2 and 3.
O rfeo w ith b. c.
Sam e m usic as verse 1.
Five-part strings w ith b. c.
R epetition o f rito rn ello 5.
O rfeo w ith b. c.
Sam e m usic as verse 1.
Five-part strings w ith b. c.
R epetition o f rito rn ello 5.
O rfeo w ith b. c.
Sam e m usic as verse 1.
M ira, deh m ira, O r f e o .. .
O rfeo, sing again . . .
A sh ep h erd w ith b. c.
In lyrical style, inviting O rfeo to sing
again.
Recitative
Ahi! C aso acerbo!
Terrible news!
Sylvia, th e m essenger,
w ith b. c.
Very angular melody, delivered in
speech rhythm ; a shepherd in terru p ts
h e r tw ice.
Recitative
D 'o n d e vieni? . . .
W h en ce do you com e? . . .
O rfeo, Sylvia w ith b. c.
A dialogue, in w hich Sylvia tells O rfeo
th a t Eurydice is dead; quick, passionate
lines.
Recitative
In u n fiorito p ra to . . .
In a flow ery m ead o w . . .
Sylvia w ith b. c.
M essenger tells h o w Eurydice died.
H e r speech rises an d falls, quickens
an d slows, to show h e r feelings and the
n atu re o f w h at she is describing.
Recitative
Ahi! C aso acerbo!
Terrible news!
A sh ep h erd w ith b. c.
Takes u p Sylvia’s cry.
Recitative
A Tam ara novella . . .
O rfeo is alm o st d u m b stru c k . . .
A sh ep h erd w ith b. c.
Recitative
T u se’ m o r ta ! . . .
You are d e a d !. . .
O rfeo w ith b. c.
H is b itte r lam ent, and his resolve to
rescue her.
Song 5:
R itornello 5
Song 5:
Verse 2
D ite all’h o r n o n vi s e m b r a i. . .
Before, I w as sad . . .
Song 5:
R itornello 5
Song 5:
Verse 3
Vissi gia m esto e d o len te . . .
I lived in sadness . . .
Song 5:
R itornello 5
Song 5:
Verse 4
Sol p e r te, bella Euridice . . .
But n o w I've m e t Eurydice . . .
PART II: RECITA TIV E
A. News and reactions
B. Code ode o f lament
R efrain:
C horus
Ahi! C aso acerbo!
Terrible news!
C h o ru s o f shepherds
w ith b. c.
T h ey take u p Sylvia’s cry, in recitative
rhythm .
C horus
N on si fidi u o m m o rtale . . .
M ortal m a n sh o u ld tru st
C h o ru s o f shepherds
w ith b. c.
T h e ch o ru s continues w ith reflections
o n fate, in m adrigal style.
fo rtu n e . . .
Recitative
Sinfonia:
in tro d u ctio n
to shep h erd s’
lam ent
Ma io . . .
I w ill hide m y self forever . . .
Sylvia w ith b. c.
Five-part strings w ith b. c.
Slow duple m e ter; the w hole th in g
repeats.
CHAPTER 4
C la u d io M o n te v e rd i’s O rfe o
115
Lam ent,
p a rt 1
C hi ne consola . . .
W h o can console us . . .
T w o shepherds w ith b. c.
A co m b in atio n o f recitative and m adri­
R efrain:
Ahi! C aso acerbo!
C h o ru s o f shepherds
C horus
T errible news!
w ith b. c.
Lam ent,
p a rt 2
M a dove . . .
But w h ere is com fort?
T w o shepherds w ith b. c.
A co m b in atio n o f recitative and m adri­
gal style.
R efrain:
C horus
Ahi! C aso acerbo!
Terrible news!
C h o ru s o f shepherds
w ith b. c.
R epetition o f refrain.
Five-part strings and b. c.
T he sam e rito rn ello th a t began the
P rologue now concludes the first p art
o f the dram a.
gal style.
R epetition o f refrain.
C. Closing ritornello
R itornello
Orfeo Then and Now
The audience, in that ground-floor room in the palace at Mantua, knew their classical literature well. They knew how Italian poetry should sound, and their ears
were accustomed to Monteverdi’s music. They were acquainted with his Scherzi
musicali (“musical jokes”—a collection of them had been published that same
year, 1607); each of these little pieces alternates a lively ritornello with a tuneful
song (like the songs in Act 2). They knew his famous madrigals, which were elabo­
rately polyphonic settings of Italian poetry (like many of the choruses in Orfeo).
The audience
T h e y k n e w h is s a c r e d m u s ic , a n d m u c h o t h e r m u s ic n o w lo s t t o u s . W h a t t h e y
d id
not k n o w — u n le s s
t h e y h a p p e n e d t o h a v e b e e n a t a fe w e x p e r i m e n t s in F lo r ­
e n c e — w a s th is n e w r e c i t a t i v e s t y l e , t h e
stile recitativo, in
w h i c h a c t o r s s in g t h e i r
Recitative style
s p e a k i n g p a r t s . T h a t f o c u s o n t h e v o ic e , o n t h e n a t u r a l d e liv e r y o f w o r d s in s p e e c h
r h y t h m , w o u l d h a v e f a r - r e a c h in g im p lic a tio n s . T h e u s e o f i n s t r u m e n t a l r i t o r n e l ­
lo s a s m u s ic a l b o o k e n d s w o u l d a ls o h a v e a l o n g c a r e e r in m u s ic . T h e s e e le m e n ts ,
a l o n g w i t h t h e b a s s o c o n t i n u o , t h e im p r o v is e d c h o r d a l a c c o m p a n i m e n t t o s o lo
m e lo d ie s , w e r e p a r t o f t h e n e w e x p e r i m e n t , a n d t h e y w e r e t o b e c o m e h a l l m a r k s
o f B a r o q u e m u s ic a l s ty le .
But in Mantua, on that February day in 1607, it was all new. Nobody had heard
this piece before, and they probably expected never to hear it again. A second per­
formance was given (“for the ladies of the court”), and then the piece was retired.
It w a s , a f t e r a ll, o n ly a o n e - t i m e c o m p o s i t i o n f o r a s p e c ific o c c a s io n a n d a p r iv a te
a u d ie n c e .
W e d o n o t k n o w m u c h a b o u t h o w th e s p e c ta to rs re a c te d to th e tw o p e rfo rm a n c e s ; b u t i f t w o c o n t e m p o r a r y w itn e s s e s a r e ty p ic a l, t h e n it s e e m s t h a t p e o p le
w e r e f a s c in a te d b y th is n e w th in g , n o t y e t c a lle d o p e r a , a n d t h a t t h e y t h o u g h t
M o n te v e r d i's s o l u t i o n w a s b e a u t i f u l a n d m o v in g . G io v a n n i S tr ig g io , t h e b r o t h e r
o f t h e p la y ’s a u t h o r , w a s c a p t i v a t e d b y t h e id e a o f
Orfeo b e c a u s e
it w a s s o m e t h i n g
n e w . H e w r o t e t o h is b r o t h e r :
H aving reco u n ted as well as I know h o w th e fable o f O rp h eu s, y o u r excellency’s ow n
w ork, to m y wife, I have such a po w erfu l desire to see it p erfo rm e d th a t I could n o t
deny h e r such a ju s t req u est to h e a r it, b o th because it is y o u r h o n o r’s creation, and
because it is a new thing.
Contemporary accounts
116
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
In the summer of the same year Monteverdi’s friend Cherubino Ferrari wrote
to the duke of Mantua:
M onteverdi is h ere in M ilan, staying w ith m e; and every day w e talk a b o u t Your
H ighness an d vie w ith o n e a n o th e r in paying trib u te to yo u r virtues, yo u r goodness
and y o u r royal m anners. H e has show n m e th e w o rds an d let m e h ear the m usic o f
th e play w hich Your H ighness h ad p erfo rm ed , and certainly b o th p o et and m usician
have depicted th e inclinations o f th e h e a rt so skillfully th a t it could n o t have been
do n e better. T h e p o e try is lovely in conception, lovelier still in form , and loveliest o f
all in diction; an d indeed n o less w as to be expected o f a m an as richly talen ted as
Signor Striggio. T h e m usic, m oreover, observ in g due propriety, serves the p o e try so
well th a t n o th in g m o re beau tifu l is to be h eard anyw here.
It is only in the twentieth century that interest was revived in Orfeo, and gradu­
ally it has assumed a place of honor in the realm of opera—not as a museum piece,
but as a passionate expression o f a myth that continues to speak to us all.
Monteverdi, now thought of as the composer of the first great opera, might be
surprised to know that we still love his piece four hundred years later. In music,
change is not the same as progress. Many great operas have been written since, but
musicians still agree with Ferrari: no music serves poetry better, or is more beauti­
ful, than that of Monteverdi’s Orfeo.
Chapter Review
Summary o f Musical Styles
The main musical impact of Orfeo is the contrast between singing and speaking
style.
■ Singing style is accomplished by strophic songs, in which each verse uses the
same music but with different words. Lively rhythms, regular phrases, and rep­
etitions of words mark this style
■ Speaking style (stile recitativo, or recitative style) is characterized by a deliv­
ery of the words in approximately the rhythm that an actor would use on
stage; simple chordal accompaniment provides a setting, but not a distraction
from the delivery of the text.
■ A ritornello is often used to articulate larger forms. Ritornellos are short, usu­
ally lively instrumental pieces that introduce each verse of a song.
© M ultim edia Resources and Review Materials
on StudySpace
Visit wwnorton.com/studyspace for review of Chapter 4.
What Do You Know?
Check the facts for this chapter. Take the online Quiz.
CHAPTER 4
What Do You Hear?
Listening Quizzes and Music Activities will help you understand the musical
works in this chapter.
^ A u th o r Videos
■ The use of basso continuo in Orfeo
■ Rhythm in Orfeo’s song, “Vi ricorda,” from Act 2
Interactive Listening Guides
LG
LG
LG
LG
LG
10 Monteverdi:
11 Monteverdi:
12 Monteverdi:
13 Monteverdi:
14 Monteverdi:
Orfeo, Toccata
Orfeo, Opening Ritornello and Prologue
Orfeo, “Vi ricorda, o boschi ombrosi” (Orfeo’s Song), Act 2
Orfeo, “Tu se’ morta” (Orfeo’s Lament), Act 2
Orfeo, “Possente spirto” (Orfco's Song), Act 3
Flashcards (Terms to Know)
basso continuo
cadence
castrato
figured bass
harmony
opera
recitative
stile recitativo or recitative style
strophic variation
toccata
C lau d io M o n te v e rd i’s O rfe o
117
TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 1742, DUBLIN
George Frideric HandeFs M e ssia h
0 C O R E R E P E R T O IR E
(!?) A U T H O R V ID E O S
■ LG 15 Recitative, “There were
shepherds”
■ LG 18 Chorus. “And the glory of the
Lord”
■ LG 16 Recitative, “Comfort ye, my
people"
■ LG 19 “Hallelujah" chorus
- LG 17 Aria. “Ev’ry valley”
■ LG 20 Fugue chorus, “He trusted
in God”
■ Recitative in oratorio
■ Structure of the “Hallelujah” chorus in
Handel’s Messiah
Introduction
“Handel wore an enormous white wig, and, when things went well at the
Oratorio, it had a certain nod, or vibration, which manifested his pleasure and
satisfaction. Without it, nice observers were certain that he was out of humour.
At the close of an air, the voice with which he used to cry out, C h o r u s ! was
extremelyformidable indeed. ”
—Charles Burney. A n
A c c o u n t o f t h e M u s ic a l P erfo rm a n c es in W e s tm in s te r -A b b e y
(London. 1785)
George Frideric Handel composed Messiah to entertain a public that had heard a
lot of opera. For some time he had been shifting his attention to a new kind of
entertainment called an oratorio, a grand religious drama written in the style of
an opera but without opera’s expensive trappings. Handel was an astute business­
man, and his experience as a manager of opera companies in London had taught
him that the combination of good music, fancy sets, and high-priced singers was
as much a recipe for financial ruin as it was for great art.
Like all of Handel’s oratorios, Messiah was designed to fill theaters during the
six-week Lenten season—a penitential season of the Christian year leading up to
Easter—when only sacred works were allowed on stage in England. Although its
subject matter—the birth, suffering, and resurrection of Jesus—is religious, Mes­
siah sounds like an opera and it appealed to audiences in much the same way.
Handel was a devout believer, but it was not only piety that motivated him to com­
pose Messiah. He wrote it for the same reason he wrote his operas: to sell tickets
and make money. And his plan worked. Not only was Messiah a huge success in
Handel’s lifetime, it continues to be one of
- ,.l -•-----r
the world’s favorite pieces (see Figure 5.1).
' . ou *
Opera had been a popular form of
entertainment in England and on the Con­
tinent since the time of Monteverdi more
than a century earlier. Audiences came to
Handel’s operas expecting to hear portions
of dialogue, set in recitative style, alternat­
ing with songs and interspersed with cho­
ruses and instrumental pieces. That is what
they heard at the opera, and that is what
they heard at the oratorio. Yet Messiah also
differs significantly from Handel’s operas, in
ways that Handel himself invented. These
differences served him and later composers
so well that he is better remembered today
for his oratorios than for his many operas.
Indeed, the “Hallelujah” chorus from iYIcssiah might be the best-known and most fre­
quently performed piece of classical music
ever written. ©
Oratorio
© Handel: Messiah. “Hallelujah"
chorus
FIG. 5.1 This is the first page of
Handel’s autograph composing
score of Messiah. The score was
begun (“Angefangen”) on Saturday.
August 22.1741. and finished on
September 14.
*
.
V
/
P _
*
—2-
1 4.*
120
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
The Setting
G EO RG E FRIDERIC H A N D EL
George Frideric Handel was a German composer who studied in Italy and spent
most of his life in England, although his English was never very good. Along
the way he acquired a talent for swearing in three languages and a fondness
for food and drink, as mature portraits o f him attest. (See biography, below,
and Figure 5.2.) In London, where he had lived since 1712, he was well known
as a composer and producer of operas. But the 1740-41 season had been an
economic disaster, and Handel was thinking of getting out of the opera busi­
ness. Just then he received an invitation from the duke of Devonshire, the Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland (the king of England’s appointed administrator), to give
some concerts in Dublin. He accepted and stayed for nine months, from late
1741 to August 1742.
GeorGe FriDenc HanDeL (1685-1759)
H andel w as one o f th e leading co m ­
Find singers and co m p o se m usic. S u p p o rted by the kin g and the
p osers o f th e eig h teen th century,
g re a t nobles, th e o p era co m p an y w as H an d el’s ch ief o ccupa­
a m usician o f co sm opolitan back­
tio n until 1727. H e w as in charge o f recruiting an d rehearsing
g ro u n d and in tern atio n al renow n.
th e g reat o p era singers o f the day, as w ell as co m posing m usic
H e h elped
Italian
for th e m to sing. O th e r o peratic ventures after 1727 engaged
o p eratic style to England, w h ere he
H an d el’s atten tio n in London, b u t h e also began to interest
co m b in ed it w ith his o w n b ran d o f
h im self in orato rio .
in tro d u ce
th e
energetic G erm an m usic m aking.
H aving p ro d u ced several o ra to rio s in the 1730s (includ­
H is w o rk s w ere rich in m elodic vari­
in g Saul and Israel in Egypt), an d having co m p o sed (b u t n o t
ety, co n trastin g textures, and d ram atic expression. His inven­
p erfo rm e d ) Messiah, H andel w as w ell eq u ip p ed to p ro d u ce a
tion o f the English o rato rio has m ade h im a p e rm a n e n t fixture
series o f co n certs in D ublin in 1741 an d 1742. His la ter career
in th e m usical w orld.
in L o n d o n consisted m ostly o f p erfo rm an ces o f o rato rio s (Sol­
B orn to a respected fam ily in H alle in 1685, H andel w as
raised to be a law yer; his m usical inclinations w ere so strong,
omon, Joshua, Judas Maccabaeus, an d o th ers), along w ith m any
revivals o f Messiah.
how ever, th a t even th o u g h h e en tered th e university, h e soon
H an d el w as a c o m p o se r o f in tern atio n al significance; he
left to jo in th e orch estra o f th e fam ous o p era h o u se o f H a m ­
w ro te m a n y pieces fo r state occasions, including th e m usic
burg. Several o p eras o f his w ere p ro d u ced there, b eg in n in g
for th e co ro n a tio n o f King G eorge II an d th e Fireworks Music,
w hen he w as eighteen.
to celeb rate th e peace o f A ix-la-Chapelle (1748). H e w as
H andel traveled to Italy in 1707, w h ere for th ree years,
single all his life. H e w as h an d so m e in y o u th , p o rtly in age,
m ostly in R om e, he absorbed th e Italian style and com posed
an d revered universally. A t his d e a th in 1759 he w as b u rie d in
sacred m usic, Italian o rato rio s, and o th e r w orks.
W estm in ster Abbey.
A ppointed m usic d irecto r to th e electo r o f H anover,
H andel absented h im se lf in L ondon, w h ere h e b eg an an illus­
© Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks. “Rejouissance"
trio u s career in o p era. H is em p lo y er a t H an o v er b ecam e King
G eorge I o f E ngland, an d it w as so m e tim e before th e elu ­
M AJOR W O R K S: O ver 4 d o zen Italian operas, including
sive em ployee w as reconciled w ith th e king. (T he sto ry th a t
Rinaldo and Giulio Cesare; English oratorios, including Messiah,
H an d el’s fam ous Water Music w as designed as a peace offering
Israel in Egypt, and Saul; o rchestral suites, including Music fo r the
is c h arm in g b u t ap ocryphal.)
Royal Fireworks and Water Music; an d n u m e ro u s keyboard and
In 1719 the Royal A cadem y o f M usic w as o rg an ized to p ro ­
duce o p era in th e King’s T h eater, and H andel w as engaged to
ch am b er w orks.
CHAPTER 5
G eo rge Frideric H a n d e l’s M e ssia h
121
Handel composed Messiah shortly before he left London, in
the summer of 1741, and it had its first performance in the Irish
capital the following April. Its phenomenal success confirmed his
decision to turn his back on the operatic stage once and for all.
O PERA
In the course of his long career, Handel composed concertos
(pieces for orchestra and solo instruments; we’ll meet them in
the next chapter), chamber music, keyboard music, and much
else. But since opera was at the top of the social and economic
scale, opera is what he worked hardest at. It was also what he
did best and what he was most famous for. If we want to hear
Handel’s Messiah as he meant it to be heard, it is important
to understand the styles and conventions of early eighteenthcentury opera.
Like many other composers in the 1720s and 1730s, Handel
devoted most of his energy to the genre known as opera seria
(serious opera). A “serious” opera is one that features historical
or mythological personages of high standing—kings, queens,
emperors, generals, princesses, and the like. These characters
invariably express their noble thoughts in Italian, regardless of FIG. 5.2 A caricature of Handel, entitled “The Charming
the language of the audience. Most opera seria plots are not ter­ Brute.” by Joseph Goupy. from around 1754. Handel’s skill at
ribly believable, but that is not the point. The point is to create a the keyboard, and his skill at the table, are given equal promi­
nence. and though he is depicted as a boar, he is wearing his
series of situations in which characters can come to understand famous white wig.
and express certain feelings. The plots arc designed to showcase
the widest possible range of emotions, while giving the most
important characters the greatest number of songs.
The basic structure of an opera seria is entirely dictated by convention, even if
Structure o f opera seria
the details are seldom predictable in the hands of a master like Handel. Each of the
three acts consists of alternating recitatives and songs, much like those we heard
in Monteverdi’s Orfeo. The recitatives, accompanied by harpsichord (or occasion­
ally by organ or lute) and cello, are dialogues or monologues delivered in speech
rhythm. These are the parts of the show in which the plot advances. For example,
a messenger may enter and report that the enemy army is in sight. This announce­
ment might prompt the main character to step forward and sing an elaborate song
(called an aria in Italian) about the clangor of arms and the trum pet’s call to battle.
After he leaves the stage, his wife may sing a recitative lamenting that he has put his
life in danger. Then she too moves downstage to pour out her heart in a passionate
aria before making her exit.
An opera seria, in other words, is like a film punctuated by a series of still pho­
tographs or freeze-frames. If the recitatives move the action forward in cinematic
fashion, the arias are moments in which time stands still as we explore with the
character how she or he feels.
The conventions of opera seria may seem strange, or even silly, to us. But if
Conventional elements
we reflect on the conventional elements in our own pop culture (for example in
sitcoms, detective stories, and music videos), we realize that conventions exist for
our pleasure and convenience; they give us what we want in an efficient, if nonrealistic, way. So it was with opera seria. In the eighteenth century almost every
cultivated person in Europe understood and liked this kind of music, and this way
of delivering it.
122
PART il
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
O R A T O R IO
Oratorios and operas are alike in that they are performed in a theater and have plots
and characters. The recitatives and arias in oratorios are composed in an essentially
operatic style. There arc important differences, however. First, oratorios are not
staged or acted; the singers wear concert dress and perform alongside the orches­
tra on stage. Second, Handel’s oratorios are sung in English, not operatic Italian,
which must have made a significant difference to audiences in London and Dublin.
Third, oratorios deal almost exclusively with religious subjects,
mostly taken from the Old Testament. Finally, the chorus plays
A London Critic Goes
a more prominent and substantial role in oratorios than it does
to the Oratorio
in most operas.
As mentioned above, during the penitential season of Lent it
was forbidden to produce operas, which the religious authori­
Among other things, the writer is making fun of the use of
ties considered profane. Handel observed this prohibition by
Italian opera singers to sing in English. Note also the street
presenting oratorios instead (sec Figure 5.3). They had the same
clothes of the singers (“in their own Habits’’). Handel’s
musical effect as operas, but were deemed acceptable by virtue
“pulpit”is surely the organ from which he presided.
of their spiritually uplifting subjects (although their plots could
aven’t you been at the Oratorio?” says one.
be just as blood-curdling as those of operas). Oratorios had a
I “Oh. if you don't see the Oratorio you see
practical advantage as well: they were comparatively inexpen­
nothing." says t’other, so away goes I to the
sive to produce, having neither sets nor costumes, and needing
Oratorio, where I saw indeed the finest Assembly of
few if any superstar Italian opera singers (see A London Critic
People I ever beheld in my very Life. but. to my great Sur­
prise. found this Sacred Drama a mere Consort [concert],
Goes to the Oratorio, left).
no Scenery, Dress, or Action, so necessary to a Drama:
The stories of Handel’s oratorios were generally drawn from
but H-l was placed in Pulpit (I suppose they call that
biblical narratives featuring kings and heroes such as Solomon,
their Oratory). By him sat Senesino. Strada, Bertolli and
Turner Robinson, in their own Habits. Before him stood
sundry sweet Singers of this our Israel, and Strada gave
us a Hallelujah of Half an Hour long; Senesino and Bertolli
made rare work with the English Tongue, you would have
sworn it had been Welsh. I would have wished it Italian.
that they might have sung with more ease to themselves,
since, but for the Name of English, it might as well have
been Hebrew.
S a u l, J o s h u a , a n d S a m s o n , a n d h e r o i c w o m e n s u c h a s E s th e r
and Athalia. The texts were arranged in rhyming verse by a
poet, or librettist, who fleshed out the characters’ motivations,
actions, and dialogue. The stories often had a double meaning.
For example, when an Israelite hero wins a battle in an orato­
rio, the chorus is apt to sing, “God save the King! Long live the
King!” Handel’s audience understood that it was not only the
king of Israel who was being praised, but also King George of
England, and that Israel represented England in its triumph.
Messiah is like Handel’s other oratorios in some ways and unlike them in others.
It is typical in that it is sung in English, is not staged, and consists of recitatives, arias,
and choruses. It is unusual in that its words are drawn directly from the Bible and the
Book of Common Prayer, the standard book of worship in the Church of England,
or Anglican Church; the text is not rearranged into rhyming couplets. Moreover,
there are no characters in Messiah. The soprano, alto, tenor, and bass soloists do
not represent persons who carry out actions and feel emotions that are expressed
in their arias. These two features make Messiah almost unique in Handel’s output.
DU BLIN
When Handel arrived in the late fall of 1741, Dublin was the second city of the
British Empire, adorned with handsome public buildings, churches, and houses in
the contemporary Georgian style (see Figure 5.4). Most of the newer construc­
tion was on the north side of the river Liffey. To the south lay old Dublin, with its
medieval castle, its two Anglican cathedrals (both in a sad state of disrepair), the
tranquil precincts of Trinity College, and the seat of the Irish Parliament. The lat­
ter body was almost powerless; Ireland was essentially ruled from London, with
CHAPTER 5
G e o rg e Frideric H a n d e l’s M e ssia h
the Lord Lieutenant (an appointed English nobleman) enforcing Protestant
English domination over the Catholic Irish majority.
The outstanding figure in Dublin’s small but vibrant cultural com­
munity was the sharp-witted, Irish-born contrarian Jonathan Swift,
the author o f Gulliver's Travels and other political satires, who was
dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral at the time of Handel’s visit. Much
of the city’s music, opera, and theater, however, was imported
from England and elsewhere. Dublin even had one theater,
the Crow Street Music Hall, devoted to “the practice of Italian
Musick.” So when Handel brought his new works in the Italian
style to the Irish capital, he was sure of finding a receptive public.
Many of Dublin’s musical organizations were associated with
hospitals, prisons, and other charitable institutions. Concerts were
often presented in support of needy persons, offering patrons the
double satisfaction of enjoying music while doing good works. Handel
not only donated the proceeds from the first performance of Messiah to
charity, but for many years thereafter gave an annual performance of the
oratorio in London in aid of an orphanage called the Foundling Hospital.
The Charitable Music Society, which sponsored weekly concerts for the relief of
persons in debtors’ prison, was responsible for the construction of the New Music
Hall in Fishamble Street, on the south bank of the Liffey. It opened in 1741, just in
time for Handel’s arrival. This theater, also called Mr. Neale’s Music Hall (after the
music publisher who was president of the Music Society), served as the venue for all
of Handel’s concerts, including his performances of Messiah (see Figures 5.5 and 5.6).
123
FIG. 5.3 The rehearsal of an oratorio.
Here performers and audience are
at close quarters, and the rehearsal
seems almost as much a social
event as a musical one. Handel may
be the figure on the right of the
harpsichordist.
The Performance
PREPARATIONS
Immediately after crossing the Irish Sea from Chester, the “celebrated Dr.
Handel” (as the newspapers referred to him) announced a series of six concerts
to begin toward the end of December. Another six concerts took place between
FIG. 5.4 A view from Capel Street,
looking over Essex Bridge. Dublin,
by the acclaimed Irish engraver and
watercolorist James Malton. From A
Picturesque and Descriptive View of
the City of Dublin (1792-99).
124
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
FIG. 5.5 A nineteenth-century
engraving of the entrance to Mr.
Neales New Music Hall, opened in
1741, as it then appeared.
Kettledrums
FIG. 5.6 The interior of the Music
Hall in which Messiah was first per­
formed. This view shows the hall
after extensive renovations (1791).
but it retains the general shape and
dimension of the building.
mid-February and early April 1742. None of these dozen pro­
grams included Messiah; mostly they consisted of oratorios that
Handel had already presented in London, mixed with organ
concertos—allowing him to show off his virtuosity at the key­
board—and other instrumental music. The performances were
given on a subscription basis, all six concerts in each series being
sold as a set.
As a rule, Handel had specific performers in mind when he
wrote a piece of music. Messiah was an exception: he composed
it several weeks before he left for Ireland, without knowing
what performers he would find there. None of the other pieces
Handel brought to Dublin had been composed especially for the
occasion, so he made do with the resources that were available,
tailoring his existing music to the strengths and weaknesses of
individual performers.
As it happened, the score of Messiah needed surprisingly little
adjustment for its Dublin premiere. Handel had at his disposal
an excellent orchestra called the State Music of Ireland, led by
the violinist Matthew Dubourg. The all-male chorus was made
up of boys and men from the choirs of the two cathedrals, Christ Church and
St. Patrick’s. The male soloists were drawn from the same pool of local singers,
but the women soloists included a professional opera singer, Christina Maria Avolio, and a celebrated singing actress, Susannah Cibber, both of whom were well
known on the London stage.
Handel employed a relatively spare orchestra in Messiah. The original score calls
for a core ensemble of strings (first and second violins, violas, and cellos, presum­
ably with double-basses playing along with the cellos), to which two trumpets
and kettledrums (large bowl-shaped drums with a parchment head) are added for
grand moments like the “Hallelujah” chorus. Although most of Handel’s other
oratorios feature solos for violin, oboe, flute, or other instruments, there are no
solo instruments in Messiah except for a single trumpet, pretty obviously needed,
in the aria “The trumpet shall sound.”
Handel almost always added oboes and bassoons when the string orchestra was
larger than about ten players, and it seems likely that he did so on this occasion.
CHAPTER 5
G e o rg e Frideric H and el’s M e ssia h
It was possible, and indeed customary, to create parts on the spot by having the
oboes play along with the violins (or with the sopranos and altos), and the bas­
soons with the cellos. We have no direct evidence of oboes and bassoons in the
Dublin Messiah, but two different sets of parts survive from later performances,
so we know that the practice was common in the eighteenth century. (Bach used
oboes and bassoons to reinforce the strings in his D Major Orchestral Suite, as we
will see in the next chapter.)
Rehearsals for Messiah must have been relatively straightforward. Handel changed
two tenor arias to recitatives, possibly because the arias were too difficult for the
tenor soloist. (It was not a purely artistic decision, apparendy, since Handel rein­
stated the arias as soon as he began to produce Messiah in London.) He shortened
and tightened up a few numbers, and transposed a couple of arias to new keys for
voices that he hadn’t heard when he composed the piece, but essentially he left the
music as he had composed it.
On the whole, Handel was pleased with the quality of the musicians in Dublin.
After the first of his twelve subscription concerts, he wrote to Charles Jennens (see
Figure 5.7), the man who had selected and arranged the words for Messiah:
125
FIG. 5.7 Charles Jennens 0700-1773).
Handel’s acquaintance who assem­
bled the words for Messiah.
T he N obility did m e the H o n o u r to m ake am ongst them selves a Subscription for 6
Nights, w hich did fill a R oom o f 600 Persons, so th a t I needed n o t sell one single Ticket
at the Door, and w ith o u t Vanity th e Perform ance w as received w ith a general A ppro­
bation. Sigrj Avolio, w hich 1 b ro u g h t w ith m e from L ondon pleases extraordinary, I
have fo rm ’d an o th e r T enor Voice w hich gives g reat Satisfaction, th e Basses and C o u n ­
te r Tenors are very good, and th e rest o f th e C h o ru s Singers (by
m y D irection) do exceeding well, as for the Instrum ents they are
really excellent, M r D ub o u rg h being at th e H ead o f them , and the
The Dublin Journal and Dublin
M usick sounds delightfully in this charm ing R oom , w hich puts
News-Letter Announce the First
m e in such Spirits (and m y H ealth being so good) th a t I exert m y
Performance of Messiah
self o n m y O rgan w ith m ore th a n usual Success.
TUESDAY, APRIL 13,1742,12 N O O N
or Relief o f the Prisoners in the several Gaols, and for
the Support of Mercer’s Hospital in Stephen’s Street,
and of the Charitable Infirmary on the Inns Quay, on
Monday the 12th of April, will be performed at the Musick
Hall in Fishamble Street, Mr. Handel’s new G rand O ra ­
torio, call'd the M essiah, in which the Gentlemen of the
Choirs of both Cathedrals will assist, with some Concertoes on the Organ, by Mr. Handed. Tickets to be had at
the Musick Hall, and at Mr. Neal’s in Christ-Church-Yard, at
half a Guinea each. N.B. No Person will be admitted to the
Rehearsal without a Rehearsal Ticket, which will be given
gratis with the Ticket for the Performance when pay'd for.
F
The first performance of Messiah was a special benefit for its
three charitable sponsors. It was not part of either of Handel’s
subscription series, and for once he had nothing to do with the
business arrangements (see The Dublin Journal . . . Announces
the First Performance of Messiah, right). The premiere was pre­
ceded by a public dress rehearsal, rather like a “preview” of a
Broadway show, open only to those who had bought tickets to
the performance. Thus most of the audience heard the piece
twice—once on April 8, and again five days later. (The perfor­
mance was originally planned for April 12, but was postponed
a day, to April 13.) Apparently, the rehearsal went very well.
According to one newspaper account, “Mr. Handell’s new Grand Sacred Oratorio,
called, The M e s s i a h , was rehearsed . . . to a most Grand, Polite and crouded Audi­
ence; and was performed so well, that it gave universal Satisfaction to all present;
and was allowed by the greatest Judges to be the finest Composition of Musick
that ever was heard, and the sacred Words as properly adapted for the Occasion.”
What sort of people made up this “Grand, Polite and crouded Audience”? In
Handel’s own words, they included “the Flower of Ladyes of Distinction and other
People of the greatest Quality,” as well as “Bishops, Deans, Heads of the Colledge,
the most eminent People in the Law as the Chancellor, Auditor General, &tc.”
The audience
126
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
FIG. 5.8 Fashionable dress for ladies included substantial
hoop skirts and trains. For Handel’s concerts in Dublin the
ladies were asked to come “without their hoops.”
Susannah Cibber in the Eyes of
Contemporaries
harles
Bumey.
an 18th-century
music historian,
said that her voice was
“a mere thread, and
knowledge of Music,
inconsiderable; yet. by a
natural pathos, and per­
fect conception of the
words, she often pen­
etrated the heart, when
others, with infinitely
greater voice and skill,
could only reach the ear." When she sang the aria “He
was despised.” according to a story that might or might
not be true, the Reverend Dr. Delaney was so moved, de­
spite Mrs. Cibbers reputed immorality, that he shouted.
“Woman, for this be all thy sins forgiven thee.”
C
These distinguished members o f the leisure class were free to
go to a concert that started at noon and could afford the half­
guinea (about three month’s wages in today’s economy). As few
people who fell into that category would have been either native
Irish or Catholics, we can assume that almost all of Handel’s
listeners were of English extraction and belonged to the Church
of England.
People began arriving at the Music Hall as soon as the doors
opened at 11 a.m. on April 13. They came by horse-drawn car­
riage, in sedan chairs carried by servants, and on foot (see Fig­
ure 5.8). Fishamble Street, narrow and winding, was prone to
traffic jams on the days of Handel’s concerts. The nearly seven
hundred people filled the hall to overflowing for the midday
performance. The complete Messiah, including two intermis­
sions, would have lasted until shortly after 3 p.m. This schedule
gave everyone sufficient time to get home for dinner, the main
meal of the day, which was served about 4 p.m. The daytime
performance also saved the management considerable expense
in candles.
Even though almost everybody knew the words of Messiah
from hearing them read in church, most ticketholders prob­
ably bought wordbooks that printed the full text. The word­
book does not tell us which solo singers sang which recitatives
and arias; but, by a stroke of luck, one anonymous listener
took the trouble to pencil in the names o f the singers beside
each section of text, giving us an accurate idea of how Handel
divided up the solo responsibilities.
The caliber of the Dublin singers was not, by and large,
equal to that of the operatic superstars whom Handel was
used to hiring for his London seasons (and whose exorbitant
salaries made producing operas so difficult). The soloists were
professional singers mostly drawn from Dublin’s cathedral
choirs; the choir singers were basses, tenors, countertenors
(men singing alto in falsetto voice), and boy sopranos; in Messiah the solo soprano parts were sung by women rather than
by choirboys. Christina Maria Avolio, an Italian opera singer
whom Handel had brought over from London, seems to have
made a very good impression. Handel had known Signora
Avolio for a long time and would employ her on several later
occasions.
A lucky find was Susannah Cibber, a famous actress and
singer who had also worked with Handel in London. Although
Mrs. Cibber’s alto voice was not particularly powerful, her skill
at expressing the meaning of the words made her performances
captivating. Handel used her dramatic abilities to full effect in
Messiah (see Susannah Cibber in the Eyes of Contemporaries,
at left).
According to the annotated wordbook, a certain Mrs.
Maclaine also sang in the performance, though she was not
mentioned in the reviews. Handel had met her in Chester, on
CHAPTER 5
G eo rge Frideric H and el's M e ssia h
127
h is w a y t o I r e la n d , a n d in v ite d h e r, a l o n g w i t h h e r o r g a n i s t h u s b a n d , t o tr a v e l t o
D u b lin t o h e lp w i t h h is c o n c e r ts .
A s m e m b e r s o f t h e c a t h e d r a l c h o ir s , t h e m a l e s o lo is ts w e r e w e ll k n o w n to
D u b l i n a u d ie n c e s , i f n o t t o H a n d e l , a n d t h e r e m a i n i n g a r ia s a n d r e c ita t iv e s w e r e
d iv id e d u p a m o n g t h e m . T h e s o lo is t s i n c l u d e d a lto s W illia m L a m b a n d J o s e p h
W a r d , t e n o r J a m e s B ailey, a n d b a s s e s J o h n M a s o n a n d J o h n H ill. A l t h o u g h H a n d e l
s e e m s t o h a v e b e e n p l e a s e d w i t h B a ile y ( “ I h a v e f o r m ’d a n o t h e r T e n o r V o ic e
w h i c h g iv e s g r e a t S a t i s f a c t i o n ,” h e t o l d J e n n e n s ) , h e fe lt c o m p e l l e d t o m a k e a d j u s t ­
m e n t s f o r t h e o t h e r m e n t o e n s u r e t h a t h is m u s ic d id n o t e x c e e d t h e i r a b ilitie s .
B e c a u s e t h e t w o c a t h e d r a l c h o ir s s h a r e d m a n y s in g e r s ( a n d e v e n h a d t h e s a m e
c h o i r m a s t e r ) , it is n o t e a s y t o k n o w e x a c tly h o w m a n y p e o p l e w e r e in t h e c h o r u s
fo r
Messiah.
I f all t h e c h o r i s t e r s p a r t i c i p a t e d , t h e y p r o b a b ly n u m b e r e d a b o u t s ix ­
t e e n m e n ( s in g in g a lto , t e n o r , a n d b a s s ) a n d e i g h t b o y s o p r a n o s . T h e t h r e e w o m e n
j o i n e d in t h e c h o r u s e s , a s d id t h e fiv e m a le s o lo is ts .
H a n d e l p r e s id e d o v e r t h e p e r f o r m a n c e a t t h e k e y b o a r d
( a t t h e h a r p s i c h o r d d u r i n g t h e o r a t o r i o ) , w i t h M r. M a c la in e
a c c o m p a n y in g o n
th e o rg a n . O n e
o f th e
a ttra c tio n s o f
Charles Burney Describes Handel
Playing the Keyboard
H a n d e l ’s c o n c e r t s w a s h is d a z z lin g o r g a n p la y in g , a n d d u r i n g
t h e p a u s e s b e t w e e n t h e t h r e e p a r t s o f M essiah h e p la y e d c o n ­
c e r t o s w i t h t h e o r c h e s t r a o n a s m a ll p o r t a b l e o r g a n t h a t h e
h a d b ro u g h t fro m L o n d o n . T h e m a n u s c rip t sc o re s o f s o m e o f
H a n d e l ’s o r g a n c o n c e r t o s c o n t a i n o n ly t h e o r c h e s t r a l m u s ic ,
w i t h b r i e f in d ic a tio n s o f w h e r e t h e o r g a n s o lo s b e g i n a n d
e n d . It m u s t h a v e b e e n w o n d e r f u l f u n t o w a t c h h i m i m p r o ­
v is e t h e s o lo p a r ts , n o d d i n g t o t h e o r c h e s t r a w h e n e v e r it w a s
t h e i r t u r n t o c o m e in (s e e C h a r le s B u r n e y D e s c r ib e s H a n d e l
ndeed, his hand was then so fat. that the knuckles,
which usually appear convex, were like those of a child,
dinted or dimpled in. so as to be rendered concave;
however, his touch was so smooth, and the tone of the
instrument so much cherished, that his fingers seemed
to grow to the keys. They were so curved and compact,
when he played, that no motion, and scarcely the fingers
themselves, could be discovered.
P la y in g t h e K e y b o a r d , r ig h t) .
T h e s in g e r s a n d i n s t r u m e n t a l i s t s a r r a n g e d t h e m s e l v e s
a r o u n d H a n d e l o n s t a g e . T h e s o lo is t s m u s t h a v e b e e n c lo s e e n o u g h f o r h i m
t o f o ll o w t h e f le x ib le s p e e c h r h y t h m s o f t h e i r r e c i t a t i v e s o n t h e k e y b o a r d , b u t
n o t t o o f a r a w a y f r o m t h e c h o r u s , s in c e t h e s o lo is t s w e r e e x p e c t e d t o s in g t h e
c h o r u s e s a s w e ll. T h e c h o r u s p r o b a b l y s t o o d b e h i n d a n d o n b o t h s id e s o f t h e
s m a l l o r c h e s t r a . T y p i c a lly f o r t h e t i m e , t h e r e w a s n o c o n d u c t o r a s s u c h ; H a n d e l
s t a r t e d e a c h m o v e m e n t f r o m h is p e r c h a t t h e h a r p s i c h o r d a n d o r g a n , w h i l e M a t ­
t h e w D u b o u r g k e p t t h e o r c h e s t r a t o g e t h e r b y g e s t i c u l a t i n g w i t h h is b o d y a n d
v io lin b o w .
Listening to the M usic
M an y o f u s have h e a rd
Messiah;
s o m e o f u s e v e n h a v e s u n g it. H a n d e l ’s fa m ilia r
s c o r e te lls a lo n g s to r y in a s e rie s o f s h o r t p ie c e s , e a c h o f w h ic h is a s e lf - c o n ta in e d
m u s ic a l e x p re s s io n . A s w e h a v e s e e n , th e e x p e r ie n c e , fo r H a n d e l ’s lis te n e r s , w a s
a lo t lik e g o in g t o th e o p e r a . F o r u s it is a b it d iffe re n t: e v e n i f w e a r e r e g u la r
o p e r a g o e r s — a n d m o s t o f u s p r o b a b ly a rc n o t — th e o p e r a s w e a rc m o s t lik e ly t o lis te n
t o h a v e little in c o m m o n w i t h t h e “s e r io u s ” o p e r a s o f H a n d e l a n d h is c o n te m p o r a r ie s .
T h e f ir s t t h i n g w e h e a r in
Messiah
is a n i n s t r u m e n t a l o v e r t u r e ; th is w a s th e
s ta n d a rd w a y fo r H a n d e l (a n d a lm o s t e v e ry o th e r c o m p o s e r) to o p e n b o th o p e ra s
a n d o r a t o r i o s . (In a n o p e r a h o u s e , t h e c u r t a i n u s u a lly r is e s a t t h e e n d o f t h e o v e r ­
t u r e . T h e r e w a s n o c u r t a i n in t h e M u s ic H a ll, b u t H a n d e l o b s e r v e d t h e c o n v e n ti o n
128
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
anyway.) Like almost all of Handel’s overtures, this one begins with a slow, stately
introduction, followed by a livelier section in which the instruments come in one
after another in imitation, producing a fugue (see p. 140). The overture form with
two continuing sections is called a French overture; we will consider it in more
detail when we li sten to Bach’s Suite in D Major in Chapter 6. After the overture
comes a series of recitatives, arias, and choruses.
THE SHAPE O F THE O R A T O R IO
Three-part form
Text
Musical connections
^
Recitatives in oratorio
Recitativo secco
Messiah is divided into three parts, like the acts of an opera, each of which ends
with a grand chorus. The first part is made up of triplet units consisting of a recita­
tive, an aria, and a chorus. The second part is a sequence representing the Passion,
Resurrection, and the spread of the Gospel of Christ. It features a long series of
contrasting choruses, culminating in the famous “Hallelujah” chorus. The third
part, drawn mostly from the funeral service, is a reflection on triumph over death.
The final chorus, a grand “Amen” fugue, caps an oratorio that expresses, in both
words and music, a Christian view of God’s promise to humankind and of our
hope for eternal life. (Parts 1 and 2 are often performed on their own during the
Christmas season.)
Charles Jennens, Handel’s acquaintance who assembled the words for Messiah,
selected scriptural texts that tell of the promise of the coming of the Messiah, of the
birth and suffering of Christ, and of the promise of resurrection. All of these texts
were well known to Handel’s audiences. But most of the narrative is told in oblique
ways. Often Jennens chooses an Old Testament text to narrate a Christian event (“For
unto us a child is bom ”). He uses many texts from the Old Testament prophets, and
few from the New Testament Christian texts that relate narrative events.
Although each aria, recitative, and chorus in Messiah is a discrete musical num­
ber, in several places Handel seems to be making an effort to connect one move­
ment to another. The aria “O thou that tellest good tidings to Sion,” for instance, is
thematically linked to the ensuing chorus. Similarly, the narrative of the shepherds
and the angels in the soprano recitative “There were shepherds” flows directly into
the angels’ chorus “Glory to God.” Such connections make it clear that Messiah is
not an anthology of miscellaneous pieces that might well have been assembled in
some other order, but a carefully planned sequence of numbers designed to pro­
duce maximum musical and dramatic effect.
The texts of Messiah arc not metered or rhymed, like poetry, but their inherent
rhythmic quality and melodiousness make it seem almost as though they were
written to be sung. W hether Jennens had recitatives, arias, or choruses in mind for
specific texts is not known, but the groupings of three that Handel put together
work very well with Jennens’s selections.
Now let’s take a closer look at these three musical genres.
RECITATIVES
A recitative is just what it says: a recitation. The words arc sung in essentially the
same rhythm in which they would be spoken, with a simple chordal accompani­
ment played on a keyboard instrument and a cello. (In Handel’s day, as in Monte­
verdi’s, the so-called basso continuo instruments, those that played chords, impro­
vised their parts, taking the unadorned bass line as a guide.) This is the standard,
default variety of recitative and is called recitativo secco (“dry” recitative), because
it has no orchestral accompaniment.
CHAPTER 5
G e o rg e Frideric H a n d e l’s M e ssia h
In operas, recitativo secco is generally used for extended dialogues between char­
acters, to advance the plot and prepare for the next aria. In Messiah, by contrast,
most of the recitatives consist of only a few words—for example, "Behold, a virgin
shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel: ‘God with us.’”
In the other kind of recitative, recitativo accompagnato (accompanied recitative),
the orchestra provides an accompaniment while the soloist sings the text in a gen­
erally spoken rhythm. The orchestra—usually the strings alone, augmented by the
continuo instruments—might also play an introduction to set the mood of the text.
Accompanied recitatives are typically saved for moments of high intensity or for
passages where a series of contrasting emotions are presented one after another.
“There were shepherds” In opera, recitativo accompagnato is much rarer than rec-
129
© Handel: Messiah, “Behold, a
v,rSin shal1 conceive
Recitativo accompagnato
Q LG15
itativo secco. In Messiah, however, a large proportion of the recitatives are accompa­
nied; some are very short, others of a more substantial nature. A good illustration
of the difference between the two kinds of recitative is the passage in which the
solo soprano describes the announcement of the birth of Jesus to the shepherds
(see LG 15). The alternation of secco and accompanied recitative is clearly intended
to paint a musical picture of the presence of angels—first one, and then many.
LISTEN IN G GUIDE 15
© | dvd|^
Handel Messiah, Recitative, “There were shepherds”
1:24
DATE: 1742
GENRE: O rato rio (recitative)
LISTEN FOR
FORM: A ltern atio n b etw ee n recitativo secco ("dry” recitative,
TEXTURE: Pictorial effects in orchestra
w ith co n tin u o acco m p an im en t) and recitativo accompagnato
(recitative w ith o rch estral acco m pan im en t)
TEX T: W ords delivered in a generally spoken rhythm
TIM E
TEX T
DESCRIPTION
0:00
T h ere w ere shepherds abiding in th e field,
keep in g w atch over th e ir flock by night.
Recitativo secco: solo so p ran o
0:15
A nd lo, th e angel o f th e Lord cam e u p o n them ,
an d th e g lo ry o f th e L ord shone ro u n d a b o u t them ;
an d th ey w ere sore afraid.
Recitativo accompagnato: orchestra jo in s in, perhaps
depicting flu tter o f angel w ings.
0:33
A nd the angel said u n to th em : Fear n o t, for behold,
I b rin g you g o o d tidings o f g re a t joy, w hich shall
b e to all people.
For u n to you is b o rn this day in th e city o f D avid a
savior, w hich is C hrist, the Lord.
R etu rn to
1:08
A nd suddenly, th ere w as w ith th e angel a m u ltitu d e
o f th e heavenly host, praising G od, an d saying . . .
Recitativo accompagnato: orchestral acco m p an im en t even
sings w ords in a speaking
rh y th m , w ith chordal acco m p an im en t by co n tin u o in stru ­
m en ts (harpsichord and cello).
recitativo secco.
m o re active, depicting m u ltitu d e o f angels. Ending designed
to lead direedy into ch o ru s th a t follows, "G lory to G o d .”
130
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
© Handel: Messiah, “Thus
saith the Lord”
£ ) LG16
A composer may have other reasons for choosing accompanied recitative—for
instance, when a character is expressing particularly strong and active emotions, as
in “Thus saith the Lord.” The violent chords interjected by the orchestra take their
cue from the lines: “yet once a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth,
the sea and the dry land.” The bass soloist doesn’t just “speak” the text, he drama­
tizes and intensifies its meaning by embellishing the words “shake” and “desire” with
long garlands of sixteenth notes, and singing some phrases more than once.
“Thus saith the Lord” is not pure recitative, but it is still far from being an aria.
In fact, the category of recitative covers a broad expressive range, from the sim­
plest and most straightforward recitations to more lyrical pieces that combine the
characteristics of recitatives and arias. The distinction between recitative and aria
will be clearer when you have a good idea of what an aria is like; we will listen to
an example of Handel’s arias in a moment.
“Com fort ye, my people” At the extreme aria-like end of the recitative spectrum
is the tenor’s recitativo accompagnato “Comfort ye, my people,” the first music that
is sung in Messiah (see LG 16, p. 131). This piece is in two parts, the first lovely and
songlike, the second (“The voice of him that cricth in the wilderness: Prepare ye
the way of the Lord”) agitated and recitative-like. The recitative opens with a ten­
der orchestral introduction, characterized by softly pulsing repeated notes in the
strings. This beautiful passage will be a recurring musical motif that reinforces the
central meaning of the text.
A R IA S
Musical phrases
We use the Italian word aria to denote the more elaborate pieces for voice and
orchestra that are found in operas and oratorios. For these pieces Handel com­
posed, and his audience expected, something quite specific. An aria (or song, as
it was called in England) is the place where the action pauses and the music takes
over. It is generally intended to express one or two specific emotions and their
corresponding musical moods. Several aspects of Handel’s arias arc of particular
interest to us: musical phrases, musical motives, word painting, ritornellos, and
larger shape.
In an aria, the words provide the vehicle for musical phrases. It is the construc­
tion and juxtaposition of these phrases that we listen for, not the straight, oncethrough delivery of the text as in a recitative. For example, in Messiah’s first aria,
which comes directly after “Comfort ye, my people,” the aria has this text:
Ev’ry valley shall be exalted,
And ev’ry mountain and hill made low;
The crooked straight, and the rough places plain.
But what we actually hear is something different:
Ev’ry valley,
Ev’ry valley shall be exalted
shall be exalted
shall be exalted
shall be exalted
And ev’ry mountain and hill made low.. .
and so on, with key words and phrases repeated for purely musical effect. (We’ll
have more to say about this wonderful aria when we consider Handel’s skill at
word painting.)
CHAPTER 5
LISTENING GUIDE 16
©
G e o rg e Frideric H a n d e l’s M e ssia h
131
|DVD |
Handel Messiah, Recitative, “Comfort ye, my people”
2:47
DATE: 1742
GENRE: O ra to rio (recitativo accompagnato)
LISTEN FOR
TEXTURE: Interw eaving o f o rch estral and vocal th e m es
TEX T: Varied settings o f the w ords "co m fo rt’’ and
EXPRESSION: C hange o f m o o d to w ard th e en d
TIM E
TEX T
com fortably
DESCRIPTION
S m o o th , h arm o n io u s th e m e as introduction:
0:00
scnza Rip.
|
—
liim .]
0:14
C o m fo rt ye.
Sim ple sta te m e n t o f falling, 3-note th e m e by soloist (tenor), ech o ed by
orchestra:
0:19
C o m fo rt ye, m y people;
O rch estra begins o p en in g th e m e again; singer has elab o rate version; o rches­
tra repeats 3-note "C o m fo rt ye” th em e.
0:34
C o m fo rt ye
S inger’s p a rt m ark ed “ad lib itu m ,” m eaning he is invited to o rn a m e n t freely.
0:45
C o m fo rt ye, m y people.
O rch estra begins o p en in g th e m e again, th e n repeats "C o m fo rt ye” them e.
0:58
Saith y o u r G od, saith y o u r G od.
O rch estra p u n ctu ates te n o r’s w ords w ith "C o m fo rt y e” th e m e.
1:08
Speak ye com fortably to Jerusalem ,
speak ye com fortably to Jerusalem
O rch estra begins o p en in g th e m e again, accom panying singer’s text and
p u n ctu atin g th e en d w ith "C o m fo rt ye” th em e.
1:35
A nd cry u n to h e r th a t h e r w arfare,
h e r w arfare is accom plished.
T his tim e singer takes lead, w hile o rch estra accom panies w ith opening
th e m e. A t th e end, o rch estra p u n ctu ates w ith "C o m fo rt ye” them e.
1:54
T h a t h e r iniquity is p ard o n ed
O n last w ord, o rch estra plays b eg in n in g o f op en in g th em e.
2:03
T h at h e r iniquity is pard o n ed .
B eginning o n singer's last n ote, o rch estra plays op en in g th e m e (first tim e
since th e b eg in n in g th a t it appears in its entirety), b u t in different key.
2:26
T h e voice o f h im th a t crieth in th e
w ilderness: P repare ye th e w ay o f th e
Lord, m ake straight in th e d esert a
highw ay for o u r G od.
M ood and style change ab ru p tly from "co m fo rt” to "cry”: o rch estra
p u n ctu ates vocal p a rt w ith single chords.
Music and words convey meaning in different ways. In a recitative, the words
are delivered more or less as they would be in spoken dialogue; they are meant to
be clearly understood, since the point is to convey information about the charac­
ters and plot. In an aria, on the other hand, music takes precedence over speech.
132
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
Musical motives
Musical phrases
The point is to express an emotion, to reflect on an event or an idea presented in
the foregoing recitative, and the music takes all the time it needs.
A couple of basic ideas that Handel uses in composing arias are worth bearing
in mind. First, each aria is made of a small number of short, recognizable musical
motives, which almost always relate to some aspect of the words. For each phrase
of the text, Handel selects one (and only one) musical idea to associate with it. In
“Ev’ry valley,” for example, the first two words are always sung to a particular tune
(with slight variations). The same is true for other phrases, such as "the crooked
straight” and “the rough places plain.”
The idea of associating each phrase of the text with its own recognizable tune
is characteristic of a great deal of Handel’s vocal music. It wasn’t an invariable
rule—think of “Comfort ye, my people,” where Handel uses the same musical
motive repeatedly in the orchestra part, while varying the vocal line—but that, of
course, is not an aria.
Handel’s second basic idea is to string these phrases of text together into what
we might call musical sentences. Some of these sentences are long and elabo­
rate in structure, the kind of thing that Handel’s audiences were used to hearing
from the mouths of actors, preachers, and lawyers. Typically, such lofty rhetorical
utterances consisted of three elements: gesture, amplification, and conclusion. For
example, take this well-known passage from the King James version of the Bible (1
Corinthians 13:11):
When I was a child,
(gesture)
I spake as a child,
(amplification)
I understood as a child,
I thought as a child;
But when I became a man
(conclusion)
1 put away childish things.
Sequence and cadence
Word painting
©
Handel: Messiah. "He shall feed
his flock”
If Handel (or almost any other Baroque composer) were using this sentence as the
text of an aria, he would most likely set the opening statement to a memorable
musical gesture or motive. The middle section would elaborate on that idea, often
by means of one or more sequences (short passages of music that are repeated
several times, at progressively higher or lower pitches.) Then he would bring the
phrase to a close with a cadence (the musical equivalent of a period or full stop).
Many such phrases can be found in the first aria in Messiah, “Ev’ry valley” (see
L G 17), and in many other arias. Handel also uses this gesture-sequence-cadcnce
structure in instrumental pieces, such as the ritornellos of “Ev’ry valley” and of
the chorus “And the glory of the Lord” (see L G 18), as we will see in a moment.
The point of an aria, as we have said, is to explore an emotion, to make the lis­
tener understand how the character, or the singer, feels at a given moment. Words
such as “I weep with grief” can convey clear messages in an aria. But music can
also send expressive signals without using words: tempo (fast or slow), key (minor
or major), melody (angular or smooth), harmony (regular or unusual)—all these
contribute to giving the listener a sense of the mood in an aria.
One musical technique that Handel loves to exploit whenever opportunity
knocks is word painting (we first encountered this technique in Chapter 3). This
means just what you might expect—painting a colorful musical picture of what­
ever the words are saying. Sometimes Handel focuses on the big picture and sets
the mood for an entire piece. For example, the aria “He shall feed his flock” begins
with what any eighteenth-century listener would have recognized as music about
the outdoors and the keeping of sheep. The flowing rhythm is that of a siciliana,
CHAPTER 5
G e o rg e Frideric H and el's M e ssia h
an Italian dance associated with pastoral scenes, and the allusion is reinforced by
the bagpipe-like drone of the bass. We know that the aria is about sheep and shep­
herds before the singer opens her mouth. An even more obvious example of setting
the mood is the opening of the aria “The trumpet shall sound,” which features the
only instrumental solo in Messiah.
Sometimes Handel “paints” on a more intimate scale, associating musical ideas
with words and phrases, rather than with whole pieces. Particularly good exam­
ples are found in "Ev’ry valley,” where Handel illustrates the word “exalted” either
by writing a high note or by giving the singer an elaborate sequence, moving from
a low pitch to an ever more exalted place. The phrase “and ev’ry mountain and
hill made low” starts on a very high note and descends to the bottom of the tenor
range. The next phrase of text, “the crooked straight,” provides another contrast:
Handel follows a jagged, crooked melody with smooth, sustained notes. He does
something similar with “and the rough places plain,” except that here he seems to
be making a kind of musical pun, using a long-held note on the word “plain,” as if
it referred to a topographical feature.
Word painting is so intuitively obvious to most of us that it seldom needs to be
pointed out. Indeed, one of the pleasures of listening to Handel’s music is observ­
ing how he goes about doing what we know he is going to do all along. Music has
an infinite number of ways of depicting both physical phenomena (birdsong, mov­
ing water) and intangible qualities and emotions (rage, softness, flatness). Handel
used a great variety of them at one time or another.
A typical aria starts with an orchestral introduction, which is repeated at the end
and is often used, in whole or in part, as interludes during the aria. The term for a
passage of music that returns over and over is ritornello. It was a favorite device
of composers in the Baroque era; we have met ritornellos in Monteverdi, and we’ll
encounter them again when we listen to Bach’s Concerto in F for Harpsichord,
Two Recorders, and Strings.
“Ev’ry valley” The opening ritornello o f an aria (or a chorus) usually contains
music that the singer will perform later. Listen to “Ev’ry valley,” for instance. It
begins with the motive that we will come to associate with the words “Ev’ry val­
ley shall be exalted,” and it continues with a sequence based on a figure that will
accompany “the crooked straight.” We don’t yet know what the words will be,
but the ritornello has given us the mood of the piece, the tempo, and some basic
musical ideas, so that when the singer comes in we are already on familiar ground
(see LG 17, p. 134).
Not all ritornellos begin with the singer’s music. Sometimes the composer has a
good reason for making the orchestra paint a sound picture that doesn’t lend itself
to vocal performance. The aria “Thou shalt break them,” for example, has a vio­
lent, jerky ritornello that suggests someone hurling things to the ground (“Thou
shalt break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel”). The ritornello is regularly used to
accompany the singer, but it is not itself melodious or singable.
Likewise, the opening ritornello, and much of the accompaniment, of the aria
“Why do the nations so furiously rage together?” feature a rapid, frenzied figure
in the strings that has some characteristics in common with the vocal part but is
unique to the orchestra.
Now that we know something about the ingredients that Handel uses in mak­
ing his arias, we can begin to appreciate their overall structure and shape. In a
typical Handel aria, the singer develops one or more of the basic ideas suggested
by the text, pausing now and then for the orchestra to play a shortened version
Ritornello
Q
LG 17
Larger shape
133
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LISTENING GUIDE 17
© | DVD
3:10
Handel Messiah, Aria, “Ev’ry valley”
DATE: 1742
GENRE: O ra to rio (aria)
TEXT: Ev’ry valley shall be exalted,
And ev’ry mountain and hill made low.
The crooked straight, and the rough places plain.
LISTEN FOR
FORM: Large-scale form :
| rito rn ello | A | sh o rten ed rito rn ello | A ' + cadenza | rito rn ello |
SCORING: O p en in g and closing orchestral rito rn ello based o n vocal th em es
TEXT: W ord painting: "exalted,” "low,” "cro o k ed ,” “plain"
THEMES: Sm all n u m b e r o f them es, each tied to a p h rase o f text
M usical T h e m e C o lo r and L etter Labels:
V = valley, C = c ro o k e d , M = m o u n ta in , P = p la in , K = i adence
TIME
TEXT/FORM
R itornello (V C
DESCRIPTION
)
0:00
Opening section
VI V I V I
Begins w ith upw ard figure (V I, w hich w ill accom pany text,
"E v’ry valley”) follow ed by d o w nw ard figure (V2) played tw ice.
0:06
Continuation section
C l C2 C3 K
W avering figure (C l, w hich w ill accom pany text, “the crooked
straig h t”) played as a sequence 3 tim es ascending in pitch, follow ed
by a cadence ( ).
0:14
Closing section
R epetition o f cro o k ed th e m e , C, an octave lower, follow ed by a
C3 K
final cadence,
, to close th e ritornello.
A section
0:19
Ev’ry valley (V I)
Singer an n o u n ces valley th e m e V I, repeated by orchestra.
0:23
E v’ry valley (V I) shall b e exalted (V2)
Shall be exalted (V2 extended)
Shall be exalted (V2)
Shall be exalted (V2 extended)
M ain th em e and co n tin u atio n (V I, V2), extension.
Singer engages in v irtuosic (m elism atic) w o rd painting.
O rch estra interjects, p u n ctu ates w ith V 1.
0:50
A nd ev ’ry m o u n tain and hill m ade low. (M)
Vocal line in tro d u ces n ew th e m e (M). “M o u n tain ” is highest pitch,
"low ” is low est (w ord painting). O rch estra follows w ith statem en t
o f cro o k ed th em e, foreshadow ing new text to com e. (C)
0:55
T he cro o k ed straight (C 1)
A nd th e ro u g h places plain (P i)
T he cro o k ed straight
T he cro o k ed straig h t (im itative)
A nd th e ro u g h places plain.
A nd th e ro u g h places plain.
C ro o k ed m otive (from o p en in g ritornello) now underlines text,
and altern ates w ith fo u rth m otive (P) th ro u g h o u t next section.
O rch estra im itates vocal line; th em es are tra d e d back and
forth, m u tatio n s o f C and P occur, connect, an d in teract w ith
each o th e r until cadence after final s ta te m e n t o f "ro u g h places
plain.”
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G e o rg e Frideric H and el’s M e ssia h
135
Abbreviated ritornello (V)
1:25
CK
Orchestra plays brief interlude with a fragment o f crooked them e
plus cadence.
A' section (A elaborated) + cadenza
1:30
Ev'ry valley (VI)
Singer begins with the same "announcem ent” o f valley them e (V),
in different key from opening.
Ev'ry valley (VI) shall be exalted (V2)
Opening them e continued and extended, just as in first A section,
but extensions and m elismas are new. Again, orchestra punctuates
w ith VI them e.
Ev'ry valley (V 1)
Ev'ry valley shall be exalted (V I, V2)
2:03
And ev ’ry m ountain and hill made low.
As in A section, orchestra follows w ith statement o f crooked
them e, heralding new text to com e. (C)
Crooked them e, cadence motive, after second statem ent o f the
plain m otive P. We expect final cadence , which is the
com bination w e have heard closing each section
(both ritornellos plus the A section).
2:06
T he
T he
T he
And
And
And
2:32
Text painting not as dramatic as before, but "mountain” still high
point, "low” still lowest.
crooked straight (Cl)
crooked straight
crooked straight
the rough places plain (P)
the rough places plain
the rough places plain
T he crooked straight (ferm ata)
And the rough places (cadenza) plain
(Cadence- K)
Instead, orchestra’s last chord is deceptively not final.
Fermata (hold) over last statem ent o f "straight” while singer
em bellishes word "places” and cadences (finally) on "plain.”
Closing orchestral ritornello
2:48
V
V1V2V2
C
C1C2C3K
K
C3 K
Exact repetition o f opening ritornello.
of the ritornello. Usually toward the end Handel provides an opportunity for the
soloist to show off her or his most elaborate decorated melodies. This is followed
by a passage where the music pauses, the accompaniment thins out, and the singer
is invited to supply a c a d e n z a (an ornamented version of the final cadence). Then
the orchestra closes with another statement of the ritornello.
The basic shape of most arias, then, can be described as ritornello-voiceritornello, where the central vocal section is quite a bit longer than the framing
ritornellos, and may include fragmentary portions of the ritornello. This is the
outline of “Ev’ry valley” and of most of the other arias in Messiah. A couple of
them, however, have a more complicated structure: the soloist sings a contrasting
section following the second orchestral ritornello, after which the entire opening
portion of the aria is repeated, with its concluding ritornello.
Cadenza
136
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M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
Da capo arias
This larger three-part form was standard for opera arias in the period. The
contrasting middle section allows the singer afterwards to return to the open­
ing music and sing it from the beginning (da capo, in Italian). The reprise is not
a simple repetition, however. In light of the intervening music, the singer (and
the audience) has a new understanding of the meaning of the words the second
time around. Moreover, the reprise gives the soloist an opportunity to show off'
improvised ornamentation. Handel’s singers would try to outdo each other with
their dazzling fast-note passages, scales, and other embellishments, particularly in
the cadenzas.
Although Handel wrote hundreds of d a c a p o a r i a s in his operas, Messiah
includes only two: “He was despised” and “The trumpet shall sound.” Why so
few? In the first place, Handel wanted Messiah to be reasonably concise and to
move along quickly. In the second, he did not intend the music for opera singers,
and few oratorio singers were capable of the dazzling virtuosity that opera audi­
ences expected in the da capo sections.
C H O RU SES
The pieces sung by the full chorus are among the crowning beauties of Messiah, as they arc o f Handel’s other oratorios. Indeed, most of the grandeur and
glory of these works is generated by the choruses. The “Hallelujah” chorus in
Messiah has thrilled listeners for more than two and a half centuries; for many
of us, it is the first music that comes to mind when we think o f oratorio (or of
Christmas).
Handel had one basic method for making a chorus, although he inflected it in
countless and endlessly imaginative ways. The idea is this: take the text, slice it into
brief phrases, compose a musical motive for each phrase, and assemble the chorus
using these motives as building blocks. Put that way, writing a chorus sounds easy.
But the truly difficult part, and what sets Handel apart from more pedestrian com­
posers, is inventing the right motives to go with the different phrases of the text
and combining them in a musically satisfying composition.
0
LG 18
Consider the first chorus in Messiah, “And the glory
of the Lord,” which completes the first triplet unit of recitative ("Comfort ye, my
people”), aria (“Ev’ry valley”), and chorus. Handel divides the text into four lines
or phrases:
“A n d t h e g l o r y o f t h e L o r d ”
And the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed
and all flesh shall see it together
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Once you’ve heard the entire chorus, you can sing the tune of any of the four
lines, because Handel invents a characteristic melody to which those words are
always (or almost always) sung.
The opening ritornello is a classic of the type gesture-sequence-cadence, where
the first two elements actually serve to introduce tunes we will come to associ­
ate with words; the opening gesture, or motive, is set to the music of “And the
glory of the Lord,” and the following sequence is set to the melody of “shall be
revealed” (although of course we don’t know this yet, unless we’ve already heard
the chorus).
CHAPTER 5
LISTENING GUIDE 18
137
G e o rg e Frideric H and el’s M e ssia h
© | DVD
Handel Messiah, Chorus, “And the glory of the Lord”
DATE: 1742
GENRE: Oratorio (chorus)
2:38
TEXT: And the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed
and allflesh shall see it together
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
L IS T E N F O R
TEXTURE: Contrast o f textures: hom ophony and polyphony
SCORING: Use o f orchestra (which plays the same motives)
THEMES: Four motives, each based on one phrase o f the text
to provide breathing space and articulate the main sections
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
I: First two motives (G and R) introduced and combined
0:00
Ritornello
G +R
First tw o m otives make up classic statem ent-plus-sequences ritornello. Lively dancelike
rhythm clearly established. N ote upward-tending m otive followed by downward-tending
motive.
0:10
G
O pening phrase (“And the glory . . . ” = G) stated once by altos and repeated, harm onized in
homophony, with m elody in the bass.
0:17
R R
G
Second m otive (“shall be revealed” = R) com bined in various voices (tenor, bass, soprano),
then com bined w ith m otive G.
0:34
G
H om ophonic statem ent o f G, m elody in bass.
II: Second two motives (F and M) introduced and combined
0:40
Ritornello
Orchestra plays sequences based on R.
0:45
F
Third m otive (“and all flesh . . . ” = F) sung by altos and tenors; it consists o f the same few
notes 3 times.
0:53
M
F
Fourth motive (“for the m outh . . . ” = M) sung 3 times, each tim e com bined with m otive F,
o f strong, repeated notes, in other voices.
III: All motives combined. This section is bookended by homophonic statements of first and last motives,
and provides contrast with counterpoint by brief section treating motive F
1:17
Ritornello (G)
Orchestra plays opening m otive, but in new key (the dominant).
1:21
G
H om ophonic statem ent o f G, with m elody in bass.
1:24
F
Second m otive in various voices, com bining in half cadence.
1:28
M
G
Motive M in upper voices com bines with motive G in tenor and bass.
1:39
F
Third m otive in alto, tenor, bass, com bining at end.
1:53
G G R
R F
Solo statem ent culm inating in soprano’s high note o f A, followed by com bination o f motives
G and R, then R and F, closing on a hom ophonic "together” (!).
2:13
M
Final section is tw o grandiose statem ents o f final motive.
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PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
The chorus is in a lilting triple meter, rather like a minuet (a favorite dance of
the time), and its four motives, one for each phrase of text, arc used in wonderful
combinations (see LG 18, p. 137).
Many other choruses are constructed in this same way: a series of ideas, each
based on one phrase of the text, which are introduced successively, and then com­
bined in various ways.
Q
LG 19
(j?) Structure of the “Hallelujah"
chorus in Handels Messiah
Monophony vs. homophony
Imitation
“Hallelujah” chorus In the “Hallelujah” chorus, the opening word is sung ten
times before the second phrase is announced: Handel is clearly not in a hurry to
get through the words. But what he does do is create a remarkable series of pat­
terns and expectations.
That opening series of “Hallelujahs” is actually two groups of five, each group
being made of what we might call two longs, two shorts, and an extra-long (HAAle-lu-jah, HAA-le-lu-jah, hallclu-jah, hallclu-jah, hal-LE-E-lu-JAH). Five are sung in
homophony, and then the same sequence is repeated, but in a different key. Handel
is setting up patterns of pairs, smaller and larger, that keep us expecting something,
which sometimes satisfies us when we get it, and often surprises us when we don’t.
Only after those ten “Hallelujahs” does the chorus announce, in unison (or we
might call it monophony—everyone doing the same thing at the same time—to
contrast with homophony), the second musical idea, “For the Lord God omnipo­
tent reigneth.” This is sung twice, each followed by four short “Hallelujahs.”
Now that the first two ideas are present, Handel shows what he can do; in a
blaze of polyphony (different melodies being performed at the same time), he cre­
ates a web of combinations of the two themes.
The central phrase of this chorus, “The kingdom of this world is become the
kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ”—unlike any other theme in this chorus,
and unlike almost any theme in any chorus—is sung only once, the first half very
soft, and the second half very loud. It is the central event of this chorus, and per­
haps the central message of the oratorio, and it stands right in the middle of this
chorus. There were two motives before it, and there are two phrases to come.
Next comes the phrase “And he shall reign for ever and ever,” and with it Handel
produces a classic piece of polyphonic writing. The voices enter one at a time,
each singing the phrase, and then continuing with other music as the next voice
enters. This technique of im itation—a common technique in the Renaissance as
well—is an effortless way to teach us the melody, and to teach us about counter­
point (the art of combining simultaneous melodies), because we hear the melody
first all by itself, then with only one other voice, then with two other voices (more
difficult to hear, but by then we know the melody that much better). When the
final voice enters with the melody, we can proudly pick it out of the increasingly
complex texture.
The chorus proceeds with the trumpetlike statement of “King of Kings, and
Lord of Lords” (not much of a melody, just repeated notes, but very effective and
easy to hear), punctuated with “Hallelujah.” Handel concludes the chorus with a
mighty combination of all themes (except the solemn central one), finishing with
an increasingly excited series of “Hallelujahs.”
This very symmetrical and carefully constructed chorus is somehow held
together with the glue of “Hallelujah”—little exclamations that appear through­
out, rather like sparkling stars (see LG 19, p. 139).
In addition to the basic general procedure, which Handel used to produce a pro­
fusion of choruses, there are two special types of chorus in Messiah that deserve
our attention: fugue choruses and duet choruses.
CHAPTER 5
LISTENING GUIDE 19
G eo rge Frideric H andel's M e ssia h
139
( § ) | D V D |<f>
Handel Messiah, “Hallelujah” chorus
3:41
DATE: 1742
GENRE: Oratorio (chorus)
L IS T E N F O R
FORM: Repetitions o f blocks o f material in new keys
TEXTURE: Clear contrasts o f texture: m onophonic, hom o-
THEMES: The short-version "Hallelujah used as punctuation
anc* counterm elody throughout the piece
phonic, polyphonic
TIME
TEXT
DESCRIPTION
FORM
Part 1: Two motives (A and B), treated separately, then combined
0:06
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
hallelujah, hallelujah,
hallelujah
Hom ophonic: tw o “Hallelujahs” in same rhythm,
tw o in a shorter rhythm, one in long rhythm.
A
H H hhH
0:15
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
hallelujah, hallelujah,
hallelujah
Same music as before, but in different key.
H H hhH
0:24
For the Lord God
om nipotent reigneth
All voices and instrum ents in unison: monophony.
B
0:31
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
hallelujah, hallelujah,
"Hallelujah” 4 tim es in short rhythm.
hhhh
0:35
For the Lord God
om nipotent reigneth
M onophony as before, but in different key.
B
0:41
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
hallelujah, hallelujah,
"Hallelujah” 4 tim es in short rhythm, as before,
but in new key.
hhhh
0:46
For the Lord God om nipotent
reigneth (com bined with
"Hallelujah”)
The tw o m otives combined; “For the Lord...” appears
in bass, soprano, and tenor, w ith other voices using
"Hallelujah” as countermelody.
A+
B
Part 2: Single motive (C), not repeated
1:11
T he kingdom o f this world
is becom e
H om ophonic; very quiet.
C
1:21
the kingdom o f our Lord,
and o f his Christ
Hom ophonic; very loud.
Cz
Part 3: Two motives (D + E), treated separately, then combined
1:29
And he shall reign
for ever and ever
Hom ophonic: voices enter in imitation:
bass, tenor, alto, soprano.
D
1:50
King o f Kings,
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
hallelujah, hallelujah,
H om ophonic statem ent with 4 “Hallelujahs. ”
E ,h h h h
(continued)
140
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
TIME
TEXT
DESCRIPTION
FORM
1:56
and Lord o f Lords,
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
hallelujah, hallelujah,
H om ophonic statem ent with 4 "Hallelujahs.”
E, hhhh
2:03
King o f Kings,
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
hallelujah, hallelujah,
Same as before, but in different key.
E( hhhh
2:09
and Lord o f Lords,
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
hallelujah, hallelujah,
Same as before, but one note higher.
E ,hh h h
2:16
King o f Kings,
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
hallelujah, hallelujah,
Same as before, but one note higher.
E( hhhh
2:22
and Lord o f Lords,
(King o f Kings and
Lord o f Lords)
O ne note higher for sopranos; chorus accompanies
w ith full m otive in homophony.
E , ( E , + E2)
2:29
And he shall reign for
ever and ever
King o f Kings and
Lord o f Lords
Hallelujah
3:19
Hallelujah
Combined:
"And he shall reign” in bass, then soprano,
alternated and com bined with shorter version o f
“King o f Kings, Hallelujah.”
Final cadence.
D +E + hh
H
Fugue Choruses A fugue is a polyphonic composition based on a single theme,
Fugue structure
which is introduced in imitation in all voices at the beginning of the piece and
recurs thereafter in various voices (see also the discussion of the fugue in Chapter
6, pp. 157-60). The fast portion of the overture to Messiah, after the stately opening
section, is a fugue for strings.
Different fugues behave differently, but they all have three things in common:
■ Each is based on a melody called the subject.
■ There is an exposition section in which each voice enters in turn with a state­
m ent of the subject.
■ There arc entries of the subject in various voices, often alternating with epi­
sodes in which the subject is not present in its entirety.
There are several fugue choruses in Messiah, including the somber “And with his
stripes we are healed” and the grand “Amen” chorus that concludes the oratorio.
O LG20
“He trusted in G od ” Handel probably selected “He trusted in God” for fugal
treatment because it represents the shouts of many passers-by (the recitative that
introduces it says “All they that see him laugh him to scorn”): all four vocal parts in
the chorus have the same mocking words but sing them at different times. Starting
with the lowest voices, basses, tenors, altos, and sopranos in turn sing “He trusted
in God that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, if he delight in him.” This
angular and solid melody is the only theme the chorus will have. After all the
CHAPTER 5
G e o rg e Frideric H and el's M e ssia h
141
LISTENING GUIDE 20
Handel Messiah, Fugue chorus, “He trusted in God”
DATE: 1742
GENRE: Oratorio (chorus)
TEXT: He trusted in God
that he would deliver him:
let him deliver him,
if he delight in him.
L IS T E N F O R
THEME 1: Repetitions o f a single them e (the subject). Beginning o f subject:
.lg^.r..T.——------ m ----- 1
---2-lc-------------- ----- p p
L—
V ------
.
fed
He
God that he
would _
trust - cd
in
— T—m ------ ■»"
V
*
“
K
dc - liv - cr him;
- * -■ -.ft ^ ^ ■
—
r , , 1---- Y-—1
let him dc - liv - er him.
TEXTURE: Contrapuntal texture
THEME 2: Alm ost continuous presence o f the connecting them e "let him deliver h im ” (derived from the subject)
SCORING: S, A , T, B = Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass
TIME
DESCRIPTION
TIME
DESCRIPTION
0:00
Subject in B.
1:05
Episode.
0:09
Subject in T, B continues.
1:10
Beginning o f Subject in T.
0:18
Subject in A, TB continue.
1:15
Episode.
0:28
Subject in S, TBA continue.
1:22
Subject in B.
0:37
Episode.
1:31
Episode.
0:43
Beginning o f Subject in B.
1:40
Subject in S.
0:45
Subject in A.
1:49
Episode.
0:54
Beginning o f Subject in T.
1:54
Subject in B; cadence.
0:56
Subject in S.
v o ic e s h a v e e n t e r e d , H a n d e l a l t e r n a t e s s e c tio n s in w h i c h t h e m e l o d y is b e i n g s u n g
in o n e o f t h e v o ic e s w i t h e p is o d e s w h e r e it is n o t b e i n g s u n g . In t h e e p is o d e s o f th is
f u g u e , H a n d e l r e p e a t e d l y u s e s a little f ig u r e s e t t o t h e w o r d s " le t h i m d e liv e r h i m ”
t o g iv e a u n if ie d s e n s e t o t h e f u g u e c h o r u s (s e e L G 2 0 , a b o v e ) .
Duet Choruses O n e o f t h e s p e c ia l f e a t u r e s o f Messiah, n o t s h a r e d w i t h h is o t h e r
o r a t o r i o s , is a g r o u p o f c h o r u s e s t h a t H a n d e l a d a p t e d f r o m a s e t o f Ita lia n d u e t s
t h a t h e h a d w r i t t e n e a r lie r . T h e r e a r e f o u r o f t h e s e c h o r u s e s , a n d th e y a r c a m o n g
t h e c h i e f d e lig h ts o f
Messiah.
Y ou w o u l d n e v e r g u e s s t h a t th e y w e r e a d a p t a t i o n s
u n le s s y o u k n e w w h a t t o l o o k fo r. T h e g iv e a w a y is t h e l o n g s t r e t c h e s o f m u s ic in
w h ic h o n ly o n e o r t w o o f t h e f o u r v o ic e s a r e s in g in g . T h i s m a k e s f o r a lig h t, a iry
q u a lity t h a t t h e o t h e r c h o r u s e s in
Messiah la c k .
T h e f o u r d u e t c h o r u s e s a r e “ F o r u n t o u s a c h ild is b o r n ; ” “ H is y o k e is e a s y ;” “A ll
w e , lik e s h e e p , h a v e g o n e a s tr a y ,” a n d “A n d h e s h a ll p u r if y t h e s o n s o f L e v i.” W h a t
is r e m a r k a b l e a b o u t t h e m , a p a r t f r o m t h e i r b e a u ty , is t h e fa c t t h a t t h e m u s ic fits
t h e w o r d s s o w e ll, c o n s id e r in g t h a t it w a s c o m p o s e d f o r c o m p l e t e l y d if f e r e n t te x ts .
2:15
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M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
T h e m u s ic o f “ F o r u n t o u s ,” f o r e x a m p l e , o r ig i n a lly a c c o m p a n i e d a d u e t w h o s e
te x t b e g i n s a s fo llo w s :
DUET TEXT
DUET TRANSLATION
MESSIAH TEXT
No. di voi non vo' fidarmi,
No. I will nottrust you.
For unto us a child is born,
cieco amor,
blind love,
unto us
crudel belta
cruel beauty
a son is given
W e c a n o n ly m a r v e l a t H a n d e l ’s a b ility t o t r a n s f o r m a s a ssy d u e t a b o u t n o t b e in g
f o o le d in lo v e a s e c o n d t i m e i n t o th is lo v e ly a n d s p ir ite d c h o r u s . ( T h e c o n v e r s io n
o f t h e w o r d s is n o t p e r f e c t; t h e r e ’s a c u r i o u s e m p h a s is , in
Messiah,
o n th e w o rd
“ F o r.” ) H e ta k e s t h e t w o s o lo v o ic e s o f t h e d u e t a n d p a r c e ls t h e m o u t a m o n g th e
f o u r v o ic e s o f t h e c h o r u s , a d d in g , b y w a y o f p u n c t u a t i o n , m u s ic t h a t w a s n o t in th e
d u c t: t h e h o m o p h o n i c o u t b u r s t s o f “W o n d e r f u l, c o u n s e lo r , t h e m i g h t y G o d , th e
e v e r la s tin g f a th e r , t h e p r in c e o f p e a c e .” T h e s e p o w e r f u l c h o r a l in t e r j e c t i o n s m a k e
a s t r i k i n g c o n t r a s t w i t h th e d a n c i n g r h y t h m s o f t h e d u e t p o r t i o n s , w h ic h c o n s is t
la rg e ly o f
melismas
( lo n g flo r id p a s s a g e s ) w i t h a l m o s t n o a c c o m p a n i m e n t e x c e p t
c o n tin u o .
How Did It Go?
H a n d e l ’s s c o r e w a s h a r d ly r e v o lu tio n a r y , a n d it s e e m s t o h a v e m a d e a g o o d i m p r e s ­
s io n o n t h e D u b lin a u d ie n c e ; o n e e y e w itn e s s w r o t e t h a t
Messiah w a s
r e c e iv e d “w i t h
t h e g r e a t e s t a p p l a u s e .” U n f o r tu n a te ly , w e k n o w little m o r e t h a n t h a t a b o u t t h e f ir s t
p e r f o r m a n c e . M u s ic a l j o u r n a l i s m w a s in its in f a n c y in t h e 1740s, a n d t h e r e p o r t s
t h a t a p p e a r e d in t h e D u b lin p a p e r s w e r e m o r e e n th u s i a s t i c t h a n in f o r m a t iv e . H e r e
is w h a t a n a n o n y m o u s w r i t e r h a d t o s a y a b o u t t h e p r e m ie r e :
On Tuesday last Mr. Handel’s Sacred Grand Oratorio, the M essiah, was performed
at the New Musick-Hall in Fishamble-street; the best Judges allowed it to be the
most finished piece of Musick. Words are wanting to express the exquisite Delight it
afforded to the admiring crouded Audience. The Sublime, the Grand, and the Ten­
der, adapted to the most elevated, majestick and moving Words, conspired to trans­
port and charm the ravished Heart and Ear.
“T h e m o s t f in is h e d p ie c e o f M u s ic k ,” s a y s t h e w r i t e r ; b y th is h e p r o b a b ly m e a n s
th a t
Messiah
is fin e ly c r a f te d , a w e ll- m a d e e x a m p le o f s o m e t h i n g t h a t is r e c o g n iz ­
a b le a n d w e ll u n d e r s t o o d . W e a ll k n o w a b o u t r e c ita tiv e s , a ria s , a n d c h o r u s e s , th e
w r i t e r s e e m s t o say, a n d w e a g r e e a b o u t h o w t o j u d g e t h e m .
Messiah
is a g o o d
v e r s io n o f a n o r a t o r i o , c o n s is tin g o f f a m ilia r e l e m e n t s , all f a s h io n e d t h e w a y w e
e x p e c t, a n d v e r y s a tis fa c to ry .
“T h e S u b lim e , t h e G r a n d , a n d t h e T e n d e r ” : t h e s e a d je c tiv e s s e e m t o d e s c r ib e th e
sublime r e f e r r e d
Grand a n d tender d e n o t e
e m o t i o n a l e ffe c t o f H a n d e l ’s m u s ic . In e ig h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y p a r la n c e ,
to t h a t w h ic h is a w e - in s p ir in g a n d s u r p a s s e s u n d e r s t a n d i n g .
t h e c o n t r a s t b e t w e e n t h e s p le n d id a n d i n tim a te , p u b lic a n d p r iv a te . T h e w r i t e r
s e e m s t o b e s u g g e s tin g t h a t a fu ll r a n g e o f e m o t i o n s is e x p r e s s e d in t h e m u s ic ,
w h ic h c o m b in e s w i t h t h e w e ll- k n o w n s a c r e d te x t ( “t h e m o s t e le v a te d , m a je s tic k a n d
m o v in g W o r d s ” ) t o “t r a n s p o r t a n d c h a r m th e r a v is h e d H e a r t a n d E a r .” W e u s e o u r
e a r s t o h e a r a n d j u d g e m u s ic , b u t u l t im a te ly it is t h e h e a r t t h a t te lls u s w h e t h e r w e
lik e it— w h e t h e r it p r o d u c e s th e fe e lin g t h a t o n ly g r e a t a r t c a n g iv e .
CHAPTER 5
G eo rge Frideric H and el's M e ssia h
143
Messiah Then and Now
Dubliners had one more chance to hear Messiah, on June 3, 1742, before Handel
left Ireland. Back in London he was preoccupied for a time with preparations for
his oratorio Samson and didn’t get around to reviving Messiah until the following
spring. From that time forward the work took on a life of its own, being performed
with increasing regularity and to mounting acclaim, in different versions adapted
to different performers and circumstances.
By the time Handel died in 1759, performances of Messiah had become annual
events in cities and towns all over England. (No one knows for sure how the cus­
tom started of standing during the “Hallelujah” chorus; for one explanation, see
Rising to the ‘“Hallelujah” Chorus, right.) The eighteenth-century Messiah craze
culminated in 1784, when some five hundred singers and instrumentalists joined
forces during the great Handel commemoration at London’s Westminster Abbey,
where the composer was buried. As the tradition took root in
other countries, the oratorio was presented in everything from
Rising to the “Hallelujah” Chorus
intimate chamber versions, similar to the one the Dublin audi­
ence heard, to large-scale audience ‘“sing-alongs.”
We may not be as accustomed as Handel’s audience was to
This account, written years after the London premiere,
may be apocryphal, but the custom is widely observed
hearing music that is made up of recitatives, arias, and choruses;
to this day.
nor is our culture one in which Anglican Christian values, and
their associated texts, are taken for granted. And yet there is
hen Handel’s Messiah was first performed [in
something about Messiah that still appeals powerfully to many
London], the audience was exceedingly struck
listeners, not only in predominantly Christian countries, but all
and affected by the music in general; but when
around the world. It must be what the newspaper writer said:
that chorus struck up. Tor the Lord God Omnipotent
reigneth.’they were so transported that they all. together
the ravishing combination of ‘‘the Sublime, the Grand, and the
with the king (who happened to be present), started up.
Tender.”
and remained standing till the chorus ended: and hence it
What might have been surprising to Handel's contempo­
became the fashion in England for the audience to stand
raries, and is perhaps less so to us, is the fact that the words
while that part of the music is performing.
were taken from Scripture. This was not Handel’s usual practice
(he usually had a poet rework the story), and because the sub­
ject matter of Messiah is not an Old Testament drama but central doctrine of the
Christian faith, he was evidently concerned about performing it in a concert hall
or a theater, in front of a paying—rather than a praying—audience. Later, when
he presented Messiah in London, he often advertised it simply as “a new sacred
oratorio,” with no mention of its highly evocative title.
In many Western cultures, the sacred and the secular occupy mostly separate
spheres. Many people have the idea that sacred texts are only suitable for music
intended to be heard in a church; or that music set to sacred words must have a
character different than other kinds of music. But Handel drew no such clear dis­
tinction between oratorio and opera. The music he wrote for “Why do the nations
so furiously rage together?” might just as well be sung by an operatic hero who is
venting his bloodthirsty rage. In both cases, Handel is expressing the pictorial, nar­
rative, or emotional content of the words.
Nevertheless, the musical similarity between opera and oratorio must have
worried him. It certainly worried at least one critic, who signed himself Philalethes (Greek for “Lover of the True”) in a London paper in 1743:
An Oratorio either is an Act of Religion, or it is not; if it is, 1ask if the Playhouse is a
fit Temple to perform it in, or a Company of Players fit Ministers of Gods Word, for in
that Case such they are made.
144
PART
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
In the other Case, if it is not perform’d as an Act of Religion, but for Diversion and
Amusement only (And indeed I believe few or none go to an Oratorio out of Devotion),
what a Prophanation of God’s Name and Word is this, to make so light Use of them?
T h e r o le t h a t r e l i g i o n p la y s in o u r liv e s is d if f e r e n t f o r e a c h o f u s . S o m e h o w ,
t h o u g h , H a n d e l 's m u s i c s e e m s t o h a v e e s c a p e d h is o w n t i m e a n d p la c e a n d b e c o m e
a u n iv e r s a l s t a t e m e n t o f h u m a n ity . W e fe e l t h a t
Messiah b e l o n g s
t o u s a t le a s t as
m u c h a s t o t h e u p p e r - c r u s t , E n g l a n d - o r i e n t e d D u b lin e r s f o r w h o m it w a s f ir s t p e r ­
f o r m e d . H a n d e l s e e m s t o h a v e w a n t e d it t h a t w a y : n o t o n ly d id h e p e r f o r m
Messiah
r e g u la r ly f o r c h a r ita b l e p u r p o s e s in t h e r e m a i n i n g s e v e n te e n y e a r s o f h is life , h e
b e q u e a t h e d a s e t o f p e r f o r m a n c e m a te r ia ls t o t h e o r p h a n a g e t h a t s till o w n s t h e m .
Messiah h a s
c o n t i n u e d t o d o g o o d w o r k f o r c e n tu r ie s .
I f h e w e r e a liv e to d a y , H a n d e l m i g h t b e s u r p r is e d t o fin d t h a t
Messiah is f r e q u e n tly
p r e s e n t e d in c h u r c h e s , w i t h a t le a s t s o m e s o r t o f r e lig io u s p u r p o s e in m in d , in a d d i­
tio n t o t h e u b i q u i t o u s c o n c e r t p e r f o r m a n c e s t h a t a r e s o m u c h a p a r t o f o u r m u s ic a l
e x p e r ie n c e , p a r tic u la r ly d u r i n g t h e C h r is tm a s s e a s o n . T h e n a g a in , th e e v id e n c e s u g ­
g e s ts t h a t h e s a w h is o r a t o r i o a s b o t h a n “a c t o f r e l i g i o n ” a n d a c o m m e r c i a l v e n tu r e .
In fa c t,
Messiah h a d
a lr e a d y b e c o m e s o f a m o u s a n d s o p o p u l a r in H a n d e l ’s lif e tim e
t h a t h e w o u l d p r o b a b ly j u s t n o d h is w ig in p le a s u r e a n d s a tis fa c tio n .
Chapter Review
Summary of Musical Styles
In
Messiah,
t h e m a i n m u s ic a l ty p e s a r c
■ Recitative:
recitative, aria, a n d chorus.
s o lo v o ic e t h a t f o llo w s t h e in f l e c tio n o f t h e te x t
G e n e r a l c h a r a c te r is tic s o f r e c ita tiv e :
S u n g b y a s in g le v o ic e , d e liv e r in g t h e te x t in s p e e c h r h y t h m .
A c c o m p a n i m e n t c o n s is ts o f c h o r d s ( u s u a lly h a r p s i c h o r d o r o r g a n ) p lu s c e llo .
T y p e s o f r e c ita tiv e :
Recitativo secco: a s a b o v e , s im p le c h o r d a l a c c o m p a n i m e n t .
Recitativo accompagnato: a c c o m p a n i m e n t b y o r c h e s t r a .
■ Aria:
a s o n g f o r a s in g le v o ic e w i t h o r c h e s t r a
G e n e r a l c h a r a c te r is tic s o f a ria s :
O f t e n o p e n s a n d c o n c lu d e s w i t h a n o r c h e s t r a l r i t o r n e l l o .
T h e v o c a l p a r t h a s m a n y te x t r e p e t i t i o n s t o a c c o m m o d a t e e l a b o r a t e m u s ic a l
s tru c tu re s .
T h e s i n g e r ’s m u s ic m a y in c lu d e d iff ic u lt
melismas,
an d m ay have a
a t th e e n d .
■ Chorus:
m o v e m e n ts fo r c h o ru s
(sopranos, altos, tenors, basses) p lu s
o rc h e s tra
G e n e r a l c h a r a c te r is tic s o f c h o r u s e s :
T e n d t o a t t a c h a m u s ic a l m o tiv e t o e a c h p h r a s e o f te x t.
V a rie ty o f te x tu r e .
O f t e n b e g i n , lik e a ria s , w i t h a n o r c h e s t r a l
T w o s p e c ia l ty p e s o f c h o r u s in
Fugue chorus:
ritornello.
Messiah:
a p o ly p h o n i c c h o r u s b a s e d o n a s in g le t h e m e .
cadenza
CHAPTER 5
Duet chorus
( th e s e a r c u n i q u e t o
Messiah):
G eo rge Frideric H a n d e l’s M e ssia h
c h o r u s a r r a n g e d f r o m H a n d e l ’s
I ta lia n d u e t s f o r t w o v o ic e s a n d b a s s o c o n t i n u o . T h e y f e a t u r e m a n y p a s s a g e s
o f lig h t t e x t u r e , in w h ic h o n ly t w o o f t h e c h o r a l v o ic e s s in g a t a tim e .
© M ultim edia Resources and Review Materials
on StudySpace
Visit wwnorton.com/studyspace for review of Chapter 5.
What Do You Know?
Check the facts for this chapter. Take the online Quiz.
What Do You Hear?
Listening Quizzes and Music Activities will help you understand the musical
works in this chapter.
^ A u th o r Videos
■
R e c ita tiv e in o r a t o r i o
■ S t r u c t u r e o f t h e “ H a l l e l u j a h ” c h o r u s in H a n d e l ’s
Messiah
Interactive Listening Guides
LG 15
LG 16
LG 17
LG 18
LG 19
LG 20
H a n d e l:
H a n d e l:
Messiah,
Messiah,
R e c ita tiv e , “T h e r e w e r e s h e p h e r d s ”
R e c ita tiv e , “ C o m f o r t y e , m y p e o p l e ”
H a n d e l: M e ssia h , A ria , “ E v ’r y v a lle y ”
H a n d e l:
H a n d e l:
H a n d e l:
Messiah,
Messiah,
Messiah,
C h o r u s , “A n d t h e g l o r y o f t h e L o r d ”
“ H a lle lu ja h ” c h o ru s
F u g u e c h o r u s , “ H e t r u s t e d in G o d ”
Flashcards (Terms to Know)
a ria
im ita tio n
rito rn e llo
cadence
k e ttle d ru m s
sequences
cadenza
m e lis m a s
s ic ilia n a
c o u n te rte n o r
m onophony
s ta te m e n t
d a c a p o a ria
o p e r a s e r ia
s u b je c t
e p is o d e s
o ra to rio
w o rd p a in tin g
e x p o s it io n
r e c ita t iv o a c c o m p a g n a t o
fu g u e
r e c ita t iv o s e c c o
145
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1739, LEIPZIG:
Johann Sebastian Bach at
Zim m erm ann’s Coffeehouse
0
C O R E R E P E R T O IR E
A U T H O R V ID E O S
■ LG 21 Prelude and Fugue in C Minor.
BWV 847
■ Bach’s C Minor Fugue: subject and
countersubject
■ LG 22 Suite in D Major. BWV 1068,
Overture
■ Bach’s C Minor Fugue: episode and
sequence
■ LG 23 Concerto in F Major for
Harpsichord. Two Recorders,
and Strings, BWV 10S7,1
146
Introduction
“Musicum Collegium is a gathering of certain musical connoisseurs who, for
the benefit of their own exercise in both vocal and instrumental music and
under the guidance of a certain director, get together on particular days and in
particular locations and perform musical pieces. Such collegia are to befound
in various places. In Leipzig, the Bachian Collegium Musicum is morefamous
than all others. ”
—-Johann Heinrich Zedler. 1739
Many people consider Johann Sebastian Bach the greatest musician who ever
lived. It is probably a silly game to rate composers as if they were sports teams
or refrigerators, but in the Western tradition there is hardly any doubt that Bach,
Beethoven, and Mozart stand in the very top rank as composers whose music com­
bines inspiration with skill, moves us by its beauty, and awes us with the intricacy
of its construction.
What affects people about Bach’s music is his unique way of balancing techni­
cal mastery with expressive sounds; a command of form that allows him to write
long, involved pieces in which we always know where we are; and an ability to spin
out contrapuntal melodies enmeshed in a texture of harmony and color that can
be richer than any other musical fabric. In fact, some of his compositions seem
almost beyond human conceiving.
But in Leipzig in 1739, Bach was not known as the world’s greatest musician.
He was not even the most famous composer in Germany. Georg Philipp Tele­
mann (1681-1767), Handel, and a number
of others enjoyed reputations larger than
his. Bach was simply the local cantor, that
is, the music director of Leipzig’s four main
churches, and he had been working hard at
that demanding job for sixteen years.
Like many church musicians, then and
now, Bach had another job on the side: he
organized a concert series in Gottfried Zimmermann’s coffeehouse (see Figures 6.1 and
6.3), a favorite gathering place for Leipzig’s
prosperous merchants and intellectuals. The
weekly programs not only featured secular
vocal and instrumental music by Bach and his
contemporaries, but also allowed him to show
off' his virtuosity on the keyboard. We plan
to attend one of those concerts, but first let’s
take a look at the fifty-four-year-old composer
and the city with which he was most closely
associated.
Bach's mastery
FIG. 6.1 Activities at the Leipzig
Kuchengarten. in Gaststatte. south
of Leipzig, drawn in 1746. This was
the summer home of Zimmermann's
coffeehouse, the site of Bach’s Col­
legium concerts.
147
148
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
FIG. 6.2 The market square in
Leipzig. 1712. Copperplate engraving
by Johann Georg Schreiber.
The Setting
J O H A N N SEBASTIAN BACH IN LEIPZIG
FIG. 6.3 The exterior of Zimmermann’s coffeehouse, the building on
the right, ca. 1750. Detail of a cop­
perplate engraving by Johann Georg
Schreiber.
Johann Sebastian Bach was much admired by colleagues and students alike, but,
to repeat, he was not the household name he is today. He was a musician of
standing in a sizable middle-Europcan city. With its 30,000 inhabitants, Leipzig
was an important town (see Figure 6.2), but it was not a cultural center like Paris
or Rome, nor was it the capital o f a great prince capable of providing limitless
resources and leisure to the musicians who worked for him. Bach was a municipal
employee who served at the pleasure of city officials. His middling salary was ade­
quate to support his large family but little more; only the extra income he earned
from giving music lessons and other activities enabled him to publish some of his
music at his own expense.
Bach came from a long line of court, town, and church musicians, more than
seventy in all, stretching back to the late sixteenth century. (See biography, p.
149.) In fact, the Bach family was a musical dynasty, one of the greatest in history.
Johann Sebastian’s great-grandfather was a baker by trade who enjoyed playing the
cittern (a plucked instrument resembling a lute: see p. 72); his musical seed bore
much fruit in later generations.
Before coming to Leipzig, Bach had served as capellmeistcr (music director) to
the prince of Anhalt-Cothen, an enlightened patron who employed musicians of
the highest caliber in his house band. "There I had a gracious Prince,” he wrote to
a friend, "who both loved and knew music, and in his service I intended to spend
the rest of my life.” In Cothen Bach put the finishing touches on some of his
most beloved works, including the first part of The Well-Tempered Clavier and the
six Brandenburg Concertos. But when the Prince reduced the size of his musical
establishment (his new wife did not share his enthusiasm for music), Bach seems
to have started looking for another job—which is how he happened to move to
Leipzig in 1723.
CHAPTER 6
Johann Sebastian Bach at Z im m erm ann’s C o ffe e h o u se
149
Despite his impressive qualifications, Bach was not the Leipzig
Town Council’s first choice to replace the highly esteemed
C.P.E. Bach Describes
Johann Kuhnau as cantor of St. Thomas’s Church (see Figure
His Father’s Reputation
6.4). The position had already been offered to the more famous
Telemann, who declined, and to Johann Christoph Graupner,
o master of music was apt to pass through this
who failed to obtain a release from his employer. One thing that
place without making my father’s acquaintance
seems to have tipped the scales in Bach’s favor was his willing­
and letting himself be heard by him. The great­
ness to put in long hours in the classroom: in addition to sup­
ness that was my fathers in composition, in organ and in
plying music for Leipzig's four principal churches, the cantor
clavier playing, was far too well known for a musician of
served on the faculty of the city-run St. Thomas School (see Fig­
reputation to let the opportunity slip of making the clos­
er acquaintance of this great man if it was at all possible.
ure 6.4). The fifty-five resident St. Thomas boys were expected
to sing at church services, and instructing them in music took
up a lot of Bach’s time. He taught no fewer than seven classes,
as well as giving private lessons in instrumental and vocal music. He also offered a
general music class, for the entire student body, which met four days a week.
Bach’s apartment in the school building, next door to St. Thomas’s Church, was
a beehive of activity, said one of his sons (see C.P.E. Bach Describes His Father’s
Reputation, right). People were constantly coming and going—not only the com­
poser’s beloved second wife, Anna Magdalena (who was an accomplished singer
herself), and his numerous offspring, but also pupils, school and ecclesiastical offi­
cials, visiting dignitaries, and, not least, copyists diligently writing out parts for per­
formance in church or by the ensemble of university musicians that Bach directed.
N
joHann seB asnan BacH (i685-i75o)
Jo h an n Sebastian Bach, revered as a
B
m usic is conceived as a h a rm o n y o f sim ultaneous voices, and
com poser, teacher, p erfo rm er, and
from his solo m usic for violin an d cello to the g ra n d e st o f his
m a ster o f co u n terp o in t, w as the
cantatas and Passions, th ere is a highly controlled sense o f
descendant, husband, an d fath er o f
stru ctu re and c o u n te rp o in t. T his is perhaps w h at gives him
m usicians. H e assim ilated and su m ­
th e rep u tatio n as a cerebral m usician, b u t it takes only a little
m arized th e m ajo r m usical styles o f
experience w ith th e b read th o f his m usic to h ear th e expressive
his tim e, even th o u g h his w hole life
depths o f his creations.
w as lived in a sm all area o f G erm any.
A m o n g his m o st en d u rin g com positions are som e th a t will
T h e y o u n g est o f eight children
be sam pled in this chapter: The Well-Tempered Clavier for key­
(and the fath e r o f m any), Bach learn ed m usic as p a rt o f his
b o ard and th e Brandenburg C o n certo s for orchestra. But th e re is
fam ily heritage. At age eighteen he w as ap p o in ted church
a w ealth o f o th e r m aterials— organ m usic (including the Toc­
organist in A rnstadt, and his professional career developed in
cata and Fugue in D m inor), church cantatas (over tw o h u n ­
th ree stages: organist (tw o positions, A rn stad t and M iihlhau-
dred), his last m asterw ork. The A rt o f Fugue, an d m u ch m ore.
sen), d irecto r o f ch am b er m usic (tw o positions, W eim ar and
To h ear th e extrem es o f his range, listen to an excerpt from
C othen, 1708-23), and d irecto r o f church m usic (Leipzig,
a suite for solo cello, and a n o th e r from perhaps his g ran d est
1723-45). Bach w as k n o w n in his tim e as a v irtu o so p erfo rm e r
creation, th e Mass in B M inor.
on h arpsich o rd and organ; as a co m p o ser o f keyboard music;
© Bach: Cello Suite No. 1,1
and, to those w h o lived in Leipzig o r w h o h ad th e privilege o f
© Bach: Sanctus. B Minor Mass
hearing his m usic at co u rt, as th e crea to r o f g ra n d secular and
sacred m usic. H e w as also a tru ste d teach er: o f his ow n m usi­
MAJOR WORKS: O ver 200 sacred vocal w orks, including
cal children, o f th e stu d en ts in th e Leipzig ch o ir school, an d o f
St M atthew Passion, St. John Passion, and 30 secular cantatas;
his private stu d en ts; m uch o f his keyboard m usic is designed to
o rch estral m usic, including 4 suites and 6 Brandenburg C o n cer­
help stu d en ts b ecom e b e tte r players and com posers.
tos; an d m any o rgan and keyboard w orks, including The Well-
Bach seem ed to th in k in co u n terp o in t. A lm ost all o f his
Tempered Clavier and The A rt o f Fugue.
150
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
FIG. 6.4 St. Thomas’s Church and
choir school, where Bach lived and
worked from 1723 until he died in
1750. Copperplate engraving (1723) by
Johann Gottfried Kruegner.
The Collegium Musicum was only one of many extra
activities—playing for weddings and funerals, giving lessons
and concerts, maintaining organs and harpsichords, serving
as an expert consultant on organ design, and so on—that kept
Bach in a state of perpetual motion. Even with four student
assistants to shoulder some of the burden, he must have found
the organization of lessons and classes at St. Thomas’s, not to
mention preparations for weekly church services and Colle­
gium concerts, extremely taxing.
On top of all this, Bach was responsible for providing a
substantial piece of sacred music for use in church almost
every Sunday of the year. Bach’s church cantatas arc among
the marvels of Western music. Indeed, it seems almost impos­
sible that schoolboys could have done justice to such richly
inventive and formidably complex works. Bach might have
been expected to write less demanding music, given that he
sometimes had only a week to compose, copy, and rehearse
each cantata. But he was clearly committed to providing the
best music he was capable of, regardless of practicality. Bach
had very high standards; his music lessons and rehearsals must
have been as frightening as they were inspiring.
The convivial “cavaliers and ladies” who frequented Zimmermann’s coffeehouse were hardly in the mood for religious
instruction. They came to be fed and entertained, and, luckily for them, Bach was
happy to accommodate their tastes. Not only did he write music for sundry vocal
and instrumental combinations in most of the popular forms, genres, and styles
of the day, he was also a better-than-average violinist and violist and had a pleas­
ant singing voice. Above all, he was celebrated far and wide as a keyboard player,
especially on the organ. By all accounts he was a brilliant improviser, capable of
extemporizing variations on a single theme for two hours or more without a
break. And his technique was the envy of all his contemporaries (see Bach’s Key­
board Playing, p. 151).
Today Bach’s compositions are the foundation of many keyboard player’s reper­
toire. He wrote a prodigious amount of music for organ and harpsichord, includ­
ing such well-known collections as The Little Organ Book, The Well-Tempered Clavier,
the Goldberg Variations, the Partitas, the French and English Suites, and the two- and
three-part Inventions and Sinfonias. These works were designed partly for plea­
sure, partly to display Bach’s skills as a composer and performer, and partly for
pedagogical purposes.
Teaching was a major part of Bach’s job in Leipzig, an obligation that he could
not have avoided even if he had wanted to. In fact, he had a strong desire to pass
on his skills and knowledge to his children, several of whom became notable musi­
cians in their own right (see Figures 6.5 and 6.6); Bach boasted that he could put
together an entire concert of vocal and instrumental music without looking out­
side his own family. The basic lessons that Bach hoped to impart, at least to his
keyboard students, are expressed on the handwritten title page to the Inventions
and Sinfonias:
w herein th e lovers o f th e clavier, and especially those desirous o f learning, are show n
a clear w ay n o t alone (1) to learn to play clearly in tw o voices b u t also, after fu rth er
progress, (2) to deal correctly and well w ith three obbligato [non-optional] parts; fu r­
th e rm o re, at the sam e tim e n o t alone to have goo d inventiones [ideas] b u t to develop
CHAPTER 6
Johann Sebastian Bach at Z im m erm ann’s C o ffe e h o u se
the sam e w ell and, above all, to arrive a t a singing style in playing
and at th e sam e tim e to acquire a stro n g foretaste o f com position.
151
Bach’s Keyboard Playing
In a manner of speaking, Bach summed up his own accom­
ach is said to have played with so easy and small a
plishment in the words “not alone to have good inventiones but
motion of the fingers that it was hardly perceptible.
to develop the same well.” We will see that he excelled at doing
Only the first joints of the fingers were in motion:
just that—figuring out absolutely everything you can do with a
the hand retained even in the most difficult passages its
rounded form; the fingers rose very little from the keys,
musical idea.
hardly more than in a trill, and when one was employed,
Bach wrote an eclectic mix of music, ranging from the suites
the other remained quietly in its position. Still less did the
for unaccompanied violin and cello to works for larger ensem­
other parts of his body take any share in his play, as hap­
bles, such as the four orchestral suites, the six Brandenburg Con­
pens with many whose hand is not light enough.
certos, and concertos for various instruments with orchestra.
But because of the nature of his job, much of Bachs music
from his Leipzig years is church music. There are two-hundred-odd surviving can­
tatas and several other major sacred works for voices and orchestra, including the
two great P a s s i o n s (narrations of the suffering and death of Jesus) according to St.
John and St. Matthew, to say nothing of the monumental Mass in B Minor. And the
range and brilliance of his organ music has never been surpassed.
In the last chapter we saw how Handel combined recitatives, arias, and choruses
to make a great work on a religious subject, the oratorio Messiah. This chapter
might well have been devoted to Bach’s similar combinations, to his work as a
musical theologian (for he was a deeply religious man), and indeed, the grand
sounds of Bach’s sacred music repay any amount of listening.
Because we have already explored the genre of oratorio, however, it seems a good
idea to take the opportunity to focus on another aspect of Bach’s creative personal­
ity: his achievement as a performer and composer of popular instrumental music.
Baroque music was full of well-understood types, some of which we have
already encountered, including the fugue, recitative, aria, and chorus. So complete
was Bach’s mastery of each of these forms and genres that he can be said to have
summarized and defined them once and for all. He was, in a way, the last great
Baroque composer, a multifaceted genius who embodied the spirit of an entire age.
One thing that Bach did not do, mostly because of the circumstances of his life
and the opportunities that came his way, was work in an opera house. For many
of his contemporaries, opera was the highest goal of music and musicians, a blend
FIG. 6.5 Johann Sebastian Bach’s son
of music and drama cast in the form of recitatives and arias that thrilled audiences
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788),
with their virtuosity and expressive effects. While Handel was making a splendid
eminent composer and author.
(and lucrative) career in London’s opera houses, Bach was content to stay in Ger­
many and work mainly in places where opera was not central to musical life.
FIG. 6.6 Another of Bach s son's,
Bi
LEIPZIG A N D THE C O LLEG IU M M U S IC U M
Leipzig’s ruler, the elector of Saxony, resided in splendor in the nearby city of
Dresden, and Bach more than once applied for a position at his court. But Leipzig,
too, had much to recommend it. A big, busy, prosperous town, it was enclosed by a
massive wall, with fortified bastions and seven gates, and by moats. The four main
gates, which gave their names to the city’s four residential quarters, were equipped
with drawbridges, guard towers, and tollbooths. A second line of gates ringed the
suburbs, serving both for defense and for collecting excise taxes on merchandise
coming into and out of the city.
Leipzig was known for its excellent system of pipes and aqueducts, which distrib­
uted water from the river Pleisse to houses throughout the city. According to a 1725
description, “The water systems of this city have the healthiest sources of the freshest
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710—
1784). also a composer. Like his
father. Wilhelm was known for his
improvisatory skills.
152
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
w a te r , a n d th e r e is h a r d ly a n y little s tr e e t to
b e f o u n d w i t h o u t s e v e ra l f o u n ta in s , w h ic h
h a v e all b e e n r e p a ir e d in r e c e n t y e a r s .” O n e
o f th e n e w e s t f o u n ta in s a d o r n e d t h e s q u a r e
in f r o n t o f St. T h o m a s ’s C h u r c h , n e a r w h e r e
B a c h a n d h is fa m ily liv ed . It p o r tr a y e d a lio n
( th e s y m b o l o f L e ip z ig ) h o ld in g th e c ity ’s
s h ie ld in its r ig h t fo re p a w , w h ile j e t s o f w a te r
s p e w e d f r o m th e le ft.
FIG. 6.7 A view of the market
square in Leipzig during one of the
three annual trade fairs. Engraving,
ca. 1850. after a drawing by Ludwig
Rohbock.
FIG. 6.8 An impromptu outdoor
concert some have imagined that
this might be Bach with his Colle­
gium Musicum.
The wealth of the city came from the
thrice-yearly trade fairs for which Leipzig is
still famous (see Figure 6.7). Thousands of
people thronged the streets and squares at
New Year’s, Easter, and St. Michael’s Day
(September 29), when merchants from all
over the world came to display their wares.
The huge influx of visitors enriched the
city’s tradesmen, merchants, innkeepers, and coffeehouses, and created a brisk
demand for concerts and other entertainments.
Leipzig’s prosperity was most impressively visible in its grand public buildings
and gardens, and in the splendor of its private homes. In the sixteenth-century
Town Hall hung portraits o f all the noble rulers of the House of Saxony and their
ladies; from its balcony the town pipers and fiddlers held forth most mornings
at 10 a.m. The municipal library, founded in 1677, housed not only books and
manuscripts but a noteworthy collection of statuary and art. Leipzig’s church
steeples were rivaled in height by the palatial houses of four or five stories, with
their slate roofs and multicolored, carved-stone facades.
The presence of Germany’s most prestigious university, dat­
ing from 1409, greatly enhanced Leipzig’s cultural and intellectual
life. Bach himself was no stranger to academia: both his immedi­
ate superior, the rector of the St. Thomas School, and the vice rec­
tor held professorships at the University of Leipzig. Bach depended
on university students to fill in for absent choirboys in church on
Sundays. Moreover, the cantor of St. Thomas’s automatically held
a joint appointment as director of music for the university, which
meant that Bach had the privilege—as well as the duty—of provid­
ing music for four religious services that marked the traditional aca­
demic calendar.
Bach’s industry and energy were almost superhuman. So busy
was he composing church music, and training musicians to per­
form it on Sundays and feast days year in and year out, that it would
seem he had little time for anything else. And yet he was glad of
the chance to present a regular series of public concerts during his
precious free weekday hours. Perhaps Bach wanted an outlet for his
nonreligious music; perhaps he wanted to display his instrumental
virtuosity; perhaps he wanted to provide a showcase for other per­
formers; maybe he even hoped to earn a little extra money. At any
rate, six years after moving to Leipzig he became the director of an
ensemble of university students who called themselves a Collegium
Musicum, a musical college (see Figure 6.8).
T w o s u c h g r o u p s h a d b e e n a c tiv e in L e ip z ig f o r m a n y y e a r s .
O n e w a s r u n b y a c h u rc h o rg a n is t n a m e d J o h a n n G o ttlie b G o rn e r
CHAPTER 6
Johann Sebastian Bach at Z im m erm ann’s C o ffe e h o u se
153
and performed regularly at Enoch Richter’s coffeehouse. The other, and more
distinguished, Collegium had been founded by Telemann in 1701. By the time
Bach took over, in 1729, the ensemble had been closely associated for half a dozen
years with H err Zim m erm ann’s well-appointed coffeehouse on the fashionable
Catharinenstrasse, just off Leipzig’s main marketplace. The ‘Bach Collegium’’
performed in a spacious music room that could accommodate an orchestra and
upwards of 150 listeners. Concerts took place on Friday evenings in the win­
ter, with additional performances on Tuesday evenings during the three weeks
of each of the annual fairs. On Wednesday afternoons in the
summer, the performers moved to Zim m erm ann’s suburban
Public Concert Series
coffee garden outside the city’s eastern gate.
Public concert series of this sort were rare in the early eigh­
teenth century (see Public Concert Series, right), and musicntil the late 1600s, concerts were almost exclu­
hungry Leipzigers flocked to hear Bach’s and Gorner’s Colle­
sively private or semiprivate affairs, given under
gia. An announcement published in 1736 described both groups
the auspices o f the aristocracy or the church. But
in 1673, the English violinist John Banister had the novel
as "flourishing,” adding that
U
T he p articipants in these m usical co n certs are chiefly stu d en ts
here, and th ere are always g o o d m usicians a m o n g th em , so th at
som etim es they beco m e, as is know n, fam ous virtuosos. Any
m usician is p erm itted to m ake h im self publicly h eard at these
m usical concerts, and m o st often, too, th ere are such listeners
as know h o w to ju d g e th e qualities o f an able m usician.
T h e B a c h C o lle g iu m w a s n o t , th e n , a b u n c h o f a m a t e u r s
s ig h t- r e a d in g t h e i r w a y t h r o u g h e a s y m u s ic in t h e p r e s e n c e o f
c a s u a l lis te n e r s w h o w e r e o b liv io u s t o t h e i r m is ta k e s . T h e s e w e r e
s e r io u s c o n c e r ts , d ir e c te d b y o n e o f th e m o s t s e r io u s m u s ic ia n s
in th e w o r ld , p r e s e n te d t o a s e r io u s a n d d is c e r n in g a u d ie n c e . S o lo
m u s ic , o r c h e s tr a l m u s ic , m u s ic f o r v o ic e s a n d o r c h e s tr a — all s o r ts
o f m u s ic , a lm o s t all o f it c o n te m p o r a r y , w a s in th e r e p e r to ir e
idea of opening his house in London to paying custom­
ers, announcing that “this present Monday, will be musick
performed by excellent Masters, beginning at four o’clock
in the afternoon and every afternoon for the future pre­
cisely at the same hour.” Other musical entrepreneurs
followed suit, and public subscription concerts, held in
venues ranging from salons and concert halls to taverns
and pleasure gardens, soon became a popular feature of
British musical life.
With the rise o f an affluent middle class in other Euro­
pean countries, the custom spread in the early eighteenth
century to Italy, France, and Germany. By 1750. Leipzig.
Frankfurt, and Hamburg all boasted self-sustaining con­
cert series that were not dependent on princely patron­
age. Admission was open to anyone who could afford the
price of a ticket, which in the case o f Bach’s Collegium
was three groschen— the same as two tickets to the
theater or the cost of knitting one shirt.
o f B a c h ’s C o lle g iu m . Z i m m e r m a n n ’s, o n e im a g in e s , o f f e r e d a n
a g r e e a b le c h a n g e f r o m t h e litu r g ic a l m u s ic a t St. T h o m a s ’s.
That such highbrow musical fare was on the menu at an eatery was not as sur­
prising as it sounds. Zimmermann’s had little in common with the typical modern
American coffee shop; a jazz club would be a closer approximation. The impor­
tance of coffeehouses for city dwellers in Bach’s day is hard to exaggerate. Coffee
was a fairly recent import from the East, and by the late 1600s a coffee craze was
sweeping across Europe and America (see Figures 6.9 and 6.10). Various addictive
and stimulating qualities were attributed to the inky brew, which made it all the
more appealing. (Bach’s "Coffee Cantata” is about a headstrong girl who wants
nothing but coffee, while her father wants her to take a husband.)
According to one contemporary report, at Beyer's coffeehouse in Leipzig’s
Briihl Street (across from the slightly higher-priced Richter’s, where the Gorner
Collegium played), customers could order “a serving of chocolate, cooked in
water (6 groschcn) or in milk (5 groschen), coffee, tea, a bottle of Merseburg or
Mannheim beer, a glass of Orsade [barley water] and lemonade, a serving of Bavaroise or warm beer served in a cup.” (A game of billiards cost 6 pfennigs during the
day, 1 groschen at night, and the evening menu featured bread and butter with hot
roast meat or sausage.)
W h e t h e r m o d e s t e s t a b l i s h m e n t s lik e B e y e r ’s o r i m p o s i n g t o w n h o u s e s lik e Z i m ­
m e r m a n n ’s, c o f f e e h o u s e s w e r e p la c e s w h e r e all s o r t s o f p e o p l e c o u l d g a t h e r t o
154
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
LEFT, FIG. 6.9 A coffee vendor, from
a German engraving . ca. 1730.
RIGHT, FIG. 6.10 Advertisement for
a London coffeehouse, ca. 1700. The
craze for coffee was international.
g o s s ip a n d r e a d n e w s p a p e r s , a n d w h e r e b u s in e s s c o u l d b e c o n d u c t e d in a r e la x e d
a n d c o n g e n ia l a t m o s p h e r e . T h e b e t t e r t o a t t r a c t c u s t o m e r s ( a n d w h e t t h e i r a p p e ­
tite s ) , p r o p r i e t o r s g e n e r a l l y o f f e r e d s o m e k i n d o f e n t e r t a i n m e n t , w h ic h a t Z i m ­
m e r m a n n ’s m e a n t B a c h ’s C o l l e g i u m M u s ic u m .
The Performance
Bach Collegium
T h e m e m b e r s o f t h e B a c h C o l l e g i u m w e r e m o s t l y s t u d e n t s a t t h e U n iv e r s ity o f
L e ip z ig , b u t it s e e m s t h a t s o m e o f B a c h ’s p r iv a te p u p ils , a s w e ll a s h is s o n s , o c c a ­
s io n a lly t o o k p a r t in t h e c o n c e r t s a t Z i m m e r m a n n ’s. P r o f e s s io n a l t o w n m u s ic ia n s
a n d m e m b e r s o f t h e a c a d e m ic c o m m u n i t y a t la r g e a ls o s e e m t o h a v e j o i n e d in . A ll
to ld , t h e p o o l o f m u s ic ia n s a v a ila b le t o B a c h c a m e t o w e ll a b o v e fifty, n o t c o u n t i n g
t h e s p e c ia l g u e s t a r tis ts w h o w e r e in v ite d t o p e r f o r m s o lo s f r o m t i m e t o tim e .
A s w i t h h is c h u r c h c h o ir , B a c h s u p e r v i s e d e v e r y d e ta il o f t h e w e e k l y C o lle g iu m
p r o g r a m s , f r o m p l a n n i n g t o e x e c u tio n . K n o w n f o r h is q u i c k t e m p e r a n d r o u g h a n d - r e a d y s e n s e o f h u m o r , h e w a s a d e p t a t r u n n i n g r e h e a r s a ls a n d e n f o r c i n g d is ­
c ip lin e . A s n o t e d in h is o b itu a r y , “ In c o n d u c t i n g h e w a s v e r y a c c u r a t e , a n d o f th e
te m p o , w h i c h h e g e n e r a l l y t o o k v e r y lively, h e w a s u n c o m m o n l y s u r e .” R e h e a r s a l
t i m e w a s p r e c io u s , j u s t a s it is in o r c h e s t r a s to d a y , a n d B a c h p la c e d a p r e m i u m o n
e ffic ie n c y . C a r l P h ilip p E m a n u e l B a c h te s tif ie d t h a t h is f a t h e r k n e w h o w t o g e t th e
b e s t f r o m h is p la y e rs :
T h e placing o f an o rch estra he u n d ersto o d perfectly. H e m ade g o o d use o f any space.
H e g rasp ed at first glance any peculiarity o f a ro o m ___ H e h eard the slightest w ro n g
n o te even in th e largest com binations. As th e g reatest expert and ju d g e o f harm ony,
he liked best to play th e viola, w ith app ro p riate loudness an d softness. In his youth,
and u n til th e ap p ro ach o f old age, he played th e violin cleanly and penetratingly, and
this kep t th e o rch estra in b e tte r o rd e r th an he could have done w ith the harpsichord.
B a c h s e r v e d a s t h e C o l l e g i u m 's f u ll- tim e d i r e c t o r f o r a t o t a l o f a b o u t t e n y e a r s ,
d u r i n g w h i c h t i m e h e d i r e c t e d m o r e t h a n five h u n d r e d c o n c e r ts , e a c h o n e la s t­
in g s o m e t w o h o u r s . U n f o r tu n a te ly , n o p r i n t e d p r o g r a m s — o r, i n d e e d , a n y o t h e r
e v id e n c e — s u r v iv e t o g iv e u s a c le a r id e a o f w h a t t h e c o n c e r t s w e r e lik e . W h a t w e
d o h a v e is s o m e o f t h e m u s ic t h a t B a c h p r e p a r e d f o r p e r f o r m a n c e in L e ip z ig , a n
CHAPTER 6
Johann Sebastian Bach at Zim m erm ann’s C o ffe e h o u se
assortment of vocal and instrumental works designed to cater to current tastes:
Italian cantatas and opera arias, German orchestral and chamber music, and vari­
ous pieces that Bach either composed for the coffee concerts or arranged from
music previously written for other purposes. Although church music was obvi­
ously unsuitable for a coffeehouse, Bach wrote a number of secular, or “moral,”
cantatas for the Collegium, including the aforementioned “Coffee Cantata” on the
subject o f addiction—an appropriate theme for Zimmermann’s coffee-drinking
and tobacco-smoking clientele.
The program proposed here is entirely imaginary. The date of September 18,
1739, is one on which an actual Collegium concert took place, but we have no way of
knowing what the audience at Zimmermann’s heard on that or any other night. All
three pieces on our program are ones that Bach performed in Leipzig (even though
some originated at an earlier date), and all three arc perennial audience favorites:
155
The program
1. Prelude and Fugue in C Minor for harpsichord, from The Well-Tempered
Clavier, BWV 847*
2. Suite for Orchestra in D Major, BWV 1068
3. Concerto in F Major for Harpsichord, Two Recorders, and Strings, BWV
1057, arranged from the fourth Brandenburg Concerto
The C Minor Prelude and Fugue are part of Bach’s famous collection of pre­
ludes and fugues in all the major and minor keys, titled The Well-Tempered Clavier.
The pieces can be played on any keyboard instrument (clavier is the generic term
for keyboard), but since Bach did not include a pedal part, as he usually did for his
organ music, we can assume that the preludes and fugues were intended for harp­
sichord or clavichord, or possibly for the newfangled fortepiano, a precursor of
today's piano (see Figures 6.11, 6.12 and 6.13).
The orchestral suite is entertainment music, pure and simple—grand and extro­
verted and full of lively dance rhythms. It was originally composed for the court
musicians of Cothen, an elite professional ensemble, and we can easily imagine it
diverting the aristocratic guests at one of the prince’s elegant musical soirees.
The harpsichord concerto is a version of a concerto for violin with two record­
ers that Bach had written some years earlier and presented with five others to
the margrave of Brandenburg—hence their collective name, the Brandenburg
Concertos. The six concertos feature extravagant virtuosity and richly varied
orchestrations. When Bach revived this one for the Collegium, he transformed the
solo violin part into a dazzling harpsichord solo, undoubtedly for himself to play.
Despite his limited geographical orbit—he spent his entire life within one small
area of Germany—Bach was a cosmopolitan composer who moved with ease
from a “German” prelude and fugue to a "French” suite to an “Italian” concerto.
Each of these national types was well known in the eighteenth century, and Bach’s
listeners would have recognized them instantly. From the first measures of the
fugue, with its single strand of melody, they would look forward to a brilliant
outpouring of counterpoint; the opening of the suite, with its slow, stately, longshort rhythm, was a sure sign that a fast imitative section would follow; and from
the very title of the concerto, the audience would know to expect a piece in three
contrasting movements, fast-slow-fast, that pitted the solo harpsichord against a
full orchestra.
* The BWV (Bach Werke Verzeichnis) numbers refer to the catalogue of Bach’s works by Wolfgang
Schmieden Most writers about Bach, and most printed programs and reviews, use these numbers to
avoid confusion.
The Well-Tempered Clavier
156
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
LEFT. FIG. 6.11 A two-manual harp­
sichord. The strings are plucked by
quills attached to the ends of the
key-levers: no dynamic control is pos­
sible. except by using and combining
the different sets of strings, which
vary the tone quality.
TOP. FIG. 6.12 A clavichord. The
strings are struck by tangents, light
metal bars that touch the string,
determine the pitch of the note,
and remain in contact with the string
while the note is sounding. This
allows the player to vibrate the note
and to vary the dynamics within the
very quiet range of this instrument.
BOTTOM. FIG. 6.13 A fortepiano. This
instrument, which was quite new in
Bach's time, strikes the strings with a
hammer, which allows the player to
vary the dynamics from loud to soft
(this is where the instrument gets its
name). It is the early version o f the
modern piano. This particular image is
a Stein fortepiano from 1790.
Listening to the Music
A t a fe w m i n u t e s b e f o r e 8 p .m ., t h e s m a r t l y d r e s s e d a u d ie n c e , w e ll p lie d w i t h f o o d
a n d d r i n k a n d a b u z z w i t h a n ti c i p a t i o n , ta k e t h e i r s e a ts in Z i m m e r m a n n ’s c o n c e r t
r o o m . A v a r ie ty o f m u s ic is o n t h e p r o g r a m , r a n g i n g f r o m h a r p s i c h o r d s o lo s t o
m u s ic f o r fu ll o r c h e s t r a ; s o m e r e a r r a n g e m e n t o f c h a ir s a n d m u s ic s t a n d s w ill b e
r e q u i r e d in t h e c o u r s e o f t h e e v e n in g , a n d p e r h a p s a little r c t u n i n g o f t h e h a r p s i ­
c h o r d . ( H a r p s i c h o r d s t e n d t o g o o u t o f t u n e i f t h e t e m p e r a t u r e ris e s , as o f t e n h a p ­
p e n s in a c r o w d e d r o o m . F o r tu n a te ly , B a c h is a n e x p e r t tu n e r .) T h e c o n c e r t r o o m
is w e ll e q u ip p e d ; Z i m m e r m a n n ’s e v e n h a s its o w n s e t o f m u s ic a l i n s t r u m e n t s t h a t
s o m e o f t h e s t u d e n t s in t h e o r c h e s t r a h a v e b o r r o w e d f o r t h e e v e n in g . B a c h h a s
p r e v io u s ly h a d o n e o f h is o w n h a r p s i c h o r d s d e liv e r e d h e r e .
PRELUDE A N D FUGUE IN C M IN O R , BW V 847
The Well-Tempered Clavier h a s
**
l o n g b e e n v ie w e d a s a M o u n t E v e r e s t, t h e h ig h e s t
p in n a c le o f t h e k e y b o a r d p la y e r ’s a r t. I n d e e d , it w a s B e e th o v e n ’s d a z z lin g e x e c u ­
t i o n o f th e s e f o u r d o z e n
preludes and fugues
o n t h e p i a n o t h a t f ir s t b r o u g h t h im
f a m e in V ie n n a a g e n e r a t i o n a f te r B a c h ’s d e a th . T h e c o m p o s e r ’s o w n p e r f o r m a n c e
o n t h e h a r p s i c h o r d m u s t h a v e b e e n e v e n m o r e im p r e s s iv e . A c c o r d i n g t o h is firs t
b io g r a p h e r , J o h a n n N ik o la u s F o r k c l, B a c h h a d “ a c q u i r e d s u c h a h ig h d e g r e e o f
fa c ility a n d , w e m a y a l m o s t say, u n l i m i t e d p o w e r o v e r h is i n s t r u m e n t in a ll t h e k e y s
t h a t d iff ic u ltie s a l m o s t c e a s e d t o e x is t f o r h i m . ”
CHAPTER 6
Johann Sebastian Bach at Zim m erm ann’s C o ffe e h o u se
157
T h e p a ir in g o f a p r e l u d e a n d f u g u e in t h e s a m e k e y w a s s o m e t h i n g o f a s p e c ia lty
fo r G e r m a n c o m p o s e rs , a lth o u g h th e re a re m a n y e x a m p le s fro m o th e r c o u n trie s
a s w e ll. A s a r u l e , a p r e l u d e b e a r s n o t h e m a t i c r e la t i o n s h i p t o its c o r r e s p o n d i n g
f u g u e . In fa c t, t h e p r e l u d e c a n ta k e a l m o s t a n y f o r m , w h e r e a s t h e f u g u e is a lw a y s
a c o n t r a p u n t a l p ie c e o f t h e k i n d w e a r e a b o u t t o h e a r .
Prelude In th e C M i n o r P r e lu d e , b o t h h a n d s a r e e x t r e m e l y b u s y e x e c u tin g a
r e p e a t i n g p a t t e r n — t w o id e n tic a l u n i t s o f e i g h t n o t e s e a c h — t h a t s o u n d s lik e a
f in g e r e x e r c is e . E v e r y s ix te e n n o t e s — t h a t is, e v e r y m e a s u r e — t h e p a t t e r n s h ifts
slig h tly , a s h if t t h a t c o r r e s p o n d s w i t h a c h a n g e in h a r m o n y .
A s s o o n a s o u r e a r s g e t u s e d t o t h e m e s m e r i z i n g r e g u la r ity o f t h e s u r f a c e p a t ­
t e r n s , w e s t a r t t o h e a r t h e m u c h s l o w e r r e g u la r ity o f t h e s h if tin g h a r m o n y . T h e
m u s ic g r a d u a l l y w o r k s its w a y d o w n th e k e y b o a r d u n t i l it s e e m s t o h i t b o t t o m
( t h e b a s s n o t e r e m a i n s fix e d f o r f o u r s ix te e n - n o t e p a t t e r n s ) . T h e n , a f t e r t w e n t y f o u r c h o r d s , t h e r e p e a t i n g p a t t e r n fin a lly g iv e s w a y t o a s e r ie s o f b r o k e n c h o r d s
in t h e s a m e r e le n tle s s s ix te e n - n o t e r h y t h m , f o llo w e d b y a w o n d e r f u l l y r h a p s o d ic ,
i m p r o v i s e d - s o u n d i n g e n d i n g t h a t s e e m s t o e v a p o r a t e i n t o t h i n a ir (s e e L G 2 1 ).
Fugue After a short, pregnant pause, the C Minor Fugue begins, as all fugues do,
with a single voice introducing the main theme, or subject (see Chapter 5, p. 140,
for the initial discussion of a fugue). The audience at Zimmermann’s perks up:
they know what to expect in a general way, but they also know that Bach is full of
surprises. The fugue cannot be predicted from the prelude, except that it is sure to
make a pleasing contrast and be in the same key. The composer’s fingers tap out
the catchy melody, based on a five-note motive (short-short-long-long-long), and
the fugue is under way. (See LG 21, p. 158.)
Bachs C Minor Fugue: subject
and countersubject
W r itin g f u g u e s w a s t o B a c h w h a t s in g in g is to b ird s — it w a s s e c o n d n a t u r e . F u g u e s ,
a n d th e te c h n i q u e s t h a t p r o d u c e t h e m , p o p u p e v e r y w h e r e in h is w o r k — m o s t n o t a ­
The Well-Tempered Clavier a n d t h e a m a z i n g c o lle c tio n o f
o n t h e s a m e t h e m e , in h is Art of Fugue. F u g u e s a p p e a r as
b ly th e fo r ty - e ig h t f u g u e s o f
f u g u e s , all d if f e r e n t b u t all
w e ll in th e s u ite a n d c o n c e r t o f e a t u r e d l a t e r o n in o u r p r o g r a m . A ll to ld , B a c h w r o t e
h u n d r e d s o f f u g u e s , e a c h o n e u n iq u e . T h e C M in o r F u g u e is a p a r tic u la r ly fin e s p e c i­
m e n , w ith a m e m o r a b l e t u n c a n d a s t r u c t u r e a s b r illia n t as it is s tu rd y .
T h e L a tin w o r d
fiiga
m e a n s “ f le e in g ” o r “c h a s e ,” a n d t h e f u g u e is a p tly n a m e d
in t h a t o n e v o ic e c h a s e s a n o t h e r . ( T h e in d iv id u a l lin e s in a f u g u e a r e c a lle d v o ic e s ,
e v e n i f t h e p ie c e is i n s t r u m e n t a l , b e c a u s e t h e c o m p o s e r s e e s t o it t h a t a ll t h e lin e s
r e m a i n d is tin c t.) In o r d e r t o d if f e r e n tia te t h e v o ic e s , t h e c o m p o s e r g iv e s t h e m
i n d e p e n d e n t p a r t s . ( I f a ll t h e lin e s m o v e d u p a n d d o w n t o g e t h e r , it w o u l d s o u n d
lik e o n e v o ic e , n o t s e v e r a l.) T h e c o m b i n a t i o n o f in d iv id u a l, i n d e p e n d e n t v o ic e s is
c a lle d c o u n t e r p o i n t ( f r o m p u t t i n g o n e n o t e a g a i n s t a n o t h e r ,
tum
punctus contra punc-
Counterpoint and polyphony
in L a tin ) , a n d t h e r e s u l t i n g m u s ic a l t e x t u r e is c a lle d p o l y p h o n y . W e k n o w
p o ly p h o n y w e ll f r o m t h e m u s ic o f W illia m B y rd , a n d f r o m s o m e m u s ic o f H a n d e l .
A f u g u e , t h e n , c a n b e d e f in e d a s a p o ly p h o n i c ( m a n y - v o ic e d ) c o m p o s i t i o n b a s e d
o n a s in g le t h e m e o r s u b j e c t . E a c h v o ic e e n t e r s in t u r n w i t h a s t a t e m e n t o f t h e
s u b je c t, a f t e r w h ic h a p p e a r a n c e s o f t h e t h e m e in o n e v o ic e o r a n o t h e r a l t e r n a t e
w i t h p a s s a g e s (c a lle d e p i s o d e s ) in w h ic h t h e c o m p l e t e s u b je c t is n o t p r e s e n t .
T h i s is t h e s t a n d a r d t e x t b o o k d e f in itio n o f a f u g u e , b u t it d o e s n ’t b e g i n t o
d o j u s t i c e t o t h e m a r v e l o u s v a r i e t y o f f o r m a l s c h e m e s t h a t a r e p o s s ib le in th is
k i n d o f m u s ic . N o r d o e s it r e f le c t t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f h a r m o n y in c o n t r a p u n ­
ta l w r iti n g . P o ly p h o n y is t h e e a s ie s t t h i n g in t h e w o r l d t o p r o d u c e , u n le s s y o u
w a n t it t o b e h a r m o n i o u s . T h a t ’s w h e r e t h e c h a ll e n g e c o m e s — in m a k i n g s e v ­
e r a l i n d e p e n d e n t m e lo d ie s a d d u p t o a s o u n d t h a t p r o d u c e s p le a s in g h a r m o n i e s .
(f ) Bach's C Minor Fugue: episode
and sequence
158
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
LISTENING GUIDE 21
®
| DVD | tff)
Bach Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 847
3:05
DATE: 1722-23
GENRE: P relude and Fugue (3 voices)
L IS T E N F O R
IN P R E L U D E
IN F U G U E
MELODY: H ighly disjunct sequence o f notes
RHYTHM: Perfectly reg u lar rh y th m in o p en in g section
MELODY: T w o countersubjects, m ade o f 16th notes
(1st co u n tersu b ject) and 8th n o tes (2nd countersubject)
TEXTURE: Sim ple p a tte rn , ch an g in g every 16 notes
RHYTHM: R hythm ic m otive used repeatedly to m ake fugue subject
TEXTURE: Sequences using m otives from subject and co u n tersu b ject
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
PRELUDE
0:00
T h em e w ith shifting h arm o n ies
R epeated p a tte rn in steady 16th-note rh y th m , like a finger exercise:
1111
fJ J h i jj .TU j.j
j
rJjjj
■ne
0:44
0:52
T ransition
E nding section
B roken chords in sam e rhythm .
Freely rhapsodic, like im provisation
FUGUE
1:25
First en tran ce o f subject
S u b jec t m elody:
■GfCj e-Cfcj 'tuarcj u i uii
C atchy tu n e in rep eated rh y th m ic p a tte rn (short-short-long-long-long).
1:31
Second en tran ce o f subject;
first co u n tersu b ject
C o u n te rs u b je c t m elody (green):
jb j
~t
n
a
n
J3J
^
Second voice p erfo rm s subject in co m b in atio n w ith new m elody in first voice,
b eg in n in g w ith d o w nw ard scale.
1:37
Episode 1 (passage in w hich
subject is incom plete)
U pper voice plays b eg in n in g o f subject th re e tim es in sequence, each tim e a
step higher. L ow er voice accom panies w ith rising scale (inverted co u n tersu b ­
ject), also a step h ig h er each tim e.
1:42
T h ird en tran ce o f subject;
second co u n tersu b ject
Bass voice takes u p subject, co m b in ed w ith first co u n tersu b ject in to p voice and
n ew m usic (second c o u n te rsu b je c t, blue) in m iddle voice:
CHAPTER 6
Johann Sebastian Bach at Zim m erm ann's C o ffe e h o u se
159
(Second co u n tersu b ject is difficult to h e a r w hen o th e r tw o voices are playing
subject an d first cou n tersu b ject.)
1:48
Episode 2
B eginning o f subject im itated in tw o voices, co m bined w ith dow nw ard scale
(inverted co u n tersu b ject) in bass.
1:53
Subject
Subject in to p voice, accom panied by tw o countersubjects.
1:58
Episode 3
Rising scale in to p voice (inverted co u ntersubject), accom panied by figures
derived from seco n d co u n tersu b ject.
2:04
Subject
Subject appears in m iddle voice, accom panied by tw o countersubjects.
2:10
Episode 4
C losely related to Episode 1, b u t w ith voices reversed.
2:18
Subject
Subject in to p voice; b o th coun tersu b jects present.
2:24
Episode 5
C losely related to Episode 2, b u t longer. B eginning o f subject im itated in tw o
voices, co m b in ed w ith d o w n w ard scale (inverted countersubject) in bass.
2:36
Subject
Subject in bass, b o th coun tersu b jects present; surprise halt.
2:45
Final cadence; echo o f subject
Subject played in so p ran o as a so rt o f fade-out o f th e last bass note.
W e h a v e c o n s i d e r e d f u g u e s in t h e c o n t e x t o f H a n d e l ’s
Messiah, w h e r e
t h e o v e r tu r e
a n d t h e c h o r u s “ H e t r u s t e d in G o d ” a r e b o t h c o m p o s e d a s f u g u e s . F u g u e s w e r e a
f a v o r ite p r o c e d u r e o f B a r o q u e c o m p o s e r s , b u t B a c h w a s t h e c o n s u m m a t e m a s t e r
o f f u g u e (s e e C .P .E . B a c h D e s c r ib e s H o w H is F a th e r L is te n e d t o F u g u e s , r ig h t) .
A r e l a t e d a s p e c t o f f u g u e s ( w h ic h is a ls o ty p ic a l o f R e n a is s a n c e m o t e t s a n d
m u c h o t h e r m u s ic ) is t h e t e c h n i q u e c a lle d
imitation— t h e
p r o c e s s o f h a v in g o n e
Imitation
v o ic e s in g o r p la y t h e m u s ic t h a t a n o t h e r v o ic e h a s j u s t fin is h e d . It is a g o o d w a y o f
l e t t i n g u s h e a r in d iv id u a l v o ic e s , b e c a u s e t h e m o r e f a m ilia r w e
a r c w i t h t h e t h e m e t h a t is b e i n g i m i t a t e d , t h e m o r e e a s ily w e
c a n p ic k it o u t o f a n in c r e a s in g ly c o m p l i c a t e d te x tu r e .
In a f u g u e , e a c h e n t r a n c e o f t h e s u b j e c t is a k i n d o f i m i t a ­
C.P.E. Bach Describes How His
Father Listened to Fugues
tio n . S o o n c e y o u h a v e h e a r d t h e s u b je c t, y o u a lr e a d y k n o w
w h a t t h e s e c o n d v o ic e w ill d o : it w ill e n t e r b y r e p e a t i n g th e
s u b je c t a t a d if f e r e n t to n a l le v e l (in th is c a s e , fiv e s te p s h ig h e r ) .
T h e j o b o f a c o m p o s e r is t o f ig u r e o u t w h a t t h e
first
v o ic e
s h o u l d d o w h e n t h e s e c o n d v o ic e e n t e r s . A t th is p o i n t in t h e C
M i n o r F u g u e , B a c h h a s t h e f ir s t v o ic e e x e c u t e a fa s t d o w n w a r d
s c a le , f o llo w e d b y a r e g u l a r p a t t e r n o f s te p w is e e i g h t h n o te s ,
w i t h o n e b ig l e a p in t h e m id d le .
A s it t u r n s o u t , th is s a m e m u s ic is p la y e d
every t i m e
hen he listened to a rich and many-voiced
fugue, he could soon say. after the first entries
of the subjects, what contrapuntal devices it
would be possible to apply, and which o f them the com­
poser by rights ought to apply, and on such occasions,
when I was standing next to him. and he had voiced his
surmises to me. he would joyfully nudge me when his ex­
pectations were fulfilled.
W
th e s u b ­
j e c t a p p e a r s . It is a lw a y s u s e d in a n o t h e r v o ic e t o a c c o m p a n y
t h e s u b je c t, s o m e t i m e s b e l o w it, s o m e t i m e s a b o v e . W e c a ll it a
countersubject. A s
y o u lis te n t o t h e C M in o r F u g u e , w a t c h f o r t h e te llta le d e s c e n d i n g s c a le e v e r y tim e
y o u h e a r t h e s u b je c t. A c o u n t e r s u b j e c t h a s t o b e c o m p o s e d v e r y c a re fu lly , b e c a u s e
it n e e d s t o s o u n d g o o d b o t h a b o v e a n d b e l o w t h e s u b je c t.
A f te r t h e a p p e a r a n c e s o f t h e fu ll s u b je c t in t h e t w o u p p e r v o ic e s c o m e s a s h o r t
p a s s a g e in w h i c h w e h e a r o n ly p a r t o f t h e s u b je c t. T h i s little d iv e r s io n , o r e p is o d e ,
p r o v id e s a b r id g e t o t h e th i r d a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e s u b je c t in t h e b o t t o m v o ic e . T h is
Countersubject
160
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
t i m e it is c o m b i n e d w i t h t h e c o u n t e r s u b j e c t in t h e t o p v o ic e a n d m u s ic t h a t w e
h a v e n ’t h e a r d b e f o r e — a s e c o n d c o u n t e r s u b j e c t — in t h e m id d le v o ic e .
B y t h e e n d o f t h e f ir s t e i g h t m e a s u r e s , a ll t h e b a s ic m u s ic a l m a t e r i a l o f th e
Exposition
f u g u e h a s b e e n p r e s e n t e d . W e c a ll th is s e c t i o n t h e
exposition. T h e r e a f t e r t h e
p ie c e
c o n t i n u e s w i t h a p p e a r a n c e s o f t h e s u b j e c t in d if f e r e n t v o ic e s a n d d if f e r e n t k e y s,
a l t e r n a t i n g w i t h e p is o d e s o f v a r io u s k in d s .
O n e o f t h e a m a z i n g th in g s a b o u t B a c h ’s C M i n o r F u g u e is t h a t e s s e n tia lly e v e r y
n o t e is d e r iv e d f r o m o n e o f t h e t h r e e m a i n id e a s : s u b je c t, c o u n t e r s u b j e c t , a n d s e c ­
o n d c o u n t e r s u b j e c t . T h e r e is n o fla b in th is f u g u e . In p la c e s w h e r e n o n e o f th e
v o ic e s is p la y in g t h e s u b je c t, t h e r e a r c e p is o d e s . T h o s e e p is o d e s a r e a ll c a s t in th e
f o r m o f s e q u e n c e s , w h ic h a r c m a d e o f b its o f t h e th e m e s . T h i s k i n d o f f r u g a lit y is
a h a l l m a r k o f B a c h a n d is e x t r e m e l y d iff ic u lt t o a c c o m p lis h .
Q lG22
SUITE IN D MAJOR, BW V 1068
H a v in g b e g u n o u r c o n c e r t w i t h a h a r p s i c h o r d s o lo , p la y e d b y t h e c o m p o s e r h i m ­
self, w e c o n t i n u e w i t h a p ie c e t h a t c a lls o n t h e f u ll r e s o u r c e s o f B a c h ’s C o lle g iu m : a
s u ite f o r la r g e o r c h e s t r a m a d e u p o f s tr in g s (firs t a n d s e c o n d v io lin s , v io la s , c e llo s ,
a n d d o u b l e b a s s e s ) , w in d s ( t w o o b o e s a n d a b a s s o o n ) , t h r e e t r u m p e t s , a n d k e t t l e ­
d r u m s . T h e S u ite in D M a jo r is m u s ic in t h e g r a n d m a n n e r , s c o r e d f o r a n o r c h e s ­
t r a o f t h e s a m e s iz e a s t h a t f o r H a n d e l ’s
Messiah
Messiah
( c o m p a r e o p e n in g s o f H a n d e l ’s
t o B a c h ’s S u ite in D M a jo r ). It is e a s y t o p i c t u r e B a c h le a d i n g t h e p e r f o r ­
m a n c e f r o m t h e c o n c c r t m a s t e r ’s m u s ic s t a n d , v io lin in o n e h a n d , b o w in t h e o th e r ,
a s w e k n o w h e lik e d t o d o .
T h e s u ite is w r i t t e n in t h e F r e n c h s ty le , w h i c h e x p la in s w h y B a c h u s e s F r e n c h
Handel: Acis and Galatea.
Sinfonia (baroque oboe)
title s a n d t e m p o m a r k s . It c o n s is ts o f six
movements
(a m o v e m e n t is a self-
c o n t a i n e d p a r t o f a l o n g e r w o r k ; t h e t e r m c o m e s f r o m th e
F r e n c h w o r d f o r s p e e d o r te m p o ) ; t h e f ir s t is a n O v e r t u r e
The Baroque Trumpet
tnre is t h e
(ouver-
F r e n c h w o r d f o r “o p e n i n g ” ) f o llo w e d b y a slo w , ly ric a l
A ir a n d a s e r ie s o f q u i c k d a n c e s . A ll e x c e p t t h e A ir f e a t u r e w i n d
i n s t r u m e n t s , t r u m p e t s , o b o e s , a n d b a s s o o n s , a n d it is w o r t h
aroque trumpets consisted of a simple length of
brass tubing with a mouthpiece on one end and a
flared opening, or bell, at the other. The tubing was
coiled or bent, to make the instrument easier to hold, but
there were no valves or other devices to help the player
change pitches. As a result, trumpeters could only pro­
duce the notes that occur in the natural overtone series,
which meant that they were rarely called upon to play
melodies or switch from one key to another.
The Baroque trumpet is extremely hard to play: the
trumpeter needs astounding control to produce the right
notes. In his early years in Leipzig, Bach had at his dis­
posal a superb player named Gottfried Reiche, whom he
must have had in mind when preparing the D Major Suite
for its first performance in 1731. By 1739, however. Reiche
had been dead for five years. (He suffered a stroke the
day after he played a particularly difficult part in one of
Bach’s cantatas.) We can only speculate how his succes­
sor, one Ulrich Ruhe, acquitted himself on this occasion.
But the trumpets majestic sound must have made a bril­
liant effect in Zimmermann’s concert room.
B
© Handel: Messiah. “The trumpet shall sound"
p a u s i n g t o c o n s i d e r h o w B a c h u s e s t h e m . In h is day, a s in o u r s ,
t r u m p e t s ty p ic a lly c o n v e y e d a s e n s e o f g r a n d e u r a n d ro y a lty .
In t h e O v e r t u r e , B a c h u s e s t h e t h r e e t r u m p e t s (in c o n j u n c t i o n
w i t h t h e k e t t l e d r u m s ) m o s t l y f o r e m p h a s is a n d r h y t h m i c p u n c ­
t u a t i o n . O c c a s io n a lly , t h o u g h , t h e t r u m p e t e r s g e t t o p la y a re a l
t u n e — in t h e f i r s t - m o v e m e n t f u g u e , f o r in s ta n c e , w h e r e B a c h
tw ic e g iv e s t h e s u b j e c t t o t h e f ir s t t r u m p e t , a n d a ls o in t h e t w o
G a v o tte s a n d t h e fin a l G ig u e (s e e T h e B a r o q u e T r u m p e t , le ft).
T h e t w o o b o e s , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , a l m o s t n e v e r h a v e m u s ic
o f t h e i r o w n . T h e r e a r e t w o p la c e s in th e fa s t s e c tio n o f th e
O v e r t u r e w h e r e th e y p la y a n a c c o m p a n i m e n t in l o n g n o te s , b u t
e v e r y w h e r e e lse th e y “d o u b l e ”— t h a t is, p la y a l o n g w i t h — th e
first o r s e c o n d v io lin s . ( T h is is w h a t o b o e s d o m o s t o f t h e tim e in
B a r o q u e o r c h e s tr a l m u s ic .) W h e r e B a c h ’s te x t u r e is p o ly p h o n ic ,
as in t h e f u g u e , th e t w o o b o e s r e in f o r c e th e first a n d s e c o n d
v io lin s e q u a lly ; e ls e w h e r e , a s in th e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f th e O v e r ­
t u r e a n d m o s t o f t h e d a n c e s , th e y d o u b le o n ly th e f ir s t v io lin s ,
e m p h a s iz in g th e p rin c ip a l m e lo d ic lin e . T h e B a r o q u e o b o e h a s a
s lig h tly m o r e p e n e t r a t i n g s o u n d t h a n its m o d e m c o u n t e r p a r t , as
y o u c a n h e a r in th is p a s s a g e f r o m H a n d e l ’s
Acis and Galatea. ©
LISTEN IN G GUIDE 22
© | DVD
Bach Suite in D Major, BWV 1068, Overture
10:12
DATE: ca. 1729-31
GENRE: French O v ertu re
L IS T E N F O R
RHYTHM: Stately, d o tte d rh y th m o f o p en in g section
FORM: T w o -p art fo rm (slow in tro d u ctio n follow ed by lively fugue)
SCORING: Rich o rch estratio n , highlighted by oboes and
tru m p e ts
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
0:00
Slow in tro d u ctio n
Dotted figures and scales p red o m in ate. T exture focuses o n so p ran o voice
(violins and oboes) and bass line (cellos, double basses, bassoon, an d keyboard).
1:23
Slow in tro d u ctio n , repeated
FUGUE
A — O p en in g section
2:42
Exposition
Texture changes to 4-voice polyphony. Fugue subject in tro d u ced in each o f the
string p arts in tu rn , w ith oboes d o u bling first and second violins:
2:59
Subject in violins, add tru m p ets
First violins play subject, th e n extend it and play it again, this tim e w ith tru m p ets.
3:10
Subject in bass, add tru m p e ts
Subject in bass voice leads to cadence, bringing first section o f fugue to an end.
B — Episode plus subjects
3:19
Episode 1
First violins have lo n g solo in 16th notes, w ith string accom panim ent.
3:35
Subject in strings, add w inds
W hile violins co n tin u e rapid m o tio n , subject appears in second violins; violas;
second violins again; violas again; a b rie f extension o f first-violin m aterial.
3:51
C — Subject in bass, o th e r
Subject stated by basses (tw ice), first violins (tw ice), and basses again. Violins
and o boes w eave polyphonic lines above, w ith tru m p e ts providing h arm o n ic
b ackground.
in stru m en ts
B— Episode plus subjects
4:17
Episode 2
4:38
Sim ilar to Episode 1: first violins have lo n g solo in 16th notes, w ith string accom ­
p an im en t. O boes and tru m p e ts gradually add th e ir voices.
Subject reappears in seco n d violin and viola (add oboes).
4:54
A — O p en in g o f fugue retu rn s
5:30
R etu rn o f o p en in g tem p o
an d rh y th m
Stately, d o tted rh y th m s re tu rn in an abbreviated variant o f the introduction.
T h e O v ertu re seem s a b o u t to reach its end. b u t instead . . .
6:22
R epetition o f fugue
W hole fugue repeats. T h e exposition, how ever, does n o t b egin w ith a single
voice. Instead, w hile first violins restate the subject, th e accom panying voices
continue playing ra th e r th a n leaving subject un acco m p an ied as in the beginning.
9:10
R etu rn o f o p en in g tem p o
an d rh y th m
A fter a n o th e r h earin g o f "second in tro d u ctio n ,” this g igantic m o v em en t com es
to rest o n a so n o ro u s D -m ajor chord.
162
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
© Bach: Suite in D Major. Air
© Bach: Suite in D Major. Gavotte
© Bach: Suite in D Major. Bourree
© Bach: Suite in D Major, Gigue
Overture
Orchestration
The second movement of the Suite, a hauntingly beautiful Air (the French word
for a song or opera aria) scored for strings alone, has one of Bach’s most famous
tunes. (The tune is sometimes called "Air on the G String,” from a much later
arrangement in which the melody is played on the violin’s lowest string, which is
tuned to a G.) In one version of the piece, Bach assigned the tune to a single violin,
but even when it is performed by several players, the melody has the limpid beauty
of a solo aria gliding lyrically over a rhythmically steady bass. Unusual for Bach, the
Air has almost no internal repetition. Apart from a brief sequential passage in each
of the two sections, the melody is always new, inspired, and passionate. Note, too,
how Bach invests the inner voices with contrapuntal interest, allowing the second
violins and violas to speak up now and then from within the polyphonic texture.
The four dances that round out the Suite—a pair of Gavottes, a Bourree, and a
Gigue—are relatively uncomplicated. Like almost all Baroque dances, they are in
two parts, each of which Bach marks to be repeated, producing an A A B B form.
(In Bach’s orchestral suites the repeats are just that—literal repetitions—but it was
customary for smaller ensembles to vary the repeats of dance movements with
ornaments.) The two Gavottes are played in sequence, the first repeated after the
second, producing an overall shape of A A B B C C D D A A B B .
Bach’s listeners knew a gavotte when they heard one—it is a dance with fourbeat rhythm, always beginning with two upbeats followed by a strong downbeat.
The other two dances are also characterized by distinctive rhythms and clear
phrases. A bourree is always in a quick four-beat meter, with a single upbeat; and
a gigue features quick triple rhythm. Audiences in the eighteenth century took
this kind of stylistic shorthand for granted; it pleased them to be able to recognize
what kind of dance they were listening to in the first few seconds.
The Air and dances make for wonderful listening, but the Overture is far and
away the meatiest part of the Suite. Indeed, the first movement takes at least
as long to perform as the other five put together. It, too, follows a well-known
pattern, being a French overture of the type that had been familiar to operagoers since the mid-seventeenth century. French overtures did indeed originate
in France as opening movements of theater pieces, but they were not, by Bach’s
time, exclusive to opera, French or otherwise. As we saw in the last chapter, for
instance, there is a French overture at the beginning of Handel’s Messiah.
Bach’s Overture begins with a slow opening section, marked by stately dot­
ted rhythms and suspensions, that highlights the rich sonority of the orchestra.
The second part is an energetic fugue—an orchestral one, this time. Bach has to
decide how many voices to compose (there are four, most o f the time) and which
instruments to assign to which voice. Unlike the keyboard fugue, where every
voice has the same basic timbre, the orchestral fugue allows the composer to dif­
ferentiate the parts by means of instrumental tone color. In other words, Bach’s
scoring, or orchestration, is another way of helping us pick out the individual
contrapuntal voices.
In structural terms, the Overture can be described as an introduction followed
by a fugue and a brief return to the stately opening. The entire fugue and the clos­
ing slow music are repeated, so that the overall form is:
Opening slow music
Fugue
Closing slow music
Fugue
Closing slow music
CHAPTER 6
Johann Sebastian Bach at Zim m erm ann's C o ffe e h o u se
The fugue itself has a similarly clear and symmetrical shape. The opening sec­
tion (A) presents the exposition and additional appearances of the subject. It is fol­
lowed by section B, consisting of the episode plus subjects, and section C, with the
subject in the bass and other instruments. Then the first two sections are repeated
in reverse order. The ABCBA pattern of the fugue, in turn, is repeated in the larger
scheme of the Overture, as noted above. (See L G 22, p. 161.)
A piece on such a big scale surely made an unforgettable impression at Zim­
mermann’s coffeehouse, where the audience sat close enough to the performers
for the music to have its full effect. Listening to the Overture straight through, it
is possible hear the melodic and rhythmic patterns that contribute to its sense of
symmetry and proportion.
C O N C ER T O IN F MAJOR, BW V 1057, A R R A N G E D FRO M
THE FOURTH B R A N D EN B U R G C O N C ER T O
© L G 23
This concerto is a transcription, or arrangement, of one Bach had written years
earlier in Weimar and included among his six Brandenburg Concertos. (Bach was an
inveterate arranger of his own works, as well as of those of others.) In Leipzig, he
revived it as a virtuoso showpiece for harpsichord, and the intended performer can
hardly have been anyone but Bach himself. The original version featured a violin
soloist, but it was really a triple concerto, with two “echo recorders” (flauti d’echo)
sharing the limelight. Arranging it for keyboard involved more than simply trans­
ferring the notes and harmonics from one instrument to another; the violin and
the harpsichord have very different qualities. Listen to an excerpt from the original
and the rearranged versions, and see if you can hear the difference.
A concerto in Bach’s time was a three-movement work featuring a contrast
between an orchestra and one or more solo instruments. The first movement,
moreover, almost invariably used the ritornello form. Bach had adopted the idea
when studying the concertos of the Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi (16781741). Such a movement begins and ends with an orchestral ritornello (a musical
passage that returns). The middle section is devoted to solo material, with occa­
sional reappearances of all or part of the ritornello in various keys. The ritornello
idea was neither new nor unique to Bach—it is used in Monteverdi’s Orfeo, Handel’s
Messiah, and countless other pieces—but it is nevertheless a basic principle of a lot
of Bach’s music. The last movement of this concerto also uses ritornello form.
Important to Bach was the idea that the opening ritornello should contain all
the essential musical material for the movement. In fact, the ritornello is a care­
fully wrought composition, almost a concerto in itself. It consists of a series of
sections, some of which sound like themes and others like developments. Bach
took great pains in composing ritornellos, because in doing so he was working out
all the possibilities implicit in the themes. He used the ritornello idea not just for
concertos but for choral movements, arias, and many other kinds of music.
In the F Major Concerto, the ritornello of the first movement (the movement
has no title or tempo marking) includes a six-bar theme that keeps popping up in
different guises, usually with the voices switched. The result is a long stretch of
music that falls into clearly defined sections. Between the ritornellos come stupen­
dous solo passages, mostly featuring the harpsichord, but often with the recorders
added, and with punctuation from the strings. But even in these solo developmen­
tal sections, the music is related to something in the ritornello—the harpsichord
takes off on some idea already present, and develops it by elaborate figuration
and changing keys. The ritornello sets not only the tempo, but also the emotional
stance of the movement—in this case one of lively, quirky energy.
Transcription
© Bach: Brandenburg Concerto
No. 4 .1(original, followed by
transcription)
Concerto
163
164
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
LISTEN IN G GUIDE 23
© | DVD
Bach Concerto in F Major for Harpsichord,
Two Recorders, and Strings, BWV 1057, Arranged from the
Fourth Brandenburg Concerto, I
6:36
DATE: O riginally co m p o sed ca. 1720
GENRE: C oncerto
L IS T E N F O R
FORM: O pening rito rn ello recurs th ro u g h o u t m o v em en t in
various keys and com b in atio n s o f in stru m en ts
TEXTURE: Variety o f solo techniques (scales, arpeggios,
very rapid notes)
SCORING: Solo instru m en ts: h arpsichord and tw o recorders
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
0:00
R itornello, section 1 (AAB)
First section o f rito rn ello begins w ith characteristic a rp e g g io figure (A):
f~ f
r f ----------------
it s
-i
I
i
I
i
1
____
r —i m i i
r I I
m
r m
i
I
i
l
i
r — -------- r
i
l
• . 1 1 1
J
p
_
_^__
__P
£
m
-----r — m
—m
------ L a s _ L
0:05
M otive A repeats w ith th e tw o recorders sw itching parts. Starts in F m ajor, m oves
to d o m in an t (C m ajor), th e n retu rn s to h o m e key.
0:10
B section, b eg in n in g w ith rising se q u e n c e (each reco rd er p erfo rm s scales u p and
dow n) an d cadential passage w ith rep eated n o tes in dow nw ard patterns.
R itornello, section 2 (AACB)
0:20
Section 2 begins w ith figure A played tw ice, follow ed by a m iddle section (C) th at
features recorders in sm o o th parallel passages.
0:42
Version o f th e earlier cadence (B) follows.
R itornello, section 3 (AAD)
0:50
Section 3 begins w ith tw o As, follow ed by n ew section (D ) th a t begins w ith syn­
co p ated rising figure (accom panied by th e rep eated-note figure from B above) and
concludes w ith je rk y an d arrestin g final cadence.
1:14
Solo section 1
M ostly h arpsichord, w ith interjections o f o p en in g chords and arpeggios o f A in
reco rd er an d o rch estra. C oncludes w ith e lem en t C in orchestra.
2:03
R itornello (AACD)
A bbreviated version o f th e rito rn ello (in D m inor).
2:22
Solo section 2
H arp sich o rd and recorders, w ith p u n ctu atio n from orchestra. Bits o f A;
h arp sich o rd goes wild.
3:09
R itornello (AAC)
Sam e sequence as section 3 o f m ain rito rn ello . H ere, in B-flat m ajor.
3:33
Solo section 3
S h o rt section based o n rising and falling scales, w ith hints o f A.
CHAPTER 6
Johann Sebastian Bach at Z im m erm ann’s C o ffe e h o u se
165
3:59
R itornello (CB)
T his is from m iddle section o f m ain ritornello. M odulates th ro u g h several keys.
4:19
Solo section 4
R ecorders accom panied by harpsichord; concludes (like solo section 1) w ith C in
orchestra.
4:52
R itornello (AD)
R itornello, sectio n 3, in A m inor.
5:15
R itornello, sections 1-3
Full, o p en in g ritornello, in original key (F m ajor).
The ritornello is worth getting to know well before listening to the whole first
movement of the concerto. There are three sections of the ritornello; listen to
them until you can remember which is which.
The appearances of the ritornello are linked by chains of sequences (restate­
ments of a pattern) whose repeating units vary in length from one to four mea­
sures. Each of these units is easily remembered, each concludes with shorter
sequences, and Bach finishes the ritornello with a strong and rather quirky
cadence. (See LG 23, p. 164.)
The middle movement of the concerto, in slow triple time, rearranges the instruments, pitting the harpsichord against everyone else. In the beginning, the record­
ers join with the strings in a chorus, leaving the harpsichord to reply alone. Short
phrases become longer ones, and gradually the harpsichord takes off on some inter­
esting solo tangents, some of which arc highly chromatic (using semitones of the
scale). There is a sense of passion, of yearning, of expectation, that makes a strong
emotional contrast to the outer movements. The movement ends on a cadence that
holds us in suspense, waiting to see what trick Bach has up his sleeve this time.
The finale combines two musical elements that Bach excelled at—fugue and
ritornello. Orchestral sections that present the fugue subject in various voices
alternate with solo episodes for harpsichord and recorders, and these episodes
are based on ideas taken from the subject. Bach saves his big surprise for last: a
stretto, which in a fugue means using the subject as a counterpoint to itself. Just
before the end the violins and recorders play the subject a half-note apart. Then,
as if astonished by their own ingenuity, everybody stops and plays a wild chord.
The stop-and-go with wild chords happens twice more before we gallop to a final
statement of the subject, overlapped between bass and soprano.
This scintillating display of virtuosity must have elicited a thunderous ova­
tion, especially with the composer himself at the harpsichord. And who wouldn’t
be impressed, not only by this concerto, but by the range and variety of Bach’s
music? If Bach’s contemporaries emphasized his prowess as a church composer
and organist, his claim to immortality rests largely on pieces like these, learned and
artfully constructed but at the same time accessible and delightfully engaging. It is
worth remembering that Bach spent more time in Leipzig directing the Collegium
than conducting cantatas in church. It was time well spent.
Bach Then and Now
As renowned as Bach was during his lifetime, few of his contemporaries would
have predicted that he would come to be viewed by many as the greatest composer
who ever lived. He was, after all, the Leipzig Town Council's third choice for the
Middle movement
Finale
166
PART II
M u sic and Speech: Baroque M u sic
Mendelssohn and Bach
post of cantor. Even in 1723 he was thought of as a composer whose music was
intellectual and cerebral, too complicated for a time when musical tastes were
turning to simpler melodies.
After his death in 1750, Bach was honored as a master of fugue and counterpoint,
but for many years his music was more respected than performed. His settings of
Lutheran hymns continued to be studied as examples of harmony; his preludes
and fugues remained the cornerstone of keyboard practice; and church musicians
continued to play many of his organ works. For the most part, however, Bach was
eclipsed, and the qualities that made his music great—his passionate expression of
emotions, his dancing rhythms, his astounding inventiveness—were forgotten.
Felix Mendelssohn’s revival of the titanic St. Matthew Passion in Berlin in 1829
started the process of bringing Bach back into the consciousness of listeners. The
founding of the German Bach Society in 1850 was another important milestone
in the nineteenth-century Bach revival. Just as the great museums of Europe and
America sparked a new appreciation for the artistic artifacts of the past, so anti­
quarian interest contributed to the rediscovery of Bach, opening the door to a
treasure-house of music that is now universally admired.
That Bach could make an economical piece of music and compose flawless,
elegant counterpoint was never in doubt. But such technical skill matters only to
professionals, unless the music that results is beautiful. Many believe that Bach’s
music demonstrates the amazing combination of workmanship and ingenuity that
is found only in the rarest of artistic creations. Every one of his pieces is full of life
and clearly expresses a feeling, a mood, or a passion.
Bach has a privileged place in modern musical life—not only in churches, where
his organ music has always been revered, but on the concert stage as well. Perfor­
mances of the great Passions and the B Minor Mass are regularly sold out, and
several ensembles have undertaken complete cycles of his more than two hundred
church cantatas. Keyboard students continue to delight in the inexhaustible variety
of his preludes, fugues, and suites. The concertos are prized by harpsichordists,
pianists, and violinists, and no cellist or violinist can ignore his dazzling solo music
for their instrument.
In s h o r t , B a c h ’s m u s ic is o n e o f t h e c e n t r a l p illa r s o f t h e W e s t e r n t r a d i t i o n . T h e
s ta n d a r d s it d e m a n d s o f l i s te n e r s a r e a s h ig h as th o s e h e i m p o s e d o n h im s e lf .
C h a p te r Review
Summary of Musical Styles
T w o c o m m o n t e c h n i q u e s in B a r o q u e m u s ic a r e
ritornello
and
fugue.
T h e y a re
n o t li m i t e d t o B a c h ’s m u s ic a n d a r e r e l a t e d t o m u s ic f r o m e a r l i e r a n d l a t e r s ty le s .
■ Ritornello:
in its s im p le s t f o r m e x p r e s s e d a s a r e f r a i n t h a t r e t u r n s a f te r a s u c ­
c e s s io n o f o t h e r m a te r ia ls . In B a r o q u e m u s ic , r i t o r n e l l o f o r m is u s e d in a v a r i­
e ty o f k in d s o f p ie c e , in c lu d in g :
Concerto: m a n y
c o n c e r t o s , e s p e c ia lly th o s e b y V iv a ld i a n d B a c h , h a v e in t h e i r
f ir s t m o v e m e n t ( a n d o f t e n in o t h e r m o v e m e n t s a s w e ll) a n o p e n i n g o r c h e s tr a l
r i t o r n e l l o , u s u a lly w i t h v e r y c h a r a c te r is tic m u s ic , w h i c h r e t u r n s , in w h o le o r
in p a r t , in t h e c o u r s e o f t h e m o v e m e n t . T h e s o lo i n s t r u m e n t o r i n s t r u m e n t s
h a v e m u s ic t h a t m a y o r m a y n o t b e b a s e d o n t h e m u s ic o f t h e r it o r n e l lo .
CHAPTER 6
Aria:
Johann Sebastian Bach at Z im m erm ann’s C o ffe e h o u se
m a n y a r ia s a r e s e t in r i t o r n e l l o f o r m . A s in a c o n c e r t o m o v e m e n t , a n
o p e n i n g o r c h e s t r a l r i t o r n e l l o s e ts t h e m o o d , a n d o f t e n p r e s e n ts t h e m a in
m u s ic a l t h e m e s b e f o r e t h e s in g e r b e g in s . T h e r i t o r n e l l o r e t u r n s , in w h o l e o r
in p a r t; it is a l m o s t a lw a y s r e p e a t e d a t t h e e n d .
■ Fugue:
a p o ly p h o n i c im ita tiv e c o m p o s i t i o n u s in g a s in g le t h e m e . F u g u e s v a r y
w id e ly in f o r m a l s h a p e a n d a r e w r i t t e n f o r all s o r t s o f m e d ia , f r o m k e y b o a r d
t o o r c h e s t r a t o c h o r u s . C h a r a c t e r i s t i c e l e m e n t s o f a f u g u e a re :
Subject: t h e
Exposition:
t h e m e o n w h ic h t h e f u g u e is b a s e d .
t h e o p e n i n g s e c t i o n o f t h e f u g u e , in w h ic h e a c h o f t h e v o ic e s
e n t e r s in t u r n w i t h t h e s u b je c t.
Countersubject: a
m e lo d y , w h i c h r e c u r s r e g u la r ly in a n o t h e r v o ic e w h e n e v e r
t h e s u b j e c t is p la y e d o r s u n g .
Episode:
a p a s s a g e o f m u s ic in w h ic h t h e s u b j e c t is n o t h e a r d in its e n t ir e ty ;
e p is o d e s a r e o f t e n b a s e d o n m o tiv e s f r o m t h e s u b j e c t o r c o u n t e r s u b j e c t .
©Multimedia Resources and Review Materials
on StudySpace
V isit w w n o r t o n .c o m / s t u d y s p a c e f o r r e v ie w o f C h a p t e r 6.
What Do You Know?
C h e c k t h e fa c ts f o r th is c h a p te r . T a k e t h e o n lin e
Quiz.
What Do You Hear?
Listening Quizzes
and
Music Activities
w ill h e l p y o u u n d e r s t a n d t h e m u s ic a l
w o r k s in th is c h a p te r .
^ A u th o r Videos
■
B a c h ’s C M i n o r F u g u e : s u b je c t a n d c o u n t e r s u b j e c t
■
B a c h ’s C M i n o r F u g u e : e p is o d e a n d s e q u e n c e
Interactive Listening Guides
LG 21 Bach: Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 847
LG 22 Bach: Suite in D Major, BWV 1068, Overture
LG 23 Bach: Concerto in F Major for Harpsichord, Two Recorders, and Strings,
BWV 1057, Arranged from the Fourth Brandenburg Concerto, I
Flashcards (Terms to Know)
b o u rre e
e x p o s it io n
P a s s io n s
c la v ic h o r d
fo rte p ia n o
p o ly p h o n y
C o l l e g i u m M u s ic u m
g a v o tte
p re lu d e s a n d fu g u e s
c o n c e rto
g ig u e
rito rn e llo
c o u n te rp o in t
im ita tio n
s u b je c t
c o u n te rs u b je c t
m o v e m e n ts
tra n s c rip tio n
e p is o d e
o rc h e s tra tio n
167
THE CLASSIC PERIOD
H IST O RIC A L EVENTS
M U S IC A L EVENTS
1694-1778 Voltaire
1709-1784 Samuel Johnson
1712-1778 Jean-Jacques Rousseau
1723-1792 Joshua Reynolds
1732-1809 Franz Joseph Haydn
1741-1807 Angelica Kauffman
1741-1828 Jean-Antoine Houdon
1746-1828 Francisco Goya
1748- 1825 Jacques-Louis David
1749- 1832 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
1750 Death of Bach
1752 Benjamin Franklins discoveries in electricity
1756-1791 Wolfgang Amade Mozart
1757-1822 Antonio Canova
1759 Death of Handel
1759-1805 Friedrich Schiller
1770-1827 Ludwig van Beethoven
1775-1817 Jane Austen
1776 Signing of the American Declaration of Independence
1789 George Washington inaugurated as
first president of the United States
1789 Storming of the Bastille opens
French Revolution
1795-1821 John Keats
1797-1828 Franz Schubert
1802 Napoleon Bonaparte declared First Consul for Life
1815 Battle of Waterloo ends Napoleons career
1815 Congress of Vienna
Italy
France
England
Germany/Austria
M usic an d Reason:
Classical Music
he next group of chapters deals with composers and musical compo­
sitions that are the cornerstones of the Western repertory of classical
music. Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert—these are names we regularly see
on concert programs in symphonic concerts, chamber music events, and solo recit­
als. The modern orchestra is essentially designed to fit Mozart’s and Beethoven’s
symphonies, and today’s chamber-music repertory is based around the string quar­
tets and other pieces by these three composers.
A curious thing about this group is how close together they are, in time and
in place. Mozart knew Beethoven, Beethoven probably knew Schubert (we know
that Schubert admired Beethoven’s music); and they all lived in Vienna (although
only Schubert was a native of the city). What it was about Vienna that attracted
so many musicians is something of a mystery True, it was the capital of a very
large and powerful multinational empire, and a crossroads of culture; but there
were other cities in Europe—Paris and London, for example—that were large and
important, but they did not produce this blazing constellation of composers (see
Figure III. 1, map of Europe, p. 170).
This period in music—roughly 1750 to 1825—is known as the C l a s s ic p e r i o d ,
and the music is known as C l a s s i c a l m u s i c (the capital “C" distinguishes the name
from classical music in general). Classical music includes the works of Mozart,
Beethoven, and Schubert (along with those of their contemporaries like Joseph
Haydn) and represents the era in which instrumental music became as important
as vocal music. Ironically, despite its far-reaching influences. Classical music actu­
ally spans a short moment in time, encompassing what might be a single lifetime.
Vienna
170
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
300 M ie s
I—
0
100
I
— r
2 00
NORW AY
300 Kilometers
K IN G D O M
OF
Dublin
DENM ARK
IRELAND
Birmingham
ENGLAND
Am sterdam *.
London'
CR A CO W
BAVARIA
KINGDOM
WURTTEMBERG Munich
HUNGARY
Vienna'
O F
FRANCE
B ordeaux
LOMBARDY-
KINGDOM
WALLACHIA
MODENA
O F
SPAIN
LUCCA
PAPAL
TUSCANY R STATES
• Madrid
FIG. Ill.l Map of Europe.
1815-48.
___Boundary of the
___ Germanic Confederation
I
l Austrian Empire
I
I France
I
| Prussia
MONTENEGRO
Rom e*
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
M o z a r t, B e e th o v e n , a n d S c h u b e r t p r o d u c e d w o r k s a g a in s t w h ic h all s u b s e q u e n t
m u s ic w a s m e a s u r e d . It h a s b a la n c e , c o m p o s u r e , a n d b r e a d t h , a n d w a s c r e a t e d
a lo n g s id e a g r o w i n g a w a r e n e s s o f t h e k in s h i p o f h u m a n ity , t h e w o r t h o f t h e in d i­
v id u a l, a n d t h e p o w e r o f r e a s o n . T h e s e n e w id e a s w e r e r e f l e c t e d in t h e m u s ic , b u t
d if f e r e n tly f o r e a c h c o m p o s e r .
© Mozart: Don Giovanni. Overture
M o z a r t ’s o p e r a
Don Giovanni,
f o r e x a m p l e ( w i t h its m a s t e r f u l p l o t b y L o r e n z o
D a P o n te ) , c a n b e s e e n as a s u b v e r s iv e w o r k in a r e p r e s s iv e a n d a u t h o r i t a r i a n s o c i­
e ty : t h e o p e r a m a k e s a c e r t a i n a m o u n t o f s o c ia l c o m m e n t a r y , o b s e r v i n g fin e d is ­
t i n c t i o n s a m o n g a r is to c r a ts , p e a s a n ts , a n d th o s e in b e t w e e n , a s w e ll a s w a y s in
w h ic h o n e g r o u p a b u se s o r o u ts m a r ts a n o th e r.
B e e th o v e n ’s fie ry a n d h e r o i c m u s ic , r e p r e s e n t i n g t r i u m p h t h r o u g h s t r u g g le ,
a ls o r e f le c ts t h e p e r io d ; a n d w e k n o w t h a t in m u c h o f h is m u s ic , a n d e s p e c ia lly in
h is t h i r d a n d n i n t h s y m p h o n i e s , B e e th o v e n w a s c o n s c io u s o f t h e h u m a n s t r u g g l e
f o r in d iv id u a l lib e rty . T h e T h i r d S y m p h o n y ( n o w c a lle d t h e
Eroica—
“H e ro ic ”) w as
o r ig i n a lly d e d i c a t e d t o N a p o l e o n , w h o m B e e th o v e n a d m ir e d , b u t h e c a n c e le d
t h e d e d i c a t i o n w h e n N a p o l e o n p r o c l a i m e d h i m s e l f C o n s u l f o r L ife. T h e N in th
© Beethoven: Symphony No. 9. IV.
"Ode to Joy”
S y m p h o n y , in its la s t m o v e m e n t , p r o c la im s t h e b r o t h e r h o o d o f h u m a n k i n d in th e
w o r d s o f t h e G e r m a n p o e t F r ie d r ic h S c h ille r ’s
Ode toJoy.
S c h u b e r t is a c o m p o s e r w h o n o t o n ly r e p r e s e n t s a w i d e r u r b a n a c c e s s t o
© Schubert: Gretchen am
Spinnrade
m u s ic , b u t a ls o lo o k s a h e a d t o t h e m u s ic o f f u t u r e c o m p o s e r s : m u c h o f h is m u s ic
is p e r s o n a l, p r iv a te , c o n t e m p l a t i v e o r i n w a r d - l o o k i n g in a w a y t h a t M o z a r t ’s o r
B e e th o v e n ’s o f t e n a r e n o t . W e w ill s e e t h a t in t h e n e x t g e n e r a t i o n , a n d t h e n e x t
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
s e c tio n o f th is b o o k , t h e i n t e r i o r life o f t h e in d iv id u a l, t h e e m o t i o n s o f t h e s o u l,
a n d t h e a r tis tic e x p e r ie n c e b e c o m e t h e c e n t r a l s u b je c ts o f t h e R o m a n tic s .
A ll t h r e e o f o u r m u s ic ia n s m a n a g e d t o m a k e i n d e p e n d e n t liv in g s a s c o m p o s e r s .
T h e y m i g h t h a v e p r e f e r r e d lu c r a tiv e a p p o i n t m e n t s a s c o u r t c o m p o s e r s o r a s i m p e ­
ria l c h a m b e r m u s ic ia n s , b u t th e y d id n o t re c e iv e t h e m . R a t h e r t h e y o p e r a t e d in a
w o r l d t h a t w a s w itn e s s in g t h e b e g i n n i n g s o f t h e
business o f
m u s ic — p u b lic c o n c e r t
h a lls , m u s ic p u b lis h in g , m a g a z in e s a n d n e w s p a p e r s a b o u t m u s ic . It w a s r e a lly th e
b i r t h o f m o d e r n c o n c e r t life , a n d in a w a y w e h a v e e m u l a t e d it e v e r s in c e .
T h e t e r m “ c la s s ic ” in a r t u s u a ll y r e f e r s t o s o m e t h i n g t h a t is tim e le s s , w h o s e
q u a litie s a r c e n d u r i n g a n d h a v e a b a la n c e a n d s e r e n i t y t h a t c a n ’t b e d i s t u r b e d . T h is
is t r u e o f m u s ic f r o m th is p e r i o d a s w e ll— it h a s c e r ta in l y s t o o d t h e t e s t o f tim e
( b u t s o h a s t h e m u s i c o f B a c h ). W e m i g h t i n s t e a d c a ll it
m u s ic o f t h e
Enlightenment
m u s ic , o r
The Age o f Reason
Age o f Reason.
Political Events
A growing emphasis on the power of reason and the rights of the individual was a
challenge to the church and to the established authority of hereditary monarchs.
It led to the American Declaration o f Independence (“We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights”), which resonated around the world, most notably
in France, where rising dissatisfaction led to the French Revolution, beginning with
the storming of the Bastille prison on July 14, 1789 (see Figure III.2), and continu­
ing in various phases through the abolition of class distinction, the dissolution of
the monarchy, and the execution of the royal family and many of the aristocracy.
FIG. III.2 Storming of the Bastille, by Jean Houel. This landmark event. July 14.1789. marks the
start of the French Revolution and is still celebrated as the main national holiday in France.
French Revolution
171
rts and Ideas
T he late eig h teen th and early nin eteen th
centuries encom passed th e A m erican
R evolution, the French R evolution, the
co n q u est o f E urope by N apoleon, and
his su b seq u en t defeat. In societies ruled
by absolute m onarchs such as Austria,
there w as a g ro w in g sense o f individual
rights; the French "D eclaratio n o f the
Rights o f M an” an d th e A m erican D ec­
laration o f Independence w ere b o th p art
o f this rising tide o f co n cern for civil
liberties.
T h e publication o f books and new s­
papers allow ed fo r ready dissem ination
o f ideas; the coffeehouses o f Vienna,
Paris, an d L ondon provided th e space
for people to read a b o u t and discuss the
issues o f th e day; an d th e em erg in g lend­
ing libraries beg an to m ake a range o f
b o o k s available to custom ers. T h e loos­
ening o f class ties in society also p ro ­
duced a situation in w hich one m ig h t be
able to atten d a co n cert sim ply by paying
for a ticket (ra th e r than, say, because one
w as a m e m b er o f a noble's court).
T his w as an age in w hich h u m a n
reasoning (ra th e r th a n divine inspira­
tion o r historical au th o rity ) becam e
valued as a source o f p o w er an d k n o w l­
edge. Benjam in Franklin, Voltaire, Jean-
The Age o f Enlightenm ent
Jacques R ousseau, an d th e creato rs o f
th e French Encyclopedic all so u g h t to
increase h u m a n know ledge in th e in ter­
est o f increasing h u m a n goodness.
A desire for balance and reason led
away from th e theatrical and rhetorical
p o stu res o f B aroque a rt to w ard a classi­
cizing tre n d th a t is readily seen in a rt and
architecture, an d in the balanced phrases
and form s o f Classical m usic.
Science and Philosophy
C haracteristic o f E n lig h ten m en t ideals
is th e n o tio n th a t know ledge can be
accum ulated and dissem inated. N ew
advances in science— "natural philoso­
phy,” as it w as called— w ere m ade by
Benjam in Franklin, A ntoine Lavoisier,
Carl Linnaeus, and others. T h e crowning glory o f th e E nlightenm ent and its
m ost typical creation is th e m agnificent
Encyclopedic (1751-85), an illustrated,
thirty-five-volum e publication o f articles
on every possible subject, seeking to con­
tain all o f h u m a n know ledge (see Figure
III.3). An English-language effort in the
sam e direction w as th e Encyclopaedia
Britannica, first pro d u ced in Edinburgh,
1768-71.
B en jam in F ran k lin (1706-1790) w as
a pu blisher (Poor Richard’s Almanack), an
inventor, a scientist, and a m usician, in
addition to bein g a statesm an. H e signed
th e D eclaration o f Independence and
th e C o n stitu tio n o f the U nited States,
and w as am bassador to France from
1778 to 1785.
V oltaire (1694-1778), th e w itty essay­
ist, o u tsp o k en philosopher, and satirical
playw right, w as a stro n g advocate o f
civil rights an d o f social reform . Vol­
ta ire ’s Candide, a m ockery o f the o p ti­
m ist philosophy o f Leibniz (see p. 88)
rem ains one o f his m o st p o p u lar w orks.
H e w ro te a philosophical dictionary
and w as a substantial co n trib u to r to the
Encyclopedic.
Jean -Jacq u es R o u sseau (1712-1778)
w as a professional m usic copyist in Sw it­
zerland before h e b ecam e a fam ous nov­
elist and philosopher. His novel Emile, or
On Education, is a b o u t th e p rep aratio n
for responsible citizenship. Like Voltaire,
he w as an im p o rtan t co n trib u to r to the
Encyclopedic. His Social Contract is am o n g
th e m ost significant w orks o f political
philosophy, affecting m any o f the th in k ­
ers o f the tim e. H e w ro te a dictionary o f
m usic, and a light o p era called Le devin
du village (The Village Sage, 1752) th at w as
en o rm o u sly popular.
The Arts
FIG. III.3 An illustration from the Encyclopedic, edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond
d’Alembert. The work sought to illustrate and explain all the arts and sciences. Here we see
the interior of an instrument-maker’s shop.
172
PART
III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
In th e visual arts, th e sculptors A n to n io
C an o v a (1757-1822) in Italy an d Jean A n to in e H o u d o n in France (1741-1828,
scu lp to r o f Voltaire, W ashington, N apo­
leon, and Franklin) m anaged to find co n ­
siderable expression in often reserved
and balanced form s.
In England, the p ain ter J o sh u a
R ey n o ld s (1723-1792) specialized in
p o rtraits. A t a tim e w hen m o st people
o f color w ere represented as servants,
R eynolds’s Study o f a Black Man (see Fig­
u re II 1.4)— probably a p o rtra it o f Sam uel
Jo h n so n ’s servant Francis Barber, a for­
m e r Jam aican slave— afforded the sitter
a m easure o f respect.
FIG. 111.4 A portrait of Francis Barber, ca. 1770. by
Sir Joshua Reynolds. The subject is thought to be
a servant of Dr. Samuel Johnson.
The N eoclassical trend— a turn­
ing away from the ornamental
Baroque toward order, symmetry, and
simplicity— can be seen in the paint­
ings o f Jacq u es-L o u is D avid (17481825). His big canvases create gran­
deur out o f this turbulent period and
catalogue his ow n personal turm oil.
A ngelica K au ffm an (1741-1807),
the Swiss-born Austrian artist w ho
worked in England and Rome,
painted m any historical scenes as well
as imaginary portraits o f Shakespeare
and illustrations o f scenes from his
plays. She was the m ost successful
female painter o f the eighteenth cen­
tury, and retains her fam e today.
F ran cisco
G oya
(1746-1828),
painter to the kings o f Spain, pro­
duced handsom e official portraits as
w ell as darkly sinister works depicting
the horrors o f war. His C a p ric h o s — a
set o f prints and etchings representing
the weaknesses o f hum an society—
lead us out o f the clarity o f the Clas­
sical style toward the inwardness o f
Romanticism.
FIG. III.5 The church of St. Mary Magdalene (La Madeleine) in Paris, a neoclassic
church built on the model of the Pantheon in Rome.
Neoclassicism is clearly repre­
sented in the architecture o f the time.
Thom as Jefferson’s M onticello and
George W ashington’s M ount Vernon
in different ways reflect the traditions
o f classical architecture, and m onu­
mental buildings were often made in
conscious reflection o f classical m od­
els (see Figure III.5).
Literature
S am u el J o h n s o n (1709-1784), the
subject o f a fam ous biography by
James Boswell, single-handedly cre­
ated the first important dictionary o f
the English language. Johnson was an
essayist fam ous for his style and wit,
and his L iv e s o f th e P o ets and annotated
edition o f Shakespeare are lasting
contributions to criticism.
This was the beginning o f the age
o f the novel, and although Voltaire,
Johnson, and others w rote them,
the lasting works in English are by
J a n e A u sten (1775-1817). Her novels
S e n s e a n d S e n s ib ility (1811), P r id e a n d
PART III
(1813), M a n s fie ld P a r k (1814),
and E m m a (1816) give us realistic social
com m entary and earned her a perm a­
nent place in literature, although her
fame cam e only later in the nineteenth
century.
One o f G erm any’s m ost fam ous poet
and playwright was J o h a n n W o lfg an g
G o e th e (1749-1832), the author o f the
two-part drama F a u s t, w hich was enor­
m ously influential in literature and the
arts. His novels T h e A p p r e n tic e s h ip o f
W ilh e lm M e is te r and T h e S o r r o w s o f Y o u n g
W e r th e r , along with many plays, essays,
and philosophical works, have made him
a household nam e in world literature.
Poet and philosopher, J o h a n n F ried ­
rich S ch iller (1759-1805) was another
o f G erm any’s leading dramatists. He
was a close friend o f G oethe’s, and his
plays have been the standard fare in
Germany and served as the inspiration
for num erous operas, including M a r ia
S tu a r d a , W illia m T e ll, T u r a n d o t, and D o n
C a rlo . Parts o f his poem O d e to J o y were
incorporated into the last m ovem ent o f
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
P re ju d ic e
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
173
174
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
FIG. 111.6 Napoleon Bonaparte as
emperor of France, by the court
painter Jacques-Louis David (17481825).
The monarchies of England, Austria, Spain, and other European
countries kept a nervous eye on developments in America and in
France, and reacted in different ways: things became increasingly
democratic in England, increasingly repressive in Austria.
The figure of Napoleon Bonaparte looms over much of this
period (see his portrait, Figure III.6, left). He was a brilliant
young army officer, and his combination of military and political
talent brought Napoleon to the height of authority in France;
he seized power in 1799 and was proclaimed Consul for Life,
and ultimately emperor (he was crowned in the presence of the
pope in 1804). Napoleon conquered most of Europe in his short
time in power; Italy, Spain, Germany, and Austria were under his
control, but the invasion of Russia in 1812 was his downfall.
Exiled to the island of Elba, his escape and return to military
strength was finally overcome by the combined European forces
at Waterloo (1815).
At the Congress of Vienna (1815), representatives of the great
powers of Europe met to agree on the boundaries of post-Napoleonic Europe. Beethoven wrote a cantata for the Congress.
It is also said that the Congress of Vienna marks the begin­
ning of a new style of dress for gentlemen: long trousers that
came down to the tops of the shoes. Until now proper attire had
consisted of knee breeches with stockings. To consider the differ­
ences in attire between the two gentlemen in the foreground of
Bernardo Bellotto’s painting of the Mehlmarkt in Vienna (about
1760; see p. 211) and the figures in Julius Schmid’s painting of
the Schubert circle (painted in the late 1800s but representing the
1820s; see p. 234) is to see the enormous changes that took place
in European society in these few years: from the highly decorated,
polite, refined world of eighteenth-century aristocratic Europe to the Enlighten­
ment, post-revolutionary bourgeois urban society of 1820s Vienna.
Classic Musical Style
Melody
© Mozart: D o n Giovanni. Act 1,
Scene 9. “La ci darem la mano"
From a technical point of view, we might say that Classical music represents a
music of poetry, in direct contrast to the Baroque, which we suggested was a music
of rhetoric, that is, of prose. The shift from Baroque rhetoric to tuneful phrases
makes possible a new kind of form-building, based on keys and on multiple moods
and themes within an individual movement. The basso continuo was no longer
present, and a simpler melody and accompaniment, with varied rhythms, was a
typical texture.
The music of this period relies on melodies that come in paired phrases, like
rhymed lines of poetry. You might think of “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” as such
a representative melody (Mozart actually wrote a set of piano variations on the
tune). You’ll hear many other such melodies in the chapters to come: a question
phrase followed by an answer phrase; another pair of phrases, and so on. A great
example is the duet “La ci darem la mano” from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, in which
an artful seduction scene is built up from just such balanced phrases.
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
This is the age of the symphony, that marvelous kind of composition that is
made of a series (usually four) of separate compositions (called movements, from
the French word for speed) designed to be played in order and to provide a com­
prehensive experience for the listener. Unlike Baroque movements (arias, concerto
movements, and so forth), which are designed to develop a single mood and which
have one single musical intention, Classical movements tend to have at least two
themes, designed to contrast with each other, to create a tension, and then to
resolve it. Using relatively simple melodies, but putting them in a context of other
melodies and other keys, composers of Classical music created some of the grand­
est and most lasting of musical forms, and some of the music that lies at the heart
of the high art of Western culture.
Symphony
Style Comparisons at a Glance
BAROQUE MUSICAL STYLE
CLASSIC MUSICAL STYLE
Motoric rhythm
Varied rhythms
Long melodies using sequences
Themes made from paired phrases
Polarity of melody and bass
Focus on melody with subsidiary accompaniment
Basso continuo always present except for
solo instrumental works
N o basso continuo
Movements based on a single idea
Movements based on several themes
Genres: opera, oratorio, sonata, concerto
Genres: symphony, string quartet, concerto, opera, song
175
MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1787, PRAGUE:
W. A . Mozart’s Don G iovanni
0
C O R E REPERTO IRE
■LG24 Act 1. Scene 1, “Notte e giorno
faticar"
■LG25 Act 1,Scene 1,Ensemble
■LG26 Act 1,Scene S, Catalogue Aria
■LG27 Act 1, Scene 9, “La ci darem la
mano”
■LG28 Act 1, Finale
© V ID E O S
A U T H O R V ID E O S
■ Act 1. Scene 1: “Notte e giorno faticar
— “Leporello, ove sei?” (Track 11)
■ The aria “Notte e giorno faticar” from
M ozart’s D o n G io v a n n i
■ Act 1. Scene 5: “Ah! Chi me dice
mai"— “Chi e la?”— “Madamina, il
catalogo e questo" (Track 12)
■ The duet “La ci darem la mano," from
M ozart’s D o n G io v a n n i
■ Act 1. Scene 9: “La ci darem la mano”
(Track 13)
Introduction
“As the company is so small, the impresario is in a perpetual state of anxiety and
has to spare his people as much as possible, lest some unexpected indisposition
should plunge him into the most awkward of all situations, that of not being
able to produce any show whatsoever! So everything dawdles along here because
the singers, who are lazy, refuse to rehearse on opera days and the manager,
who is anxious and timid, will notforce them. ”
Mozart, October 15, 1787, writing from Prague to a friend
There are many candidates for the title of Greatest Opera Ever Written. Tastes
change, fashions come and go, and opera lovers and experts often disagree about
what makes an opera great. The fact that Don Giovanni ranks at or near the top of
everybody’s list says a lot about Mozart’s ability to fascinate, dazzle, and move us
with his dramatic music more than two hundred years after his death.
What does an opera written at the end of the eighteenth century for a secondstring opera company in a provincial capital have to say to us? And why are we
still listening to it? It goes without saying that the first answer has much to do
with Mozart’s music, but plenty of operas that have beautiful music don’t succeed
on stage. Other factors must help account for Don Giovanni’s permanence in the
operatic canon.
A second element is drama—what happens on stage and how the action is
amplified, explained, and projected by the music. In creating Don Giovanni, Mozart
had the advantage of working with one of the most skillful librettists of his
day—indeed, one of the greatest in history—an Italian poet and dramatist named
Lorenzo Da Ponte. He and Mozart wrote three operas together—the two others
are The Marriage of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) and Cost fan tutte (often translated,
freely, as Women Are Like That)—and all of them arc masterpieces.
A third factor in an opera's success is the quality of the performance. It is possi­
ble, of course, to think of Don Giovanni apart from a specific performance. A musi­
cal work is in some sense an independent idea that gets realized in different ways
on different occasions, and one could argue that the greatness of Don Giovanni
shines through even in a poor performance. But because a performance is the only
time when music, words, and action all happen at the same time, it follows that
only a performance can make us fully appreciate the quality of the work. Mozart
composed his opera with a particular performance in mind—he knew the theater
and he knew the singers, and it is he who brought all the elements together in an
opera that fit its company the way a glove fits a hand.
Don Giovanni is based on the famous story of Don Juan, the insatiable lover who
chases women, seduces them to add to his collection, and treats them as objects.
A highly unattractive character, without a doubt. And yet, as an archetype of a
certain kind of raw sexual appetite and power, Don Juan has appealed to many
playwrights, composers, poets, novelists, and even filmmakers. One reason may be
that his unsavory story contains the ingredients for high drama as well as low farce.
The particular version of the story that Mozart and Da Ponte used is at once
The music
The drama
The performance
178
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
Music, mood, and action
richly comic and deeply serious. For most of the opera Don Juan/Giovanni is a
swashbuckling, no-holds-barred seducer, evil but funny. In the end, though, he
meets his punishment, confronted by a judge in the form of a stone statue who
drags him down to Hell. The statue is the image of the virtuous Commendatore,
whom Don Giovanni kills in a duel at the beginning of the opera. By presenting
the legend of Don Juan as a morality tale disguised as comedy, Mozart and Da
Ponte made it palatable for genteel eighteenth-century audiences.
M ozarts music fits the characters and situations amazingly well. Even more
impressive is the way he uses the music to move the action along. In Monteverdi’s
Orfeo and Handel’s Messiah, as we’ve seen, the music reflects a series of moods,
one mood at a time; the action takes place mainly when the singers aren’t busy
telling us about their feelings. In Don Giovanni, however, Mozart is able to cause
a single person, or a group of people, to act in real time—to change their minds,
their partners, their positions, while the music is going on, almost as a result of the
changes in the music.
The close fit between music and action is one of Mozart’s special gifts. It explains
why audiences in the twenty-first century continue to laugh at Don Giovanni’s
amorous exploits—and perhaps shudder at his exemplary fate.
The Setting
PRAGUE IN 1787
The city of Prague, now the capital of the Czech Republic, was second in impor­
tance to Vienna in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was the capital of Bohemia,
which was one of many territories controlled by Emperor Joseph II of Austria.
Bohemia had once revolted against Austria, and the new “Bohemian” nobility
installed by its imperial rulers did all they could to make Prague an Austrian city.
FIG. 7.1 The Charles Bridge, begun in
the fourteenth century and finished
in the fifteenth. Lined with statues,
it was Prague’s only bridge across the
Moldau River when Mozart visited.
CHAPTER 7
W. A. M o z a r t ’s D o n G io v a n n i
179
FIG. 7.2 An exterior view of Count
Nostitz's Theater (the light-colored
building in the middle distance).
Officially opened in 1783, it was the
site of the first performance of
Mozart's D o n Giovanni.
Bisected by the Moldau River (Vltava in Czech), Prague was, and is, an excep­
tionally beautiful city. The splendid Charles Bridge (see Figure 7.1), lined by a dou­
ble row o f Baroque saints carved in stone, connected the ancient Kleinseite (“small
side”) on the west bank, with its medieval castle and monastery, to the Altstadt,
or Old Town, the biggest and busiest part of the city. East and south of Old Town
lay the Neustadt, or New Town, which despite its name traces its origins to the
fourteenth century.
Most of Prague’s 100,000 residents were bilingual. Although Czech was spoken
in homes and shops, German was the language of business and culture. Even the
city’s architecture was largely imported: the magnificent Church of St. Nicholas on
Old Town Square, erected in 1735, is typical of the fancifully ornate Baroque struc­
tures designed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by German or Italian
architects, most of whom came to Prague by way of Vienna. Many of the nobles
who built grand palaces and supported the arts in Prague preferred to spend their
time in the imperial capital.
Although Prague wasn’t in the same cultural league as Vienna, it had a remark­
ably rich musical life. A German observer from around the time of Don Giovanni’s
premiere was impressed with the locals’ love of music: “Nowhere does one find
so many children going about with instruments, especially the harp, and although
very young, nevertheless earning their living.” Music seemed to be everywhere—
in taverns, on the streets, and in private homes. Yet despite the frequency of aris­
tocratic house concerts and musical parties, it was not until 1783 that Prague had
a theater for the general public.
Count Nostitz’s Theater, built by the governor general of Bohemia, stood in
a square by itself on the east bank of the river in Old Town (see Figure 7.2). The
inscription above its imposing neoclassical portico, “Patriae et Musis” (Latin for
“To the native land and the Muses”) reflected the count’s desire to bring the arts
together here. It was in this theater that the premiere of Don Giovanni took place in
October 1787. Four years later, Mozart’s opera La clemenza di Tito (The Clemency of
Titus), written to celebrate the coronation of Leopold II as king of Bohemia, made
its debut on the same stage.
Language
Musical life
Count Nostitz's Theater
Mozart: Clem enza di Tito.
Overture
®
180
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
Among the oldest and best-preserved opera houses in Europe, Count Nostitz's
Theater was later renamed the Estates Theater and eventually became part of
Prague's National Theater. Despite massive flooding in 2002, it is still standing and
still giving productions of Mozart’s operas.
THE B O N D IN I O PERA C O M P A N Y
Credit for developing the Prague audience’s appetite for opera belongs largely to
an Italian singer and manager named Pasquale Bondini. After making his reputa­
tion as a bass in Prague and Dresden, he started an opera company of his own,
which alternated between a winter season in Prague and a summer season in
Leipzig, Germany. Bondini also hired theater companies to present German plays
for part of the season, organized balls and casino evenings, and was generally in
charge of major entertainments throughout the city of Prague (see A Description
of Pasquale Bondini, left).
Not surprisingly, Italian opera was Bondini’s specialty. As we saw in the Monte­
verdi chapter, Italy was the birthplace of opera, and by the late eighteenth century
its progeny had spread all over the Western world, from St. Petersburg, Vienna,
and Prague to London, Dublin, and Philadelphia. (Paris was an exception: the
chauvinistic French professed to like nothing but their own opera.) Italian opera
was generally considered the highest form of entertainment, where poetry, music,
and drama came together in the presence of the most elegant and fashionable
people. And the Italian style of singing, known today as bel canto (literally, beauti­
ful song), was held up as the model of taste and technique.
© Mozart: D on Giovanni,
Act 1. Trio. “Protegga” (bel canto)
Regardless of where the performances took place, Italian operas were almost
invariably sung in the original Italian. Apparently, it didn’t bother German, Rus­
sian, English, and American audiences that they couldn’t under­
stand the words. At least it was practical, since the singers were
A Description o f Pasquale Bondini
usually Italians. Every town of any size in Italy had an opera
house that produced several new works each year. In addition,
most major cities outside Italy had opera companies that were
his impresario offers good salaries, and pays
typically run by Italian impresarios (the Italian word for manag­
promptly, a reputation he has built up over many
years. He is an Italian, he has an honest charac­
ers) like Bondini, who naturally favored singers and composers
ter. and one can trust his word. He was formerly a good
from the home country.
T
comic actor___He is likewise the impresario of the local
Italian opera buffa. We have already said that Prague has
an extraordinary taste for music and it is very happy with
this opera, and this is a sign that it must be good. Herr
Bondini furthermore spares no expense in acquiring the
best and newest scores, in paying good men and women
singers so that they are happy to work with him .. . . He
has all the requisite knowledge of how to harmonize his
own gifts with those of many others, and a certain dry­
ness of character restrains the presumptuous ones with
whom he must often surround himself.
In M o z a r t ’s tim e , a s in o u r s , m a n y o p e r a s in g e r s h a d i n t e r n a ­
tio n a l c a r e e r s t h a t t o o k t h e m f r o m p la c e t o p la c e , p e r f o r m in g a
y e a r h e r e , a y e a r th e r e , d e p e n d in g o n w h o h ir e d t h e m a n d a t w h a t
pay. T h is n e t w o r k o f ( m o s tly ) Ita lia n s in g e r s t r a n s c e n d e d th e b o r ­
d e r s o f g e o g ra p h y , la n g u a g e , a n d p o litic s . T h e s y s te m w o r k e d
w e ll, p r o d u c in g a fa irly h o m o g e n e o u s p r o d u c t t h a t w a s in c o n ­
s ta n t a n d a lm o s t u n iv e rs a l d e m a n d .
The Bondini Opera Company in Prague consisted of seven
singers, all of them Italian, all trained in Italian opera houses,
and all employed in each of the operas he presented. Many of
the singers had performed with the company for several years.
In 1786, Bondini had produced another Italian opera by Mozart, his comic mas­
terpiece The Marriage of Figaro, which the newspaper Prager Oberpostamtszeitung
described as an unprecedented sensation. The overwhelming success of that pro­
duction led Bondini to commission Mozart to write Don Giovanni, which turned
out to be a singular stroke of good fortune, for Bondini as well as for posterity.
B o n d in i w a s n e i t h e r a s a la r ie d c o u r t c o m p o s e r , lik e M o n te v e r d i, n o r t h e m a n ­
a g e r o f a p r in c e ly t h e a t e r . H e w a s a n i n d e p e n d e n t c o n t r a c t o r w h o n e e d e d t o
CHAPTER 7
W. A. M o z a r t ’s D o n G io v a n n i
181
earn a living for himself and his employees. Nor, despite the largesse of its noble
founder, did Count Nostitz’s Theater operate like a court opera house, subsidized
by a royal patron and thereby obligated to respond to his wishes. Its purpose was
to please the public, who voted with their feet and their purses. In 1787, they voted
for more Mozart.
The Performance
Wolfgang Amade Mozart lived in Vienna, some 150 miles southeast of Prague, where
he was trying very hard to secure an official position at the court of Emperor Joseph
II. (Mozart himself never used the version of his name that we are most familiar with
today, except when he jokingly signed a letter "Wolfgangus Amadeus Mozartus.”)
FIG. 7.3 Leopold Mozart, with his
two talented children. Maria Anna
(called “Nannerl" by her brother) and
Wolfgang.
woLFGanGAinaDfc M o z a rr (1756-1791)
M o zart has
a
rep u tatio n
as
an
Don Giovanni w as not, how ever, a success in V ienna. D espite
inspired genius, a co m p o ser w hose
his a p p o in tm en t as a C h am b er M usician to the em peror, and
com positions have a perfection and a
despite fu rth e r o p eratic ventures, including Cost fa n tutte (1790,
clarity th a t has rarely been equaled.
libretto by D a P onte) and The Magic Flute (Die Zaubetflote, 1791),
M usic is th o u g h t to have p o u red o u t
a p o o r eco n o m y and M o zart’s inability to m anage his affairs
o f h im in an inspired to rren t.
left h im and his fam ily in increasingly difficult circum stances,
T h e tru th is a little m o re pedes­
and they repeatedly m oved to sm aller and ch eap er ap artm en ts.
trian. T h e talen ted son o f a Salz­
H e died from an u n k n o w n disease in D ecem b er 1791, leaving
b u rg violinist, M ozart and his sister,
b eh in d his u nfinished R equiem Mass.
w h o m h e called N annerl, w ere to u re d a ro u n d E urope, p erhaps
M o zart w as witty, am using, full o f fun and jokes, an d loved
exploited, as child prodigies (see Figure 7.3). T h e y o u n g Wolf­
p u n s and off-color h u m o r. H e h ad a ta len t for com plexity, as his
g an g w as em ployed, as his fath er was, by th e prince archbishop
skill at billiards an d c o u n te rp o in t attest; h e even devised a set
o f Salzburg. T ours w ith his fath er (th ro u g h o u t Italy, England,
o f dice th a t anyone could use to com pose a m in u et. His bril­
G erm any, and A ustria) m ade th e so n ’s talen t w ell know n, and
liant and im p ro m p tu lifestyle led to his rep u ta tio n for tossing
M ozart decided to seek his fo rtu n e independently in Vienna,
o ff his m usic, b u t th ere w as actually a g o o d deal o f h ard w ork
w here he h o p ed to establish h im self in a co u rt-sp o n so red posi­
involved in M o z a rt’s efforts, an d the clarity an d perfection o f
tion and gain fam e as an o p era com poser. H e did n o t succeed,
his m usic is an achievem ent o f a genius as w ell as a superb
b u t his fam e is n o w secure.
craftsm an.
In V ienna, M ozart stru g g led to find his w ay as a com poser.
H e organized concerts, created piano co n certo s fo r his ow n
In addition to his operas, h e is rem em b ered for his sy m p h o ­
nies and ch am b er m usic.
v irtu o so p erform ances, and co m p o sed sym phonies, ch am b er
m usic, and o th e r w orks. Mostly, how ever, he so u g h t co m m is­
sions for operas, since th a t w as w here h e felt his talen t lay, and
th a t w as h o w co m p o sers achieved success. His Abduction from
© Mozart: Symphony No. 4 0 .1. opening
© Mozart: Clarinet Quintet. II
© Mozart: Dies irae. from Requiem
the Seraglio (Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, 1782) was an en o r­
m ous success, an d on the stren g th o f it he b roke w ith th e arch­
M AJOR W O RK S: O peras, including Marriage o f Figaro, Don
bishop, defied his father, and m arried th e singer C onstanze
Giovanni, Abduction from the Seraglio, Cosifan tutte, an d The Magic
W eber (see Figure 7.4). U nfortunately, th e hoped-for co n tin u ed
Flute; 41 sym phonies; ch am b er m usic, including Eine kleine
success and financial security evaded him . H e scored a hit w ith
Nachtmusik; a b o u t 23 piano concertos and o th e r concertos;
Da P o n te’s lib retto o f The Marriage o f Figaro (1785), w hich,
Masses an d 1 R equiem (unfinished); and n u m e ro u s keyboard
along w ith The Abduction, m ade him fam o u s in P rag u e before
w orks and songs.
he traveled th ere in Jan u ary 1787.
182
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
© Mozart: "Prague" Symphony,
No. 38. IV
Lorenzo Da Ponte
Libretto
FIG. 7.4 Constanze Weber (17621842), a singer from a well-known
musical family, married Mozart in
1782.
A child prodigy, he had been composing operas and other kinds of music from a
very early age, as well as playing piano and violin under the tutelage of his affec­
tionate but domineering father, Leopold Mozart, who died in the spring of 1787.
Wolfgang, who was thirty-one years old at the time and at the peak of his powers,
had only four more years to live. (See biography, p. 181.)
Mozart’s travels in Germany, France, and Italy had made him an international
superstar. He visited Prague for the first time in January 1787, partly to savor the
recent triumph of The Marriage of Figaro (which had had its premiere in Vienna
the previous spring). During his month-long stay in the Bohemian capital, he gave
a number of public and private concerts, including the premiere of his delightful
“Prague” Symphony. He also conducted a special performance of Figaro, at which,
according to one account, “At once the news of his presence spread in the stalls,
and as soon as the overture had ended everyone broke into welcoming applause.”
Mozart loved it all, and Prague loved Mozart. After attending a high-society ball
on his first night in the city, he wrote to a friend: “I looked on . . . with the great­
est pleasure, while all these people flew about in sheer delight to the music of my
‘Figaro,’ arranged for contradances and German dances. For here they talk about
nothing but ‘Figaro.’ Nothing is played, sung or whistled but ‘Figaro.’. . . Noth­
ing, nothing but ‘Figaro.’ Certainly a great honour for me!” Both the composer—
who always seemed to be pressed for cash—and Bondini were eager to capitalize
on his success. So when the impresario offered him the fee of 100 ducats for his
next opera, Mozart didn’t have to think twice. (The sum was about half of the
admittedly small annual fee that Mozart would later be paid as Imperial Chamber
Musician.)
PREPARATIONS IN V IE N N A
Upon returning to Vienna in February, Mozart enlisted the services of the court
poet Lorenzo Da Ponte (see biography, p. 183), an ordained priest (despite his Jew­
ish background), a libertine, a political liberal, and, above all, a brilliant crafter of
opera librettos. (A libretto—“little book” in Italian—is the text of an opera.) A pro­
digious worker, Da Ponte was much sought after by composers, and Mozart was
lucky to get him. The Italian claims in his wonderful memoirs that he was working
on three librettos at the same time—morning, afternoon, and evening.
Da Ponte called Don Giovanni a dramma giocoso (literally, a playful drama)—the
usual term for a play or libretto that mixes serious and comic elements. In putting
the story together, he took care to include both kinds of character: three purely
serious nobles (the Commendatore, Donna Anna, and Don Ottavio), three purely
comic peasants (Zerlina, Masctto, and Leporello), and two so-called mezzo carattere
Characters in D o n
G io va n n i
The Commendatore, a Spanish grandee (bass)
Donna Anna, his daughter (soprano)
Don Ottavio, her Fiance (tenor)
Don Giovanni, a licentious young nobleman (baritone)
Leporello, his manservant (bass)
Donna Elvira, a lady of Burgos (soprano)
Zerlina, a peasant girl (soprano)
Masetto, her fiance (bass)
CHAPTER 7
W. A. M o z a r t ’s D o n G io v a n n i
183
L o r e n z o Da p o n T e U749-1838)
P art scholar and p a rt adventurer,
London. In 1805, b an k ru p tcy forced h im to decam p once again,
L orenzo Da P onte b eg an and en d ed
first to ru ra l Pennsylvania and th e n to N ew York City, w here
his career in th e classroom . As a
he reinvented h im self as a g ro c e r and bookseller, becam e an
y o u n g m an h e ta u g h t at sem inaries
A m erican citizen, an d tried w ith som e success to build an au d i­
in Italy (he en tered th e p riesth o o d
ence fo r Italian op era. D espite his checkered past, his em inence
in 1773), b u t a series o f run-ins w ith
w as such th at C o lum bia C ollege ap p o in ted him professor o f
th e au th o rities, w h o disapproved o f
Italian in 1825, a p o st h e held until his death.
his liberal political view s and co m ­
Da P o n te’s o p era librettos reveal a m astery o f dram atic
pulsive w om anizing, p ro m p te d h im
ch aracterizatio n an d pacing th a t is nearly equal to M o zart’s. In
to take refuge in G erm any. It w as th ere th a t he discovered his
his Memoirs, h e w ro te th a t “p o e try is the d o o r to m usic, w hich
talents as a p o et, translator, and librettist. A reco m m en d a­
can b e very h an d so m e, an d m uch adm ired for its exterior, b u t
tion to th e A ustrian c o u rt co m p o ser A ntonio Salieri b ro u g h t
n o b o d y else can see its in tern al beauties if the d o o r is w anting.”
him to Vienna in 1781, and tw o years later E m p ero r Joseph II
Da P onte often ad ap ted preexisting texts by Italian, French, and
ap pointed h im p o et to the co u rt theater.
G erm an playw rights; Don Giovanni, for exam ple, is partly based
In the next decade, D a P onte p ro d u ced librettos for operas
o n C arlo G o ld o n i’s play Don Giovanni Tenorio. Coincidentally,
by Salieri and M artin y Soler, as well as his th ree im m o rta l col­
a n o th e r D on Ju an opera, by the Italian co m p o ser G iuseppe
laboratio n s w ith M ozart: The Marriage o f Figaro, Don Giovanni,
G azzaniga, had its p rem iere in Venice in F ebruary 1787, and Da
and Cost fa n tutte. A fter th e e m p e ro r’s d eath in 1790, he fell o u t
P onte b o rro w ed freely from its libretto as well.
o f favor at th e co u rt an d decided to try his luck in Paris and
parts that are both comic and serious (Don Giovanni and Donna Elvira). (For the
cast of characters, see p.182.) Mozart must have had some role in shaping the
libretto, although we can’t be sure what it was. It was he, after all, who knew the
singers in Prague, which ones could act, and how their voices sounded.
When Mozart was asked to write a new opera for the Bondini Opera Company,
he knew that it could have no more than seven singers and that the roles should
be tailored to the members of this particular company. (Don Giovanni actually has
eight parts, but two of them, Masetto and the Commendatore, were sung by the
same person.) The fact that he was already familiar with most of the singers from
their performance of The Marriage of Figaro several months earlier made it pos­
sible for him to compose with specific voices and talents in mind even before he
left Vienna for Prague. Mozart said he liked to make an aria that fit a singer “as
perfectly as a well-made suit of clothes”
We’ll meet the members of the Bondini Company in a moment. First, though,
you will want to familiarize yourself with the story of Don Giovanni. Plots of
operas are seldom dramatic marvels; their purpose is to get people singing, in lots
of different situations. And that's what happens here, thanks to Da Ponte's genius
as a poet and librettist (see Plot of Don Giovanni, p. 184).
PREPARATIONS IN PRAGUE
B e c a u s e s o m e o f t h e m a n u s c r i p t p a p e r t h a t M o z a r t u s e d in h is h a n d w r i t t e n s c o r e
of
Don Giovanni
w a s m a d e in P r a g u e , w e k n o w t h a t h e c o n t i n u e d w o r k i n g o n
t h e o p e r a a l m o s t u n t i l t h e d a y o f t h e p r e m ie r e . (A n a ly s is o f p a p e r a n d m a n u f a c ­
t u r e r s ’ d is tin c tiv e w a t e r m a r k s h a s t a k e n m u c h o f t h e g u e s s w o r k o u t o f d a t i n g
The singers
184
PART III
© Plot o f
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
Don Giovanni
The opera takes place in Seville, Spain, in the 17th century.
ACT 1
Leporello, w aiting for his m aster outside th e C o m m e n d a ­
to re's house, com plains a b o u t th e m o n o to n y o f his life in
the com ic aria "N o tte e g io rn o faticar" ("W orking nig h t and
day”). 0 LG 24 ® V ideo (Track 11)
■ D o n n a A nna em erges, p u rsu ed by D on G iovanni. T he
C o m m en d ato re , ru sh in g o u t to save his daughter, is killed
by G iovanni in a duel.
LG 25
■ T he grieving A nna is co m fo rted by D on O ttavio.
■ D o n n a Elvira, a n o th e r o f D o n G iovanni’s conquests, gives
voice to h e r an g er in th e aria "Ah! Chi m i dice m ai” ("O h,
w h o can tell m e ”). Leporello m akes light o f his m a ste r’s
lechery in th e fam o u s C atalogue Aria
LG 26 ® V ideo
(Track 12), b u t Elvira, im placable, vow s to avenge herself.
■ N ear D on G iovanni’s palace, peasants are celeb ratin g the
approaching m arriage o f Z erlin a and M asetto. G iovanni
orders his m an serv an t to take th e o th ers inside an d proceeds
to w in Z erlina's h e a rt in th e fam ous d u et “La ci d arem la
m a n o ” ("T h ere w e will w ed ”). Q LG 27 ® V ideo (Track
13) Elvira b u rsts in, denounces h e r seducer, and spirits Z e r­
lina away.
■ A nna, belatedly recognizing G iovanni as h e r fath e r’s assas­
sin, bitterly accuses h im to O ttavio in th e aria “O r sai chi
l’o n o re ” (“N ow you know w h o so u g h t to steal m y h o n o r”).
(For a later p ro d u ctio n o f th e opera in V ienna, M ozart at
this p o in t inserted a so o th in g aria for O ttavio, “Dalla sua
pace” ["O n h e r p eace”].) T h e d efian t G iovanni sings a d rin k ­
ing song, “Fin c h ’h an del v in o ” (“As lo n g as th e re ’s w in e ”).
■ In th e garden o f G iovanni’s palace, Z erlina coquettishly
begs M asetto to forgive h e r infidelity.
■ In the finale o f Act 1 ( © LG 28) M asetto catches G iovanni
ogling Z erlina again. T h e no b lem an responds by inviting
the couple inside to dance. In th e en su in g confusion, he
lures Z erlin a into a side ro o m , she scream s for help, and
G iovanni tries to pin th e blam e o n Leporello. Elvira, A nna,
and O ttavio, w h o have com e to the ball disguised, strip off
th e ir m asks an d c o n fro n t G iovanni, w h o flees.
ACT 2
■ G iovanni and Leporello sw itch clothes so th a t servant and
m a ste r can w o o D o n n a Elvira an d h e r m aid, disguised as
each o ther. G iovanni sings his fam ous serenade "D eh, vieni
alia fin estra” ("O h, com e to yo u r w in d o w ”), accom panied
by a m andolin.
■ M asetto arrives, leading a posse o f peasants o u t for G iovan­
n i’s blood. G iovanni, still m asquerading as Leporello, sends
th e m o n a w ild goose chase and gives M asetto a thrashing.
■ T h e d eceptions co n tin u e in a com plicated sextet th a t takes
place in the co u rty ard o f D onna A nna’s palace. A nna, O tta ­
vio, Elvira, Z erlina, and M asetto un m ask Leporello (w ho
is still sp o rtin g his m a ste r’s finery); th e frightened servant,
p leading for mercy, slips away.
■ A fter singing his aria “11 m io te so ro ” ("M y treasu re”), O tta ­
vio places A nna in th e o th e rs ’ care an d sets o ff to notify the
police.
■ M eeting by chance in a cem ete ry th a t night, D on G iovanni
and Leporello are b ro u g h t up sh o rt by th e voice o f the
C o m m en d ato re issuing from th e dead m a n ’s statue. At
G iovanni’s insistence, Leporello invites the statue to dinner.
■ O ttavio expresses his im patience to w ed D o n n a A nna, w ho
rebukes h im for dish o n oring th e m e m o ry o f h e r m urdered
father.
■ G iovanni is in te rru p te d at d in n e r by Elvira, w ho begs him
to m e n d his ways, b u t to n o avail. N ext to arrive is the C o m ­
m e n d a to re ’s statue. As G iovanni shakes his icy hand, flam es
rise u p an d e n g u lf the u n re p e n ta n t sinner.
■ In th e alm o st obligatory happy ending, all (except G iovanni)
rejoice in a m o ralizing chorus.
m u s ic a l m a n u s c r ip t s .) A t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f O c to b e r , lo c a l n e w s p a p e r s t r u m p e t e d
t h e a r r iv a l o f " o u r c e l e b r a t e d H e r r M o z a r t ” a n d h is w if e C o n s t a n z e , w h o w a s
s e v e n m o n t h s p r e g n a n t . L o r e n z o D a P o n t e a r r iv e d c lo s e o n t h e i r h e e ls , r e a d y t o
m a k e w h a t e v e r la s t - m i n u t e r e v is io n s w e r e n e e d e d b e f o r e h e r e t u r n e d t o V ie n n a to
a t t e n d t o h is o t h e r c o m m i t m e n t s .
A l t h o u g h t h e M o z a r t s s ta y e d a t a n in n c lo s e t o t h e t h e a t e r , t h e f u n - lo v in g c o m ­
p o s e r s to le a w a y a s o f t e n a s h e c o u l d t o a f r i e n d ’s s u b u r b a n v illa , w h e r e h e a n d
D a P o n t e r e v e le d in t h e c o m p a n y o f lo c a l g e n t r y a n d c e le b r itie s , i n c l u d i n g th e
l i b r e t t i s t ’s o ld c o m r a d c - in - le c h e r y G i a c o m o C a s a n o v a . ( T h e l e g e n d a r y C a s a n o v a ,
CHAPTER 7
W. A. M o z a r t ’s D o n G io v a n n i
185
w h o s e n a m e w o u l d b e c o m e a b y w o r d f o r w o m a n i z i n g , w a s fin ­
is h in g u p h is o w n k is s - a n d - te ll m e m o i r s a n d m a y h a v e h a d a h a n d
in r e v is in g t h e l i b r e t t o f o r
Don Giovanni
a f t e r D a P o n t e ’s d e p a r ­
t u r e .) A c o n t e m p o r a r y w h o s a w M o z a r t in a c t i o n d e s c r ib e d h i m
a s t h e life o f t h e p a rty . “ H e a n t i c i p a t e d t h e d a y o f t h e p r e m i e r e a s
t h o u g h it w e r e a c a r n iv a l. H e p a id e x tr a v a g a n t c o u r t t o t h e la d ie s ,
p la y e d all k i n d s o f tr ic k s , t a l k e d in r h y m e , w h ic h g a v e h im e s p e c ia l
p le a s u r e , a n d e v e r y o n e l e t h i m d o a n y t h i n g h e w a n t e d a s i f h e
w e r e a c h ild o r a v e r y y o u n g m a n . ”
The first performance of Don Giovanni was scheduled to coin­
cide with a visit by Archduchess Maria Theresa, and time was of
the essence. In principle ten days were available for rehearsals, but
in practice Mozart found that there were only five, since the cast
refused to rehearse on days when they had a performance. (Such
insubordination would never have been tolerated at the court
theater in Vienna.) Even though Mozart had sent much of the
music in advance, the Bondini Company simply were not ready in
time. The opening night was postponed and the archduchess had
to be content with The Marriage of Figaro.
M o z a r t, w h o w a s u s e d t o w o r k i n g o n t i g h t s c h e d u le s , f u m e d .
“The stage personnel here are not as smart as those in Vienna,
when it comes to mastering an opera of this kind in a very short
time,” he complained to a friend. “Secondly, I found on my arrival
that so few preparations and arrangements had been made that it
would have been absolutely impossible to produce it on the 14th,
that is, yesterday.”
To be sure, there was a great deal to be done. Even if all the
singers had mastered their parts ahead of time, they still had to sing them to
Mozart's satisfaction, commit them to memory, and practice their movements on
stage. Like all comedies, Don Giovanni involves a lot of sight gags and other details
that are funny only if they are perfectly timed and acted. Normally, it would have
been Da Ponte’s job to sec to all this in rehearsal (there were no professional stage
directors in the eighteenth century), but since he stayed in Prague only a week or
so, the cast—with Mozart’s help, no doubt—had to work out a lot of the stage
business as they went along.
This wasn’t such a tall order as it sounds. The singers in Bondini’s troupe were
all professionals, the style of acting was well known to them, and they were used
to working together. Don Giovanni was played by the twenty-one-year-old Luigi
Bassi (see Figure 7.5). He was renowned for his fine baritone voice, but even more
for his acting. According to a contemporary report, “The worth of this artist is
known; he is a splendid comic, and in his gestures an excellent actor, a complete
connoisseur of mime, and—he doesn’t exaggerate.” Bassi’s impersonation of Lep­
orello in Act 2 must have been great fun to watch.
The prima donna, or leading lady, of the company was the soprano Caterina
Bondini, the impresario’s wife. Not surprisingly, perhaps, Mozart gave her more
solo music than anybody else. As Zerlina, she had some wonderfully simple, folklike melodies to sing. The fact that she was pregnant with her fifth child probably
made her portrayal of the warm-hearted peasant girl all the more sympathetic.
Zerlina’s scream from backstage in the finale of Act 1, when Giovanni is presum­
ably pawing her, is perhaps the greatest scream in all of opera; Mozart went to
extraordinary lengths to get the effect he wanted (see Zerlina’s Scream, p. 186).
FIG. 7.5 An engraving of Luigi Bassi
as Don Giovanni. Presumably he is
singing his second-act serenade to
Elviras maid. It is our only picture
claiming to represent the original
production, but it is not very accu­
rate: Bassi should be wearing Leporello’s clothes.
Prima donna
186
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
Mozart on Zerlina’s Scream
Joseph Svoboda, the concertmaster, recollecting the
rehearsal:
t the final rehearsal of the opera Mozart was not
at all satisfied with the efforts o f a young and very
pretty girl, the possessor of a voice of greater pu­
rity than power, to whom the part o f Zerlina had been al­
lotted. The reader will remember that Zerlina. frightened
at Don Giovanni’s too pronounced love-making, cries for
assistance behind the scenes. In spite o f continued rep­
etitions. Mozart was unable to infuse sufficient force into
the poor girl’s screams, until at last, losing all patience, he
clambered from the conductor’s desk on to the boards.
At that period neither gas nor electric light lent facility to
stage mechanism. A few tallow candles dimly glimmered
among the desks of the musicians, but over the stage
and the rest of the house almost utter darkness reigned.
Mozart’s sudden appearance on the stage was therefore
not noticed, much less suspected, by poor Zerlina. who
at the moment when she ought to have uttered the cry
received from the composer a sharp pinch on the arm.
emitting, in consequence, a shriek which caused him to
exclaim: “Admirable! Mind you scream like that tonight!"
A
Teresa Saporiti (see Figure 7.6), the Donna Anna, was
Caterina Bondini’s twenty-four-year-old sister. According to a
not-very-flattering 1782 report, she was “a complete beginner
as an actress, and halfway so as a singer; not so gifted, however,
in her figure.” Donna Elvira was played by Caterina Micelli, the
third-ranking woman of the company. We don’t know much
about her, but Mozart was familiar with her voice and gave her
the jagged, somewhat hysterical music that often characterizes
Elvira—the one woman in the opera in whom Don Giovanni
meets his match.
Both Anna and Don Ottavio (the tenor Antonio Baglioni)
had difficult, florid music appropriate for personages of high
rank. Indeed, Ottavio's second-act showpiece “Il mio tesoro”
(“My treasure”© ) was so hard that Mozart had to compose
an alternate aria when he revised the opera for a performance
in Vienna with a different Ottavio. As the newest member of
the company, Baglioni was unknown to Mozart, and there are
conflicting reports of his performance. One critic said that he
blended “acting and singing in the most masterful way,” while
another complained that he “industriously collected all the bad
habits of Italian artists and nonartists.”
F e lic e P o n z ia n i, t h e b a s s w h o p la y e d L e p o r e llo , h a d s u n g th e
title r o le in
The Marriage of Figaro.
H e w a s g o o d a t fa s t d e liv e r y
o f t e x t ( M o z a r t g a v e h i m p l e n t y o f th is k i n d o f
patter song),
a n d h is ta l e n t s a s a c o m e d i a n m u s t h a v e c o m e in h a n d y w h e n
h e h a d t o d r e s s a s h is m a s t e r , s in g w i t h h is m o u t h fu ll, i m i t a t e t h e C o m m e n d a t o r e ’s s t a t u e , a n d p e r f o r m o t h e r tric k s .
FIG. 7.6 An engraving of Teresa
Saporiti. a member of the Bondini
Opera Company in Prague, who
played the role of Donna Anna.
© Mozart: D on Giovanni. Ottavio.
“H mio tesoro
The bass Giuseppe Lolli was double-cast as the Commendatore and Masetto.
After the Commendatore’s statue made his appearance at the end of the opera,
Lolli had only moments to change costume and come back on stage as Masetto
for the big finale. Lolli must have been equally versatile as a singer, because he had
to perform noble music as the Commendatore, unearthly music as the statue, and
peasant music as Masetto.
It’s not hard to guess why Mozart held off composing some of the music for
Don Giovanni until he got to Prague. The charming chorus of peasants in the first
act, for example, probably wasn’t written earlier because Mozart didn’t know
whether Bondini would pay extra for a chorus, and if so, whether it would be any
good. Don Giovanni’s beautiful serenade in Act 2 was composed in Prague too;
maybe Mozart wanted to be absolutely sure that it would be a perfect fit for Bassi's
voice. As for the overture, there are all sorts of stories about the ink being still wet
on the orchestra’s parts at the first performance.
M O N D A Y , O C T O BER 29,1787, 7 P.M.
After one last infuriating delay (see Mozart Grows Impatient, p. 187), the premiere
was finally set for October 29.
Count Nostitz’s Theater was small by modern standards, seating about eight
hundred people (see Figure 7.7). The ornate, horseshoe-shaped auditorium was
decorated with white and gold, and the five tiers of boxes along the side and back
walls glittered with candlelight and the jewels of the ladies. (In the days before gas
CHAPTER 7
W. A. M o z a r t ’s D o n G io v a n n i
187
FIG. 7.7 A contemporaneous engrav­
ing of Count Nostitz’s Theater. Like
most eighteenth-century theaters, it
has a series of boxes in tiers around
the auditorium; an orchestra pit at
ground level, and on the stage, a
series of wings that can be used to
change settings.
a n d , la te r , e le c tr ic a l lig h tin g , t h e a t e r s w e r e n o t o r i o u s f ir e tr a p s .) T h e o p e n i n g n i g h t
h a d l o n g b e e n s o ld o u t , a n d t h e a u d i e n c e w a s a b u z z w i t h e x c it e m e n t. E v e r y o n e
w a s e a g e r t o s e e w h e t h e r M o z a r t 's l a t e s t w o r k w o u l d b e a s s u c c e s s f u l a s P r a g u e ’s
© Mozart: D on Giovanni. Overture,
opening
The Marriage of Figaro.
Mozart himself conducted the performance. There were cheers when he entered
the hall and took his place at the piano to lead the orchestra and accompany the
recitatives. (The piano of Mozart’s day, with its wooden frame and smaller dimen­
sions, looked quite different from today’s steel-framed versions; see Figure 7.8.)
The orchestra was arranged at a long music desk so that the players faced each
other in two lines; the piano was at one end so that Mozart, sitting sideways to
the stage, could look down the lines of players, and also could
glance toward the singers.
Mozart Grows
f a v o r ite o p e r a ,
Impatient
T h e s lo w i n t r o d u c t i o n o f t h e o v e r t u r e b e g a n w i t h t w o m a s ­
siv e c h o r d s ©
t h a t s e n d a s u b lim in a l s ig n a l t h a t
Don Giovanni
w a s n o t a c o m ic o p e r a , p u r e a n d s im p le : t h e r e w o u l d b e g o o d
t u n e s a n d p le n t y o f la u g h s , b u t t h e m u r d e r t h a t s t a r t e d t h e p lo t
w o u ld u ltim a te ly b e a v en g e d . T h e a u d ie n c e w o u ld la te r re c ­
o g n iz e t h e s e s a m e t e r r if y in g c h o r d s w h e n t h e y r e t u r n e d a t t h e
e n d o f th e o p e ra , n o w fe a tu rin g th e d a rk s o n o ritie s o f tr o m ­
b o n e s , a c c o m p a n y in g th e e n tra n c e a n d s p e e c h o f th e C o m ­
m e n d a t o r e ’s s t a t u e .
T h e s ta g e o f C o u n t N o s t i t z ’s T h e a t e r , lik e t h a t o f all t h e a t e r s
a t t h e t i m e a n d m a n y t h e a t e r s s till, h a d p a i n t e d p a n e ls o n e a c h
s id e , a n d a p a i n t e d b a c k d r o p . S c e n e c h a n g e s w e r e m a d e b y s lid ­
in g t h e p a n e ls in o r o u t a n d c h a n g i n g t h e b a c k d r o p , a ll in fu ll
v ie w o f t h e a u d ie n c e . ( I t w a s n o t u n til t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y
After the premiere was p u t off a secon d time. M o zart
wrote to a friend in frustration:
t was fixed for the 24th. but a further postponement
has been caused by the illness of one of the singers. As
the company is so small, the impresario is in a perpet­
ual state of anxiety and has to spare his people as much
as possible, lest some unexpected indisposition should
plunge him into the most awkward of all situations, that
of not being able to produce any show whatsoever! So
everything dawdles along here because the singers, who
are lazy, refuse to rehearse on opera days and the man­
ager. who is anxious and timid, will not force them.
188
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
FIG. 7.8 A piano of the sort preferred by Mozart. It is much smaller
and lighter in sound than today s steel-framed models. Mozart
accompanied the recitatives and conducted D o n Giovanni from an
instrument like this one.
FIG. 7.9 An eighteenth-century set
design for a graveyard. This might
resemble the graveyard scene in D on
Giovanni in which the statue of the
murdered Commendatore speaks,
and accepts Don Giovanni’s invita­
tion to dinner.
that theaters began lowering the front curtain during an
act to conceal scene changes.)
A scene could be played on a “short” set—that is, one
where the backdrop was placed near the front of the stage,
creating a shallow playing area. A "long” set could then
be prepared behind it, which was revealed by removing
the backdrop and changing the front panels. The alterna­
tion of long and short sets allowed for more or less instant
scene changes and continuous action. This was especially
useful in Don Giovanni, because, as we will see, it had
many scenes (see Figure 7.9).
Although there are no surviving records of the scen­
ery used in the Prague production, we can readily imag­
ine the surprising spectacle that the audience witnessed
in the next-to-last scene, when the fires of Hell rose up to
swallow Don Giovanni as the orchestra reprised the fate­
ful music heard at the beginning of the overture. As small
as Count Nostitz’s Theater was, its stage equipment was
far more sophisticated than the simple machinery avail­
able to Monteverdi in Mantua. There was plenty of space
overhead from which scenery and people could be low­
ered, and winches for raising and lowering and sliding.
And there was a trapdoor, indispensable for the flames of
Hell and the infernal chorus who welcome Don Giovanni
to a “worse evil.” A cloud of smoke, the simulation of
the flames of Hell—perhaps with torches—and other
special effects were meant to make the audience gasp as
the miscreant tumbled to his infernal doom.
CHAPTER 7
W. A. M o z a r t ’s D o n G io v a n n i
The M usic
O PER A SERIA A N D O PER A BUFFA
E i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y I ta lia n o p e r a c o m e s in t w o b a s ic ty p e s :
o r tr a g i c , o p e r a ) a n d
opera buffa ( c o m ic
opera seria
( s e r io u s ,
Opera seria
o p e r a ) . O p e r a s e r ia , a s w e s a w in c o n n e c ­
t i o n w i t h H a n d e l , g e n e r a lly d e a ls w i t h m y th ic a l o r h is to r ic a l s u b je c ts . T h e h u m a n
c h a r a c t e r s a r e a ll g o d s o r m e m b e r s o f t h e n o b ility — k in g s , q u e e n s , p r in c e s , p r i n ­
c e s s e s , k n ig h ts , g e n e r a ls , a n d s o f o r t h — a n d b e h a v e in e l e v a te d f a s h io n . M o z a r t a n d
H a n d e l b o t h w r o t e s p le n d i d e x a m p l e s o f s e r io u s o p e r a .
C o m i c o p e r a , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , is n o t p e o p l e d e x c lu s iv e ly w i t h n o b le s . A n
o p e r a b u f f a ( w h ic h is w h a t M o z a r t h i m s e l f c a lle d
Don Giovanni) c a n
Opera buffa
h a v e s e r v a n ts ,
d r u n k s , b u f f o o n s , o r a n y s o r t o f c h a r a c t e r a t a ll. T h e r e is n o e x p e c t a t i o n t h a t e v e r y ­
b o d y m u s t a c t in a h ig h - m i n d e d f a s h io n . I n d e e d , it is t h e m i x t u r e o f p e o p l e o f v a r i­
o u s s o c ia l r a n k s t h a t o f t e n c a u s e s t h e c o m p l i c a t i o n s in t h e p lo ts o f c o m ic o p e r a s
lik e M o z a r t ’s
Cosifan tutte,
a s w e ll a s in o p e r a s lik e
Don Giovanni t h a t
s tra d d le th e
lin e b e t w e e n c o m e d y a n d tra g e d y .
Nowadays we arc not much used to plays and operas based on differences in
social class. At the end of the eighteenth century, however, such distinctions were
very important, and it could be risky to make fun of them. The French Revolu­
tion, which attempted to do away with hereditary social distinctions, would break
out in 1789, and the tendencies toward individual liberties and self-expression that
we call by the general name of the Enlightenment were firmly resisted by the old
regime, even in such relatively enlightened courts as that of Emperor Joseph II of
Austria.
T o d e p ic t s e r v a n t s o u t w i t t i n g t h e i r m a s t e r s o n t h e s ta g e , o r a v a le t s i n g in g a s e r ­
e n a d e t o a n o b l e lady, m i g h t b e d a n g e r o u s l y s u b v e r s iv e t o t h e s o c ia l o r d e r . C o n s e ­
q u e n tly , in A u s tr ia , F r a n c e , a n d m o s t o t h e r E u r o p e a n c o u n t r i e s , a n y o p e r a o r p la y
p r o d u c e d in p u b lic h a d t o b e a p p r o v e d b y o ffic ia l c e n s o r s b e f o r e it c o u l d b e p e r ­
f o r m e d . P i e r r e B e a u m a r c h a is ’s
Marriage of Figaro— t h e
c o m e d y o n w h ic h M o z a rt
a n d D a P o n te b a s e d t h e i r o p e r a — w a s c o n s i d e r e d s o in c e n d i a r y t h a t it w a s b a n n e d
in P a r is a n d V ie n n a f o r s e v e ra l y e a r s .
C o m p o s e r a n d lib re ttis t w e re o n sa fe r g r o u n d w ith
Don Giovanni;
a f t e r a ll, n o
o n e c o u l d o b j e c t t o s e e in g a n o t o r i o u s l i b e r t i n e g e t t i n g h is j u s t d e s e r ts . (In c a s e
a n y o n e m is s e d t h e p o i n t , t h e s u b title o f t h e o p e r a w a s
Libertine Punished.)
II dissoluto punito,
or
The
Iro n ic a lly , M o z a r t h i m s e l f w a s n o r e s p e c t e r o f s o c ia l r a n k o r
p riv ile g e , a s h is o f t e n s c a to lo g ic a l a n d s o m e t i m e s b l a s p h e m o u s l e t t e r s s h o w . In a
w ay , h e w a s t h e p r e c u r s o r o f t h e s e lf - e m p lo y e d c o m p o s e r s a n d v i r t u o s o s o f th e
n i n e t e e n t h c e n tu r y , w h o c o n s i d e r e d t h e m s e lv e s t h e e q u a ls o f p r in c e s a n d p r e la te s .
A s f o r D a P o n t e , t h e p a r a lle ls b e t w e e n h is r o g u is h , p la y b o y b e h a v i o r a n d D o n
G i o v a n n i ’s v e n a l s in s w o u l d n o t h a v e b e e n lo s t o n h is c o n t e m p o r a r i e s .
M U S IC A L STRUCTURE
Recitatives
M u s ic a lly s p e a k in g , t h e f ir s t t h i n g m o s t p e o p l e p r o b a b l y n o t i c e in
a p e rfo rm an c e o f
Don Giovanni is
t h e d if f e r e n c e b e t w e e n r e c ita tiv e a n d o t h e r
k in d s o f m u s ic . “ D r y ” r e c ita tiv e s , a s w e s a w in o u r d is c u s s io n s o f M o n t e v e r d i ’s
Orfeo a n d
H a n d e l ’s
Messiah,
a r e t h e p a s s a g e s w h e r e t h e s in g e r s a r e a c c o m p a n i e d
b y h a r p s i c h o r d o r , la te r , p ia n o . ( I n P r a g u e , M o z a r t h i m s e l f w a s t h e a c c o m p a n is t ,
a l t h o u g h a s e c o n d p ia n is t w a s p r o b a b ly o n h a n d t o ta k e o v e r w h ile h e w a s
Opera and the censors
189
190
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
® Video. Mozart: D on Giovanni,
“Leporello. ove sei?”
conducting and to reinforce the large ensembles.) The pianist plays brisk, short
chords while the characters advance the plot in dialogue, usually delivered at
talking speed and with speech inflections. The music of Mozart’s recitatives is
pretty formulaic; this is not the part of the opera that makes us weep—although
it may well make us laugh if we understand what’s being said. The places where
Mozart uses accompanied recitatives, by contrast, arc among the most passionate
places in the work. (For the distinction between “dry” and accompanied recitatives,
see pp. 120-29.)
B e t w e e n s t r e t c h e s o f r e c ita tiv e c o m e t h e m u s ic a l p ie c e s — s o lo a ria s , d u e ts ,
tr io s , q u a r t e t s , a n d la r g e r e n s e m b le s — t h a t a r e a c c o m p a n i e d b y t h e o r c h e s t r a a n d
a r c t h e m a i n r e a s o n m o s t p e o p l e g o t o t h e o p e r a . T h e s e p ie c e s a r e t h e b u ild in g
b lo c k s o f la r g e r u n i t s c a lle d n u m b e r s , s c e n e s , a n d a c ts .
Don Giovanni h a s
t w o a c ts ,
w h ic h a r e d iv id e d i n t o t w e n t y - f o u r (m u s ic a l) n u m b e r s a n d th ir ty - s e v e n ( d r a m a tic )
s c e n e s . T h e l a t t e r a r e j u s t lik e s c e n e s in a s ta g e p la y a n d u s u a lly , b u t n o t a lw a y s ,
c o r r e s p o n d w i t h c h a n g e s o f s c e n e ry .
M o z a r t c o m p o s e d s c e n e s a s a s e r ie s o f in d iv id u a l m u s ic a l n u m b e r s — t h a t is, a ria s
a n d e n s e m b le s , c o n n e c t e d b y r e c ita tiv e s . S o m e t i m e s a s in g le s c e n e c a n e n c o m p a s s
q u i t e a l o t o f a c tio n . T h e o p e n i n g n u m b e r o f
Don Giovanni,
f o r in s ta n c e , in c lu d e s
L e p o r e l l o ’s o p e n i n g a r ia , t h e e n t r a n c e o f D o n n a A n n a , D o n G io v a n n i, a n d th e
C o m m e n d a t o r e , a n d t h e s w o r d f ig h t r e s u l t i n g in t h e C o m m e n d a t o r e ’s d e a t h , a ll in
o n e c o n tin u o u s se q u e n c e .
T h e l o n g e s t s c e n e s in
Don Giovanni
a r e t h e fin a le s o f t h e t w o a c ts , w h ic h c o n ­
s is t o f v a r io u s k i n d s o f m u s ic , u n i n t e r r u p t e d b y r e c ita tiv e s , a n d c a n e a s ily la s t a
fu ll q u a r t e r o f a n h o u r . D a P o n t e ’s v ie w o f a fin a le w a s th is : “ E v e r y b o d y s in g s;
a n d e v e r y f o r m o f s in g i n g m u s t b e a v a ila b le — t h e
adagio,
th e
t h e i n t i m a t e , t h e h a r m o n i o u s , a n d t h e n — n o is e , n o is e , n o is e ;
allegro, t h e andante,
f o r t h e finale a l m o s t
a lw a y s c lo s e s in a n u p r o a r .”
® Video. Mozart: D on Giovanni,
“Notte e giorno faticar”
® Video. Mozart: D on Giovanni,
"Ah! Chi mi dice mai”
Arias The distinction between recitative and aria, in Mozart's operas as in the
music of Handel and Bach, is dramatic as well as musical. When an aria is being
sung, time generally slows down or stops: it’s like a freeze-frame in a film, a moment
in which a character reflects on or explains something (Leporello’s “Notte e giorno
faticar”), exclaims in joy or outrage (Elvira’s “Ah! Chi mi dice mai”), or reacts to
the unfolding of the plot (Anna’s “Or sai chi l’onore”). One thing Mozart’s arias do
not do, as a rule, is advance the action very much. This is what allowed him, when
revising the opera for Vienna, to omit Don Ottavio’s first-act aria and substitute an
easier one for the new tenor in Act 2.
A g o o d l i b r e tti s t ( a n d c o m p o s e r ) w ill a r r a n g e it s o t h a t e v e r y o n e h a s a n a p p r o ­
p r ia te a m o u n t o f m u s ic t o s in g . A lm o s t e v e r y c h a r a c t e r in
Don Giovanni g e t s
tw o
a ria s . D o n n a A n n a ’s a r e s e r io u s , g r a n d , a n d v ir t u o s ic , a s b e f its a la d y o f n o b l e r a n k .
D o n n a E l v ir a ’s a ria s , b o t h in A c t 1, a r e n o t s o g r a n d , b e c a u s e s h e is le s s n o b le a n d
is s o f l u s te r e d t h a t s h e c a n ’t b e p r o p e r l y r e f le c tiv e . Z e r l i n a ’s a r ia s s o u n d lik e fo lk
t u n e s b u t a r e l o n g e r a n d m o r e c o m p le x t h a n w e m i g h t e x p e c t o f a p e a s a n t g ir l
( u n ti l w e r e m e m b e r t h a t t h e o r i g i n a l Z e r l i n a w a s t h e c o m p a n y ’s p r i m a d o n n a ) .
L e p o r e llo s in g s h is " N o t t e e g i o r n o f a tic a r ” a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e o p e r a a n d h is
C a t a l o g u e A ria a fe w s c e n e s la te r . P o o r D o n O t t a v i o g e ts o n ly o n e a r ia ( a l t h o u g h
to d a y t e n o r s u s u a lly c a n ’t r e s is t s i n g in g b o t h “ D a lla s u a p a c e ”— i n s e r t e d l a t e r fo r
t h e V ie n n a p r o d u c t i o n — a n d “ Il m i o t e s o r o ” ). D o n G io v a n n i h a s , a m o n g o t h e r
th in g s , a te r r if ic s e r e n a d e (“ D e h , v ie n i a lia f i n e s t r a ” ) a n d a r o u s i n g d r i n k i n g s o n g
( “ F in c h ’h a n d e l v i n o ” ). N e v e r t h e le s s , th e title c h a r a c t e r in t h e o p e r a d o e s n ’t h a v e
CHAPTER 7
W. A. M o z a r t ’s D o n G io v a n n i
a s in g le fu ll-s c a le a ria ; p e r h a p s i t ’s b e c a u s e G io v a n n i d o e s n ’t r e a lly r e f le c t o n h is
a c ti o n s ( o r t h e i r c o n s e q u e n c e s ) .
Ensembles
M o z a r t ’s g r e a t d r a m a t i c c o n t r i b u t i o n is in t h e e n s e m b le s , w h e r e s e v ­
e r a l c h a r a c t e r s n o t o n ly s in g b e a u t i f u l m u s ic b u t a d v a n c e t h e p l o t a t t h e s a m e tim e .
T h e r e a r e e n s e m b le s in w h ic h e v e r y b o d y s p e a k s a t o n c e , b u t e x p r e s s in g d if f e r e n t
id e a s a n d fe e lin g s — th is w o r k s e s p e c ia lly w e ll in t h e fin a le s . T h e r e a r e e n s e m b le s
in w h ic h c h a r a c t e r s c h a n g e t h e i r m in d s : Z e r l i n a , f o r e x a m p l e , fe e ls v e r y d if f e r e n tly
t o w a r d D o n G io v a n n i a t t h e e n d o f t h e i r d u e t “ L a c i d a r e m la m a n o ” t h a n s h e d id
a t t h e b e g in n in g .
® Video (Track 13). Mozart: Don
Giovanni, “La ci darem la mano"
T h e r e a r c a ls o la r g e r e n s e m b l e s o f c o n s id e r a b le m u s ic a l a n d e m o t i o n a l c o m ­
p le x ity . F o r e x a m p l e , t h e fir s t- a c t q u a r t e t “ N o n ti fid a r, o m i s e r a ” ( “ D o n ’t t r u s t
h i m , p o o r t h i n g ” ) in v o lv e s D o n n a A n n a a n d D o n O tta v io , w h o a r c s e e k i n g D o n
G i o v a n n i ’s h e l p ( n o t k n o w i n g t h a t h e ’s t h e m u r d e r e r ) ; D o n n a E lv ir a , w h o tr i e s t o
© Mozart: Don Giovanni, Act 1.
Scene 12. “Non ti fidar"
w a r n t h e m ; a n d G io v a n n i, w h o b r u s h e s E lv ira o f f ( “T h e p o o r g ir l, s h e ’s c ra z y , m y
f r ie n d s ” ), w h ile p r e t e n d i n g t o b e w illin g t o f in d a n d p u n i s h t h e o f f e n d e r ( t h a t is,
h im s e lf).
T h e fin a le o f A c t 1— in v o lv in g a c h a n g e o f s c e n e , a v a r i e t y o f t e m p o s a n d m o o d s ,
a m i n u e t h e a r d f ir s t t h r o u g h t h e w i n d o w f r o m o u ts id e D o n G io v a n n i’s h o u s e a n d
t h e n f r o m in s id e a s t h e f ir s t o f t h r e e s i m u l t a n e o u s d a n c e s a n d c u l m i n a t i n g in Z e r lin a ’s f a m o u s s c r e a m f r o m o f f s ta g e — r e w a r d s m a n y lis te n in g s . T h e fin a le c o n c lu d e s
w i t h a la s t - m i n u t e b u r s t o f a d r e n a lin e , t h e s o - c a lle d
stretta, w h e r e
th in g s g o fa s te r,
Stretta
e v e r y b o d y s in g s , a n d a ll is c o n f u s io n . T h a t ’s w h a t e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y a u d ie n c e s
e x p e c te d in th is s o r t o f c o m ic o p e r a . N o b o d y c o m p o s e d it b e t t e r t h a n M o z a r t , a n d
n o b o d y w r o t e it b e t t e r t h a n D a P o n te .
THE ORCHESTRA
T h e o r c h e s t r a in P r a g u e w a s fu ll o f e x t r a o r d i n a r i l y g o o d p la y e r s . B o h e m ia in g e n ­
e r a l, a n d e s p e c ia lly P r a g u e , w a s k n o w n f o r e x c e lle n t m u s ic a l t r a i n i n g , a n d B o h e ­
m i a n m u s ic ia n s w e r e e m p lo y e d t h r o u g h o u t E u r o p e . T h e p la y e r s in t h e o p e r a
o r c h e s t r a w e r e r e s i d e n t s o f P r a g u e , n o t Ita lia n s w h o tr a v e le d w i t h t h e B o n d in i
C o m p a n y . T h e i r j o b s w e r e n o t f u ll- tim e , s in c e t h e y p la y e d f o r th e o p e r a o n ly w h e n
t h e c o m p a n y w a s in t o w n . N e v e r th e le s s , th e y w e r e v e r y w e ll r e s p e c te d ; t h e w o o d ­
w i n d p la y e r s , in p a r tic u la r , w e r e f a m o u s ly c o m p e t e n t , a n d M o z a r t ’s m u s ic p la y s t o
t h e i r s tr e n g th s .
T h e o rc h e s tr a fo r th e P ra g u e p e rfo rm a n c e o f
Don Giovanni
w a s s m a ll b y
t o d a y ’s s ta n d a r d s . T h e s t r i n g s e c t i o n c o n s is te d o f six v io lin s — t h r e e fir s ts a n d th r e e
s e c o n d s — a n d t w o e a c h o f v io la s , c e llo s , a n d d o u b l e b a s s e s . (B y c o m p a r i s o n , a
m o d e r n o p e r a o r c h e s t r a m i g h t h a v e tw e lv e f ir s t v io lin s a n d t e n s e c o n d s .) T h e r e
w e r e a ls o p a ir s o f f lu te s , o b o e s , c la r in e t s , b a s s o o n s , a n d F r e n c h h o r n s . P a irs o f
t r u m p e t s a n d k e t t l e d r u m s c o m p l e t e d t h e r e g u l a r r o s te r .
T h i s w a s a ty p ic a l o r c h e s t r a o f M o z a r t ’s t i m e . B e e th o v e n w o u l d r e c o g n iz e it,
a n d i n d e e d w o u l d w r i t e f o r j u s t s u c h a n o r c h e s t r a o n m a n y o c c a s io n s . I f a la r g e r
e n s e m b le w a s n e e d e d , m o r e s tr i n g p la y e r s w o u l d n o r m a l l y b e a d d e d , w i t h o u t
in c r e a s in g t h e n u m b e r o f w o o d w in d s .
T h e sco re o f
Don Giovanni, h o w e v e r ,
c a lle d f o r a n u m b e r o f e x t r a p la y e r s . T h r e e
s m a ll s ta g e b a n d s a r e n e e d e d in t h e fin a le o f A c t 1 ( th is is a c o m m o n o p e r a t i c
d e v ic e — w e ’ll e n c o u n t e r it a g a in in A lb a n B e r g ’s o p e r a
Wozzeck);
t h e r e is a s m a ll
w o o d w i n d g r o u p , ty p ic a l o f t h e h o u s e - m u s i c o f t h e n o b ility , t h a t e n t e r t a i n s D o n
Extra musicians
191
192
PART 111
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
© Mozart: “Tuba mirum."
from Requiem
Giovanni at his solitary banquet in Act 2; and there are the three sinister trom­
bones that accompany the Commendatore’s statue when it speaks at the end of
the opera.
Trombones often seem to be associated with the space beyond the grave.
Mozart uses them in his Requiem (a setting of the Latin Mass for the dead), including a stunning trombone solo; and Monteverdi, as we have seen, uses a choir of
trombones in Orfeo to represent the realm of Pluto and to accompany the chorus
of infernal spirits.
Listening to the M usic
When Mozart entered Don Giovanni in the handwritten catalogue of his works,
he included the indication “Pieces of music. 24.” By this he meant the number of
orchestral sections, arias, ensembles, and so on. Each number is a separate piece of
music, complete in itself, and often containing several sections in different tempos
and moods. (In this sense, Don Giovanni is a traditional “number opera,” as distinct
from the “through-composed” music dramas of Richard Wagner, which we’ll con­
sider in Chapter 13.)
All two-dozen numbers in Don Giovanni repay repeated listening and close
study. But since we don’t have time to listen to the entire opera (it takes about two
and a half hours to perform), we will focus on a few characteristic pieces that give
a sense of the variety of music in the opera, and of the careful balance of music
and drama that Mozart and Da Ponte achieved.
Q lg 24
The aria “Notte e giorno faticar”
from Mozarts Don Giovanni
© Video. Track 11
0 LG25
ACT 1, SCENE 1: “NOTTE E GIORNO FATICAR”
Leporello sets the scene, musically and dramatically, with his opening song.
Don Giovanni’s manservant sings with three distinct voices: his normal com­
plaining voice, which is angular and jumpy (“Working night and day for this
thankless master”); another, smooth and melodious, when he imitates his mas­
ter (“W hat a handsome gentleman! . . . I want to act the gentlem an”); and a
third when he is frightened by the approach of Giovanni and Donna Anna (“But
I think people are coming . . . I don’t want to be heard”). The aria is a brilliant
illustration o f Mozart's uncanny ability to characterize moods, social levels,
and people (see LG 24, p. 193).
ACT1, SCENE 1: ENSEMBLE
The ensemble that follows Leporello’s aria is a little opera in itself. Don Giovanni
and the noble Donna Anna emerge from her father’s house after what we later
learn was an attempted rape. The Commendatore rushes out, sword in hand, to
protect her. A challenge is issued, a duel is fought, the libertine murders the Com­
mendatore, and the plot is set in motion. This is a superb example of how the
action can advance in ensembles (see LG 25, p. 194).
QLG26
© Video. Track 12
ACT 1, SCENE 5: CATALOGUE ARIA
Leporello’s Catalogue Aria, which occurs a little later in Act 1, after Donna
Elvira has put in her appearance, is one of the classics of the opera repertory.
LISTENING GUIDE 24
M o z a rt
© | D V D |®
D on Giovanni, Act
V id e o | ^ )
1,
Scene 1, “Notte e giorno faticar”
1:41
DATE: 1787
GENRE: Aria
TEXT: L orenzo Da Ponte
L IS T E N F O R
MELODY: Sim ple balanced phrases
EXPRESSION: C o n trastin g characterization o f servant
TEXTURE: Shifts o f m usical style: disjunct; sm o o th ; p a tte r song
an(^ m aster
TIME
TEXT
TRANSLATION
DESCRIPTION
0:00
Intro d u ctio n
N o tte e g io rn o faticar
p e r chi nulla sa gradir;
piova e v en to sopportar.
W ork in g night and day
For this th an k less m aster;
E n d u rin g rain and w ind.
Leporello com plains a b o u t the m onoto n y o f his life. Each phrase o f m elody
consists o f a leap back an d forth
m an g iar m ale e m ai d o rm ir;
E ating badly, sleeping badly;
betw een sam e tw o pitches, w hich get
higher w ith each new phrase.
Leporello
0:15
e
4m =
S .y1„3 _j_____
Not -
0:27
tc c
g>or
-
=M
1=
r
___ J
M____ |>
|_|_____fi
no
fa
-
ti
~
car
Voglio far il gen tilu o m o ,
e n o n voglio piu servir
I w a n t to act th e g en tlem an ,
I w o n ’t serve any m ore,
Leporello w ishes to be a gentlem an like his m aster. M elody is m ore
elegant— sm o o th , stepw ise, an d in a
still h ig h er range.
e n o n voglio piu servir,
no, no, no, no, no, no
n o n voglio piu servir.
I w o n ’t serve any m ore,
No, no, no, no, no,
I w o n ’t serve any m ore.
W h en Leporello expresses his w ish
n o t to b e a servant, he first slavishly
follows this m elody b u t th e n reverts to
a m elody full o f leaps.
0:47
O h, che caro g alantuom o!
Voi star d e n tro con la bella,
ed io far la sen tin ella!..
W h a t a h an d so m e gentlem an!
You’re in th ere w ith th e lady,
A nd I stand g u a rd !. . .
H e again refers to his noble m aster
an d sings a slighdy altered version o f
the sm o o th melody, w hich is repeated.
M elody descends to a low er register
and is m o re repetitive w h en referring
to his ow n m o n o to n o u s sen try duty.
1:04
Voglio far il g en tilu o m o .
e n o n voglio piu servir,
e n o n voglio piu servir,
no, no, no, no, no, no,
n o n voglio piu server.
I w an t to act th e g en tlem an ,
I w o n ’t serve any m ore.
I w o n 't serve any m ore.
No, no, no, no, no.
I w o n ’t serve any m ore.
R epetition o f text and m usic o f seco n d section.
1:20
Ma m i p ar che venga gente
But I th in k people are com ing
Leporello b ecom es anxious and
alm o st frozen w ith fear. M elody
b ecom es stuck o n single note.
1:28
n o n m i voglio far sentir.
I d o n ’t w an t to be heard.
Aria concludes w ith repetition o f text
and m usic o f this line.
(He hides.)
194
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
LISTENING GUIDE 25
©
|D V D
Mozart D on Giovanni, Act 1, Scene 1, Ensemble
DATE: 1787
3:34
TEXT: L orenzo D a Ponte
GENRE: O peratic ensem ble
L IS T E N F O R
FORM: D ram atic pacing; p lo t is advanced
EXPRESSION: C h arac ter exposition
TEXTURE: Shifts o f m usical style
TIME
TEXT
TRANSLATION
0:00
An interjection from orchestra introduces two new characters.
DESCRIPTION
Donna Anna
0:05
N on sperar, se n o n m ’ uccidi,
ch ' io ti lasci fu g g ir m ai.
D o n o t im agine th a t you can g et aw ay
unless you kill m e.
D ialogue b etw ee n D o n n a Anna
an d D on G iovanni (w ith asides
from Leporello) is set n o t as a
speechlike recitative b u t as a trio.
T his em phasizes d ram atic conflict
am o n g th e three characters.
D o n n a A nna’s o p en in g m elody is
forceful, an d rises an d falls w ith
conviction.
Don Giovanni
0:12
D onna folle! In d arn o gridi:
chi son io tu n o n saprai.
C razy w om an! N o p o in t in scream ing:
you w ill n o t learn w h o I am .
D on G iovanni begins to im itate h e r
m elody b u t th e n shifts to his ow n
version.
(W h at a noise! . . . H eavens, w h a t shouts!
My m a ste r’s in tro u b le again!)
T h ree characters sing d u ring this
section. A nna and G iovanni eith er
sing to g e th e r o r trad e o ff phrases.
T hey often insistendy repeat th eir
ow n version o f m elodies. M uch o f
L eporello’s m usic is sim ilar to his
op en in g aria, b u t h e also occasion­
ally im itates th e m elodies o f others.
Leporello
0:16
(C he tu m u lto ! .. . O h, ciel, che gridi!
Il p ad ro n in nuovi guai!)
Donna Anna
G ente! Servi! Al traditore!
People! Servants! To th e traitor!
Don Giovanni
Taci, e trem a al m io furore.
Silence, an d fear m y fury.
Donna Anna
Scellerato!
Villain!
Don Giovanni
Sconsigliata!
Fool!
(C om e furia d isperata
m i vuol far precipitar.)
(This desp erate fu ry will u n d o m e.)
Donna Anna
C om e furia d isperata ti sapro
perseguitar.
I’ll p u rsu e you like an en rag ed fury,
CHAPTER 7
W. A. M o z a r t ’s D o n G io v a n n i
195
Leporello
(Sta’ a veder che il m alandrino
m i fara precipitar.)
(It looks as th o u g h this libertine
will u n d o m e.)
Commendatore (rushing in)
1:24
Lasciala, indegno!
Battiti meco!
Leave her, w retch!
Fight w ith me!
(D o n n a A n n a , h e a r in g th e C o m m e n d a to r e , le a v e s D o n G io v a n n i a n d
g o e s b a c k in th e h o u s e .)
O rchestra in terru p ts, changes to
m in or key. and introduces the
C o m m en d ato re . This section is
also a trio, b u t w ith the C om m enda­
tore, Giovanni, and Leporello. T he
C om m endatore begins w ith forceful
fanfare-like statem ent, characterized
by repeated notes and dow nw ard
leaps.
Don Giovanni
Va’: n o n m i d eg n o di p u g n ar teco.
Ha! 1 d o n o t deign to fight you.
G iovanni im itates the en d o f the
C o m m en d ato re 's phrase b u t
m ocks it.
Commendatore
Cosi p reten d i da m e fuggir?
Is this h o w you th in k you can escape me?
Leporello
(Potessi alm en o di qua partir!)
(If I could only g et o u t o f here!)
T he twro never sing together, b u t
only trade o ff phrases. L eporello’s
ascending an d descending lines are
full o f anxiety.
Don Giovanni
Misero! A ttendi, se vuoi m orir.
2:12
W retch! W ait, if you w a n t to die.
( T h e y f i g h t ; D o n G io v a n n i g iv e s th e C o m m e n d a to r e a m o r ta l w o u n d .)
Battle m usic: the high and low
in stru m en ts duel in a series o f fast
upw ard runs.
Commendatore
4:08
Ah, so c c o rso !. . . Son tr a d ito .. . .
L'assassino . . . m ’h a ferito . . .
E dal sen o palp itan te . . .
sen to . . . l’anim a . . . p a rtir . . .
O h, h e lp !. . . I'm b e tra y e d .. . .
T h e assassin . . . has w o u n d ed m e . . .
A nd in m y beatin g b r e a s t. . .
f e e l. . . m y s p ir it. . . d e p a rtin g .. . .
T he C o m m en d ato re has th e last
w ord, b u t is m ortally w ounded.
(Ah! T h e villain is already fallen . . .
gasping and agonizing,
already fro m his beatin g b reast
1 see th e spirit departing.)
Pace suddenly slow s d o w n to
andante (a w alking tem po). New,
slow er te m p o reflects seriousness
o f w h at has ju s t happened. O rches­
tral acco m p an im en t becom es
sim pler. T h e th ree ch aracters’ sing­
ing overlaps m o re com pletely, and
h arm o n ic an d m elodic shifts reflect
th e ir aw areness o f th e gravity o f
th e C o m m e n d a to re ’s m urder.
Don Giovanni
(Ah! gia cadde il sciagurato . . .
AfTannosa e agonizzante,
gia dal seno palpitante
veggo l’anim a partir.)
Leporello
(Q ual m isfatto!
qual eccesso!
E ntro il sen, dallo spavento,
p alp itar il co r m i sento.
Io n o n so che far, che dir.)
(H e r e th e C o m m e n d a to r e d ie s .)
(W h at a tragedy!
W h at excess!
In m y breast, I feel
m y h e a rt palpitate w ith fear.
1 d o n ’t know w h at to do o r say.)
196
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
Like the opera itself, the aria is a blend of comedy and horror that describes Don
Giovanni’s callous exploitation of women in graphic detail. Leporello shows Elvira
the list of his master’s conquests, divided up by countries; Spain has the most, with
a thousand and three—so far. In the second part of the aria the servant tells how
to charm each type of woman: blond, dark, slim, large, and so on. (He tactfully
refrains from specifying which category Elvira falls into.)
The Catalogue Aria is a very funny song with extremely dark overtones.
Giovanni slips away from the outraged Elvira just before the aria begins, urging
Leporello to “tell her everything.” As we will see later in the opera, it's not the only
time he leaves his manservant to pick up the pieces. The song gives the baritone
a chance for acting, mockery, quick and witty language, and multiple changes of
voice (see LG 26, p. 197).
i)l_ G 2 7
The duet ‘‘La ci darem la mano."
from Mozarts D on Giovanni
(► ) Video
1>LG28
Act 2
ACT 1, SCEN E 9: “LA Cl D A R EM LA M A N O ”
This duet of seduction, one of Mozart’s most famous melodies, is actually a mar­
vel of balance between formality and reality. Don Giovanni and Zerlina start sing­
ing verses to the same tune, in graceful 4 time, although they want entirely differ­
ent things. (He: “Let’s go, my love, from here.” She: “I’d like to, and I wouldn’t like
to; My heart is a little afraid.”) As Giovanni becomes more and more insistent, the
characters begin to alternate lines, with accompanying changes in the orchestra;
and we can hear Zerlina wavering until Giovanni’s final “Andiam!” (Let’s go!) over­
powers her, and they switch to a swinging homophonic triple rhythm, sinuous and
sensuous (see LG 27, p.198).
ACT 1: FINALE
The finale of Act 1 is a triumph of drama and music, Da Ponte and Mozart at
their best. The drama is one that brings all the characters together, inexorably,
towards the sort of confrontation that complex plots are designed around. Don
Giovanni manages to convince Masetto that Zerlina didn’t see him; he leads both
of them off to his house. The nobles—Elvira, Anna, Ottavio—now knowing that
Don Giovanni is the murderer, disguise themselves and vow revenge. A ballroom
scene includes one of Mozart’s most famous moments: three couples begin to
dance, each to a different tune (three dance bands play on stage); Anna and Ottavio
dance the noble minuet; Don Giovanni engages Zerlina in a contradance; and Lep­
orello distracts Masetto in a comic “Teisch” (German dance, or waltz); the sound
of three dances at the same time is amazing. Zerlina screams from offstage, all hell
breaks loose, Don Giovanni appears pretending that it was Leporello’s fault; they
all attack him and he escapes as the curtain falls (see LG 28, p. 2 0 0 ).
All our examples are from Act 1. There is, of course, much more music, and
more complexity, to discover on your own in Act 2. It includes a wonderful double
seduction, in which Don Giovanni dresses as Leporello, and vice versa, so that
he can seduce Elvira’s maid. But Elvira comes to the balcony instead, and Don
Giovanni hides behind Leporello and sings to Elvira so that she will think that the
figure she sees is Don Giovanni, and that he is singing. Neither is true, but she’s
fooled. And then, when (again!) Leporello has to take Elvira off his master’s hands,
Don Giovanni takes his mandolin and sings a beautiful serenade to the maid; its
melody is like the one he just sang to Elvira, but it’s rather high in pitch, and may
represent a disguised voice. Luigi Bassi has more chance to display his acting skill,
since he has to pretend to be Leporello, send the others away in an aria, and disarm
Masetto and beat him, all without being recognized.
CHAPTER 7
LISTENING GUIDE 26
®
I D V D |®
W. A. M o z a r t ’s D o n G io v a n n i
197
V id e o
Mozart D on Giovanni, Act 1, Scene 5, Catalogue Aria
5:36
DATE: 1787
GENRE: Aria
TEXT: L orenzo D a Ponte
L IS T E N F O R
MELODY: C om ic quality o f th e quick speech at th e b eg in n in g
TEXTURE: W itty o rchestral acco m p an im en t at th e begin n in g
FORM: T w o -p art form , quick section follow ed by lyrical one
TIME
TEXT
0:00
A sectio n (Allegro)
TRANSLATION
DESCRIPTION
O rch estra sets lively rhythm , as Lep­
orello show s his b o o k to Elvira.
Leporello
M adam ina, il catalogo e q u esto
Delle belle che am o il p ad ro n m io;
u n catalogo egli e che h o fa tt’io;
O sservate, leggete con m e.
Little lady, this is th e catalogue
O f th e beau ties m y m aster loved,
A catalogue 1 m ade myself;
Look, read w ith m e.
In Italia seicento e quaran ta;
In A lem agna d u ecen to e tren tu n a;
C ento in Francia, in Turchia novantuna;
Ma in Ispagna son gia mille e tre.
In Italy 640;
In G erm an y 231;
100 in France, 91 in Turkey;
But in Spain, already 1003.
Q uick orchestral p hrase alternates
w ith catalogue entries; pause to
prepare “b u t in Spain, already
0:51
V 'h an fra q u este contadine,
C am eriere, cittadine,
V ’h an contesse, baronesse,
M archesane, principesse.
E v ’han d o n n e d ’ogni grado,
D ’ogni form a, d ’ogni eta.
T h ere are peasants,
Maids, citizens,
T h ere are countesses, baronesses.
M archionesses, princesses;
A nd w o m en o f all classes,
All shapes, all ages.
R ecitation o f various kinds o f
w o m en is p resen ted in sh o rt phrases,
speeding up and com ing to an incon­
clusive cadence.
1:07
In Italia seicento e quaran ta;
In A lem agna d u ecen to e tren tu n a;
C ento in Francia, in Turchia novantuna;
Ma in Ispagna son gia mille e tre.
In Italy 640;
In G erm an y 231;
100 in France, 91 in Turkey;
But in Spain, already 1003.
Sam e w ords as before, b u t different
m usic, leading to a sim ilar pause
before “Spain.”
1:38
V’h an fra queste contadine,
C am eriere, cittadine,
V’h an contesse, baronesse,
T h ere are peasants,
Maids, citizens,
T h ere are countesses, baronesses.
M archionesses, princesses;
A nd w o m en o f all classes,
All shapes, all ages.
R epeated w ords, sim ilar m usic,
except th a t cadence is a final one,
concluding first p a rt o f aria.
W ith blondes h e usually
Praises th e ir gentleness;
W ith a b ru n e tte , faithfulness;
W ith w hite hair, sweetness.
Second section begins in slow triple
m e te r w ith regular phrases. N ote
m ilitary so u n d on "costanza,” and
sinuous sw eetness o f "dolcezza.”
0:22
M archesane, principesse.
E v ’han d o n n e d ’ogni grado,
D ’ogni form a, d ’ogni eta.
2:00
1003,’’ w ith "1003” em phasized and
repeated.
B sectio n (A ndante con m o to )
Nella bionda egli h a l’usanza
Di lo d ar la gentilezza,
Nella b ru n a la costanza,
Nella bianca la dolcezza.
(continued)
198
PART III
TIME
TEXT
TRANSLATION
DESCRIPTION
Vuol d ’inverno la g rassotta,
Vuol d ’estate la m ag ro tta;
E la g ran d e m aestosa,
La piccina e o g n o r vezzosa.
In w in te r he w an ts chubby,
In su m m e r skinny;
T h e b ig o n e is m ajestic,
T h e sm all one charm ing.
New, d o tte d rh y th m , leads to
com ical depictions o f “m aestosa,”
<« •
i»
piccina.
3:33
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
B se c tio n (m usic repeated, w ith variation)
D elle vecchie fa conquista
Pel piacer di porle in lista;
Sua passion p red o m in an te
E la giovin principiante.
N on si picca — se sia ricca,
Se sia b ru tta , se sia bella;
P urche p o rti la gonnella,
Voi sapete q u el che fa.
LISTEN IN G GUIDE 27
H e co n q u ers th e old ones
For th e pleasure o f listing them ;
His p red o m in an t passion
Is fo r th e y o u n g beginner.
D o esn ’t m a tte r if sh e’s rich
O r ugly o r beautiful;
If she w ears a skirt,
You know w h at h e does.
Sam e m usic as for “N ella b io n d a,”
w ith sinister h arm o n ic tu rn on
"lista.”
Back to th e d o tted rhythm .
T he “nella b io n d a” m usic leads to
th e final line, w hich is repeated.
(§)| D V D | ® Video |
Mozart D on Giovanni, Act 1, Scene 9, “La ci darem la mano”
DATE: 1787
3:08
TEXT: L orenzo Da P onte
GENRE: D uet
L IS T E N F O R
MELODY: A folk song-like m elody becom es increasingly
frag m en ted
SCORING: Use o f flute an d bassoon to echo the voices o f D on
G iovanni and Z erlina
FORM: T w o-part form , (A) a slow seduction follow ed by
(B) a lively, dancelike second section
TIME
TEXT
TRANSLATION
Don Giovanni
0:00
La ci darem la m an o ,
La m i dirai di si,
Vieni, n o n e lo n tan o ,
P artiam , b en m io, da qui.
DESCRIPTION
A Section: Seduction
C om e, it's n o t far.
L et’s go, m y love, fro m here.
D o n G iovanni sings w h at seem s to be a verse
from a folk song; it’s relatively form al, and has
n o th in g o f urgency, only charm . T h ere are
tw o pairs o f phrases, each a so rt o f questionand-answ er. First an d th ird lines have sam e
m usic, second and fo u rth are slightly different.
I’d like to, and I w o u ld n ’t like to;
My h e a rt is a little afraid:
I’d be happy, it’s tru e,
B ut you m ay still be tricking m e.
Z erlin a sings a second verse; she to o is being
form al, using the sam e m usic for com pletely
different sentim ents. She repeats h e r last line,
to close this section.
T h ere w e will w ed.
T h ere y o u ’ll say “yes,”
Zerlina
0:20
Vorrei, e n o n vorrei;
Mi trem a un p o co il cor:
Felice, e ver, sarei,
M a p u o b u rla rm i ancor.
CHAPTER 7
0:44
D G: Vieni m io bel diletto!
Z: Mi fa pieta M asetto;
DG: C o m e, m y delight!
Z: M asetto w o n 't like it;
DG: Io cangiero tu a sorte;
Z: P resto n o n so n piu forte . . .
DG: I’ll change y o u r fo rtu n e;
Z: S oon I w o n ’t be stro n g en o u g h . . .
DG: Vieni!
DG: C om e!
W. A. M o z a r t ’s D o n G io v a n n i
199
N ow things g et w arm er: the m usic is in a new
key; they take tu rn s singing single lines, each
having his o r h e r ow n m usic, and repeating
m usic for a second line.
Z erlin a’s last line is w avering, b u t she m a n ­
ages to ho ld on.
D o n G iovanni's co m m an d in g "C om e!”
leads us back to th e original key and original
m usic.
1:12
1:38
DG: La ci d arem la m ano,
DG: T h ere w e w ill w ed,
Z: Vorrei, e n o n vorrei,
DG: La m i dirai di si,
Z: Mi trem a u n p o co il co r
DG: Partiam , b en m io, da qui.
Z: Ma p u o b u rlarm i ancor.
Z: I’d like to, and 1 w o u ld n 't,
DG: T h ere y o u ’ll say “yes,”
Z: My h e a rt is a little afraid;
DG: L et's go, m y love, from here.
Z: But you m ay still be tricking m e.
DG: Vieni m io bel diletto!
Z: Mi fa pieta M asetto!
DG: C o m e, m y delight!
Z: M asetto w o n ’t like it!
Second section as before, b u t they alternate
single lines, in original key.
DG: Io cangiero tu a sorte;
Z: P resto n o n son p iu forte . . .
DG: I’ll change y o u r fo rtu n e;
Z: Soon I w o n ’t be stro n g en o u g h . . .
DG: Andiam!
Z: Andiam!
DG: L et's go!
Z: L et’s go!
At last Z erlina, in h e r w avering final line, loses
h e r resolve, and m usic subsides dow nw ard,
as she finally obeys D on G iovanni’s final
co m m and.
A ndiam , andiam , m io bene,
A risto rar le p ene
D ’u n in n o cen te am or.
1) C haracters n o w take tu rn s singing lines
o f th e sam e song, b u t n o longer as form al
verses.
2) W h en D on G iovanni sings, he is accom ­
panied by an in stru m e n t in Z erlin a’s range
(a flute); w hen she sings, she’s accom panied
by an in stru m e n t in his range (a bassoon).
B Section begins
Both
2:07
T h e m usic an d w ords are the sam e as before,
b u t w ith im p o rta n t differences:
L et’s go, le t’s go, m y love.
To heal th e pains
O f an in n o cen t love.
N ow th e tw o voices are one, and the dance­
like second section is sensuous, full o f gaiety
and frolicking.
More confusion, more splendid arias and ensembles follow; in a graveyard
the statue of the Commendatore speaks, terrifying Leporello and inspiring Don
Giovanni to invite the statue to dinner. The final scene is in Don Giovanni’s house,
where Leporello serves the meal (stealing bits as he goes), and a band plays selec­
tions from favorite operas. (This band echoes in a way the triple dance-music at
the end of the first act.) The third tune is actually a favorite from T h e M arriage o f
Figaro, and Leporello says “I know this one all too well”—an inside joke, since Ponziani, now playing Leporello, had sung that very song when he played the role of
Figaro, and everybody in the audience knew it.
The statue appears, accompanied by trombones and by the terrifying chords
that began the overture; he gives Don Giovanni a last chance to repent. He refuses,
the floor opens and Don Giovanni disappears among the flames and demons of
Hell. Everybody else runs onstage (Masetto has to change from his Commenda­
tore's costume), and there is a quick lively finale, where each character announces
what he or she will do next—find a new master, join a convent, get married. That,
they sing, is the end for those who do evil. And it’s the end of an amazing opera.
A c t 2, F inal scene
200
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
LISTENING GUIDE 28
©
| DVD
M o zart Don Giovanni, Act 1, Finale
8:08
DATE: 1787
TEXT: L orenzo Da Ponte
LISTEN FOR
HARMONY: A bru p t shifts o f key
SCORING: O n-stage orch estra plus m ain orchestra
EXPRESSION: D ram atic pacing
TEXTURE: T h ree sim u ltan eous dances o f different characters
TIME
TEXT
TRANSLATION
DESCRIPTION
Scene 21: Don Giovanni, Leporello, Zerlina, Masetto, peasants, musicians, servants, Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Don Ottavio.
0:00
(Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Don Ottavio enter masked.)
Full o rch estra plays, w ith fanfare m otives
and rhythm s. At first, characters exchange
polite pleasantries.
Leporello
Venite p u r avanti,
Vezzose m ascherette!
C o m e forw ard,
h an d so m e m askers!
Don Giovanni
E a p erto a tu tti quanti,
Viva la liberta!
It's o p en to all;
lo n g live Liberty!
Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Don Ottavio
Siam g ra ti a tan ti segni
Di generosita.
W e are g rate fu l for so m any
Signs o f generosity.
All
Viva la liberta!
Long live Liberty!
Eventually, L eoporello leads all in
singing the refrain “Viva la liberta!”
S tart playing again!
D on G iovanni invites stage orchestras to
play. O ne o rch estra o f w inds an d strings
plays a stately m in u et for the nobility.
Don Giovanni (to the musicians)
1:25
R icom inciate il suono!
(to Leporello)
T u accoppia i ballerini.
A nd you, p air u p th e dancers.
(Don Ottavio dances the minuet with Donna Anna.)
Leporello
D a bravi, via ballate!
(They dance.)
Bravo! D ance away!
CHAPTER 7
W. A. M o z a r t ’s D o n G io v a n n i
201
Donna Elvira (to Donna Anna)
Q uella e la contadina.
T h at is th e p easan t girl.
Donna Anna (to Don Ottavio)
Io m om !
I’m dying!
Don Ottavio (to Donna Anna)
Simulate!
Pretend!
Don Giovanni, Leporello (ironically)
Va b en e in verita!
It’s really g o in g very well!
Masetto
Va b en e in verita!
It’s really g o in g very well.
Don Giovanni (to Leporello)
A bada tien M asetto.
You k eep M asetto away.
(to Zerlina)
Il tu o co m p ag n o io sono,
Z erlin a vien p u r qua!
2:33
Second o rch estra consisting o f violins and
bass begins to tune.
I’ll b e y o u r p artn e r;
Z erlina, co m e this way!
(He begins to dance a contradance with Zerlina.)
Leporello (to Masetto)
N o n balli, poveretto!
Vien qua, M asetto caro,
Facciam quel ch 'altri fa.
You’re n o t dancing, p o o r fellow!
C o m e on, d ear M asetto,
L et’s d o like th e others.
(Heforces Masetto to dance.)
Masetto
No, no, ballar n o n voglio.
N o, I d o n ’t w a n t to dance.
This orchestra plays a lively c o n tra d a n c e :
Leporello an d M asetto dance.
Leporello
Eh, balla, am ico mio!
O h, dance, m y friend!
Masetto
No!
No!
Leporello
Si, caro M asetto!
Yes, d ear M asetto!
Donna Anna (to Ottavio)
R esister n o n poss’io.
1 can n o t resist.
Donna Elvira, Don Ottavio (to Donna Anna)
Fingete p e r pieta!
D o p reten d , please!
(continued)
202
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
TIME TEXT
TRANSLATION
DESCRIPTION
Don Giovanni
Vieni con m e, vita mia!
C o m e w ith m e, m y love!
(Dancing, he leads Zerlina away)
$
■r
j-r
l „ > ,•____ ________ J U
m
^ = i
$
Masetto
Lasciami! Ah no! Zerlina!
Leave m e alone! Ah no! Zerlina!
(He tears himself awayfrom Leporello.)
Zerlina
O h N um i! son tra d ita !. . .
O h Heavens! I’m b e tra y e d !. . .
Leporello
Q ui nasce u n a ruina.
A disaster is h atch in g here.
Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Don Ottavio (from outside)
3:21
L’iniquo da se stesso,
Nel laccio se n e va!
T h e evil m an is stepping
into th e trap!
Zerlina (from within)
3:31
G en te, a iu to .. . !
People, h e lp .. . !
(She screams)
Zerlina
Aiuto! . . . a iu to ! __ gente!
Help! Help!
Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Don Ottavio
S occorriam o l’innocente!
L et’s help th e in n o cen t girl!
(The instrumentalists exit.)
Masetto
Ah, Zerlina!
Ah, Zerlina!
Zerlina (from inside, on the other side)
Scellerato!
Crim inal!
Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Don Ottavio
O ra grid a de quel lato!
Ah g ettiam o g iu la porta!
N ow she scream s fro m th a t side!
Knock dow n th e door!
Zerlina
Soccorretem i! o son m orta!
H elp m e, o r I’m dead!
Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, Don Ottavio, and Masetto
Siam qui n o i p e r tu a difesa!
T h ird g ro u p plays faster and w ilder
peasant dance called a D eu tsch er:
D on G iovanni an d Z erlina dance.
We are h ere to defend you!
Each dance becom es associated w ith a
different group o f characters, and the
confusion o f the scene is reflected in
sim ultaneous playing o f the three dances
in three different m eters. This confusion
covers D on Giovanni taking Zerlina away
against h er will. H er scream brings the
dancing to a halt.
CHAPTER 7
4:06
W. A. M o z a r t ’s D o n G io v a n n i
203
Don Giovanni
(Entering with sword in hand, pulling Leporello by the arm, he pretends that he is to blame.)
Ecco il b irb o che t ’ha offesa!
Ma da m e la p en a avra!
M ori, iniquo!
H e re ’s th e culprit w h o offended you!
But I shall p unish him!
D ie, evil one!
M usic slows and simplifies as D on
G iovanni tries to convince guests th a t
Leporello ab d u cted Z erlina.
Leporello
Ah, cosa fate?
Ah, w h a t are you doing?
Don Giovanni
M ori, dico!
D ie, 1 say!
Don Ottavio
N ol sperate!
D o n ’t try it!
M usic intensifies, the th ree nobles reveal
them selves and co n fro n t D on G iovanni.
Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Don Ottavio
L’em p io crede con tal frode
Di n asco n d er l’em pieta.
T h e evil o n e thinks th a t h e can
hide it w ith this fraud.
(They remove their masks.)
Don Giovanni
D onna Elvira!
D o n n a Elvira!
His surprise is expressed in recitative-like
interjections.
Donna Elvira
Si, m alvagio!
Yes, evil one!
Don Giovanni
D on O ttavio!
D o n Ottavio!
Don Ottavio
Si, signore!
Yes, signore!
Don Giovanni (to Donna Anna)
Ah, crede te ___
Ah, believe m e . . . .
All except Don Giovanni and Leporello
T raditore! T u tto gia si sa!
Traitor! W e n o w k n o w everything!
Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, Zerlina, Don Ottavio, Masetto
5:52
T rem a, trem a, o scellerato!
Sapra to sto il m o n d o intero
Il m isfatto o rren d o e nero
La tu a fiera crudelta!
O di il tu o n della vendetta,
C he ti fischia in to rn o ;
Sul tu o capo in q u esto g io rn o
Il suo fulm ine cadra!
T rem ble, you criminal!
Soon th e w hole w orld w ill know
T h e black and h o rren d o u s m isdeed,
Your p ro u d cruelty!
Listen to th e so und o f revenge,
W histling all a ro u n d you;
Today its lig h tn in g b o lt
W ill strike y o u r head!
T em po b ecom es allegro and characters
th rea ten D on G iovanni and Leporello.
T hey respond in different ways. First is
in a w hisper accom panied by m usic th at
accom panied th e ir entrance in the finale.
H e d o esn ’t k n o w w h at to do,
His h ead is confused,
And a horrib le sto rm , o h God!
Is th rea ten in g him .
Second response includes lots o f repetition
o f individual phrases.
Leporello
E confusa la sua testa,
N on sa p iu quel ch ’ei si faccia,
E u n orribile tem pesta,
M inacciando, o Dio, lo va!
(continued)
20 4
PART III
TIME
TEXT
TRANSLATION
Ma non manca in lui coraggio.
Non si perde o si confonde,
Se cadesse ancora il mondo,
Nulla mai temer lo fa!
But he doesn’t lack courage,
He doesn’t get lost or confused,
Even if the whole world collapses,
Nothing can make him afraid.
Don Giovanni
E confusa la mia testa,
Non so piu quel ch’io mi faccia,
E un orribile tempesta,
Minacciando, o Dio, mi va!
Ma non manca in me coraggio,
Non mi perdo o mi confondo,
Se cadesse ancora il mondo.
Nulla mai temer mi fa!
I don’t know what to do,
My head is confused,
And a horrible storm, oh God!
Is threatening me
But I don’t lack courage,
I don’t get lost or confused,
Even if the whole world collapses,
Nothing can make me afraid.
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
DESCRIPTION
Third response is a quick rising scale of
repeated notes that shows great anxiety
and contrasts with slower rhythm of
other characters.
The Finale ends solidly in C major, with
quick ascending runs emphasizing the
tonality.
Don Giovanni Then And Now
M ozarts audience in Prague knew the style of his music, they knew the singers in
the Bondini Opera Company, and they knew the players in the orchestra. Most of
them came to the theater predisposed to enjoy themselves, and it seems they did.
The only newspaper review we have of the premiere is quite brief:
[On] Monday, the 29th, the Italian Opera Company gave the ardently awaited opera
by Maestro Mozard [sic], Don Giovanni, or the Stone Banquet. Connoisseurs and musi­
cians say that Prague has never heard the like. Herr Mozard conducted in person;
when he entered the orchestra he was received with threefold cheers, which again
happened when he left it. The opera is, moreover, extremely difficult to perform,
and everyone admired the good performance given in spite of this after such a short
period of study. Everybody, on the stage and in the orchestra, strained every nerve to
thank Mozard by rewarding him with a good performance. Much expenditure was
required for the chorus and scenery, all provided splendidly by Herr Guardasoni [the
manager of the Bondini Company].
Don Giovanni vs.
The Marriage o f Figaro
Behind the anonymous writer's measured praise lurks a hint that Don Giovanni
was perhaps not quite as wildly popular as The Marriage of Figaro. The reference
to “connoisseurs and musicians” suggests that Mozart’s music was too sophisti­
cated for the average operagoer. (It wasn’t then, and it isn’t now.) Although the sets
clearly made a favorable impression, not much is said about the singing, an omis­
sion that would be unusual in an opera review today. The critic seems to acknowl­
edge that the performance was far from perfect when he rather tepidly describes it
as “good,” while calling attention to the limited rehearsal time.
CHAPTER 7
W. A. M o z a r t ’s D o n G io v a n n i
205
FIG. 7.10 A modern production
of Don Giovanni by the English
National Opera. London, presented
in December 2010.
Still, Mozart and his librettist had every reason to be pleased. Guardasoni, the
composer reported to Da Ponte, was beside himself after the premiere, exclaiming,
“Long live Da Ponte! Long live Mozart! All impresarios, all virtuosi must bless their
names. So long as they live we shall never know what theatrical poverty means.”
The Bondini Company continued to perform Don Giovanni in Prague, Warsaw, and
other cities, and the opera became especially popular (in various translations and
adaptations) with German and French audiences.
Mozart himself arranged to have the opera produced a few months later in
Vienna, where he hoped to improve both his reputation and his employment pros­
pects. As usual, Mozart adapted the music to fit the capabilities of the new cast and
what he believed to be the taste of the local audience.
This time, unfortunately, Don Giovanni was a flop. After The Marriage of Figaro,
the Viennese public was expecting something light and frivolous; instead Mozart
gave them complexity tinged with tragedy. At a party after the premiere, according
to one published account, the guests made no attempt to conceal their disappoint­
ment. Someone asked Mozart’s mentor, Franz Joseph Haydn, then at the height
of his fame, for his opinion. Haydn was apparently not willing to take a position
about the opera: “I cannot settle the argument,” the older composer said. “But
one thing I know, and that is that Mozart is the greatest composer that the world
now has.”
Haydn’s judgment was seconded by Emperor Joseph II, who told Da Ponte,
“The opera is divine; possibly, just possibly even more beautiful than Figaro. But
such music is not meat for the teeth of my Viennese!” To which Mozart replied.
“Give them time to chew on it!”
Audiences have been chewing on Don Giovanni and its devilishly charismatic
antihero ever since. In fact, the afterlife of Mozart’s opera is as interesting as the
story of its creation. Don Giovanni (alias Don Juan) became one of the most
potent archetypal figures of the Romantic Era, celebrated and reviled in music,
drama, and literature. Lord Byron wrote an epic poem about him, E.T.A. Hoff­
mann a novella, Richard Strauss a symphonic tone poem. Frederic Chopin and
Don Giovanni, the archetype
206
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
Franz Liszt reworked themes from Mozart’s opera for the piano. And playwrights
like Alexander Pushkin and George Bernard Shaw found new meaning in the
age-old tale.
Fascination with the ill-fated libertine continued to grow in the twentieth cen­
tury and shows no signs of waning. There have been countless interpretations and
reinterpretations of the Don Giovanni story in every artistic medium imaginable,
including film. But the opera that Mozart and Da Ponte wrote in 1787 for a littleknown Italian impresario in Prague towers above them all, thanks to its incompa­
rable blend of music and drama, comedy and tragedy.
Chapter Review
Summary of Musical Styles
■ Short, balanced phrases create tuneful melodies.
■ Eighteenth-century Italian opera comes in two basic types: o p e r a s e r i a (seri­
ous, or tragic, opera) and o p e r a b u f f a (comic opera). Opera seria generally
deals with mythical or historical subjects. Opera buffa can have any sort of
character, including servants, drunks, and buffoons.
■ Although there are a r i a s in Mozart’s operas, much of the music, and the
action, takes place in e n s e m b l e s (ducts, trios, etc.) where several characters
sing at once.
■ Many of the individual musical numbers have more than one section. Mozart
usually has a very good reason for changing tempo and style: something has
changed.
■ Mozart’s orchestra has more variety than Handel’s: there are flutes, oboes,
clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, and trombones. He treats the instru­
ments imaginatively, as in the use of flute and bassoon to echo the voices of
Don Giovanni and Zerlina.
■ The singing in Don Giovanni is mostly in tuneful phrases; occasionally very
florid music is sung, mostly by members of the nobility.
©Multimedia Resources and Review Materials
on StudySpace
Visit wwnorton.com/studyspace for review of Chapter 7.
What Do You Know?
Check the facts for this chapter. Take the online
Q u iz .
What Do You Hear?
and
works in this chapter.
L is te n in g Q u iz z e s
M u s ic A c tiv itie s
will help you understand the musical
CHAPTER 7
^ A u th o r Videos
■ T h e a r ia “ N o t t e e g i o r n o f a tic a r ,” f r o m M o z a r t ’s
■ The duet
“La c i
d a r e m la m a n o , ” f r o m M o z a r t ’s
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Interactive Listening Guides
LG 24
LG 25
LG 26
LG 27
LG 28
Mozart:
Mozart:
Mozart:
Mozart:
Mozart:
Don Giovanni, Act
Don Giovanni, Act
Don Giovanni, Act
Don Giovanni, Act
Don Giovanni, Act
1, Scene 1, “Notte e giorno faticar”
1, Scene 1, Ensemble
1, Scene 5, Catalogue Aria
1, Scene 9, “La ci darem la mano”
1, Finale
©Videos
Act 1, Scene 1: “Notte e giorno faticar”—“Leporello, ove sei?” (Track 11)
Act 1, Scene 5: “Ah! Che me dice mai”—“Chi e la?”—’’Madamina, il catalogo e
questo” (Track 12)
Act 1, Scene 9: “La ci darem la mano” (Track 13)
Flashcards (Terms to Know)
andante
bel canto
dotted rhythm
libretto
opera buffa
opera seria
prima donna
recitative
trio
stretta
W. A. M o z a r t ’s D o n G io v a n n i
207
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1808, VIENNA:
Ludwig van Beethoven’s
Symphony No. 5 in C Minor
C O R E R E P E R T O IR E
^
A U T H O R V ID E O S
■ LG 29 First movement. Allegro con
brio
■ How to make a theme out of a motive
in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony
■ LG 30 Second movement. Andante
con moto
■ Rhythmic unity of themes throughout
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
■ LG 31 Third movement, Allegro
[Scherzo and Trio]
■ LG 32 Fourth movement. Allegro
[Finale]
Introduction
“Notwithstanding thefact that several mistakes were made, which I could not
help, the public accepted everything enthusiastically. . . . ”
—Beethoven. January 7. 1809, letter to his publisher
A symphony, to many traditional concertgocrs, is the highest achievement not
only of Classical music (music of the Classic period) but of classical music—that
is, Western art music as a whole. And Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony may be the
ultimate realization of this genre. It is certainly one of the most often heard and
readily recognized symphonies.
Actually, it was Beethoven who created the idea of the symphony as one of the
noblest vehicles for great art. Not long before his time, a symphony was essentially
an opening act—it was loud, and was usually placed at the beginning of a concert
(or even an opera) to catch the audience’s attention and to get them to quiet down.
The genre itself emerged from other lighter instrumental types—such as multi­
movement opera overtures and the kind of one-movement instrumental piece
sometimes called sinfonia. In the hands of the brilliantly inventive Franz Joseph
Haydn it had become an international concert standard, and with Mozart, espe­
cially in his later symphonies, it had already became a work of high art. The sym­
phony is now the central form of our concert life.
Beethoven himself conducted the first performance of his Fifth Symphony in
Vienna in 1808, using it as a kind of curtain-raiser for the second part of a very
long concert, a concert that he organized at his own expense, to earn some money.
The concert, lasting three and a half hours, was very long, wrote an observer, and
very loud, and the hall was very, very cold. No one at the time mentioned how
Beethoven’s Fifth was the grandest and most heroic symphony ever heard.
The Setting
V IE N N A IN 1808
V ie n n a w a s a t th is t i m e a c u l t u r a l c r o s s r o a d s . It h a d b e c o m e t h e c a p ita l o f a la rg e
m u l t i n a t i o n a l e m p i r e w h o s e s u b je c ts s p o k e G e r m a n , Ita lia n , H u n g a r i a n , C z e c h ,
P o lis h , a n d a h o s t o f o t h e r la n g u a g e s . It w o u l d r e m a i n a m u ltil in g u a l , m u l t i c u l ­
t u r a l s o c ie ty u n t i l t h e e n d o f t h e F ir s t W o r ld W a r.
V ie n n a w a s a f o r tif ie d c ity s u r r o u n d e d b y s t r o n g d e fe n s iv e w a lls (s e e F ig u r e 8 .1 ,
m a p o f V ie n n a ) b e y o n d w h ic h la y a n o p e n s p a c e , t h e G la c is , w h e r e n o p e r m a n e n t
b u i l d i n g w a s a llo w e d . T h e G la c is h a d b e e n e s ta b lis h e d a s a d e fe n s iv e z o n e d u r i n g
t h e p e r i o d in t h e s i x t e e n t h a n d s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s w h e n V ie n n a w a s a t t a c k e d
a n d s o m e t i m e s b e s ie g e d b y t h e a r m i e s o f t h e O t t o m a n E m p ir e . T h e o p e n s p a c e
m a d e it e a s y t o s e e if c a n n o n s w e r e b e i n g m o v e d i n t o fir in g r a n g e o f t h e c ity w a lls .
It was also a court city, with political power centered in the palace of the emper­
ors of Austria. (The larger Holy Roman Empire had been dissolved in 1806 as a
Beethoven and the symphony
© Haydn: Symphony No. 8 2 .1,
opening
© Mozart: Symphony No. 30 .1.
opening
210
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
FIG. 8.1 A view of Vienna in the
eighteenth century. The medieval
center of the city is surrounded by
fortified walls: outside this is the
Glacis, an open area, with the subur­
ban portion of the city beyond. The
Danube flows along the edge of the
Glacis.
result of the conquests of Napoleon; see map, p. 170). The great urban Hofburg
Palace housed various buildings and offices needed for the court bureaucracy.
Other palaces included the beautiful Schonbrunn Palace just outside the city, and
the Belvedere Palace, built in the early eighteenth century for the military hero
Prince Eugene of Savoy (see Figure 8.2). Vast imperial lands had been opened to
the public as parks: the Prater, a hunting preserve (now a park), and the Augarten,
a pleasure garden (a place opened to the public for recreation)
where concerts were held in the summer.
The English Physician Richard Bright
Vienna was also an aristocratic city, with grand palaces for
Describes Vienna in 1814
the nobility. Many of these families were patrons of Beethoven
and dedicatees of his published works. Some of the patrons
connected with Beethoven at the time of the Fifth Symphony
fter some time I walked into the streets.— a ser­
vice of danger; for most of them are narrow, and
were Prince Lobkowitz, who had a special concert hall in his
the sides, which are paved with flat stones for the
palace in which Beethoven’s Third Symphony had been given
convenience of walking, and are. on that account, greatly
its first performance; Count Oppersdorf, who maintained his
praised throughout the whole empire, are so little ele­
own orchestra, and who commissioned the Fourth and Fifth
vated above the carriage tract, that the foot passenger
Symphonies; and Countess Erdody, a good pianist and a good
has no safety but in the judgment of the charioteer, who
friend, in whose house Beethoven lived for a short time in 1808.
frequently risks an encounter with your feet, rather than
A
with the wheels of a passing carriage___When, by cour­
age or good luck, I could snatch an opportunity to cast a
look upwards, I observed that many of the houses were
large, and handsomely built, and all of them very high:
but, owing to the narrowness of the streets, there is a
prevailing gloom, and it is only in a few of the more open
parts that the real beauty of the buildings can develop
itself. The shops display a considerable variety o f goods,
though frequently a square glazed case of patterns hang­
ing at the door is the only mark by which the nature of
the shopkeeper's dealings is indicated. Besides this, a
small board, projecting into the street from above each
door, bears some painted sign, as the Golden Fleece, the
Scepter, the Schwarzenburg Head, or the Holy Ghost.
A n d , fin ally , it w a s a C a t h o lic city, c e n t e r e d o n t h e m e d ie v a l
c a t h e d r a l o f S a in t S te p h e n , t h e S te f a n s d o m , w h o s e s p ir e c a n
s till b e s e e n f r o m a l m o s t a n y w h e r e in V ie n n a . O t h e r c h u r c h e s ,
la r g e a n d s m a ll, a s w e ll a s t h e m a n y m o n a s t e r i e s , c o n t r i b u t e d
t o t h e r e lig io u s a s p e c t o f t h e city. T h e c le r g y a n d t h e c h u r c h
h i e r a r c h y s e t a n d e n f o r c e d m o r a l s t a n d a r d s a n d a ls o s u p p o r t e d
a g r e a t d e a l o f m u s ic in t h e c h u r c h e s , a f f o r d in g e m p l o y m e n t t o
m a n y o f V ie n n a ’s m u s ic ia n s .
T h e o ld c ity o f V ie n n a lo o k s to d a y m u c h a s it d id t o
B e e th o v e n (s e e F ig u r e s
8.3 a n d 8.4). T h e
d e n s e w e b o f m e d ie v a l
s t r e e t s t h a t m a k e u p t h e i n n e r c ity o p e n s o c c a s io n a lly t o re v e a l
a g r e a t s q u a r e , a s p le n d id c h u r c h , o r a c o f f e e h o u s e w h e r e n e w s ­
p a p e r s a n d m a g a z in e s a r e p r o v id e d f o r p a t r o n s w h o e x p e c t to
CHAPTER 8
Lu dw ig van B e e th o ve n ’s Sy m p h o n y No. S in C M in o r
211
FIG. 8.2 The Belvedere Palace in
Vienna, about 1820.
pass an hour reading or talking. The Hofburg Palace and St Stephen’s Cathedral,
the town palaces of the noble families, great churches and monasteries, and the
many apartment buildings still stand today (see The English Physician Richard
Bright Describes Vienna in 1814, p. 210).
Outside the inner walls, beyond the open Glacis, were the suburban areas,
which consisted of more Baroque palaces with
their gardens, splendid churches, public build­
ings such as hospitals, schools, and barracks—
and more apartment buildings. The Glacis and
the inner walls gave the city its characteristic
look. In the mid-nineteenth century, however,
the walls were replaced by grand boulevards, the
so-called Ring, and the Glacis is now occupied
by museums, theaters, a new opera house and
concert hall, and government buildings.
Most people lived in apartments, varying in
cost—as apartments always do—according to
their location and size. Rents were paid twice
a year (usually around St. George’s Day, April
24, and St. Michael’s Day, September 29), and
Beethoven often began to worry about finding a
new apartment as rent-day approached. He lived
in various Viennese dwellings throughout his life
in the city, moving more than two dozen times
during his thirty-five years there.
In apartment buildings, the ground floor was
given over to shops. On the next two floors were
the most expensive rentals—above the dust and
noise of the street but without too many stairs to
climb. On the upper floors lived tradesmen and
servants with their families. Apartments were
crowded (it has been estimated that in 1815 the
average Viennese apartment housed thirty-three
people), and it is perhaps partly because of a lack
of privacy that people took at least one meal a
day in a restaurant.
TOP, FIG. 8.3 The Graben. one of
Vienna’s busiest streets. The Pestsaule (Plague column) was built by
Emperor Leopold I (1658-1705) in
thanksgiving for the city’s recovery
from the plague.
BOTTOM, FIG. 8.4 The M ehlm arkt
(Flour Market) by Bernardo Bellotto
(1721-1780).
212
PART ill
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
Living conditions
L iv in g c o n d i t i o n s w e r e c lo s e a n d n o t p a r tic u la r ly h e a l t h f u l . T h e a ir w a s fu ll
o f d u s t in s u m m e r a n d s m o k e in w i n t e r ; d is e a s e w a s w i d e s p r e a d in a t i m e b e f o r e
a n tis e p tic s a n d a n tib io tic s . M a n y p e o p l e s u f f e r e d f r o m l u n g p r o b le m s , d ig e s tiv e
a ilm e n ts , a n d s e x u a lly t r a n s m i t t e d d is e a s e s . L ife e x p e c ta n c y w a s re la tiv e ly lo w , a n d
in f a n t m o r t a l i t y w a s h ig h . T h e a v e r a g e lif e s p a n f o r a m a n w a s b e t w e e n th ir ty - s ix
a n d f o r ty y e a r s , f o r a w o m a n , b e t w e e n f o r ty - o n e a n d fo r ty -fiv e . B e e th o v e n , w h o
liv e d t o t h e a g e o f fifty -six , w a s c o n s id e r e d a n o ld m a n w h e n h e d ie d .
Musical life
Vienna enjoyed a rich artistic life of concerts, theaters, and opera. Music
could be heard in many of the churches where orchestras and choruses regularly
performed at mass. In the theaters, orchestras performed overtures and other
kinds of music between acts of popular plays. Two official opera houses, and
others besides, presented works mostly in Italian but sometimes in German.
Many people were amateur musicians who enjoyed singing or playing instru­
ments together in private gatherings. For people at all levels of society, music
was everywhere.
But actual “public” concerts were few. Musical societies gave performances of
chamber music or sacred music, and sometimes outdoor concerts; and the Musi­
cians’ Society occasionally put on grand events. But regular series of concerts by a
symphony orchestra did not exist, nor was there any public hall specifically built for
concerts. This is very different from our own time, where almost every large city
has a concert hall, an orchestra that plays in it, and a standard series of symphony
concerts. In Vienna, if you wanted to give a concert, you had to find and rent a hall,
engage and pay an orchestra, and usually compose the music yourself, in addition
to arranging for publicity, the box office, and all the logistics that a concert requires.
In 1808 most concerts were one-time events arranged by an individual for profit.
Nevertheless, there were plenty of occasions for the playing of a symphony.
BEETHOVEN IN V IE N N A
Independent professional
B e e th o v e n w a s a v i r t u o s o p ia n is t, c o n d u c t o r , a n d c o m p o s e r , a n d o n e o f t h e firs t
t o e a r n a n i n d e p e n d e n t liv in g in e a c h o f t h e s e v a r i o u s ro le s . M o s t m u s ic ia n s h a d
fe w c h o ic e s f o r e c o n o m i c s u r v iv a l. T h e i r b e s t s o l u t i o n s w e r e e i t h e r t o g a in g o v e r n ­
m e n t j o b s , w h ic h m e a n t p e r f o r m i n g in t h e o r c h e s t r a s o f t h e c o u r t c h a p e l o r o n e o f
t h e o ffic ia l c o u r t t h e a t e r s , o r t o b e h i r e d a s a c o u r t c o m p o s e r o r c h a m b e r m u s ic ia n .
F a ilin g th is , t h e y c o u l d p ie c e t o g e t h e r a liv in g b y g iv in g le s s o n s , b y p e r f o r m i n g in
p u b lic f o r p a y in g a u d ie n c e s , o r b y s e llin g t h e i r o w n c o m p o s i tio n s .
V a rio u s w a y s o f e a r n i n g a n i n c o m e a s a c o m p o s e r w e r e p o s s ib le . T h e c o m p o s e r
c o u l d d e d ic a te a w o r k t o a p a t r o n , w h o w o u l d t h e n b e e x p e c te d t o g iv e a m o n e t a r y
g if t in r e t u r n . O r t h e p a t r o n m i g h t p a y a fe e t o c o m m i s s i o n a c o m p o s i t i o n f r o m
a c o m p o s e r ; t h e p a t r o n w o u l d t h e n m a i n t a i n t h e e x c lu s iv e r i g h t t o h a v e t h e w o r k
p e r f o r m e d f o r six m o n t h s ( a f te r w h ic h t h e c o m p o s e r c o u l d se ll it t o a p u b lis h e r ) .
O r t h e c o m p o s e r c o u l d d e a l w i t h a p u b l i s h e r d ire c tly .
B e e th o v e n d id a ll o f th e s e : h e w a s k n o w n in V ie n n a as m u c h f o r h is v i r t u o s i t y o n
© Beethoven: Piano Sonata in C
Minor. Op. 13 (Pathetique). Ill
th e
pianoforte ( to d a y
w e s h o r t e n th is t o
piano) a s
f o r h is c o m p o s i t i o n , a t le a s t in h is
e a r lie r y e a r s in t h e city. H is d a z z lin g , a l m o s t b r u t a l , p la y in g a t t r a c t e d a t t e n t i o n , a n d
h is s o n a t a s f o r p ia n o a n d c o n c e r t o s f o r p ia n o a n d o r c h e s t r a w e r e d e s ig n e d p a r tly
f o r h i m t o p la y a n d p a r t l y f o r o t h e r s t o b u y in o r d e r t o t r y t o e m u l a t e h is p la y in g .
F o r m u c h o f h is c a r e e r , B e e th o v e n m o r e o f t e n p la y e d in p r iv a te c o n c e r t s a n d r e c it­
a ls s p o n s o r e d b y h is a r is to c r a ti c p a t r o n s t h a n in p u b lic c o n c e r t s (c a lle d
Akademien),
a n d h e s o m e t i m e s e x p r e s s e d r e s e n t m e n t a b o u t p la y in g “ o n c o m m a n d . ”
H e g a v e le s s o n s a n d a t t e m p t e d , w i t h v a r y i n g d e g r e e s o f s u c c e s s , t o g iv e c o n c e r t s
CHAPTER 8
Lu dw ig van B e e th o ve n ’s S y m p h o n y No. 5 in C M in o r
213
a n d se ll h is c o m p o s i t i o n s t o p a t r o n s a n d p u b lis h e r s . O v e r t i m e
m o s t o f th e s e e n d e a v o r s w e r e q u i t e p r o f ita b l e , w h ic h w e k n o w
b e c a u s e o f t h e la r g e e s t a t e le ft u p o n h is d e a t h t o h is n e p h e w
K a rl.
B e e th o v e n is r ig h t ly c o n s i d e r e d o n e o f t h e f ir s t c o m p o s e r s
t o e s ta b lis h h i m s e l f a s a n i n d e p e n d e n t p r o f e s s io n a l, d o i n g b u s i ­
Letter (1808) from Beethoven to
Joseph Sonnleitner, Complaining
about His Apartment in the
Theater an der Wien
n e s s f o r h i m s e l f a n d c o m p o s i n g w h a t e v e r h e lik e d . H e n o t o n ly
e n jo y e d h is in d e p e n d e n c e b u t a ls o s e e m s t o h a v e c u ltiv a te d a
s o m e w h a t p r ic k ly a t t i t u d e , w h ic h c o m p l e t e s t h e p i c t u r e o f c o m ­
p o s e r as a r t i s t r a t h e r t h a n c o m p o s e r a s s e r v a n t o r e m p lo y e e .
y brother has told you of my changing lodg­
ings; I have occupied this one conditionally until
a better one can be found. The chance came
already some time ago and I wanted to assert my right
then with Zitterbarth [previous owner of the theater], at
which point Baron Braun became owner of the theatre.
The rooms occupied by the painter above and which
are clearly adequate only for a servant, need only to be
vacated, then my apartment could be handed to the
painter, and the affair would be settled. — Since in my
apartment the servant must sleep in the kitchen, the ser­
vant I now have is already my third— and this one will not
stay long with me either; without considering its other
inconveniences.— I know beforehand that if it depends
upon the decision o f Herr Baron again, the answer will
be no. In that case I shall look for something elsewhere
immediately. Already I am used to the fact that he has
nothing good to say about me— let it be— / shall never
grovel— my world is elsewhere.
M
Beethoven was a famously difficult tenant, and moved many
times—twice in 1808 alone. For several years he had lived in an
apartment, although an inadequate one, that shared a building
with the Theater an dcr Wien (see Letter from Beethoven Com­
plaining about His Apartment, right), which he was able to use
to receive visitors. Sometime in 1808 he moved to a large, solid
edifice built into the medieval city wall. His apartment, on the
top floor with a good view, consisted of five rooms. In the fall
of 1808 he moved once again, this time across the street, to an
apartment in the house of Countess Erdody, Beethoven’s friend
and patron and a great lover of music. (Beethoven dedicated to
her two piano trios, Op. 70, that were composed in her house, as
well as two cello sonatas, Op. 102.) But she made the mistake of
intervening in a squabble between Beethoven and his servant,
infuriating Beethoven, and ultimately he lasted only six months
at her house.
Beethoven became a recognized character in Vienna, and his daily schedule,
as described by a contemporary, went roughly as follows: up at daybreak, he had
breakfast and went straight to his desk to work until midday (perhaps with time
out for a short walk; sec Figure 8.5). Dinner followed (the main meal, in the middle
of the day), then a long walk (twice around the city, said one observer). Toward
evening, he would often go to a tavern to read papers and talk. Evenings were
spent at the theater, in company, or making music. He was usually in bed by 10
p.m., but sometimes stayed up late when particularly busy. He always carried a
notebook with him in which he jotted down musical ideas, and the survival of
many of these notebooks gives us a rare view into the creative life of one of the
great composers (see biography, p. 214).
T h e r e a r e n u m e r o u s d e s c r ip ti o n s o f B e e th o v e n ’s a p p e a r a n c e , v a r y i n g in t h e i r
re lia b ility . T h e c o m m o n d e n o m i n a t o r , h o w e v e r , w a s t h a t h e w a s a s h o r t , sto c k y ,
a n d p o w e r f u lly b u i l t m a n . “S h o r t a n d t h i c k s e t ,” g o e s o n e d e s c r ip ti o n , “b r o a d
a c r o s s t h e s h o u ld e r s , s h o r t n e c k , la r g e h e a d , r o u n d e d n o s e , d a r k - b r o w n c o m p le x ­
io n ; h e a lw a y s le a n e d f o r w a r d a little in w a lk in g . In h is b o y h o o d t h e y u s e d t o c a ll
h i m ‘d c r S p a g n o l’ [ th e S p a n ia r d ] in o u r h o u s e . ”
B e e th o v e n w a s d e e p ly c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e id e a s o f f r e e d o m a n d h u m a n lib e r ty
t h a t c h a r a c t e r i z e d t h e t h i n k i n g o f t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y — a p e r i o d in W e s te r n
h i s t o r y w e n o w c a ll t h e A g e o f E n l i g h t e n m e n t (s e e P a r t O p e n e r III). I n te lle c tu a lly
th is m o v e m e n t r a n g e d f r o m t h e F r e n c h E n c y c l o p e d i s t s , w h o s o u g h t t o c la s s ify
h u m a n k n o w l e d g e , t o t h e b i t i n g s o c ia l s a tir e s o f V o lta ire , t h e r o m a n t i c p o e t r y
o f J o h a n n W o lf g a n g v o n G o e t h e , t h e r a t i o n a l p h ilo s o p h ic a l t h o u g h t s o f T h o m a s
H o b b e s a n d D a v id H u m e in E n g la n d , a n d t h e p r a c tic a l a n d h u m a n i s t i c p h i l o s o ­
p h ie s o f B e n ja m in F r a n k li n a n d T h o m a s J e f f e r s o n in A m e r ic a .
FIG. 8.5 Johann Peter Lyser’s (1803—
1870) depiction shows Beethoven
on a walk in Vienna. The image was
reproduced in the periodical Cacilia
in 1833.
214
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
l u d w ig
van BeeTHOven (1770-1827)
Ludw ig van Beethoven m erged clarity
to w n o f H eiligenstadt in 1802, acknow ledged his deafness
o f form w ith p o w er o f expression. His
and his despair. T u rn in g alm o st exclusively to com position,
m usic bridges, and com bines, the peri­
B eethoven p ro d u ced so m e o f his m o st lastingly p o p u la r w orks.
ods o f Classical balance and Rom antic
A fter th e co n cert o f 1808, B eethoven gave a n o th e r public co n ­
passion, and his sym phonies, string quar­
cert in 1814, at th e heig h t o f his popularity. It w o u ld be his last
tets, and piano sonatas stand at the apex
public p erform ance.
o f their genres. H e was also well know n
Increasingly fam o u s and increasingly isolated because o f his
for his concertos, cham ber music, his
deafriess, B eethoven tu rn e d to introspective sm aller genres—
one opera (Fidelio), and tw o Masses.
p ian o sonatas, string qu artets, and o th e r w orks for sm aller
B eethoven cam e from a m usical fam ily in Bonn, b u t at
ensem bles. H e gave his last co n cert in 1824; it included his
the age o f tw en ty -tw o he m oved to V ienna for good. T h ere
N inth S ym phony an d p o rtio n s o f his S olem n Mass (Missa solem-
he studied for a tim e w ith th e co m p o ser Franz Joseph Haydn.
nis). H e died, a w orld-fam ous co m p o ser w ith a large estate,
H e rapidly m ade a rep u ta tio n as a v irtu o so pianist, so u g h t
in M arch o f 1827. His fu n eral procession dow n the streets o f
after for salons and public concerts, an d becam e k n o w n as an
V ienna was w itnessed by over 10,000 people.
exceptional co m p o ser as well: by 1799 Five different publishing
houses h a d p rin ted his m usic.
B eethoven h ad im p o rta n t p atro n s to w h o m h e dedicated
com positions, gave lessons, an d in w hose houses he p erfo rm ed
and so m etim es lived. H e w as Fiercely in d ep en d en t, even ab u ­
© Beethoven: Piano Sonata in C* Minor. Op. 27. No. 2
(Moonlight). Ill
© Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, IV. “Ode to Joy"
© Beethoven: String Quartet No. 9 in C Major. Op. 59
(Rasumovsky), No. 3. Ill, Minuet
sive at tim es. H e never achieved th e security o f a g o v ern m en t
o r o th e r official position, an d p artly as a result learn ed to m ake
M AJO R W ORKS: O rchestral w orks, including nine sym p h o ­
his ow n way.
nies; co n certo s, including five for piano, one for violin, and
H e began to sense th e possibility o f real fam e at a b o u t the
a triple concerto; ch am b er m usic, including string quartets,
sam e tim e as th e o n set o f his devastating an d progressive deaf­
p ian o trios, sonatas for violin and for cello; 32 pian o sonatas,
ness. His so-called H eiligenstadt T estam ent, a le tte r o f w ren ch ­
including Op. 13 (Pathetique) and Op. 27 (Moonlight); one o p era
ing sadness w ritte n at his su m m e r lodging in th e suburban
(Fidelio); Mass in C M ajor an d Missa solemnis.
Social and political climate
T h e m o v e m e n t t o w a r d e q u a l i t y e x p r e s s e d b y t h e E n l i g h t e n m e n t w a s a d iffi­
c u lt c o n c e p t in a n a u t o c r a t i c a n d m o n a r c h i c a l s o c ie ty lik e A u s tria . T h e e m p e r o r s
o f A u s tr ia r u l e d o v e r a la r g e e m p i r e o f m a n y n a tio n a litie s , a n d t h e y m a i n t a i n e d
a t i g h t g r i p o n t h e i r c o n s ti tu e n c ie s : t h e r e w e r e c e n s o r s , s p ie s , a n d s e c r e t p o lic e
e v e r y w h e r e . I n o r d e r t o g e t a n y t h i n g p u b lis h e d , o r t o p e r f o r m a play, a n o p e r a , o r
a s o n g in p u b lic , o ffic ia l a p p r o v a l f r o m t h e c e n s o r s w a s n e e d e d . T o re c e iv e p e r m i s ­
s io n t o m a r r y m e a n t p r o v id i n g e v id e n c e o f e d u c a t i o n , g o o d c o n d u c t , lo y a lty t o th e
g o v e r n m e n t , a n d t h e m e a n s o f s u p p o r t i n g a fa m ily . T h i s h ig h ly s t r u c t u r e d — a n d ,
t o o u r m o d e r n m in d s , r e p r e s s iv e — s o c ie ty w a s n o t u n lik e t h a t o f o t h e r m o n a r ­
c h ie s . A n d it is p a r tly a s a r e s u l t o f th is r e p r e s s io n t h a t p e o p l e b e g a n in v e s t ig a ti n g
t h e i r o w n in d iv id u a l w o r t h in r e l a t i o n t o li b e r t y a n d f r e e d o m .
It was also the Age of Revolution. The American Revolution, and then the
French Revolution starting in 1789, had given many people, including Beethoven,
hope for wider liberty. Thus he was devastated when Napoleon Bonaparte declared
himself emperor of France in 1804. Disillusioned that his idol was well on his way
to becoming a tyrant, Beethoven angrily removed the title “Bonaparte” from the
original title page of his Third Symphony.
In th is s o c ia l a n d p o litic a l c lim a te , B e e th o v e n p r e m i e r e d h is F if th S y m p h o n y . A t
CHAPTER 8
Ludw ig van B e e th o ve n 's S y m p h o n y No. 5 in C M in o r
215
the time, in 1808, Beethoven was in his prime, still active as a performer. Together
with the lofty ideals embodied in this particular work, Beethoven designed the
December 22 concert to show himself off as performer and composer, and to
make a little money.
The Performance
PREPARATIONS
What we now call a “concert” was called an Akademie in Beethoven’s Vienna (we’ll
call them “Academies”). It was normally a one-time event, organized most often by
a virtuoso performer to display her or his talents, and was the main form of public
concert in Vienna and elsewhere. The event might highlight an exotic instrument,
in which case the concert was considered a kind of novelty. Or perhaps—and more
often—it would focus on a particular touring virtuoso, showing off skills in sing­
ing or playing and presenting some flamboyant pieces. Only occasionally, as in the
concert we arc about to consider, was the main attraction a composer. But only
rarely docs such a composer come along.
An Academy, even when given by a virtuoso soloist on violin or piano, usually
included a variety of musical genres: overtures, symphonies, vocal music, varia­
tions, and improvisations by the main performer. Symphonies were mostly used to
begin the program (to get the audience’s attention) and sometimes also at the end.
It was up to the organizer to recruit and rehearse the orchestra and other perform­
ers, and to make certain that the event received official approval and was adver­
tised properly. Because virtuosos often composed much of their own music, one
could expect to hear at least some new music. In fact, the more modern it was, the
better. For most people, newer music, all things being equal, was better than old.
For his 1808 Academy, Beethoven first had to find a place to give the perfor­
mance. Obviously he needed a large enough space to accommodate an audience
of several hundred in order to pay the expenses. Since no purpose-built concert
halls existed, the choices were relatively limited. There was the grand ballroom
of the Hofburg Palace, a fine space for some
events, but it required too much setting up for
a concert. There was also the indoor riding ring
attached to the palace, a cavernous and beau­
tiful space, sometimes used for concerts, but
much bigger than what Beethoven needed.
M o s t s u ita b le , a n d m o s t o f t e n u s e d f o r A c a d ­
e m ie s , w e r e t h e a t e r s , o f w h ic h t h e r e w e r e s e v ­
e r a l in V ie n n a . T h e t w o o ffic ia l c o u r t t h e a t e r s ,
o n e u s e d f o r p la y s a n d o n e f o r o p e r a s , w e r e
a v a ila b le f o r r e n t w h e n t h e r e w e r e n o p e r f o r ­
m a n c e s s c h e d u le d . ( T h e r e w e r e a ls o s m a ll t h e ­
a t e r s in t h e s u b u r b s , b u t t h e s e w e r e n o t r o o m y
e n o u g h f o r t h e c o m p o s e r 's n e e d s .) B e e th o v e n
s e t t l e d o n t h e T h e a t e r a n d e r W ie n , f a m o u s
f o r its la r g e s iz e a n d s p e c t a c u l a r s c e n e r y (s e e
F ig u r e 8 .6 ). H e k n e w it w e ll; n o t o n ly h a d h e
p r e v io u s ly p e r f o r m e d t w o v e r s io n s o f h is o p e r a
Fidelio t h e r e ,
b u t a s w e saw , h e a ls o h a d r e n t e d
Academies
FIG. 8.6 The Theater an der Wien,
where Beethoven’s concert took
place, is the building on the left.
216
PART 111
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
an apartment in the building. In recognition of his charitable
contributions—that is, for his prior performances, which had
An Advertisement for
been presented gratis in other Academies—Beethoven received
Beethoven’s Concert
official permission to give this concert for his own benefit.
Academy programs were long. If you were going to get
n Thursday, December 22, Ludwig van Beethoven
dressed up and get yourself to the theater—which was not
will have the honor to give a musical Akademie
always easy—you would not have wanted it otherwise. Music,
in the Royal Imperial Private Theater-an-derafter all, only happened “live,” and if you did not know how to
Wien. All the pieces are of his composition, entirely new,
perform music yourself, you could only hear it if you were pres­
and not yet heard in public.
ent when it was performed.
First part
This Academy of 1808, however, was exceptionally long: it
1. A Symphony entitled: “A Recollection of Country
included two of Beethoven’s recent symphonies; two extracts
Life,” no. 5
from his recent Mass in C Major for chorus and orchestra (the
2. Aria
3. Hymn with Latin text, composed in the church style
censors did not allow performances of liturgical music for money,
with chorus and solos
so these pieces were called “hymn with Latin text”); the very
4. Pianoforte concerto played by himself
beautiful Fourth Piano Concerto, played by Beethoven himself;
Second part
an improvisation at the piano, also performed by Beethoven; a
1. Grand symphony in C minor, no. 6
vocal aria; and finally, a piece for all the performers—orchestra,
2. Sanctus, with Latin text, composed in the church
piano, and chorus (the Choral Fantasy)—to close the program.
style with chorus and solos
(See An Advertisement for Beethoven’s Concert, left.)
3. Fantasia for pianoforte alone
It was a spectacular event, full of brand-new music (except
4. Fantasia for the pianoforte which ends with the grad­
ual entrance of the entire orchestra and the intro­
for one aria, Ah! Peifido that he had written twelve years earlier).
duction of choruses as a finale
Beethoven placed his symphonies at the beginning of each part
of the concert. Both symphonies were new, and he numbered
Boxes and reserved seats are to be had in the Krugerstrasse No. 1074, first story. Beginning at half past six
them in the order in which they were played, although he ulti­
o’clock.
mately published and numbered them in reverse order.
Instead of closing with a symphony as would have been typi­
cal of the times, Beethoven composed a special piece for this
concert, one that purposely included all the performers at this event—orchestral
players, pianist, solo singers, and chorus. At his next public performance, in 1824,
Beethoven used this same strategy, ending his concert with the exuberant Ninth
Symphony, written for solo singers, chorus, and orchestra.
O
IN THE THEATER
The Theater an der Wien was seven years old; it had been opened in 1801 by
Emanuel Schikaneder, whose company had commissioned Mozart’s opera
The Magic Flute. Standing somewhat apart from the official government-run court
theaters, it was large and famous for elaborate stage machinery and for productions
of “magic operas” like Mozart’s. It had five tiers of boxes and a floor divided into
two sections: at the front, benches, and at the back, reserved individual seats, with
a sort of gangway between the two (see Figure 8.7). This was typical of theaters
at the time, which were built to accommodate sightlines and stage settings rather
than to optimize the acoustics for music. When an orchestra is placed on the stage
of a theater, part of the sound inevitably disappears up into the flyspace above the
stage. (This does not happen in opera, because the orchestra is on the floor of
the hall, in the orchestra pit, and the singers generally come downstage, in front
of the proscenium arch, to sing their arias.)
The theater’s orchestra was accustomed to playing opera arias and overtures,
not difficult symphonies like the Symphony in C Minor. There were only a few
rehearsals, because of expense and scheduling difficulties. Many things went wrong
CHAPTER 8
Lu dw ig van B e e th o ve n ’s Sy m p h o n y No. 5 in C M in o r
217
FIG. 8.7 The interior of the Theater
an der Wien; it was famous for spec­
tacular scenery, animals on stage,
and magical effects.
in the concert. The soprano, already a replacement, had terrible stage fright and
could barely sing. There had been numerous difficulties throughout the rehears­
als themselves, with Beethoven knocking over one of the two
choirboys who held lamps for him. The choirboys were there
An Account, Perhaps Exaggerated,
because Beethoven usually knocked the candles off his piano,
and the boys were supposed to be able to dodge Beethoven's
of an Incident at the Concert
manic movements. (See two accounts of the first performance,
pp. 217 and 218.)
B e e th o v e n h i m s e l f t r i e d t o p u t t h e b e s t p o s s ib le lig h t o n t h e
f ir s t p e r f o r m a n c e o f h is F if th S y m p h o n y , d e s c r ib e d in a l e t t e r to
a p u b l i s h e r a c o u p le o f w e e k s la te r :
N o tw ith stan d in g th e fact th a t several m istakes w ere m ade,
w hich I could n o t help, th e public accepted everything e n th u ­
siastically. . . . T h e m usicians w ere particularly an g ry because,
w hen a b lu n d er w as m ad e th ro u g h carelessness in th e sim plest,
plainest place in th e w orld. I stopped th e m suddenly and loudly
called o u t "Once again”— Such a th in g h ad never h ap p en ed to
th e m before. T h e public show ed its en jo y m en t at this.
Beethoven played the piano solos himself and conducted
the orchestra as well. His conducting style was energetic—as
noted above—a little different from that of most of his contem­
poraries. Given that this concert, like most others of the time,
had a pickup orchestra of musicians who, though good players,
did not ordinarily play together, we could not expect the sort of
finesse and polish that is characteristic of today’s best orchestras.
W hat’s more, for today’s orchestras these are familiar, favorite
pieces, while in 1808 they were difficult contemporary music.
And so the conducting may have been more involved with keep­
ing things together than with delicate shades of expression.
eethoven was playing [his new concerto], but for­
got at the first tutti [passage for full orchestra], that
he was a Soloplayer, and springing up. began to di­
rect in his usual way. At the first sforzando he threw out
his arms so wide asunder, that he knocked both the lights
off the piano___The audience laughed, and Beethoven
was so incensed .. . that he made the orchestra cease
playing, and begin anew. Seyfried. [the conductor] fearing,
that a repetition of the accident would occur at the same
passage, bade two [choirboys] place themselves on either
side of Beethoven, and hold the lights in their hands. One
of the boys innocently approached nearer, and was read­
ing also in the notes of the piano-part. When therefore
the fatal sforsando came, he received from Beethoven’s
out thrown right hand so smart a blow on the mouth,
that the poor boy let fall the light from terror. The other
boy. more cautious, had followed with anxious eyes every
motion of Beethoven, and by stooping suddenly at the
eventful moment he avoided the slap on the mouth. If
the public were unable to restrain their laughter before,
they could now much less, and broke out into a regular
bacchanalian roar. Beethoven got into such a rage, that at
the first chords of the solo, half a dozen strings broke. Ev­
ery endeavour... to restore calm and attention were for
the moment fruitless. The first allegro of the Concerto
was therefore lost to the public.
B
218
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
An Eyewitness to the First
Performance of the Fifth
Symphony: Johann Friedrich
Reichardt, Composer and Writer
accepted the kind offer of Prince Lobkowitz to let me
sit in his box with hearty thanks. There we continued,
in the bitterest cold. too. from half past six to half past
ten, and experienced the truth that one can easily have
too much of a good thing— and still more of a loud.
Nevertheless. I could no more leave the box before the
end than could the exceedingly good-natured and deli­
cate Prince, for the box was in the first balcony near the
stage, so that the orchestra with Beethoven in the middle
conducting it was below us and near at hand; thus many
a failure in the performance vexed our patience in the
highest degree. Poor Beethoven, who from this, his own
concert, was having the first and only scant profit that
he could find in a whole year, had found in the rehearsals
and performance a lot of opposition and almost no sup­
port. Singers and orchestra were composed of heteroge­
neous elements, and it had been found impossible to get
a single full rehearsal for all the pieces to be performed,
all filled with the greatest difficulties.
I
Many, many millions of people have listened to this sym­
phony since that day in 1808. Because the music is so familiar,
it may be difficult to imagine hearing it for the first time, to be
among the Viennese audience who paid such close attention
to the contemporary music of their time, but let’s give it a try.
The Music
W H AT IS A S Y M P H O N Y ?
B e c a u s e s y m p h o n i e s w e r e s o o f t e n p e r f o r m e d , m o s t p e o p l e in
B e e th o v e n ’s a u d i e n c e h a d p r o b a b l y l i s t e n e d t o d o z e n s o f t h e m .
T h e s e e a r l y - n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y lis te n e r s e x p e c t e d a s y m p h o n y
t o b e h a v e in a c e r t a i n w a y — in fa c t, t h a t is h o w th e y k n e w it
was
a s y m p h o n y . B e e th o v e n a ls o e x p e c te d a s y m p h o n y t o in c e r ­
ta in c o n v e n ti o n s — t o b e g i n lo u d ly , f o r e x a m p l e , o r t o c o n s is t o f
s e v e r a l m o v e m e n t s , e a c h in a d if f e r e n t m o o d . B u t a s a c r e a tiv e
c o m p o s e r B e e th o v e n a ls o w a n t e d t o c r a f t s o m e t h i n g o t h e r
th a n th e s ta n d a rd , tra d itio n a l sy m p h o n y . W e c a n n o t k n o w w h y
B e e th o v e n c o m p o s e d m u s ic in t h e s y m p h o n i c g e n r e . P e r h a p s it
w a s s im p ly w h a t p e o p le e x p e c t e d o f h im ; t h a t is, h e w a s m a t c h ­
in g t h e c o n v e n ti o n s o f t h e day. B u t b y u s in g a c o n v e n ti o n a l
f o r m s o w e ll u n d e r s t o o d b y h is V ie n n e s e p e e r s , h e k n e w th e y
w o u l d b e m u c h m o r e c a p a b le o f a p p r e c i a t i n g a n d f o llo w in g
w h a t w a s n e w , s p e c ia l, a n d e x c e p tio n a l.
A s y m p h o n y is first a n d f o r e m o s t a m u l t i m o v e m e n t
compositionfor orchestra, u s u ­
a lly w i t h o u t v o ic e s o r i n s t r u m e n t a l s o lo is ts . In th is v e r y b r o a d s e n s e w e h a v e a lre a d y
s e e n th e w o r d
symphony,
or
sinfonia, u s e d
b y M o n te v e r d i, H a n d e l, a n d M o z a r t.
T o d a y a n o r c h e s t r a is d e f in e d a s a n e n s e m b l e o f i n s t r u m e n t a l i s t s c e n t e r e d o n
p la y e r s o f s t r in g e d i n s t r u m e n t s (v io lin s , v io la s , v io lo n c e llo s , d o u b l e b a s s e s ), in
w h ic h m o r e t h a n o n e p la y e r p e r f o r m s e a c h p a r t . T h i s d is tin g u is h e s a s t r i n g o r c h e s ­
t r a f r o m v a r i o u s c h a m b e r - m u s i c e n s e m b le s lik e s tr i n g q u a r t e t s , w h e r e t h e r e is o n ly
o n e p la y e r p e r p a r t .
Typical eighteenth-century
orchestra
B e e th o v e n w r o t e h is F if th S y m p h o n y f o r a ty p ic a l e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y o r c h e s tr a . T h e f a c t t h a t h e w a s a b le t o p u b lis h h is F if th S y m p h o n y s o s o o n a f t e r its d e b u t
a tt e s t s t o its a r r a n g e m e n t f o r a s t a n d a r d o r c h e s t r a . T h e s tr in g s w e r e ty p ic a lly
d iv id e d i n t o f ir s t v io lin s , s e c o n d v io lin s ( t h e r e w e r e n ’t a n y p h y s ic a l d if f e r e n c e s in
t h e i n s t r u m e n t s , o n ly in t h e i r m u s ic ) , v io la s , c e llo s , a n d d o u b l e b a s s e s . T h e d o u b l e
b a s s e s s o m e t i m e s h a d i n d e p e n d e n t p a r ts , b u t j u s t a s o f t e n th e y p la y e d t h e s a m e
p a r t a s t h e c e llo s a n o c ta v e lo w e r.
T o t h e s tr in g s w e r e a d d e d w o o d w i n d , b r a s s , a n d p e r c u s s io n i n s t r u m e n t s . W o o d ­
w in d s i n c lu d e d f lu te , o b o e , c la r in e t, a n d b a s s o o n . In th is s y m p h o n y , a s in m o s t
s y m p h o n ie s , B e e th o v e n c a lle d f o r t w o o f e a c h i n s t r u m e n t .
T h e b r a s s i n s t r u m e n t s i n c lu d e d t w o F r e n c h h o r n s a n d t w o t r u m p e t s . A p a i r o f
k e t t l e d r u m s a c c o m p a n i e d t h e t r u m p e t s a n d p r o v i d e d t h e o n ly p e r c u s s io n s o u n d s
in B e e th o v e n ’s F ifth .
T h is s e t u p a ls o d e s c r ib e s to d a y 's s t a n d a r d o r c h e s tr a . B u t c o m p o s e r s t e n d t o
m o d if y t h e o r c h e s tr a l m a k e u p in o r d e r t o s u it t h e i r o w n c re a tiv e n e e d s . In th e F ifth ,
f o r e x a m p le , B e e th o v e n a c tu a lly a d d s m o r e i n s t r u m e n t s a t t h e e n d : a p ic c o lo (v e ry
h ig h flu te ) , a c o n t r a b a s s o o n ( v e r y lo w b a s s o o n ) , a n d t h r e e t r o m b o n e s all j o i n in th e
CHAPTER 8
Ludw ig van B e e th o ve n ’s Sy m p h o n y No. S in C M in o r
219
la s t m o v e m e n t . In o t h e r s y m p h o n ie s , B e e th o v e n a ls o d e v ia te s f r o m t h e s ta n d a r d :
h e u s e s t h r e e h o r n s in h is T h i r d S y m p h o n y ; a p ic c o lo a n d t w o t r o m b o n e s in t h e
S ix th ; a n d f o u r h o r n s , p ic c o lo , c o n t r a b a s s o o n , tr ia n g le , c y m b a ls , a n d b a s s d r u m in
t h e N in th . E v e ry c o m p o s e r , o f c o u r s e , h a s t h e r i g h t t o call f o r a d if f e r e n t s iz e a n d
c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e o r c h e s tr a ; b u t m o s t o f B e e th o v e n ’s F ifth S y m p h o n y is w r i t t e n
f o r a “s t a n d a r d ” o r c h e s t r a o f t h e s o r t t h a t w a s c u s t o m a r y a t t h e tim e , a n d t h a t h a s
b e e n t h e s t a n d a r d o r c h e s t r a e v e r s in c e .
S Y M P H O N IC FO R M
B e e th o v e n u s e s t h e c la s s ic a l s y m p h o n y a s h is m o d e l — a m o d e l t h a t c o n s is ts o f a
s e r ie s o f f o u r s e p a r a t e p ie c e s , e a c h d e s ig n e d t o p r o v id e a s a tis f y in g m u s ic a l e x p e ­
r ie n c e ; w h e n t h e p ie c e s a r e l i s t e n e d t o in s e q u e n c e , t h e r e s u l t s u g g e s ts a la r g e r
p s y c h o lo g ic a l a n d a e s th e tic j o u r n e y . T h e s y m p h o n y a s a g e n r e h a d e s s e n tia lly b e e n
d e f in e d b y H a y d n a n d M o z a r t.
T h e f o u r p a r t s o f a s y m p h o n y a r e c a lle d m o v e m e n t s , f r o m t h e F r e n c h w o r d
Movements
f o r t e m p o , b e c a u s e e a c h p a r t t e n d s t o “m o v e ” a t d if f e r e n t s p e e d s . A ty p ic a l fo u r m o v e m e n t s y m p h o n y s t a r t s w i t h a f ir s t m o v e m e n t , o f t e n t h e l o n g e s t o f t h e fo u r ,
f o llo w e d b y a s lo w m o v e m e n t , a m i n u e t a n d t r i o , a n d a liv e ly fin a le . T h e b o x
b e l o w d e s c r ib e s e a c h m o v e m e n t in m o r e d e ta il.
M U S IC A L STYLE
M u s ic w r i t t e n in t h e C la s s ic a l s ty le d e v ia t e d c o n s id e r a b ly f r o m th e n o r m s o f
B a r o q u e m u s ic .
Themes
Y ou w ill r e m e m b e r t h a t B a r o q u e m u s ic te n d s t o h a v e m e lo d ie s t h a t
r e s e m b le p r o s e s e n te n c e s , e x t e n d e d b y s e q u e n c e s b u t n o t g e n e r a l l y a r r a n g e d in
p a ir e d p h r a s e s . In c o n t r a s t , t h e m a i n m e lo d ie s o f C la s s ic a l p ie c e s — w h a t w e c a ll
Standard Symphonic Model and the Fifth Symphony
I. The first m o ve m e n t This is a strong, outgoing piece, with a
lively or serious character, and is often the weightiest move­
ment in the symphony. It may be preceded by an introduction
in a slower tempo. Normally, as in this symphony, it is in firstmovement sonata form (see p. 220). O LG 29
II. The slow movement: The second movement is almost always
contemplative or lyrical and tends to progress at a more relaxed,
even very slow, speed. This movement is usually in a different
key from the other three. Slow movements may also contain
dramatic passages that present strong contrasts to the lyrical
quality of the opening. In the Fifth Symphony the movement is
in a modified version of variation form (see p. 221). 0 LG 30
III. The minuet: It is reasonable to ask what is left after a fast
movement and a slow movement. We can consider the third
movement as a kind of seventh-inning stretch, a moment of
relaxation. It is cast in a dance form, usually a minuet (see p.
221), but one that is intended not to be danced but rather
as pleasant listening. It has the regular rhythms and phrases
expected from dance music. The minuet is followed by a con­
trasting section called a “trio ” after which the whole minuet is
played again. 0 LG 31
IV. The last movement, or finale: The final movement is fast, usu­
ally livelier and more lighthearted than the first, and is designed
to send the audience away feeling happy, maybe even whistling
a tune. While finales are often in rondo form (see p. 221), the
Fifth Symphony uses sonata form for the last movement as
well as the first. O LG 32
This description of a symphony can be applied accurately to
hundreds of symphonies written by Haydn, Mozart. Beethoven,
and many other composers. They followed the pattern because it
was— and is— a good one; it gives listeners a varied and rounded
experience, and makes it possible to compare one symphony with
another, one finale with another.
220
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
© Mozart: Don Giovanni. Act 1,
Scene 9. "La ci darem la mano"
themes—often consist of pairs of phrases with similar music. Two pairs of phrases
can and often do make a very satisfactory theme, like the four musical phrases of
many folk or folklike songs (think of the four lines of “Swanee River,” or the four
phrases that begin Mozart’s “La ci darem la mano”).
Variety While Baroque music generally seeks to express a single emotion or
feeling in a piece (think of the arias in Handel’s Messiah), a symphonic movement
often presents two or more musical themes with differing sounds, thereby
providing a contrast of moods. Listen to the contrasting themes in each of the
four movements of Beethoven’s Fifth to hear how it differs from the Baroque style.
© Beethoven: Symphony No. S. I,
transition 1st to 2nd theme
© Mozart: Symphony No. 40.1,
transition 1st to 2nd theme
Theme and Transition In a Classical symphony, there is often a difference
between music that is a theme, where a clear and memorable melody is presented,
and music that is not thematic. The nonthcmatic music tends to be active,
agitated, and deliberately unclear about key. (This is a little like the difference,
in Baroque music, between a motive and a sequence that follows from it, or
between the subject and the episodes in fugues.) If you feel a bit uncertain or
hesitant at some point in your listening, or feel the tension level rise, it is likely
that the composer means to create this effect, so that the arrival at a new theme
can be a moment o f release. Listen to the transition between the two themes in
the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth and in the first movement of Mozart’s
Symphony No. 40.
M U S IC A L F O R M S
There are various ways in which one might structure the overall form of a whole
movement. Here are some of the most common forms.
First-movement form (or sonata form, or sonata-allegro form) First-movement
sonata form is a vessel so flexible that it can provide a basic framework for many
hundreds, even thousands, of movements without seeming in any way rigid,
conventional, or overused. It is the most complex, and the most frequently found,
of the musical forms in the Classic period, and has continued in use ever since. It
can almost be viewed as a psychological progression, and is often described in the
following way:
Parts o f sonata form
A. Exposition. A theme is presented. Then a transitional passage leads to a
new mood and a new key. At this point, one or more contrasting themes
are presented. A final passage leads to a conclusion, which stays in the
new key. This whole section provides a rounded musical experience, but it
seems incomplete because it does not end in the original key. The whole
exposition is repeated from the beginning.
B. Development. A new section follows that is related to one or both of the
previous themes but that raises the energy level, and the anxiety level, by
various stratagems designed to confuse or mislead, so that the listener is
relieved when the next section occurs. At the end, a retransition leads,
sometimes urges, us back toward the home key.
C. Recapitulation. The opening theme returns, just as in the beginning.
A transitional passage similar to the first one leads to a repetition of the
second theme or group, but this time in the original key. The concluding
passage from before (this time in the original key) brings the movement to
CHAPTER 8
Lu dw ig van B e e th o ve n ’s S y m p h o n y No. 5 in C M in o r
a close. (Sometimes there is a repetition of sections B and C.) The conclu­
sion makes us feel more at “home.”
In addition, there is sometimes an introduction, usually in a different, slower
tempo, before the movement itself gets started; and an ending section, called a
coda (“tail,” in Italian) added to the end of the recapitulation, to close the move­
ment as a whole.
This very general outline accounts for the formal shape of many movements,
not only of symphonies but also of sonatas for one or more instruments (which
is why it is sometimes called “sonata form”), string quartets and other varieties of
chamber music, and in modified form also for concertos for piano, violin, or other
solo instrument with orchestra.
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony uses this formal design for the first and also the
last movement.
Theme and variations This is one of the simplest forms to hear because it involves
the same melody repeated a number of times. The melody, however, changes with
each new presentation, usually by the addition of embellishments that involve
increasingly faster notes while the basic tempo and the underlying harmonics
remain the same. Often this pattern of increasing complexity is altered toward the
end, usually in the ncxt-to-last variation, by some striking contrast: changing from
major to minor (or vice versa), changing the key, using a suddenly slower tempo,
or some combination of these; this is often followed immediately by a rousing final
variation. Variation form is sometimes used for slow movements of symphonies,
but not often for other movements (although Beethoven does use a variation form
in the last movement of his Third Symphony). The slow movement of the Fifth
Symphony uses variation form, but in a relatively complex way.
Minuet and trio This is the standard form for the symphony's third movement
and is based on the triple rhythms and regular phrases of the eighteenth-century’s
favorite ballroom dance. Essentially it consists of a minuet, a trio (another minuet
with contrasting orchestration), and a repeat of the minuet. The initial minuet is
made up of two separate sections: the first part (we can call it A) usually consists
of several pairs of phrases; the whole first part is repeated (AA). Then the second
part (B) begins with a series of phrases related to, but different from, the first
part. This section starts where the first part left off and brings us back to music
reminiscent of the minuet’s beginning. The whole second part is also repeated:
we might diagram the minuet as AABB. The trio, which contrasts with the
minuet in key, mood, and theme, is also made of two parts, each of which is
repeated: CCDD. Finally, the minuet is played again, this time usually without
repeats. The overall form of a typical minuet and trio movement could be given as
AABB CCDD AB. Beethoven often preferred to use a sort of speeded-up minuet
that he called a scherzo (Italian, for “joke”); it is faster than a minuet but retains
the same form.
Rondo form The basic idea in rondo form is that a melody (let’s call it A), usually
lighthearted and easy to remember, alternates with other material. We can diagram
the basic idea like this: AbAcAdA. . . . The chief delight for most listeners in a
rondo is waiting for the familiar theme to return, and composers like to toy with
listeners by delaying this return with playful anticipation. Sophisticated versions
of the rondo are often used for the finales of symphonies, sometimes including
Coda
Variation form
Minuet
Trio
Scherzo
221
222
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
recurrences o f other material (for example, AbAcAbA) and the use of different
keys for the various parts, all of which makes for a structure and effect that goes
beyond the simple multiple returns of a theme. (Beethoven does not happen to use
this form in the Fifth Symphony).
Individual movements, often using forms like those just described, are normally
assembled into series to make a larger form. The box on page 223 gives a brief
overview of some of the typical larger forms that were usual during the Classic
period. Many of these are named more for their performing forces than for their
forms.
Listening to the Music
^
How to make a theme
out of a motive in
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony
Form
Exposition in sonata form
Development in sonata form
What might we hear when listening to the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth
Symphony? Melodies, of course. But in Beethoven we will hear a different sort
of melody from the shapely and expressive ones by Mozart; Beethoven’s musical
material is often formed from motives, which can be assembled into melodics.
We also hear qualities of the orchestral sound, perhaps the varying sounds of
different instruments, the loudness or softness of certain passages. The overall
form is also something we might notice, but we might be less conscious of the
structure of the piece than of other, more immediate elements. Form is impor­
tant, both for composer and listener, because it provides direction or an outline of
how a movement can be expected to progress. As a listener, form is not necessarily
what we hear first, or perhaps at all. Often we simply pay attention to a melody,
or a lush sound, or a surprising new effect. But even these observations are made
in context, and when we notice that a phrase is being repeated or that something
sounds similar to (or different from) a passage that came earlier, we are paying
attention to form, whether we realize it or not.
Form can give us a sense of gratification. How does this work? When the first
part of a minuet is repeated, for example, we are conscious of the repetition.
We may hear this repetition slightly differently than we heard the same music at
the beginning of the piece, in part because it is not new anymore and in part
because now we are better equipped to notice more details that might have gone
by too quickly the first time. When the first part of the minuet comes back for the
third time, after the trio, we may well feel a sense of coming home, as if we have
returned from a voyage.
In the more complex sonata form, the same ideas are present but in a more
intricate manner. The opening part—the exposition—is a voyage in itself because
it involves two themes (and two keys), with transitional and closing materials
that separate the themes. It seems like a complete experience, although vaguely
incomplete because it settles into a key different from the beginning key. When
the whole exposition is repeated we get a second chance, as with the minuet form,
to become familiar with the music before the composer begins the next section.
Even within the exposition, the basic idea of same and different, familiar and new,
is continuously present.
The development is also a combination of new and old. We recognize that this
section generally deals with familiar material; but the composer also wants to take
us as far afield as possible, or, in musical terms, to explore what interesting things
can be done with the musical material of the exposition. The development is
the place of highest tension, and it provides us with a sense of distance from the
familiar. At the retransition to the recapitulation—and the moment of arrival at
the now-familiar first theme—we feel a sense of relief.
CHAPTER 8
Ludw ig van B e e th o ve n ’s Sy m p h o n y No. 5 in C M in o r
223
Larger Classical Genres
any compositions of the Classic period are given names
that describe the performing forces (e.g.. string trio) rather
than the music itself. This is a practical matter, of course,
but also reflects that whatever the performing forces, the contents
are probably similar: several movements, in contrasting tempos,
usually involving at least one movement in sonata form. Some large
genres are likely to have four movements in the shape Fast (sonata
form)— Slow— Minuet— Fast. These four-movement pieces in­
clude the string quartet and the symphony. Others, like the sonata
and the concerto, are more likely to have three movements, omit­
ting the minuet.
Compositions for two or more solo players (as opposed to
orchestral compositions, which have more than one player on each
string part) are generally called chamber music because of their
suitability for performances in intimate spaces. Let us look at some
of the typical genres from this period:
M
Sonata. This term can be applied to an instrumental piece for piano
alone or for piano and another instrument (often violin, cello,
or a solo woodwind instrument). Most Classical sonatas have
three movements.
String Quartet. One of the favorite Classical ensembles, a string
quartet consists o f a first and a second violin, a viola, and a
cello, which makes the string quartet like a solo version of an
orchestra but without winds or brass. Some o f the greatest
works of Haydn. Mozart. Beethoven, and Schubert are writ­
ten for string quartet, which are often in four movements, like
those o f a symphony.
Trio, Quartet, Quintet, etc. Compositions for various combina­
tions of strings and winds are usually named according to the
number of players. One of Beethoven's most popular pieces in
his own time was the Septet for Strings and Winds, Op. 20. Such
pieces often follow the form of the symphony.
Serenade. A serenade can be for a chamber group or for an orches­
tra. It is seldom highly serious, being a concert version o f music
played outdoors during the evening. It usually has more than
four movements, including two or more minuets or other dance
movements.
Concerto. Written for one (or sometimes more than one) virtuoso
solo instrument with orchestra, a concerto usually has three
movements. The first is a modified version of sonata form (with
two expositions, one for the orchestra and one for the soloist):
this is followed by a slow movement, and a finale often in rondo
form.
Symphony. The chief genre of orchestral music in the Classic period,
it generally is cast in four movements. In the hands of Haydn.
Mozart, and Beethoven it progressed from an extended sort of
overture into the grandest achievement of orchestral music.
T h e r e c a p i t u l a t i o n is a ll f a m ilia r m a t e r i a l — o r is it? In t h e e x p o s it io n , t h e t r a n ­
Recapitulation in sonata form
s itio n f r o m t h e f ir s t t o t h e s e c o n d t h e m e m o v e s f r o m o n e k e y t o a n o t h e r . In th e
r e c a p i t u l a t i o n , t h e c o m p o s e r k e e p s u s in t h e h o m e k e y ; t h e s e c o n d t h e m e a n d
c lo s in g m a t e r i a l h e r e a r e a ls o in th is s a m e key. S o e v e n in t h e r e c a p i t u l a t i o n , w h o s e
p s y c h o lo g ic a l p u r p o s e is t o m a k e u s fe e l s o lid ly a t h o m e in t h e fa m ilia r, t h e r e is s till
a n e l e m e n t o f t h e n e w , w h i c h m a y b e p a r t o f w h a t k e e p s u s i n te r e s t e d .
Beethoven notably expanded the proportions of the standard first-movement
form, largely through longer developments and codas. But he used his skill in
developing themes from assemblages of motives to engage in a sort of continuous
development throughout. This is particularly notable in the first movement of the
Fifth Symphony (see L G 29, p. 224).
B e e th o v e n ’s l i s t e n e r s w e r e a c c u s t o m e d t o h e a r i n g p ie c e s t h a t e m p l o y e d th e
s t a n d a r d f i r s t - m o v e m e n t s h a p e , a n d m a y b e t h e y w e r e s o f a m ilia r w i t h it t h a t
t h e y s e l d o m d e s c r ib e d it in p r e c is e ly t h e s e t e r m s . I n fa c t, t h e d r a m a t i c s h a p e o f
t h e f o r m s e e m s t o b e o n e t h a t a r is e s n a t u r a lly : s i t u a t i o n (firs t t h e m e ) , t e n s i o n
( n e w key, n e w t h e m e ) , c ris is ( d e v e l o p m e n t ) , r e s o l u t i o n ( r e c a p i t u l a t i o n ) . In t h a t
s e n s e it w o u l d s e e m t o r e c r e a t e i t s e l f e v e r y t i m e a c o m p o s e r s a t d o w n t o w r i t e
a n e x te n d e d m o v e m e n t; h e w o u ld n o t h av e to th in k a b o u t th e “ru le s ” o f a p re ­
o rd a in e d s o n a ta fo rm .
M u s ic w r i t e r s a n d l i s te n e r s d o t h i n k o f s o n a t a f o r m t h a t w a y to d a y , h o w e v e r ,
a n d l i s te n in g f o r t h e f o r m is o n e v e r y i n t e r e s t i n g w a y o f t r y i n g t o fin d a n d k e e p
o n e ’s b e a r in g s in t h e c o u r s e o f a l o n g s y m p h o n i c m o v e m e n t . T h e r e a r e p l e n t y o f
o t h e r w a y s t o lis te n , a n d t h e c o m b i n a t i o n o f e n jo y in g th e s o u n d s o f t h e m o m e n t
w i t h a s e n s e o f w h e r e w e a r e , w h e r e w e ’v e b e e n , a n d w h e r e w e m i g h t ( o r m i g h t
n o t ) b e g o in g , is p a r t o f t h e f u n o f m u s ic .
O LG 29 Beethoven:
Symphony No. 5 .1
224
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
LISTENING GUIDE 29
© |DVD |
Beethoven Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67,1
6:56
(Allegro con brio)
DATE: 1807-08
L IS T E N F O R
MELODY: T h em es developed from sim ple m otive: short-short-
SCORING: M o m en ts o f solo instrum ents: h o rn , oboe, bassoon
short-long
EXPRESSION/DYNAMICS: D ynam ic contrasts (loud an d soft);
FORM: Difference in so u n d b etw ee n stable (them atic) po rtio n s
crescendos over lo n g stretches o f rep eated m otives
and unstable (transitional o r developm ental) p o rtio n s
TIM E
FO R M
DESCRIPTION
Exposition
0:00
First them e,
C m inor
Four-note m otive (SSSL), tw ice, w ith pauses. N o te th e dow n-up-dow n m elodic direction w hen
m otive is played tw ice:
/7 \___________ _________________ /Ts
0:06
M otive statem en ts co m b in ed into th em e.
0:17
M otive as fanfare, h ig h er th an before.
0:20
M otive statem en ts co m b in ed into th e m e, continued. N o te the crescendo, an d th e extension o f
th e m otive from SSSL to SSSLLL.
0:41
T ransition
Probably th e sh o rtest tran sitio n in sym phonic music:
Q ,1. «------------------ ----------------------------------------------------
jr
€
p
H o rn call derived from co m bining th e m otive w ith th e m elodic shape o f th e dow n-up-dow n o f
th e opening.
0:43
Second them e,
E^ m ajor
Lyrical second th em e, in w oodw inds, h eard against rh y th m ic acco m p an im en t o f the 4-note
m otive:
r
__ *___i X -
P d o lc e
Begun by violins, crescendos to , , ,
1:02
Closing them e,
E^ m ajor
v.' r rtirrrriQ ^ in
ii~ n
G radually tran sitio n s fro m sm o o th , regular m elody to original m otive.
C adence in E? m ajor.
1:20
Exposition Repeated
Development
2:39
O p en in g fanfare, an n o u n ce d by h o rn call:
/Tv
Tt m
^
f
CHAPTER 8
Ludw ig van B e e th o ve n ’s S y m p h o n y N o. 5 in C M in o r
2:44
Begins like exposition, b u t in a different key (F m inor).
3:14
Version o f tran sitio n th em e.
3:25
Focus o n th e tw o central notes.
3:34
T w o n o tes red u ced to one, in te rru p te d once. G radual decrescendo.
3:45
Second o u tb u rst o f m otive, rep eated , leading to . . .
225
Recapitulation
3:57
First th e m e,
C m in o r
O p en in g fanfare. H arm o n ized , n o t unison as before.
4:03
M otive statem en ts co m b in ed in to th em e. T h e o rch estratio n is different; n o te pizzicato in
double basses.
4:14
Pause as before (b u t n o m otive as fanfare). O b o e cadenza:
Adagio
0
■1*.
*• »
t~ iri
f'
/
4:26
M otive statem en ts co m b in ed in to th e m e, co n tin u ed . N ot quite the sam e as before, because it
does n o t m ove to a n ew key.
4:46
T ransition
4:47
Second them e,
C m ajor
5:11
C losing th em e,
C m ajor
Bassoons play th e “h o rn call.”
0 J.
-j
^
c
-
— — ------J
—
----- zfai
-------------- L——■------------
G radually tran sitio n s from sm o o th regular m elody to original m otive. Ju st w hen the sym ­
p h o n y could end, cadencing in C m a jo r . . .
Coda
5:30
5:42
Key is unclear. Basic m otive, fortissim o, haltin g for statem en ts o f m otive in w oodw inds.
Polyphonic section,
C m in o r
$
j t t
f
T
3, r m
p LLS'r
etc.
O p en in g m otive red u ced to tw o notes, as in developm ent, b u t the tw o notes are faster here.
M otive co m b in ed w ith sm o o th n ew th em e.
5:58
6:24
T w o n o tes b eco m e 4-note m otive:
A pparent closing
cadence, C m inor,
leading to . . .
6:28
O p en in g fanfare
o f original 4-note
m otives
H arm o n ized , like th e recapitulation; th e listener im agines th a t th e recapitulation is being
repeated.
6:36
O p en in g o f first
th em e
T h e listener really thinks th e recapitulation is b ein g repeated,
6:41
C losing cadence,
C m in o r
Loud, em phatic, in te rru p tin g th e th em e.
226
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
W H A T IS SPECIAL A B O U T THE FIFTH S Y M P H O N Y ?
T h e F if th S y m p h o n y is o n e o f t h e m o s t f r e q u e n t l y p la y e d p ie c e s o f c la s s ic a l m u s ic .
Its f o u r - n o t e o p e n i n g m o t i v e is a s s o c ia te d w i t h f a te , w i t h t h e s t r u g g l e f o r v i c t o r y
in t h e S e c o n d W o r ld W a r ( t h e r h y t h m o f t h e m o tiv e — s h o r t , s h o r t , s h o r t , l o n g —
m a t c h e s t h e l e t t e r V in M o r s e c o d e — d o t , d o t , d o t , d a s h — t h u s t h e t h e m e ’s c o n ­
n e c t i o n t o t h e w o r d a n d c o n c e p t o f “v i c t o r y ” ). T h e w o r k is s t r o n g , e x tr o v e r te d ,
a n d h e r o i c . Its s e n s e o f u n i t y d e r iv e s f r o m t w o id e a s : fir s t, B e e th o v e n ’s c a r e f u l
ty i n g t o g e t h e r o f t h e w h o l e s y m p h o n y b y u s in g r e l a t e d t h e m e s (s e e b e lo w ) ; a n d
s e c o n d , t h e s e n s e o f g o a l - o r i e n t a t i o n t h r o u g h o u t t h e s y m p h o n y , b e g i n n i n g in th e
k e y o f C m i n o r a n d e n d i n g in a b la z e , in t h e k e y o f C m a jo r , a s i f t h e c o m p o s e r
w e r e g o i n g f r o m d a r k n e s s t o lig h t.
^ Rhythmic unity of themes
throughout Beethovens Fifth
Symphony
LG 30 Beethoven:
Symphony No. 5. II
The relation of themes is easy to hear (see Unity of Themes, below). The first
movement is tightly woven from versions of a single idea—the short-short-shortlong motive that begins the movement and generates almost all the music in the
movement. And the core rhythmic idea of that motive extends to the other move­
ments of the symphony—a practice unique to Beethoven at this time. Although
each movement has its own independent character, each also has at least one
theme recalling the original rhythmic idea: the secondary theme in the slow' move­
ment (see LG 30, p. 227); the horn-call second idea in the scherzo (see LG 31,
p. 229); and the second theme in the finale (see LG 32, p. 230).
A c c o r d i n g t o h is b i o g r a p h e r A n t o n S c h in d le r , n o t a lw a y s a re lia b le w itn e s s ,
B e e th o v e n , w h e n a s k e d a b o u t t h e o p e n i n g f o u r - n o t e m o tiv e , s a id , “T h u s F a te
p o u n d s o n t h e g a t e . ” S o m e t h i n k t h a t it is B e e th o v e n ’s f a te , s u r e ly h is g r o w i n g
d e a f n e s s , t h a t B e e th o v e n m e a n t — if, o f c o u r s e , h e s a id it a t a ll. B u t w h e t h e r h e
d id o r d i d n ’t, it r e m a i n s t r u e t h a t h e c r e a t e d a n d e m p l o y e d a u n if y in g m o tiv e t h a t
re c u rs th ro u g h o u t th e w o rk .
Unity of Themes in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
O ne o f B eeth o v en s specialties w as m ak in g lo n g com positions o u t o f sh o rt m otives. T h e m otive th a t he used to co n stru ct
the w hole first m o v em en t, sh ort-sh ort-sh ort-lon g, keeps reap p earin g in all fo u r o f th e m ovem ents.
M O V EM E N T I:
T h e o p en in g fo u r n o tes give th e m otive and its rhythm :
$
±=n=
Jf
M O V EM E N T II: T h e secondary th e m e, preceded by its tw o -n o te d o tted upb eat, includes the four-note rhythm :
M O V EM E N T III: T h e horn-call seco n d th e m e in th e scherzo uses th e sam e rhythm :
$
k
3
j.r
M O V EM E N T IV: T h e second th em e o f th e finale uses a trip let version, m uch livelier, o f the sam e rhythm :
cpv cffr EflV r cp-ir i g H ^ | g
CHAPTER 8
LISTENING GUIDE 30
©
Lu dw ig van B e e th o ve n ’s S y m p h o n y No. S in C M in o r
227
| D V D |( ? )
Beethoven Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67, II
9:18
(Andante con moto)
DATE: 1807-08
LISTEN FOR
MELODY: Different ways o f making variations on a m elody
SCORING: Orchestra treated in groups: strings, woodwinds,
and brass
FORM: Alternation o f tw o them es (A and B)
TEXTURE: Varieties o f accom panim ent texture
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
0:00
T h em e A,
A 9 major
Violas and cellos play theme:
pdckc
f
The ending, prolonged, adds strings and winds. T h em e A in clarinets and bassoons m odulates
to loud C major.
1:10
T h em e B,
C m ajor
Brass and timpani, w ith triplet accom panim ent in the strings:
i
$
$
sempre
L »
w m
1:25
Transition
Mysterious harm onies lead back to A*» major.
1:50
T h em e A, var. 1,
A’ major
Violas and cellos again, sm ooth 8th notes; sam e long ending as before; same transition to
2:57
T h em e B, var. 1,
C m ajor
Same them e in brass, faster accom panim ent in the strings:
i
$
*
>,fca
3:12
Transition
Same harm onies as before, w ith om inous accom panim ent in cellos.
3:38
T h em e A, var. 2,
A 9 major
Violas and cellos play 32nd notes, pizzicato accompaniment:
etc.
(c o n tin u e d )
228
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
3:55
T h e m e A, var. 3,
A’ m ajo r
Violins take u p sam e version.
4:13
T h e m e A, var. 4,
A9 m ajor
Loud: cellos an d basses play sam e version b u t forte.
4:36
"M editations” on
T h e m e A, A’ m ajo r
5:26
T h e m e B, var. 2,
C m ajor
5:49
Transition
Tentative, gradually accelerating but very soft.
6:08
T h e m e A, var. 5,
A? m in o r
Q uiet; th e m e in d o tte d n o tes in w oodw inds:
6:30
T ransition
C onstructed o f ascending and descending scale passages.
6:46
T h e m e A, var. 6,
A’ m ajo r
Very loud, soft for the repeated endings:
7:31
Coda
New, faster tem p o ; related to "m ed itatio n s” earlier and to m any closing gestures o f m ain them e.
0 LG 31 Beethoven:
Symphony No. 5. Ill
0
LG 32 Beethoven:
Symphony No. 5. IV
Beethoven also connects the last two movements, lending a further sense of
unity to the symphony. The scherzo doesn’t really end at all, but leads into a tran­
sitional passage to the surprisingly triumphant opening of the finale, and the last
two movements become inseparable. (See LG 31, p. 229, and LG 32, p. 230.)
The arrival at heroic C major----- the change to a major key and the bombastic
entrance of brass and drums—at the beginning of the last movement is dazzling.
We know exactly when that moment arrives by its theme, even though the scherzo
never really ends; and the moment is emphasized by new instruments—the high­
est (piccolo) and lowest (contrabassoon) available, and some heavy artillery in the
form of three trombones, all of which have waited until now to play.
The transition from C minor to C major, epitomized in the motion from the
scherzo to the finale, is in fact at the heart of the whole symphony, a sort of musi­
cal depiction of struggle ending in triumph. This may be why Beethoven hammers
out the final C major chord so many times at the close of the symphony. Some­
how, we’ve earned it.
Perhaps Beethoven felt personal emotions that paralleled the musical ones
when he was planning this symphony. The drama of struggle, motion, and ulti­
mate triumph is one that many people sense in the music, and if it represented
something personal for Beethoven, it also represents something personal for many
of his listeners.
In purely musical terms, in 1808 it was an interesting and fairly novel concept
to link the movements of a symphony together in this way, making a much longer
piece of music. The symphony is a marvel of concision in its individual move­
ments, and a marvel of continuity when it is considered as a whole piece lasting
half an hour.
CHAPTER 8
LISTENING GUIDE 31
©
Ludw ig van Beethoven 's Sy m p h o n y N o. 5 in C M in o r
229
|DVD |
Beethoven Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67, III
(Allegro)
4:56
DATE; 1807-08
L IS T E N F O R
MELODY: Famous solo passages for the double basses
SCORING: O m inous solo tim pani at the final transition to last
m ovem ent; them e played by horns, related to opening motive
o f first m ovem ent
FORM: Transition to last m ovem ent, w ithout any break
TEXTURE: Fugal texture in the trio
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
Scherzo
0:00
O pening them e, C m inor
Begins w ith cellos and double basses, answered by winds. Notice halts:
PP
0:18
Second them e,
C m inor to E’ m inor
0:36
0:56
1:13
O pening them e, B’ m inor
Begins w ith horns:
Second them e, C m inor to F m inor
O pening them e, C m inor
Com bines w ith second them e, long crescendo to cadence.
Trio
1:43
First part, C m ajor
Lively fugue, begins w ith cellos and double basses:
r n m— h
r ------•I*
3 m1__J ~m1m-J__\ J i ----------------n
— m F r ----- F
\ r— TF
_ rI — T Fr — m
/ 4
Z_
m — m F r _M ____ __ r __m _
r I L l_ f_
— U — f--------
1:58
First part, repeated
2:14
Second part, C m ajor
Fugue restarts, b u t w ith halting steps in the basses:
/
2:42
Second part, repeated
Fades away, transition to . . .
Scherzo
3:13
C m inor
3:30
Second them e
Reorchestrated; spooky and quiet.
3:48
4:15
O pening them e, repeated, C m inor
Pizzicato.
4:31
Second them e, C m inor
Extended, shift from m inor to major, transition w ithout interruption to finale!
230
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
LISTENING GUIDE 32
©
| D V D |( f )
Beethoven Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67, IV (Allegro)
11:02
DATE: 1807-08
L IS T E N F O R
MELODY: T h em e 1 o u tlin in g C -m ajor triad. T h em e 2 uses
triplets, rem iniscent o f m otive from first m o v em en t
Very long coda; ending has m any repetitions o f the tonic
chord
FORM: Sonata-allegro form .T ran sitio n to recap itu latio n is
b o rro w ed from th e th ird m ovem ent.
SCORING: N ew in stru m en ts are added to th e orchestra:
piccolo, con trab asso o n , th ree tro m b o n es
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
Exposition
0:00
First th e m e
0:36
T ransition,
C m ajor to G m ajor
Lyrical tran sitio n begins w ith fanfare o f h o rn s an d w oodw inds:
4 " J:
J Ip
m odulates to G major.
1:02
Second them e,
G m ajor
Forceful m elody in trip let rh y th m is rem iniscent o f m otive from first m ovem ent:
f ffir ffr erfir
1:31
C losing them e,
G m ajor
ir=tf
D escending figure featuring clarinet an d violas:
♦
/p -
7
rrr
leads back to . . .
2:03
Exposition Repeated
Development
4:07
P a rti:
M odulating, clim axing
in lo u d d o m in an t chord
Based o n th e second them e.
5:43
P art 2:
T ransition to
recapitulation
M eter and te m p o change; re tu rn to second th e m e o f Scherzo, in n ew guise. Ends in rapid
crescendo, leading t o __
Recapitulation
6:14
First th e m e, C m a jo r
As before.
CHAPTER 8
Lu dw ig van B e e th o ve n ’s S y m p h o n y No. 5 in C M in o r
6:50
T ransition,
C m ajor
R em ains in h o m e key.
7:22
Second them e,
C m ajor
R em ains in h o m e key.
7:50
C losing th em e,
C m ajor
D escending figure; rem ains in h o m e key.
231
Coda (C major)
8:21
Section 1
Based o n second them e.
8:55
Section 2
Based o n tran sitio n th em e, accelerates to . . .
9:52
Section 3
Presto: based o n closing th e m e , culm inates in a version o f op en in g them e.
10:23
C onclusion
A lm ost endless repetitions o f final harm ony.
The Fifth Symphony Then and Now
B e e th o v e n ’s lis te n e r s d id n o t k n o w , o f c o u r s e , t h a t th e y w e r e h e a r i n g a s y m p h o n y
t h a t w o u l d b e c o m e o n e o f t h e b e s t k n o w n a n d m o s t p la y e d o f all t i m e . T h e y
th o u g h t th e y w e re g o in g to a c o n c e rt b y o n e o f th e le a d in g c o m p o s e rs o f th e ir
d a y a n d t h a t t h e y w o u l d b e f o r t u n a t e e n o u g h t o h e a r a g o o d d e a l o f m u s ic f o r
t h e m o n e y th e y p a id . T h e a u d i e n c e w a s p r o b a b l y m o r e i n t e r e s t e d in l i s te n in g t o
B e e th o v e n p la y h is p ia n o c o n c e r t o a n d im p r o v is e a f a n ta s ia , a n d in h e a r i n g th e
la r g e p ie c e s f o r c h o r u s a n d o r c h e s t r a , t h a n in l i s te n in g t o th e
s y m p h o n ie s .
V ie n n e s e a u d ie n c e s k n e w a b o u t s y m p h o n ie s , a n d th e y k n e w
h o w t o j u d g e t h e S y m p h o n y in C M in o r . T h e y k n e w w h a t t o
e x p e c t a n d w h e n t o s m ile o r b e s u r p r i s e d w h e n s o m e t h i n g n e w
a n d u n e x p e c t e d h a p p e n e d . B u t h o w t h e y a c tu a lly j u d g e d th e
The Critic and Composer E.T.A.
Hoffmann on Beethoven’s Fifth
Symphony, 1810
F if th is h a r d t o say, s in c e w e h a v e a l m o s t n o w r i t t e n r e c o lle c ­
ti o n s o f t h a t f ir s t h e a r in g .
T hey
w e re
e x p e r ts
at
c o n te m p o ra ry
m u s ic ,
w h ic h
B e e th o v e n ’s F if th w a s a t t h e tim e . T h e y h a d l i s t e n e d t o a la rg e
r e p e r t o i r e o f m u s ic f r o m t h e i r o w n t i m e a n d p la c e , m u s ic c o m ­
p o s e d in a fa irly u n i f o r m s ty le (w e n o w c a ll it V ie n n e s e C la s s ic a l
m u s ic ) . W h e n th e y h e a r d a n e w p ie c e , t h e y c o u l d re a d ily c a t ­
e g o r iz e it a n d k n o w w h a t t h e y lik e d a b o u t it, w h a t w a s p e d e s ­
t r i a n , a n d w h a t w a s e x c e p tio n a l. T h e y d i d n ’t h a v e t o lik e a
n e w p ie c e , b u t f r o m a t e c h n i c a l l i s te n in g s t a n d p o i n t th e y w e r e
e x p e r ts a t lis te n in g t o it.
In s o m e r e s p e c ts , t h e F if th S y m p h o n y w a s fa irly n o r m a l .
It w a s a b o u t t h e s a m e l e n g t h a s s y m p h o n i e s b y H a y d n a n d
M o z a r t , a n d it c o n f o r m e d t o t h e s t a n d a r d f o u r m o v e m e n t s a n d
t o t h e s h a p e s a n d e m o t i o n a l c o n t e n t th e y w e r e a c c u s t o m e d to
h e a r . P e r h a p s th e y a p p r e c i a t e d t h e e x t r e m e t e r s e n e s s o f th e
f ir s t m o v e m e n t , t h e fa c t t h a t it w a s b u i l t tig h tly f r o m a s in g le ,
v e r y s m a ll id e a . T h is w a s c o n s u m m a t e B e e th o v e n , a n d i f th e y
k n e w h is m u s ic t h e y w o u l d h a v e s m ile d . O r p e r h a p s th e y w e r e
g r i p p e d b y t h e s t r o n g e m o t i o n s t h a t B e e th o v e n ’s p a s s io n a te
t is certainly not merely an improvement in the means
of expression (perfection of instruments, greater virtu­
osity o f players), but also a deeper awareness of the pe­
culiar nature of music, that has enabled great composers
to raise instrumental music to its present level.
Mozart and Haydn, the creators of modern instrumen­
tal music, first showed us the art in its full glory; but the
one who regarded it with total devotion and penetrated
to its innermost nature is Beethoven. The instrumen­
tal compositions of all three masters breathe the same
romantic spirit for the very reason that they all intimately
grasp the essential nature of the art; yet the character of
their compositions is markedly different___
Beethovens music sets in motion the machinery of
awe. of fear, of terror, of pain, and awakens that infinite
yearning which is the essence o f romanticism. He is there­
fore a purely romantic composer. Might this not explain
why his vocal music is less successful, since it does not
permit a mood of vague yearning but can only depict
from the realm of the infinite those feelings capable of
being described in words?
I
232
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
music arouses in many of his listeners, then and now (see E.T.A. Hoffman on
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, p. 231). It was a symphony of standard shape, but
vessels of the same shape can hold water or champagne.
T o d a y , m o s t o f u s d o n o t k n o w m u c h a b o u t a n y o n e s ty le o f m u s ic , a n d a u d i ­
e n c e s f o r c la s s ic a l m u s i c ty p ic a lly d o n o t p r e f e r n e w m u s i c t o o ld . M a n y p e o p l e
w ill g o m u c h m o r e r e a d ily t o h e a r B e e t h o v e n ’s F if th S y m p h o n y t h a n t o h e a r t h e
l a t e s t w o r k b y a le a d i n g c o m p o s e r o f to d a y . W h i l e th is m a y b e r e g r e t t a b l e , it is
a ls o i m p o r t a n t t o r e m e m b e r t h a t w e d o n o t a ll lis te n t o j u s t o n e k i n d o f m u s ic .
W e a r e b l e s s e d w i t h a v a r i e t y o f m u s ic s t o c h o o s e f r o m , a n d w e c a n c h o o s e a n y
p ie c e s , f r o m a n y t i m e a n d p la c e , a n d a n y c u l t u r e in t h e w o r l d , t o lis te n t o a t
a n y t i m e . W e a r e n o t l i m i t e d t o l i s t e n i n g t o m u s i c o n l y w h e n s o m e o n e g iv e s a
c o n c e r t . W e p r o b a b l y w o u l d n o t w a n t t o s w a p t h e r i c h n e s s t h a t w e h a v e in t h e
t w e n t y - f i r s t c e n t u r y f o r t h e e x p e r t i s e o f B e e t h o v e n ’s l i s te n e r s . B u t w e m a y n e v e r
h a v e t h a t a c u t e e x p e r i e n c e o f l i s t e n i n g — fu lly l i s te n in g — t o a b r a n d - n e w p ie c e ,
w i t h fu lly e x p e r t e a r s .
It m i g h t b e i n t e r e s t i n g t o fin d o u t , i f w e a t t e n d e d a c o n c e r t f e a t u r i n g B e e th o v e n ’s
F ifth , h o w m a n y in t h e a u d i e n c e h a d n e v e r h e a r d t h e w o r k b e f o r e . T h e p r o p o r t i o n
w o u l d p r o b a b l y b e s m a ll. B u t h o w lu c k y t h o s e fe w w o u l d b e !
Chapter Review
Su m m ary o f M u sica l Styles
■ The
symphony — a
c o m p o s i t i o n f o r o r c h e s t r a , w i t h o u t v o ic e s o r i n s t r u m e n ­
ta l s o lo is ts — is o n e o f t h e m a j o r i n s t r u m e n t a l g e n r e s o f t h e C la s s ic p e r io d .
B e e th o v e n ’s F if th S y m p h o n y m a y b e t h e u l t i m a t e r e a liz a tio n o f th is g e n r e .
■
In a C la s s ic a l s y m p h o n y , t h e r e is o f t e n a d if f e r e n c e b e t w e e n m u s ic t h a t is a
t h e m e , w h e r e a c le a r a n d m e m o r a b l e m e l o d y is p r e s e n t e d , a n d m u s ic t h a t is
n o t t h e m a t i c . T h e n o n t h c m a t i c a r e a s t e n d t o b e a c tiv e , a g i t a t e d , a n d d e l i b e r ­
a te ly u n c l e a r a b o u t key.
■ W h ile B a r o q u e m u s ic g e n e r a l l y s e e k s t o e x p r e s s a s in g le e m o t i o n o r fe e lin g in
a p ie c e , a s y m p h o n i c m o v e m e n t u s u a lly p r e s e n t s t w o o r m o r e m u s ic a l t h e m e s ,
in c o n t r a s t i n g s ty le , w i t h i n t h e s a m e m o v e m e n t , th e r e b y p r o v id i n g a r ic h c o n ­
t r a s t o f m o o d s w i t h i n a s in g le , l o n g e r m o v e m e n t .
■ A ty p ic a l f o u r - m o v e m e n t s y m p h o n y s t a r t s w i t h a s u b s ta n tia l f ir s t m o v e m e n t in
sonata form,
f o llo w e d b y a
slow movement,
a
m inuet and trio,
and a
finale
t h a t is u s u a lly u p b e a t a n d lively.
first-movement sonata form c o n s is ts o f exposition, development, a n d
recapitulation. S o m e t i m e s a coda is a d d e d t o t h e e n d o f t h e r e c a p i t u l a t i o n , to
■ The
c lo s e t h e m o v e m e n t . B e e th o v e n ’s F ifth S y m p h o n y u s e s th is d e s ig n f o r t h e firs t
a n d la s t m o v e m e n ts .
■ O n e o f B e e th o v e n ’s s p e c ia ltie s w a s u n if y i n g t h e s y m p h o n y . T h e m o tiv e t h a t h e
u s e d t o c o n s t r u c t t h e w h o l e firs t m o v e m e n t , s h o r t - s h o r t - s h o r t - l o n g , r e a p p e a r s
in t h e o t h e r t h r e e m o v e m e n t s . H is a b ility t o c o m p o s e l o n g s t r e t c h e s o f m u s ic
b y w e a v in g t o g e t h e r m u ltip l e v e r s io n s o f a s m a ll m o tiv e is d is p la y e d t h r o u g h ­
o u t t h e s y m p h o n y , e s p e c ia lly in t h e t r a n s i t i o n a l a n d d e v e l o p m e n t s e c tio n s .
CHAPTER 8
Ludw ig van B e e th o ve n ’s Sy m p h o n y N o. S in C M in o r
© M ultim edia Resources and Review Materials
on StudySpace
Visit wwnor ton. com /study space for review o f Chapter 8.
What Do You Know?
Check the facts for this chapter. Take the online Quiz.
What Do You Hear?
Listening Quizzes and Music Activities will help you understand the musical
works in this chapter.
^ A u th o r Videos
■ How to make a theme out of a motive in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
■ Rhythmic unity of themes throughout Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
Interactive Listening Guides
LG 29
LG 30
LG 31
LG 32
Beethoven:Symphony No.
Beethoven:Symphony No.
Beethoven:Symphony No.
Beethoven:Symphony No.
5 in C Minor, Op. 6 7 ,1 (Allegro conbrio)
5 in C Minor, Op. 67, II (Andante con moto)
5 in C Minor, Op. 67, III (Allegro)
5 in C Minor, Op. 67, IV (Allegro)
Flashcards (Terms to Know)
chamber music
coda
development
exposition
first-movement sonata form
minuet and trio
movements
pianoforte, piano
recapitulation
retransition
rondo form
scherzo
sonata form
symphony
variation form
variations
233
NOVEMBER 1826, VIENNA:
A Schubertiade at Joseph von Spaun’s
C O R E R E P E R T O IR E
■ LG 33 Die Forelle (The Trout)
■ LG 34 Gretchen am Spinnrade
(Gretchen at the Spinning
Wheel)
■ LG 35 Der Erlkonig (The Erlking)
m LG 36 The “Trout" Quintet, IV
^
A U T H O R V ID E O S
• Accompaniment in Gretchen am
Spinnrade
Introduction
“I went to Spaun's where there was a big, big Schubertiade ...a hugegathering.
. . . I was moved almost to tears. . . . When the music was done, there was
grand feeding and then dancing. ”
—Diary of Franz von Hartmann. 1826
T h e p a r t i c u l a r e v e n t w e im a g in e h e r e t o o k p la c e e i g h t e e n y e a r s a f te r t h e p r e m ie r e o f
B e e th o v e n 's F ifth S y m p h o n y , a n d f o u r y e a r s b e f o r e t h e p r e m ie r e o f B e r lio z ’s
tic Symphony (Symphonicfantastique).
Fantas­
B u t w h y h a v e a n o t h e r c h a p t e r s i t u a t e d w ith in
th is n a r r o w w i n d o w o f tim e ? B e c a u s e a S c h u b e r tia d e a llo w s u s t o t u r n o u r a t t e n ­
t i o n t o s m a lle r -s c a le , p r iv a te m u s ic - m a k in g . M a n y o f o u r c h a p te r s a n d o u r p ie c e s
d e a l w i t h la v is h c e r e m o n ia l o r p u b lic e v e n ts , m u s ic c o m p o s e d o n a g r a n d s c a le f o r a
la rg e — o r a t le a s t i m p o r t a n t — a u d ie n c e . S u c h m u s ic is a p p r o p r ia te ly im p o s in g in its
le n g t h a n d p e r f o r m i n g fo rc e s , a n d d e s ig n e d t o b e p e r f o r m e d b y e x p e r t p r o f e s s io n a l
m u s ic ia n s , u s u a lly in t h e h o p e o f m a k i n g m o n e y o r o f s a tis fy in g a p a t r o n .
But ours is a private event. Beginning in 1821, Vienna became host to numerous
events known as Schubertiades, intimate social gatherings named for the com­
poser Franz Schubert, who was the main attraction at these gatherings and who
provided the music—almost always his own—to entertain a circle of close friends.
Such events were not designed to make money, nor were they music on a grand
scale. They were informal evenings given over to socializing, eating, drinking,
dancing, and lots of music.
Schubertiades
W e d o n o t k n o w e x a c tly w h i c h p ie c e s w e r e p e r f o r m e d o n w h i c h e v e n in g s d u r ­
in g S c h u b e r t 's lif e tim e , o r i n d e e d t h e d a t e s o f a ll t h e g a th e r in g s . B u t w e d o k n o w
t h e n a m e s o f m a n y o f t h e w o r k s p e r f o r m e d a n d e v e n w h a t s o m e o f th e s e e v e n in g s
w e r e lik e . T h i s c h a p te r , t h e r e f o r e , is n o t a b o u t a s p e c ific p ie c e o f m u s ic b u t r a t h e r
a b o u t a n e v e n in g — a S c h u b e r t i a d e — t h a t
might h a v e
t a k e n p la c e . W e w ill lis te n t o
s o m e o f S c h u b e r t ’s m o s t f a m o u s m u s ic a n d i m a g i n e w h a t o c c u r r e d a n d w h o p e r ­
f o r m e d , m e e t s o m e o f h is c lo s e f r ie n d s , a n d t r y t o e s ta b lis h h o w s o m e o f h is w o r k s
m i g h t h a v e b e e n re c e iv e d .
L e t u s p a u se a m o m e n t to c o n s id e r th e te r m
chamber music — m u s ic
p e rfo rm e d
Chamber music
b y a s m a ll n u m b e r o f p e o p l e f o r a s m a ll a u d i e n c e — t h a t is, in a c h a m b e r , n o t in a
c o n c e r t h a ll. ( M u c h c h a m b e r m u s ic
does g e t
p e r f o r m e d in c o n c e r t h a lls t h e s e d a y s,
b u t t h a t ’s a n o t h e r m a t t e r .) S o n g s , s tr i n g q u a r t e t s , m u s ic f o r s o lo i n s t r u m e n t w i t h
p ia n o , a n d v a r i o u s o t h e r c o m b i n a t i o n s a r e ty p ic a l. E a c h p e r f o r m e r h a s h is o r h e r
o w n p a r t — w e d o n o t s e e o r h e a r a g r o u p o f e i g h t f ir s t v io lin s , f o r e x a m p l e , a s w e
w o u l d in a n o r c h e s t r a l s e t t i n g — a n d m o s t c h a m b e r m u s ic is i n t e n d e d a s m u c h f o r
t h e p l e a s u r e o f t h e p la y e r s a s f o r t h e a u d ie n c e s . T h e e s s e n tia l t r a i t o f th is m u s ic is
its i n t i m a t e , c lo s e - u p q u a lity , w h ic h is o f t e n m is s in g f r o m o r c h e s t r a l m u s ic . In t h e s e
s m a l l e r w o r k s , t h e r e c a n b e a n a t t e n t i o n t o d e ta il, t h e c o m p o s e r c a n w r i t e f o r a n
a u d ie n c e o f e x p e r ie n c e d lis te n e r s , a n d t h e p e r f o r m a n c e is p r iv a te a n d p r iv ile g e d .
In a d d itio n , c h a m b e r m u s ic is d e s ig n e d , a t le a s t in p a r t , f o r t h e a m a t e u r s in
m u s ic — in th is c a s e , " a m a t e u r ” h a s a p o s itiv e c o n n o t a t i o n a s s o m e o n e w h o lo v e s
m u s ic — a n d t o g iv e p le a s u r e t o fr ie n d s .
© Schubert: String Quartet
No. 10. IV
236
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
The Setting
V IE N N A IN 1826
We have already seen something of Beethoven’s Vienna in the previous chapter.
In the eighteen intervening years between the premiere of Beethoven’s Fifth Sym­
phony and our evening with Schubert, Vienna had seen many changes. From 1805
through 1815, the city was repeatedly occupied by Napoleon’s
troops. In 1814, a conference of ambassadors of European states
J. F. Reichardt on the
convened in Vienna to redraw the continent’s political map (see
map of Europe, p. 170) and to settle other issues arising from
Viennese Theater
the numerous wars, including the French Revolution and the
Napoleonic Wars, as well as the dissolution of the Holy Roman
n the city and in the suburbs five theaters of the most
Empire. It was a time of major upheaval, and the Congress of
varied sort give performances all the year round. At the
Vienna took almost a year to finalize the settlement, which
two court theaters in the city itself, one sees every­
occurred nine days before Napoleon’s final defeat at Waterloo.
thing outstanding in the way of grand and comic opera,
comedy, and tragedy that Germany produces— and. in
The period after the Congress of Vienna and before the
some measure. Italy and France as well___On days when
revolution of 1848 is sometimes called “Biedermeier,” after a
no play is scheduled, all these theaters give great concerts
fictional newspaper character—Gottfried Biedermeier, a selfand performances o f the most important ancient and
confident middle-class schoolmaster. It is a time of growing
modern music for church and concert hall. Aside from
middle-class institutions, a widening access to the arts, and
this, all winter long there are frequent public concerts,
by local and visiting musicians, and excellent quartet and
an increased emphasis on domestic institutions—a period
amateur concerts by subscription.. . . All the great pub­
that moves from the heroic to the homey. In such a context,
lic diversions and amusements are enjoyed by all classes
the music of Franz Schubert—himself a schoolmaster and the
without any abrupt divisions or offending distinctions—
son of a schoolmaster—reflects its time: the music is personal,
in these respects. Vienna is again quite alone among the
intimate, and domestic, and it was, in Schubert’s era, most
great cities o f Europe.
often heard in private gatherings.
Vienna was a crowded and dirty city. As in Beethoven’s time,
living conditions were close and not particularly healthful. Many women died in child­
birth; orphaned children were raised by relatives. Schubert’s father married twice
and had nineteen children, only nine of whom survived into adulthood. Schubert's
brother Ferdinand married twice and had twenty-eight children, of whom twelve
survived. Countless children were illegitimate, at least officially, because their par­
ents could not meet the stringent requirements of education and wealth that were
necessary for marriage. In such crowded living conditions, coffeehouses and taverns
were gathering places for refreshment and conversation—and sometimes music.
I
E n t e r t a i n m e n t s w e r e m a n y . O p e r a , t h e a t e r , a n d c o n c e r ts
Music-Making in the Home
w e r e f r e q u e n t , a n d p u b lic c o n c e r t s h a d n o w b e c o m e a l m o s t
r e g u l a r e v e n ts (s e e J. F. R e ic h a r d t o n t h e V ie n n e s e T h e a t e r ,
a b o v e le ft). T h e S o c ie ty o f M u s ic a l A r tis ts p r e s e n t e d o c c a s io n a l
A view of musical life in Biedermeier Vienna:
he number of amateurs is immense. In almost every
family of several members there is an amateur.
Pianos are certainly never missing in prosperous
houses, and in narrowly built houses often the comic
situation arises that the parties must make appointments
regarding the hours in which they want to practice. Very
often one hears in a house violin playing on the ground
floor, piano on the first floor, flute on the second, sing­
ing and guitar on the third, while, into the bargain, in the
courtyard, a blind man exerts himself on a clarinet.
T
la rg e -s c a le c o n c e r t s , a n d t h e S o c ie ty o f F r ie n d s o f M u s ic , a n
o r g a n i z a t i o n o f a m a t e u r s , g a v e e v e n in g s o f o r c h e s t r a l a n d c h o ­
r a l m u s ic a s w e ll a s T h u r s d a y - e v e n i n g c o n c e r t s o f c h a m b e r
m u s ic . S c h u b e r t ’s c o m p o s i t i o n s w e r e o c c a s io n a lly p r e s e n t e d
o n o n e o r a n o t h e r s c r ie s .
M u s ic - m a k in g w a s n o t l i m i t e d t o t h e p u b lic s p h e r e . A g r o w ­
in g b o u r g e o i s i e in c r e a s in g ly c u ltiv a te d m u s ic in t h e h o m e ,
a m o n g f a m ily m e m b e r s a n d g a t h e r i n g s c a lle d
salons
a t th e
h o u s e s o f t h e w e ll- to - d o . S c h u b e r t ’s r e g u l a r m u s ic a l a c tiv itie s
w i t h h is f r ie n d s w e r e p a r a lle l e d a ll o v e r V ie n n a (s e e M u s ic M a k in g in t h e H o m e , le ft).
CHAPTER 9
A Schu bertiad e at Joseph vo n Sp aun's
237
SCHUBERT IN V IE N N A
Schubert, son and brother of schoolteachers, was expected to become a
schoolteacher himself (see biography, p. 238). For a while, he did serve
as a teacher, but it was obvious early on that he was not cut out for the
family profession.
In keeping with the emphasis on learning by his father and brothers,
S c h u b e r t w a s e d u c a t e d in g o o d s c h o o ls ( h e h a d w o n a n a u d i t i o n a n d s u n g
f o r s o m e y e a r s a s a s o p r a n o in t h e C o u r t C h a p e l) . H e l e a r n e d a g o o d d e a l
o f m u s ic b y p la y in g v io lin in a s c h o o l o r c h e s t r a , b e c o m i n g a c o m p e t e n t
p la y e r a n d i m p r o v is e r o n t h e p ia n o . A n d h e w a s f o r t u n a t e e n o u g h t o h a v e
s t u d ie d c o m p o s i t i o n w i t h t h e f a m o u s c o u r t c o m p o s e r A n t o n i o S a lie ri
( w h o u s e d to t r e a t h i m a n d h is o t h e r s t u d e n t s t o ic e c r e a m ) .
Living sometimes at home, sometimes alone, but most often with
one or more of his circle of friends (see Figure 9.1), Schubert was active
with groups, clubs, and societies that combined a concern for human
betterment with a desire for art and “agreeable pastimes.” Typically
the friends in his circles were not fellow musicians, but poets, painters,
theater people, government officials, and bureaucrats (see pp. 242-43 for
a d e s c r i p t i o n o f s o m e o f h is f r ie n d s ).
P h y sic a lly , S c h u b e r t w a s s h o r t a n d s to c k y . H e w a s d e s c r ib e d b y a fe llo w s e m i
n a ry s tu d e n t as
strongly developed, firm b o n es and firm m uscles, ro u n d e d ra th e r th a n angular. N eck
sh o rt an d pow erful; shoulders, chest and pelvis b ro ad an d finely arched; arm s and
thighs ro u n d ed ; h ands and feet small; his w alk brisk and vigorous. His head, w hich
w as ra th e r large, ro u n d and strongly built, w as su rro u n d ed by a shock o f b ro w n
curly h air . . . . His eyes, w hich w ere soft and, if 1 am n o t m istaken, light b ro w n
in co lo u r and w hich b u rn e d brightly w h en he w as excited, w ere heavily overshad­
ow ed by ra th e r p ro m in e n t orbital ridges and bushy eyebrow s___ N ose m ed iu m size,
blunt, ra th e r tu rn e d -u p .. . . O n his chin th e so called b eau ty dim ple.
H e w a s a ls o k n o w n f o r h is i n s o u c i a n t a t t i t u d e t o w a r d h is o w n p h y s ic a l a p p e a r a n c e ;
Because o f his sh o rt sight he always w ore spectacles [see Figure 9.2], w hich he did
n o t take o ff even d u rin g sleep. D ress w as a th in g in w hich he to o k n o in terest w h a t­
ever: co n seq u en tly he disliked g oing into sm a rt society, for w hich he had to take
m ore tro u b le w ith his clothes.
W c k n o w le s s a b o u t S c h u b e r t a s a p e r s o n t h a n w e m i g h t lik e . T h e p i c t u r e m o s t
o f t e n p a i n t e d o f h i m is o f a p r iv a te , a ffa b le in d iv id u a l, d e v o t e d t o h is fr ie n d s ; a m a n
w h o n e v e r s u c c e e d e d in t h e r e a lm o f “p u b lic ” m u s ic — o f o p e r a s a n d s y m p h o n i e s
a n d p u b lis h e r s — b u t w h o s e i n t i m a t e a n d h e a r t f e l t s o n g s a n d p ia n o p ie c e s c h a r m e d
t h e w o r l d a r o u n d h i m a n d e v e n tu a lly t h e w o r l d a t la rg e .
T h o s e w h o w e r e p r iv i le g e d t o w i t n e s s S c h u b e r t a t w o r k w e r e i m p r e s s e d b y h o w
t h e m u s ic s e e m e d t o p o u r o u t o f h i m ( a l t h o u g h in t r u t h , S c h u b e r t m a i n t a i n e d t h a t
it w a s n o t a s e a s y a s it s e e m e d ) . Y ears la te r , t h e l a w y e r L e o p o ld v o n S o n n l c i t h n e r
w o u l d d e s c r ib e w h a t h e r e m e m b e r e d o f S c h u b e r t , t h e c o m p o s e r :
A nyone w h o has seen h im o f a m o rn in g occupied w ith co m p o sitio n , aglow, w ith
his eyes shining and his speech changed, like a so m nam bulist, will never forget the
im p re ssio n .. . . It w as in terestin g to see h im com pose. H e very seldom m ad e use o f
FIG. 9.1 Moritz von Schwind's draw­
ing of Franz Schubert (center), the
composer Franz Lachner (left), and
playwright Eduard von Bauernfeld.
all drinking wine.
238
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
Franz scmiBerr (1797- 1828)
S ch u b ert lived only to th e age o f
in 1827. H e died th e follow ing year, b u t n o t before p erfo rm ­
th irty-one, b u t in his sh o rt life,
ing at th e last Schubertiade, o n Jan u ary 28, and giving a
passed alm o st exclusively in Vienna,
final public co n cert o f his ow n m usic on M arch 26. W h en
h e created m usic th a t captivated his
S ch u b ert died, o n N ovem ber 19, he h ad been reading the
friends— and an increasingly w ider
q u in te sse n tia l^ A m erican a u th o r Jam es F enim ore C o o p er
circle o f adm irers.
and listening to a B eethoven string q u a rte t p erfo rm ed at his
At the age o f eleven he becam e a
bedside.
choirboy in St. S tep h en ’s C athedral.
S ch u b ert's m usical style is lyrical, often songlike, and
A stu d en t at th e prestig io u s Im perial
fam o u s for its expressive use o f harm ony. Even in his larger
and Royal C ity College, he co n tin u ed to play p ian o and violin,
pieces, like th e sonatas and fantasias for piano, o r th e sym ­
im pressing everyone aro u n d him . A fter passing his exam s in
phonies, beau tifu l m elody an d h arm o n ic richness are typical
1814, S chubert to o k a jo b a t his fa th e r’s school. All th e w hile,
hallm arks.
how ever, he w as w o rk in g as a com poser.
© Schubert: “Wanderer” Fantasy
© Schubert: “Unfinished" Symphony, I
© Schubert: “Das Wandern." from Die schone Mullerin
Realizing th a t h e could n o t co n tin u e as a sch o o lm aster for­
ever, S chubert tried o th e r possibilities, never q u ite achieving
the econom ic stability he sought. G radually gaining recogni­
tion for his com positions, th ro u g h private an d occasional p u b ­
M AJOR W O RK S: O v er 600 Lieder, including Der Erlkonig (The
lic perform ances, S ch u b ert co n tin u ed to com pose sym phonies,
Erlking), th e so n g cycles (groups o f related songs) Die schone
operas, piano m usic, and especially, songs.
Mullerin (The Beautiful Miller's Daughter) and Winterreise (W in­
By 1823 S ch u b ert h ad co n tra cted a disease— m o st likely
ter’s Journey)-, 9 sym phonies, including the “U nfinished”; ch am ­
on
b e r m usic, including th e “T ro u t” Q u in te t (P iano Q u in te t in A
S ch u b ert’s passionate sexual drive, th o u g h n o t o n its objects—
M ajor) and th e “D eath an d the M aiden” Q u a rte t (String Q u ar­
his sexual o rien tatio n has b een the subject o f m u ch discussion.
te t in D M inor); 22 piano sonatas and o th e r sh o rt pian o pieces;
syphilis— from
w hich
he w o u ld
die. Scholars agree
S chubert served as a to rch b earer at B eethoven’s funeral
6 Masses; and n u m e ro u s o p eras and choral w orks.
th e pian o fo rte w hile d o in g it. H e often used to say it w o u ld m ake h im lose his train
o f th o u g h t. . . . H e w o u ld . . . b ite his pen, d ru m w ith his fingers at the sam e tim e,
try in g things o u t, and co n tin u e to w rite easily and fluently, w ith o u t m any correc­
tions, as if it had to b e like th a t and n o t otherw ise. A nd how right he was!
H is fa c ility w i t h c o m p o s i n g w a s j u s t o n e o f s e v e ra l h a l f - t r u t h s a b o u t t h e y o u n g
S c h u b e r t. T h a t h e w a s u n s u c c e s s f u l in t h e r e a l m o f p u b lic m u s ic w a s a ls o n o t
e n t i r e l y t r u e . S c h u b e r t d id in fa c t h a v e s u c c e s s in t h e t h e a t e r — h e
p ie c e s p e r f o r m e d in t h e m a j o r t h e a t e r s ; h e
did in v o lv e
t i o n o f s y m p h o n i e s a n d o t h e r la rg e -s c a le w o r k s ; a n d h e
did h a v e
s e v e ra l
h im s e lf w ith th e c o m p o s i­
did u l t i m a t e l y
g a in c o n s id ­
e r a b le s u c c e s s f r o m h is p u b lis h e d w o r k s . N o r w a s h e t h e p a r a g o n o f g o o d - n a t u r e d
h u m o r s o o f t e n d e p ic t e d .
Schubert and Beethoven
A l t h o u g h S c h u b e r t a n d B e e th o v e n i n h a b i t e d t h e s a m e city, t h e y liv e d in v e r y
d if f e r e n t w o r ld s . B e e th o v e n w a s n o t a n a tiv e , b u t h is v i r t u o s i t y m a n a g e d t o a t t r a c t
a f o llo w in g o f r ic h a r i s t o c r a t s w h o p r o v id e d s u p p o r t a n d a d m i r e d h i m . H e w a s
e s t e e m e d b y a w id e i n t e r n a t i o n a l p u b lic w h o k n e w h is w o r k s , in p a r t b e c a u s e o f
t h e i r e x te n s iv e p u b lic a tio n . E v e n t h o u g h h e c o u l d b e d iff ic u lt a n d s t u b b o r n , t e n d ­
in g t o w a r d t h e s o lita ry , h e h a d a s m a ll c irc le o f lo y a l s u p p o r t e r s .
S c h u b e r t w a s , t o a n e x te n t , B e e th o v e n ’s o p p o s ite . H e w a s a n a tiv e o f V ie n n a , b o r n
tw e n ty - s e v e n y e a r s a f te r B e e th o v e n , g r e w u p a m o n g fr ie n d s , a n d liv e d a m o n g t h e m
h is w h o le life. H e d id n o t m o v e in h ig h s o c ia l c irc le s , a n d h is p ro lific c o m p o s i tio n a l
CHAPTER 9
A Schu bertiad e at Joseph vo n S p a u n ’s
239
output, unlike Beethoven's, did not attract public recognition. Although works of
his were published during his lifetime, these were mainly smaller works such as
songs and piano pieces (e.g., dances and marches). His audience was made up of
close friends and associates interested in the music, literature, and the arts. The lot­
tery official and dramatist Eduard von Bauemfeld (1802-1890), one of Schubert’s
inner-circle friends, recalled how he met the young composer, and how a group of
friends formed:
I w as sittin g th u s in m y den, o n e evening in February 1825, w h en m y b o y h o o d friend,
[the p ain ter M oritz von] Schw ind, b ro u g h t S ch u b ert to see m e, w h o m eanw hile had
already b ecom e fam ous or, at least, w ell know n. We w ere soon o n intim ate te rm s
w ith one an o th er. A t S chw ind’s req u est I h ad to recite so m e crazy y outhful p o em s o f
m ine; w e th e n w en t to th e piano, w h ere S ch u b ert sang an d w e also played duets, and
later to an inn till far into th e night. T h e b o n d w as sealed, w e th re e friends rem ained
inseparable from th a t day o n . But o th e rs to o g ro u p e d them selves ro u n d us, m ostly
painters and m usicians, a circle o f people, w ith a zest for life and w ith sim ilar aim s
and ideas, w h o shared to g e th er th e ir joys and sorrow s.
Schubert’s life was essentially a private one. He was described as outgoing and
friendly, but behind the scrim was a dark side. Baucrnfeld characterized him as
having “a double nature, the Viennese gaiety being interwoven and ennobled by a
trait o f deep melancholy. Inwardly a poet and outwardly a kind of hedonist.” More
than one obituary also reflected on his dual disposition: “Falsity and envy were
utter strangers to him; his character was a mixture of tenderness and coarseness,
sensuality and candour, sociability and melancholy.” He was known for the heavy
drinking noted by several of his friends; there were many late evenings at taverns,
where Schubert was never one to hold back.
Music was for many of Schubert’s contemporaries as much a pastime as it was
an art. Many houses had pianos, and it was customary for people to learn to play
and to sing, and to entertain each other at social gatherings. Relatively simple
music for voice with piano accompaniment was much favored. Vocal ensembles,
sometimes on humorous subjects, were meant to entertain. Music for two people
to play at one piano (“four-hands”) gave young people a chance to sit close. And
there was lots of dance music; Schubert’s dances for the piano number in the hun­
dreds, and he was well know for improvising dance music for his friends, making
up an endless stream of schottischcs (a popular ballroom dance), waltzes, German
dances—whatever was wanted.
The compositions that Schubert’s contemporaries would have considered seri­
ous music were designed for other places. His concert arias, chamber music, over­
tures, and symphonies were intended for aristocratic salons or for the more public
performances at musical societies, which were increasingly presenting concerts of
chamber and orchestral music.
But the demand was for entertainment, not art. Publishers wanted dances
and songs, and they begged Schubert and others to keep it simple. One aspect of
Schubert’s genius is that he was able to take the music of the salon and turn it into
high art.
Indeed Schubert was himself, in a sense, an amateur, in that he sang his songs
and played the piano, without thinking of himself as a professional performer. His
voice, said Bauernfcld, was a composer’s voice, “halfway between a gentle tenor
and a baritone, his manner of performance simple and natural, sensitive, without
any affectation.” As a pianist and accompanist, Bauernfcld said that “without being
a virtuoso he was wholly adequate as an accompanist and made up in intelligence
and feeling what he lacked in technical perfection.”
FIG. 9.2 A pair of Schubert's eye­
glasses. resting on a manuscript of
his music. Schubert never took his
glasses off. even in bed.
Music as a pastime
24 0
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
FIG. 9.3 An 1827 pastel, by Joseph
Teltscher, showing (left to right)
Johann Baptist Jenger (an amateur
pianist). Anselm Hiittenbrenner (a
composer) and Franz Schubert
Schubert was one of the more widely published—and
purchased—composers in Vienna in the 1820s. His first
publication was the song Der Erlkonig (The Erlking, a child­
stealing forest spirit), which would become one of his
most famous works. It had been no easy matter getting
the piece published, but a public performance by the wellknown opera singer Johann Michael Vogl, on March 7,
1821, helped turn the tide. The concert, given in the Karntnertortheater (the site of the premiere of Beethoven’s
Ninth Symphony), was an annual event presented by the
Society of Noblewomen for the Promotion of the Good
and the Useful. These concerts were important social
events, and Schubert’s song was a hit, along with two of
his pieces for vocal ensemble—Das Ddtfchen (The Little Vil­
lage), for two tenors and two basses, and Gesang des Geistes
uberden Wassern (Song of the Spirit over the Waters), for four
tenors and four basses. Anselm Hiittenbrenner (see Figure 9.3), who played the
piano (and later published an Erlkonig Waltz), reported that
Vogl sang so splendidly and w ith such en th u siasm th a t Erlkonig h ad to be repeated.
I played th e acco m p an im en t o n a n ew g ra n d piano by K onrad Graf. S chubert, w ho
could have played his o w n com positions as w ell as I, w as to o shy to be induced to do
so; h e co n ten ted h im se lf w ith standing n ear m e an d tu rn in g pages.
C r itic s p a id a t t e n t i o n : “e x c e lle n tly s u n g b y V o g l; it m a d e a g r e a t e ffe c t. A m a s ­
t e r p i e c e o f m u s ic a l p a i n t i n g ,” w r o t e o n e ; V o g l’s “b o l d p e r f o r m a n c e b r o k e d o w n
t h e b a r r i e r s f o r t h e s im p le a n d m o d e s t m a s t e r , a n d p r e s e n t e d t h e n e w p r in c e o f
s o n g ,” w r o t e a n o t h e r . It is n o w o n d e r , t h e n , t h a t S c h u b e r t c h o s e
Erlkonig t o
b e h is
f ir s t p u b lis h e d w o r k .
B u t e v e n b e f o r e t h e c o n c e r t , S c h u b e r t ’s w o r k s h a d b e g u n t o c ir c u la te o u ts id e
h is o w n c irc le . A D r e s d e n n e w s p a p e r r e p o r t e d e n th u s i a s tic a ll y t h a t t h e y o u n g
co m p o ser
has set to m usic several songs by th e b est p o ets (m ostly G oethe), w hich testify to the
p ro fo u n d est studies co m b in ed w ith genius w o rth y o f adm iration, and a ttract the
eyes o f th e cultivated m usical w orld. H e know s h o w to p ain t in sound, and th e songs
Die Forelle, Gretchen am Spinnrade, and Der K am pf surpass in characteristic tru th all
th a t m ay be found in th e d o m ain o f song. T h ey are n o t yet published b u t go from
h an d to h an d only in m an u scrip t copies.
The publication of Erlkonig was organized by the court official and musical
patron Leopold von Sonnleithner: he and a few others paid the cost of publica­
tion. Schubert called the song his Opus 1, and dedicated it to Sonnleithner. The
first printing of about two hundred and fifty copies sold out immediately.
Thereafter, publishers were less reticent to print his works—at least his songs
and smaller piano works. Gretchen am Spinnrade, originally composed in 1814,
became Opus 2 (see An Article about “Gretchen,” p. 241). From then on, Schubert's
songs were published in groups, not individually, and the young composer began
to make a decent income from them.
Schubert desperately wanted to compose operas and have them produced. In
1820, he had succeeded in getting two operas staged: Die Zwillingsbriider (The Twin
Brothers) at the Karntnertortheater, and Die Zauberharfe (The Magic Harp) at another
CHAPTER 9
theater. But a change of management at the Karntnertortheater
(the Italian impresario Domenico Barbaja took over in 1821, and
Vogl and others were dismissed) meant that Schubert’s chances
of having works presented there faded fast. Barbaja brought
G io a c c h in o R o ss in i, th e r e i g n i n g k i n g o f o p e r a , f o r a t r i u m p h a n t
v is it t o V ie n n a , a n d n o o n e e ls e s t o o d a c h a n c e in th e s h a d o w o f
his huge popularity. Despite the inaccessibility of the opera—or
perhaps at least partly because of it—Schubert in the 1820s com­
posed some of his finest works, though many of them remained
unfinished (like the well-known “Unfinished” Symphony).
S c h u b e r t d id n o t s e e k t h e c o m p a n y o f o t h e r m u s ic ia n s ( w ith
s o m e e x c e p tio n s s u c h a s V o g l) b u t r a t h e r o f p a in te r s , p o e ts ,
d r a m a tis ts , a n d o t h e r a rtis ts . H e a lso a v o id e d t e a c h in g m u s ic —
c i t h e r p ia n o le s s o n s o r c o m p o s i tio n — a l t h o u g h th is w a s a r e g u la r
s o u r c e o f in c o m e f o r a lm o s t a n y p r a c tic i n g m u s ic ia n a t th e tim e .
By 1826, at the time of the Schubertiade described by Franz
von Hartmann in his diary and excerpted at the beginning of
this chapter, Schubert was ill. His poor health caused consider­
able torment, both physical and mental. The duality that always
existed in his personality—the creative, aspiring, positive com­
poser Schubert, and the hard-drinking, depressive, reclusive
and sometimes rude, private Schubert—was made even more
prominent by illness. It limited his ability to travel and to work,
and it focused his thoughts, partly on some important composi­
tions and partly on his inevitable mortality, reflected in pieces
such as the “Death and the Maiden” String Quartet, and the two
timeless song cycles on Wilhelm Muller’s poems: Die schone Mul­
lerin and Winterreise, each of which deals with unrequited love
followed by death.
A Schu b e rtiad e at Joseph vo n S p a u n ’s
An Article about “Gretchen”
This article from the Vienna Sammler, May 1, 1821
appeared anonymously but was written by Josef
Huttenbrenner; Count Fries, to whom the song was
dedicated, paid Schubert a handsome fee and was also
a patron of Schubert's friend Anselm Huttenbrenner,
brother of the author of the article.
t Cappi & Diabelli’s on the Graben, has just been
published: "Margaret [Gretchen] at the SpinningWheel,” from Goethe’s "Faust,” by Herr Franz
Schubert. . . . This composition has been distinguished
by unanimous applause at several private concerts, and
every lover of song has looked forward eagerly to the
public appearance of a composition which does so much
honor to a pupil of the great masters Salieri and Vogl.
Margarets state of mind, in which the feelings and
sensations of love, of pain and of rapture take turns, are
so affectingly depicted by Schuberts music that a more
heart-stirring impression than that left by his musical pic­
ture is scarcely imaginable. Apart from that, the composi­
tion is also remarkable for its pianoforte part, which so
successfully sketches the motion of the spinning-wheel
and develops its theme in such a masterly way. The little
song, “Margaret at the Spinning-Wheel.” must in fact be
conceded to have as much originality and uniqueness as
Beethoven’s “Adelaide”and Mozart’s “To Chloe” and “Eve­
ning Musings.”
A
In a l e t t e r t o h is f r ie n d t h e p a i n t e r K u p e lw ie s e r, h e p o u r e d o u t h is s a d n e s s a n d
n o s ta l g ia , u s i n g t h e w o r d s f r o m G o e t h e ’s c h a r a c t e r G r e t c h e n ( f r o m
241
Faust a n d
fro m
S c h u b e r t ’s n o w - f a m o u s s o n g ):
“My peace is gone, m y h e a rt is sore, I shall find it never and n ev erm o re,” I m ay well
sing every day now, for each night, on retiring to bed, I h o p e I m ay n o t w ake again,
and each m o rn in g b u t recalls yesterday's grief. T hus, joyless an d friendless, 1 should
pass m y days, did n o t [m y friend th e p ain ter M oritz von] Schw ind visit m e n o w and
again and tu rn o n m e a ray o f those sw eet days o f th e past.
A f te r S c h u b e r t ’s d e a t h , S c h w in d w r o t e t o a m u t u a l fr ie n d :
I have w ep t for h im as for a b ro th er, b u t n o w 1 am glad for him th a t h e has died in his
g reatn ess and has d one w ith his sorrow s. T h e m o re I realize now w hat h e w as like,
th e m o re 1 see w h a t he has suffered.
The Performance
S c h u b e r t ’s m u s ic h a d a c lo s e f o llo w in g a m o n g h is f r ie n d s a n d a c q u a in ta n c e s , a n d
th e s e r e g u l a r m u s ic a l g a t h e r i n g s , c e n t e r e d o n S c h u b e r t ’s m u s ic , o c c u r r e d o f te n ,
s o m e t i m e s e v e r y w e e k . T h e a u d i e n c e — p r o b a b ly n o t t h e r i g h t t e r m f o r a g r o u p o f
f r ie n d s — r a n g e d f r o m a s m a ll n u m b e r o f p e o p l e t o a s m a n y a s a h u n d r e d , u s u a lly
242
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
in the home of one of Schubert’s wealthier friends. Schubert’s music was at the
center of it all; piano music and songs, followed by drinking, eating, and dancing
(the dance music often improvised by Schubert on the spot).
T h e r e w e r e n o p r i n t e d o r w r i t t e n p r o g r a m s , a n d it is d iff ic u lt n o w t o k n o w
e x a c tly w h a t m u s ic w a s p e r f o r m e d a t w h ic h S c h u b e r t i a d e , o r e v e n w h e n m o s t o f
t h e m t o o k p la c e . B u t th e y w e r e i m p o r t a n t e v e n ts f o r t h o s e w h o a t t e n d e d , a n d a lso
a n o u t l e t f o r S c h u b e r t ’s e ffu s iv e m u s ic a l a n d s o c ia l d is p o s itio n .
M a n y o f S c h u b e r t ’s lif e lo n g f r ie n d s w o u l d h a v e b e e n a t t h e s e e v e n in g s , c h i e f
a m o n g t h e m J o s e p h v o n S p a u n , F r a n z v o n S c h o b c r , M o r i t z v o n S c h w in d , L e o ­
p o ld K u p e lw ie s e r , F r a n z G r illp a r z e r , J o h a n n B a p tis t M a y r h o f e r , a n d E d u a r d v o n
B a u e r n f e ld .
FIG. 9.4 Joseph von Spaun, who
was an imperial councilor and
lottery director, close friend of
Franz Schubert, and host to many
Schubertiades.
Joseph von Spaun (1788-1865; see Figure 9.4), the host for the evening men­
tioned at the head of this chapter, had been Schubert’s friend since the composer
lived in a school dormitory. His support for Schubert included attempts to interest
Goethe in Schubert’s settings of the poet’s texts.
Franz von Schober (see Figure 9.5), also a longtime friend of Schubert's, was
not always the best influence on his companion. An aspiring poet and actor, tal­
ented but undisciplined, Schober never quite amounted to anything and was, in a
way, the opposite of Schubert: he was lazy and unmotivated and had led a life of
leisure. He came from a wealthy family and succeeded in squandering much of his
own fortune. Schubert occasionally lived with Schober and his mother (the two
men jokingly referred to themselves as “Schobert”). In fact, the first report of a
Schubertiade was from an evening at Schobcr’s:
Franz [von Schober] invited S chubert in th e evening and fo u rteen o f his close acquain­
tances. So a lot o f splendid songs by S ch u b ert w ere sung and played by him self, w hich
lasted until after 10 o ’clock in th e evening. A fter th at p unch w as d runk, offered by one
o f th e party, an d as it w as very g o o d and plentiful th e party, in a happy m o o d anyhow,
becam e even m errier; so it w as 3 o ’clock in th e m o rn in g before w e parted.
Moritz von Schwind and
Leopold Kupelwieser
The two painters, Moritz von Schwind and Leopold Kupelwieser, were also
longtime friends of Schubert’s, and from them we know something of how a
Schubertiade looked and how Schubert passed some of his time (see Figure 9.6).
They also made many sketches of Schubert as a young man, which portray the
progression of the composer from a slim, almost cherubic-looking boy to a plump
and more studious-looking adult.
L i te r a r y fig u r e s a t th e s e S c h u b e r tia d e s i n c lu d e d F r a n z G r ill p a r z e r ( h e w o u l d
g iv e B e e th o v e n ’s f u n e r a l o r a t i o n ) , J o h a n n B a p tis t M a y r h o f e r ( S c h u b e r t liv e d w ith
h i m f o r a tim e a n d s e t f o r ty - s e v e n o f h is p o e m s ) , a n d E d u a r d v o n B a u e r n f e ld (s e e
a b o v e ).
This group of friends—both literary and artistic—along with relatively highly
placed officials, would have comprised the guests at a typical evening of music,
dance, food, and drink. Musicians were few at these gatherings, except for the pia­
nist Josef von Gahy and of course the one other person of great significance to
Schubert: the singer Vogl (see Figure 9.7).
A s t a r b a r i t o n e a t t h e c o u r t o p e r a ( u n ti l t h e a r r iv a l o f B a rb a ja ), V o g l b e c a m e
t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t a n d s y m p a t h e t i c i n t e r p r e t e r o f S c h u b e r t ’s s o n g s . H e w a s
t w e n t y - n i n e y e a r s o l d e r a n d p r o b a b l y p r o v i d e d a p a t e r n a l in f l u e n c e n o t s u p p lie d
FIG. 9.5 Franz von Schober. actor
and poet, was also a close friend of
Franz Schubert. This is in a painting
by Leopold Kupelwieser. from 1822.
b y S c h u b e r t ’s o w n f a th e r . H e w a s c h a r a c t e r i z e d a s a d iff ic u lt p e r s o n a l i t y b u t w a s
e n a m o r e d o f S c h u b e r t ’s m u s ic a n d d id w h a t h e c o u l d t o p r o m o t e t h e y o u n g e r
m a n ’s c a r e e r . I n d e e d , a s w e h a v e s e e n , it w a s a p e r f o r m a n c e b y V o g l o f
Erlkonig
t h a t t u r n e d t h e tid e in S c h u b e r t ’s c a r e e r . In a d d itio n , it w a s V o g l w h o e n c o u r a g e d
CHAPTER 9
A Schu bertiad e at Joseph vo n Sp a u n ’s
243
FIG. 9.6 Schubert and his friends
playing charades at Atzenbrugg Cas­
tle. Lower Austria, as depicted in a
watercolor by Leopold Kupelwieser.
from 1821.
Schubert to write for the theater, and the early successes in opera and operetta
had everything to do with Vogl (he played both of the twin brothers in the 1820
production of Schubert’s Die Zwillingsbriider). At this Schubertiade, as at so many
others, Vogl would have been the chief singer, and Schubert his accompanist.
Listening to the Music
We have selected four works for this particular Schubertiade, consisting of some
of Schubert’s best-loved music: the first two published songs—Der Erlkonig and
Gretchen am Spinnrade—and the tuneful Die Forelle (The Trout). Schubert used
the melody of Die Forelle to create his sumptuous and now famous
“Trout” Quintet for piano and strings, included here as the last piece
to give us an idea of how he reworked one of his own compositions
to fit another genre.
Schubert has been called the master of the song, or lied (plural,
lieder; German for “song”) because he turned the genre of song into
high art. The genre itself has a long history, going back to the Middle
Ages, when French and German poets created settings of love poetry.
Mozart, Beethoven, and others wrote songs, but it was not a significant
part of their output. The songs of Schubert and others grow from the
tradition of song in popular culture, rather than from the theatrical
arias in operas. We sometimes call them art songs to distinguish them
from folk songs, popular songs, and the like.
For Schubert the lied became an inspirational matrix. His songs are
not reminiscent of the opera house but are inspired versions of beau­
tiful melodies, more like folk songs than like arias. But his ability to
find just the right unforgettable melody and an accompaniment that
FIG. 9.7 Moritz von Schwind's por­
trait of the singer Johann Michael
Vogl. with Schubert at the piano.
244
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
TABLE 9.1
Forms at a Glance: Song Types
Audiencefor songs
Song types
FORM
MUSIC
TEXT
Strophic
Music is repeated for each
strophe of the poem.
The poem is made up of several
strophes; each strophe has the
same shape (lines, accents, etc.)
but different words.
Modified
Strophic
Music is repeated for each
strophe of the poem, except for
such variations as the composer
chooses to make.
The poem is made of several
strophes; each strophe has the
same shape (lines, accents, etc.)
but different words.
ThroughComposed
Music does not repeat for each
strophe; new text is set to new
music for the length of the text.
The poem may take almost any
shape— including strophic with
multiple verses.
perfectly matches the mood of the song impressed and moved his listeners right
from the beginning. And his songs arc not simple to sing; they are full of surprises
and challenges for the singer, the pianist, and the listener. Between 1810 and 1828
he wrote more than six hundred lieder, using texts from more than one hundred
poets. Vogl told a story that when he sang Schubert a song that the composer had
left with him a few weeks before, Schubert cried “That’s not bad! Who is it by?”
A number of factors encouraged the audience for songs: the growth of the
middle classes with an appetite for domestic music-making, the rise of the piano as
an instrument in the home, and a growing fashion for songs in a direct and simple
style, which developed partly as a reaction to the complexity and artifice of the
Italian opera aria, with its elements of display and its international star singers. As
interest in poetry increased, so did Schubert’s audience, and his acquaintance with
many poets provided him with material and inspiration. His sources ranged from
the great texts of Goethe to the latest works of his friends. The German lied would
have a long and distinguished history, with Schubert as its founding father. Robert
Schumann, Hugo Wolf, and many other composers would continue Schubert’s
traditions of song.
In Schubert’s day, song forms usually fell into three categories: strophic, modi­
fied strophic, and through-composed (see Table 9.1, Forms at a Glance, above).
Just as audiences today look forward to hearing their favorite tunes at a rock con­
cert, right down to the lyrics and song structure, so too would Schubert’s friends
have anticipated spending an evening with some comfortably familiar styles and
forms. His audience probably had heard hundreds of songs by Schubert and other
composers. Some songs were simple and strophic (same music, same text in every
strophe), some had a twist of new music and verses integrated with the familiar
(modified strophic), and others conformed to the through-composed style—music
that followed the text so closely that every musical phrase was different.
F in ally , w e g e t t o o u r e v e n in g o f s o n g , d a n c e , a n d r e f r e s h m e n t . V o g l s t a n d s b y
S c h u b e r t, w h o is s e a t e d a t t h e p ia n o . T h e r o o m is s m a ll a n d c r o w d e d , t h e w o m e n
f a n n i n g th e m s e lv e s f r o m t h e h e a t g e n e r a t e d b y t o o m a n y b o d ie s . S c h w in d is in th e
c o r n e r , s k e tc h in g , a n d is t h a t S c h o b e r o v e r t h e r e , d r i n k i n g a little t o o m u c h f o r h is
o w n good?
L e t u s b e g in . . . .
CHAPTER 9
A Schu bertiad e at Joseph vo n Sp a u n ’s
DIE FORELLE (THE TROUT)
Q
lG
245
33
When Schubert began playing Die Forelle (1817) for his friends, it probably struck
them as another one of his lovely, uncomplicated songs. They were in for a sur­
prise. A short piano introduction sets the mood, then two verses sung to the same
music followed.
B u t w h a t b e g i n s a s a s im p le s t r o p h i c s o n g t u r n s i n t o a n o t- s o - c le a r - c u t p a r a b le ,
w i t h a b i t e a t t h e e n d , lite r a lly a n d fig u ra tiv e ly . T h e s o n g is in m o d i f i e d s t r o p h i c
f o r m . T h e p o e m , b y C h r is tia n F r ie d r ic h D a n ie l S c h u b a r t , s p in s a fis h in g ta le o f a
t r o u t t h a t fin a lly g e ts c a u g h t . O r s o it s e e m s ; b u t t h e p o e m is d r e n c h e d in s e x u a l
s y m b o lis m : t h e t r o u t is a m a id e n , t h e a n g l e r a s e d u c e r , t h e t w i t c h i n g f is h in g r o d is
s u r e ly s u g g e s tiv e , t h e o n l o o k e r is a riv a l s u ito r . T h e o r i g i n a l p o e m h a s f o u r v e rs e s ,
o f w h ic h S c h u b e r t w is e ly o m i t s t h e f o u r t h , a k i n d o f m o r a l i z i n g a d v ic e t o o t h e r
t r o u t n o t t o fall p r e y t o s e d u c e r s .
H e m a k e s a w o n d e r f u l tr ic k y s o n g o u t o f t h e f ir s t t h r e e v e r s e s , l u r i n g u s i n t o a
s u n n y , h a p p y , o u t d o o r s c e n e in t h e f ir s t t w o v e rs e s , o n ly t o s n a r e u s w i t h t h e h o o k
o f h is m u s ic , in t h e t h i r d v e r s e , in t h e s a m e s o r t o f t r a p t h a t p a r a lle ls t h e m e a n i n g
o f th e w o rd s.
T h e p i a n o i n t r o d u c t i o n is c h a r m i n g a n d g u ile le s s , b o u n c y a n d b r i g h t , w i t h a n
Piano introduction
u n fo rg e tta b le rh y th m ic p a tte r n .
The singer performs the first verse (we, like his listeners at the Schuberti­
ade, don’t know for sure that it is the first of several verses—we can only be sure
when this music is repeated with new words—but it does seem like that kind of
song). The poem paints an innocent outdoor scene of a trout in a brook, and the
music matches it in sunny simplicity. When the second verse arrives we are not
surprised; there is the same piano introduction, the same melody, but the words
have just a hint of something ominous. We suspect the trout might be in for trou­
ble. And there it is: the third verse is suddenly very different. What before seemed
innocent enough, now is full of bitter humor. In the same way that the fisherman
lures in the trout, Schubert's apparently simple setting lures in the listener. Per­
haps the innocent melody of the last line, referring back to the opening music, is
Schubert’s way of smiling at all of us, his listeners, for being snagged—just like the
gullible trout. (See L G 33, p. 246.)
G RETCHEN A M S P IN N R A D E
(GRETCHEN AT THE S P IN N IN G WHEEL)
This song, Schubert’s Opus 2, has remained one of his best-loved works. It was the
first lied Schubert set to words by the famous poet and dramatist Johann Wolfgang
von Goethe, who was still alive when Schubert composed the work.
In this scene from Goethe's Faust, Gretchen, a young woman, is sitting alone
at her spinning wheel. She is thinking about Faust, the handsome young man she
recently met, who seduced and abandoned her. We can imagine her staring sadly
off into the distance; as she works at her spinning, Gretchen’s mind turns to the
past, and she becomes alternately despondent, nostalgic, and desperate.
Goethe built something of a refrain into the poem (“Meine Ruh’ ist hin”—
My peace is gone”), and Schubert makes even more of it: Gretchen reviews her
memories and emotions, and three times is brought up short by a return to reality,
to her spinning wheel, and to her cares. There are gripping harmonic shifts as her
thoughts wander and then come back to the present, and she repeats the words
“Meine ruh’ ist h in .. . . ” The return of these words, and of the key in which they
First verse
Second verse
Third verse
1 > L G 34
Accompan iment in Gretchen am
Spinnrade
246
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
arc set, gives the song a rondo-like form. The spinning wheel itself, portrayed
though a rapid rising and falling figuration in the accompaniment, twirls continu­
ously while Gretchen spins, thinks back, and regrets.
When she finally comes to the memory of Faust’s kiss (perhaps a euphemism),
she forgets what she’s doing. The wheel stops. But Gretchen realizes that it is all an
illusion and sadly returns to the spinning wheel—we hear it starting up haltingly,
and returning to its regular rhythm with her regular refrain, “My peace is gone.
. . It is a bleak moment. Her sad refrain is left unfinished at the end of the song—
the spinning wheel alone goes on. (See LG 34, p. 247.)
LISTENING GUIDE 33
© | DVD
2:09
Schubert Die Forelle (The Trout)
DATE: Final version published D ecem b er 1820
TEMPO: A llegro
TEXT: C hristian Friedrich D aniel S chubart
L IS T E N F O R
MELODY: Regular four-phrase m elody for each o f the first tw o
FORM: Modified strophic: third verse has different music
verses, the last phrase repeated (AA'BCC)
TEXTURE: Piano introduces "rippling” accom panim ent
TIME
0:00
FORM TEXT
\S> .M. J.
TRANSLATION
. F T fflr
'
P
0:10
r
r
r
-----^
=
1-
6
A
In ein em Bachlein helle,
Da schoB in fro h er EiT
A'
Die launige Forelle
Voriiber w ie ein Pfeil.
In a b rig h t little b ro o k
T h ere sh o t in m e rry haste
A capricious tro u t:
It sh o t past like an arrow.
B
Ich stand an dem Gestade
Und sah in siiBer Ruh’
I sto o d o n th e shore
A nd w atch ed in sw eet peace
C
Des m u n te rn Fischleins Bade
Im klaren Bachlein zu.
Des m u n te rn Fischleins Bade
1m klaren Bachlein zu.
The cheery fish’s bath
In the clear little brook.
The cheery fish’s bath
In the clear little brook.
Ein Fischer m it d e r R ute
W ohl an dem U fer stand,
U nd sah's m it k altem Blute,
W ie sich das Fischlein w and.
A fisher w ith his ro d
S tood a t th e w ater-side,
A nd w atch ed w ith cold b lo o d
As th e fish sw am ab o u t.
C
0:44
r
*
DESCRIPTION
A
A'
=
1
=
-------£ _ J _
f
In tro d u ctio n is ch arm in g and guileless,
b o u n cy an d sunny, w ith unforgettable
rh y thm ic p a tte rn th at m oves betw een
u p p e r an d low er register (right an d left
hands).
Classic 4-phrase tu n e, w ith each phrase
4 m easures long. T h e first tw o phrases
(A and A ^ have th e sam e sim ple b eg in ­
ning an d different, m ore active endings.
T h e first verse describes an innocent
o u td o o r scene.
The third phrase (B) can be heard as
a short phrase stated tw ice, in varied
form.
The final phrase (C) begins with the
sam e rhythm, but not notes, o f the first
tw o phrases. It is repeated, words and
music, in slightly ornam ented version,
to close the verse.
W h en th e second verse arrives w e are
n o t surprised: sam e introduction, sam e
melody, although th e w ords have ju s t a
h in t o f so m eth in g om inous. T h e m usic
is exactly th e sam e for verse 2.
CHAPTER 9
A Schu b e rtiad e at Joseph von S p a u n ’s
B
So lang dem W asser Helle,
So lo n g as th e clearness o f the w ater
C
So d a c h t’ ich, n ich t gebricht,
So fangt e r die Forelle
M it sein er Angel nicht.
R em ained intact, 1 th o u g h t,
H e w o u ld n o t capture th e tro u t
W ith his fishing rod.
So fangt e r die Forelle
M it sein er A ngel nicht.
H e w o u ld n o t capture th e tro u t
W ith his fishing rod.
C
D och endlich w ard d em Diebe But finally the th ie f g rew w eary
D ie Z eit zu lang. E r m a ch t
O f w aiting. H e stirred up
1:20
247
D as Bachlein tiickisch triibe,
T h e b ro o k and m ade it muddy,
T h e third verse is suddenly different:
m in o r replaces m ajor; chords replace
rippling figures; th e key changes;
m elody is n o t m elodious; phrases are
irregular.
W h en text refers to m uddy stream .
U nd e h ’ ich es gedacht,
So zu ck te seine Rute,
D as Fischlein zap p elt d ’ran,
U nd ich m it regem Blute
A nd before 1 realized it,
His fishing ro d w as tw itching:
T h e fish w as sq u irm in g there,
A nd w ith ru sh in g blood
S chubert m uddies texture, abandoning
th e rippling accom panim ent. Irregular­
ity o f voice an d piano highlight the
tw itching ro d as the fish is caught.
Sah die B etrog’ne an.
1 g azed a t th e b etray ed fish.
T h e last line surveys the betrayed fish,
retu rn in g to the carefree m usic o f the
o th e r verses an d the original key. W h at
at first seem ed in n o cen t n o w feels
ironic.
LISTEN IN G GUIDE 34
(§ ) |DVD|
Schubert Gretchen am Spinnrade
3:18
(Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel)
DATE: O cto b er 1814
TEMPO: Etw as schnell (som ew hat fast)
TEXT: Johann W olfgang von G oethe
L IS T E N F O R
HARMONY: Moves to various keys, b u t re tu rn s to D m in o r for
refrain ("M eine R uh’ ist h in ”)
TEXTURE: Piano acco m p an im en t representing a spinning
w heel
FORM: T h ro u g h -co m p o sed ; n o te G retch e n ’s increasing excite­
m e n t, p u n ctu ated by a refrain ("M eine R u h ’ ist h in ”)
TIME
0:03
TEXT
TRANSLATION
m
m
'
n .
i-B p-
r
M eine R uh' ist hin,
M ein H erz ist schwer,
Ich finde sie n im m er
U nd n im m erm eh r.
DESCRIPTION
- A.
i>—- ^
T ”
T
—
My peace is gone,
My h e a rt is heavy,
I w ill find it never
A nd never m ore.
w
J
-1
The spinning w heel itself, portrayed
marvelously in the accom panim ent,
twirls continuously as Gretchen thinks.
As she spins, she sings o f her sadness.
(continued)
248
PART III
TIME
TEXT
TRANSLATION
DESCRIPTION
0:19
W o ich ihn n ich t h a b ’
1st m ir das G rab,
D ie ganze W elt
1st m ir vergallt.
W h ere I d o n o t have him ,
T h a t is th e grave,
T h e w hole w orld
Is b itte r to m e.
G retch en thinks, in h e r first episode,
o f Faust, the m an she has lost.
M ein a rm e r K opf
1st m ir verriickt,
M ein a rm e r Sinn
1st m ir zersttickt.
My p o o r head
Is crazy to m e,
My p o o r m ind
Is to rn apart.
0:46
M eine R u h ’ ist hin,
M ein H erz ist schw er,
Ich finde sie n im m er
U nd nim m erm eh r.
My peace is gone,
My h e a rt is heavy,
1 will find it never
A nd never m ore.
She sinks into h e r previous sadness,
rep eating the sam e m usic.
1:03
N ach ih m n u r sch au ’ ich
Z u m Fenster hinaus,
N ach ih m n u r g e h ’ ich
Aus dem H aus.
For him only, I look
O u t th e window,
O nly for h im do I go
O u t o f th e house.
Sein h o h e r G ang,
His tall walk,
Sein’ e d ’le G estalt,
Seines M undes Lacheln,
S einer A ugen G ew alt,
His noble figure,
His m o u th ’s sm ile,
His eyes’ pow er,
U nd sein er Rede
ZauberfluB ,
Sein H andedruck,
U nd ach, sein Kuli!
A nd his sp eech ’s
M agic flow,
T h e to u c h o f his hand,
A nd ah, his kiss!
In the next episode h e r th o u g h ts
tu rn to Faust, w h o m she obviously
still loves. As she thinks o f his physi­
cal appearance, she b ecom es m ore
agitated. T h e m usic tu rn s to happier
m ajo r keys, Faust's noble b earin g is
p o rtray e d w ith a few bo ld notes, and
w h en G retch en com es to the m e m o ry
o f his kiss, she forgets w h a t sh e ’s
doing, and th e w heel stops— the
change o f a single no te in the piano
tu rn s the ch o rd o n “kiss” into a b itter
one.
1:47
M eine R u h ’ ist hin,
M ein H erz ist schwer,
Ich finde sie n im m er
U nd nim m erm eh r.
My peace is gone,
My h e a rt is heavy,
I w ill find it never
A nd never m ore.
G retch en com es to herself, realizes
th a t it's an illusion, an d sadly retu rn s to
th e spinning w heel— w e h e a r it starting
u p haltingly, and retu rn in g to its regu­
lar rh y th m w ith h e r regular refrain,
"M y peace is g o n e .. .
2:11
M ein Busen d ran g t sich
N ach ih m hin.
Ach, d u rft’ ich fassen
U nd h alten ihn,
My b o so m urges itself
to w ard him .
Ah, m ig h t 1 grasp
A nd hold him ,
In a th ird episode G retch en expresses
h e r passion and h e r desire, and a t h e r
m o u n tin g urgency th e m usic rises
h ig h er and higher until h e r clim actic
hig hest note.
U nd kiissen ihn,
So w ie ich w ollt,
A n seinen Kiissen
V ergehen sollt!
A nd kiss him ,
As I w o u ld w ish,
A t his kisses
It should die!
M eine R uh’ ist hin,
M ein H erz ist schwer.
My peace is gone,
My h e a rt is heavy.
2:55
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
A nd th e n she falls back into h e r sad
refrain, w hich is left unfinished a t the
en d o f the song, an d h e r m elody to o
is left unfinished— the spinning w heel
alone goes on.
CHAPTER 9
A Schu bertiad e at Joseph vo n Sp aun's
DER ERLKO N IG (THE ERLKING)
The form of this song is complex. It is essentially through-composed, since each
stanza has different music. But at the same time, a musical motive suggesting
fear is repeated in several o f the stanzas, giving the song an element of the
strophic.
The text is again by Goethe; the poem is made up of rhythmic, four-line
strophes, but is really a disastrous three-way conversation framed by two short
narratives. There are four characters—the narrator, the father, the son, and the
evil Erlking. In the poem, the father, clutching his son, gallops furiously on his
horse, seeking the safety of home. The Erlking, smooth and sinister, beckons to
the child. The child cries to the father, who cannot see the Erlking (does the father
perhaps think this vision is a symptom of his child’s illness?). The closing narra­
tion, with its chilling last word, tells us the fateful outcome: “In his arms the child
was dead.”
Schubert produces a terrifying accompaniment in the piano, extremely difficult
to play because of the almost incessant repeated notes in the right hand. The effect
of the accompaniment is highly suggestive of a sinister wild ride in a storm. (It is
similar to the storm at the beginning of Act 2 of Wagner’s Die Walkiire, which we’ll
hear in Chapter 13.)
The dialogue is delivered by a single singer, but Schubert manages to differenti­
ate each character. The father sings in the lower part of the range, the son sings
higher, and the Erlking sings in the middle. While the boy comes under more and
more pressure, his speeches—each beginning with “Mein Vater, mein Vater” (My
father, my father)—get progressively higher as the tension mounts. Schubert is
able to differentiate the voices further by changing the accompaniment for the
Erlking’s persuasive lines. It is a song filled with dread, panic, and, finally, pure sor­
row. (See LG 35, p. 250.)
This is the song that made Schubert’s reputation. Vogl’s singing, as we have
seen, was stunning. Der Erlkonig was a perfect vehicle for him: it allowed his dra­
matic powers full range by playing four characters—man, child, Erlking, and
narrator—all in a single song. It became a personal milestone for Schubert, and
remains a favorite of music listeners today.
These three songs provide a range of possibilities for setting poems to music.
They do not of course exhaust the possibilities, any more than Schubert exhausted
them in his six-hundrcd-plus songs. But they range from the modified strophic
in Die Forelle to the more or less completely through-composed Gretchen am
Spinnrade and Erlkonig. The intricacies of phrasing, of accompanying figures, of
harmonic shifts, even in songs that seem to be among the simplest, arc worthy
of careful study
It is hard to say what exactly makes Schubert’s songs so magical. Among their
expressive elements, we might name the endlessly inventive melody, the piano as
equal partner, the use of the keyboard not only to mirror the text but to interpret
and comment upon it. The expressive use of harmony is especially noticeable in
Schubert, and it is in these smaller pieces that he can use shifts from major to
minor, the surprising moves to new keys, in ways that seem intimate and particu­
larly personal. Schubert’s music often seems to turn from the public toward the
private and inward.
Q
lg
35
249
250
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
LISTEN IN G GUIDE 35
© | DVD
Schubert Der Erlkonig (The Erlking)
4:26
TEMPO: Etw as lebhaft (so m ew h at lively)
DATE: 1815
TEXT: Jo h an n W olfgang von G oethe
L IS T E N F O R
MELODY: A narrative, w ith characters, th o u g h p erfo rm ed by
one singer:
N arrato r: m iddle register, m in o r m ode
FORM: T h ro u g h -co m p o sed
TEXTURE: T h u n d erin g piano accom panim ent; listen for
changes in the piano
Father: low register, m in o r m ode
Son: high register, m in o r m ode
Erlking: m e d iu m register, m ajo r m ode
TIME
TEXT
TRANSLATION
0:00
DESCRIPTION
Piano introduction; rapid triplets sug­
gest speed and agitation. M enacing
m in o r m otive in left hand.
Narrator
0:24
W er reitet so spat d urch
N acht u n d W ind?
Es ist d er V ater m it sein em Kind;
Er hat den K naben w ohl in dem A rm ,
Er faBt ihn sicher, er halt ihn w arm .
W h o rides, so late, th ro u g h
nig h t and wind?
It is th e fath er w ith his child.
H e has th e boy in his arm s
H e holds h im safe, he keeps him w arm .
T h e op en in g line sets th e sinister tone.
In this th ro u g h -co m p o sed verse each
line is different, th o u g h m o st include
som e repetition. T he verse m odulates
fro m m in o r to m ajo r an d back again,
and the p o u n d in g acco m p an im en t
captures th e sense o f terror.
"M y son, w hy d o you hide
y o u r face so anxiously?”
F ather’s voice is in a low er register;
so n ’s is higher, w ith ag itated leaps.
Father
0:59
"M ein Sohn, w as birgst du
so b an g dein G esicht?”
Son
“Siehst, Vater, du den E rlkonig nicht?
“Father, d o you n o t see th e Erlking?
D en Erlenkonig m it Kron’ und Schweif?” T h e E rlking w ith cro w n an d cloak?”
Father
"M ein Sohn, es ist ein N ebelstreif.”
"M y son, it’s a w isp o f fog.”
T h e fath e r speaks in low, consoling
tones.
Erlking
1:34
"D u liebes Kind, k o m m , geh m it mir!
G ar schone Spiele spiel’ ich m it dir;
M anch’ b u n te B lum en sind an dem
S trand,
M eine M u tte r h at m an ch gulden
G ew an d .”
"You lovely child, com e, g o w ith me!
T h e E rlking sings softly, in a m ajor
M any beau tifu l gam es I’ll play w ith you; key. Piano acco m p an im en t is so m e­
Som e colorful flow ers are o n th e
w h at different for this verse.
shore,
My m o th e r has m any g olden robes.”
CHAPTER 9
A Schu bertiad e at Joseph vo n S p a u n ’s
251
Son
2:00
"M ein Vater, m ein Vater, u n d h o rest du "M y father, m y father, can ’t
T h e son cries o u t, higher th a n before,
nicht,
you hear,
and w ith o u t w aiting for an interlude
Was E rlenkonig m ir leise verspricht?” W h a t th e Erlking quietly pro m ised m e?” b etw ee n verses. T h ere is a ta u t ch ro ­
m atic line in th e voice.
Father
"Sei ru h ig , bleib ruhig, m ein Kind;
In diirren B lattern sauselt d er W ind.”
“Be calm , stay calm , m y child;
It’s the w ind rusding in the dry leaves.”
T he father, singing sm oothly, is per­
haps only p rete n d in g to be calm.
"D o you w a n t to co m e w ith m e,
T h e Erlking tries a new strategy; he is
singing faster now. T he pian o accom ­
p an im en t is different again, bo th
from his previous verse, and from the
“h o o fb e a t” accom panim ent.
Erlking
2:23
“W illst, feiner Knabe, d u m it m ir
gehen?
M eine T o ch ter sollen dich w arten
schon;
M eine T o ch ter fiihren den nachtlichen
Reihn,
U nd w iegen u n d tan zen u n d singen
dich ein.”
fine lad?
My d au g h ters should be w aiting for
you;
My d au g h ters lead th e nightly
dances,
A nd wrill rock and dance an d sing you to
sleep.”
Son
2:41
"M ein Vater, m ein Vater, u n d siehst du "M y father, m y father, can ’t you
nicht d o rt
see th ere.
Erlkonigs T o ch ter am d iistern O rt?”
T h e Erlking’s d au g h ters in th a t g lo o m y
place?”
T h e son sings h ig h er still, once again
writh a tig h t chrom atic line.
Father
“M ein Sohn, m ein Sohn, ich seh es
genau:
Es scheinen die alten W eiden so g rau .”
"M y son, m y son, 1 see it well:
T h e old w illow s lo o k so gray.”
T h e father, also h ig h er th a n before,
and m o re agitated, p reten d s to see.
T he m elody has m o re leaps.
Erlking
3:12
"Ich liebe dich, m ich reizt deine schone "I love you, y o u r b eau tifu l fo rm entices
m e;
Gestalt;
U nd bist d u n ich t willig, so b rau ch
A nd if y o u ’re n o t willing, I shall use
ich G ew alt.”
force.”
T he Erlking, singing softly o f love, in
a m ajo r key, ends w ith a th reat, m in o r
key, fortissim o.
Son
"M ein Vater, m ein Vater, je tz t faBt er
m ich an!
E rlkonig h a t m ir ein Leids getan!”
"M y father, m y father, h e ’s g rab b in g m e
now!
T h e Erlking has w o u n d ed m e!”
T h e child cries o u t, singing the high­
est notes in the song.
Narrator
3:39
D em V ater g ra u s e t’s,
er reitet geschw ind,
E r h alt in A rm en das achzende Kind,
E rreicht den H o f m it M iih’ und Not;
In seinen A rm en das Kind w ar tot.
T h e fath er shudders;
he rides swiftly,
H e holds in his arm s th e m o an in g child.
H e arrives a t h o m e in u rg en t need;
In his arm s, th e child wras dead.
T he narrator, rushing, describes the
fath e r’s w ild ride for h o m e. T he line
rises an d th e n falls.
T he piece ends abruptly as the piano
suddenly stops; the voice concludes
w ith m o u rn fu l recitative.
252
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
©LG 36
THE “T R O U T ” Q U IN T ET
C h a m b e r m u s ic f o r s tr in g s w a s s o m e t i m e s i n c lu d e d in S c h u b e r tia d e s ; t h e “T r o u t ”
Q u i n t e t f o r p i a n o a n d s tr in g s is i n c lu d e d in th is p r o g r a m n o t b e c a u s e it is r e p r e s e n ­
ta tiv e o f w h a t w a s p e r f o r m e d d u r i n g o n e o f t h e s e e v e n in g s , b u t b e c a u s e it a llo w s
u s t o s e e h o w S c h u b e r t r e f a s h i o n e d o n e o f h is o w n p ie c e s f o r a d if f e r e n t m e d i u m
a n d a d if f e r e n t g e n r e — a n d b e c a u s e it is s u c h w o n d e r f u l m u s ic .
T h e “T r o u t ” Q u i n t e t is n o t ty p ic a l c h a m b e r m u s ic , in p a r t b e c a u s e o f its u n u s u a l
i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n . T h e s t a n d a r d e n s e m b l e f o r s tr i n g c h a m b e r m u s ic is t h e s tr in g
q u a r t e t ( t w o v io lin s , o n e v io la , a n d o n e c e llo ). W e h a v e a la r g e a n d f a s c in a tin g
r e p e r t o r y o f p ie c e s f o r th is c o m b i n a t i o n , w i t h c o n t r i b u t i o n s f r o m H a y d n , M o z a r t,
B e e th o v e n , S c h u b e r t , a n d b e y o n d . A d d in g a p i a n o t o a s t r i n g q u a r t e t p r o d u c e s
a
piano quintet
(e v e n t h o u g h t h e n a m e s o u n d s lik e a q u i n t e t o f p ia n o s ) . It m a k e s
s e n s e in a w a y t o c o m p o s e f o r p ia n o q u i n t e t , s in c e it is s im p ly a m a t t e r o f a d d in g
o n e i n s t r u m e n t t o t h e f a m ilia r e n s e m b l e o f t h e s t r i n g q u a r t e t . T h e r e a r e o t h e r
k i n d s o f c h a m b e r m u s ic w i t h p ia n o , to o , lik e t h e p ia n o t r i o ( p ia n o , v io lin , c e llo ).
Scoring
B u t t h e “T r o u t ” Q u i n t e t h a s a n u n u s u a l s c o r in g : p ia n o , v io lin , v io la , c e llo , a n d
d o u b l e b a s s . T h i s p a r t i c u l a r g r o u p i n g , lik e t h e p ie c e its e lf, c o m e s f r o m a s p e c ific
e v e n t in S c h u b e r t ’s life.
W h e n S c h u b e r t w a s tw e n t y - t w o , h e a n d V o g l t o o k a s u m m e r t r i p t o S te y r,
V o g l’s A u s tr ia n b i r t h p l a c e , a n d a t t e n d e d r e g u l a r m u s ic a l e v e n in g s a t t h e h o m e o f
S y lv e s te r P a u m g a r t n e r , a w e a lth y a m a t e u r c e llis t. P a u m g a r t n e r m e n t i o n e d h o w
m u c h h e lik e d S c h u b e r t ’s s o n g
Die Forelle,
a n d s u g g e s te d a q u in te t to S c h u b e rt, to
m a t c h t h e u n u s u a l s c o r in g a n d s t r u c t u r e o f a n e x is tin g q u i n t e t b y J o h a n n N e p o m u k H u m m e l ( t h e c o m p o s e r ’s o w n a r r a n g e m e n t f r o m h is e a r l i e r s e p te t) .
E v e n t h o u g h t h e q u i n t e t h a s a d o u b l e b a s s p a r t , w h ic h a llo w s t h e c e llo t o re la x
s o m e w h a t , P a u m g a r t n e r s t r u g g l e d w i t h t h e c e llo p a r t . S c h u b e r t m u s t h a v e o v e r ­
e s t i m a t e d h is f r i e n d ’s a b ility , a n d t h e w o r k r e m a i n e d u n p u b l i s h e d , a n d little p la y e d ,
in S c h u b e r t ’s lif e tim e .
T h e q u i n t e t f o llo w s t h e s t r u c t u r e o f a s m a ll s y m p h o n y , e x c e p t t h a t t h e r e is
a n a d d e d m o v e m e n t : b e t w e e n t h e s c h e r z o a n d t h e fin a le is a s e t o f v a r ia tio n s o n
S c h u b e r t ’s s o n g
Die Forelle.
It w o u l d n o t b e t h e o n ly t i m e S c h u b e r t r e t u r n e d to
o n e o f h is e a r l i e r s o n g s t o c r e a te a la r g e r i n s t r u m e n t a l p ie c e ( h e d o e s s o in h is
© Schubert: “Death and the
Maiden” Quartet. II
“ D e a t h a n d t h e M a i d e n ” S tr in g Q u a r t e t , u s i n g h is s o n g o f t h e s a m e n a m e , a n d in
h is “W a n d e r e r ” F a n ta s y f o r t h e p ia n o , u s in g h is s o n g
The Wanderer).
T h e r e a r e six v a r ia tio n s in a ll, e a c h o n e v a r i e d b y i n s t r u m e n t a n d a c c o m p a n i ­
m e n t , w i t h a fe w v a r ie d b y k e y a s w e ll. T h e v a r ia tio n s a r e a r r a n g e d a s fo llo w s :
T h e m e : s tr in g s
Variation 1: Piano plays decorated theme, with string accompaniment.
Variation 2: Viola has theme, echoed by piano.
Variation 3: Double bass has theme; elaborate piano countermelody.
Variation 4: Minor key: contrasts of loud and soft; theme is barely present
except as a shape.
Variation 5: New slower tempo; cello plays theme, highly altered; a transition
leads to . . .
Variation 6: Major key; violin and viola alternate phrases of the theme; piano
and violin alternate playing the figuration from the original accompani­
ment of the song.
CHAPTER 9
253
A Schu bertiad e at Joseph vo n Sp a u n ’s
(§)| DVD
Schubert The “Trout” Quintet, Piano Quintet in A Major, IV
DATE: 1819
MEDIUM: Piano q u intet: violin, viola, cello, d o uble bass, and
piano
7:14
TEMPO: A ndantino (moving, o r walking, som ew hat; a little
faster than Andante)
L IS T E N F O R
MELODY: T h e th em e is d eco ra ted in various w ays
HARMONY: Major, except for V ariation 4, in a m in o r key
repeated, AA'BCC, the them e here repeats each half,
AA' A A 'B C C BCC.
FORM: T h e th e m e is th e m elody o f th e so n g Die Forelle;
b u t w here th e song's verse h ad fo u r phrases w ith th e last
TEXTURE: T he them e is passed from one instrum ent to the
other; note varied accom panim ents
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
0:00
T h em e
Violin plays th e m e, w ith h o m o p h o n ic acco m p an im en t in strings. Both phrases o f m elody repeated:
! ,,vJ11r~ rr r if i m
^ i -
0:58
V ariation 1
Piano plays th e m e in octaves, w ith trills; strings accom pany; n o te pizzicato (plucked) double bass.
1:51
V ariation 2
Viola plays th e m e, echoed by th e piano. Violin plays decorative filigree in counterm elody.
2:47
V ariation 3
C ello and double bass play th em e. Piano plays elab o rate co u n te rp o in t in octaves.
3:37
V ariation 4
Sudden shift to m in o r key, rh y th m changes to triplets. C o n trastin g lo u d an d soft. H arm o n y is altered.
T h em e essentially disappears; th e shape is all th a t’s left.
4:34
V ariation 5
T em po is slow; th e m usic is in a n ew key. C ello plays altered version o f the them e:
etc.
PP
H arm ony is changed; there is a coda th at provides transition t o . . .
5:58
V ariation 6
Bright, sunny, final version; violin and cello altern ate ph rases o f them e; piano plays figuration from
original song. Closes quietly.
The quintet provides a wonderfully lighthearted view on the different ways in
which to treat a straightforward tune. (See LG 36, above.)
Surely in any performance where there was a piano and Schubert was present,
he would have been the pianist. His friend Stadler said about his playing, “To see
and hear him play his own pianoforte compositions was a real pleasure. A beautiful
touch, a quiet hand, clear, neat playing. . . full of insight and feeling.”
In our Schubertiade in 1826, there was surely dancing after the songs and the
quintet. Perhaps Schubert improvised the dance music as he usually did. Lucky for
us that he wrote so much of it down.
254
PART III
M u sic and Reason: Classical M u sic
Schubert Then and Now
Schubert’s life was tragically short—Grillparzer s inscription on his tombstone
read, “The art of music here entombed a rich possession, but even far fairer
hopes”—and we can only imagine what he might have composed had he lived as
long as Beethoven.
The differences between the two composers are worth pointing out. Beethoven’s
music is often thought of in general terms as heroic, public, monumental, designed
for large spaces and virtuoso performers, even though he composed songs and
much chamber music. Schubert, on the other hand, although he too composed
symphonies and operas, produced much of his music for private use, in homes
and salons. Beethoven’s music frequently is built from a small motive that gets
worked out in all its possibilities; Schubert’s music is often made of lyrical melo­
dies, whether songs or not. Each, of course, produced music of the “other” kind,
but the comparison allows us to think about the different functions that music can
have in the world.
It’s difficult to classify Schubert, if in fact composers need to be assigned style
periods. Is he a Viennese Classicist, like Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven? Well, yes,
he is: his forms, his procedures, the kinds of pieces he wrote, are just the kinds of
works that Vienna was used to. And yet there is something in Schubert’s lyricism,
in the personal aspect of his music, that leads us to think of him as a forerun­
ner of the Romantic movement. Mozart the perfectly balanced, Beethoven the
titanic hero, represent some aspects of what we call Classical music; and although
Schubert’s music includes these aspects as well, the lyrical, introspective quality
of his music, the individual features of his songs, the sense of a single person
expressing something personal, are all hallmarks of what, in the next section, we
call Romantic music.
But it may be best not to classify beauty.
Chapter Review
Summary of Musical Styles
Schubert’s music shares many characteristics with Beethoven and Mozart as well
as with the Romantic composers who followed him.
He shares the Classic traits of
■ themes with balanced phrases;
■ the use of traditional symphonic and operatic forms;
■ the use of keys to articulate form.
With the Romantics he shares
■ a fondness for miniatures (his many songs and short piano pieces may be
compared to those of Robert Schumann—see Chapter 12);
■ the use of character pieces for a major portion of his output;
■ the creation of music for performers of moderate ability.
Characteristic of Schubert above all are
■ a gift for unforgettable, lyrical melodies;
CHAPTER 9
A Schu bertiad e at Joseph v o n Sp a u n ’s
■ an ability to characterize a situation with a few simple strokes and a perfect
accompaniment;
■ a dramatic use of sudden shifts of key (Die Forelle and Der Erlkonig).
© M ultim edia Resources and Review Materials
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^ A u t h o r V id e os
■ A c c o m p a n i m e n t in
Gretchen am Spinnrade
Interactive Listening G uides
LG 33
LG 34
LG 3 5
LG 36
Schubert: Die Forelle (The Trout)
Schubert: Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel)
Schubert: Der Erlkonig (The Erlking)
Schubert: The “Trout” Quintet, Piano Quintet in A Major, IV
Flashcards (Terms to Know)
art song
chamber music
lied (pi. licder)
modified strophic
salons
S c h u b e r tia d e s
s o n g c y c le
s tr o p h ic
th ro u g h - c o m p o s e d
255
»
I
m
m
M
B
THE R O M A N T IC PERIOD
H IST O RIC A L EVENTS
M U S IC A L EVENTS
1797-1828 Franz Schubert
1800
1803-1869 Hector Berlioz
1805-1847 Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel
1809 Death of Haydn
1809- 1847 Felix Mendelssohn
1810- 1856 Robert Schumann---------1810-1849 Frederic Chopin
1813-1883 Richard Wagner-----1813-1901 Giuseppe Verdi
1815 Battle of Waterloo
1825
1819-1901 Reign of Britain's Queen Victoria
1819-1896 Clara Schumann
1825 Erie Canal opens
1827 Delacroix, Death of Sardanapalus
1827 Death of Beethoven
1830 July Revolution in France
1830 Victor Hugos play Hernani premiers in Paris
1831 Cyrus McCormick invents the first successful
mechanical reaper
1833-1897 Johannes Brahms
1837 Samuel F. B. Morse develops
the telegraph
1839 Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist
1840- 1893 Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
1841- 1904 Antonin Dvofak--------
1848 Revolutions and uprisings in numerous
European countries (Italy, France. Belgium,
Austrian Empire, and others)
1848 Marx and Engels. Communist Manifesto
1850
1851 Herman Melville, Moby-Dick
1856-1939 Sigmund Freud
1859 Darwin, On the Origin of Species
1861-65 American Civil War
1869 Suez Canal opens
1870-71 Franco-Prussian War. collapse of the
Second French Empire
1870-71 Unifications of Germany and Italy
1875
1877 Thomas Edison invents the phonograph
1895 Wilhelm Roentgen discovers X-rays
Italy
France
Russia
Germany/Austria
M usic an d Feeling:
R om antic M usic
D u r i n g t h e s o - c a lle d
Romantic era
t h e a r t s in g e n e r a l r e f le c te d a n i n t e r e s t in
Romantic era
t h e i n n e r life o f t h e m i n d a n d t h e h e a r t . A r tis ts e m p h a s i z e d t h e in d iv id u a l, t h e
e m o t i o n a l , t h e v is io n a ry , t h e e x o tic , t h e s u b lim e , a n d t h e s p o n t a n e o u s . W e o f t e n
u s e t h e t e r m in a c ir c u m s c r i b e d w ay , t o r e f e r t o lo v e ; b u t t h e n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y
R o m a n tic m o v e m e n t , w h ic h d id c o n c e r n i t s e l f w i t h lo v e a n d w i t h m a n y o t h e r
th in g s i n t e r n a l t o h u m a n b e in g s , w a s a m u c h la r g e r a r tis tic m o v e m e n t .
T h e t e r m “ r o m a n t i c ” w a s o r ig i n a lly a s s o c ia te d w i t h l i t e r a t u r e , a n d d e f in e d a
m o v e m e n t t h a t p r e f e r r e d t h e n a t u r a l t o t h e a rtific ia l. Y ou w ill r e m e m b e r t h a t b a l­
a n c e a n d c o m p o s u r e w e r e e s s e n tia l t o t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y ; a t t h a t t i m e t h e a r ts
w e r e o f t e n p r a i s e d w h e n t h e y w e r e “m o s t a r tif ic ia l,” t h a t is, f a s h io n e d o n p u r p o s e
b y h u m a n h a n d s , n o t d is c o v e r e d o r f o u n d t o b e n a t u r a l l y o c c u r r i n g . C lo th in g ,
a r c h i t e c t u r e , a n d la n d s c a p e , f o r e x a m p l e , w e r e r ig o r o u s ly c o n s t r a i n e d a c c o r d in g
t o g e n e r a lly a g r e e d n o r m s .
Romanticism
w a s a n e f f o r t t o b r e a k fr e e o f t h e s e a c c e p t e d f o r m s , b o u n d a r i e s ,
a n d g e n r e s t h a t a r tis ts b e g a n t o c o n s i d e r s tif lin g a n d o p p r e s s iv e . It w a s a t i m e o f
e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n a n d a y e a r n i n g f o r t h e n e w . A n y th in g t h a t o c c u r r e d in n a t u r e —
e v e n n a t u r e its e lf — w a s f a s c in a tin g . N i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y g a r d e n s c a n b e s e e n a s a
m e t a p h o r f o r t h e R o m a n tic m o v e m e n t : i n s t e a d o f c a r e f u lly t e n d e d a n d c lip p e d
parterre f lo w e r
b e d s , p e o p l e n o w p r e f e r r e d w h a t t h e y c a lle d E n g lis h g a r d e n s (s e e
F ig u r e IV .l)— tr e e s , g r a s s , a n d f lo w e r s p l a n t e d in c u r v e s t o l o o k n a t u r a l o r u n t a m e d
(e v e n i f t h e y w e r e n ’t). R o m a n tic a r t i s t s w e r e i n t e r e s t e d in t h a t w h ic h w a s n o t m a n ­
a g e d b y h u m a n k in d .
Romanticism
258
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
FIG. IV.l A painting of a typically
"Romantic" English garden at Stourhead in England: natural vistas, lawns,
and curving borders contrast sharply
with the geometrical, ornamental
gardens of the eighteenth century.
Politics, Economics, and Technology
T h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y s a w t h e b e g i n n i n g a n d e n d o f t h e A m e r ic a n C iv il W a r, th e
r e ig n o f Q u e e n V ic to r ia , t h e c o lla p s e o f n a t i o n s a n d t h e b u i l d i n g o f n e w o n e s . It
w a s a n a g e o f e m p i r e - b u i l d i n g a n d c o lo n iz a tio n . T h e c e n t u r y a ls o w i t n e s s e d in d u s ­
t r i a liz a tio n a n d t h e c r e a t i o n o f t h e r a ilr o a d , t h e i n v e n tio n o f t h e t e l e g r a p h , a s p ir in ,
a n d t h e lig h t b u lb , e v e n t h e s a f e ty p in a n d b l u e je a n s .
Nationalism
Industrial Revolution
After Napoleon’s defeat in 1815, the British navy enforced the growing power of
Great Britain in the world. On the European continent, nationalism—the desire to
create and maintain political states to represent cultural zones, languages, or com­
monly held cultures—led to the unification of Germany and of Italy. The Holy
Roman Empire (which had included Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, and a number
of other cultural areas) was dissolved, and the German (Prussian) Empire grew in
strength. Otto von Bismarck, the great Prussian chancellor, managed, by gradually
weakening Austria and winning a war with France (the Franco-Prussian War of
1870-71), to unify Prussia and a group of German-speaking principalities to form
a unified German empire. The Italian Risorgimento (“Resurgence”) resulted in a
unified Italy created from former holdings of Austria, the papacy, and a number of
smaller principalities (see Figure IV.2, map of Europe, p. 259.)
T h e m e c h a n i z a t i o n o f i n d u s t r y — t h e I n d u s tr ia l R e v o l u tio n — e f f e c te d m a n y
c h a n g e s in t h e e c o n o m y a n d in s o c ie ty . E u r o p e ’s p o p u l a t i o n d o u b l e d in t h e c o u r s e
o f t h e c e n tu r y , a n d t h e r is in g c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f p o p u l a t i o n in c itie s le d t o th e
in c r e a s in g i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e m id d le class.
R a ilw a y s a n d t e l e g r a p h s m a d e tr a v e l a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n m u c h e a s ie r a n d
fa s te r , g a s li g h t i n g in c itie s m a d e life m o r e c o m f o r t a b l e , in c r e a s e d p r i n t i n g o f
n e w s p a p e r s a n d b o o k s r e f l e c t e d a g r o w i n g l i t e r a t e s o c ie ty , a n d b y t h e e n d o f th e
c e n t u r y e le c tr i c ity a n d t h e t e l e p h o n e w e r e a b o u t t o c h a n g e t h e w o r ld .
Slavery and colonialism
Slavery was abolished—at least in name—everywhere. The American Civil War
(1861-65), fought in part over this issue, devastated a nation growing in world
importance. This was also an age of imperialism, in which European powers
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
259
250
I
0
I
250
_L I
NORW AY
5 0 0 K ilo m e te rs
SW ED EN
lockholm x '
Edinburgh
ndu n it e d
• K IN G D O M
"Liverpool
W ALES .Birmingham
ENGLAND
a,
London* N ETH EI
LUXEM BOURG
Munich
FR A N C E
•
AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN
EM PIRE
Vrenna*
l
Milan
* Budapest
•Venice
R O M A N IA
BLAC
SEA
ANDORRA
ITALY
Madrid
SPAIN
Rom e*
B A L E A R IC
IS L A N D S
S A R D IN IA
Palermo
S IC IL Y
M OROCCO
A L G E R IA
T U N ISIA
CRETE
FIG. IV.2 Map of
Europe, ca. 1871.
s o u g h t t o in c r e a s e t h e i r p r e s tig e a n d t h e i r e c o n o m i e s b y a c q u ir in g c o lo n ie s t h a t
w e r e g o v e r n e d — s o m e m i g h t sa y e x p lo ite d — f r o m E u r o p e : a c o l o n y w a s a r ic h
s o u r c e o f r a w m a t e r i a l s a s w e ll a s a p u r c h a s e r o f t h e m a n u f a c t u r e d g o o d s o f th e
E u r o p e a n c o lo n iz e r . L a rg e p o r t i o n s o f t h e n o n - E u r o p e a n w o r l d w e r e d iv id e d u p
a m o n g th e E u ro p e a n p o w e rs.
Romantic Musical Style
The
c o m p o s e rs o f th e
n in e te e n th
c e n tu ry
c o n tin u e d
to
d o w h a t M o z a rt,
B e e th o v e n , a n d S c h u b e r t h a d d o n e : c o m p o s e o p e r a s , o r c h e s t r a l m u s ic , c h a m ­
b e r m u s ic , a n d s o n g s . T h e c o n t i n u i t y o f m u s ic a l f o r m s , h o w e v e r , is c o n t r a s t e d
b y a s t r o n g m u s ic a l d if f e r e n c e in e x p r e s s io n . W h e r e a s t h e m u s ic w e t h i n k o f as
C la s s ic a l s tr iv e s f o r a k i n d o f u n iv e r s a lity , in w h i c h its b e a u t y lie s in o b j e c t i v i t y —
b a l a n c e , f o r m , o r d e r , a n d c la r ity — R o m a n t i c m u s ic , w h ile c o n s t r u c t e d f r o m th e
s a m e m a te r ia ls , s e e k s t o e x p r e s s s u b je c tiv it y — e m o t i o n s a n d p a s s io n s , w h i c h a re
p r e s e n t n o t s o m u c h in s o c i e t y a s in t h e in d iv id u a l, a n d n o t s o m u c h in h u m a n
c o n s t r u c t s a s in n a t u r e . A l t h o u g h t h e r e is n o a b s o l u t e d iv id in g lin e b e t w e e n C la s ­
s ic a l a n d R o m a n t i c m u s ic , w e c a n s e n s e a p o la r ity , a b a l a n c e b e t w e e n m u s ic as
f o r m , a n d m u s ic a s e x p r e s s io n o f e m o t i o n o r f e e lin g . O n e a c h s id e o f t h e C la s s ic R o m a n t i c d iv id e , b o t h e n d s o f t h e p o l a r i t y a r e f o u n d : M e n d e l s s o h n c a n b e as
C la s s ic a l as M o z a r t , a n d B e e th o v e n c a n b e a s R o m a n t i c a s B e r lio z . B u t t h e t r e n d
in m u s i c o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , a s in t h e o t h e r a r ts , is t o w a r d R o m a n t i c i s m .
Classical vs. Romantic music
Science and Philosophy
T h ree g re a t thin k ers o f th e n in eteen th
century, each conversant in a very differ­
e n t area o f know ledge, affected h u m a n
th o u g h t an d activity in w ays alm ost
u n p reced en ted in th e h isto ry o f m o d ­
e rn tim es. Charles D arw in (1809-1882),
an em in en t n atu ralist, developed the
th e o ry o f n atu ral selection and explained
the process o f evolution. His On The
Origin o f Species (1859) an d The Descent
o f Man (1871) w ere en o rm o u sly influen­
tial— as they still are— and p ro d u ced a
devastating challenge to religion an d to
m any aspects o f th e biological sciences.
Karl Marx (1818-1883) w as a th e o ­
rist o f capitalism and value; w ith Fried­
rich Engels he published The Communist
Manifesto in 1848 (a year o f over fifty
revolutions th ro u g h o u t E urope). Marx
argued th at value is accrued th ro u g h
h u m a n labor and th a t capitalism ten d ed
to deprive w ork ers o f th e value o f this
labor. T h e w o rk in g class, he argued,
w o u ld ultim ately rise u p in revolution
and b rin g on a tru e co m m u n ist society.
T h e first p a rt o f his o th e r m ajor w ork,
Das Kapital (Capital), w as published in
1867, th e rest after his death. M arx’s th e­
ories becam e th e basis o f revolutions and
new gov ern m en ts d u rin g the late nine­
te en th an d early tw en tieth centuries.
Sigm und Freud (1856-1939), th e cre­
a to r o f psychoanalysis, developed th e o ­
ries o f h o w th e unconscious m in d fu n c­
tioned, an d o rig in ated th e idea o f the
sexual o rigin o f neuroses. His theories
o f h u m a n psychology have profoundly
affected h o w w e think, alth o u g h his
influence w as n o t w idely felt until the
tw en tieth century.
The Arts
T his w as th e cen tu ry th a t b eg an to
value th e past: th e g re a t m edieval cath e­
drals w ere resto red and m u seu m s w ere
established for the study o f ancient art
and culture. In the visual arts, the cen tu ry
began w ith the neoclassicism so favored
by N apoleon. T h e refined w ork o f Ital­
ian scu lp to r A n ton io Canova (17571822) and th e cerebral French painters
Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) and
J.A.D. Ingres (1780-1867) represented
a b eau ty o f balance and d eco ru m . But
sculpture becam e m o re individual and
expressive a t the en d o f the century, cul­
m in atin g in the w orks o f A uguste Rodin
(1840-1917). T he R om antic painters
soon follow ed suit, w ith th e la ter w orks
o f Francisco de Goya (1746-1828),
T h eod ore Gericault (1791-1824), and
Eugene D elacroix (1798-1863) depict­
ing n atu re , em otions, an d an ything th at
reflected th e in n er self and the forces
o f the sublim e. C o lo r and atm osphere
b ecam e the province o f th e English artist
J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851; see Figure
IV.3) and o f the A m erican artist Jam es
M cN eill W h istler (1834-1903). A n o th er
FIG. IV.3 J. M. W. Turner’s (1775-1851) famous painting The Morning a fter th e Wreck, 1835-45. Effects of light and
atmosphere and the depiction of a hazy view of nature are typical of Turner's work.
260
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
Literature
co n trib u ted to a genre th a t catered to
an increasing, and increasingly literate,
m iddle class.
P oetry flourished as w ell. T he
R om antic p o ets o f th e early years o f the
cen tu ry include British w riters W illiam
W ordsw orth (1770-1850), G eorge Gor­
d on Byron (1788-1824), Sam uel Tay­
lor C oleridge (1772-1834), John Keats
(1795-1821), and Percy Bysshe Shelley
(1792-1822). L ater English poets include
Alfred T ennyson (1809-1892) and Rob­
ert B row ning (1812-1889). R om anti­
cism crossed the A tlantic th ro u g h the
w orks o f p o ets like H enry W adsw orth
L on gfellow (1807-1882); W alt W h it­
man (1819-1892) and Em ily D ick in son
(1830-1886) w ere am o n g th e A m erican
poets w hose R om antic style com bined
w ith m o re innovative and m o d e rn
leanings. In G erm any, H einrich H eine
(1797-1856) allow ed a folkloristic ele­
m e n t in to the classical G erm an tradition
o f G o eth e. And in France, p o ets like
Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867), Paul
Verlaine (1844-96), and Arthur R im ­
baud (1854-91) ushered in a new literary
tre n d called sym bolism .
In th e n in eteen th cen tu ry th e novel was
a leading literary form , appealing to th e
w ide m iddle-class readership. Novels
explored th e relationship o f people to
each o th e r and to society, an d also exam ­
ined th e in n er em o tio n al life o f th e ch ar­
acters. A long list o f w riters— Charles
D ickens (1812-1870; Oliver Twist, Bleak
House), A nthony T rollope (1815-1882;
th e Palliser novels), and G eorge Eliot
(M ary A nn Evans, 1819-1880; Middlemarch), in England; H o n o re de Balzac
(1799-1850; The Human Comedy), V ictor
H u go (1802-1885; Notre Dame de Paris),
an d G ustave Flaubert (1821-1880;
Madame Bovary), in France; N athaniel
H aw th orn e (1804-1864; The Scarlet Let­
ter) and H erm an M elville (1819-1891;
Moby-Dick), in th e U nited States; Fyodor
D o sto ev sk y (1821-1881; The Broth­
ers Karamazov), Leo T olstoy (18281910; W ar and Peace), in Russia— all
T h e n in eteen th century is the age
o f folklore and o f the “rediscovery” o f
childhood as a state different from adult­
hood. A host o f children’s literature
soon appeared— Louisa May A lcott’s
(1832-1888) Little Women and Rudyard
K ipling’s (1865-1936) The Jungle Book, for
exam ple— as well as m usic for children to
listen to and learn, and special clothing
and activities for th e m (before the nine­
te en th century children had been dressed
and treated essentially as little adults).
T he kin d o f idealism and self-reliance
associated w ith the A m erican view o f
the w o rld and politics— an d flavored by
R om anticism — appears now here m ore
strongly th a n in the w orks o f A m eri­
can transcendentalists Ralph W aldo
Em erson (1803-1882), H enry David
T horeau (1817-1862), Bronson A lcott
(1799-1888), and his d a u g h te r Louisa
M ay Alcott.
FIG. IV.4 Vincent van Gogh. Wheat Field with Cypresses. 1889. The Dutch painters strong
colors and emphatic brushwork make his paintings unmistakable.
A m erican painter, T h o m as C ole (18011848), w as k n o w n for his realistic p o r­
trayals o f th e A m erican landscape and
its w ilderness. His detailed and elab o ­
rate w orks com bine p an o ram ic im ages
w ith m oralistic insights, often depicting
n atu re as all-powerful.
Realist pain ters like Jean-BaptisteC am ille C orot (1796-1875) and Gustave
C ourbet (1819-1877) tu rn e d to th e depic­
tion o f everyday life. In the latter p art
o f th e century, im p ression ism sought
to p o rtray the visual im pression o f a
m o m en t. Im pressionist paintings often
show clear bru sh strokes, each b earin g a
separate to u c h o f color; th e a ttem p t to
convey th e im pression o f ch an g in g light
is frequently attach ed to everyday su b ­
je c t m atter. P ainters like Edouard M anet
(1832-1883), Paul C ezanne (1839-1906),
C laude M onet (1840-1926), an d Vin­
cen t van G ogh (1853-1890; see Figure
IV.4) created a new w ay o f lo o kin g at
color, light, and m ovem ent.
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u s ic
261
262
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
FIG. IV.5 The violinist Niccolo Paga­
nini was such an astounding virtuoso
that some said that he was in league
with the Devil. In this caricature the
Devil teaches him how to play the
violin.
Mendelssohn: Songs without
Words. No. 6. “Spring Song"
Opera
The towering figure of Beethoven cast a huge
shadow. Composers were so full of admiration for
his exceptional gifts and achievements that some
felt a need to move away from the monumental
toward the personal, working in the areas of cham­
ber music, piano music, and song. These smaller,
intimate works, sometimes called miniatures, were
suitable for private performance in middle-class
salons and are one of the hallmarks of nineteenthcentury music. © T h is repertory was useful to, and
encouraged by, the growing number of amateur
musicians, and by the fact that music was becoming
part of the education of young people.
At the same time, the symphony, established
by Beethoven as the highest form of instrumental
music, did continue in a variety of ways. Berlioz
used the symphony to express his inner emotional
life (see Chapter 10) and to tell a story. Composers
like Dvorak and Tchaikovsky sought to communi­
cate something local or national in their symphonies
(see Chapter 14). And the late Romantic composers
Anton Bruckner and Gustav Mahler, full of inspiration from Richard Wagner, pro­
duced some of the grandest and longest symphonies ever written.
Harmony and melody were all expanded during the nineteenth century. Com­
posers experimented with new chord forms, unusual key contrasts, and mixtures
of major and minor modes, as well as highly charged and expressive harmonies,
especially through the use of chromaticism (see p. A-6). Tone color, too, was the
subject of much expansion. It is no surprise, then, that the orchestra grew in size—
increasing its range of color expression—and that many of the instruments saw
technical advances, allowing the use of the full chromatic scale, which in turn
offered composers new levels of harmonic and melodic expression.
This was also the age of the virtuoso. The Romantic accent on the individual
was important in the development of this musical role. Franz Liszt at the piano
and Niccolo Paganini on the violin are the most famous of many Romantic virtuo­
sos—soloists who played music so difficult and dazzling that they were believed by
some to be possessed by the Devil himself (see Figure IV.5).
There had been virtuoso performers before, of course. Bach, Mozart, and
Beethoven had all been valued in their time at least as much for their impres­
sive performance as for their great compositions. On the opera stage, singers had
always been stars, as they always would be. But the nineteenth century witnessed
the rise of the career of the solo performer, as a person set apart from the rest of
humanity. The cult of the artistic hero began perhaps with Beethoven but was
furthered by the virtuosos and by the notion that an artist-composer feels, suffers,
and creates in ways that are not available to ordinary people.
The nineteenth century was also the great period of opera. The lyric theater
was everywhere, of central importance socially and musically. The Italians—with
the early lyrical Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848; Lucia di Latnmermoor) and Vin­
cenzo Bellini (1801-1835; Norma); then the incomparable Giuseppe Verdi (1813—
1901; Rigoletto, La Traviata, Aida), followed by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924; La
Boheme, Tosca)—created a body of work that will never fade. Elsewhere Richard
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
Wagner (see Chapter 13) brought German opera to heights that would be hard to
reach for anyone less talented than Richard Strauss (1864-1949; Der Rosenkavalier).
In France, always somewhat independent, the tradition of grand opera, full of
spectacle, began with Daniel Francois Esprit Auber (1782-1871; Fra Diavolo) and
Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864; Robert le Diable, Les Huguenots), and was carried
on by Berlioz (1803-1869; Les Troyens), Charles Gounod (1818-1893; Faust), and
others.
We might also call the nineteenth century the century of nationalism, not only
in politics but also in music. Dvorak and many others sought to represent their
own nation or culture with music that included local elements, folk melodies, and
descriptive harmonies that would represent Moravia, or Bohemia, or Finland, or
Denmark, or Russia, while remaining at the same time within the great tradition
of art music.
The period covered here is not long: Berlioz’s Fantastic Symphony is from 1830,
Dvorak's New World Symphony from 1893— a period not much more than the
forty-one years between Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Schubert’s 1828 evening. Yet
works by the composers of the Romantic era represent the majority of pieces per­
formed on modern concert programs; their works have become the core of the
standard concert repertory. These composers don’t all have chapters in this book,
but you’ve surely heard o f many of them: Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms,
Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Grieg, Sibelius, Musorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, to name a few.
The musical selections we’re about to hear—and many we won’t hear because
of limited space in this book—have become the most popular works of today’s
concert stages and opera houses. Perhaps what attracts us is the combination of
music that is meant to be personal—that speaks to the soul—with the lyrical mel­
odics, the lush harmonies, and the original and imaginative forms characteristic of
the Romantic century.
263
® Video (Track 19). Verdi: Rigoletto.
“La donna e mobile”—"Un di”—
"Bella figlia deU’amore"
® Video (Track 20). Verdi: La
Traviata, “Signora"—"Parigi. o cara"
® Video (Track 15). Puccini:
La Boheme. “Quando men va"
© Mussorgsky: “The Field Marshal"
Style Comparisons at a Glance
CLASSIC MUSICAL STYLE
ROMANTIC MUSICAL STYLE
Themes made from paired phrases
Themes often folklike
Straightforward harmonies
Harmonies based on chromatic scale, mixtures of major and
minor modes, unusual key contrasts
Genres: symphony, string quartet, concerto, opera, song
Genres: many miniatures— piano solos, songs, character
pieces— as well as symphony, concerto, and opera
Sonata form prevails in many movements
Various extensions and variations of sonata form are tried
Music is expressive of itself
Music seeks to express personal, interior emotional
experiences: it is sometimes used for narrative purposes
Music is international
Music seeks to express local, cultural, and national traditions
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1830, PARIS:
Hector Berlioz’s F a n ta s tic
(S y m p h o n ie fa n ta s tiq u e )
0
C O R E REPERTO IRE
A U T H O R V ID E O S
■ LG 37 "Reveries— Passions”
(Reveries— Passions), 1
■ LG 40 "Marche du supplice” (March
to the Scaffold), IV
■ LG 38 "Un bal” (A Ball). II
■ LG 41 “Songe d une nuit de sabbat”
(Dream of a Witches' Sabbath), V
■ LG 39 "Scene aux champs” (Scene in
the Country), III
■ Berlioz’s idee fixe
Introduction
“How we shivered in horror before the scaffold, rendered by such beautiful
images o f such startling veracity that they aroused, right in the middle of the
execution, a thunder of applause that nothing could stop. ”
—From the review in L e T e m p s . December 26. 1830
Paris in 1830 was the center of the civilized world, at least in the eyes of its threequarters of a million inhabitants, and it was there that the young Hector Berlioz
set out to make a name for himself. Using money from an important prize he
had won, he paid to put on a concert that would feature his new Romantic sym­
phony, called the Fantastic Symphony (in French, Symphonic fantastique). The work
attracted a modest amount of attention from the press—though not as much as
Berlioz would have liked. Since that day it has become one of the most frequently
played works in the standard repertory. Besides being a fine, and quite avant-garde,
piece of music on its own, it has the unusual feature of narrating a plot set in the
natural world.
We have already seen how music and words work together to tell a story in an
opera like Mozart’s Don Giovanni or a song like Schubert’s Gretchen am Spinnrade
(Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel). But what happens when there are no words? There
is plenty of precedent for narrative music in the past, and the question of how, or
whether, music can narrate things outside itself is one that fascinates many people.
It became especially urgent in the Romantic era, when music was called upon to
describe not only natural phenomena but also interior states of the soul. The term
program music, meaning music that describes something or tells a story, relates to
the first performance of this symphony, at which Berlioz distributed a printed pro­
gram to the audience explaining the story behind—or perhaps inside—the music.
And a whopping good story it is. The Fantastic Symphony is typical of the Roman­
tic movement in literature and the other arts in that it focuses on the creative art­
ist, on the interior life of the emotions, on the supernatural, and on romantic
love. The highlights of this unspoken drama include the imagined execution by
guillotine of the lovesick hero and his opium-induced visions of a witches’ dance
of the dead.
The Fantastic Symphony seemed avant-garde to its listeners in 1830, partly
because the story itself was adventurous, and partly because the idea that music
could describe such matters without the help of words was relatively novel and
controversial. Many listeners found the symphony “difficult” or distasteful. Quite
a few, however, recognized Berlioz's work for what it was: a terrific symphony in
the tradition of Beethoven. In fact, the Fantastic Symphony still seems so shockingly
modern today that it’s surprising to learn that it comes so early in the history of
nineteenth-century Romantic music, and so early in the career of its young com­
poser. Berlioz remains the pioneer of program music.
It is a first symphony by an almost unknown composer. The sheer force of its
sound, which was thoroughly new and imaginatively wrought, helps to explain
why the music is still so vivid today. The crazy flying woodwinds at the end of the
Program music
© Berlioz: Fantastic Sym phony.
IV. “March to the Scaffold." march
theme
© Berlioz: Fantastic Sym phony. V.
Witches’ Dance
266
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
last movement, the stunning noise of the harps at the beginning of the second
movement, and the spooky beginning of the finale all create a new world of sound.
The Setting
PARIS IN 1830
FIG. 10.1 Louis-Philippe. duke of
Orleans, who was installed as king of
the French after the July Revolution
of 1830.
FIG. 10.2 The Rue Saint-Denis. Paris,
in the 1830s. Apart from the major
squares and monuments, streets
were often crowded and messy.
Paris was then, as it is now, a grand metropolis, even though many of the improve­
ments that modern visitors associate with the city had not yet been realized.
The vast network of broad, tree-lined boulevards, the enormous train stations,
the palatial opera house, the Eiffel Tower, the underground metro—all this and
more lay in the future. The Arc de Triomphe under construction at the top of the
Champs-Elysees was in 1830 four stone stumps. Even the magnificent Palace of
the Louvre, which was both a royal residence and a public art museum, was woe­
fully dilapidated and awaiting restoration. At that time the Tuileries Palace (which
later burned) stood in front of the Louvre, closing its courtyards; it was the scene
of the July Revolution (see below) in 1830, during which Berlioz, across the river,
was competing for the composition prize that helped bring him to public attention.
The French Revolution had turned the social and economic world upside down
at the end of the eighteenth century, and Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte had tem­
porarily turned it right-side up again, with France at the top. After Napoleon’s
defeat at Waterloo in 1815, the map of Europe was redrawn and the French mon­
archy restored. Fifteen years later, a few months before the premiere of the Fantas­
tic Symphony, history repeated itself (see map of Europe, p. 259). During three days
of fighting in the streets (known in France as “Les Trois Glorieuses,” the “Three
Glorious Days,” or the July Revolution), the people of Paris made
barricades of paving stones and succeeded in forcing King Charles
X from his throne. The new constitutional monarch, Louis-Philippe,
who styled himself the “citizen king,” was careful to have no crown
in his official portraits (see Figure 10.1).
Despite the king’s bow to popular democracy, the July Revolution
ushered in a period of political instability, with factions jockeying for
power in what the Marquis de Lafayette (the hero of both the French
and the American Revolutions) optimistically called “the best of all
republics.” Economically, however, day-to-day life in the French capi­
tal didn’t change as quickly or dramatically as the political landscape.
The streets on which the newly empowered members of the middle
and working classes strode so confidently remained cramped, badly
lit, and mostly unpaved, especially in the congested labyrinth that sur­
rounded the royal enclave on the Right Bank of the Seine River. (Ber­
lioz’s modest apartment on the Rue de Richelieu was a few blocks
northeast of the Louvre.) Residents still emptied their chamberpots
onto public thoroughfares, where carriages competed for space with
the new multicolored public omnibuses (see Figure 10.2).
For all that, Paris offered a wide range of civilized amenities, includ­
ing a cultural life as lively and varied as was to be found anywhere in
Europe. The Parisians’ pride in French classical drama—enshrined at
the venerable Comedie Fran^aise—was if anything surpassed by their
passion for opera. The main institution for the performance of opera
was known then, as now, as the Opera (its formal name was the Royal
C H A P T E R 10
H e cto r Berlioz’s Fantastic S y m p h o n y (S y m p h o n ie fantastique)
267
FIG. 10.3 The Opera House on the
Rue Le Peletier, the main opera
house of Paris.
Academy of Music; see Figure 10.3). It was housed on the Rue Le Peletier, just off'
the Boulevard des Italiens, in a theater that was grand but built in a hurry (the for­
mer one burned down) and was meant to be temporary. The Opera catered to the
public’s growing appetite for grand opera—works with complicated historical plots
and spectacular settings, such as Daniel Auber’s La muette de Portici (The Mute Girl of
Portici; see Figure 10.4) and Gioachino Rossini’s Guillaume Tell (William Tell). New
gas lighting allowed for spectacular novel effects. Those whose tastes ran to lighter
fare or supernatural plots frequented the Opcra-Comique and the Italian Opera.
Berlioz and most of his fellow French musicians were trained at the Paris Con­
servatory (see Figure 10.9, p. 274), one of the first public music schools in the
world. (It was founded during the French Revolution to provide players for mili­
tary marching bands.) The director in 1830 was Luigi Cherubini, an eminent Ital­
ian composer known for his high standards and strict sense of discipline and deco­
rum. Berlioz incurred Cherubini’s displeasure even before he officially enrolled at
The Opera
Paris Conservatory
FIG. 10.4 A performance of La
m uette de Portici at the Opera,
with the famous eruption of Mount
Vesuvius in the background. A ben­
efit performance of this opera was
given on the same day as Berliozs
concert.
268
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
Conservatory concerts
the school, when he innocently entered the building through the door reserved for
female students. As much as he chafed at Cherubini’s seemingly arbitrary rules,
though, he valued the solid musical education he received from the Conserva­
tory’s excellent faculty'. Eventually, Berlioz would have the satisfaction of seeing his
own treatise on orchestration used by students at his alma mater. (Orchestration
is the art of using instruments well and combining them in effective ways.)
Fran^ois-Antoine Habencck, the enormously influential conductor of the
Opera and professor at the Conservatory, had founded a series of Sunday after­
noon concerts in the auditorium of the Conservatory, which were well attended
and highly respected. The Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire, a cooperative
society of eighty-six of the top instrumentalists in Paris, was in fact one of the
earliest concert orchestras in the world. Habencck was a devotee of Beethoven;
among other works by the German master, he introduced Parisians to the Fifth
Symphony in April 1828, in a concert that Berlioz attended.
R O M A N T IC IS M
Victor Hugo
FIG. 10.5 The D e a th o f S a r d a n a ­
p alus (1827). by Eugene Delacroix.
Sardanapalus. the decadent Assyrian
ruler, refusing to be captured by his
enemies, gathered all his riches and
his women in his palace, and burned
it to the ground with everyone and
everything inside. Berlioz won the
Rome Prize for his cantata based on
the story of Sardanapalus.
You could not be in Paris, and involved in the arts, without being swept up in
the literary and artistic movement known as Romanticism (see p. 257). Romantic
revolutionaries like Berlioz sought to break out of the rule-bound traditions of art.
Victor Hugo’s play Hernani, premiered in Paris in 1830, is a defining moment
in the Romantic movement. A historical potboiler seething with intrigue and pas­
sion, it flaunted the time-honored conventions of classical drama. Hugo’s depic­
tion of unbridled emotions and his use of everyday, unpoetic language provoked
an outbreak of hooting and hissing at the first performance. Berlioz and the play­
wright’s other supporters countered with an equally vociferous defense, and the
experience convinced the young composer that he and Hugo were kindred spirits.
Romantic writers, musicians, and painters were interested in nature, in the
C H A P T E R 10
H e cto r Berlioz’s Fa n ta stic S y m p h o n y (S y m p h o n ie fantastique)
269
outdoors, in everything that was not created and managed by humankind. They
were interested, too, in exotic lands and distant eras; this is the time when the French
began to value and restore the great Gothic cathedrals. (Notre Dame was in such a
disgraceful state of disrepair by the mid-nineteenth century that Hugo and others
led a campaign to save it as a national treasure.) The supernatural—ghosts, demons,
large black birds and bats, fiery stagecoaches, lightning and thunder, apparitions—
features largely in Romantic art, music, and literature; in fact, a ballet of the ghosts
of nuns was one of the attractions of Giacomo Meyerbeer’s opera Robert le (liable.
Above all, Romantic art concerned itself with the heart, with feelings, the strug­
gles and passions of individual human beings, and with the soul (see Figure 10.5).
That is why there is such interest in religion (there arc religious subjects in the
operas of the time—Halevy’s La Juive, Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots, not to mention
the dancing ghosts of nuns in Robert le diable), in drugs (Berlioz read De Quincey’s
Confessions of an English Opium Eater), and perhaps most of all, in love. The empha­
sis on nature, the supernatural, religion, and drugs already mark the Fantastic Sym­
phony as a quintessential^ Romantic work. But the real subject of the symphony
is Berlioz's tempestuous love life, which in turn revolved around the lives of three
women who had captured his highly impressionable heart.
H ECTO R BERLIOZ
Short and red-headed, with a beaky nose, Hector Berlioz (pronounced Bear-leeoze) thought he looked like an owl. As a medical student in Paris in the early 1820s,
Hector Berlioz concealed his musical aspirations from his father. Dr. Louis-Joseph
Berlioz, a well-to-do physician in the southeastern French town of La Cote SaintAndre, had groomed his eldest child for a medical career; when he discovered that
Hector had no intention of following in his footsteps, he cut off his son’s allow­
ance, hoping to bring him back to his senses. Hector, however, was appalled by the
thought of becoming a doctor, and determined to give himself “body and soul to
music,” and for many years father and son were estranged. It took the winning of
the prestigious Rome Prize to convince his parents that a musical career was pos­
sible and permissible.
Forced to fall back on his own resources, Berlioz took several part-time jobs
to make ends meet while he pursued his studies at the Conservatory. He worked
as a singer in the chorus of a theater, taught guitar at a school for young women,
read proofs for a music publisher, and wrote occasional pieces of music journal­
ism. All the while he longed to be a great composer. He managed to get part of a
Mass and one or two other pieces performed; he also worked hard on a couple of
operas, though with little hope of seeing them produced. Berlioz had been think­
ing about Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and was captivated by Goethe’s drama
Faust. Finally, at the beginning of 1830, he conceived the idea of writing a sym­
phony that would tell a story—the story of the sufferings of a Romantic artist very
like himself. (See biography, p. 270.)
ESTELLE, HARRIET, A N D CAM ILLE
The first of the composer’s muses, Estelle Duboeuf, was his first love (see Fig­
ure 10.6). Six years older than Berlioz, she lived in a village near where he visited
his grandfather. When he was twelve, he fell madly and secretly in love with her.
When they parted at the end of his stay, he poured out his sadness in a song, and the
melody of that song is woven into the first movement of the Fantastic Symphony.
FIG. 10.6 A photograph of the aged
Estelle Duboeuf whom the young
Hector Berlioz fell in love with at
the age of twelve, when she was
eighteen.
© Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony. I,
‘Estelle" melody
270
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: R om antic M u sic
HeCTOr BerLIOZ <1803-1869)
A highly imaginative com poser o f
to establish him self as a leading composer. He gave concerts o f
an experimental, even avant-garde
his ow n music; after 1835, he conducted m ost o f these himself.
bent, Hector Berlioz was also a dis­
Above all, he strove to succeed in opera, where he could earn
tinguished conductor, especially o f
the m ost fame. But here success also eluded him, even though
his ow n music, and a prolific and
his operas (including T h e T r o ja n s , B e a tric e a n d B e n e d ic t, and B e n ­
talented writer on music (his m em ­
v e n u to C e llin i)
oirs make engrossing reading). He is
genre. For several years he earned m ost o f his incom e, and con­
admired especially for his orchestral
siderable respect, from his writings about music.
are am ong the m ost w onderful creations o f the
com positions, and his classic treatise
Berlioz's late years were mostly bitter ones, marked by the
on orchestration is still in print. A m ong his early works, m ostly
deaths o f his first wife, the actress Harriet Smithson; his son
lost or unfinished, are a S o le m n M a s s , recendy rediscovered, and
Louis, a naval officer; and his second wife, the singer Marie
an opera L e s fr a n c s - ju g e s (som etim es translated as T h e J u d g e s o f
Recio. C onsoled by his correspondence with Estelle Duboeuf,
the Secret C o u r t) , never finished. His first big success cam e in
the love o f his childhood, he died on March 8, 1869.
1830, w hen he gave a concert o f his ow n works that included
the new F a n ta s tic S y m p h o n y .
Strongly influenced by literature, by Shakespeare’s plays, by
© Berlioz: H a ro ld in Italy. I (viola solo)
© Berlioz: R o m e o a n d Juliet, IV. Scherzo
nature, and by passion, Berlioz was a naturally dramatic com ­
poser. His programmatic sym phonies, including H a r o ld in I ta ly
MAJOR WORKS: 3 operas ( T h e T r o ja n s , B e a tr ic e a n d B e n e d ic t,
(purportedly based on Byron’s narrative poem C h ild e H a r o ld ’s
and B e n v e n u to C e llin i); 4 symphonies, ( F a n ta s tic S y m p h o n y , L e lio ,
P ilg r im a g e ),
J u lie t,
which has a prom inent viola solo, and R o m e o a n d
and R o m e o a n d J u lie t) ; choral music, including
a Requiem Mass and L a d a m n a t i o n d e F a u s t ( T h e D a m n a tio n o f
helped make his reputation abroad.
Berlioz made strenuous but essentially unsuccessful efforts
FIG. 10.7 Harriet Smithson, about 1822. The
Shakespearian actress captivated Parisians in the
1820s. including Hector Berlioz: his love for her is
the subject of his Fantastic Sym phony.
H a r o ld in Ita ly ,
F a u st);
songs and song cycles.
Harriet Smithson was a famous English actress who took Paris by
storm in the late 1820s (see Figure 10.7). She infatuated Berlioz as Oph­
elia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “The impression made on my heart and
mind by her extraordinary talent, nay her dramatic genius, was equaled
only by the havoc wrought in me by the poet she so nobly interpreted.”
Then he saw her portray the heroine in Romeo and Juliet, and “by the
third act, scarcely able to breathe—as though an iron hand gripped me
by the heart—I knew that I was lost.” Berlioz tried to bring himself to
Smithson’s attention, but she was so famous, and he so insignificant by
comparison, that little came of it at first—except the Fantastic Symphony
itself, which tells the story of his unrequited love for Harriet.
Eighteen-year-old Camille Moke was a piano instructor at the school
where Berlioz taught guitar (see Figure 10.8); she later went on to become
a celebrated performer. They had a brief affair—apparently more seri­
ous on his part than on hers—and it was probably she who repeated to
Berlioz (or perhaps invented) rumors that damaged Smithson’s reputa­
tion. In any event, she succeeded in turning Berlioz, at least temporarily,
against the actress, and it is the torm ent of that rejection that drives the
plot of the symphony.
The story the symphony tells doesn’t end in 1830, however. After the
first performance, Berlioz was engaged to Camille, only to be jilted a few
months later for another man with brighter prospects. Harriet was finally
attracted to Berlioz and became his wife in 1833; they had a long and
C H A P T E R 10
H e cto r B e rlioz’s F a n ta stic S y m p h o n y (S y m p h o n ie fantastique)
271
mostly unhappy marriage. As for Estelle (whom Berlioz called his “stella montis,”
the “star of the mountain” that beckoned him from afar): as an elderly widow, she
received Berlioz in her house in Lyons, nearly half a century after their last meet­
ing. The tenderness she may once have felt for him was, if anything, stronger, and
he wrote to her faithfully for the rest of his life.
P R O G R A M M U SIC
Berlioz’s symphony tells the tale of an artist and his loves; its first title is Episode
from the Life of an Artist (the subtitle is Fantastic Symphony). The box below shows
Berlioz’s titles for the five movements with their conventional Italian tempo indica­
tions that stand at the head of countless symphonic and other pieces (see Chapter
1, p. 7). Both the first and the last movements have slow introductions (Largo and
Larghetto, respectively) before the main part of the movement, in a fast tempo
(Allegro agitato, Allegro), begins. The middle movement is the slow movement;
it is preceded by a Waltz (Valse) and followed by a march marked "Allegretto non
troppo” (not too fast).
Movem ent Titles
Episode de la vie d'u n artiste: Sym phonie fantastique en 5 parties
(Episode from the Life of an Artist: Fantastic Sy m p h o n y in Five Movements)
I. Largo—Allegro agitato e appassionato assai: “Reveries—Passions”
(Reveries—Passions)
II. Valse, Allegro non troppo: “Un bal” (A Ball)
III. Adagio: “Scene aux champs” (Scene in the Country)
IV. Allegretto non troppo: “Marche du supplice” (March to the Scaffold)
V. Larghetto—Allegro: “Songe d’une nuit dc sabbat” (Dream of a Witches’
Sabbath)
Each of the five movements can stand on its own; for many listeners they add
up to a musical experience as satisfying as any of Beethoven’s four-movement sym­
phonies. In addition to the music there is a narrative, in which Berlioz tells us his
story (see the Listening Guides for each narrative). The printed program handed
out at the concert (and published several times in newspapers beforehand) offered
the following explanation:
The com poser’s purpose has been to develop the musical aspects o f different situa­
tions in the life o f an artist. The plan o f the instrumental drama, lacking the assis­
tance o f words, needs to be explained in advance. The following program should
thus be considered as though it were the spoken text o f an opera, serving to intro­
duce the m ovem ents, w hose character and expression it motivates.
The Fantastic Symphony is about the inner life of a young artist, and the artist in
question is the composer himself. Buffeted by a wave of passions (represented by
the sad “Estelle” melody in the slow introduction of the first movement), he falls
in love with a young woman; her theme—representing Harriet—begins the main
part of the first movement. The artist sees her at a ball (the waltz) and thinks about
her in the countryside (the slow movement). He realizes she does not love him,
and he poisons himself with opium. But the dose is not enough to kill him, and
FIG. 10.8 A portrait of Camille
Moke, around 1830. Berlioz was
engaged to Moke, but while he was
in Rome, she married another man.
272
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
Romantic elements
Program music vs.
absolute music
instead he has visions—o f killing his beloved and being marched to his execution
(the fourth movement), and of a witches’ gathering—surely inspired by Goethe’s
Faust—in which she joins in a diabolical dance (the last movement).
Berlioz’s “program” has all the requisite Romantic ingredients. The love interest,
of course, is front and center throughout. The sounds of nature, including shep­
herds and distant thunder, are heard in the slow movement. The religious consola­
tions that close the first movement are echoed at the end by the church bells and
by the Dies irae chant, sung at funerals, which Berlioz transforms into a grotesque
dance tune. The mind-expanding drugs the artist takes give rise to the exotic visions
of the last two movements. The supernatural element comes in the last movement,
where the hero witnesses his own funeral and the strange witches’ sabbath.
The concept of program music had much resonance for Romantic composers;
music can be an expression not only of visible things but also of feelings (we will
see in later chapters how the music of Schumann, Wagner, and Dvorak reflects the
ideas we find in Berlioz's symphony). As part of the reaction against Romanticism in
the early twentieth century, the notion of program music was rejected by modernist
composers like Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg, the teacher of Alban Berg
(see Chapters 15 and 16). In fact, the division between program music and what
some call “absolute” music (can we really say that Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony has
no extra-musical meaning?) is far from being clear. It is perhaps more a spectrum
than an opposition; and the nature of musical meaning—of how music means any­
thing, and what that meaning is—is a discussion that will always be with us.
But at the beginning of the nineteenth century, program music was still fresh
and exciting. It helps explain why Berlioz’s Fantastic Symphony sparked a great deal
of comment and controversy. Many people were simply curious to find out what
sort of “symphony” the Fantastic Symphony was and whether music on its own
could indeed, as Berlioz claimed, tell a story.
The Performance
First attempts
Berlioz attempted to get his symphony performed even before it was finished.
Early in 1830, he made arrangements for a spring concert at the Theatre des Nouveautes, where he sang in the chorus. He convinced the management to let him
try out a couple of movements in the theater, but the rehearsal was a complete
disaster, mostly because there were not enough chairs and music stands. The fiasco
that Berlioz describes so amusingly in the memoirs he wrote later in life was prob­
ably not so amusing to him as a young man. The following passage gives a taste of
the vivid and entertaining prose style that makes both his narrative and his critical
writing so delightful:
W hen the day came for the rehearsal, and m y orchestra o f a hundred and thirty
tried to arrange them selves on the stage, there was nowhere to put them . The tiny
pit, w hen pressed into service, barely accom m odated the violins. From all over the
theater an uproar arose that would have driven a much more sanguine com poser
dem ented. People w ere calling for desks [music stands], while the carpenters strove
to knock together som ething that w ould do instead. The scene-shifter w ent about
swearing and searching for his flats and his struts. There were cries for chairs, for
instruments, for candles; the double basses were short o f strings; there was no place
anywhere for the drums. The orchestral attendant did not know where to begin.
Bloc [the theater conductor] and I were in thirty-seven different places at once; but it
was all to no avail. The situation had g o t beyond control. It was a rout.
C H A P T E R 10
H e cto r Berlioz’s Fa n ta stic S y m p h o n y (S ym p h o n ie fantastique)
Plans for the concert had to be abandoned, but Berlioz’s fortunes soon took a
turn for the better: that summer, on his fourth attempt, he finally succeeded in
winning the Rome Prize (Prix de Rome), an honor awarded by the Academy of
Fine Arts of the venerable Institute of France that provided the winner with a gold
medal, a performance of the prize-winning work, a paid fellowship for five years,
and a two-year residency at the French Academy (the Villa Medici) in Rome. The
academic aspects of the contest were not to Berlioz’s liking—contestants were
all given the same text and required to set it to music within a limited time—but
he swallowed his pride and wrote his cantata La mort de Sardanapale (The Death of
Sardanapalus), keeping back from the judges the great orchestral finale that depicts
the destruction of King Sardanapalus’s palace; he thought they would think it too
daring. Locked into a room where he, like the other contestants, was sequestered
during the competition, he heard the clamor of the July Revolution outside his
window without knowing what it was.
Suddenly, everything changed for Berlioz. There was a ceremony at the Insti­
tute of France, where the medal was awarded. The cantata was duly performed,
although the climactic orchestral conflagration fizzled (“Ten million curses on
all musicians who do not count their rests,” Berlioz grumbled in disgust). Now
that he had the fame—and the cash—needed to put on his own concert, he began
preparations to use the hall of the Paris Conservatory and the services of their
orchestra and celebrated conductor.
273
Rome Prize
PREPARING THE PER FO R M AN C E
As the sole producer of the concert, Berlioz was responsible for virtually every­
thing. He rented the hall, engaged the players, and papered the house with tickets
for his friends. (Since it was not one of the Conservatory’s regular subscription
concerts, he had to work especially hard to attract an audience.) Thanks to the
receipts that Berlioz meticulously filed in a folder that survives today, we know
that he paid a music copyist to make parts for the orchestra, as well as additional
parts for this larger orchestra for existing pieces that were to be performed earlier
on the program (his opera overture and cantata). On top of all that, he had to pay
the firemen and police who protected the building, the wood and coal merchant
who provided fuel for heat, the ushers who handed out the programs, and on and
on. All in all, it was an expensive proposition.
The concert hall of the Paris Conservatory, inaugurated in 1811, was—and
is—a splendid space (see Figure 10.9; it was restored in the 1980s and can still be
seen today). Decorated in mint green and cream, the horseshoe-shaped audito­
rium has a painted cyclorama of several wooden panels at the back of the stage to
reflect the sound outward. In Berlioz’s time, the floor was divided into orchestra
(in the front, with seats) and parterre (in the rear, with benches). There were three
levels of boxes, with an amphitheater above them up against the roof (these were
the “cheap” seats). Including standing room, the hall could hold about a thousand
listeners, but crowding made the hall uncomfortably hot. (One concertgoer com­
plained that a Turkish bath was pleasant by comparison.) The acoustics, however,
were splendid; in such a space—small by modern standards—the Conservatory
orchestra must have sounded like a gigantic chamber ensemble in the sense that
each individual instrument can be heard clearly.
The arrangement of the orchestra (and chorus, when one was present) was
designed to maximize these advantages. The chorus was arranged at the front,
with the conductor standing in the middle. At the back of the chorus sat first and
Concert hall
Arrangement o f the orchestra
274
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: R om antic M u sic
FIG. 10.9 The concert hall of the
Paris Conservatory. The hall is rela­
tively small, and audience members
said that the heat resembled a Turk­
ish bath.
FIG. 10.10 An ophicleide. the bass
instrument of the brass family, used
by Berlioz in the first performance
of the Fantastic Sym phony.
second violins and violas; and above them, on four tiers of risers, were the cellos
and double basses on the right, and the woodwinds on the left, with the brass
and percussion above and behind them at the very back. (The four harps that
Berlioz calls for in the second movement of the Fantastic Symphony were placed
at the front of the orchestra in pairs, two on the left and two on the right of the
stage.) This seating, with the loudest instruments farthest from the audience,
produced a remarkably transparent, well-balanced sound. The effect must have
been stunning.
The Conservatory orchestra was not a student group: it was an all-star ensem­
ble that included players from the Opera and other orchestras. Berlioz later con­
sidered it the best orchestra in the world, in the best arrangement possible. In his
famous book, published years later, on how to write for the orchestra, he used the
Conservatory orchestra as his model. Although his music is complex, he knew that
the orchestra could handle it.
THE IN ST R U M EN T S
The Conservatory orchestra was essentially a somewhat expanded version of the
orchestra for which Beethoven wrote his Fifth Symphony. But Berlioz calls for
some slightly unusual instruments—unusual for us, that is, but not for a Parisian
audience in 1830. There were four bassoons in his orchestra because the Conser­
vatory orchestra, like the Opera orchestra, had four bassoons. Berlioz also used a
beautiful tenor oboe, the English horn—a rarity outside of Paris in those days; it
plays a shepherd’s call in alternation with the oboe in the slow movement of the
Fantastic Symphony.
The brass section was large: there were two newfangled piston trumpets; four
French horns; three trombones; and, as the foundation for the section, an ophi­
cleide (see Figure 10.10). Invented in France in 1817, the ophicleide was a rather
C H A P T E R 10
H e cto r Berlioz’s Fa n ta stic S y m p h o n y (S ym p h o n ie fantastique)
ungainly instrument with a peculiar fingering
system; it was soon replaced by the tuba.
The last movement of the symphony features
two bells (imitating church bells) and a serpent
(see Figure 10.11), a snake-shaped bass instru­
ment with fingerholes and a brass mouthpiece,
which was used in churches to accompany the
singing of chant. (It is a bass relative of the cor­
netts in Monteverdi’s Orfeo.) Berlioz, despite that
fact that he thought the serpent a remarkably
ugly-sounding instrument, called for it to play
the Dies irae chant, so that everybody would
identify it as religious music. He used another
instrument he disliked, the squeaky little E-flat
clarinet (then mostly found in military bands),
to play the diabolically transformed theme of
the beloved after she has joined the witches. ©
This was an orchestra on the forward edge of technology, using instruments of
the latest sort, the best players, and a composer committed to making the most of
all available possibilities.
On the day of the concert, Berlioz went to a music shop and acquired fourteen
mutes for violins. (Mutes are small wooden clamps that attach to the bridge of the
violin and give it a softer, darker, more mysterious sound.) The symphony as ulti­
mately published called for muted violins to play the beautiful “Estelle” melody at
the beginning of the first movement. Perhaps Berlioz thought of the
wonderful effect of the mutes only on the morning of the concert.
THE C O N D U C T O R
Fran^ois-Antoine Habencck (1781-1849; see Figure 10.12), who
taught violin at the Conservatory as well as conducting the orchestra,
was one of the more illustrious musicians in Europe, so Berlioz was
glad to secure his services. Habencck built the Conservatory orches­
tra from scratch into a marvelously disciplined, responsive ensemble
that many observers (not just Berlioz) considered the finest orchestra
of it is time. It was Habencck and this orchestra who introduced the
symphonies of Beethoven to Parisian audiences. The precision of the
orchestra’s playing was legendary; one critic likened it to a machine
in perfect working order.
Habeneck’s impact on the art of conducting was considerable.
Endowed with a phenomenal memory, he typically conducted from
the first violin part alone, although for a piece as novel and complex as
Berlioz’s Fantastic Symphony, he may have used the full score.
In some ways, Habencck was a tempting target for ridicule.
Despite his self-effacing manner, he seemed to take perverse plea­
sure in shaming hapless musicians for their lapses. “At every wrong
note,” recalled one member of the audience, “he turned around and
pointed out the culprit to the vindictive public with his violin-bow.”
Such behavior helped give rise to the popular stereotype of the con­
ductor as an autocratic maestro.
275
FIG. 10.11 A serpent, used in military
bands and in churches as a bass
instrument; it was used at the pre­
miere of the Fantastic S y m p h o n y
to accompany the chant melody in
the finale.
© Berlioz: Fantastic Sym phony. V.
Dies irae. originally performed by
serpent and ophicleide
FIG. 10.12 Francois-Antoine Habeneck. professor at the Paris Con­
servatory and conductor of the
Opera orchestra. As conductor of
the Conservatory Concerts, he was
engaged by Berlioz to conduct the
first performance of the Fantastic
Sym phony.
276
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
THE PRESS A N D THE A U D IEN C E
In an attempt to gain additional publicity for his concert, Berlioz announced that
proceeds would benefit those who had been wounded in the July Revolution. He
sent an obsequious letter to King Louis-Philippe explaining his plan, mentioning
his recent Rome Prize, and inviting the monarch to attend. He did not expect the
king to be there, and he wasn’t; but Berlioz did receive the customary three hun­
dred francs from the royal accounts.
As a music journalist and an employee of a music publisher, Berlioz knew' bet­
ter than most how to use the press to his advantage. He had been sending notices
to the newspapers since earlier in the year, when he made his first plans for the
concert at the Theatre des Nouveautes; and versions of his printed program had
appeared in several papers. His publicity campaign succeeded in attracting atten­
tion, both positive and negative. A writer for the newspaper Le Figaro was intrigued
by the novel programmatic aspects of the upcoming symphony:
This is the first tim e that anyone has tried to give an exact m eaning to instrumental
music. Until now, a sym phony has been a developm ent, m ore or less successful, o f a
m elodic idea w ithout a specific signification, and where the com poser’s only percep­
tible purpose has been to make a pleasing piece o f music. M. Berlioz’s sym phony is
a novel. It tells you a story with instruments.
FIG. 10.13 The first page of Berlioz’s
program, showing the beginning
of the very long footnote Berlioz
inserted to respond to his critics.
I& p is o b c
DE
t o s
w
m
RYMPMOKIK r A R T A C T I Q V B , KH C 1*Q P A B T I E ft ,
E X E C U T E S P O D * L A P R E M I E R E F O t* L B S
DECEMBER
1830,
A n C o n se rv ato ire de M u siq o e de P a ris.
ifojramsif.
Le compositeur* eu pourlm tde dcvelopper De i m c e qu ' e l l e *
d’uo artiste. Le
plan du dram * instrumental,priv^ du *o>.Murtjde la parole, a be­
som d’etre exposl d’avancc. Le
suivant doit etre
cotuidirc comme le texte p a rli tCun 'Optra, servant a amcner des
niorceaux de musique dont il motive le caractcre et f expres­
sion (i).
OST OK m u s ic a l , diftcrentes situations de la
R E V E R IE S . — P A S S IO N S .
(Premiere partic.)
L ‘auteur suppose qu’un jeune musicien, affects de cetie waladie qu’un dcrivain otfdbrc appelle le r ague des passions, voit
pour la premiere fois une femme qui r&init tous les charmes dc
11 °®t,Aglt pot«V *n effet. linsi qoe eertaines pertomes oot para le
erotre, de doooer ici la reproduction exact* de ce qoe le cotnpoetteur se terait
•flueed de reodta au mojrea de Jorcbmtr* e ast justement, ai cootraire, aba
de corabler las latunea laissOes nfe*ssafre»ent dans la dcveloppctnent de la
penefe dramatiqoe par la Uogue musicale. qu il a du reconrir aia prose dent#
poor falre comprendre et justificr le pUn de la symphonie. L auteur sail fort
The influential critic Fran^ois-Joseph Fetis, by contrast,
regarded Berlioz’s attempt to depict narrative events in music as
fundamentally misguided: “It is perhaps a misunderstanding of
the aims of art to want to apply oneself to painting material facts
or to express abstractions, and to need to resort to explanations
is enough proof of its inability to do these things.” Berlioz was
upset by the criticism, and with good reason: Fetis would become
an enemy of his music for a long time. When he read Fetis’s
notice on November 27, he went back to the printer and ordered
an additional run of the already printed program, in which he
made a few revisions (see Figure 10.13), notably a long footnote
answering Fetis’ criticisms, which began:
It is not at all a matter o f copying exactly w hat the com poser has
tried to present in orchestral terms, as certain persons seem to
think; on the contrary, it is precisely in order to fill in the gaps
which musical language unavoidably leaves in the developm ent
o f dramatic thought, that the com poser has had to resort to
written prose to explain and justify the plan o f the symphony
. . . . Those w ho make the curious accusation against which the
musician m ust defend h im self fail to realize that if he really
entertained the exaggerated and ridiculous opinions about the
expressive power o f his art that are laid at his door, then by the
sam e token he w ould have thought this program to be merely a
kind o f duplication, and hence perfectly useless.
SUNDAY, DECEM BER 5,1830, 2 P.M.
“At precisely two o ’clock,” wrote one observer, “Habencck, the
chief of this marvelous troupe, in which there is not a soldier
C H A P T E R 10
H e cto r B e rlioz’s Fa n ta stic S y m p h o n y (S y m p h o n ie fantastique)
who has not commanded somewhere or who is not worthy of command, struck
his stand with the point of his bow, and the profoundest silence immediately
reigned in the hall, where a swarm of brilliant young women of taste had been
listening loudly only a short time before.”
The complete program for the concert—almost exclusively music by Berlioz—
was as follows:
Two Melodies irlandaises (Irish Melodies) for chorus and piano
The cantata La rnort de Sardanapale (The Death of Sardanapalus)
A violin solo by Joseph Mayscder (a Viennese violinist-composer), played by
Chretien Urhan
Fantastic Symphony
It was a well-balanced program of the sort the Conservatory audience was used
to. It included orchestral music, solo instrumental music, choral music with piano,
and a cantata for voice and orchestra. What set it apart from a typical Conserva­
tory program is that all the music was modern; Habeneck’s orchestra did not nor­
mally play the music of living composers. (Cherubini’s music was the exception,
but he was the Director.)
Although Berlioz had done everything he could to publicize the event, the
hall was far from full. He bought most of the tickets himself, evidently to give
away. Among the prominent musicians in the audience were Gaspare Spontini and
Giacomo Meyerbeer, whose operas were hugely popular in Paris, and nineteenyear-old Franz Liszt, the virtuoso pianist and avant-garde composer. Liszt and
Berlioz had met just the day before, discovered a mutual love of Goethe’s Faust,
and became fast friends. Camille Moke (Berlioz's current love interest) was there
with her mother. Madame Moke did not want her daughter to marry a provincial
musician, but she relented after the Rome Prize and the success of this concert.
Since Berlioz was to be safely out of the way in Rome for an extended period, she
allowed them to become engaged.
Berlioz’s composition teacher, Jean-Fran^ois Le Sueur, was ill and could not
come to the concert; Cherubini, who had never been fond of Berlioz or his music,
refused to attend. Also absent was Harriet Smithson; she was across town at the
Opera, preparing to play the title role in Auber’s Muette de Portici. (The plot of the
opera turns on a character who never speaks a word, and since Miss Smithson
could neither sing nor speak French, the part was a perfect fit.) The performance
was a benefit for the English Shakespeare Company, which Smithson directed.
Probably because many members of Berlioz’s orchestra were also involved in that
performance and could not be late, Habencck refused to encore the “March to the
Scaffold,” even though the audience liked it so much that they shouted for it to be
played again.
A reviewer for the newspaper Le Temps spotted Berlioz on stage at the perfor­
mance, most likely in his favorite place at the back of the orchestra, playing in the
percussion section:
H ere is a y o u n g m an , lanky, skinny, w ith lo n g b lo n d h air [did his re d h a ir lo o k
b lo n d in th e light?] w h o se d iso rd er has so m e th in g th a t reeks o f genius; all th e
traits o f his b o n y fo rm are d raw n forcefully, and his large deep-set eyes, u n d e r
a large fo reh ead , d a rt je ts o f light. T h e k n o t o f his cravat is tig h te n e d as th o u g h
w ith rage; his su it is eleg an t b ecau se th e ta ilo r m ad e it elegant, a n d his b o o ts are
m u d d y b ecau se his im p e tu o u s c h a ra c te r refuses to sit still and b e pu lled alo n g in
The audience
Berlioz on stage
277
278
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
a carriag e, b ecau se th e activity o f his b o d y m u st m a tch the activity g o in g o n in
his h ead . H e ru n s a b o u t a m o n g th e h u n d re d m usicians w h o fill u p th e stage o f
th e C o n serv ato ire, an d alth o u g h all th ese regulars in th e C o n serv ato ire o rch estra
m ake u p p erh ap s th e m o st ad m irab le o rc h e stra ever h eard , he begs, he grow ls, he
en treats, he excites each o n e o f th e m .
The Music
Berlioz and Beethoven
^
Berliozs idee fixe
The Fantastic Symphony is one of the most often played, mentioned, and studied
pieces in the symphonic repertory. It is the creation of a young genius whose
experience at age twenty-eight was limited. Moreover, Berlioz put the sym­
phony together in a big hurry, much of it from material that he had already
composed for other purposes. It’s no surprise, then, that he didn’t publish the
symphony for almost fifteen years, and that when he did publish it, it differed
in a number o f ways from the version that was performed in 1830. It's his pub­
lished version that is normally performed now; and indeed some aspects of the
1830 version will never be recovered, since the earliest surviving source for the
symphony is a somewhat revised version that Berlioz brought back with him
from Italy in 1832.
Berlioz was a great admirer of Beethoven. He had heard some of the master’s
symphonies at the Conservatory concerts and had come to know others through
his musical proofreading. “Beethoven,” he declared, “opened before me a new
world of music, as Shakespeare had revealed a new universe of poetry.”
The structure of the Fantastic Symphony is symmetrical, with first and last move­
ments in fast tempos, a slow movement in the middle, and two lighter, action-based
movements, a waltz and a march, in the second and fourth positions. Whereas
Beethoven uses a minuet (or a speeded-up minuet called a scherzo) to provide a
kind of light relief either before or after the slow movement, Berlioz includes a
pair of dancelike movements, before and after the slow movement, so that the
symphony has five movements and a balanced musical shape.
In narrative terms, one might divide the symphony into two parts rather than
five: the first three movements, which describe events more or less in real time—
sadness and love in the first movement, a ball in the second, a contemplative scene
in the country in the third; and the last two movements, which represent the crazy,
drug-induced visions in the composer's mind. But the story line isn’t the only
thing that ties the various parts of the Fantastic Symphony together into an artistic
unit. The symphony also features a musical device to which Berlioz gives narra­
tive meaning: the use of the same theme, but in varied form, in each of the five
movements.
TH E IDEE FIXE
In the printed program, Berlioz described this device as follows:
T h ro u g h an odd w him , w h en ev er th e beloved im age appears before the m in d ’s eye
o f th e artist, it is linked w ith a musical thought w h o se character, passionate b u t at the
sam e tim e noble and shy, he finds sim ilar to th e o n e he attrib u tes to his beloved. This
m elodic im age and its m odel p u rsu e h im incessandy like a double idee fixe. T h a t is
th e reason for th e co n stan t ap p earan ce, in every m o v em en t o f the sym phony, o f the
m elody th a t begins th e first allegro.
C H A P T E R 10
279
H e cto r Berlioz’s Fa n ta stic S y m p h o n y (S y m p h o n ie fantastique)
We use Berlioz’s term idee fixe to describe this recurrent melody. The term
means “fixed idea,” a sort of obsession, or monomania, which focuses the artist (or
the listener) on one thing and one thing only. This is what he means by a “double”
ideefixe: that the artist-hero is fixed on one thing—the beloved—and that we the
listeners, like him, are fixed on one thing—the melody.
This wonderful tune consists of four long phrases (see Table 10.1, The Four
Phases of the Ideefixe, below; the timings refer to LG 37). The first two phrases are
related in a sort of question-answer relationship (what we call antecedent and con­
sequent phrases); each phrase is nervous and disjunct (with jagged leaps between
the notes) at its beginning, and smooth and conjunct (with the notes moving step­
wise) at its end. The third phrase is rather like a sequence, rising higher and higher
in a yearning pattern, and the closing phrase is a little like the first two, in that its
motion is initially disjunct, then conjunct.
TABLE 10.1
The Four Phrases o f the Idee fixe
5:33
First phrase: an initial phrase with a disjunct, rising line and jagged rhythm that concludes with very smooth, downward
long notes: the phrase ends on a half cadence.
*
5:40
(®)
zp o co sf
Second phrase: an answering phrase with the same rhythmic and melodic profile, but different notes, concluding
with a full cadence.
m
TT
5:46
*
=
4 f-p -4 f-jy .
Third phrase: a contrasting phrase, really consisting of four short phrases (the fourth extended). Each phrase begins
with same rhythmic profile, and each reaches upwards (like the first two phrases), each time to a higher note.
r r?"
r
< dolce^
9J
in - m
n r
r
cresc. p o c o a p t x o
fa ri f
9J
cresc. -
n r
-
-
I
-
I
-
-
-
7
a
m
6:01
Fourth phrase: a final phrase, different from all the others, but similar in the jagged profile of its
beginning and the relatively smooth shape of its end (except for one spectacular leap down and back up).
j = M
^
m
p o c o f> p
^ 6
m
28 0
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: R om antic M u sic
TABLE 10.2 I
Appearances of the Idee fixe
Movement Position
Idee fixe
Accompaniment
I
Flutes and first violins in unison.
Unaccompanied, then accompanied by
lower strings in pulsing, heartbeat rhythm.
First theme,
following
introduction
*
Development,
introduced by solo
horn and strings
m k
-
poco s f
Flute, clarinet, and bassoon.
Pi
fg p i
m
A composite, throbbing arpeggio in the
accompanying strings.
f if f i f tS E
-O -
id e e
Recapitulation
Brass, woodwinds, violas: the melody is
squared off like a march.
Very loud, full orchestra, fast notes in
violins.
ff
Coda
The beginning of the melody in contrapuntal
imitation in the woodwinds.
Minimal accompaniment by double basses
with long notes in horns.
Second theme
Waltz rhythm, flute and oboe, later flute and
clarinet.
Tremolos in strings: occasional fragments
of the movement’s main waltz theme.
Coda
Clarinet solo, first two phrases.
Horns and harps.
Transition between
variations 2 and 3
Flute and oboe.
The phrases of the idee fixe are separated
by vigorous tremolos in the upper strings,
and a sort of raging recitative-like passages
in the lower strings and bassoons.
Coda
The opening notes of the first phrase only, by
woodwinds in imitation.
The opening notes of the main theme
of this movement, played by strings in
imitation: long notes in horns.
IV
Coda
The opening of the idee fixe comes at the very
end of this movement: it is unaccompanied
but interrupted by a crash imitating the stroke
of a guillotine.
V
First theme.
following
introduction
Solo clarinet played from afar, following a
Timpani and bass drum at first. After the
loud tutti; then the idee fixe is repeated by the loud tutti, the theme is accompanied by
higher and shriller E-flat clarinet.
rhythmic pattern in woodwinds.
II
III
J J>J J)|J J>J J>IJ J>J J>l
C H A P T E R 10
H e cto r B e rlioz’s Fa n ta stic S y m p h o n y (S y m p h o n ie fa n ta stiq u e )
It’s worth pausing to note the extent to which the melody contributes to the
effect, both structural and narrative, of each movement. The idee fixe is the main
theme of the main part of “Reveries—Passions” (movement I). When the hero
sees his beloved, the idee fixe is heard for the first time, played by flutes and first
violins in unison, with barely any accompaniment except for a sort of throbbing
in the lower strings.
The theme returns in the middle of the movement, this time on the flute, clari­
net, and bassoon, riding a magic carpet of sound in the accompanying strings.
Toward the end of the movement, the idee fixe is transformed into a grand,
triumphant, brassy march.
In the rest of the symphony, the ideefixe reappears, but is never quite complete,
and is something extra added to a movement rather than being essential or intrin­
sic as in the first movement. In the middle of "A Ball” (movement II), for instance,
the ideefixe, now' in waltz tempo, is heard in the wind instruments (flute and oboe,
later flute and clarinet). Wisps of the waltz theme float through the air, above
tremolos in the strings; then the waltz returns.
In “Scene in the Country” (movement III), the ideefixe reappears in the midst of
an impassioned instrumental recitative, as the hero meditates on his beloved. The
phrases of the theme (played by flute and oboe) arc separated by vigorous tremo­
los in the upper strings and raging, recitative-like passages in the lower strings and
bassoons.
“March to the Scaffold” (movement IV) uses only the beginning of the ideefixe:
At the very end of the movement, the solo clarinet’s melody—a last thought of
the beloved—is cut short by a crash suggesting the stroke of a guillotine. Musically
speaking, the ideefixe is a coda to the march, standing outside the main movement.
At the beginning of “Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath” (movement V), the idee
fixe appears as a deformed version of itself, representing the beloved transformed
into a witch. Her melody is played on an E-flat clarinet, an instrument that Berlioz
deliberately chose for its strident sound, and we never hear the theme again.
Berlioz’s idea of having the theme reappear in all five movements is a mas­
terstroke. The ideefixe has powerful narrative value, and it makes us remember
all sorts of things from one movement to the next. At the same time, the theme
is integral only to the first movement. In all the others, it is a touch of color,
an added event that could be removed without doing much harm to the musi­
cal shape of the movement in question (see Table 10.2, Appearances of the Idee
fixe, p. 280).
SO M E T H IN G BORROW ED, SO M E T H IN G N EW
N o t h i n g w e ’v e s a id a b o u t h o w t h e
ideefixe
is s im p ly i n s e r t e d in to , o r t a c k e d o n t o ,
t h e f o r m a l a s p e c ts o f t h e l a t e r m o v e m e n t s is m e a n t t o d e t r a c t f r o m B e r lio z ’s
g e n iu s . N o r s h o u l d it le s s e n t h e e x c i t e m e n t o r t h e n o v e lty o f t h e s y m p h o n y t o
k n o w t h a t m a n y o f its t h e m e s a n d o t h e r m u s ic a l e l e m e n t s w e r e a lr e a d y in e x is ­
te n c e , c o m p o s e d f o r a d if f e r e n t p u r p o s e , w h e n t h e s y m p h o n y w a s p u t to g e th e r .
T h e t h e m e o f t h e " S c e n e in t h e C o u n t r y ” o r ig i n a lly c a m e f r o m B e r lio z ’s
Mass; e v e n
th e
ideefixe is
Solemn
d e r iv e d f r o m t h e t h e m e o f a c a n t a t a w r i t t e n in a n e a r l i e r
a t t e m p t t o w i n t h e R o m e P r iz e .
Berlioz was in a hurry. The foundation, the basic program, was in place by at
least April 1830, and he constructed the symphony by assembling, and altering,
already existing materials. (This was nothing out of the ordinary: Bach, Handel,
281
© Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony. I.
first theme, following introduction
© Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony. I.
theme returns in the middle
© Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony. I,
recapitulation
© Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony. II,
idee fixe theme
© Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony.
Ill, appearance of idee fixe with
recitative-like passage
© Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony. IV,
Coda
© Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony. V,
first theme, following introduction
282
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
and Mozart, for example, were recyclers of their own and other composers’
music.) What all this suggests is that transformation is possible, that music can
convey meaning in a great many ways. It matters less that the march was not origi­
nally a “March to the Scaffold” (it was borrowed from Berlioz’s incomplete opera
Les francs-juges) than the fact that it fits perfectly into Berlioz’s storytelling and his
musical structure.
The practice (common until the mid-nineteenth century) of moving music
from one location and context to another raises questions that are especially
relevant to program music. If music is capable o f telling a story, how can music
that was designed to tell one story tell another when it is transferred to a new
piece? Does it tell a story only when we know in advance what the story is? How
clearly does it do so? If we were to hear the Fantastic Symphony with no prior
knowledge, and were asked to write down the story it tells, how many of us
would come close to Berlioz’s story? Such questions arc well worth pondering,
even if there are no easy answers. But this is the symphony of symphonies as
far as program music is concerned, and it is remarkable that it does its job so
well given the speed with which it was assembled, and the various origins of
its music.
Listening to the Music
0
LG 37
Comments on Waltzing
U
T
FIRST M O V E M E N T : “R E V E R IE S— P A S S IO N S ”
The opening movement of the Fantastic Symphony has a meditative introduction,
in which the muted violins play a beautiful melody, referencing nostalgia for home,
that Berlioz had written under the spell of Estelle Duboeuf many years before.
After an outburst of frantic joy, the music subsides, and the “Estelle ” theme comes
back again, this time stronger. Only after that does the main part of the move­
ment, with its quick tempo, begin, with the ideefixe as its main theme.
A second theme is based on an alternative version of the beginning notes of the
ideefixe; there is a ruminating development section (it has an oboe solo that Ber­
lioz added at some point after the premier) based on a polyphonic development of
the theme; and in a coda Berlioz slows down and narrows the
idee fixe until it’s just a single sound. At the end of the move­
ment, the anguished hero experiences “religious consolations,”
expressed here as a series of long, slow chords, like a repeated
“Amen.” (See LG 37, p. 283.)
he waltz is a dance of quite too loose a charac­
ter. and unmarried ladies should refrain from it
altogether, both in public and private.”
— From Madame Celnart’s
The Gentleman a n d Lady's Rook. 1833
ertigo is one of the great inconveniences of
the
“ \
; waltz: and the character of this dance, its
rrapid turnings, the clasping of the dancers,
their exciting contact, and the too quick and too long
continued succession of lively and agreeable emotions,
produce sometimes, in women of a very irritable con­
stitution. syncopes, spasms and other accidents which
should induce them to renounce it."
— From Donald Walker’s. Exercises for Lad ie s.... 1836
S E C O N D M O V E M E N T : “A BALL”
0
LG 38
The waltz that follows, with its four harps, paints a beautiful
picture of a French ballroom. The dance theme bounces from
one section of the orchestra to another, at one point merging
with the ideefixe. (See LG 38, p. 284.)
The waltz was the latest dance craze in 1830, thought to be
quite racy and dangerous for young women because of the
dizziness that its whirling motion often caused. There were, in
fact, parents who would not let their daughters waltz, for fear
the spinning would make them lose control. W hat’s more, in
the waltz the man steps between his partner’s legs, which can
lead to no good (see Comments on Waltzing, left).
C H A P T E R 10
LISTEN IN G GUIDE 37
©
H e cto r Berlioz’s Fa n ta stic S y m p h o n y (S y m p h o n ie fantastique)
| DVD | (?)
Berlioz Fantastic Symphony, I, “Reveries— Passions”
(Reveries— Passions)
DATE;
283
15:50
1830
GENRE: P ro g ram sym phony
LISTEN FOR
TEXTURE: Use o f o rch estral co lo r an d tex tu res as m em o rab le
EXPRESSION: P ro g ram m usic (im itation o f sounds and
evocation o f em otions)
stru ctu ra l elem ents
THEMES: Idee fix e an d “Estelle” m elody
PROGRAM*
T h e a u th o r im agines th a t a y o u n g m usician, afflicted w ith
th a t m oral disease th a t a w ell-know n w riter calls th e vague des
passions, sees fo r th e first tim e a w o m an w h o em b o d ies all the
charm s o f th e ideal b ein g h e has im agined in his dream s, and
he falls hopelessly in love w ith her. T h ro u g h an o d d w him ,
w henever th e beloved im age appears before th e m in d ’s eye o f
the artist, it is linked w ith a musical thought w hose character,
passionate b u t a t th e sam e tim e noble an d shy, h e finds sim ilar
to th e o n e he attrib u tes to his beloved.
T his m elodic im age and its m odel p u rsu e h im incessantly
like a double idee fixe. T h a t is th e reason for th e co n stan t
appearance, in every m o m e n t o f the sym phony, o f the
m elody th a t begins th e first allegro. T h e passage from this state
o f m elancholy reverie, in te rru p te d by a few fits o f groundless
joy, to o n e o f delirious passion, w ith its m o m en ts o f fury, o f
jealousy, its re tu rn o f tenderness, its religious consolations—
this is th e subject o f th e first m ovem ent.
* Translations o f all the program notes are adapted from Edward T.
Cone, Fantastic Symphony: An Authoritative Score; Historical Background;
Analysis; Views and Comments, Norton Critical Scores (New York:
Norton, 1971), pp. 31-35.
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
0:00
Intro d u ctio n
Soft w oodw inds, ho rn s, strings.
In tro d u ctio n th em e
“Estelle” m elody:
(“Estelle”)
0 ^i
m
-----„
■
n
\
- i t
_ i i
i
i
i
i
i
— . ■. —
P
t
rx-r-w— r - r , - f a i f —
v- i V yp -g-f-P J------v * *
1:52
Intro d u ctio n , co n tin u ed
A n o u tb u rst o f joy.
2:38
Intro d u ctio n , concluded
T h e "E stelle” th e m e again, in a richer o rch estration; an ag itated and passionate tran si­
tion to th e m ain p o rtio n o f th e m ovem ent.
5:33
First th e m e (ideefixe)
L ow er strings accom pany th e m e w ith evenly spaced pairs o f quick notes, evocative o f
an excited h eartb eat rhythm :
6:10
T ransition
Loud o u tb u rsts altern ate w ith lyrical passages.
6:45
Second th em e
H in t o f ideefix e follow ed by lo u d new them e:
£ ---- ---------------------------------- ---- -----t1—
L y
uL~
*tr -------
Strings, th e n ad d ed w oodw inds, w ith co n stan t swells in volum e.
(continued)
284
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
7:00
Repeat
R epeat o f first and seco n d them es.
8:28
D evelopm ent
Idee fix e in low er strings; rep eated lo u d chord; d ev elopm ent o f second th em e.
8:55
T ransition
C h ro m atic scales rising to a climax (brass are ad d ed at the top) and th e n falling, lead­
ing to an a b ru p t pause.
9:25
First th e m e transposed
H o rn solo; strings accom pany th e idee fix e in w oodw inds.
10:38
D evelopm ent o f second
th em e
C o n tra p u n ta l strings.
10:55
R etu rn to an d developm ent
o f tran sitio n
Begins w ith soft tim pani roll and u p p er strings.
11:41
D evelopm ent o f ideefix e as
retransitio n
O b o e solo floats above c o n tra p u n tal version o f th e o p en in g o f th e idee fix e in the
low er strings.
12:36
R ecapitulation o f first th em e
Loud, m archlike tutti.
13:51
C oda
O p en in g o f idee fix e red u ced to near-static quality. T h e m o v em en t concludes w ith slow
chords played "relig io sam en te” (in a religious m an n er) and "as soft as possible.”
LISTEN IN G GUIDE 38
© | DVD
Berlioz Fantastic Symphony, II, “Un bal” (A Ball)
6:57
DATE: 1830
GENRE: P ro g ram sym phony
L IS T E N F O R
RHYTHM/METER: D ance rh y th m o f th e w altz
SCORING: Varied acco m p an im en ts as th e w altz retu rn s
THEMES: Idee fix e appears in the m iddle o f th e m ovem ent,
co m b in ed w ith w altz
PROGRAM
T h e artist finds h im self in th e m o st varied situations— in th e
m idst o f th e tumult o f a party, in th e peaceful co n tem p latio n
o f th e beauties o f natu re; b u t everyw here, in to w n , in the
country, th e beloved im age appears before him an d disturbs
his peace o f m ind,
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
0:00
In tro d u ctio n
Strings and h arp s create a so rt o f floating atm o sp h ere, o u t o f w hich th e w altz em erges
gradually.
0:40
First th e m e (w altz)
T h e w altz begins w ith four phrases, w ith a rallentando (slow ing dow n) at th e en d o f
th e third; h ere is its beginning:
1:46
W altz th em e,
second appearance
T h e m e in violins; th e acco m p an im en t is a fast altern atio n , o n th e th ree beats o f the
w altz m easure, o f strings-harps-w inds, strings-harps-w inds.
C H A P T E R 10
H e cto r Berlioz’s Fantastic S y m p h o n y (S y m p h o n ie fantastique)
285
2:16
Second th e m e (ideefixe)
T h e idee fixe, in w altz tem p o , played by flute an d oboe, th e n flute an d clarinet. Strings
accom pany, including frag m en ts o f th e w altz melody.
3:20
W altz th em e,
T h em e is in second violins, violas, cellos (ten o r range); acco m p an im en t in strings,
w ith w o o d w in d interjections an d first-violin tw iddles.
th ird appearance
4:25
W altz th em e,
fo u rth appearance
M elody in w oodw inds, w ith strin g accom panim ent.
4:56
C oda, p a rt 1
Increasing ex citem en t by quickening th e te m p o and adding to the in stru m en tatio n .
5:38
C oda, p a rt 2: idee fixe
Soft clarinet, w ith h o rn an d harp.
6:22
C oda, p a rt 3
T h e m o v em en t ends w ith a loud orchestral tu tti th a t gradually speeds up. W hirlw ind
finish.
T H IR D M O VEM EN T: “SCENE IN THE C O U N T R Y ”
i ) LG 39
The center of the symphony is a very long slow movement titled "Scene in the
Country” (see LG 39, below). In an introduction we are placed outdoors by the
sound of two shepherds playing their pipes, one echoing the other (this imagery
returns in the coda, where the first shepherd is now answered by peals of thunder).
The main section is a series of variations on a lyrical theme—borrowed, as it hap­
pens, from Berlioz’s Solemn Mass written some years earlier. ("He reflects upon his
isolation; he hopes that his loneliness will soon be over.”) Halfway through, the
idyllic music is interrupted by an agitated recitative in the cellos, double basses, and
bassoons. ("But what if she were deceiving him!”) Phrases of the idee fixe, played
by the flute and oboe, alternate with recitative, until finally the recitative, now
LISTEN IN G GUIDE 39
© | DVD
Berlioz Fantastic Sym phony, III, “Scene aux champs”
(Scene in the Country)
17:08
DATE: 1830
GENRE: P ro g ram sym phony
L IS T E N F O R
FORM: T h e m e and variations, b u t drastically m odified by long
in tro d u ctio n and coda, an d by the in sertio n o f a recitative-like
THEMES: A ppearance o f idee fix e in th e m idst o f an in stru m e n ­
passage in th e m iddle
EXPRESSION: Im itation o f n atu re (shepherds piping,
th u n d er, etc.)
tal recitative
PROGRAM
Finding h im self o n e evening in th e country, h e h ears in th e
distance tw o shepherds piping a ranz des vaches [a m o u n tain
m elody] in dialogue. This pastoral d u et, th e scenery, th e q u iet
rustling o f th e trees gently b ru sh ed by th e w ind, th e h opes he
has recently fo u n d reason to en tertain — all co n cu r in affording
his h e a rt an u n accu sto m ed calm , an d in giving a m o re ch eer­
ful color to his ideas. H e reflects u p o n his isolation; h e hopes
th a t his loneliness will soon be o v e r.. . . But w h at if she w ere
deceiving him! . . . T his m ingling o f h o p e and fear, these ideas
o f happiness distu rbed b y black presentim ents, fo rm th e sub­
je c t o f th e adagio. At the end, one o f the shepherds takes up
th e ranz des vaches; th e o th e r n o longer replies. D istant sound
o f th u n d e r . . . Loneliness . . . Silence.
(continued)
286
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
0:00
In tro d u ctio n
English h o rn and o boe d u et, la ter accom panied by trem o lo in strings.
2:03
M ain th em e
Flute and violin in unison, w ith pizzicato p u n ctu atio n :
4.:ij._JT3_i.rz:J-JT] j>r o r r jp ^
3:11
V ariation 1
Flutes and violins in thirds, w ith lo n g n o tes in clarinet and horns.
4:31
T ransition
B eginning w ith insistent unisons, sw inging rh y th m in a dow nw ard m elody; a te m p o ­
rary shift to m in o r m ode, leading to . . .
6:15
V ariation 2
T h em e in cellos, violas, bassoon (ten o r range), w ith interjections from w oodw inds,
chords fro m strings, and filigree co u n term elo d y in violins.
7:39
C en tral section:
idee fix e w ith recitative
A fierce trem o lo leads to w h at so u n d s like an in stru m en tal recitative by th e cellos,
double basses, and bassoons; th e ir in terjections altern ate w ith phrases from the idee
fix e in flute and oboe. Finally th e recitative overpow ers th e ideefixe.
9:48
V ariation 3
Pizzicato violas and violins play an altered form o f th e m ain th em e; a co u n term elo d y
in clarinet and in terjections from flute and first violins.
10:51
Variation 4
R ath er like lo u d m achinery: fast rep eated notes, short-short-long, in low er strings,
m ean d erin g first violins, a co u n term elo d y in th e w oodw inds, all accom panying the
m ain th e m e in th e second violins.
12:26
C oda w ith idee fix e co m b in ed
w ith fragm ents o f th e th em e
T h e b eg in n in g o f th e m ain th e m e in im itatio n in strings, w ith the b eg in n in g o f the
ideefix e in im itatio n by flute a n d clarinet. T h e m usic g radually subsides.
14:40
R etu rn o f in tro d u ctio n , b u t
altered
English h o rn , as at th e beginning, n o w n o t answ ered by oboe b u t accom panied by
fo u r tim p an i (thunder); a final cadence w ith h o rn an d strings.
ta k e n u p b y all t h e s tr in g s , d r o w n s o u t t h e m e lo d y , a s t h o u g h t h e h e r o ’s t h o u g h t s
o f h is b e lo v e d b e c o m e o v e r w h e l m e d b y h is d o u b t s a b o u t h e r . T h i s is f o llo w e d b y a
s o b b in g s e r ie s o f s ig h s , b e f o r e t h e v a r ia tio n s r e t u r n . ( " T h i s m i n g l i n g o f h o p e a n d
fe a r, t h e s e id e a s o f h a p p in e s s d i s t u r b e d b y b la c k p r e s e n t i m e n t s , f o r m t h e s u b je c t
o f th e
t> L G 4 0
adagio.”)
FOURTH M O VEM EN T: “M A R C H T O THE SCAFFO LD”
In the fourth movement, the disconsolate hero poisons himself with opium. As
Berlioz says in the program, "He dreams that he has killed his beloved, that he is
condemned and led to the scaffold, and that he is witnessing his own execution. The
procession moves forward to the sounds of a march that is now somber and fierce,
now brilliant and solemn . . . The march is a tour de force of orchestration,
with inventive effects from drums, horns, kettledrums, bassoons, trombones, and
double basses. As he thinks a last "thought of love,” a clarinet plays the first four
measures of the ideefixe, before it is chopped off by a loud chord representing the
fall of the guillotine’s blade. (See L G 40, p. 287.)
C H A P T E R 10
H e cto r Berlioz’s Fa n ta stic S y m p h o n y (S y m p h o n ie fan ta stiq u e )
287
LISTEN IN G GUIDE 40
Berlioz Fantastic Sym phony, IV, “Marche du supplice”
(March to the Scaffold)
6:41
DATE: 1830
GENRE: P ro g ram sym phony
L IS T E N F O R
M ELO DY: T w o m ain them es; sep arate g ro u p s o f in stru m en ts
TEXTURE: G ro u p s o f in stru m en ts co m p etin g
play successive n o tes o f a m elody (at 4:00 and 4:40)
SCORING: Eerie opening w ith m u ted h o rn s and pizzicato strings
R H YT H M : D o tte d m arch rh y th m s
EXPRESSIO N: D epiction o f th e guillotine
PROGRAM
C onvinced th at his love is unap p reciated , th e artist poisons
h im self w ith o p ium . T h e dose o f narcotic, to o w eak to kill
him , plunges h im in to a sleep accom panied by th e m o st h o r­
rible visions. H e d ream s th a t he has killed his beloved, th a t he
is co n d em n ed to d eath and led to th e scaffold, an d th a t h e is
w itnessing his own execution. T h e procession m oves forw ard to
th e so unds o f a m arch th a t is now so m b er an d fierce, now b ril­
liant and solem n, in w hich the m uffled noise o f heavy steps
gives w ay w ith o u t transition to the noisiest clam or. At the end
o f th e m arch th e first fo u r m easures o f th e idee fix e reappear,
like a last th o u g h t o f life in te rru p te d by the fatal blow.
T IM E
FORM
D E S C R IP T IO N
0:00
Intro d u ctio n
T im p an i and pizzicato low er strings w ith soft French horns.
T h e syncopated rh y th m anticipates th e m e B:
0:24
First th e m e (A)
f
f
f I T
A single m elodic line, m oving stepw ise dow n and up; varied in dynam ics:
_______ _____________________________________ _______ _____ ____________
f
f f
-dim.
0:37
T h e th e m e played in thirds, co u n term elo d y in bassoon.
0:49
T h e th e m e, played tw ice, begins high in violins, w ith pizzicato acco m p an im en t o f
low er strings.
1:14
T h e th e m e played w ith its m elodic inversion, an d a co u n term elo d y in bassoon.
1:32
Second th e m e (B )
Sudden loud w inds an d brass w ith p ro m in en t low tro m b o n e notes; shift to m ajor m ode:
y.rr f if W m f h f f ,.
1:57
T h e w hole m o v em en t u p to
h ere rep eated fro m b eg in n in g
3:54
D evelopm ent o f first th e m e
4:00
Brass altern ates w ith strings and w inds, using rh y th m from th e m e A:
f f CT1
First th em e divided am o n g different instru m ents.
(continued)
288
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
T IM E
FORM
D E S C R IP T IO N
4:10
V ariation o f seco n d th em e
T u tti w ith co u n te rp o in t in strings.
4:34
R etu rn o f o p en in g develop­
m e n t m aterial
Brass (n o w w ith tim pani) altern atin g w ith strings an d w inds; violins em ploy the tim ­
p an i’s o p en in g rhythm .
First th e m e divided a m o n g different instru m en ts.
4:40
4:47
C losing section
D evelopm ent o f first them e.
5:28
C oda
D o tte d figure leads to very lo u d chords.
5:46
6:01
A lternation o f m ajo r ch o rd in w inds and brass w ith m in o r chord in strings— quicker
and quicker altern atio n , leading to a lo u d chords an d a tum ble to w ard a sudden pause.
Idee fix e conclusion
LISTEN IN G GUIDE 41
Solo clarinet plays th e b eg in n in g o f th e idee fixe; a lo u d tu tti ch o rd (the execution) fol­
low ed by pizzicato in low strings (the h ead dro p p in g in to th e basket?). D ru m roll and
fanfare chords en d th e m ovem ent.
© | DVD
Berlioz Fantastic Symphony, V, “Songe d’une nuit de sabbat”
(Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath)
9:34
DATE: 1830
GENRE: P ro g ram sym phony
L IS T E N F O R
M ELO DY: O penin g m usic w ith eerie su p ern atu ra l effects
SC O R IN G : E-flat clarinet m ocks th e idee fixe
FO RM : Use o f co n trap u n tal techniques (fugue, co m b in atio n o f
THEMES: Use o f religious funeral ch an t (Dies irae)
them es)
PROGRAM
H e sees h im self at th e sabbath, in th e m idst o f a frightful
tro o p o f ghosts, sorcerers, m o n sters o f every kind, com e
to g e th e r for his funeral. S trange noises, groans, b ursts o f
laughter, distant cries w hich o th e r cries seem to answer. T h e
beloved m elody appears again, b u t it has lost its ch aracter o f
nobility and shyness; it is n o m o re th a n a dance tu n e, m ean.
trivial an d g ro tesq u e; it is she, com ing to jo in th e S a b b a th .. . .
A ro a r o f jo y at h e r a rriv a l.. . . She takes p a rt in the devil­
ish o rg y .. . . Funeral knell, burlesque parody o f th e Dies irae,
sab b ath round-dance. T h e sab b ath ro u n d and the Dies irae
com bined.
T IM E
FO RM
D E S C R IP T IO N
0:00
In tro d u ctio n
O d d effects fro m strings (strange trem o lo s, pieces o f unison scales in th e bass);
descending ch ro m atic chords; sounds o f la u g h ter from w oodw inds, h o rn .
1:24
Idee fix e (altered)
C larinet solo w ith tim pani: b eg in n in g o f idee fixe.
Loud tu tti (a ro a r o f g reetin g to th e new com er).
T h e idee fixe, in its n ew fo rm , accom panied by w inds; this tu rn s into a general dance­
like passage, w hich tapers to alm ost nothing.
C H A P T E R 10
2:48
Dies irae
H e cto r Berlioz’s Fa n ta stic S y m p h o n y (S ym p h o n ie fantastique)
289
T h ree n o tes in bells, w ith h ints o f th e dance to com e, lead to th e Dies irae ch an t played
by bassoons, ophicleide, an d se rp e n t in unison:
1st phrase
Each p h rase is played slowly, faster, th en in w itch es’ rh y th m by w inds, each tim e in a
h ig h er register.
4:43
W itches’ dance
Introduction: a series o f false starts o f th e th em e.
4:59
W itch es’ dance
Shift to m a jo r key; th e th e m e is a fugue, each en try ending w ith several lo u d chords:
P S
/
Jf
T
-
IP
jr
T h ere is also a sk ittery countersubject.
5:27
Episode
T ransitions, leading to unisons w ith co n trastin g dynam ics.
5:47
Subject
T h e m e reappears in bass in stru m en ts, th e n violins.
6:04
Episode
Spooky; frag m en ts o f th e subject appear, m isshapen; hints o f Dies irae. O ver a d ru m
roll, th e subject, red u ced to h a lf steps, is played contrapuntally. Big crescendo.
7:31
W itches’ dance an d Dies irae
co m b in ed
W itch es’ dance in low er strings, Dies irae in w oodw inds and brass,
8:07
Fugue subject tran sfo rm ed
Violins and violas h it th e strings w ith th e w ood o f th e ir b ow s (to im itate the clacking
o f bones?), w hile w oodw inds play a (diabolically) tran sfo rm e d version o f th e subject
(using trills, altered rhythm s).
8:32
C oda
A ltern atin g chords; scales. Dies irae recalled and tran sfo rm ed . Final tutti.
FIFTH M O VEM EN T: “D R E A M O F A W ITCH ES’ SABBATH”
The final movement is diabolical; beginning with spooky noises, it features a sinis­
ter version of the idee fixe. (“The beloved melody appears again, but it has lost its
character of nobility and shyness; it is no more than a dance tune, mean, trivial,
and grotesque: it is she, coming to join the sabbath.”)
As church bells ring in this final movement, a Gregorian chant for the funeral
service (accompanied by the churchly serpent) is transformed into a sacrilegious
dance. Then the movement gets down to its main business, the witches’ dance (a
lively fugue), which at the climax gets combined with the Dies irae chant. “We have
religious music, and plenty of it,” commented one listener; “but impious music:
has anybody composed any before Berlioz? We think not. A subject for weeping
and gnashing of teeth.” Berlioz is showing the relation of the witches’ sabbath to
the world of true morality and emotion by transforming two themes, those of
religion and of love, into a fiendish dance. (See LG 41, p. 288.)
£) LG 41
29 0
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
How Did It Go?
Press coverage
Press coverage of the concert was modest, and opinion was divided as to whether
Berlioz was a genius or a charlatan. Le Figaro called the Fantastic Symphony “the most
bizarre monstrosity one can possibly imagine,” while Le National predicted that it
would “be a milestone in the memory of lovers of true music.” Most writers dis­
cussed the program of the symphony, and the general idea o f program music, with­
out giving much idea of whether the performance was a good one. The reviewer
for Le Temps may have exaggerated when he described the audience’s reaction:
H ow w e shivered in h o rro r before th e scaffold, ren d ered by such beautiful im ages o f
such startlin g veracity th a t they aroused, right in th e m iddle o f the execution, a th u n ­
d er o f applause th a t n o th in g could stop; and h o w everyone laughed at the sabbath at
th e la u g h ter o f th e m onsters, and h o w w e lo oked at each o th e r stru ck w ith surprise
listening to this tru ly infernal m usic— these cries, these wailings, the o u tb reak s o f
lau g h ter and th ese efforts o f ra g e !. . . Mr. Berlioz, if he m atches this beginning, will
one day be w o rth y to take his place alongside B eethoven.
Fetis’ reaction
The Fantastic Symphony was inspiring to some and shocking, even repugnant,
to others. Among the latter was Fetis, who published his reaction to the Fantastic
Symphony several years later:
At last cam e th e day w h en M. Berlioz gave a co n cert to let us h e a r his com positions.
. . . T h e audience . . . w as sm all, and th ere w as scarcely anyone in th e hall w ho was
n o t eith er a friend o r a guest. It w as here th a t w e h eard for th e first tim e the Fantastic
Symphony. T h e audience th o u g h t it w as having a n ig h tm are d u ring th e w hole p e r­
form ance; b u t they did notice th e “M arch to th e Scaffold” for its novel effects and
applauded it. From this m o m e n t I b eg an to fo rm m y opinion o f M. Berlioz: 1 saw
th a t he h ad n o taste for m elody and b u t a feeble n o tio n o f rhythm ; th a t his harm ony,
co m p o sed by piling u p to n es into heaps th a t w ere often m onstrous, w as nevertheless
flat and m o n o to n o u s.
Berlioz's reaction
As for Berlioz himself, he looked back on the concert in his memoirs as "a great
success.” The symphony seems to have been fairly well received, and he remem­
bered that Liszt “was conspicuous for the warmth of his applause and his generally
enthusiastic behavior.” The composer continued:
T h e p erfo rm an ce w as by no m eans perfect— it could hardly be, w ith w orks o f such
difficulty and after only tw o rehearsals. But it w as g o o d en o u g h to give a reason­
able idea o f th e m usic. T h ree o f th e m o v em en ts o f the sym phony, th e "W altz,”
th e "M arch to th e Scaffold," an d th e "W itches’ S abbath,” created a sensation; the
“M arch” especially to o k th e audience by sto rm . T he “Scene in th e C o u n try ” m ade
n o im pression at all.
The audience applauded after each movement, which was standard procedure,
and there was a prolonged ovation after the “March to the Scaffold.” Habencck
refused to repeat the movement, surely because most of the players had a later
engagement at the Opera. At the end of the concert there were shouts and enthu­
siastic stamping o f feet, but whether this was for the symphony, for Berlioz, or for
the concert as a whole is impossible to say.
C H A P T E R 10
H e cto r Berlioz’s Fa n ta stic S y m p h o n y (Sym p h o n ie fantastique)
291
The Fantastic Symphony Then and Now
Paris was only beginning to experience the excellent performances produced by
the splendid Conservatory orchestra and the incomparable Habencck; many of
those in Berlioz’s audience may have been hearing the orchestra for the first time.
One can only imagine the excitement of being part of a new venture, the sounds
of new and unusual instruments, and the sheer effect of the music.
A w h o l e e v e n in g o f m u s ic o r g a n i z e d b y a s in g le y o u n g c o m p o s e r w a s fa irly
n o v e l in P a ris . S till m o r e u n u s u a l w a s t h e n o t i o n t h a t o r c h e s t r a l m u s ic c o u l d te ll a
s to r y ; m a n y o f B e r lio z ’s c o n t e m p o r a r i e s w e r e u s e d t o t h i n k i n g o f a s y m p h o n y as
m u s ic , p u r e a n d s im p le , n o t a s a n a r r a tiv e .
What may have struck listeners most in hearing the Fantastic Symphony for the
first time, however, might have been how up-to-date it was, in both sound and
conception. This “symphony” was not just a formal composition made of abstract
musical materials—themes, developments, codas, rhythmic patterns, and so on—
according to established conventions. It was also a work made out of fantasy, that
is, out of the composer’s spontaneous imagination, with the inner life of the artist
as its subject. The fantasy takes him where it does without regard to traditions,
rules, or anything else that restricts our freedom to create. (Of course, all music is
in some sense the product of imagination.)
If Berlioz did choose to follow guiding principles from the past, he did so as a
free agent. He did compose a symphony, after all, which was a highly traditional
form. He wrote a fugue at the end, as composers had always done in oratorios
and other great pieces of church music, both to express religious feeling and to
show the experts that they could write good counterpoint. He included a tradi­
tional march and a fashionable waltz that his audience would recognize and enjoy.
In short, the Fantastic Symphony was new and familiar at the same time, just as
Beethoven's Fifth was in 1808.
It’s easy to forget that Beethoven had died only three years before Berlioz
wrote his groundbreaking symphony. Did the Frenchman have the sounds of
Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony (subtitled “Scenes of Country Life”) in his
head when creating his own pastoral fantasy? We do know that Berlioz seized on
Beethoven’s discovery that symphonic music was capable of describing nature
and human experience, or even expressing philosophical and political ideas. The
door that Beethoven cracked open in his symphonies was flung wide by Berlioz,
never to be shut again.
For Berlioz, the Fantastic Symphony was just the beginning. He went on to
write a sequel called Lelio, for voices and orchestra, which describes the artist’s
“return to life” after the trauma of witnessing his own execution. (The two works
were meant to be paired under the collective title Episodefrom the Life of an Artist.)
In 1834 he composed Harold in Italy, which features a solo violist in the role of
another antihero, this time drawn from Byron’s poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (in
reality, it is based on Berlioz’s own travels in Italy). Five years later, he produced
Romeo and Juliet, a symphony with chorus inspired by Shakespeare (and, no doubt,
Harriet Smithson). Each of these works blends symphonic music and narrative in
a different way.
Nor was Berlioz alone in following in Beethoven’s footsteps. The idea that orches­
tral music could tell a story was so widely accepted by the mid-1830s that a leading
German critic actually defined a symphony as “a story, developed within a psycho­
logical context, of some particular emotional state of a large body of people.”
Blending sound and narrative
292
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
Expanding the symphonic
tradition
In 183 5, Robert Schumann published a famous review of the Fantastic Symphony
(actually, it was a review of Liszt’s widely circulated piano transcription of the work)
in which he argued generally that the “dimensions and goals of the symphony”
had been exhausted after Beethoven’s Ninth. Others, however, saw the symphonic
tradition as anything but a dead end. The range of subject matter deemed suitable
for symphonic treatment gradually expanded to the point that Gustav Mahler, per­
haps the last of the great Romantic symphonists (he died in 1911), declared that
“the symphony must be like the world; it must be all-embracing.’’All of the com­
posers we’ll meet later in this book who wrote works using the word symphony in
their titles are, in some sense, Berlioz’s heirs.
Beethoven, as we saw in Chapter 8, demonstrated that the symphony could be a
vehicle for lofty thoughts and emotions, as well as entertainment. Berlioz enlarged
its scope to embrace the private struggles and passions of an individual human
being—the symphony as biography (or autobiography). That focus on the indi­
vidual is as central to our culture as it was to the Romantic movement. For many
modern listeners, the Fantastic Symphony brings music into the world of our own
feelings and experiences.
Chapter Review
Summary o f Musical Styles
■ Much of what is true of Beethoven’s symphonic style is true also of Berlioz’s:
multimovcment symphonies, each movement based on more than one theme,
moving to different keys, with developmental sections that use motives from
themes and combine them in new ways and with many changes of key.
■ The musical shape of the symphony is like Beethoven’s, with an added move­
ment to provide an additional dance movement, and to make the symphony
symmetrical:
Beethoven
Berlioz
I. Fast
I. Fast
II. Waltz
III. Slow
IV. March
V. Fast
II. Slow
III. Scherzo
IV. Fast
■ The recurrence of music throughout a multimovement work is of particular
importance here and will become a frequent practice of later composers. Here
the theme that Berlioz calls an idee fixe recurs in a variety of transformations
in the course of several movements.
■ Each of the movements of the symphony begins with some sort of introduc­
tion and ends with a coda; these are sometimes in a different tempo from the
main part of the movement. For example, the introduction to the first move­
ment is distinguished by tempo, while that of the march is a brief run-up to
the main theme.
C H A P T E R 10
■
H e cto r B e rlioz’s F a n ta stic S y m p h o n y (S ym p h o n ie fantastique)
is an important part of Berlioz’s technique: sometimes we
recognize themes almost as much for their instrumental sound as for their
melody. Elsewhere, the carefully crafted accompaniments to themes (consider
the various versions of the waltz theme) show Berlioz’s colorf ul imagination.
A melody may be passed from instrument to instrument, sometimes having
almost each new note played by a new instrument or group (a famous place is
in the march).
O rc h e s tra tio n
© Multimedia Resources and Review Materials on
StudySpace
Visit wwnorton.com/studyspace for review of Chapter 10.
W h a t D o Y o u Know ?
Check the facts for this chapter. Take the online
Q u iz .
W h a t D o Y o u Hear?
and
works in this chapter.
L is te n in g Q u iz z e s
M u s ic A c t i v i t i e s
will help you understand the musical
^ A u t h o r V id e os
■ Berlioz’s ideefixe
Interactive Listening G uides
LG 37 Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony,
LG 38 Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony,
LG 39 Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony,
Country)
LG 40 Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony,
Scaffold)
LG 41 Berlioz: Fantastic Symphony,
Witches’ Sabbath)
1, “Reveries—Passions” (Reveries—Passions)
II, “Un bal” (A Ball)
III, “Scene aux champs” (Scene in the
IV, “Marche du supplice” (March to the
V, “Songe d’une nuit de sabbat” (Dream of a
Flashcards (Terms to Know)
antecedent phrase
conjunct
consequent phrase
disjunct
ideefixe
orchestration
program music
293
C H A P T E R 11
THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 1845, LEIPZIG:
Felix M endelssohn’s Violin Concerto
in E M inor
0
C O R E R E P E R T O IR E
■ LG 42 First movement. Allegro molto
appassionato
■ LG 43 Second movement. Andante
■ LG 44 Third movement. Allegro
molto vivace
<f) A U T H O R V I D E O S
■ Basic techniques in violin playing
■ A demonstration of violin virtuosity
in Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto
Introduction
“It pleased extraordinarily; everyone said it was one of the most beautiful
pieces in this genre; but it alsofulfills all the requirements that can be demanded
of a concert piece to the highest degree, and players of the violin cannot thank
you enough for this gift. ”
—Ferdinand David to Felix Mendelssohn, January 2. 1845
T h e c o n c e r t o is a g e n r e t h a t c o m b i n e s t w o o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y ’s f a v o r ite
The concerto
m u s ic a l p le a s u r e s : g r a n d o r c h e s t r a l m u s ic a n d v i r t u o s o s h o w m a n s h ip . W e h a v e
s e e n t h e c o n c e r t o in its B a r o q u e f o r m in t h e h a n d s o f B a c h , w h o s e e m e d t o h a v e
t h e s a m e c o m b i n a t i o n o f e l e m e n t s in m in d . B y t h e t i m e o f M o z a r t a n d B e e th o v e n ,
in t h e la te e i g h t e e n t h a n d e a r ly n i n e t e e n t h c e n tu r ie s , t h e c o n c e r t o h a d b e c o m e
a v e h ic le f o r t h e i n t e r p l a y o f t e n s i o n s b e t w e e n a D a v id a n d a G o lia th , t h a t is,
b e t w e e n t h e d a z z le o f a s in g le p la y e r a n d t h e p o w e r o f t h e o r c h e s t r a .
We might even go one step further and place the Romantic concerto in terms
more typical of its time—as a depiction of the individual against society. This was
a favorite theme of nineteenth-century composers, novelists, artists, playwrights,
and philosophers. In music, the figure of the lone, heroic revolutionary was epito­
mized by Beethoven and Wagner (see Chapters 8 and 13). Felix Mendelssohn had
few such antisocial tendencies. By nature and by upbringing, he fit into his uppermiddle-class environment; and yet he certainly had issues of identity, especially
spiritual ones, as he grew up.
C o n c e r t o s h a v e b e e n w r i t t e n f o r v i r t u a l l y e v e r y i n s t r u m e n t , f r o m a c c o r d io n t o
z ith e r , a s w e ll a s f o r t w o o r m o r e i n s t r u m e n t s — f o r e x a m p l e , B a c h ’s C o n c e r t o in
F M a jo r f o r H a r p s i c h o r d , T w o R e c o r d e r s , a n d S tr in g s (s e e C h a p t e r 6). T h e s o lo
g r o u p o f B e e th o v e n ’s T r ip le C o n c e r t o c o n s is ts o f p ia n o , v io lin , a n d c e llo , a n d
S c h u m a n n w r o t e a r e m a r k a b l e c o n c e r t o f o r f o u r h o r n s a n d o r c h e s t r a . M e n d e ls ­
s o h n h i m s e l f w r o t e “d o u b l e ” c o n c e r t o s f o r t w o p ia n o s a n d f o r p i a n o a n d v io lin .
B u t t h e p r e e m i n e n c e o f t h e v io lin a n d p i a n o in W e s t e r n m u s ic h a s e n s u r e d t h a t
s o lo c o n c e r t o s f o r t h e s e t w o i n s t r u m e n t s r e m a i n t h e t i m e d - h o n o r e d s ta p le s .
The challenge of writing a concerto lies not so much in making the solo part
difficult—many concertos are essentially showpieces for the soloist more than
they are serious musical explorations—as in constructing a piece of music that has
real substance, while still providing the brilliance that gives the concerto its excite­
ment. Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto is one such piece, and it has been a favorite
of audiences and violinists since it was first performed in 1845.
The only other violin concertos that rival Mendelssohn’s in popularity in the
modern repertoire arc those by Beethoven (1806), Brahms (1878), and Tchaikovsky
(also 1878). Each is a carefully constructed piece of music, not just a showpiece for
the instrument, and each is the only concerto that its composer wrote for violin.
(Mendelssohn actually composed another violin concerto when he was thirteen,
but he did not consider it part of his mature legacy.) Just as Mendelssohn followed
in Beethoven’s footsteps, so Brahms and Tchaikovsky learned from Mendelssohn
how to combine sizzling virtuosity with symphonic grandeur.
© Brahms: Violin Concerto in D
Major. I
© Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in
D Major. Ill
296
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
The Setting
LEIPZIG IN 1845
The Leipzig that Mendelssohn knew was one of Europe’s leading cul­
tural centers, as it had been in Bach’s time a century earlier. The great
writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe described the German city as “a
little Paris.” St. Thomas’s Church and the venerable university con­
tinued to dominate Leipzig’s spiritual and intellectual landscape (see
Figure 11.1). The recent completion of Germany’s first long-distance
railroad, which connected Leipzig with Dresden, together with the
famous trade fairs, made the city a hub of Central European traffic
and commerce.
Leipzig was also home to a burgeoning publishing industry. The
composer Robert Schumann, Mendelssohn’s close friend and con­
temporary, boasted that the city supported no fewer than 150 book­
shops, fifty printing plants, and thirty periodicals, including the Neue
Zeitschrift fiir Musik, Germany’s most influential music magazine,
which the composer Robert Schumann had edited since 1834. The
presence of such luminaries as Mendelssohn and Schumann helped
make Leipzig audiences even more musically sophisticated than in
FIG. 11.1 Leipzig about 1850. showing
the daYs when
Collegium Musicum was performing in Zimthe Town Hall with its tower.
mermann s coffeehouse.
In 1781, thirty-one years after Bach’s death, Leipzig opened its first concert hall,
known as the Gewandhaus (see Figure 11.2). It occupied one floor of the Cloth
Hall (Gewandhaus, in German), next door to the university and a few blocks from
St. Thomas’s Church. The rather austere rectangular auditorium seated about five
hundred people—roughly the size of an average recital hall today. Because the rows
of chairs were placed at right angles to the stage, listeners had to crane their necks
to see the performers and the edifying inscription from the Latin philosopher Sen­
eca overhead: Res Severn verumgaudium (Seriousness alone is true amusement).
The resident orchestra of the Gewandhaus grew steadily in importance during
the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Mozart performed with it in
1789, and Beethoven’s symphonies were played in Leipzig soon after their premieres
in Vienna. In 1842 the Gewandhaus was remodeled, with balconies added along
both sides. It was in this enlarged hall that Mendelssohn’s Violin
Concerto had its first performance three years later. (The build­
Mendelssohn’s Schedule in Leipzig
ing has been rebuilt several times; Leipzig’s current principal con­
cert hall—built while Leipzig was part of East Germany during
the Cold War, and on another site—is still called the Gewand­
In October 1839. the composer urged his friend Eduard
Devrient to visit Leipzig:
haus, and its famous orchestra remains active to this day.)
Mendelssohn, who was named director of the Gewandhaus
ere you would hear a great deal of music, and
concerts in 1835, not only greatly improved the quality of the
much of it. I believe, you would like: the finished
orchestra but also built their series into events that no one in
way in which we play the symphonies of Mozart
Leipzig could ignore. The orchestra played twenty concerts
and Beethoven. I know would please you. We have not
very much music during the summer; it begins with the
a year, on Thursday evenings, from October until Easter (see
autumn, and from now to November is at its height, when
Mendelssohn’s Schedule in Leipzig, left). Mendelssohn planned
all are assembled, and both executants and listeners have
all of the programs and conducted most of them. (Before that
gathered fresh love and power in the long recess. By New
time, conductors were used mostly for large choral pieces;
Year’s Day there is almost too much of it. and when spring
instrumental music was often led by the concertmaster from
returns one feels quite exhausted and surfeited with mu­
sic. so that a stop is very welcome.
his chair as first violinist, as in Bach’s day.) By all accounts, Men­
delssohn was a superb conductor, liked and respected by the
B
H
a
c
h
’s
C H A P T E R 11
Felix M e n d e ls s o h n ’s Violin C o n c e rto in E M in o r
297
m u s ic ia n s . H e h a d a p h o t o g r a p h i c m e m o r y , a n d w a s
o n e o f t h e e a r lie s t c o n d u c t o r s t o u s e a b a t o n .
Mendelssohn’s choice of music had much to do with
the formation of the orchestral repertory that we now con­
sider the norm. He programmed works by Bach, Mozart,
and Beethoven; much of his own music; and pieces by
contemporaries such as Schumann, Louis Spohr, the Dan­
ish composer Niels Gade, and Hector Berlioz, whom he
had met in Rome in the early 1830s (sec Chapter 10). As
was common at the time, Mendelssohn’s Gewandhaus
concerts included not only orchestral music but also vocal
pieces, scenes or acts from operas, and chamber and solo
works. The program that included the first performance
of his Violin Concerto was typically varied (see p. 302).
FELIX M E N D E L S S O H N
FIG. 11.2 The interior of the
Felix Mendelssohn was born into a distinguished German-Jewish family known
Gewandhaus (Cloth Hall), the
for its intellectual and artistic accomplishments (see biography, p. 298). His father,
concert hall of Leipzig. Unlike the
Abraham, was a banker and philanthropist and the son of Moses Mendelssohn, a
arrangement of most modern con­
cert halls, the seats were arranged
leading philosopher of the Enlightenment. Abraham Mendelssohn is supposed to
in facing rows along the long side of
have quipped, “Once I was the son of a famous father, now I am the father of a
the
hall.
famous son.”
Despite their eminence, the Mendelssohns suffered from the social and legal
discrimination against Jews in Germany at the time (see Letter from Mendels­
sohn’s Teacher Carl Friedrich Zelter, right). Felix’s parents decided to convert to
Christianity for the sake of their children, all four of whom were baptized in 1816,
when Felix was seven. They even appended the “Christian” sur­
name Bartholdy to the family name, and for the rest of his life
Letter from Mendelssohn’s Teacher
Felix signed himself Mendelssohn Bartholdy (though he balked
Carl Friedrich Zelter
at his father’s request that he drop the name Mendelssohn
entirely). Nevertheless, anti-Semitism plagued the composer
throughout his life and, as we will see, continued to haunt his
elix is a good, handsome boy. happy and obedient.
name after death.
He may be certainly the son o f a Jew. but no Jew. The
When Mendelssohn was two, the family moved from Ham­
father, with significant sacrifice, has not circumcised
his
sons
and brings them up properly as it should be done.
burg to Berlin, where he grew up in a hotbed of musical activ­
It would really be a rare thing if an artist came out of the
ity. His older sister Fanny, whom his father initially thought
son of a Jew.
more talented, was an excellent pianist and composer (see
Fanny Hensel and Clara Schumann, p. 299). Felix studied piano
with his mother and composition with the eminent Carl Friedrich Zelter. Another
of his teachers was the famous composer and piano virtuoso Ignaz Moschcles,
who later became a close friend and colleague. Felix was considered an affable and
pleasant child, who often put others at ease.
I
M e n d e ls s o h n b e c a m e a f lu e n t a n d d a z z lin g p ia n is t b e f o r e t u r n i n g te n . In h is
e a r ly te e n s h e w r o t e s y m p h o n i e s , c o n c e r t o s , a n d c h a m b e r w o r k s o f h ig h q u a lity .
G o e t h e h e a r d b o t h M o z a r t a n d M e n d e ls s o h n p e r f o r m a s c h ild r e n a n d c o m p a r e d
t h e m in u n e q u iv o c a l te r m s :
M usical prodigies, as far as m ere technical execution goes, are probably n o lo n g er
so rare: b u t w h at this little m an [M endelssohn] can do in extem p o rizin g an d playing
at sight, b o rd ers on th e m iraculous, and I co u ld n o t have believed it possible a t so
early an age. “And yet you heard M o zart in his seventh year a t Frankfurt?” said Zelter.
298
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
FeLix MenDeissoim (1809-1847)
Felix M endelssohn w as a prolific and
com poser, pianist, and co nductor. In 1837 he m arried Cecile
g ifted co m p o ser o f m any talents
Jean ren au d (see box, p. 300, and Figure 11.4), also an am ateu r
w h o achieved in tern atio n al fam e.
painter, w ith w h o m he h ad five children. By all accounts it w as
As a child p rodigy in an intensely
a happy an d successful un ion.
intellectual and m usical fam ily he
M endelssohn’s illustrious career w as capped by his ap p o in t­
developed his p erfo rm in g skill, his
m e n t as d irecto r o f th e Leipzig G ew andhaus in 1835. Eight years
abilities as a com poser, and his liter­
later, in 1843, he fo u n d ed th e Leipzig C onservatory; despite his
ary and cultural expertise in highly
o n ero u s adm inistrative duties, he m ain tain ed a busy schedule
favorable su rroundings. From his
o f appearances as pianist and co n d u cto r all over E urope. As a
teens he com posed w o rk s th a t are still favorites w ith audiences.
result o f his p eripatetic lifestyle, he w as absent from the p re ­
B orn in H am b u rg , G erm any, in 1809, Felix g rew u p in Berlin
m iere o f his o w n Violin C oncerto. In 1847, after the d eath o f
w ith his b ro th e r and tw o sisters. U nder th e tu telag e o f Carl
his beloved sister Fanny, th e co m p o ser suffered a series o f dev­
Friedrich Z elter, th e d irecto r o f Berlin’s prestig io u s Singakad-
astating strokes an d died in N ovem ber, at age thirty-eight.
em ie (Singing A cadem y), h e rapidly m a tu re d as a com poser;
M endelssohn’s m usic is elegant, lyrical, an d beautifully
his earliest extan t com p o sitio n w as w ritte n at age ten. W h en
crafted. H e is particularly rem e m b ered for his o rato rio s Saint
Felix w as tw elve, he m e t th e p o e t G o eth e in W eim ar and struck
Paul and Elijah; his piano m usic, ch am b er m usic, and sym ­
up a friendship th a t w o u ld be deeply m eaningful fo r th em b o th .
p honies (the Italian an d Scotch sym phonies are a m o n g to d a y ’s
By his late teens, M endelssohn’s com positional technique
favorites); an d his m usic for Shakespeare’s Midsummer N ight’s
w as frilly developed; he also excelled in a rt (he w as a skillful
Dream, w hich includes th e fam ous W edding M arch.
painter, see Figure 11.3), literature, languages, and philosophy.
M endelssohn spoke G erm an , English, an d French fluently, and
© Mendelssohn: Elijah (oratorio)
read voraciously in each o f those languages, as well as in Latin
and G reek.
MAJOR WORKS: O rchestral w ork, including 5 sym phonies; 1
In 1829, M endelssohn org an ized and co n d u cted an im p o r­
violin concerto, 2 p ian o concertos, 4 overtures, an d incidental
ta n t revival o f Bach's St. M atthew Passion a t th e Singakadem ie.
m usic to 7 plays; 2 o rato rio s (Saint Paul and Elijah); ch am b er
T he revival o f serious in terest in th e m usic o f Bach w as largely
m usic, including string q u artets, p iano trios, an d cello sonatas;
the result o f M endelssohn's p io n eerin g efforts.
n u m e ro u s w orks for p ian o and for organ; choral w orks; and
By the 1830s M endelssohn w as in ternationally k n o w n as a
songs.
*
FIG. 11.3 A watercolor by Felix Mendelssohn, done in 1847. in Thun. Switzerland.
FIG. 11.4 A portrait of Cecile Jeanren­
aud. painted around the time of her
1837 marriage to Mendelssohn.
C H A P T E R 11
Felix M e n d e lsso h n ’s Violin C o n c e rto in E M in o r
299
Fanny Hensel and Clara Schumann
our years older than her famous brother. Fanny Mendelssohn
Hensel (180S-1847: see Figure 11.5) was his lifelong confidant and
artistic counselor. Although Felix recognized her exceptional
talent as a composer and pianist, both he and their father discour­
aged her from venturing outside the traditional domestic sphere. As
a married woman. Fanny contented herself with running an artistic
salon at her home in Berlin. Not until the end of her life did she as­
sert her independence by publishing a collection of songs without
first seeking Felix’s approval.
Fanny's experience mirrored that of another outstanding female
F
composer. Clara Schumann (1819-1896; see Chapter 12). She. too.
lived in the shadow of a famous man— her husband. Robert— but.
unlike Fanny. Clara's social background did not prevent her appear­
ing in public, and she had a socially acceptable outlet in her piano
playing. (She was one o f the leading concert artists o f her day.) As a
rule, composing was not considered a suitable occupation for wom­
en in the nineteenth century. The Leipzig Conservatory, which Felix
founded in 1843, restricted women to a two-year course in music
theory “especially organized for their requirements.’’ and the Paris
Conservatory barred its doors to women composers until the 1870s.
“Yes,” [1] answ ered; "at th a t tim e 1 m yself h a d only ju s t reached
m y tw elfth year, and w as certainly, like all th e rest o f th e w orld,
im m ensely astonished a t his extrao rd in ary execution; b u t w h at
yo u r pupil [M endelssohn] already accom plishes, bears th e sam e
relation to th e M o zart o f th a t tim e, th a t the cultivated talk o f a
g ro w n -u p p erso n does to th e p rattle o f a child.”
The Mendelssohns presented grand musical matinees on
alternate Sunday mornings in their dining room on Berlin’s fash­
ionable Leipziger Strasse, with a small orchestra that Felix con­
ducted. (At first he was so small that he needed to stand on a
stool.) For each of these occasions Felix produced new works; he
or Fanny played the piano while another sister, Rebecka, sang and
their brother Paul played the cello.
By the time Mendelssohn was eighteen, he already had sev­
eral major works to his credit, including his timeless Overture
to Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night's Dream © and his astonish­
ingly precocious Octet for Strings. Starting in his twenties, he
began composing a stream of piano pieces called Songs without
Words © , which have become perennial favorites with perform­
ers and listeners alike.
Few composers in history have been more admired and bet­
ter liked by their contemporaries than Mendelssohn. There are
many accounts of his modesty, sensitivity, cultivated manners,
and gift for friendship and love. His marriage to Cecile Jeanrenaud, the daughter
of a protestant pastor in Frankfurt, seems to have been an ideal match (see Letter
to His Sister, p. 300). A fountain of energy, Mendelssohn was naturally athletic
and throughout his short life enjoyed swimming and hiking. A pupil at the Leipzig
Conservatory who knew him in the mid-1840s left this description;
FIG. 11.5 Felix Mendelssohn’s sister
Fanny Hensel. a pianist and com­
poser. with her son Sebastien in her
arms. 1832.
© Mendelssohn: A Midsummer
Night’s Dream. Overture
M endelssohn had a slender, delicately fram ed figure. His dexterous and agile bodily
m ovem ents w ere extraordinarily lively.. . . T h e dark eye blazed like lightning. It could
ju st as quickly assum e a friendly, benevolent and cheerful expression as a sharply p en ­
etratin g one o r a serious and th ou g h tfu l o n e ___ T h e high, beautifully d o m ed forehead
w as fram ed by black hair, w hich fell in curls to the sides and behind. T h e face that
tapered tow ards his chin w as bo rd ered by thick sideboards. T h e m oderately curved
nose w as o f the R om an type and betrayed his oriental [Jewish] ancestry. T h e extrem ely
© Mendelssohn: Songs without
Words. No. 6. “Spring Song”
30 0
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
finely form ed m o u th m ade a striking im pression. W h en he
o p en ed it in conversation o r laughter, tw o row s o f dazzlingly
w hite teeth could be seen. Everything com bined in M endelssohn
to m ake his appearance as a w hole attractive and charm ing.
Letter to His Sister
O n July 24.1836. M e n d e lsso h n wrote a letter to his sister
Rebecka. proclaim ing his love for “this ch a rm in g girl":
he present period is a very strange one. for I am
more desperately in love than I ever was in my life
before, and I do not know what to do. I leave Frank­
furt the day after tomorrow, but I feel as if it would cost
me my life. At any rate I intend to return here and see this
charming girl [Cecile Jeanrenaud] once more before I go
back to Leipzig. But I have not an idea whether she likes
me. or not. and I do not know what to do to make her like
me. as I have already said. But one thing is certain, that to
her I owe the first real happiness I have enjoyed this year,
and now I feel fresh and hopeful again for the first time.
T
FE R D IN A N D DAVID
The eminent violinist Ferdinand David (1810-1873; see Figure
11.6), for whom Mendelssohn wrote his concerto, had been a
friend of the composer’s for almost twenty years; he was actually
bom in the same apartment house in Hamburg as Mendelssohn,
less than a year later. Although their parents were acquainted, the
two boys did not meet until later in life, when each had achieved a
certain degree of success. David was a violinist at the Konigstadt
Theater in Vienna (1826-29), where he became friendly with Men­
delssohn. When Mendelssohn became director of the Gewand­
haus concerts in 1835, he invited David to come to Leipzig as
concertmaster, a post that the violinist would occupy for thirty-seven years.
Well known as a concert artist, David was also a famous teacher (he joined
the faculty of the Leipzig Conservatory in 1843) and the author of an influential
textbook on violin playing. His students included Joseph Joachim, who premiered
Brahms’s Violin Concerto, and August Wilhelmj, Wagner’s concertmaster at
Bayreuth. David’s musical taste was as wide-ranging as Mendelssohn’s. He became
a tireless promoter of Schubert, whose chamber music he played in numerous
Leipzig concerts. He also championed the late string quartets of Beethoven, the
early works of Brahms, and music of Bach and other composers of earlier periods.
David himself composed more than forty works, which he often played on his
tours. An English reviewer of one of his violin concertos praised both the perfor­
mance and the music: “His tone is most pure, his cantabile expressive, his intona­
tion perfect, and his bowing such as all English players should endeavor to imitate.
His composition—well adapted to exhibit the powers of the violin—fully justifies
us in pronouncing it the work of a scholar and a musician of genius.”
NIELS G ADE
FIG. 11.6 The violinist Ferdinand
David, concertmaster of the Leipzig
Gewandhaus Orchestra and the
soloist who first performed Men­
delssohn's Violin Concerto in 1845.
Another of Mendelssohn’s close musical associates was the Danish composer and
conductor Niels Gade (1817-1890; see Figure 11.7). It was he who had the honor
of conducting the first performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in March
of 1845, while the composer himself was enjoying a hard-earned holiday with his
family in Frankfurt.
Having failed to get his first symphony performed in Copenhagen, Gade had
sent the score to Mendelssohn, who liked it very much. Mendelssohn began a cor­
respondence with Gade, and performed the symphony in 1843. Gade then won a
Danish government grant to travel to Leipzig, where he met Mendelssohn, con­
ducted another performance of his symphony, and was hired by Mendelssohn as
assistant conductor at the Gewandhaus. He also taught at the Leipzig Conservatory.
After Mendelssohn’s death in 1847, Gade was appointed his successor at the
Gewandhaus. A year later war broke out between Germany and Denmark, and
Gade prudently returned to Copenhagen. There he established a first-rate orches­
tra and remained the leading figure of the musical life in Denmark until shortly
before his death in 1890, composing eight symphonies, a number of overtures, and
other works strongly indebted to Mendelssohn’s musical style.
C H A P T E R 11
Felix M e n d e lsso h n ’s Violin C o n c e rto in E M in o r
301
The Performance
PREPARATIONS
E v e n t h o u g h M e n d e ls s o h n w a s a n e x p e r t p ia n is t, o r g a n is t, a n d
c o n d u c t o r w h o h a d w r i t t e n c o n c e r t o s f r o m a n e a r ly a g e , h e
a lw a y s s e e m e d t o h a v e tr o u b l e d e a li n g w i t h t h e f u n d a m e n t a l
p r o b l e m a s s o c ia te d w i t h t h e g e n r e : s t r i k i n g a b a la n c e b e t w e e n
te c h n i c a l a n d p u r e l y m u s ic a l d e m a n d s . H e w a s a ls o h a m p e r e d b y
t h e f a c t t h a t h e w a s n o t a fa n o f v i r t u o s i t y f o r its o w n s a k e , a s h e
m a d e c le a r in a l e t t e r t o t h e p ia n is t I g n a z M o s c h e le s :
But w hy should I h ear th o se V ariations by H erz [H enri H erz, a
p iano virtu o so ] for the th irtie th time? T h ey give m e as little plea­
sure as rope dancers o r acrobats: for w ith th e m at least th ere is
th e b arb aro u s attractio n th a t o n e is in co n stan t d read o f seeing
th e m b reak th e ir necks. . . . I only w ish it w ere n o t m y lot to be
constantly told th a t th e public d em an d th a t k in d o f thing. I, too,
am one o f th e public, and d em an d th e very reverse.
Mendelssohn had been intending to write a violin concerto
for some time. He wrote to David in 1838, after their third season
of working together at the Gewandhaus, “I'd like to do a violin
concerto for you next winter; one in E minor is running through
my head, and the opening of it will not leave me in peace.” Later
in the same letter he noted that the concerto was swimming
around in his brain in a shapeless condition, but that a day or
two of work would bring it into focus.
D a v id , b a r e ly a b le t o c o n t a i n h is e a g e r n e s s , p l e a d e d w i t h M e n d e ls s o h n to
have pity and w rite a violin co n certo — you have p ro d u ced so m any lovely things
for pianists, orchestras, choruses, clarinetists and b asset-h o rn players. Ju st once do
so m eth in g for us, particularly for m e. You are th e right m an for it, it w o u ld cost you
fo u rtee n days an d you w o u ld earn etern al g ratitu d e, b u t do it soon, before m y fin­
gers b eco m e stiff and m y saltando [a technique o f b o u n cin g th e b o w on the string]
ridden w ith g o u t.
But Mendelssohn would not be rushed. “Now that is very nice of you to press
me for a violin concerto!” he wrote to David while vacationing near Koblenz. “I
have the greatest desire to write one for you, and if I have a few favorable days here
I shall bring you something of the sort. But it is not an easy task. You want it to be
brilliant, and how is such a one as I to manage that?
Writing a serious concerto for a famous violinist, collaborator, and friend whom
he wanted to please was not something that Mendelssohn took lightly. When he
finally showed the score to David in September of 1844, the violinist immediately
arranged to have parts made for orchestral performance. By November, David was
ready to audition the solo part for Mendelssohn. “I’ll play your concerto for you
when you come,” he wrote. “The score is ready for you; but it is more difficult than
I thought at first glance.”
David worked closely with Mendelssohn on the technical details of the violin
part and how it should look in the published version. (Mendelssohn was an excel­
lent violinist—Zelter thought he could have been a great one—but he did not
FIG. 11.7 Niels Gade. the Danish
composer and conductor who led
the first performance of Mendels­
sohn’s Violin Concerto.
302
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
have David’s virtuoso technique.) The concerto was published, in the form of a
solo part with piano accompaniment, shortly after the first performance. In keep­
ing with Mendelssohn’s international reputation, the publication bore the joint
imprints of three distinguished publishing houses in Leipzig, London, and Milan.
THURSDAY, MARCH 13,1845
Mendelssohn’s concerto was the second work on the twentieth and final subscrip­
tion concert of the Gewandhaus season. The program, as reported in the papers,
consisted of the following:
Overture and Introduction from the opera Euryanthe by C. M. von Weber
C oncerto for the violin, com posed by F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy (new, manuscript)
performed by Herr Concertm aster David
Recitative and Aria from Figaro by Mozart, sung by Fraulein Hennigsen
Introduction and Variations on a Scottish Folksong for the violin, com posed and
performed by Herr Concertm aster David
Music to Kotzebue's “Ruins o f Athens,” com posed by L. van Beethoven, with
connecting poetic verses spoken by Fraulein Baumeister
Note that David’s own music appeared alongside Mendelssohn’s new concerto.
Not every composer would openly invite comparison with Weber, Beethoven,
Mozart, and Mendelssohn—and as it happens, David’s music has not stood the test
of time. Note, too, that the orchestra program contains no symphony. Mozart is
represented by an aria from his opera The Marriage of Figaro, Beethoven by his pow­
erful incidental music to a play by the German dramatist August von Kotzebue. All
interest, though, was focused on the new concerto.
Basic techniques in violin playing
The Music
“We know,” wrote one reviewer about the score of Mendelssohn’s concerto, “that
in the case of many famous virtuosos whose concertos have become known as
effective solo pieces, they just write the melodies themselves, and leave the instru­
mentation, and the tutti [orchestra] passages to somebody else.”
But what about a concerto whose composer is not a distinguished performer on
the solo instrument, as in the case of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto? The same
reviewer addressed this very question:
If a com poser w h o is not a virtuoso and is not making the com position for him self
to play, undertakes to write a violin concerto, he can do w hat the art o f music is all
about: he can easily allow h im self to be freer and more poetic than the com posing
virtuoso, w h o always m ore or less lets him self be led by what is m ost effective for
the instrum ent and m ost grateful for his ow n performing talents. . . . A piece like
[M endelssohn’s] is to be gratefully treasured not only for itself, but also because, by
departing from the very narrow tracks o f convention, it gives the genre itself an
impulse and provides it with a refreshed life.
Perhaps only those who have heard one too many bad, bombastic concertos from
the nineteenth century can know how grateful Mendelssohn’s contemporaries
C H A P T E R 11
Felix M e n d e lsso h n ’s Violin C o n c e rto in E M in o r
303
must have been to hear a balanced concerto like his. In avoiding virtuosity for its
own sake, Mendelssohn provided a model for later concerto composers to emu­
late. But this is not to say that his Violin Concerto is devoid of showmanship. On
the contrary, it afforded many opportunities for David and his fellow virtuosos to
demonstrate the tricks of their trade.
VIRTUOSITY
A demonstration of violin
virtuosity in Mendelssohns Violin
Concerto
All concertos written for a solo instrument—whether by Bach, Mendelssohn, or
any other composer—have one basic thing in common: they pit a single person
(the soloist) against many people (the orchestra). The smaller combatant, as it
were, needs to compensate in wile and agility for lack of heft. The soloist in a con­
certo—who, obviously, can never play as loudly as the orchestra—uses virtuosity,
the ability to perform dazzling feats of difficulty, to make the instrument heard, to
attract our attention, and to create a balance between size and nimblencss (see The
Cult of the Virtuoso, right).
How does a violinist show off her or his virtuosity? Essentially, there are four
techniques: playing high up on the instrument, playing loudly, playing quickly, and
playing more than one note at a time. In short: high, loud, fast,
and multiple.
The Cult of the Virtuoso
In Mendelssohn’s concerto, the violin begins almost imme­
diately with the beautiful first theme, played in the upper regis­
he Italian word virtuoso (from a Latin root meaning
ter: not at a stratospheric level—that will come later—but high
skill) originally denoted a person who was proficient
enough so that it feels as if the violin is soaring and that the
at something: it might be fencing, music, cooking,
instrument possesses a power that sets it apart from the orches­
or practically any other activity. By the nineteenth cen­
tra. Later in the concerto, the violin plays notes so high that you
tury, it had come to mean a performer with almost super­
arc not sure if you are really hearing them.
human skill as a singer or instrumentalist. There had been
One reason playing high is more difficult than playing low
concertos, and expert players, long before Mendelssohn,
but it was not until the early nineteenth century that the
is because the higher you go on the violin, the closer together
virtuoso performer came to inspire the kind of hero wor­
the notes become and the harder it is to play in tune. Watching
ship we now associate with an elite group of rock musi­
the fingers of a virtuoso violinist crawl over the upper reaches
cians and other pop idols.
of the fingerboard is like watching an acrobat doing a high-wire
In the 1830s, Niccolo Paganini dazzled all of Europe with
act; it requires a similar level of skill, agility, balance, and preci­
his violin acrobatics: he performed what seemed to be
miracles— indeed, some thought he was in league with
sion, as well as a certain fearlessness. In order to understand
the Devil, or was the Devil himself. At the same time Franz
this, you will need to become familiar with the basic mechanics
Liszt achieved such mastery of the piano, and was such a
of violin playing first (see Violin Playing, p. 304).
skilled showman, that he was worshiped as a kind of demi­
Playing loudly poses a different set of challenges. To accom­
god. Paganini, Liszt, and a few other superstars achieved
plish this, the violinist generally exerts more pressure on the
a fame comparable to that of the most illustrious opera
bow and moves it more quickly across the string. The player
singers. The virtuoso was somehow set off from reality by
an ability to do what was seemingly impossible.
can also do other things to give the impression of loudness,
Mendelssohn, himself a celebrated keyboard virtuoso,
such as increasing the rate or width of the vibrato—the pul­
admired Liszt and even invited him to give three special
sation given to sound by rhythmically wiggling the left hand
concerts at the Gewandhaus in 1840. But the pianist’s
back and forth, thus slightly changing the pitch of the note.
view that “virtuosity is not a secondary outgrowth, but
(As a rule, string players in Mendelssohn’s time used vibrato
an indispensable element of music” was fundamentally
alien to Mendelssohn’s artistic philosophy. When Liszt
more sparingly than they do today.) Some notes last longer than
boasted that he could imitate a full orchestra at the key­
the bow stroke, and the violinist has to be clever at changing
board, Mendelssohn expressed skepticism to a fellow
from down-bow (moving the bow arm away from the violin) to
composer: “Well if I could only hear the first eight bars
up-bow (moving the bow arm toward the violin) in an almost
of Mozart’s G minor Symphony, with that delicate figure
imperceptible way.
in the [violas], rendered on the piano as it sounds in the
Playing fast comes in many forms, and much of its success
orchestra— I would believe it.”
depends on knowing how the instrument works. For example,
T
304
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: R om antic M u sic
Violin Playing
performer plays a note on the violin by pressing a string
down onto the fingerboard while making it sound, or vi­
brate. with the bow (see figures below). Pressing the finger
on the fingerboard shortens the length of the vibrating string: the
higher the note is. the shorter the string needs to be. (Think of how
the pianos strings get shorter as you move toward the right, or high,
end of the keyboard.)
The spacing on the fingerboard is proportional. The violin’s high­
est string sounds the second E above middle C (the top space on
the treble staff; see p. A-3). To play the E above that, you divide the
string in half with your finger. To hear the E above that, you divide
A
the remaining part of the string in half, thus vibrating only a quarter
of the strings full length. All the notes between the first E and the
second E thus occupy half the length of the string, while all the
notes between the second E and the third E occupy only a quarter
of the string; the notes get closer together as you play higher and
the vibrating string gets shorter. What this means for the violinist is
that playing in the high register requires a measure of precision that
is very difficult to achieve. If you do not place your finger in exactly
the right place, the note is out of tune— and everyone hears it. The
same is true in the violins lower register, of course, but there the
margin for error is much greater.
FIG. 11.8 A violin and a violin bow.
FIG. 11.9 The bridge of a violin is curved so that each string can be
played separately.
Slur
Arpeggio
Double-stopping
many notes can be connected on a single bow stroke. If the fingers move nimbly
on the string, the notes will change without altering the direction of the bow. Such
passages are written in the violinist's part with a slur over them. In cases where
each note gets its own bow stroke, you can tell when the player is going fast by the
way the bow moves furiously back and forth.
The first fast playing that the soloist does in Mendelssohn’s concerto is with
triplets—three notes in the space of two. They are grouped in sets of six at first,
and later in groups of three. Part of the challenge—and the fun—in this varied
virtuoso writing and playing is seeing how many different ways of doing some­
thing fancy can be devised. Some notes, like the triplets just mentioned, are fast,
but more or less melodic; others take advantage of the fact that adjacent strings
produce different notes, so that sweeping the bow across all the strings produces a
dazzling, arpeggio effect (cascading chord-tones—think of the sound of a harp),
as in the first-movement cadenza (an elaborate solo passage that usually comes
just before the end of a concerto movement). For more on this and the following
virtuoso techniques, listen to the Author Videos on StudySpace.
Playing two strings at the same time (called double-stopping) is another way
of producing a louder sound. This technique involves a certain acrobatic element,
because the violin was not specifically designed for playing several notes at the
same time. The violin, like the viola, cello, and double bass, is essentially a melody
C H A P T E R 11
Felix M e n d e lsso h n 's Violin C o n c e rto in E M in o r
instrument; its four strings, tuned to four different notes, are stretched across a
curved bridge (see Figures 11.8 and 11.9) in such a way that each string can be
played separately (if the bridge were flat, you could not play the two middle strings
by themselves). By carefully drawing the bow across two adjacent strings, however,
you can actually make two notes sound simultaneously. Mendelssohn does this at
the beginning of the first movement, where the violinist plays a series of octaves
(that is, two notes an octave apart, played simultaneously on adjacent strings).
Mendelssohn also uses another technique to give the listener an impression of
hearing multiple notes. In the middle section of the slow movement, the violin­
ist executes a trem olo between two notes (a fast alternation produced by putting
a left-hand finger down and lifting it up) on one string while playing a sustained
melody on another using the other fingers of the left hand. The effect is almost like
hearing three-part harmony.
In Mendelssohn’s concerto, the violin alternates between lyrical melodies and
brilliant fast patterns. The tunes are beautiful, but the orchestra can play them too.
What it cannot do is match the virtuosity of the soloist.
Tremolo
Listening to the Music
Mendelssohn’s concerto has the luminous orchestral color that we associate with
music by Beethoven and Berlioz, and a lyricism that may remind us of some of
the pieces we’ve heard by Mozart and Schubert. Mendelssohn’s challenge was to
combine the lyrical and the symphonic with the virtuosity that is characteristic of
concertos, adding the lightning and excitement without losing the beauty and the
drive in a flurry of empty showmanship.
The form of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto is innovative in at least three
respects. The first is the absence of breaks: the whole concerto is played without
any sort of pause—the three movements are stitched together by linking passages,
producing a more or less seamless flow of music (recall that Beethoven connected
the last two movements of his Fifth Symphony). The second innovation relates
to the structure of the first movement: for the opening of his concerto, Mendels­
sohn reversed the traditional tutti and solo; the concerto begins with the solo, and
then the tutti (admittedly abridged) follows. (There are of course other concertos,
which Mendelssohn may well have known, that experiment with traditional form.)
The third innovation is Mendelssohn’s treatment of the first-movement cadenza.
We will look at all three of these features more carefully below.
FIRST MOVEMENT: ALLEGRO MOLTO APPASSIONATO
Most concertos, from Bach’s time onward, begin with the orchestra playing a
ritornello that includes the principal theme or themes of the first movement. Only
then does the soloist enter, having been, as it were, provoked to action—to com­
ment on or do battle with or collaborate with the orchestra.
In Mendelssohn’s concerto, famously, there is only a soft chord and a throb
before the violin plays the very high and beautiful first theme. From here on, the
orchestra is not so much the soloist’s partner as it is an accompanist and punctua­
tor. Mendelssohn’s skill with the orchestra, gained from years of experience as a
composer and conductor, is apparent in the way he alters and tightens the tradi­
tional first-movement concerto form. (For a summary of the following discussion,
see Table 11.1, Concerto First-Movement Form, p. 306.)
Form
©LG 42
305
306
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: R om antic M u sic
TABLE 11.1
Concerto First-Movement Form
STANDARD FORM (Late 18th Century)
Tutti exposition
Solo exposition
Development
Recapitulation
Coda
Themes
Theme 1, transition,
Theme 2, closing theme
Theme 1. transition.
Theme 2. closing theme
Various
Theme 1. transition.
Theme 2, closing theme,
cadenza
Final
cadence
Performers
Orchestra
Soloist
(+ orchestra)
Soloist
+ orchestra
Soloist + orchestra.
soloist
Orchestra
Development
Recapitulation
Coda
Various themes.
cadenza
Theme 1. transition.
Final
cadence
MENDELSSOHN'S VIOLIN CONCERTO (19th Century)
Combined tutti
and solo exposition
Themes
Theme 1, transition.
Theme 2, closing theme
Performers
Soloist, then orchestra
Theme 2, closing theme
Soloist +
orchestra, soloist
Orchestra + soloist
Orchestra +
soloist
The basic structure of a standard Classical first-movement concerto form is simi­
lar to the sonata form used for symphonies and other works. The main difference is
that a typical eighteenth-century concerto—a form inherited by nineteenth-century
composers—has two expositions instead of one. The first exposition is by the orches­
tra, which lays out all the themes and stays in the home key. The second or “solo”
exposition, occurs when the soloist enters and, with the orchestra, goes through the
musical material again, this time moving to a second key, as in sonata-allegro form.
A development section follows (just as in a symphony), which uses material from
the exposition, moves through many keys, and arrives at the recapitulation, where
the home key and the original themes are repeated, without changing key.
Mendelssohn makes several important changes to this template. To begin with,
he dispenses with the orchestral exposition and combines it with the solo expo­
sition, so that violinist and orchestra alternate in presenting the main thematic
material. Then he blurs the division between the exposition and the development
section by means of a sort of insider joke, where the violin climbs up into the
stratosphere at the end of the closing theme and refuses to come back down to
earth for the full cadence that we are waiting for.
Mendelssohn has another trick up his sleeve later on. Audiences in 1845 knew
pretty much what to expect in a concerto: at the end of the recapitulation, the
music stops just before the orchestra arrives at the final cadence of the closing
theme. This is the soloist's cue to perform an unaccompanied cadenza (Italian, for
cadence), an elaborate, virtuosic display of all the fireworks he or she can muster.
Cadenzas were what audiences waited for. In earlier times, they were impro­
vised by the performer (who was often the composer) and, because nothing was
written out, there was an element of surprise that mitigated the predictability of
the form. Cadenzas traditionally finish with a trill on the sound of a dominant
chord, whereupon the orchestra comes back in with a crash and finishes off the
concerto with a rousing coda. In a sense, then, the “standard” cadenza is really a
cadence—an ending.
C H A P T E R 11
LISTENING GUIDE 42
©
Felix M e n d e lsso h n ’s Violin C o n c e rto in E M in o r
307
| D V D | <f>
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64,1
13:44
(Allegro m olto appassionato)
DATE: 1845
GENRE: C o n certo
LISTEN FOR
MELODY: V irtuoso techniques in solo p art
FORM: Surprise p lacem en t o f violin cadenza
D ep artu res from standard first-m ovem ent co n ce rto form
RHYTHM/METER: D uple m eter, fast pace th a t gains speed
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
Exposition
0:00
T h e m e 1, soloist
As th e orch estra provides an o p en in g harm ony, th e violin launches straig h t in to th e opening
th e m e in E m inor:
----------------
r ,rT rrr
P
*
0:37
S oloist’s extension
1:09
T h e m e 1, orch estra
1:43
T ransition
*
An an g u lar tran sitio n th em e b eg u n by o rch estra an d ta k en u p by violin:
a
----n —
fa L
3:00
p£ =
V irtuosic in tro d u cto ry m aterial. T h e violin show s w h a t it can do: triplets, octaves, triplets and
octaves com bined.
a
1:59
r i f~Gjr
f
i
\
#f
PPr P
> Wi, __C_2
r
fc# f___1J___1
Fi__ fi---_1____1
1___
i_________1
i i i___|—
i 1i___1
i i fi cz-i
i i____1
---------------------- 1 1
1
-----------
V irtuoso figuration in violin.
T hem e 2
Exposition m oves to key o f C m ajo r for T h em e 2, w hich begins in w oodw inds w hile the violin
holds its very low est n o te pianissim o. Even th o u g h it's the opposite o f w h at the soloist norm ally
does— high and loud and fast— th e violin is very clearly heard:
PP
3:26
4:28
Violin states T h em e 2.
C losing th e m e
V ariant o f T h em e 1, w ith extensions; violin ends in very high register. At this point, w e expect
a trill fro m violin an d final cadence. We get th e trill, from th e orchestra, b u t the h a rm o n y is
changed so th a t cadence can n o t be final.
(continued)
308
PART IV
T IM E
FO RM
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
D E S C R IP T IO N
Development
4:40
Blurred b o u n d ary
Instead, rep etitio n o f trill m erges into b eg in n in g o f th e developm ent, w ith o u t ever having h ad a
com p lete cadence.
5:50
D erived from
transitio n
M aterial from tran sitio n th em e.
6:05
D erived from
T hem e 1
Violin p erfo rm s figuration, w hile o rch estra deco n stru cts first them e.
6:36
A nticipation o f
recapitulation
Violin retu rn s to o p en in g o f T h em e 1. Everyone is poised for a re tu rn to to n ic key . . .
7:38
C adenza
But recapitu latio n is unexpectedly delayed by placing cadenza h ere (instead o f in its usual place,
at en d o f recapitulation). A series o f arp eg g io s finally leads to the re tu rn o f T h e m e 1, in its
original key.
Recapitulation
9:22
T hem e 1
Violin continues its arp eg g io s w hile o rch estra reprises T h em e 1.
9:42
T ransition
O rch estra, th e n violin w ith extension.
10:17
T hem e 2
11:41
C losing th em e
A n o th er version o f T h e m e 1, w ith extensions. A fter a cadence (delayed, as b e fo re ). . .
Coda
13:13
T h e m usic speeds up, g ro w in g m o re excited, co m bining T ransition th e m e and b eg in n in g o f
T h em e 1.
But Mendelssohn’s cadenza is different. For one thing, it comes at an unexpected
place—at the end of the development, as a lead-in to the recapitulation, instead of
just before the final orchestral close. The early arrival of the cadenza is a surprise
to those who “know” how a concerto ought to proceed. Not only is Mendels­
sohn’s cadenza written out, it also begins not, like most cadenzas, after a break, a
stop, in the orchestra, but directly out of the orchestra’s ongoing crescendo. And
it ends with a series of arpeggios that arc clearly leading somewhere, anticipating
an arrival. The arrival, of course, is the return to E minor and the opening theme,
now played by the orchestra. The violin doesn’t stop as it would at the end of a
“normal” cadenza, but continues with its arpeggios while the orchestra plays the
first theme that starts the recapitulation, giving a new and transfigured quality to
the melody (see LG 42, p. 307).
Q LG43
SEC O N D M OVEM ENT: AN D AN TE
At the end of the first movement, after all the instruments play their final fortis­
simo chord, the bassoon holds onto its B and then moves up a half step to C. Other
instruments enter, each playing a half step, until we arrive at the key of the slow
movement, C major. After these slightly unsettling shifting sounds, there is a sense
of calm and stability when the strings begin the accompanimental figure for the
main theme.
C H A P T E R 11
LISTENING GUIDE 43
Felix M e n d e lsso h n ’s Violin C o n c e rto in E M in o r
309
© | DVD
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, II (Andante)
8:30
DATE: 1845
GENRE: C oncerto
L IS T E N F O R
FORM: Simple, three-part form (ABA)
C ontinuous transition from previous m ovem ent
MELODY: Violin th e m e like "song w ith o u t w o rd s”
HARMONY: M odulation to n ew key at beg in n in g
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
Transition
0:00
Bassoon co n tin u es its n o te fro m first m ovem ent; o th e r in stru m en ts e n te r (flute, violas, vio ­
lins, cellos), each m oving a h a lf step, an d gradually m o d u latin g to C m ajo r and b eg in n in g the
accom panim ent.
A section
First theme, in fo u r phrases
0:44
First phrase
P
1:04
Second phrase
4«e£rr
1:24
T h ird phrase
g}
£
m
niq J r
A lm ost th e sam e as first phrase:
------ -
1:44
F ourth phrase
Similar to second phrase, b u t considerably extended:
First theme, varied
2:13
First p h rase
Violin begins a version o f first phrase, m u c h extended.
2:50
F ourth p h rase
Version o f last phrase, m u ch extended.
B section
3:51
T ransition
Violin extension leads to trill an d cadence, o rch estra begins w ith a fanfare o f
h o rn s and tru m p ets.
(continued)
310
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: R om antic M u sic
TIME
FORM
DESCRIPTION
4:09
Second th em e,
phrase a
O rch estra (trem o lo in violins anticipates w h at th e soloist will do).
4:24
Second th em e,
phrase b
Phrases a an d b
w ith extension
Violin solo, playing its o w n trem o lo accom panim ent:
4:47
Phrase a
Exchanges b e tw e e n o rch estra and violin.
5:02
. . . extension
Solo violin; characteristic rep eated rh y th m fro m tim pani.
5:22
Phrases a an d b
O rch estra and violin n o w altern ate.
5:30
. . . extension
Solo violin in double-stops altern ates w ith phrase b in orchestra; violin extension leads back to
h o m e key o f C m ajo r and reprise o f A sectio n .
A section
5:55
R etu rn o f first
th e m e
T h e o rch estra co n tin u es th e trem o lo acco m p an im en t fro m m iddle section; only tw o phrases
now, th e last extended. A ddition o f pizzicato in th e low er strings.
7:25
. . . extension
Violin extends last phrase.
The second movement is a straightforward three-part form, ABA, with a mem­
orably lyrical beginning and ending, and a more passionate middle section. The
main theme is monopolized by the solo violin, which never really shares it with the
orchestra. This lovely melody is quintessential Mendelssohn; it might come from
one of his Songs without Words for solo piano.
The middle section, moving to different keys and somewhat more agitated than
the first theme, features alternations between violin and orchestra, and more of
the multiple-string playing described earlier. There is also an impressive passage in
octaves for the soloist. When the main melody finally returns, it is still played by
the violin, which now performs some of the music in a very high register (see LG
43, p. 309).
C H A P T E R 11
Felix M e n d e lsso h n ’s V iolin C o n c e rto in E M in o r
TH IRD M O VEM EN T: ALLEGRO M O LT O VIVACE
A little interm ezzo (a term meaning interlude), marked Allegretto non troppo (not
too fast), in which the violin seems to meditate wistfully on three repeated notes
reminiscent of the opening of the first movement’s main theme, leads without
interruption into the last movement (Allegro molto vivace means very fast).
A brass fanfare, like the beginning of a great triumphal march, introduces the
elfin, scherzo-like main theme of the finale. This sound is one of Mendelssohn’s
specialties; he used it to represent the fairy world of Shakespeare’s Midsummer
Night's Dream, in the scherzo movements of much of his chamber music, and in
many other works.
The third movement is a sonata form in E major, contrasting with the E minor
of the first movement. The skittering first theme contrasts with the almost pomp­
ous second theme (which confirms the solemnity of the opening fanfare). Despite
their different characters, the second theme is interspersed with figures from the
first; in addition, Mendelssohn finds brilliant ways to make the two themes inter­
twine in the G-major development section.
The recapitulation adds sprightly new countermelodies to the now familiar
material, and an exciting coda includes a bravura section showing off the violin­
ist’s trills, while the woodwinds reprise the opening melody. The concerto comes
to a close with a sweeping arpeggio from the violin (see LG 44, p. 312).
How Did It Go?
The premiere was considered sufficiently newsworthy to attract members of the press
from far and wide. The local reviewer for the influential music journal Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung praised the work in carefully measured terms: “Mendelssohn’s as yet
unpublished Violin Concerto struck us immediately on first hearing as a dignified and
attractive work, as we are accustomed to expect from the pen of the revered master.’’
A writer named Herrmann Hirschbach disagreed, dismissing the Violin Con­
certo as trite and lightweight (a criticism that was frequently leveled against Men­
delssohn’s music):
M endelssohn has ra th e r to o little h u m a n pain in his pieces; they are m ostly m usic for
those w h o are as fo rtu n ate as h e . . . . T his co n certo is a w o rk on a declining trajec­
tory. . . . [It] is a w ell-m ade an d n o t very difficult piece in E in th ree m ovem ents (the
first m o v em en t is in th e m inor, th e seco n d in C, th e third in E m ajor), b u t w hich in
respect o f invention presen ts m e w ith n o th in g im pressive. T h e ideas are to o superfi­
cial; straightaw ay, w ith th e th e m e o f th e first m o v em en t, one feels th a t th e co m p o ser
is n o t serious a b o u t seriousness, th e th e m e o f th e A ndante is u n interesting, and th at
o f th e last m o v em en t displays only contrived cheerfulness.
On the other hand, no less a composer (and critic) than Robert Schumann
reportedly congratulated David on having performed a concerto that he himself
would like to have written.
Two weeks after the premiere, a contrite but ecstatic David wrote to
Mendelssohn:
I should have rep o rte d to you long ago a b o u t the result o f m y first public p erfo rm an ce
o f y o u r violin concerto; forgive m e th at l d o so only now. It pleased extraordinarily;
O l G 44
© Mendelssohn: A Midsummer
Night’s Dream. Scherzo
311
312
PART IV
M u sic and Feeling: Rom antic M u sic
LISTENING GUIDE 44
© | DVD
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, III
7:15
(Allegro m olto vivace)
DATE: 1845
GENRE: Concerto
L IS T E N F O R
MELODY: M editative in term ez zo at b eg in n in g
TEXTURE: M endelssohn’s characteristic "scherzo" so und
TIME
FORM
SCORING: In tertw in in g o f th em es in developm ent and
recap itu latio n sections
DESCRIPTION
Transition
0:00
0:46
Transition to last
Violin m uses w istfully o n 3 rep eated n o tes rem iniscent o f th e o p en in g o f th e first m o v e m en t’s
m ovem ent
m ain them e.
Introduction,
L oud fanfares from brass, quick, q u iet arp eg g io s fro m th e violin.
E major!
Exposition
0:58
First them e,
E major
M endelssohn’s signature elfin, scherzo-like sound; delicate w oodw ind accom panim ent. A fairly
typical AABA phrase-shape (n o t sh o w n here), w ith extensions before the re tu rn to A:
1:48
T ransition
Violin p attern s; o rch estra uses m otives from first th em e.
2:10
Second th em e,
B m ajo r
A quick altern atio n o f fanfare an d violin figure from th e first them e:
A
2:46
C losing th em e
Solo violin b eco m es m o re lyrical, w hile orch estra co n tin u es m aterial from first th em e.
Development
2:54
Section 1
Based o n second th em e; w inds and brass play versions o f second th em e (later, strings take over)
w hile violin has rap id scales, th e n chords an d pizzicato; m o d u lates th ro u g h various keys.
3:26
Section 2
Based o n o p en in g th em e (b u t n o w in G m ajor); violin begins th e th e m e, th e n plays a new lyrical
co u n term elo d y w hose o p en in g rh y th m is based o n o p en in g fanfare:
iA
J
3:53
Section 3
j: y J
O rch estra plays th e co u n term elo d y ; violin figurations based o n opening th em e. Violin leads
back to . . .
C H A P T E R 11
Felix M e n d e lsso h n ’s Violin C o n c e rto in E M in o r
313
Recapitulation
4:17
First th em e,
E m ajo r
4:38
T ransition
4:44
Second them e,
E m ajor
5:15
C losing th em e
Violin now accom panied by th e lyrical co u n term elo d y from th e developm ent:
Coda
6:13
Begins like the developm ent; features b o ld trills in violin, including one th a t is sustained while
a version o f th e second th e m e is played. T ow ard th e end, th e m o re lyrical closing th e m e is now
fortissim o, w ith very high n o tes from violin; th e n an excited rush to the end, based o n th e o p en ­
ing o f th e seco n d th e m e.
everyone said it w as o n e o f th e m ost b eau tifu l pieces in this genre; b u t it also fulfills
all the req u irem en ts th a t can be d em an d ed o f a co n ce rt piece to the highest degree,
and players o f th e violin can n o t th a n k you en o u g h for this gift. I above all have you
to than k , since 1 am n o t a little p ro u d to have b ro u g h t such a w o rk before th e public
for th e first tim e. All th a t I can tell you a b o u t m y playing is th a t 1 h ad n