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    A Look At Musical Treasures of Bygone Eras Third Edition
    A Look At Musical Treasures of Bygone Eras Third Edition
    A Look At Musical Treasures of Bygone Eras Third Edition
    Ebook146 pages1 hour

    A Look At Musical Treasures of Bygone Eras Third Edition

    By Daniel Zimmermann

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    About this ebook

    Featured in this edition are notes on various works of Thomas Tallis, “The Seasons” of Vivaldi, and “Jephte” by Carissimi. The latter contains an English paraphrase of the Latin text.
    Also treated are a cavatina from “Semiramide,” various arias from the opera “Turandot,” “St. Matthew’s Passion,” Liszt’s symphonic poems and transcendental etudes, Paderewski, Veracini, Paul Gerhardt, Gounod’s “Faust,” Moussorgsky, Borodin, operas inspired by Alexander Pushkin, etc.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLulu.com
    Release dateMay 21, 2018
    ISBN9781387826346
    A Look At Musical Treasures of Bygone Eras Third Edition

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      A Look At Musical Treasures of Bygone Eras Third Edition - Daniel Zimmermann

      A Look At Musical Treasures of Bygone Eras Third Edition

      A Look at Musical Treasures of Bygone Eras, Third Edition

      By Daniel Zimmermann

      An Analysis of the Relative Popularity of Haydn’s The Creation and Handel’s Messiah

      The Messiah by George Friedrich Handel is a household word and justly so. The overture is beautiful. The recitative is interesting. And who can resist the charm of the melodious words: And He shall feed His flock like a shepherd.

      But another enchanting oratorio has not fared as well in the public mind, at least in the United States. Franz Joseph Haydn is well known for his symphonic works. A large percentage of the general populace have a passing acquaintance with his musical humor, such as the thunderous note that he suddenly inserted into a quiet melody in order that he might awaken anyone in the audience who happened to fall asleep. But only avid music lovers are acquainted with his oratorio The Creation.

      Why has The Messiah fared better than The Creation in the popular mind? Both were inspired religious works into which the composer poured his heart and soul. But The Messiah treats the central theme of Christianity: the life and work of the Savior of the world. While The Creation also treats an epic theme that is important to Christianity, nothing is comparable to the saving work of Christ.

      Another factor deserves mention: language. While The Messiah is an English oratorio, The Creation was originally written in German. Its original title is Die Schöpfung. This may be the reason why this lovely oratorio is relatively unknown in the United States. It has, however, occasionally been presented in English.

      As the name implies, Haydn's Oratorio deals with the history of God's creative work. It begins with the opening verses of Genesis and reaches a climax with the words: Let there be light. The days of creation then follow one after another. The music becomes playful when animals appear on the scene. Then comes the creation of Adam and Eve. There follows an innocent love scene which is far better than anything you can see in the movies or on television. The oratorio concludes with a comment on the happiness of our first parents and their prospect of continued bliss if only they had not disobeyed the Lord.

      Five Nationalistic Russian Composers

      In the middle of the nineteenth century, Russia was dominated by a musical style imported from Western Europe. Anton Rubinstein, the founder of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, had spent much of his childhood in such cities as Paris, Berlin, and Vienna. As a pianist, he rivaled Liszt in virtuosity. On his return to Russia, he became an influential figure in the Russian musical scene.

      As a result of his extensive sojourns in Western Europe, his musical tastes resembled the current tendencies in France and Germany. This drew criticism from Russian nationalists who wanted to write music in a thoroughly Russian style.

      Vladimir Stasov was the unofficial spokesmen for the nationalistic group. When commenting on an 1867 concert that featured works by such composers as Glinka and Balakirev, he called the nationalist composers moguchaya kuchka, which means the mighty handful. He meant that these composers were few in number but had the courage to do great things.

      Some of these native composers met regularly for musical study and mutual encouragement. Mily Balakirev was the leader of the group. He was joined by Cesar Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Alexander Borodin, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

      Balakirev and Cui have not fared well in the hearts and minds of posterity. But some of their works are still performed today.

      The other three have achieved a more lasting fame. Borodin wrote very few compositions. He spent more time on chemistry than music. But such works as his opera Prince Igor and his second symphony are masterpieces.

      Mussorgsky died young, leaving many of his musical compositions unfinished. His genius combined with his incomplete music education give his works an unusual flavor that many critics admire. He wrote two operas based on Russian history. Boris Godunov tells about a Czar who ruled at the dawn of the seventeenth century. Khovantchina dramatizes a rebellion in the days of Peter the Great. Rimsky-Korsakov put the finishing touches on the latter opera since Mussorgsky failed to complete it before he died.

      Rimsky-Korsakov also wrote several operas of his own, including The Golden Cockerel and Sadko. Other popular works are Scheherazade and Russian Easter Overture.

      Nearly all of this material comes from things I read in the distant past and from listening to Minnesota Public Radio. The references below refreshed my memory on certain points.

      References

      World Book Encyclopedia

      Wikipedia: The Five

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Five

      Operas Inspired by Alexander Pushkin

      Alexander Pushkin was a Russian author who lived during the nineteenth century. He was born in Moscow in the year 1799. He was a gifted writer, and many of his works are considered masterpieces of Russian literature. Unfortunately, politics often interfered with his literary work, and his life was cut short when he was fatally wounded in a duel in the year 1837. Only the Lord knows how many more masterpieces he could have presented to the world if he had lived for a long time and had enjoyed a tranquil life conducive to literary pursuits.

      The literary works of Pushkin have inspired several different composers. In the following paragraphs, I shall treat some of the music that he inspired.

      The first literary work that comes to my mind is The Queen of Spades. While I have read quite a few of Pushkin's works in English, this is the only one that I managed to read in the original Russian.

      Inspired by this work, Tchaikovsky wrote an opera also called The Queen of Spades. It concerns a young man named Hermann who liked to watch other people gamble. However, he himself did not play cards until he thought that he had a sure thing. An elderly lady supposedly knew about three cards that were sure to win. Hermann tried to persuade her to tell him the secret, but his clumsy importunity was too much for her weak constitution, and she gave up the ghost. Subsequently, the lady appeared to him in a dream and told him that the three winning cards were three, seven, and ace. He scored significant success with the first two cards, but he lost everything when the queen of spades appeared instead of the expected ace. The queen of spades was reminiscent of the old lady who had fooled him.

      Tchaikovsky also composed an opera on a Pushkin poem entitled Eugene Onegin. Tatyana is in love with Eugene Onegin, but he shows no interest in her. After she marries someone else, he tries to seduce her. In spite of her feelings, she remains faithful to her husband.

      Glinka and another composer named Dargomyzhsky are generally credited with being the first composers to write music that was truly Russian in character. They both lived in the nineteenth century, and both were older contemporaries of Tchaikovsky. Both composers derived operatic material from the works of Pushkin.

      The Glinka opera inspired by Pushkin is Ruslan and Lyudmila. It has a beautiful overture that often serves as a concert piece. Its plot is a Russian fairy tale. Lyudmila is the daughter of Svetozar, the Grand Prince of Kiev. After Lyudmila pledges herself to Ruslan, a sorcerer named Chernomor orchestrates her abduction. In spite of the fact Svetozar has already given his blessing to Ruslan and Lyudmila, he now says that whoever rescues her can marry her. After many magical adventures, Ruslan recovers his bride.

      Dargomyzhsky wrote two operas that were inspired by Pushkin, including an influential one entitled The Stone Guest. Its plot concerns a libertine who is dragged down to hell by the statue of a man whom he has killed. You probably are acquainted with the story from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. However, Mozart did not base his opera on Pushkin's work. The source of Mozart's opera may have been a Spanish tale by Tirso de Molina.

      According to Wikipedia, the opera of Dargomyzhsky gives the material a more serious treatment than Mozart did. The libretto sticks very close to the drama of Pushkin.

      Modest Mussorgsky wrote on opera on a dramatic work of Pushkin entitled Boris Godunov. The tragedy is based on a true story. Boris Godunov served as tsar of Russia during one of the darkest hours in its long history. Tsar Fyodor had died without an heir, and Boris Godunov became his successor. After a troubled reign, he died from poison.

      A certain Dmitri would have become tsar if he had not died young. There was a rumor that Boris killed Dmitri, and Mussorgsky's opera centers on this supposed murder. Boris is troubled by Dmitri's ghost. He dies at the end of the opera, apparently as a result of a tormented conscience.

      Rimsky-Korsakov derived the plot of several operas from Pushkin's works. In The Golden Cockerel, an astrologer gives King Dodon a magic golden cockerel that will infallibly warn him whenever danger approaches his kingdom. In return, the king promises to give the astrologer anything for which he asks.

      King Dodon foolishly falls in love with his enemy, a beautiful queen. During the wedding festivities, the astrologer asks King Dodon to fulfill his promise by giving the queen to him. Instead of keeping the promise that he had made, King Dodon kills

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