Part 1

Hark! The Echoing Air Die Betrogene Welt

Henry Purcell Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Henry Purcell was an English composer of the middle Baroque Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on Jan. 27, 1756, in Salzburg.
period, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic His father, Leopold Mozart, a noted composer and pedagogue and
opera, Dido and Aeneas; and his incidental music to a version of the author of a famous treatise on violin playing, was then in the
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream called The Fairy service of the archbishop of Salzburg. Together with his sister,
Queen. Purcell, the most important English composer of his time, Nannerl, Wolfgang received such intensive musical training that by
composed music covering a wide field: the church, the stage, the the age of 6 he was a budding composer and an accomplished
court, and private entertainment. In all these branches of composition keyboard performer. In 1762 Leopold presented his son as performer
he showed an obvious admiration for the past combined with a at the imperial court in Vienna, and from 1763 to 1766 he escorted
willingness to learn from the present, particularly from his both children on a continuous musical tour across Europe, which
contemporaries in Italy. With alertness of mind went an individual included long stays in Paris and London as well as visits to many
inventiveness that marked him as the most original English composer other cities, with appearances before the French and English royal
of his time as well as one of the most original in Europe. families. Mozart was the most celebrated child prodigy of this time
as a keyboard performer and made a great impression, too, as
“Hark! The echoing air” is heard in the final act of The Fairy Queen, composer and improviser. In London he won the admiration of such
creating a fanfare to celebrate marriage. The original voice and piano eminent musicians as Johann Christian Bach, and he was exposed
accompaniment mimic each other in a childlike manner, reflecting from an early age to an unusual variety of musical styles and tastes
the dancing of the cherubs in the libretto. The binary form allows us across the Continent. Mozart was a prolific and influential composer
to form two phrases from this piece, first celebrating the “triumph”, of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of
which comes with the marriage at the end of the opera, and then composition resulted in more than 800 works of virtually every genre
breaking into a dance, as “cupids clap their wings'', portraying the of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as
image of cupids skipping around, with the long melismas being pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and
broken up by the repeated rhythmic “clap”. “Hark! The echoing air” choral repertoire. Mozart is among the greatest composers in the
flippantly portrays a childlike perspective of devotion that comes history of Western music, with music admired for its "melodic
with the marriage of youth. beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture".
Die Betrogene Welt (KV 474, 1785) is one of Mozart’s Masonic career as well. His first published work was in fact a song, Nuit
works and is part of his Masonic album. The song offers Mozart the d'étoiles (Starry Night), written to the text of a poem by Théodore de
possibility of composing a sharply theatrical and comically-sarcastic Banville, a French poet and writer of the 19th century. Debussy
characterization of situations and of people. “Der reiche Tor” (“The wrote the song in 1880 when he was 18 years old. The song is a very
Rich fool”) appears in a showy ascending scale and the magnetic good representation of Debussy's early works as well as how nature
attraction of his wealth to Selimena is almost tangible in the and literature inspired the young composer. The original poem has 4
following extended phrases. The “wackre Mann” (“duped man”) is stanzas, but Debussy chose to omit the third one. The piano
accomplished by a well-behaved regular cadential sequence, while accompaniment imitates the lyre mentioned in the first stanza while
on the other hand the “Stutzer” (“dandy”) is characterized by the voice tells the story of lost love.
affectedly chromatic ornamentation. The following magnificent
wedding celebration consists of murmuring trills and slurred notes in Poema En Forma De Campoamor
the accompaniment, ending in accented unisons. After a pause, the
Joaquin Turina
inevitable repentance limps behind, with pitiful sighs and dark
minor-chord repetitions. Finally, the music is suspended over a
Joaquin Turina was born in Seville in 1882, he was the son of the
connecting cadence, parodying bel canto, into the cynically-happy
painter of Italian extraction of the same name. In 1905 he traveled to
refrain: “The world wishes to be deceived, so it will be deceived.”
Paris, where he studied piano with Moritz Moszkowski and
This farewell celebration can be clearly heard.
composition at the Schola Cantorum de Vincent d'Indy. In Paris he
met Albéniz, Dukas, Ángel Barrios and Manuel de Falla. He
performed as a pianist and enjoyed great national and international
Nuit D'etoiles successes as a composer. Turina worked in various genres: from
Claude Debussy orchestral music and chamber music to compositions for solo piano.
His musical language features the abundant harmonies and modal
Claude Debussy was born into a poor family in France in 1862, but scales typical of Andalusian folklore, as well as a certain influence
his obvious gift at the piano sent him to the Paris Conservatory at age from French music. He died in Madrid in January 1949.
11. At age 22, he won the Prix de Rome, which financed two years of
further musical study in the Italian capital. After the turn of the Nunca Olvida: Poema en forma de canciones is a look into the mind
century, Debussy established himself as the leading figure of French of a man who is so enamored with a certain woman that he literally
music. During World War I, while Paris was being bombed by the goes crazy for her. This woman returns his love, but not necessarily
German air force, he succumbed to colon cancer at the age of 55. on the intense emotional level that he desires. He claims that even in
the face of his own death, he cannot forgive her for making him love
Debussy is most well known for his works written for piano solos. her because that is the one sin for which he refuses to repent.
But he wrote around 55 songs for voice and piano throughout his
Cantares: Our hopelessly smitten gentleman engages in a dance with
his fair lady. She leads him on and drives him wild with desire in a Kundiman "Anak ng Dalita" (Cancion Filipina)
dance of passion that he cannot forget even when they are apart. This Francisco Santiago
canción is a direct representation of a flamenco dance.
Francisco Santiago was born on January 29, 1889. Although his
family was poor, he persevered in continuing his studies in music. A
Guitare gifted pianist and composer, Santiago became well known for
Georges Bizet turning the kundiman into an art song.

Georges Bizet, original name Alexandre-César-Léopold Bizet, (born The composer Francisco Santiago (1889-1947) is sometimes called
October 25, 1838, Paris, France—died June 3, 1875, Bougival, near the “Father of Kundiman Art Song.” While his masterpiece is
Paris), French composer best remembered for his opera Carmen considered to be his Concerto in B flat minor for piano and orchestra,
(1875). His realistic approach influenced the verismo school of opera one of his most significant pieces is his song “Kundiman,
at the end of the 19th century. Bizet’s father was a singing teacher (Anak-Dalita)”, the first Kundiman art song. The poem by
and his mother a gifted amateur pianist, and his musical talents Deogracias A. Rosario (1894-1936) is a serenade of one beckoning a
declared themselves so early and so unmistakably that he was love interest to come to the window to accept one’s pleas of love.
admitted to the Paris Conservatoire before he had completed his 10th Given the cross-fertilization of Spanish and Filipino cultures in the
year. There, his teachers included the accomplished composers 19th century, Kundiman art songs were typically a blend of melodic
Charles Gounod and Fromental Halévy, and he quickly won a material from native folksong and European music traditions. The
succession of prizes, culminating in the Prix de Rome, awarded for result is a song characterized by smooth flowing lines and beautiful
his cantata Clovis et Clotilde in 1857. This prize carried with it a melodies. The piano accompaniments are typically full in texture,
five-year state pension, two years of which musicians were bound to sometimes containing countermelodies, sometimes merely
spend at the French Academy in Rome. harmonizing with the vocal line in thirds and sixths.

Guitare is a question-and-answer song ostensibly between men and

women, with the men asking how to escape the pursuing law (the
alguazils, or the Spanish/Portuguese police), how to forget misery, Io Te Penso Amore
and how to win love without enchantments. ‘Row’, ‘Sleep’ and Niccolo Paganini
‘Love’ (‘Ramez’, ‘Dormez’ and ‘Aimez’) are the pithy answers, set Lyrics by David Garett for the movie “The Devil’s Violin”
to octave leaps upward.
Niccolo Paganini was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the The Telephone, or L'Amour à trois is an English-language comic
most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti, both words and music. It
of the pillars of modern violin technique. His compositions also was written for production by the Ballet Society and was first
served as an inspiration for many prominent composers. presented on a double bill with Menotti's The Medium at the
Heckscher Theater, New York City, February 18-20, 1947. The
Io Te Penso Amore is an aria song composed based off of music by Broadway production took place on May 1, 1947, at the Ethel
Niccolò Paganini, and originally performed by David Garrett and Barrymore Theatre. The Metropolitan Opera presented it once, on
Nicole Scherzinger. It first appeared as the fourth track in the album July 31, 1965.
Garrett Vs Paganini. The Devil's Violinist is a 2013 film based on the
life story of the 19th-century Italian violinist and composer Niccolò Synopsis:
Paganini. The film had its USA premiere on 10 March 2014 at the Ben, bearing a gift, comes to visit Lucy at her apartment; he wants to
Miami International Film Festival. propose to her before he leaves on a trip. Despite his attempts to get
her attention for sufficient time to ask his question, Lucy is occupied
with interminable conversations on the telephone. Between her calls,
when Lucy leaves the room, Ben even tries to cut the telephone cord
- unsuccessfully. Not wanting to miss his train, Ben leaves without
asking Lucy for her hand in marriage. But Ben makes one last
Part 2 attempt: He calls Lucy from a telephone booth outside on the street
and makes his proposal. She consents, and the two join in a romantic
duet over the phone line, at the end of which Lucy makes sure that
The Telephone Ben remembers her phone number.
Gian Carlo Menotti

Gian Carlo Menotti, (born July 7, 1911, Cadegliano, Italy—died Feb.

1, 2007, Monaco), Italian composer, whose operas gained wider
popularity than any others of their time. His realistic operas on his
own librettos represent a successful combination of 20th-century
dramatic situations with the traditional form of Italian opera. Menotti
used largely traditional harmonies, resorting at times to dissonance
and polytonality to heighten dramatic effect.