Gabriel Fauré: Barcarolle No. 1 Op 26

Gabriel Fauré (1845 1924), a Twentieth Century French composer, organist and pianist, composed the Barcarolle No. 1 Opera 26 in 1880. I heard this piano piece beautifully performed by a British pianist, Charles Owen.

This piano piece begins mezzo-forte in a minor mode at a moderate tempo. The melody of the song can be heard in the higher pitches being played by the right hand. The left hand is playing lower arpeggio chords, where each note of the chord is being played separately. Although the song clearly begins in a triple compound meter, the free movement of the piano playing seems to break from the triple meter at certain points and return again. This aspect of breaking from the meter gives the music a very stylistic flowing and melodic sound.

The piano piece is in Tenary Form (A, B, A), because there is contrast and return. The theme is played in the beginning (A), and there are three sections (a b a’) “nested” within this first section of music, which seems to have the same style in pitch, rhythm, meter, and other stylistic qualities. After a strong cadence, the second section of the piece (B) begins, which also has nesting (c d c’). The piano seems to build up to a forte, or loud, dynamic as the notes are played quickly across the piano. The higher notes are then played on each beat to emphasize the rhythm. At the same time, the lower chords are played arpeggio, with each note being played on each beat. The left hand is also playing the same intervals between pitches as is being played in the right hand. The emphasis of the beat and same intervals pronounce the meter of the music. This section of the music ends with a fast sequence of high pitched notes, which leaves the music un-resolved.

After a cadence, the “A” section returns with a b a’ nesting. The theme is repeated just as it was played in the beginning. Now, the music gradually modulates to a major key. It ends with a beautiful sequence of notes being repeatedly played up and down on the piano. The music finally ends with a single chord. Charles Owen surely did justice to Fauré’s beautiful composition.

Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto for Guitar and Viola in D Minor

The piece of music that I had the pleasure of listening to today was Antonio Vivaldi’s (1678-1741), a Baroque composer, Concerto for Guitar and Viola d’amore in D Minor. This piece featured the Philharmonia Virtuoisi of New York, conducted by Richard Kapp, with Peter Press playing the mandolin and Louise Schulman on the viola. The concerto begins with the harpsichord and the violas playing the main theme of the song. It is evident that they were playing in a minor mode in a duple meter 4/4 time signature. While the harpsichord is playing chords to each beat in the music, the violas play more decorative sequences in higher pitches. The texture is homophonic, because the violas have a distinct melody playing on top of the underlying chords of the harpsichord. A weak cadence comes, and the next part of the concerto begins.

It is interesting to note that the form of the concerto is obvious to hear. First, the theme is played by the harpsichord and violas, then comes a viola solo or viola duet eventually joined by the mandolin, and finally followed with the violas and mandolin playing together. This form is followed religiously throughout the entirety of the song.

The duet of the violas exhibits counterpoint, as one melody does not overpower the other, but each melodies are heard equally and the pitches intertwine. Next, the mandolin enters, picking notes within the D Minor chromatic scale that has been prevalent throughout the piece. As stated above, the theme repeats again, followed by a viola solo, then mandolin, and ended with a mandolin and viola polyphony. The polyphony is heavily imitative. The viola plays one sequence of notes, and the mandolin follows by repeating the same pitches and rhythm that the viola just played. This repetition of sounds and rhythm occurs several times between the two instruments, highlighting the beautiful tonal qualities of each instrument.

A strong cadence comes, and the viola and mandolin plays a legato, or, long and flowing sequence of pitches that blend well together, switching back and forth between major and minor modes. The theme is repeated once again followed by the same repetition of form. The piece ends with the theme as the harpsichord and violas play one last minor chord to finish the piece. The song ends with a forte dynamic, just as it started and continued consistently throughout the piece. This Concerto of Vivaldi is surely a beautiful example of Baroque music.

The Bacchanale from "Samson and Delilah" Op. 47

This week I had the opportunity to listen to the Minnesota Orchestra perform a lively and illustrative piece of music from the grand opera, Samson and Delilah, composed by Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921), the French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire. This opera was first performed in 1877, having three acts and four scenes. The particular part of the opera that I listened to is called the Bacchanale, which is a “dramatic musical composition” that usually occurs during a scene of great action, chaos and uproar. To better understand the description of the music that I will depict here in writing, it may be helpful to read a summary of this scene first.

Act 3, Scene 2: In the Temple of Dagon

A musical interlude is played as the scene changes to the temple of Dagon, where the Philistines are preparing a sacrifice to commemorate their victory. The priests and priestesses of Dagon sing softly, reprising the song to spring from Act One. The music turns savage as the priests dance a wild Bacchanale. Following the dance, Samson enters led by a boy. He is ridiculed by the High Priest and the crowd. Delilah taunts Samson further by recounting to him the details of her devious plot in a variant of her love song. When the priests try to force him to kneel before Dagon, he asks the boy to lead him to the two main pillars of the temple. Samson prays to God to restore his strength, and pulls down the pillars and the temple with them, crushing himself and his enemies. The curtain falls.

The scene begins with one wind instrument, most likely a bassoon, playing a series of notes that have no distinct melody, but go progressively up and down the diatonic scale using both half and whole note intervals. At the same time, there is an underlying deep pitch provided by another wind instrument, portraying the scene as ominous. There is a cadence in the music, directly followed by a long crescendo of string and wind instruments, playing higher pitches as the dynamic grows louder. The lightness and swiftness of the notes being played along with the increased tempo depicts the priests and priestesses of Dagon singing. Once the bacchanale begins, the instruments are found playing in a minor key on the diatonic scale. As the scene becomes much more ominous, there is a great crescendo of all of the instruments, especially the percussion instruments, which add a decisively rhythmic and booming effect to the scene.

At this point in the music, a theme is introduced that will be repeated several times before the scene ends. Once the whole orchestra finishes the theme, the dynamic changes to a mezzo-forte while a wind instrument plays a distinct series of pitches going up and down a modal scale. This, along with the deep tones of the percussion instruments playing in the background, give the music a Middle-Eastern and serious sound. The theme is repeated, and now instruments with lower ranges begin playing quickly up and down a diatonic scale as the wind instruments continue to play a series of higher pitches.

The scene changes once again and the string instruments begin to play a beautiful waltz in a triple meter adagio, or, slowly and expressively. The wind instruments are playing in the background, giving accents to the off-beats of the music. This technique pronounces the beat and triple meter as well as the waltz itself. The strings change dynamics very frequently from forte to piano, pulling back and then pushing forward, which also gives accents to the beats of the music. This waltz section ends with a modulation of key, leaving the music on an anticipatory note.

Finally, the horns and trombone begin playing the theme once again in a simple duple meter, crescendoing up to a fortissimo. The theme in a minor key is repeated several times, while the music modulates up and down frequently, making the scene sound chaotic and intense. The percussion instruments gradually crescendo, while each instrument builds on top of the next. The music reaches its loudest point and ultimately resolves on a major chord, which counters the sound of the minor key that was previously being played. Samson’s prayer to God and his destruction of the pagan temple is portrayed very well through the Bacchanale. This beautiful opera of Camille Saint-Saens depicts an intriguing story by means of music.

Overture No. 6 in D Minor - William Boyce

Today I had the pleasure of listening to Adrian Shepherd conduct William Boyce’s Overture No. 6 in D Minor. The composer, William Boyce, lived and composed music in the Eighteenth Century. This overture is about eight and a half minutes in length, and is divided into three movements, the first being fast, allegro, the second slow, andante, and the last also fast.

The entire piece of music has a specifically Baroque feel caused by the instruments used and the way in which they are played. The first movement begins at a fast-paced tempo with a forte, or loud, dynamic, the meter being simple, duple meter. The dominating instrumental group is clearly the strings, and particularly the high, soaring sounds of the violin. The rhythm of the stringed instruments keeps the music in constant motion. The rhythm is emphasized by the way in which the notes are played repetitively in quick motions on the violin, which greatly pronounces the beat of the music. The violins have an intertwining effect, similar to that of polyphony, by the way in which different violins enter the musical phrase at different moments and play different but complementary notes. The climax is reached when a cello plays up and down a certain scale of notes several times as the violins play in a similar and repetitive way only in a higher octave. A cadence comes in the first movement, and the second, slower movement begins.

The second movement is defined by the introduction of the harpsichord, and wind instruments, as well as brass horns and violins. The dynamic is a consistent mezzo forte, medium loud, for the entire movement, but unlike the first movement, this movement is in a triple compound meter. This movement has a Baroque-like, royal sound mostly given by the harpsichord. Furthermore, this second movement has a repetitive theme that is played by one instrument, then followed by all other instruments playing the exact same theme, one coming after the next. Often, the horn will play a sequence, and the other instruments will sound as if they are responding to the horn. The light, airy feeling of the wind instruments gives this movement a more buoyant feeling than the previous movement. Another cadence ends the second movement.

The third movement, though also in a triple compound meter, is much faster than the second movement, and has a somewhat more serious sound because of the minor key that it is played in. The strings, harpsichord and brass instruments are most prominent. Also, the rhythm is pronounced just as is found in the first movement. The strings are not playing long, legato, sequences, but are mostly playing short, somewhat staccato notes that give each phrase of music constant motion. Each phrase is repeated several times and finally ends with a sudden minor chord which ends the entire piece of music.

Although each movement differs in dynamic, meter, and instrumental technique, they each gave a necessary contribution to make the Overture a complete piece of music which is exemplary of the 18th Century Baroque style.