August 11, 2014.A minor constellation.Several composers were born this week, none of them of the finest caliber but all talented and very much worth writing about.Heinrich Ignaz Biber, an Austrian-Bohemian composer, was born on August 12th, 1644 in Wartenberg, a small town in Bohemia which is now called Stráž pod Ralskem.Just to place Biber historically: he was seven years younger than Dieterich Buxtehude and nine years older than Arcangelo Corelli – and about 40 years older than J.S. Bach.Little is known about his childhood, but we do know that around 1668 he worked at the court of Prince Eggenberg in Graz, Austria, and two years later he was already in Kremsier, Moravia working for the Bishop of Olomouc.By then the 26 year-old Biber was already quite famous as a violin player.In 1670 Biber, without asking the Bishop’s permission, abruptly quit his employ and joined the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg.He stayed there for the rest of his life.Biber’s career flourished: he became the Kapellmeister in charge of all music making at the court of the Archbishop (100 years later the same court would employ the young Mozart), he was titled by the Emperor Leopold, and the Archbishop bestowed titles upon him.While in Salzburg, Biber wrote quite a bit of church music and even several operas, but the most famous works in his output is a collection of 16 pieces, 15 sonatas plus a Passacaglia for solo violin, known as either The Rosary Sonatas or the Mystery Sonatas; they were written around 1676.Here’s the first of the Sonatas, subtitled The Annunciation.It’s performed by Andrew Manze, violin and Richard Egarr, organ.Biber’s Passacaglia is probably the first significant piece ever written for the solo violin.You can listen to it here, performed by Reinhard Goebel.Biber’s music enjoyed great popularity, but soon after was overshadowed by Corelli’s.There has been a renaissance of it lately, though, especially after the commemoration of Biber’s death in 2004
The English composer Maurice Greene was born on the same day, August 12th, but in London in 1696.Greene became an organist at the St.-Paul Cathedral, a prestigious position, in 1718.Around this time he and George Frideric Handel became good friends.Unfortunately, sometime later they had a tremendous fallout and, to quote the English music historian Charles Burney, “for many years of his life, [Handel] never spoke of [Greene] without some injurious epithet.”This row with Handel led Greene into the famous “Bononcini affair.” The Italian composer Giovanni Bononcini, Handel’s rival, was accused of plagiarism (he tried to pass Antonio Lotti’s madrigal as his own), but it was Greene who brought the madrigal to the public’s attention, trying to prop up Bononcini at Handel’s expense.Bononcini had to leave London, while Greene was forced to quit the Academy of Ancient Music, which he co-founded some years earlier.Fortunately for Greene, this episode didn’t affect his social position: some years later he was appointed organist and composer of the Chapel Royal.Herer’s one of Greene’s most famous anthems, Lord, Let Me Know Mine End. It’s performed by the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral with Stephen Farr on the organ.
The French composer Jacques Ibert was born on August 15th of 1890.His father was a successful trader and his mother a good amateur pianist.Jacques started studying the violin at the age of four and later took piano lessons.In his youth he supported himself as an accompanist and a cinema pianist.He took several courses at the Paris Conservatory and also attended private classes with André Gedalge, a teacher and composer.There he met Arthur Honegger and Darius Milhaud, two young composers who would later, together with Poulenc, Auric, Durey and Tailleferre form a group called Les Six.Ibert never joined in as during those years he stayed mostly away from Paris: during the Great War he was a naval officer and then, returning to Paris, he won the Prix de Rome on the first attempt and went to Italy.Ibert was an eclectic composer who used different styles.One of his early successes was a very impressionistic Escales (Ports of Call), inspired by his years in the Navy.The ports are Rome, Palermo, the exotic Nefta in Tunis and Valencia.Here it is, with Charles Munch conducting the Boston Symphony.
Sorabji and Pierné, the antipodes, were also born this week but will have to wait till next year.
A minor constellation, August 2014
August 11, 2014. A minor constellation. Several composers were born this week, none of them of the finest caliber but all talented and very much worth writing about. Heinrich Ignaz Biber, an Austrian-Bohemian composer, was born on August 12th, 1644
in Wartenberg, a small town in Bohemia which is now called Stráž pod Ralskem. Just to place Biber historically: he was seven years younger than Dieterich Buxtehude and nine years older than Arcangelo Corelli – and about 40 years older than J.S. Bach. Little is known about his childhood, but we do know that around 1668 he worked at the court of Prince Eggenberg in Graz, Austria, and two years later he was already in Kremsier, Moravia working for the Bishop of Olomouc. By then the 26 year-old Biber was already quite famous as a violin player. In 1670 Biber, without asking the Bishop’s permission, abruptly quit his employ and joined the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg. He stayed there for the rest of his life. Biber’s career flourished: he became the Kapellmeister in charge of all music making at the court of the Archbishop (100 years later the same court would employ the young Mozart), he was titled by the Emperor Leopold, and the Archbishop bestowed titles upon him. While in Salzburg, Biber wrote quite a bit of church music and even several operas, but the most famous works in his output is a collection of 16 pieces, 15 sonatas plus a Passacaglia for solo violin, known as either The Rosary Sonatas or the Mystery Sonatas; they were written around 1676. Here’s the first of the Sonatas, subtitled The Annunciation. It’s performed by Andrew Manze, violin and Richard Egarr, organ. Biber’s Passacaglia is probably the first significant piece ever written for the solo violin. You can listen to it here, performed by Reinhard Goebel. Biber’s music enjoyed great popularity, but soon after was overshadowed by Corelli’s. There has been a renaissance of it lately, though, especially after the commemoration of Biber’s death in 2004
The English composer Maurice Greene was born on the same day, August 12th, but in London in 1696. Greene became an organist at the St.-Paul Cathedral, a prestigious position, in 1718. Around this time he and George Frideric Handel became good friends. Unfortunately, sometime later they had a tremendous fallout and, to quote the English music historian Charles Burney, “for many years of his life, [Handel] never spoke of [Greene] without some injurious epithet.” This row with Handel led Greene into the famous “Bononcini affair.” The Italian composer Giovanni Bononcini, Handel’s rival, was accused of plagiarism (he tried to pass Antonio Lotti’s madrigal as his own), but it was Greene who brought the madrigal to the public’s attention, trying to prop up Bononcini at Handel’s expense. Bononcini had to leave London, while Greene was forced to quit the Academy of Ancient Music, which he co-founded some years earlier. Fortunately for Greene, this episode didn’t affect his social position: some years later he was appointed organist and composer of the Chapel Royal. Herer’s one of Greene’s most famous anthems, Lord, Let Me Know Mine End. It’s performed by the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral with Stephen Farr on the organ.
The French composer Jacques Ibert was born on August 15th of 1890. His father was a successful trader and his mother a good amateur pianist. Jacques started studying the violin at the age of four and later took piano lessons. In his youth he supported himself as an accompanist and a cinema pianist. He took several courses at the Paris Conservatory and also attended private classes with André Gedalge, a teacher and composer. There he met Arthur Honegger and Darius Milhaud, two young composers who would later, together with Poulenc, Auric, Durey and Tailleferre form a group called Les Six. Ibert never joined in as during those years he stayed mostly away from Paris: during the Great War he was a naval officer and then, returning to Paris, he won the Prix de Rome on the first attempt and went to Italy. Ibert was an eclectic composer who used different styles. One of his early successes was a very impressionistic Escales (Ports of Call), inspired by his years in the Navy. The ports are Rome, Palermo, the exotic Nefta in Tunis and Valencia. Here it is, with Charles Munch conducting the Boston Symphony.
Sorabji and Pierné, the antipodes, were also born this week but will have to wait till next year.