December 3, 2012.Padre Antonio Soler and more.Antonio Soler was born around December 3, 1729 (we know that he was baptized that day) in Olot, a small town in Catalonia.When he was six, he entered the choir school for boys at the ancient Montserrat Monastery.When he was 15, he was appointed the organist at the Cathedral of La Seu d'Urgell in the Catalan Pyrenees.He was ordained at the age of 23 – by then he was already employed at the Royal Court in El Escorial.Soler wrote 150 keyboard sonatas (and many more works as well).It is not known whether he studied with Domenico Scarlatti, who lived in Madrid from 1733 to his death in 1757, but it seems that the influence of the older master’s music is strong: listen, for example, to Sonata in D Major (it’s performed by the Ukrainian pianist Elena Ulyanova).Though he served the King and lived many years in the Royal residence, no known portraits of Padre Antonio Soler exist.The picture above depicts El Escorial where Soler spent more than half of his life.
Also this week: the great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius was born on December 8, 1865 in the south of Finland, then part of the Russian Duchy, into a Swedish-speaking family.Sibelius, born Johan, started using the French-sounding name Jean while he was a law student at the Imperial Alexander University.He was much more interested in music than law, so he quit the University and entered the Helsinki Music School.He went on to study in Berlin and Vienna.Sibelius, who wrote during the period of flourishing experimentation in classical music, may sound rather conservative to the modern ear.Still, his seven symphonies are masterly, his Violin concerto is one of the most popular, and so are his symphonic poems Finlandia and the Karelia suite.Sibelius wrote his First Symphony when he was 35, and composed very intensely for the following quarter century.Then, around 1926, he stopped and didn’t write a single work in the last 30 years of his life.He died on September 20, 1957 at the age of 92.Here’s the rousing Intermezzo, from the Karelia Suite Op. 11.It’s performed by the Oslo Philharmonic, Mariss Jansons conducting (courtesy of YouTube).
And finally, a performance note.The Lyric Opera of Chicago just started a run of Donizetti’s Don Paquale.The role of the Don is sung by the bass-baritone Ildebrando D'Arcangelo whose voice has an enormous range.In 1708 George Frederic Handel composed a “dramatic cantata” Aci, Galatea e Polifemo.Among the cast of characters is a Cyclops named Polifemo.One of his arias, Fra l'ombre e gl'orrori has a range of almost three octaves!One wonders who was the Neapolitan singer that Handel had in mind for the role.You can listen to the amazing performance by Ildebrando D'Arcangelo here (courtesy of YouTube).
Antonio Soler 2012
December 3, 2012. Padre Antonio Soler and more. Antonio Soler was born around December 3, 1729 (we know that he was baptized that day) in Olot, a small town in Catalonia. When he was six, he entered the choir school for boys at the ancient
Montserrat Monastery. When he was 15, he was appointed the organist at the Cathedral of La Seu d'Urgell in the Catalan Pyrenees. He was ordained at the age of 23 – by then he was already employed at the Royal Court in El Escorial. Soler wrote 150 keyboard sonatas (and many more works as well). It is not known whether he studied with Domenico Scarlatti, who lived in Madrid from 1733 to his death in 1757, but it seems that the influence of the older master’s music is strong: listen, for example, to Sonata in D Major (it’s performed by the Ukrainian pianist Elena Ulyanova). Though he served the King and lived many years in the Royal residence, no known portraits of Padre Antonio Soler exist. The picture above depicts El Escorial where Soler spent more than half of his life.
Also this week: the great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius was born on December 8, 1865 in the south of Finland, then part of the Russian Duchy, into a Swedish-speaking family. Sibelius, born Johan, started using the French-sounding name Jean while he was a law student at the Imperial Alexander University. He was much more interested in music than law, so he quit the University and entered the Helsinki Music School. He went on to study in Berlin and Vienna. Sibelius, who wrote during the period of flourishing experimentation in classical music, may sound rather conservative to the modern ear. Still, his seven symphonies are masterly, his Violin concerto is one of the most popular, and so are his symphonic poems Finlandia and the Karelia suite. Sibelius wrote his First Symphony when he was 35, and composed very intensely for the following quarter century. Then, around 1926, he stopped and didn’t write a single work in the last 30 years of his life. He died on September 20, 1957 at the age of 92. Here’s the rousing Intermezzo, from the Karelia Suite Op. 11. It’s performed by the Oslo Philharmonic, Mariss Jansons conducting (courtesy of YouTube).
And finally, a performance note. The Lyric Opera of Chicago just started a run of Donizetti’s Don Paquale. The role of the Don is sung by the bass-baritone Ildebrando D'Arcangelo whose voice has an enormous range. In 1708 George Frederic Handel composed a “dramatic cantata” Aci, Galatea e Polifemo. Among the cast of characters is a Cyclops named Polifemo. One of his arias, Fra l'ombre e gl'orrori has a range of almost three octaves! One wonders who was the Neapolitan singer that Handel had in mind for the role. You can listen to the amazing performance by Ildebrando D'Arcangelo here (courtesy of YouTube).