March 4, 2013.Vivaldi, Ravel, Gesualdo.Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice on March 4, 1678.One of the greatest and most influential of theBaroque composers, these days he’s mostly known for the ubiquitous set of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons.The prolific Vivaldi, who was also a virtuoso violinist, did write a large number of concertos (by some counts more than 500) for different instruments, most for violin, but also for cello, viola d’amore, and the winds, oboe, flute, recorder, and other.But Vivaldi also wrote around 50 operas, which in his days were very popular.In the 18th century, Vivaldi’s influence spread all over Italy, France, and Germany (Bach transcribed many of his concertos) but soon after his death in 1741 his popularity started waning.Many of his manuscripts were lost, and by the end of the 19th century his music was rarely performed.It’s interesting that Italian fascism was one of the reasons for the rediscovery of Vivaldi:the search for “national roots” in the 1920s and ‘30s led the composer Alferdo Casella, and also Ezra Pound and his mistress Olga Rudge to his music.In 1939 Casella organized a “Vivaldi Week,” which became a milestone; Vivaldi’s music has remained popular ever since.
For many years Vivaldi worked as an impresario, staging his own operas and also those by his fellow Venetians, for example Albinoni and Galuppi.In the second half of the 20th century Vivaldi’s operas also saw a revival, even if not to the same degree as his orchestral music.Here’s an aria from Farnace, at one time one of his most popular operas, which was premiered in 1727 at the Teatro Sant'Angelo.The young French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky is in the title role.Ensemble Matheus is conducted by it’s founder Jean-Christophe Spinosi.And here is the first aria from Vivaldi motet Nulla in mundo pax sincera.The soprano is Magda Kalmár, with Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Sándor Frigyes conducting.
The ever-popular Maurice Ravel was born on March 7, 1875.Here’s La vallée des cloches ("The Valley of Bells") from his piano suite Miroirs (Reflections).The suite was written between 1904 and 1905 and dedicated to Les Apaches, a group of French artists and musicians.Ravel was one of them, as was the pianist who premiered Miroirs, Ravel’s good friend Ricardo Viñes.You’ll hear it in the performance by the Israeli-born pianist Ruti Abramovitch.
Carlo Gesualdo, the prince of Venosa and Count of Conza, was one of the most unusual composers in the history of music.It’s hard to beat the description given to him by Wikipedia: “an Italian nobleman, lutenist, composer, and murderer.”Gesualdo was born on March 8, 1566 in Venosa, in what is now the southern province of Basilicata, then part of the Kingdom on Naples.In 1586 he married his first cousin, Maria d’Avalos, who was several years older than Carlo and already twice-widowed.Two years later Maria began an affair with Fabrizio Carafa, the Duke of Andria.On October 16, 1590, at the Palazzo San Severo in Naples, Gesualdo caught his wife and the duke in flagrante and stabbed both of them to death.That being a crime of passion, Gesualdo was not prosecuted, even though the story was widely reported.The famous poet Torquato Tasso, Gesualdo’s friend until the murder, wrote several sonnets eulogizing the lovers.This episode didn’t prevent Gesualdo from marrying Leonora d'Este, a niece of Duke of Ferrara, in 1596.Gesualdo composed five books of madrigals, music for the Passion, and some instrumental pieces.His music was highly unorthodox, expressive and chromatic to an unusual extent.Even today its modulations prick up listeners’ ears.You can hear it in his setting of O Vos Omnes, performed by the Cambridge Singers, John Rutter conducting (here) or in the madrigal Moro, lasso, al mio duolo(I die, alas, in my suffering) performed by the Deller consort (here).
We mourn the passing of Van Cliburn, who died on February 27 of bone cancer.We’ll dedicate the next entry to this phenomenal pianist.
Vivaldi, Ravel, Gesualdo 2013
March 4, 2013. Vivaldi, Ravel, Gesualdo. Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice on March 4, 1678. One of the greatest and most influential of the Baroque composers, these days he’s mostly known for the ubiquitous set of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons. The prolific Vivaldi, who was also a virtuoso violinist, did write a large number of concertos (by
some counts more than 500) for different instruments, most for violin, but also for cello, viola d’amore, and the winds, oboe, flute, recorder, and other. But Vivaldi also wrote around 50 operas, which in his days were very popular. In the 18th century, Vivaldi’s influence spread all over Italy, France, and Germany (Bach transcribed many of his concertos) but soon after his death in 1741 his popularity started waning. Many of his manuscripts were lost, and by the end of the 19th century his music was rarely performed. It’s interesting that Italian fascism was one of the reasons for the rediscovery of Vivaldi: the search for “national roots” in the 1920s and ‘30s led the composer Alferdo Casella, and also Ezra Pound and his mistress Olga Rudge to his music. In 1939 Casella organized a “Vivaldi Week,” which became a milestone; Vivaldi’s music has remained popular ever since.
For many years Vivaldi worked as an impresario, staging his own operas and also those by his fellow Venetians, for example Albinoni and Galuppi. In the second half of the 20th century Vivaldi’s operas also saw a revival, even if not to the same degree as his orchestral music. Here’s an aria from Farnace, at one time one of his most popular operas, which was premiered in 1727 at the Teatro Sant'Angelo. The young French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky is in the title role. Ensemble Matheus is conducted by it’s founder Jean-Christophe Spinosi. And here is the first aria from Vivaldi motet Nulla in mundo pax sincera. The soprano is Magda Kalmár, with Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Sándor Frigyes conducting.
The ever-popular Maurice Ravel was born on March 7, 1875. Here’s La vallée des cloches ("The Valley of Bells") from his piano suite Miroirs (Reflections). The suite was written between 1904 and 1905 and dedicated to Les Apaches, a group of French artists and musicians. Ravel was one of them, as was the pianist who premiered Miroirs, Ravel’s good friend Ricardo Viñes. You’ll hear it in the performance by the Israeli-born pianist Ruti Abramovitch.
Carlo Gesualdo, the prince of Venosa and Count of Conza, was one of the most unusual composers in the history of music. It’s hard to beat the description given to him by Wikipedia: “an Italian nobleman, lutenist, composer, and murderer.” Gesualdo was born on March 8, 1566 in Venosa, in what is now the southern province of Basilicata, then part of the Kingdom on Naples. In 1586 he married his first cousin, Maria d’Avalos, who was several years older than Carlo and already twice-widowed. Two years later Maria began an affair with Fabrizio Carafa, the Duke of Andria. On October 16, 1590, at the Palazzo San Severo in Naples, Gesualdo caught his wife and the duke in flagrante and stabbed both of them to death. That being a crime of passion, Gesualdo was not prosecuted, even though the story was widely reported. The famous poet Torquato Tasso, Gesualdo’s friend until the murder, wrote several sonnets eulogizing the lovers. This episode didn’t prevent Gesualdo from marrying Leonora d'Este, a niece of Duke of Ferrara, in 1596. Gesualdo composed five books of madrigals, music for the Passion, and some instrumental pieces. His music was highly unorthodox, expressive and chromatic to an unusual extent. Even today its modulations prick up listeners’ ears. You can hear it in his setting of O Vos Omnes, performed by the Cambridge Singers, John Rutter conducting (here) or in the madrigal Moro, lasso, al mio duolo (I die, alas, in my suffering) performed by the Deller consort (here).
We mourn the passing of Van Cliburn, who died on February 27 of bone cancer. We’ll dedicate the next entry to this phenomenal pianist.