This week we will be listening to music from Norway.  The first link is to music played on a Hardanger Fiddle, which is a type of string instrument similar to a violin.  See if you can find the rhythmic pulse and then determine what time signature would fit the rhythm.

The second link is to music by Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), a Norwegian Romantic era composer who wrote many beautiful pieces for piano and other instruments as well.  For inspiration he drew on the folk music of Norway and also the mythical stories.  One of the more well-known suites is called The Peer Gynt Suite which features the famous In the Hall of the Mountain King.  The piece posted here is called Wedding Day at Troldhagen, and was written as a gift to his wife on their 19th wedding anniversary. As you listen to it during the week try following along with the music and imagine yourself playing this wonderful piece some day!

Our final destination this summer is to Australia, land of kangaroos, koalas and didgeridoos, a musical instrument considered by some to be one of the oldest in the world.  A didgeridoo is often carved out of eucalyptus and is a long tube with a mouthpiece that where the player blows air into the tube.  There are no holes for changing pitches but skillful players use breathing techniques to produce different tonal colors and even to play two pitches simultaneously using harmonics.  Traditionally these instruments were only played by the Aboriginal people who lived in the northern part of Australia, but the didgeridoos have now been incorporated into many musical styles such as rock and roll, county, rap and reggae.  In this video you will hear a master player explain how he creates the sounds on this instrument.  Like everything else, he says it takes practice!

The next post is of the music of Arthur Benjamin, an Australian composer, pianist and teacher who lived from 1893-1960.  I found this Scherzino delightful but you might also want to look for another piece for which he is well-known called the Jamaican Rumba.  In the Scherzino, notice the distinctive rhythm of the bass clef part which continues throughout the entire piece except right at the end.  Notice the use of chromaticism and the wide range of dynamics.  What is the form of this piece?  What mood is created and what descriptive title would you give it?

This week we will be traveling to France, a country especially appreciated for its contributions to the world of food but we will also see how much it has contributed to the world of music.  The first post is of a traditional singing style from a region in France called Gascogne which is near the southern border of Spain.

The next post is another example of the folk music of France, this time from the region of Auvergne which is in the south central part of France.  You will hear Didier Pauvert playing an instrument called the Cabrette, (little goat) which is similar to a bagpipe.

The final post is of a very famous French composer, Claude Debussy (1862-1918).  He has written some of the most beautiful piano music, creating layers of sound, impressions, similar to what the visual artists were creating on canvas.  What is the form of this piece?  Does it begin in a major or minor tonality?  Does that change during the piece?  Listen for the voicing which this pianist brings out so beautifully.

This week our musical adventure takes us to South Africa with the music of the Zulu people in particular.  The Zulu are a South African ethnic group which has a distinctive style of singing and harmony.  Their music was first brought to the United States in the 1950’s with folk singers such as Pete Seeger, and later Paul Simon, incorporating some of its style into their music.  This style was picked up by other artists and eventually morphed into the very popular piece, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, from The Lion King.  As you listen to this example see if you can make any musical connections between it and The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

The next post is music from the South African composer, Hendrik Hofmeyr.  He was born in Cape Town in 1957 and has won numerous prizes in composition including first place in the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition of Belgium in 1997.  He is currently head of the composition and theory department at South African college of music at the University of Cape Town.  The first half of this piece is rather somber using large columns of sound building in intensity until about midway through it breaks into the fugue section which is very rhythmic and fast.

This week we are traveling to China and the first post will be of an ensemble of string instruments and one dulcimer.  There is a brief introduction given by one of the directors from the Metropolitan Museum of Art where this concert took place, and then one of the members of the ensemble will talk about the various instruments that will be played.

The next post is music written by Bright Sheng, who is a Chinese-American composer, pianist and conductor.   He was born in Shanghai in 1955 and has received many awards including the MacArthur Fellowship and was recently the composer-in-residence with the SF symphony.

This week’s musical adventure takes us to India.  The first link is to ethnic Indian music played by second generation Shankar musician Anoushka Shankar, daughter of Ravi Shankar.  Notice how the different instruments take turns with a “solo” similar to the way jazz combos interact.  The second link is to a composition written by Shirish Korde, a composer who writes in the style of Western Classical music who was born in Uganda to Indian parents.  Enjoy!

 

Here are two different genres of Irish music.  The first is a living celtic harpist by the name of Cormac de Barra who is playing traditional Irish music.  I was able to hear him play in a live concert which I stumbled upon quite by accident when he was performing at the Harps Etc. store in WC.

The second selection is a composition written by John Field who was born in Dublin in 1782.  He is credited with creating the style/form of music which became known as the Nocturne or night piece.  Chopin and others developed this style further and Chopin’s Nocturnes are especially rich both in harmony and melody development.

Here are some elements to listen for and identify this week:

Tempo- How fast or slow is the piece? Does it change tempo? How does tempo affect the mood or character of the piece?

Dynamics- How does the piece begin dynamically speaking? Are the many dynamic changes or is it more uniform?

Texture- Does the piece have a clear melody accompanied by harmony?  Does it have multiple layers of sound (polyphonic) or is it a simpler texture? (monophonic)

Tonality- Is the piece in a major or minor tonality?  Does it change?  Does it end in the tonality in which it began?

Listening- Try listening to a different voice throughout the entire piece; for example, listen for the bass line of the music rather than just the melody, or try following an inner voice.

Story telling- Think of a story that would fit the music

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week you will be listening to two pieces written by Johannes Brahms.  Brahms was a German composer who lived from 1833-1897.  He was a good friend of Robert and Clara Schumann with Clara helping to promote his music by performing it in her concerts.

The first piece, the Ballade in g minor, has two contrasting characters, the first being fiery and jagged and the second a beautiful cantabile duet calling for an extreme legato touch.  The second piece is one of Brahm’s most famous compositions, the Intermezzo in A major.  It is of one character and has an almost improvisatory feel to the phrasing.  It calls for careful voicing and again a beautiful legato touch.

 

Franz Liszt, a Hungarian composer, who lived from 1811-1886, has had his standing in the paragon of important composers fall and rise over the past 75 years. Since the early 1940’s scholars disdained his writing as being superficial, going for the cheap trick, and lacking musical substance.  But in recent times, serious musicians are taking another look and deciding that while at times Liszt’s music does lack depth, there is no denying there is musical worth in many compositions.  Besides, Liszt’s music is just plain fun to play and makes the piano sound terrific!  In Liszt’s many compositions for the piano, he not only expanded the technical resources needed to play his music, but also developed the voice of the piano with its thundering octaves, sparkling glissandos, and expressive and memorable melodies.

Enjoy hearing Marc Hamelin play this very familiar Rhapsody No. 2 and if you felt there was a little something lacking in his performance than you might want to check out the second offering.

 

Sergei Rachmaninoff, a Russian composer who lived from 1873-1943, would be aptly characterized as someone who was displaced both physically and artistically.  After the Revolution of 1917, he left his homeland never to return and thereafter felt a longing and nostalgia which never left him.  This melancholy infuses much of his music along with the influence of the music of the Eastern Orthodox church.  The other displacement, was that his music was written more in the vein of the Romantic era rather than the twentieth century.  If one compares the music of Stravinsky (1882-1971) it becomes apparent how much more “contemporary” was the music of Stravinsky than that of Rachmaninoff.   But Rachmaninoff followed his own path and we are the richer for it.

This week’s listening assignment will be the Prelude in C# minor, the same key as the Moonlight Sonata and the Fantasie-Impromptu.  This is one of Rachmaninoff’s most famous pieces and he himself performed it many times, not always enthusiastically.  Listen at the beginning for the sound of the “bells” depicted both by the low sonorous chords and the moving upper register octaves.  The sound of bells pealing from the cathedral would have been a familiar sound to him as a child in his native country and that sound is imitated in the opening of this piece.  This opening is followed by a cascade of notes playing around a four note -chromatic- downward -stepping motive that builds in intensity until the opening bell motive returns only this time with even more octaves and using seemingly every note on the piano.  Imagine yourself playing this piece someday and how much fun it will be to create these sounds on the piano!