GETTING TO KNOW CLASSICAL MUSIC
GETTING TO KNOW CLASSICAL MUSIC
Δεκ 201215
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
PETER AND THE WOLF.
Peter and the Wolf (1936) is a symphonic composition based on a traditional Russian tale of the same name. It is a children’s story spoken by a narrator accompanied by an orchestra. Sergei Prokofiev was asked to write a musical play with the purpose of teaching children to distinguish the different “timbres” of musical instruments. The result was a symphony were the different parts of the tale are told by the narrator and in which each character has been assigned an instrument or musical piece.
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Strings (violins, violas, violoncellos and doublebasses) Peter.
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Flute, Bird.
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Oboe, Duck.
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Clarinet, Cat.
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French horns, Wolf.
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Bassoon, Grandfather.
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Timpani and bass drum, the Hunters.
PLOT
Peter lives at his grandfather’s home in a forest clearing. One day, disobeying his grandfather’s advices, he went out for a walk in the woods and entertained himself talking to his animal friends: the bird, the cat and the duck. Peter’s grandfather warned him about the dangers of walking around alone in the woods since there was a wolf prowling around but the kid answered that he was not afraid and kept on going to the forest. Finally, his grandfather decided to take him back into the house and locks the door. Soon afterwards a wolf comes out of the forest, the cat quickly climbs into a tree but the duck is chased and finally swallowed by the wolf. With the help of a rope, Peter manages to catch the wolf by its tail. Finally, the hunters arrive and take the wolf to the village. At the end of the story, the listener is told to listen very carefully so that he can hear the duck quacking inside the wolf’s belly because the wolf has swallowed it alive.
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) was born in Russia. His mother was a talented pianist and Sergei was inspired by hearing her practicing the piano in the evenings. He studied at St Petersburg Conservatory where he was taught by Rimsky- Korsakov.
He emigrated after the 1917 Russian Revolution. He moved from France to Germany and, finally, to the United States of America. In 1933, he went back to his homeland where he composed most of his musical works.
Sergei Prokofiev was not only a composer but also a pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century. His best-known works are the five piano concerts, nine completed piano sonatas and seven symphonies. Besides many other works, Prokofiev also composed operas such as The Love for the three oranges, the suite Lieutenant Kijé, the ballet Romeo and Juliet– from which “Dance of the Knights” is taken – and symphonic poems for children as “Peter and the Wolf”.
MANUEL DE FALLA.
Manuel de Falla was born in Cádiz in 1876 and died in Alta Gracia (Argentina) in 1946. He had a vocation not only for music but also for literature. Finally, he decided to start his music studies with his mother and some local musicians such as the choirmaster of Cádiz though he really dreamt about going to Madrid to go on with further studies. He studies composition at the music school and his teacher, Felipe Pedrell and his ideas will have a deep influence on his work.
He will travel to Paris and will come into contact with important composers such as Ravel, Debussy or Stravinsky or Spanish ones as Isaac Albéniz.
Back in Madrid, some of his works are played and he becomes a well-known composer all over Europe up to such extent that Russian ballet companies will perform his “El sombrero de tres picos” (The three cornered hat) in London with a scenery designed by Picasso.
From 1920 onwards he moved and lived in Granada where he became a friend of the famous Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. After Spanish civil war he decided to move again, this time to Argentina where he finally settled down in a small place called Alta Gracia.
He died on 16th November, 1946 and he was buried at Cádiz Cathedral.
Some of his most important works are, “La vida breve” (Life is short), “El retablo de maese Pedro” (Master Peter’s Puppet show), “El sombrero de tres picos” (The three cornered hat), “Siete canciones populares españolas” (Seven popular Spanish songs), “ Noches en los jardines de España” (Nights in the gardens of Spain) y “El amor brujo” (Love the Magician), from which we can listen here to the passage known as “La danza del fuego” (Ritual Fire Dance).
The ballet “Love the Magician” was first performed in Madrid but it was not succesful though it would become later one of the most famous works by Falla.
It is the story of a young Andalusian gypsy girl called Candela. She falls in love with a man called Carmelo. But the ghost of her dead husband returns to haunt Candela and Carmelo. In order to get rid of the ghost, all the gypsies make a large circle around their campfire at midnight. In this circle Candela performs the Ritual Fire Dance causing the ghost to appear and making him to be drawn into the fire where he vanishes forever.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.Recorder, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, harp, piano, violins, violas, cellos, double basses and voice.
SUMMARY OF THE WORK.
Introduction. It consists of a fanfare, that is to say, music mainly played by brass section, while the curtain rises.
An atmosphere of mystery is created in the cave by playing the strings (cellos and double basses) in tremolo (fast repetition of notes).
A crescendo ( putting the volume of the music up) followed by a subito piano (playing soft) leads to the oboe (wind instrument).
Song of the hurt love. Candela sings her love grief.
The ghost. A threatening solo trumpet followed by some “glissando” (sliding on the piano keys) stands for the ghost.
Dance of terror. The tune is played by the trumpet and the oboe. Violins are also played to increase the tension. The woman expresses her fear with trembling sentences. According to gypsy law, Candela must draw a circle on the ground and she does it at midnight. Inside the circle she performs the Ritual Fire Dance. Falla took inspiration in an old gypsy song that, according to tradition, it was used to move bad spirits away while metal was forged. But she failed. However, she remembers that her dead lover couldn’t resist beautiful women and she asks her friend Lucía for help.
The “ignis fatuus” song is sung by Candela while Lucía distracts the ghost by dancing a seductive dance called pantomime.
Pantomime is a variation of the Tango typical in Cádiz with melodies where you can mainly listen to the cello. Finally, the spell got broken and Candela and Carmelo become free to enjoy their love.
MUSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE RITUAL FIRE DANCE
We listen to a kind of buzzing that represents the ghost.
For the first work (A), the oboe first and then the violins are played.
The buzzing is audible again before the second piece (B).
Wind instruments, horns and recorders stand out.
The third piece is introduced by the sound of the kettledrums.
Buzzing again before first piece.
We hear the ghost before the horns play the second piece once more (B).
The gypsies dance to the third piece faster and faster ©.
The ghost approaches the flames and when he falls dead, the orchestra play loudly.
“Ff” means very strong and “pp” means very soft and they are indicators of movement.
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I
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A
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A
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I
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B
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B
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C
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B
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B
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B
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uhhh
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oboe
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violin
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uhh
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ff
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pp
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ff
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oboe
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ff
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oboe
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I
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A
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A
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B
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B
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B
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C
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uhhh
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oboe
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violin
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uhh
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ff
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pp
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ff
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MANOLIS KALOMIRIS
Manolis Kalomiris (Greek: Μανώλης Καλομοίρης; December 14, 1883, Smyrna – April 3, 1962, Athens), was a Greek classicalcomposer. He was the founder of the Greek National School of Music.
Born in Smyrna, he attended school in Constantinople and studied piano and composition in Vienna. After working for a few years as a piano teacher in Kharkov (then Russia and now Ukraine) he settled in Athens and worked with his great friend Raam Ravi. An admirer of Richard Wagner, Rimsky-Korsakoff, Kostis Palamas, and Nikos Kazantzakis, he set himself the life goal of establishing a Greek “national school” of music, based on the ideas of the Russian national composers, on western musical achievements and on modern Greek folk music, poetry and myth.
He thus founded in 1919 the Hellenic Conservatory and in 1926 the National Conservatoire.
He wrote three symphonies and five operas, one piano concerto and one violin concertino, other symphonic works, chamber music and numerous songs and piano works. He held various public posts and was elected member of the Academy of Athens. A passionate composer, he has a personal post romantic idiom characterised by his rich harmonies and orchestrations, complex counterpoint, his long eastern melodies and the frequent use of Greek folk rhythms. A preoccupation with love and death transcends all five of his music dramas.
Orchestral Music
The Symphonic Triptych: Crete was dedicated to the memory of Eleftherios Venizelos and was first heard in Athens in 1943. The day of performance coincided with a rising against the German Occupation and the death of the poet Costis Palamas, commemorated in Kalomiris’sPalamian Symphony of 1955.
Triptych
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Symphony No. 3 in D minor, “Palamiki” (Palamanian)
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3 Greek Dances
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I katastrofi ton Psaron (The Destruction of Psara)
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