Saturday, July 4, A.D. 2009

Stars and Stripes Forever

Washington’s own John Philip Sousa gave America so many of its patriotic tunes. It is meet and right to honor him on the American civic holiday. Here is his “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

Perhaps, it is due to national chauvinism, but American military marches seem so much cheerful than other countries’ tunes. If so, we can thank Sousa.

Posted by Joseph on Saturday, July 4, Anno Domini 2009
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Saturday, June 20, A.D. 2009

Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity

I have read several articles that listed Gustav Holst as the grandfather of all movie soundtracks. This is certainly true of “space opera” films; before there was John Williams, there was Holst. The English composer’s Planets Suite is the definitive composition for our neighbors in the solar system.

Here, you can listen to “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity” from The Planets.

“Jupiter” is my favorite part of The Planets; the father of the gods deserves the best.

Posted by Joseph on Saturday, June 20, Anno Domini 2009
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Friday, May 22, A.D. 2009

Slavonic Dances

You may know that Antonín Dvořák is a god in my musical pantheon. When I visited the motherland, I knew that I had to pay my respects to his tomb in Vyšehrad. Memory eternal!

I love both sets of Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances, opera 46 and 72. Online videos do not do justice to them, of course, but below you may get a foretaste of their enchantment.

Here is perhaps my favorite one, Opus 46-7, performed by the Nino Rota Orchestra in Bari.

My second favorite is probably Opus 46-1, performed here by the Vienna Philharmonic.

For an optimistic jolt, try Opus 46-5, which is so cheerful.

I find Opus 46-6 very absorbing—almost erotically Dionysian.

Opus 46-4 reminds me of Mussorgsky for some reason.

Opus 46-8 reminds me of Holst’s Planets for some other reason.

Fantastic, eh? Well, Opus 72 will have to wait until another post in the future.

Posted by Joseph on Friday, May 22, Anno Domini 2009
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Friday, April 24, A.D. 2009

Russian Easter Overture

I have found it impossible to convey the peculiar experience of Orthodox Pascha to the Gentiles. Music begins where words fail, and the composition below offers a hint of the celebration.

Moreover, among the Orthodox, I am strongly biased in favor of the Russian liturgical tradition. The New Testament may have been written in Greek by Jews, but doxological perfection awaited one thousand years. Greeks, Arabs, and all the others surely will disagree, but they are likely quite wrong.

While unable to convey the joy, meaning, and transcendance of Pascha, the Russian Easter Overture of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov does suggest, analogically, the mood felt on Pascha. If you are familar with the Russian Paschal celebration, you will enjoy the echoes of the Feast of Feasts in the work. If you are not so aware, then you should plan to spend Orthodox Pascha next year at the all night celebration.

You can listen below to the overture performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Leopold Stokowski.

Part I:

Part II:

Here is a video of a performance by the Mariinsky Theater Symphony Orchestra. It is somewhat more fulfilling to see an orchestra is action. It makes me proud to be human.

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death . . .

Posted by Joseph on Friday, April 24, Anno Domini 2009
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Tuesday, March 10, A.D. 2009

Vltava

Bohemia has given the world so much. Saint Václav—or Wenceslas—the good king who was really a duke, Franz Kafka, Gregor Mendel, and countless other intellectual, cultural, and spiritual giants have come from this little country. Astronomer Tycho Brahe may have been a Dane, but he worked, died, and was buried in Prague. You may know his assistant in Prague, German Johannes Kepler, who developed the laws of planetary motion that inspired Newtonian physics. Even in degenerate contemporary times, the Czechs continue to surprise the world. What other modern democracy has elected a head of state as worthy to lead as Václav Havel? Having some Czech ancestry myself, I may be somewhat biased, but Antonín Dvořák is perhaps my favorite composer, Prague is one of my favorite cities, and Plzeňský Prazdroj (Pilsner Urquell) is my favorite beer. Moreover, the Czechs are, in my opinion, one of the most attractive peoples in the world.

Of the notable men who have come from the land of the Moldau, we must not forget the composer Bedřich Smetana. I believe that his Má Vlast (My Country) ranks among the greatest works in Western music. You may listen below to the most famous piece from Má Vlast, Vltava or Die Moldau, named after the principal river in the Czech land. The concert was performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in A.D. 1990—soon after the Czechs and their fellow Slovaks regained their liberty from the Soviet monsters.

Part I:

Part II:

As I traveled through the Bohemian countryside, I played this song in my mind. I hope that I caught just a glimpse of the beauty that Smetana saw.

Posted by Joseph on Tuesday, March 10, Anno Domini 2009
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Sunday, February 15, A.D. 2009

The Prayer of Saint Simeon

On this Feast of the Meeting of Our Lord (the second of February on the Julian calendar), let us remember Simeon the Elder and Anna the Prophetess. Like the Theotokos and John the Baptist, they are human ties that bind the old and new covenants together. Some Orthodox theologians like to call them the last saints of the Old Covenant.

The Prayer or Canticle of Saint Simeon the Elder is one of many memorable supplications in Holy Writ. Simeon the Elder and Anna the Prophetess awaited the Messiah, and they lived to see the infant Jesus dedicated in the Temple:

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,
according to thy word:
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles,
and the glory of thy people Israel.

The Gospel of Luke, 2:25-32

The prayer is a much beloved part of the Orthodox vespers service, and it has also played an important part in Western worship known as “Nunc dimittis”—Latin for “Now let depart.”

When Sergei Rachmaninov composed his setting for vespers, he transformed the words of the righteous Simeon into one of the world’s most beautiful songs. Rachmaninov’s settings for the divine liturgy and vespers are both lovely, but his “Nyne otpushchayeshi” from vespers alone should place him among the greatest composers.

I generally do not care for modern musical compositions in the services, but I was fortunate enough to attend a vespers service in Saint Petersburg that used Rachmaninov’s settings. It was amazing. Sergei Rachmaninov, memory eternal!

Posted by Joseph on Sunday, February 15, Anno Domini 2009
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Thursday, February 12, A.D. 2009

Instant Maple Love

It seems that I slowly absorbed most of the music that I prefer; I learnt to like it from familiarity. I cannot, for example, tell you when I began to like Fleetwood Mac, Sam Cooke, the Rolling Stones, the Drifters, or the Four Tops. I grew up listening to my mother’s playing their records. Yet, familiarity cannot account for everything. To this day, I cannot stand hearing Randy Travis and similar country music acts, though my mom played such songs all the time at home.

However, there are some musical encounters that I clearly remember when I instantly fell in love with a song the very first time that I heard it. It might be that such songs simply speak the same language as other music to which I have been accustomed, or it might be that they just trigger some psychological pleasure point. Perhaps, they are just beautiful or they proficiently speak the language of the soul. From majestic movements to simple, catchy jingles, certain tunes just take you as soon as they reach your ears.

I remember the first times that I heard Beethoven’s Fifth and Ninth Symphonies in their entirety. Of course, I recognized portions of them from popular culture. Who can grow up watching Looney Tunes without a fair amount of exposure to the music of high culture? Anyway, if you would pardon the cliché, I was transfixed by the symphonies. From the very first sitting, I knew without any doubt that Beethoven had been inspired by God. As Socrates might say, Beethoven beheld the beautiful itself; for his work testifies of an intimacy with the divine.

I had the same experience with Wagner’s Tannhäuser, Smetana’s Má vlast, Rachmaninov’s settings for Vespers, The Planets of Holst, and mostly everything from J.S. Bach, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, and Rimsky-Korsakov. To hear them is to love them. Of course, we might expect that such great artists would create works to be immediately appreciated.

Yet, I have had similar though lesser experiences with some pop, as well. I liked the Chieftains, Clannad, and Enya the first time that I heard them, I became a fan of Belle & Sebastian upon hearing “The Boy with the Arab Strap” on my brother’s music list, and I also instantly liked Coldplay. Clearly, I tend to like bands that sound like other bands that I like. So, that could explain some ready acceptance, though it does not account for everything. I remember finding The Cranberries very distasteful the first time that I heard O’Riordan’s peculiar Celtic wail, though I developed quite a taste for them after a few weeks of hearing them in my friend’s car.

Please allow me to showcase one last song. In elementary school, I remember attending a school assembly that featured a musician. I always liked assemblies, as they broke up the monotony of class time’s everlasting tedium. So, I was kindly disposed to the guests out of gratitude. Regardless, when the man began to play the piano, I fell for his song. To hear it is to love Scott Joplin’s famous ragtime classic, the “Maple Leaf Rag.” It is simple joy. Well, here is what I believe to be one of Joplin’s piano rolls (perhaps processed through MIDI, though I am not sure):

If you want a better rendition of the piano roll, consider Milan Record’s’ Scott Joplin: Ragtime Piano Roll. The quality of these recordings, as well as Joplin’s genius, make the album well worth your money. In my opinion, they excel the other recordings of Joplin’s works. If you wish to listen to full versions of these tracks, request them on Rhapsody, where you get to listen to twenty-five songs for free.

The album site’s short biography on Joplin quotes the following from Allmusic: “Born in Texas in either 1867 or 1868, Joplin was raised in Texarkana, the son of a laborer and former slave. As a child, Joplin taught himself piano on an instrument belonging to a white family that granted him access to it, and ultimately studied with a local, German-born teacher who introduced Joplin to classical music.” How remarkable! Enjoy Joplin’s great gift to America.

Posted by Joseph on Thursday, February 12, Anno Domini 2009
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Wednesday, January 28, A.D. 2009

Tannhäuser

Some of you may know of my love of Richard Wagner’s works. Among them, my favorite opera is his Tannhäuser. The story is typically ennobling and beautiful, but the music is magnificent.

Below is video footage from A.D. 1948 of the Overture by the N.B.C. Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Arturo Toscanini.

Part I:

Part II:

It is sad that N.B.C. used to feature Toscanini’s performances in the same room currently used by Saturday Night Live in Rockefeller Center—Studio 8H. I suppose that high-minded liberals have failed to enculturate the masses with the best of the West. Poor Mill! It was—and remains—a pleasant American folly of a goal. Long live P.B.S.

Though without footage, I recommend the following A.D. 1962 recording of the Overture by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by René Leibowitz:

Part I:

Part II:

Tannhäuser’s “Einzug der Gäste auf die Wartburg” is a jolly good piece. I learnt it by heart as a kid before I ever took German—notably following my memorization of Schiller’s poem in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Nena’s “99 Luftballons.”

Here is the simple chorus of knights and nobles:

Freudig begrüßen wir die edle Halle,
wo Kunst und Frieden immer nur verweil,
wo lange noch der frohe Ruf erschalle:
Thüringens Fürsten, Landgraf Hermann, Heil!

Joyfully we greet the noble hall,
where may art and peace alone linger ever,
and the joyous cry long ring out:
To the Prince of Thuringia, Count Hermann, hail!

I had to add the following impressive instrumental performance at a Berlin military tattoo, conducted by Colonel Dr. Michael Schramm. I confess that I also found it perversely amusing to see Germans in uniform performing Wagner (please follow the link if the embedding is disabled).

Unlike Basil Fawlty, I say let bygones be bygones . . .

Posted by Joseph on Wednesday, January 28, Anno Domini 2009
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Thursday, November 20, A.D. 2008

Anonymous 4

In high school, when I first began to explore pre-modern music outside of church services, I became a fan of the women’s chant and polyphony group, Anonymous 4. If you are not familiar with medieval or Renaissance Western music, you will still find them somewhat familiar due, I think, to Christmas and hymnal traditions that have preserved a bit of that sound in our contemporary culture. Anonymous 4’s work is astoundingly beautiful. English speakers frequently abuse the adjective “angelic” but it suits the music of Anonymous 4 very well.

I highly recommend their albums. I love them all, but if I had to choose a favorite, it would probably be Miracles of Sant’iago: Music from the Codex Calistinus. On Harmonia Mundi’s web site, you can listen to samples of their recordings.

Here is “Congaudeant Catholici” from their Miracles of Compostela:

If you like Anonymous 4, you may wish to explore other medieval and Renaissance works, as well. You ought then to consider the works of William du Fay, Josquin des Prez, and Giovanni da Palestrina, which are relatively easy to find and quite remarkable. Below is “Ave Maris Stella” by William du Fay.

The West has its splendor. I wonder if it can retain it.

Posted by Joseph on Thursday, November 20, Anno Domini 2008
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Thursday, October 23, A.D. 2008

From the New World

Antonín Dvořák is one of my favorite composers, as one would expect: Czech heritage, an interest in the nineteenth century, a love of Romanticism, and fond memories of Bohemia make me rather susceptible to his charms. I paid my respects to the illustrious man in the Vyšehrad cemetery just south of Prague, as I like to visit the graves of famous folks. Anyway, I probably love the Slavonic Dances most, obviously followed by his Ninth Symphony, From the New World. As an American, it is a civic duty to love this wonderful tribute to our land. Indeed, I cannot understand how anyone could not love it. Below is Z nového světa, performed by the Wiener Philharmoniker, and conducted by Herbert von Karajan:

First Movement:

Second Movement: I

Second Movement: II

Third Movement:

Fourth Movement: I

Fourth Movement: II

Incredible!

Posted by Joseph on Thursday, October 23, Anno Domini 2008
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