1.
Francis Poulenc
–
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodies, solo works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets. Poulencs wealthy family intended him for a career in the Rhone Poulenc family company. Largely self-educated musically, he studied with the pianist Ricardo Viñes, Poulenc soon came under the influence of Erik Satie, under whose tutelage he became one of a group of young composers known collectively as Les Six. In his early works Poulenc became known for his high spirits, during the 1930s a much more serious side to his nature emerged, particularly in the religious music he composed from 1936 onwards, which he alternated with his more light-hearted works. In addition to composing, Poulenc was an accomplished pianist and he was particularly celebrated for his performing partnerships with the baritone Pierre Bernac and the soprano Denise Duval, touring in Europe and America with each, and making many recordings. He was among the first composers to see the importance of the gramophone, in his later years, and for decades after his death, Poulenc had a reputation, particularly in his native country, as a humorous, lightweight composer, and his religious music was often overlooked. Poulenc was born in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, the child and only son of Émile Poulenc and his wife, Jenny. Émile Poulenc was a joint owner of the Établissements Poulenc Frères and he was a member of a pious Roman Catholic family from Espalion in the département of Aveyron. Jenny Poulenc was from a Parisian family with artistic interests. In Poulencs view, the two sides of his nature grew out of this background, a religious faith from his fathers family. The critic Claude Rostand later described Poulenc as half monk and half naughty boy and he took piano lessons from the age of five, when he was eight he first heard the music of Debussy and was fascinated by the originality of the sound. Other composers whose works influenced his development were Schubert and Stravinsky, the formers Winterreise, at his fathers insistence, Poulenc followed a conventional school career, studying at the Lycée Condorcet in Paris rather than at a music conservatory. In 1916 a childhood friend, Raymonde Linossier, introduced Poulenc to Adrienne Monniers bookshop, There he met the avant-garde poets Guillaume Apollinaire, Max Jacob, Paul Éluard and Louis Aragon. He later set many of their poems to music, in the same year he became the pupil of the pianist Ricardo Viñes. The biographer Henri Hell comments that Viñess influence on his pupil was profound, I admired him madly, because, at this time, in 1914, he was the only virtuoso who played Debussy and Ravel. That meeting with Viñes was paramount in my life, I owe him everything, in reality it is to Viñes that I owe my fledgling efforts in music and everything I know about the piano. When Poulenc was sixteen his mother died, his father died two years later, Viñes became more than a teacher, he was, in the words of Myriam Chimènes in the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the young mans spiritual mentor
Francis Poulenc
–
Poulenc in the early 1920s
Francis Poulenc
–
The Place des Saussaies, Paris, where Poulenc was born
Francis Poulenc
–
The pianist
Ricardo Viñes, with whom Poulenc studied from 1914
Francis Poulenc
–
Stravinsky (top),
Satie and
Ravel
2.
Latin
–
Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets, Latin was originally spoken in Latium, in the Italian Peninsula. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language, Vulgar Latin developed into the Romance languages, such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Romanian. Latin, Italian and French have contributed many words to the English language, Latin and Ancient Greek roots are used in theology, biology, and medicine. By the late Roman Republic, Old Latin had been standardised into Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin was the colloquial form spoken during the same time and attested in inscriptions and the works of comic playwrights like Plautus and Terence. Late Latin is the language from the 3rd century. Later, Early Modern Latin and Modern Latin evolved, Latin was used as the language of international communication, scholarship, and science until well into the 18th century, when it began to be supplanted by vernaculars. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Today, many students, scholars and members of the Catholic clergy speak Latin fluently and it is taught in primary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions around the world. The language has been passed down through various forms, some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series, the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same, volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating the provenance, the reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field of epigraphy. The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part and they are in part the subject matter of the field of classics. The Cat in the Hat, and a book of fairy tales, additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such as Meissners Latin Phrasebook. The Latin influence in English has been significant at all stages of its insular development. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed inkhorn terms, as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by the author and then forgotten, many of the most common polysyllabic English words are of Latin origin through the medium of Old French. Romance words make respectively 59%, 20% and 14% of English, German and those figures can rise dramatically when only non-compound and non-derived words are included. Accordingly, Romance words make roughly 35% of the vocabulary of Dutch, Roman engineering had the same effect on scientific terminology as a whole
Latin
–
Latin inscription, in the
Colosseum
Latin
–
Julius Caesar 's
Commentarii de Bello Gallico is one of the most famous classical Latin texts of the Golden Age of Latin. The unvarnished, journalistic style of this
patrician general has long been taught as a model of the urbane Latin officially spoken and written in the floruit of the
Roman republic.
Latin
–
A multi-volume Latin dictionary in the
University Library of Graz
Latin
–
Latin and Ancient Greek Language - Culture - Linguistics at
Duke University in 2014.
3.
Gloria in excelsis Deo
–
Gloria in excelsis Deo is a Christian hymn known also as the Greater Doxology and the Angelic Hymn. The name is abbreviated to Gloria in Excelsis or simply Gloria. The hymn begins with the words that the angels sang when the birth of Christ was announced to shepherds in Luke 2,14, other verses were added very early, forming a doxology. It is an example of the psalmi idiotici that were popular in the 2nd, other surviving examples of this lyric poetry are the Te Deum and the Phos Hilaron. In the 4th century it became part of morning prayers, and is recited in the Byzantine Rite Orthros service. The Vulgate Latin translation of the Bible was commissioned only in 382, the Latin hymn thus uses the word excelsis to translate the Greek word ὑψίστοις in Luke 2,14, not the word altissimis, which Saint Jerome preferred for his translation. Glória in excélsis Deo et in terra pax homínibus bonæ voluntátis, laudámus te, benedícimus te, adorámus te, glorificámus te, grátias ágimus tibi propter magnam glóriam tuam, Dómine Deus, Rex cæléstis, Deus Pater omnípotens. Dómine Fili unigénite, Jesu Christe, Dómine Deus, Agnus Dei, Fílius Patris, qui tollis peccáta mundi, miserére nobis, qui tollis peccáta mundi, qui sedes ad déxteram Patris, miserére nobis. Quóniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dóminus, tu solus Altíssimus, Jesu Christe, cum Sancto Spíritu, in the Byzantine Rite, the Gloria is referred to as the Doxology, and there are two forms, the Greater Doxology and the Lesser Doxology. The Greater Doxology is always sung, whereas the Lesser Doxology is read, there are certain textual differences between the two, and the order is somewhat altered in the two forms. The Greater Doxology is used in the Orthros on Sundays and feast days, the Lesser Doxology is used at Matins on simple weekdays and at the Apodeipnon, but not in the Divine Liturgy. Revisions to the Prayer Book occurred in 1552 and 1662, the recently published Common Worship provides two Orders one of which places the hymn in the earlier position. The 1928 United States Episcopal Prayer Book also placed the Gloria at the end of the Eucharist service. This edition, still the standard in the breakaway Continuing Anglican churches, allowed the hymn to be used in place of the Gloria Patri after the psalms, the Episcopal Churchs 1979 Book moved it to the beginning, after or in place of the Kyrie in Rite One. In a Rite Two service of Holy Eucharist, the Gloria and it may also be used at other times as desired excepting Lent and Advent. The hymn is used in the Divine Service of the Lutheran Church. After the 12th century Advent began to be considered a period in imitation of Lent. Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis, laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te, gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will
Gloria in excelsis Deo
–
Angel with the words "Gloria in Excelsis Deo et in terra pax" by
Dalziel Brothers
4.
Soprano
–
A soprano is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The sopranos vocal range is from approximately middle C =261 Hz to high A =880 Hz in choral music, in four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody. The soprano voice type is divided into the coloratura, soubrette, lyric, spinto. The lyric soprano is the most common female singing voice, the word soprano comes from the Italian word sopra, as the soprano is the highest pitch human voice, often given to the leading female roles in operas. The term soprano is also based on the Latin word superius which, like soprano, the word superius was especially used in choral and other multi-part vocal music between the 13th and 16th centuries. The soprano has the highest vocal range of all voice types, a soprano and a mezzo-soprano have a similar range, but their tessituras will lie in different parts of that range. The low extreme for sopranos is roughly A3 or B♭3, within opera, the lowest demanded note for sopranos is F3. Often low notes in higher voices will project less, lack timbre, however, rarely is a soprano simply unable to sing a low note in a song within a soprano role. The high extreme, at a minimum, for non-coloratura sopranos is soprano C, a couple of roles have optional E♭6s, as well. In the coloratura repertoire several roles call for E♭6 on up to F6, in rare cases, some coloratura roles go as high as G6 or G♯6, such as Mozarts concert aria Popoli di Tessaglia. Or the title role of Jules Massenets opera Esclarmonde, while not necessarily within the tessitura, a good soprano will be able to sing her top notes full-throated, with timbre and dynamic control. In opera, the tessitura, vocal weight, and timbre of voices, a singers tessitura is where the voice has the best timbre, easy volume, and most comfort. Within the soprano voice type category are five generally recognized subcategories, coloratura soprano, soubrette, lyric soprano, spinto soprano, the coloratura soprano may be a lyric coloratura or a dramatic coloratura. The lyric coloratura soprano is a very agile light voice with a high upper extension capable of fast vocal coloratura, Light coloraturas have a range of approximately middle C to high F with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing somewhat higher or lower. Dramatic coloraturas have a range of approximately low B to high F with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing higher or lower. In classical music and opera, a soubrette soprano refers to both a type and a particular type of opera role. A soubrette voice is light with a bright, sweet timbre, a tessitura in the mid-range, the soubrette voice is not a weak voice, for it must carry over an orchestra without a microphone like all voices in opera. The voice, however, has a lighter weight than other soprano voices with a brighter timbre
Soprano
–
Soprano voice range (C4–C6) indicated in sheet music (left) and on piano keyboard in green with dot marking middle C.
5.
Orchestra
–
The term orchestra derives from the Greek ὀρχήστρα, the name for the area in front of a stage in ancient Greek theatre reserved for the Greek chorus. A full-size orchestra may sometimes be called an orchestra or philharmonic orchestra. The actual number of employed in a given performance may vary from seventy to over one hundred musicians, depending on the work being played. The term chamber orchestra usually refers to smaller-sized ensembles of about fifty musicians or fewer, the typical orchestra grew in size throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, reaching a peak with the large orchestras called for in the works of Richard Wagner, and later, Gustav Mahler. Orchestras are usually led by a conductor who directs the performance with movements of the hands and arms, the conductor unifies the orchestra, sets the tempo and shapes the sound of the ensemble. The first violin, commonly called the concertmaster, also plays an important role in leading the musicians, the typical symphony orchestra consists of four groups of related musical instruments called the woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings. The orchestra, depending on the size, contains almost all of the instruments in each group. Chamber orchestra usually refers to smaller-sized ensembles, a chamber orchestra might employ as many as fifty musicians. The term concert orchestra may also be used, as in the BBC Concert Orchestra, the so-called standard complement of doubled winds and brass in the orchestra from the first half of the 19th century is generally attributed to the forces called for by Beethoven. The composers instrumentation almost always included paired flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, the exceptions to this are his Symphony No. 4, Violin Concerto, and Piano Concerto No,4, which each specify a single flute. Beethoven carefully calculated the expansion of this particular timbral palette in Symphonies 3,5,6, the third horn in the Eroica Symphony arrives to provide not only some harmonic flexibility, but also the effect of choral brass in the Trio movement. Piccolo, contrabassoon, and trombones add to the finale of his Symphony No.5. A piccolo and a pair of trombones help deliver the effect of storm and sunshine in the Sixth, for several decades after his death, symphonic instrumentation was faithful to Beethovens well-established model, with few exceptions. Apart from the core orchestral complement, various instruments are called for occasionally. These include the guitar, heckelphone, flugelhorn, cornet, harpsichord. Saxophones, for example, appear in some 19th- through 21st-century scores.6 and 9 and William Waltons Belshazzars Feast, and many other works as a member of the orchestral ensemble. The euphonium is featured in a few late Romantic and 20th-century works, usually playing parts marked tenor tuba, including Gustav Holsts The Planets, cornets appear in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovskys ballet Swan Lake, Claude Debussys La Mer, and several orchestral works by Hector Berlioz
Orchestra
–
The Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra.
Orchestra
–
Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra
Orchestra
–
Göttinger Symphonie Orchester
Orchestra
–
A modern orchestra concert hall: Philharmony in
Szczecin, Poland
6.
Choir
–
A choir is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical repertoire, which spans from the Medieval era to the present. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm, a body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus. The former term is often applied to groups affiliated with a church and the second to groups that perform in theatres or concert halls. Choirs may sing without instrumental accompaniment, with the accompaniment of a piano or pipe organ, with a small ensemble, choirs are often led by a conductor or choirmaster. Other than four, the most common number of parts are three, five, six, and eight, choirs can sing with or without instrumental accompaniment. Singing without accompaniment is called a cappella singing, many choirs perform in one or many locations such as a church, opera house, or school hall. In some cases choirs join up to become one mass choir that performs for a special concert, in this case they provide a series of songs or musical works to celebrate and provide entertainment to others. Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as a concert, by way of visible gestures with the hands, arms, face. The primary duties of the conductor or choirmaster are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble. The conductor or choral director typically stands on a raised platform, many choral conductors use their hands to conduct. In the 2010s, most conductors do not play an instrument when conducting, although in earlier periods of music history. In Baroque music from the 1600s to the 1750s, conductors performing in the 2010s may lead an ensemble while playing a harpsichord or the violin, conducting while playing a piano may also be done with musical theatre pit orchestras. Communication is typically non-verbal during a performance, however, in rehearsals, frequent interruptions allow the conductor to give verbal directions as to how the music should be sung. Conductors act as guides to the choirs they conduct and they choose the works to be performed and study their scores, to which they may make certain adjustments, work out their interpretation, and relay their vision to the singers. Choral conductors may also have to conduct instrumental ensembles such as if the choir is singing a piece for choir. They may also attend to matters, such as scheduling rehearsals, planning a concert season, hearing auditions
Choir
–
Evensong rehearsal in the
quire of
York Minster, showing carved choirstalls
Choir
–
Amelia Nagoski, DMA conducting a choral ensemble at Western New England University
Choir
–
Egyptian Alexandria Jewish choir of Rabbin Moshe Cohen at Samuel Menashe synagogue,
Alexandria, Egypt
Choir
–
An English school choir
7.
Sergei Koussevitzky
–
Serge Alexandrovich Koussevitzky was a Russian-born conductor, composer and double-bassist, known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949. Koussevitzky was born into a Jewish family of musicians in Vyshny Volochyok, Tver Governorate, about 250 km northwest of Moscow. His parents taught him violin, cello, and piano, at the age of fourteen he received a scholarship to the Musico-Dramatic Institute of the Moscow Philharmonic Society, where he studied double bass with Rambusek and music theory. He excelled at the bass, joining the Bolshoi Theatre orchestra at the age of twenty, in 1894, in 1902 he married the dancer Nadezhda Galat. The same year, with Reinhold Glières help, he wrote a concerto for the double bass. In 1905, Koussevitzky divorced Nadezhda and married Natalie Ushkova, the daughter of a wealthy tea merchant. He soon resigned from the Bolshoi, and the moved to Berlin. The concert included Sergei Rachmaninoffs Piano Concerto No,2, with the composer at the piano. Among the composers published by Koussevitzky were Rachmaninoff, Alexander Scriabin, Sergei Prokofiev, Igor Stravinsky, and Nikolai Medtner. During the period 1909 to 1920 he continued to perform as soloist in Europe, and in Russia he and his orchestra toured towns along the Volga River by riverboat in 1910,1912, the programs included many new works. After the 1917 Russian Revolution, he accepted a position as conductor of the newly named State Philharmonic Orchestra of Petrograd, in 1920, he left the Soviet Union for Berlin and Paris. In Paris he organized the Concerts Koussevitzky, presenting new works by Prokofiev, Stravinsky, in 1924 he took a post in the United States, replacing Pierre Monteux as conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. However, he continued to return to Paris in the summers to conduct his Concerts Koussevitzky until 1929, in 1941 he and his wife became United States citizens. Koussevitzkys appointment as conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra was the beginning of an era for the ensemble that would continue until 1949. Over that 25-year period, he built the ensembles reputation into that of a leading American orchestra, in the early 1940s, he discovered a young tenor named Alfred Cocozza, and provided him with a scholarship to attend Tanglewood. With the Boston Symphony he made recordings, most of which were well regarded by critics. His students and protégés included Leonard Bernstein, Eleazar de Carvalho, Samuel Adler, Bernstein once received a pair of cufflinks from Koussevitzky as a gift, and thereafter wore them at every concert he conducted. Koussevitzkys second wife Natalie died in 1942, and he created the Koussevitzky Music Foundations in her honor, in late 1947, he married Olga Naumova, Natalies niece
Sergei Koussevitzky
–
Serge Koussevitzky
Sergei Koussevitzky
–
Serge Koussevitsky
8.
Boston, Massachusetts
–
Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Boston is also the seat of Suffolk County, although the county government was disbanded on July 1,1999. The city proper covers 48 square miles with a population of 667,137 in 2015, making it the largest city in New England. Alternately, as a Combined Statistical Area, this wider commuting region is home to some 8.1 million people, One of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston was founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. Upon U. S. independence from Great Britain, it continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education, through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the original peninsula. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing over 20 million visitors per year, Bostons many firsts include the United States first public school, Boston Latin School, first subway system, the Tremont Street Subway, and first public park, Boston Common. Bostons economic base also includes finance, professional and business services, biotechnology, information technology, the city has one of the highest costs of living in the United States as it has undergone gentrification, though it remains high on world livability rankings. Bostons early European settlers had first called the area Trimountaine but later renamed it Boston after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, the renaming on September 7,1630 was by Puritan colonists from England who had moved over from Charlestown earlier that year in quest of fresh water. Their settlement was limited to the Shawmut Peninsula, at that time surrounded by the Massachusetts Bay and Charles River. The peninsula is thought to have been inhabited as early as 5000 BC, in 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Colonys first governor John Winthrop led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement, a key founding document of the city. Puritan ethics and their focus on education influenced its early history, over the next 130 years, the city participated in four French and Indian Wars, until the British defeated the French and their Indian allies in North America. Boston was the largest town in British America until Philadelphia grew larger in the mid-18th century, Bostons harbor activity was significantly curtailed by the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812. Foreign trade returned after these hostilities, but Bostons merchants had found alternatives for their investments in the interim. Manufacturing became an important component of the economy, and the citys industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance by the mid-19th century. Boston remained one of the nations largest manufacturing centers until the early 20th century, a network of small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region facilitated shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a network of railroads furthered the regions industry. Boston was a port of the Atlantic triangular slave trade in the New England colonies
Boston, Massachusetts
–
From top to bottom, left to right: the
Boston skyline viewed from the
Bunker Hill Monument; the
Museum of Fine Arts;
Faneuil Hall;
Massachusetts State House;
The First Church of Christ, Scientist;
Boston Public Library; the
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum;
South Station;
Boston University and the
Charles River;
Arnold Arboretum;
Fenway Park; and the
Boston Common
Boston, Massachusetts
–
State Street, 1801
Boston, Massachusetts
–
View of Boston from
Dorchester Heights, 1841
Boston, Massachusetts
–
Scollay Square in the 1880s
9.
Boston Symphony Orchestra
–
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the Big Five, founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Bostons Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at Tanglewood. Andris Nelsons is the current music director of the BSO, Bernard Haitink currently holds the title of conductor emeritus of the BSO, and Seiji Ozawa has the title of BSO music director laureate. The BSO was founded in 1881 by Henry Lee Higginson and its first conductor was George Henschel, who was a noted baritone as well as conductor, and a close friend of Johannes Brahms. Wilhelm Gericke served twice, from 1884 to 1889 and again from 1898 to 1906, according to Joseph Horowitzs review of correspondence, Higginson considered 25 candidates to replace Gericke after receiving notice in 1905. He decided not to offer the position to Gustav Mahler, Fritz Steinbach and he was conductor until 1908 and again from 1912 to 1918. The music director 1908–12 was Max Fiedler and he conducted the premiere of Ignacy Jan Paderewskis Symphony in B minor Polonia in 1909. He vowed never to return, and conducted only in Europe. The BSOs next two titled conductors were French, Henri Rabaud, who took over from Muck for a season, the orchestras reputation increased during the music directorship of Serge Koussevitzky. One million radio listeners tuned in when Koussevitzky and the orchestra were the first to perform a concert for radio broadcast. Those network radio broadcasts ran from 1926 through 1951, and again from 1954 through 1956, the orchestra continues to make regular live radio broadcasts to the present day. The Boston Symphony has been involved with Bostons WGBH Radio as an outlet for its concerts. They also gave the premiere of Béla Bartóks Concerto for Orchestra, other BSO commissions have included John Coriglianos Symphony No.2 for the 100th anniversary of Symphony Hall. Hans Werner Henze dedicated his Eighth Symphony to the orchestra, although Koussevitsky recommended his protégé Leonard Bernstein to be his successor after he retired in 1949, the BSO awarded the position to the Alsatian maestro Charles Munch. Munch had made his Boston conducting debut in 1946 and he led orchestra on its first overseas tour, and also produced their first stereo recording in February 1954 for RCA Victor. In 1952, Munch appointed the first woman to hold a chair in a major U. S. orchestra, flutist Doriot Anthony Dwyer. Erich Leinsdorf became music director in 1962 and held the post until 1969, William Steinberg was then music director from 1969 to 1972. Steinberg was ill and ailing according to composer/author Jan Swafford, the committee eventually chose Seiji Ozawa, who became Music Director in 1973 and held the post until 2002, the longest tenure of any Boston Symphony conductor
Boston Symphony Orchestra
–
Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1891
Boston Symphony Orchestra
–
Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO)
Boston Symphony Orchestra
–
Symphony Hall, home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra
10.
Adele Addison
–
Adele Addison is an African-American lyric soprano who was an acclaimed figure in the classical music world during the 1950s and 1960s. Although she did appear in operas, Addison spent most of her career performing in recital. Her performances spanned a wide array of literature from the Baroque period to contemporary compositions and she is best remembered today as the singing voice for Bess in the 1959 movie Porgy and Bess. Addison can be heard on recordings, of which her baroque music recording are perhaps her best work. Known for her polished and fluent tone, Addison made a desirable baroque vocal artist, many of her recordings were made with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Leonard Bernstein. Addison began studying voice seriously as a teenager and, following high school, further scholarships enabled her to pursue graduate studies at Princeton University and at summer sessions at the Berkshire Music School at Tanglewood. At Tanglewood she studied with Boris Goldovsky, Addison made her professional recital debut in Boston, in 1948 while still a student at Princeton. Following graduation she moved to New York City to pursue a career as a classical soprano, following her New York debut, she continued to study voice at the Juilliard School with Beverley Peck Johnson and with Povla Frijsh. In 1955 she made her New York City Opera debut as Mimi in Puccinis La bohème, the New York Post said the following of her debut, Adele Addison is about the most appealing interpreter of the little Parisian seamstress yet to appear on the City Center stage. Small, frail looking, and pretty, Miss Addison enhanced these assets by acting and singing with moving poignancy and that same year, Addison was invited by Aaron Copland to perform the world premiere of his Dirge In Woods at a concert sponsored by the League of Composers. Although Addison was offered opera roles with several companies, she did not appear in many more opera productions as she preferred to sing in recital. She did appear in a few productions with the New York City Opera, the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company. In 1959, Addison sang the role of Bess in the version of Gershwins Porgy. The role was supposed to be sung by Urylee Leonardos. In a 1996 Opera News interview she said, Today, young singers are almost forced to make a choice, I never had to make a choice. I loved the song repertoire from the start, and as I began to sing, for even the smallest ladies clubs, etc. those inviting me expected and accepted that. Even as the years passed, and I sang all the rest of the repertoire – opera, oratorio, chamber music and my curiosity, joy and love for song never changed. Addison made numerous appearances with orchestras, such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Adele Addison
–
Adele Addison, photographed by
Carl Van Vechten, 1955
11.
Rosanna Carteri
–
Rosanna Carteri is an Italian soprano, who was primarily active from the 1950s through the mid-1960s. Rosanna Carteri was born in Verona and raised in Padua and she studied with Cusinati and started singing in concert at the age of twelve. She won a RAI singing contest in 1948 which led to her debut at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome as Elsa in Lohengrin in 1949. She made her La Scala debut in 1951, Carteri made a few recordings for Cetra Soria early in her career, in such operas as William Tell, La bohème and Suor Angelica. She recorded La traviata for RCA Victor with Cesare Valletti and Leonard Warren under the direction of Pierre Monteux and she participated in several television productions for RAI such as The Marriage of Figaro, La traviata, Otello, and Falstaff. Carteri decided to retire from singing in the mid-1960s while still only in her thirties to devote herself to her family, alain Pâris, Dictionnaire des interprètes et de linterpretation musicale au XX siècle, Ed. Robert Laffont. ISBN 2-221-06660-X Roland Mancini and Jean-Jacques Rouveroux, Guide de l’opéra, Les indispensables de la musique
Rosanna Carteri
–
Rosanna Carteri in 1964
12.
RCA Victor
–
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, Inc. It is one of SMEs three flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records and Epic Records. The label has released multiple genres of music, including pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, blues, jazz, the companys name is derived from the initials of the labels former parent company, the Radio Corporation of America. It is the second oldest recording company in US history, after sister label Columbia Records, RCAs Canadian unit is Sonys oldest label in Canada. It was one of only two Canadian record companies to survive the Great Depression, kelly, Enrique Iglesias, Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon, Kesha, Miley Cyrus, Giorgio Moroder, Jennifer Hudson, DAngelo, Pink, Tinashe, G-Eazy, Pitbull, Zayn and Wizkid. In 1929, the Radio Corporation of America purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company, then the worlds largest manufacturer of phonographs and phonograph records. The company then became RCA Victor but retained use of the Victor Records name on their labels until the beginning of 1946 when the labels were finally switched over to RCA Victor. With Victor, RCA acquired New World rights to the famous Nipper His Masters Voice trademark, in Shanghai, China, in 1931, RCA Victors British affiliate the Gramophone Company merged with the Columbia Graphophone Company to form EMI. This gave RCA head David Sarnoff a seat on the EMI board, in September 1931, RCA Victor introduced the first 33⅓ rpm records sold to the public, calling them Program Transcriptions. In the depths of the Great Depression, the format was a commercial failure, during the early part of the depression, RCA made a number of attempts to produce a successful cheap label to compete with the dime store labels. The first was the short-lived Timely Tunes label in 1931 sold at Montgomery Ward, in 1932, Bluebird Records was created as a sub-label of RCA Victor. It was originally an 8-inch record with a blue label. In 1933, RCA reintroduced Bluebird and Electradisk as a standard 10-inch label, another cheap label, Sunrise, was produced. The same musical couplings were issued on all three labels and Bluebird Records still survives eight decades after Electradisk and Sunrise were discontinued, RCA also produced records for Montgomery Ward label during the 1930s. Besides manufacturing records for themselves, RCA Victor operated RCA Custom which was the leading record manufacturer for independent record labels, RCA Custom also pressed record compilations for The Readers Digest Association. RCA sold its interest in EMI in 1935, but EMI continued to distribute RCA recordings in the UK, RCA also manufactured and distributed HMV classical recordings on the RCA and HMV labels in North America. During World War II, ties between RCA and its Japanese affiliate JVC were severed, the Japanese record company is today called Victor Entertainment and is still a JVC subsidiary. From 1942 to 1944, RCA Victor was seriously impacted by the American Federation of Musicians recording ban, virtually all union musicians could not make recordings during that period
RCA Victor
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Label of an RCA Victor 78 RPM record from the 1950s; RCA manufactured 78s alongside the 45 until 1958.
RCA Victor
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RCA Records logo 1968–87; revived as of 2015
RCA Victor
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Label of an RCA Victor 45 RPM record from the 1950s; RCA used this label for its 45 RPM records from 1954 to at least 1964.
RCA Victor
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RCA used this label for its American 45 RPM records during the Dynagroove era.
13.
Grammy Award
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A Grammy Award, or Grammy, is an honor awarded by The Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the mainly English-language music industry. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and the presentation of awards that have a more popular interest. It shares recognition of the industry as that of the other performance awards such as the Emmy Awards, the Tony Awards. The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held on May 4,1959, to honor, following the 2011 ceremony, The Academy overhauled many Grammy Award categories for 2012. The 59th Grammy Awards, honoring the best achievements from October 2015 to September 2016, was held on February 12,2017, the Grammys had their origin in the Hollywood Walk of Fame project in the 1950s. The music executives decided to rectify this by creating a given by their industry similar to the Oscars. This was the beginning of the National Academy of Recording Arts, after it was decided to create such an award, there was still a question of what to call it, one working title was the Eddie, to honor the inventor of the phonograph, Thomas Edison. They finally settled on using the name of the invention of Emile Berliner, the gramophone, for the awards, the number of awards given grew and fluctuated over the years with categories added and removed, at one time reaching over 100. The second Grammy Awards, also held in 1959, was the first ceremony to be televised, the gold-plated trophies, each depicting a gilded gramophone, are made and assembled by hand by Billings Artworks in Ridgway, Colorado. In 1990 the original Grammy design was revamped, changing the traditional soft lead for a stronger alloy less prone to damage, Billings developed a zinc alloy named grammium, which is trademarked. The trophies with the name engraved on them are not available until after the award announcements. By February 2009,7,578 Grammy trophies had been awarded, the General Field are four awards which are not restricted by genre. Album of the Year is awarded to the performer and the team of a full album if other than the performer. Record of the Year is awarded to the performer and the team of a single song if other than the performer. Song of the Year is awarded to the writer/composer of a single song, Best New Artist is awarded to a promising breakthrough performer who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording that establishes the public identity of that artist. The only two artists to win all four of these awards are Christopher Cross, who won all four in 1980, and Adele, who won the Best New Artist award in 2009 and the other three in 2012 and 2017. Other awards are given for performance and production in specific genres, as well as for other such as artwork. Special awards are given for longer-lasting contributions to the music industry, the many other Grammy trophies are presented in a pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony earlier in the afternoon before the Grammy Awards telecast
Grammy Award
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Grammy Awards
Grammy Award
14.
G major
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G major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F♯. Its key signature has one sharp, F♯, G majors relative minor is E minor, and its parallel minor is G minor. For orchestral works in G major, the timpani are typically set to G and D, in the Baroque era, G major was regarded as the key of benediction. Of Domenico Scarlattis 555 keyboard sonatas, G major is the key for 69. Pianist Jeremy Denk observes that the Goldberg Variations are 80 minutes in G major, twelve of Joseph Haydns 104 Symphonies are in G major. See also, List of symphonies in G major, likewise one of Haydns most famous piano trios, No. 39, and one of his last two complete published string quartets, are in G major, G major is the home key of Mozarts Eine kleine Nachtmusik, serving as the tonic for three of its four movements. However, almost none of his works such as his symphonies or concertos are in this key. 17, Flute Concerto No.1 and his String Quartet No,14, along with some examples among his juvenilia. G sometimes called the key, is one of the most frequently-employed keys across classical. It is the key stipulated by Queen Elizabeth II to be used for God Save the Queen in Canada, the music to the American national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, was originally written in G major. God Defend New Zealand was originally composed by John Joseph Woods in A-flat, key Major and minor Chord Chord names and symbols Media related to G major at Wikimedia Commons
G major
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G major
15.
C major
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C major is a major scale based on C, with the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats and no sharps, C majors relative minor is A minor and its parallel minor is C minor. C major is one of the most common key signatures used in western music, most transposing instruments playing in their home key are notated in C major, for example, a clarinet in B♭ sounding a B-flat major scale is notated as playing a C major scale. The white keys of the piano correspond to the C major scale, among brass instruments, the contra-bass tuba is in C. A pedal harp tuned to C major has all of its pedals in the middle position, there are no black keys in the C major scale, thus it doesnt fit the natural positions of the fingers well. Twenty of Joseph Haydns 104 symphonies are in C major, making it his second most often used key, of the 134 symphonies mistakenly attributed to Haydn that H. C. Robbins Landon lists in his catalog,33 are in C major, more than any other key. Before the invention of the trumpet, Haydn did not write trumpet and timpani parts in his symphonies. H. C. Robbins Landon writes that it wasnt until 1774 that Haydn uses trumpets, most of Haydns symphonies in C major are labelled festive and are of a primarily celebratory mood. Many Masses and settings of Te Deum in the Classical era were in C major, mozart wrote most of his Masses in C major and so did Haydn. Of Franz Schuberts two symphonies in the key, the first is nicknamed the Little C major and the second the Great C major, many musicians have pointed out that every musical key conjures up specific feelings. This idea is explored in a radio program called The Signature Series. American popular songwriter Bob Dylan claimed the key of C major to be the key of strength, french composers such as Marc-Antoine Charpentier and Rameau generally thought of C major as a key for happy music, but Hector Berlioz in 1856 described it as serious but deaf and dull. Ralph Vaughan Williams was impressed by Sibeliuss Symphony No.7 in C major, however, C major was a key of great importance in Sibeliuss previous symphonies. Claude Debussy, noted for composing music that avoided a particular key center, once said, in musical catalogs that sort the musical pieces by key, whether they go by semitones or along the circle of fifths, they almost always begin with those pieces in C major. A notable modern use of the key is Terry Rileys In C, johann Sebastian Bach Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, BWV564 Cello Suite No. 3, BWV1009 Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No,1, Op.21 Piano Sonata No. 21, K.467 Piano Concerto No,25, K.503 Piano Sonata No. 16, K.545 String Quartet No,41, K.551 Sergei Prokofiev Piano Concerto No.3 Maurice Ravel Boléro Franz Schubert Wanderer Fantasy, Op.15 D.760 Symphony No
C major
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C major
16.
B minor
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B minor is a minor scale consisting of the pitches B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G, and A. Its key signature consists of two sharps, the harmonic minor raises the note A to A♯. Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written with accidentals as necessary and its relative major is D major, and its parallel major is B major. By the end of the Baroque era, however, conventional academic views of B minor had shifted, beethoven labelled a B minor melodic idea in one of his sketchbooks as a black key. Brahms, Dvořák, Schubert, Liszt, Chopin, Borodin,1, Op.20 Chopin – Étude in B minor, Op.25, No.10 Chopin – Piano Sonata No. 3, Op.58 Chopin – Waltz in B minor, Op.69,3, Op.89 Liszt – Piano Sonata in B minor Felix Mendelssohn – The Hebrides Overture Mozart – Adagio from Flute Quartet No. 1, K.285 Mozart – Adagio in B minor,8, D.759 Alexander Scriabin – Fantaisie in B minor, Op.28 Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 6, Op.74 Vivaldi – Concerto for 4 Violins and Cello, RV580 Wagner – Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walküre Key Major and minor Chord Chord names and symbols Notes Sources Galeazzi, Francesco. Elementi teorico-pratici di musica con un saggio sopra larte di suonare il violino analizzata, beethovens C-Minor Mood, Some Thoughts on the Structural Implications of Key Choice. Media related to B minor at Wikimedia Commons
B minor
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B minor
17.
B-flat minor
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B♭ minor or B-flat minor is a minor scale consisting of the pitches B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, and A♭. Its key signature has five flats, the harmonic minor scale would use an A♮ instead of A♭. Its relative major is D-flat major, its parallel major is B-flat major, B-flat minor is traditionally a dark key. Important oboe solos in this key in the literature include the second movement of Tchaikovskys Symphony No. 4, which depicts the feeling that you get when you are all alone, Tchaikovskys Piano Concerto No.1 is also in B-flat minor. An Alpine Symphony by Richard Strauss begins and ends in B-flat minor, samuel Barbers Adagio for Strings Frédéric Chopins Piano Sonata No. 1, Scherzo No.2 Sergei Rachmaninoffs Piano Sonata No.2 Dmitri Shostakovichs Symphony No.13,1, Sérénade mélancolique and Marche slave Sir William Waltons Symphony No
B-flat minor
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B ♭ minor
18.
Igor Stravinsky
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Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Russian-born composer, pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century, Stravinskys compositional career was notable for its stylistic diversity. His Russian phase which continued with such as Renard, The Soldiers Tale. The works from this tended to make use of traditional musical forms, drawing on earlier styles. In the 1950s, Stravinsky adopted serial procedures, Stravinsky was born on 17 June 1882 in Oranienbaum, a suburb of Saint Petersburg, the Russian imperial capital, and was brought up in Saint Petersburg. It is believed that Stravinsky’s ancestry is traceable back to the 17th and 18th centuries, to the bearers of the Soulima, ivan Sulima, was a famous Ukrainian hetman 1628–1635. Stravinskys family branch most likely came from Stravinskas, polonized Lithuanian land owners and it is still unclear to when exactly the Soulima part of the surname was dropped. Stravinsky recalled his schooldays as being lonely, later saying that I never came across anyone who had any attraction for me. Stravinsky began piano lessons as a boy, studying music theory. In 1890, he saw a performance of Tchaikovskys ballet The Sleeping Beauty at the Mariinsky Theatre, despite his enthusiasm for music, his parents expected him to study law. Stravinsky enrolled at the University of Saint Petersburg in 1901, Stravinskys father died of cancer that year, by which time his son had already begun spending more time on his musical studies than on law. Thereafter, he concentrated on studying music, in 1905, he began to take twice-weekly private lessons from Rimsky-Korsakov, whom he came to regard as a second father. These lessons continued until Rimsky-Korsakovs death in 1908, in 1905 Stravinsky was betrothed to his cousin Katherine Gavrylivna Nosenko, whom he had known since early childhood. Diaghilev was sufficiently impressed by Fireworks to commission Stravinsky to carry out some orchestrations and then to compose a ballet score. The early period of Igor Stravinsky’s work would be incomplete without a research of his life while in Ukraine. From approximately 1890 till 1914 the composer was frequently visiting Ustyluh, town in Volyn Oblast and he spent most of his summers there and that’s where he met his cousin, Katherine Nosenko who he married in 1906. In 1907 Stravinsky designed and built his own house in Ustyluh where his own family stayed often during summer times until 1914 and his new Ukrainian home he called “My heavenly place”. In this house Igor Stravinsky worked on his seventeen early compositions, among which were orchestral fantasy Fireworks, ballets Firebird, Petrushka, currently, after its renovation this house is the only composers house-museum opened to the public
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
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Igor Stravinsky, 1903
Igor Stravinsky
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A costume sketch by
Léon Bakst for
The Firebird
Igor Stravinsky
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Vaslav Nijinsky as Petrushka in 1910–11
19.
Pedal point
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In tonal music, a pedal point is a sustained tone, typically in the bass, during which at least one foreign, i. e. dissonant harmony is sounded in the other parts. A pedal point sometimes functions as a tone, placing it in the categories alongside suspensions, retardations. Pedal points have a tonal effect, pulling the harmony back to its root. When a pedal point occurs in a other than the bass. Pedal points are usually on either the tonic or the dominant tones, the pedal tone is considered a chord tone in the original harmony, then a nonchord tone during the intervening dissonant harmonies, and then a chord tone again when the harmony resolves. A dissonant pedal point may go against all harmonies present during its duration, being almost more like an added tone than a nonchord tone, or pedal points may serve as atonal pitch centers. The term comes from the organ for its ability to sustain a note indefinitely, the pedal keyboard on an organ is played by the feet, as such, the organist can hold down a pedal point for lengthy periods while both hands perform higher-register music on the manual keyboards. A double pedal is two pedal tones played simultaneously, an inverted pedal is a pedal that is not in the bass Mozart included numerous inverted pedals in his works, particularly in the solo parts of his concertos. An internal pedal is a pedal that is similar to the inverted pedal, a drone differs from a pedal point in degree or quality. A pedal point may be a tone and thus required to resolve, unlike a drone, or a pedal point may simply be a shorter drone. There are numerous examples of points in European classical music. Pedal points often appear in early baroque music alla battaglia, notably prolonged in Heinrich Schützs Es steh Gott auf, pedal points are somewhat problematic on the harpsichord, which has only a limited sustain capability. Often the pedal note is repeated at intervals. A pedal tone can also be realized with a trill, this is common with inverted pedals. Another method of producing a pedal point on the harpsichord is to repeat the pedal point note on every beat. ”An example is the Prelude in D flat, Op.28,15, which, like the Purcell, features one repeated note throughout. The term pedal point is used to describe a bass note that is held for a long period in orchestral music. Pedal points for orchestral music are performed by the double basses with the bow. The openings of the first two operas of Wagners cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen feature pedal notes, for a very long passage there is not only no modulation but no change of chord
Pedal point
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Pedal tone example. Play (
help ·
info)
20.
Picardy third
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A Picardy third, Picardy cadence or, in French, tierce picarde is a major chord of the tonic at the end of a musical section that is either modal or in a minor key. This is achieved by raising the third of the minor triad by a semitone to create a major triad. For example, instead of a cadence ending on an A minor chord containing the notes A, C, and E, a Picardy third ending would consist of an A major chord containing the notes A, C♯, and E. Note that the third between the A and C of the A minor chord has become a major third in the Picardy third chord. Even in instrumental music, the picardy third retains its expressive quality, since at least the beginning of the seventeenth century, it is no longer enough to describe it as a resolution to the more consonant triad, it is a resolution to the happier triad as well. The picardy third is absolute musics happy ending, the Picardy third does not necessarily occur at the end of a section, it can be found at any perfect cadence or plagal cadence where the prevailing key is minor. As a harmonic device, the Picardy third originated in Western music in the Renaissance era, what makes this a Picardy cadence is shown by the red natural sign. Instead of the expected B-flat the accidental gives us a B natural, listen to the final four measures of I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say with Play and without Play Picardy third. The origins of the term are obscure, more plausible is the idea that the North of France, and Flanders, were influential in the development of contrapuntal music in the fifteenth century. In medieval music, such as that of Machaut, neither major nor minor thirds were considered stable intervals, examples of the Picardy third can be found throughout the works of J. S. Bach and his contemporaries, as well as composers such as Thoinot Arbeau. This practice began to decline in the sixteenth century and by the Classical era had been more or less discarded, although examples can be found in works by Haydn. However, the switch from minor to major was a frequently used to considerable expressive effect by Schubert. In Gute Nacht, the song that opens the song cycle Winterreise. In his book on the Winterreise, singer Ian Bostridge speaks of the quintessentially Schubertian effect in the final verse, in the Romantic era, those of Chopins nocturnes that are in a minor key almost always end with a Picardy third. A notable structural employment of this occurs with the finale of the Tchaikovsky Fifth Symphony. In the second book, however, fourteen of the movements end on a minor chord, or occasionally. Manuscripts vary in many of these cases, to express hopefulness might seem unremarkable, or even clichéd
Picardy third
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This article is about a musical term. For other uses, see
Picardy (disambiguation).
Picardy third
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Picardy third, in blue, in Bach:
Jesu, meine Freude (Jesus, My Joy), BWV 81.7, mm. 12-13. Play (
help ·
info)
21.
E-flat minor
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E-flat minor is a minor scale consisting of the pitches E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, and D♭. In the harmonic minor, the D♭ is raised to D♮ and its key signature consists of six flats. Its relative major is G♭ major and its parallel major is E♭ major and its enharmonic equivalent is D♯ minor. Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary and this key is often popular with jazz or blues influenced keyboard players as, using all the black keys along with A natural, it allows for an easily playable blues scale. Despite the key rarely being used in music other than to modulate, it is encountered in a small fraction of keyboard music. In Book 1 of The Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach, in Book 2, both movements are in D-sharp minor. Beethoven applied E-flat minor to the introduction in the sixth movement of his Septet Op.20. Schubert ended his Impromptus in E-flat major, D.899 No.2 in E-flat minor, parallel key to E-flat major, one of the few symphonies written in this key is Prokofievs Symphony No. 6, where none of three movements ends in E-flat minor. A few other less well-known composers also wrote symphonies in this key, such as Andrei Eshpai, Jānis Ivanovs, Ovchinnikov, aram Khachaturian wrote his Toccata in E-flat minor while studying under Myaskovsky. It is also the key in which Dmitri Shostakovich composed his final string quartet, alexander Scriabins Prelude No.14 from his 24 Preludes, Op.11, is in E-flat minor, as well as Johannes Brahmss only independent Scherzo, Op.4. Sergei Rachmaninoffs Elegie, Op.3, No,1, is in E-flat minor, as is his Étude-Tableau, Op.39, No.5. These pieces are noted for being dark and mysterious, oskar Böhmes Trumpet Sextet, Op.30 is written in E-flat minor. Alexseevich Shatrovs waltz, On the Hills of Manchuria, about the loss of Russia in the Russo-Japanese war, is written in E-flat minor, as mentioned, E-flat minor is common in Russian pieces. On the Hills of Manchuria is perhaps the most notable example, the extended orchestral introduction to part 2 of Gustav Mahlers Eighth Symphony is in E-flat minor, as is the dark orchestral introduction to Beethovens only oratorio, Christ on the Mount of Olives. Guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen has composed a number of pieces in E-flat minor, including the Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar, jazz compositions Round Midnight and Take Five are also in this key. A. Morris, Symphonies, Numbers And Keys in Bobs Poetry Magazine, media related to E-flat minor at Wikimedia Commons
E-flat minor
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E ♭ minor
22.
A cappella
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A cappella music is specifically group or solo singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It contrasts with cantata, which is usually accompanied singing, the term a cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato style. The term is used, albeit rarely, as a synonym for alla breve. A cappella music was used in religious music, especially church music as well as anasheed. Gregorian chant is an example of a singing, as is the majority of secular vocal music from the Renaissance. The madrigal, up until its development in the early Baroque into a form, is also usually in a cappella form. Jewish and Christian music were originally a cappella, and this practice has continued in both of these religions as well as in Islam, the polyphony of Christian a cappella music began to develop in Europe around the late 15th century AD, with compositions by Josquin des Prez. The early a cappella polyphonies may have had an accompanying instrument, by the 16th century, a cappella polyphony had further developed, but gradually, the cantata began to take the place of a cappella forms. 16th century a cappella polyphony, nonetheless, continued to influence church composers throughout this period and to the present day. Recent evidence has shown some of the early pieces by Palestrina. Such is seen in the life of Palestrina becoming an influence on Bach. In the Byzantine Rite of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches, bishop Kallistos Ware says, The service is sung, even though there may be no choir. In the Orthodox Church today, as in the early Church, singing is unaccompanied and this a cappella behavior arises from strict interpretation of Psalms 150, which states, Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Divine Liturgies and Western Rite masses composed by composers such as Peter Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alexander Arkhangelsky. Certain high church services and other events in liturgical churches may be a cappella. Many Mennonites also conduct some or all of their services without instruments, sacred Harp, a type of folk music, is an a cappella style of religious singing with shape notes, usually sung at singing conventions. Opponents of musical instruments in the Christian worship believe that opposition is supported by the Christian scriptures. There is no reference to music in early church worship in the New Testament
A cappella
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The Hullabahoos, a popular a cappella group at the
University of Virginia, were featured in the movie
Pitch Perfect
A cappella
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The Oxford Alternotives, the oldest a cappella group at the University of Oxford in the UK
A cappella
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The Sweet Nothings are one of the University of Exeter's eight A Capella groups. They are one of the oldest and most successful girl groups in the UK
A cappella
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The MadHatters are a collegiate a cappella group from the University of Wisconsin-Madison
23.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
International Standard Book Number
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A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
24.
List of compositions by Francis Poulenc
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This is a list of works written by the French composer Francis Poulenc. Mon beau laboureur, Les tisserands, FP130 Quatre petites prières de Saint François dAssise, FP142 Quatre motets pour le temps de Noël, O magnum mysterium, le front comme un drapeau perdu, IV. Une roulotte couverte en tuiles, V, je nai envie que de taimer, VIII. Figure de force brûlante et farouche, IX.140, I, aussi bien que les cigales - VII. The in-depth accompanying material entitled, Francis Poulenc 1899-1963, Lintégrale de ses oeuvres, list of works by Francis Poulenc, Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
List of compositions by Francis Poulenc
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Poulenc in the early 1920s.
25.
Opera
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Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. In traditional opera, singers do two types of singing, recitative, a style and arias, a more melodic style. Opera incorporates many of the elements of theatre, such as acting, scenery. The performance is given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble. Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition, in the 18th century, Italian opera continued to dominate most of Europe, attracting foreign composers such as George Frideric Handel. Opera seria was the most prestigious form of Italian opera, until Christoph Willibald Gluck reacted against its artificiality with his operas in the 1760s. The first third of the 19th century saw the point of the bel canto style, with Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti. It also saw the advent of Grand Opera typified by the works of Auber and Meyerbeer, the mid-to-late 19th century was a golden age of opera, led and dominated by Richard Wagner in Germany and Giuseppe Verdi in Italy. The popularity of opera continued through the era in Italy and contemporary French opera through to Giacomo Puccini. During the 19th century, parallel operatic traditions emerged in central and eastern Europe, the 20th century saw many experiments with modern styles, such as atonality and serialism, Neoclassicism, and Minimalism. With the rise of recording technology, singers such as Enrico Caruso, since the invention of radio and television, operas were also performed on these mediums. Beginning in 2006, a number of opera houses began to present live high-definition video transmissions of their performances in cinemas all over the world. In 2009, an opera company offered a download of a complete performance. The words of an opera are known as the libretto, some composers, notably Wagner, have written their own libretti, others have worked in close collaboration with their librettists, e. g. Mozart with Lorenzo Da Ponte. Vocal duets, trios and other ensembles often occur, and choruses are used to comment on the action, in some forms of opera, such as singspiel, opéra comique, operetta, and semi-opera, the recitative is mostly replaced by spoken dialogue. Melodic or semi-melodic passages occurring in the midst of, or instead of, the terminology of the various kinds of operatic voices is described in detail below. Over the 18th century, arias were accompanied by the orchestra. Subsequent composers have tended to follow Wagners example, though some, the changing role of the orchestra in opera is described in more detail below
Opera
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The performers from the Atlanta Opera sing the finale of
Lucia di Lammermoor. The
opera orchestra is visible in the lowered area in front of the stage.
Opera
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The
Palais Garnier of the
Paris Opéra, one of the world's most famous
opera houses.
Opera
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Claudio Monteverdi
Opera
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George Frideric Handel, 1733
26.
Dialogues of the Carmelites
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Dialogues des Carmélites is a French opera in three acts, divided into twelve scenes with linking orchestral interludes, with music and libretto by Francis Poulenc, completed in 1956. The composers second opera, Poulenc wrote the libretto after the work of the name by Georges Bernanos. The world première of the opera occurred on 26 January 1957 at La Scala in Milan, the première of the original French-language version took place in Paris on 21 June 1957. The United States première, in English translation, followed in San Francisco in September 1957 and it traces a fictional path from 1789 up to these events, when nuns of the Carmelite Order were guillotined. The screenplay was judged unsatisfactory for a film, Bernanos died on 5 July 1948. Subsequently, his executor, Albert Béguin, found this manuscript. To assist Bernanos surviving family, Béguin sought to have the work published, in January 1949, she agreed, and gifted her portion of the royalties due to her, as creator of the original story, over to Bernanos widow and children. However, von Le Fort requested that the Bernanos work be titled differently from her own novella, Béguin chose Dialogues des Carmélites as the title for the Bernanos work, which was published in 1949. A German translation of the work, Die begnadete Angst, was published in 1951, the French stage premiere was by Jacques Hébertot in May 1952 at the Théâtre Hébertot. The genesis of the opera was in 1953, margarita Wallmann took her husband, president of Ricordi, which was Poulencs publishing firm, to see the Bernanos play in Vienna. She had asked Poulenc to write an oratorio for her, through the commission from Ricordi, wallman was the eventual producer of the La Scala première of Poulencs opera, and she later supervised the 1983 revival at Covent Garden. About the same time, M. Valcarenghi had approached Poulenc with a commission for a ballet for La Scala in Milan, separately, Poulenc had seen the Bernanos play, but the suggestion from Ricordi finalised the impetus to adapt the subject as an opera. Poulenc began to adapt the Bernanos text in the spring and summer of 1953 and this was independent of the discussion, concluded in January 1949, between Béguin and von Le Fort. The two-year literary rights dispute between Béguin and Lavery reached arbitration by a jury from La Societé des Auteurs in Paris, on 20 July 1954, this jury ruled unanimously for Lavery, and ordered the Bernanos heirs to pay Lavery 100,000 FF for past contract infringements. Poulenc had curtailed work on his opera in March 1954, in light of his understanding of the Béguin-Lavery dispute. Following the July 1954 decision, separate negotiations occurred between Béguin and Lavery, via his agent Marie Schebeko, on rights and royalties to allow Poulenc to write his opera. The formal agreement was dated 30 March 1955, and acknowledged Bernanos, Lavery, von Le Fort, Bruckberger, Poulenc then resumed work on the opera, and completed it October 1955. At this time, Poulenc had recommitted himself to spirituality and Roman Catholicism, although he was openly gay, Wallmann worked closely with Poulenc during the composition process and in evolving the structure, as well as later when she re-staged the production in other theatres
Dialogues of the Carmelites
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Operas by
Francis Poulenc
Dialogues of the Carmelites
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Elin Rombo as Sister Blanche in Dialogues of the Carmelites in a 2011 production at the
Royal Swedish Opera.
27.
La voix humaine
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La voix humaine is a forty-minute, one-act opera for soprano and orchestra composed by Francis Poulenc in 1958. The work is based on the play of the name by Jean Cocteau. The libretto consists of a womans last phone conversation with her lover, during the call, the woman reveals that she has attempted suicide because her lover has abandoned her. The work has been frequently revived, sopranos from France, other continental European countries, the UK and the US have performed the solo role, and several of them, beginning with Duval, have recorded it. Cocteau finished writing La voix humaine in 1928, and the monodrama was premiered two years later, having been previously criticized for using mechanical effects in his plays, Cocteau sought to reduce his drama to the simplest of forms. Indeed, the play involves a single character in a single room with a telephone. The character—an anonymous woman referred to only as Elle —has been abandoned by her lover, the play consists of her last conversation with her lover. As a one-act play, the drama lacks the breaks that would determine its structure. Instead, Cocteau suggests that the actresss different poses represent different phases of the monologue, the structure of the play is further delineated by the phone cutting off frequently without warning. Upon the success of his second opera Dialogues des Carmélites in 1957, hervé Dugardin, the Paris director of Ricordi Publishers, suggested that Poulenc set Cocteaus monodrama to music, with Greek-American soprano Maria Callas singing the role of Elle. Poulenc, however, wrote the opera specifically for Denise Duval, Poulencs close work with Duval helped his compositional process because he knew the details of the sopranos stormy love life, and this helped to cultivate a sense of specificity in the opera. Poulenc also identified with Elles situation, which allowed him to pour immense anguish into his opera… Like her he abused sleeping pills, tranquilizers and he thus immersed himself in a deeply personal project with which he easily connected. Poulenc met Cocteau early in his career because of the close relationship with Les Six. The two maintained a friendship throughout their lives, but Poulenc did not set many of Cocteaus texts prior the composition of La voix humaine. Poulenc himself explained that he waited so many years to set Cocteaus play because he felt that he needed a deal of experience to perfectly construct such a work. In composing La voix humaine, Poulenc strove to maintain the effectiveness of Cocteaus original drama. He very carefully adapted Cocteaus text, omitting only those passages that he believed would reduce the tension of the opera. In his article on Poulenc and Cocteau, Denis Waleckx proposes that there are five types of phases in Cocteaus play and these phases deal with chronology, psychological evolution, social interaction, telephone problems, and the remembrance of past happiness
La voix humaine
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Operas by
Francis Poulenc
La voix humaine
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Example 1: Poulenc, La voix humaine (1959), 3 after no. 24
La voix humaine
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Example 2: Poulenc, La voix humaine (1959), 3 before no. 63
La voix humaine
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Example 3: Poulenc, La voix humaine (1959), no. 1 ("Exasperated waiting" motif)
28.
Ballet
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Ballet /ˈbæleɪ/ is a type of performance dance that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread, highly technical form of dance with its own based on French terminology. It has been influential and has defined the foundational techniques used in many other dance genres. Becoming a ballet dancer requires years of training, Ballet has been taught in various schools around the world, which have historically incorporated their own cultures to evolve the art. Ballet may also refer to a dance work, which consists of the choreography. A well-known example of this is The Nutcracker, a ballet that was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa. Ballets are choreographed and performed by trained artists, the word came into English usage from the French around 1630. Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th and 16th centuries before being spread from Italy to France by an Italian aristocrat, Catherine de Medici, in France, ballet developed even further under her aristocratic influence. The dancers in these early court ballets were mostly noble amateurs, Ballets in this period were lengthy and elaborate and often served a political purpose. Ornamented costumes were meant to impress viewers and restricted freedom of movement. The ballets were performed in large chambers with viewers on three sides, French court ballet reached its height under the reign of King Louis XIV. Known as the Sun King, Louis symbolized the brilliance of France, in 1661 Louis founded the Académie Royale de Danse to establish standards and certify dance instructors. In 1672, Louis XIV made Jean-Baptiste Lully the director of the Académie Royale de Musique from which the first professional ballet company, Lully is considered the most important composer of music for ballets de cour and instrumental to the development of the form. Ballet went into decline in France after 1830, though it continued to develop in Denmark, Italy, the arrival in Europe on the eve of First World War of the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, revived interest in the ballet and started the modern era. The Russian choreographer Michel Fokine challenged tradition and called for reforms that reinvigorated ballet as an art form, in the 20th century, ballet had a wide influence on other dance genres, and subgenres of ballet have also evolved. In the United States, choreographer George Balanchine developed what is now known as neoclassical ballet, other developments include contemporary ballet and post-structural ballet. Also in the century, ballet took a turn dividing it from classical ballet to the introduction of modern dance. Stylistic variations have emerged and evolved since the Italian Renaissance, early, classical variations are primarily associated with geographic origin
Ballet
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Classical bell tutus in The Dance Class by
Degas, 1874
Ballet
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Anna Pavlova in
Giselle, wearing a romantic tutu
Ballet
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Scene from act 4 of
Swan Lake,
Vienna State Opera, 2004
Ballet
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Harlequin and
Columbina from the mime theater at
Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark
29.
Concerto
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A concerto is a musical composition, whose characteristics have changed over time. In the 17th century, sacred works for voices and orchestra were typically called concertos, J. S. Bach was thus reflecting a long-standing tradition when he used the title concerto for many of the works that we know as cantatas. But in recent centuries, up to the present, a concerto is a piece composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra or concert band. The popularity of the concerto grosso form declined after the Baroque period, the solo concerto, however, has remained a vital musical force from its inception to this day. Examples of this form of concerto include Giovanni Gabrielis In Ecclesiis or Heinrich Schützs Saul, Saul, was verfolgst du mich. The concerto began to take its shape in the late Baroque period. Corellis concertino group was two violins and a cello, in J. S. Bachs Fifth Brandenburg Concerto, for example, the concertino is a flute, a violin, and a harpsichord, the harpsichord sometimes plays with the ripieno. Later the concerto approached its modern form in which the concertino usually reduces to a solo instrument playing with/against an orchestra. The concerto was intended as a typical of the Italian style of the time. The baroque concerto was mainly for an instrument or a wind instrument. Bach also wrote a concerto for two violins and orchestra, during the baroque period, before the invention of the piano, keyboard concertos were comparatively rare, with the exception of the organ and some harpsichord concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach. Cello concertos have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier, among the works from that period, those by Antonio Vivaldi and Giuseppe Tartini are still part of the standard repertoire today. The concerti of the sons of Johann Sebastian Bach, such as CPE Bach, are perhaps the best links between those of the Baroque period and those of the Classical era. It is conventional to state that the first movements of concerti from the Classical period onwards follow the structure of sonata form, final movements are often in rondo form, as in J. S. Mozart wrote five violin concertos, all in 1775 and they show a number of influences, notably Italian and Austrian. Several passages have leanings towards folk music, as manifested in Austrian serenades, mozart also wrote the highly regarded Sinfonia Concertante for violin, viola, and orchestra. Beethoven wrote only one violin concerto, under-appreciated until revealed as a masterpiece in a performance by violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim, Haydn wrote at least two cello concertos which are the most important works in that genre of the classical era. Bachs three cello concertos and Boccherinis are also noteworthy, Bachs keyboard concertos contain some brilliant soloistic writing
Concerto
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Frederick the Great playing a
flute concerto in
Sanssouci,
C. P. E. Bach at the piano,
Johann Joachim Quantz is leaning on the wall to the right; by
Adolph Menzel, 1852
30.
Chamber music
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Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a number of performers. However, by convention, it usually does not include solo instrument performances, because of its intimate nature, chamber music has been described as the music of friends. Playing chamber music requires special skills, both musical and social, that differ from the skills required for playing solo or symphonic works, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe described chamber music as four rational people conversing. The analogy to conversation recurs in descriptions and analyses of chamber music compositions, from its earliest beginnings in the Medieval period to the present, chamber music has been a reflection of the changes in the technology and the society that produced it. During the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, instruments were used primarily as accompaniment for singers, String players would play along with the melody line sung by the singer. There were also purely instrumental ensembles, often of stringed precursors of the violin family, some analysts consider the origin of classical instrumental ensembles to be the sonata da camera and the sonata da chiesa. These were compositions for one to five or more instruments, the sonata da camera was a suite of slow and fast movements, interspersed with dance tunes, the sonata da chiesa was the same, but the dances were omitted. These forms gradually developed into the trio sonata of the Baroque – two treble instruments and an instrument, often with a keyboard or other chording instrument filling in the harmony. Both the bass instrument and the instrument would play the basso continuo part. During the Baroque period, chamber music as a genre was not clearly defined, often, works could be played on any variety of instruments, in orchestral or chamber ensembles. The Art of Fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach, for example, sometimes composers mixed movements for chamber ensembles with orchestral movements. Telemanns Tafelmusik, for example, has five sets of movements for various combinations of instruments, Baroque chamber music was often contrapuntal, that is, each instrument played the same melodic materials at different times, creating a complex, interwoven fabric of sound. Because each instrument was playing essentially the same melodies, all the instruments were equal, in the trio sonata, there is often no ascendent or solo instrument, but all three instruments share equal importance. In the second half of the 18th century, tastes began to change, many preferred a new, lighter Galant style. And clearly defined melody and bass to the complexities of counterpoint, now a new custom arose that gave birth to a new form of chamber music, the serenade. Patrons invited street musicians to play evening concerts below the balconies of their homes, their friends, patrons and musicians commissioned composers to write suitable suites of dances and tunes, for groups of two to five or six players. These works were called serenades, nocturnes, divertimenti, or cassations, the young Joseph Haydn was commissioned to write several of these
Chamber music
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Frederick the Great plays flute in his summer palace
Sanssouci, with
Franz Benda playing violin,
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach accompanying on keyboard, and unidentified string players; painting by
Adolph Menzel (1850–52)
Chamber music
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Plato,
Aristotle,
Hippocrates and
Galen play a quartet on viols in this fanciful woodcut from 1516.
Chamber music
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Baroque musicians playing a trio sonata, 18th century anonymous painting
Chamber music
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Score of Joseph Haydn's Op. 20, No. 4, showing conversational mode.
