To astound or to enchant

Orazio Gentileschi: young woman playing a violin

Pardon me, if while writing, I shut my eyes and breathe in a few sequences of Vivaldi's 'La Stravaganza, Concerto No. 2' 

There is so much told. There is so much music. And it's packed into ten minutes or so. Try picking a main theme. In fact, listen to the first four minutes and see if you can identify a clear main theme. It's a process, and a continuous one -- this composition.

And then teach your self the art of contrast -- notice the change of pace and information conveyed in the second piece (second movement) at the 4:00 minute mark.

The flute as philosopher

(This time, we shall listen to the sound of flute in Hindi songs. It's markedly different from the sound in western classical.)

Listen to the flute in this song. It's used sparingly, yet presents the pathos of the man struggling for love. The flute is the man itself. The other instruments bring out the high ended grief, the restlessness. Until keeping all that aside, the man decides to say another stanza, and it's the flute that leads him to it. (Listen to the flute parts. This is considered a landmark song in Indian films. Else, you can jump to the flute parts at 0:48 2:11 3:36 and the strains during the last line of every stanza, like at 1:29)

Music for the world

Audio Only Link

You are invited to the world music parliament and must take with you a piece of music, under five minutes. A piece that presents the awesomeness of the genre. For classical, what would you play to the audience?

Sure, there are innumerable pieces you can choose from. One of them I would take with me is the second movement of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's 'Flute concerto in G Major'.

I would listen to this melody soar in the parliament and attract listeners and lovers.
How brilliant and how modern, and what else is modernity if not brilliance? How does it matter if the rice is cooked on coal flames or on an electric heater as long as it tastes good, and is made with love?

The melody, this love-gift of Pergolesi is

Harp strings the heart

Every hidden cell is throbbing with music and life, every fiber thrilling like harp strings. 

-- John Muir

Source

The harp requires care and patient treatment. Like life. And if we are so impatient with daily life, we will never be patient with the harp. If we made a habit of avoiding television, tuning a harp would not seem a chore.

The harp, or even the bassoon, will bring us closer to life than television or the habit of indoors.

And then the quotation above will resonate within. I tell myself while consoling my spirit.

I focus today on a composition that is much loved, but little heard. A strange contradiction! In fact, online links to this music are few.

A vision for guitar

Guitar is not an everyday member of classical music family. It's soft, so it may get lost with the orchestral sounds. Here is a bang-on reason:

Guitars are often solo instruments, but before the days of amplification, they wouldn't project over full sections of strings or winds. [source]

Yet, we will see that it sounds magnificent with the orchestra. Today, we listen to a guitar concerto, and probably the most popular one.

Wikipedia tells us straight

Rodrigo's music is among the most popular music of the 20th century. In particular, his Concierto de Aranjuez is considered one of the pinnacles of Spanish music and of the guitar concerto repertoire.

When classical music is a poem

Classical music connects with your soul, I often say. It can remind you of a story of the past or it can inspire you to create a new one.

Today, a cello has an important and exciting story to tell you. The story is continuous -- sometimes rhythmic, sometimes the cello tells you a sad event, sometimes he fills you with hope and the orchestra joins him in fervour.

The music, rondo for cello and orchestra by Daniel François Esprit Auber, is like a poem. The 'starting lines' are repeated throughout, as are a few other musical themes. It's like this:

Minimalist music

I listened to Arvo Part's composition of Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen) on new year's day. It countered beautifully the nonsensical Bollywood music played out in celebration for the day. This is the second time this blog features Salve Regina; the first time was for a composition by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. Pergolesi lived between 1710-1736, while Arvo Part is an important member of contemporary classical music.

I went on to his symphony no. 4. And the first piece (movement) of this minimalist work will introduce to you the simplicity of modern orchestral music - minimalism is an important