Welcome to this Sunday’s Ascoltare. I think today everyone needs a little “pick up”, so put your headphones on, grab yourself a cup of coffee, and enjoy.
(Warning: This is going to get loud!)
(TL;DR: Listen to this, this, and this)
If you ask someone to describe classical music, they’ll usually use the word “slow”. Slow, of course, is an adjective that only describes the tempo. What most people want to say is that classical music tends to flatline more often than not.
And while it’s true that formulaic musical structures require a build-up before they express their crescendos, it is exactly those gaps that enable the powerful explosions that can free our souls!
I’m going to focus on 3 different pieces, each one more intense than the previous one but different in how they manipulate their melodic lines.
Adagio for Strings - Samuel Barber
A well-known piece, used in numerous movies. Originally written as the second movements of Barber’s string quartet, he made arrangements for both a string orchestra and a mixed chorus.
It’s “Adagio”, so it’s “slow”. But most importantly, it has depth and tranquillity. The sustained notes of the contrabassi and cello allow us to observe the struggles of the violins to ascend.
They often reach their limits but they can’t quite make it beyond that.
I suggest you check out the original composition so you can clearly hear this.
And of course, the “Agnus Dei” arrangement, the Lamp of God (from the Mass liturgy).
(I recently found this performance. It’s more clear and precise than most choruses!)
Dies Irae - Verdi
Wrath, fire, ashes, judgements.
Witness of the divine. There’s really not a lot of negotiation going on, it’s about delivering raw emotions, like the Italians know best.
“Day of wrath and doom impending.
David's word with Sibyl's blending,
Heaven and earth in ashes ending.”
Trumpets are waking the souls to present themselves before God.
“Death is struck, and nature quaking,
All creation is awaking,
To its Judge an answer making. “
2:06, there’s whisper. Fear?
Requiems are death masses, usually composed for respectable men and women. But in almost all cases, a Requiem is written for humanity itself.
In contrast with Barber’s subtle intensity, Dies Irae is about big sentences and overt answers.
Carmina Burana (O Fortuna) - Orff
A lamentation about fate and its pitfalls. A cry for help or a celebration of individualism and control over our lives?
“O Fortune,
like the moon
you are changeable,
ever waxing
ever waning;
hateful life
first oppresses
and then soothes
playing with mental clarity;
poverty
and power
it melts them like ice.”
The medieval poem was used by Carl Orff to create this iconic piece of music.
I imagine this scene in my head:
A man in his house. He cries out, his right to complain about fate. He then puts his head down and whispers about this injustice. Only to break down again and scream.
Near the end, he realizes that no one can escape from fate, not even the Gods. He gets out of his house and celebrates the determinism of life.
CODA
Sorrow, Judgement, Wrath. Conclusion.
We often forget that the human condition is eternal. It characterizes every age and every situation.
Music can often express our primordial instincts. These 3 pieces are only examples of what’s hiding in the centuries that have passed.
Power and Freedom. Is it not?
P.S- You can find the previous issues of Ascoltare here:
Share this with every musician, uninitiated pop listener, classical music connoisseur, snob aristocrat, the bourgeoisie or proletariat:
Power and Freedom
Listened to these during my workout this week. Almost certain it doubled my power (at least).
Loving the variety of music in this newsletter, I can honestly say I have no idea what to expect next week.
Since I've started reading this as well I've picked up a copy of Kaufmann's basic writings of Nietzsche and just this week listened to the Ring cycle of Wagner, so it's safe to say my classical education is well underway.
I also have to mention that your passion for the music really comes through in your writing which is as admirable as it is rare these days.
Looking forward to the next one!