Articles about composers, periods and styles, methods of composing.
The seven Penitential Psalms are a group of Psalms, numbers 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143 in the Anglican numbering (in the Vulgate all except Psalm 6 are numbered one digit lower), which have been in liturgical use for penitential prayer since early Christian times and, in the later Middle Ages, were prescribed … Continue reading Orlande de Lassus : dare spirito alle parole
Almost exactly one year ago I wrote a short overview of Carlo Gesualdo on the occasion of his 450th birthday, March 8, 1566. I have to admit that I am not entirely pleased with that short article since it played into the recurring stereotype of Gesualdo as an unhinged murdering count. While it is true … Continue reading Gesualdo da Venosa : the music, not the life
I think we tend to take polyphony for granted. We inherited a form of music which has been with us for centuries and, in fact, we have even seen major-minor harmonic polyphony peak in the 18th century and then gradually give way and break down completely. However, what we take for granted took centuries to … Continue reading The Rise of Polyphony : Magister Leoninus and Magister Perotinus
Krzysztof Meyer (born 11 August 1943) is a Polish composer, pianist and music scholar, formerly Dean of the Department of Music Theory (1972–1975) at the State College of Music (now Academy of Music in Kraków), and president of the Union of Polish Composers (1985–1989). Meyer served as professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik … Continue reading The String Quartets of Krzysztof Meyer : a major achievement of the second half of the 20th century
“Haydn’s piano music is often complicated and formally wayward: its beauties do not, on the whole, lie on the surface. It is music whose appeal is primarily intellectual, requiring both thought and explanation.” (H.C. Robbins Landon) Haydn composed the Variations in F minor, Hob.XVII:6 in Vienna in 1793 for the talented pianist Barbara (‘Babette’) von Ployer, … Continue reading Haydn: Sonata ‘Un piccolo divertimento’
A major figure in 20th-century music, Morton Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School of composers also including John Cage, Christian Wolff, and Earle Brown. Feldman's works are characterized by notational innovations that he developed to create his characteristic sound: rhythms that seem to be free … Continue reading Morton Feldman’s Piano and String Quartet
Shortly after Wynton Marsalis burst on the scene in the 1980s, he and what was seen as his “agenda” became subjects of controversy. Just prior, the Jazz scene had experienced Free Jazz and Fusion, both of which were styles Marsalis and his fellow traveler Stanley Crouch opined were “outside the tradition” of Jazz. Two decades … Continue reading Wynton Marsalis : His Jazz Suites from the 1990s
Guillaume de Machaut is the most important poet and composer of the 14th century, with a lasting history of influence. His unique oeuvre, contained, thanks to the composer’s own efforts, in manuscripts that include only his works, stands in many respects for itself: in terms of its volume, its poetic and compositional formulation and quality, … Continue reading Machaut’s Messe de Nostre Dame : an overview
Gerald Finzi was born in London on July 14, 1901, and spent his early childhood in London. His father died when he was just seven and following the outbreak of the First World War Finzi moved with his mother to Harrogate, in Yorkshire. There Finzi was able to study composition with the composer Ernest Farrar … Continue reading Gerald Finzi : British composer
It is likely that Liszt derived the idea of thematic transformation as a unifying process from Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy, a work which he himself transcribed for piano and orchestra in 1851. Schubert’s themes run through all four movements of the fantasy in varied forms The four movements are played without a break, and outline a … Continue reading Overview and Analysis of the Liszt Piano Sonata in B Minor, S. 178
Musica Kaleidoskopea 