Double Run Passage for Alto and Soprano from "For Unto Us A Child Is Born" from Handel's "Messiah"

I believe that this passage is the most difficult passages in that chorus from the Messiah....it is like a pianist trying to do double-thirds in 16th-notes, which can also be difficult. The main problem is for the altos and the sopranos to listen to each other to make sure that the intonation and the pitches are right on even though the notes are played fast.

The Schrimer Edition of the "Messiah" also creates a challenge for the accompanist---that orchestral reduction for the piano does use this passage in either double sixths or double thirds as well.

A New System to Determine Major Key Signatures

A. FLATTED KEYS

Listed Order in the Key Signature                           Resultant Key From The No. of Flats

No flats                                                                      Key of C

Bb                                                                              Key of F

Bb, Eb                                                                        Key of Bb

Bb, Eb, Ab                                                                 Key of Eb

Bb, Eb, Ab, Db                                                          Key of Ab

Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb                                                   Key of Db

Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb                                            Key of Gb

Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb                                      Key of Cb

HINTS:

1. The key of F has only a single flat in its key signature, which is Bb, and because there is no pentultimate order on the key signature of F, you need to think down a fourth from Bb to get the key.

2. The key of Bb, and other flatted keys that follow (Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb), require you to think look at the pentultimate flat in the listed order of the key signature (going from left to right) to get the key.

3. The pentultimate flats are marked in boldface.

B. SHARPED KEYS

Listed Order in the Key Signature                           Resultant Key From The No. of Flats

No flats                                                                      Key of C

F#                                                                              Key of G

F#, C#                                                                       Key of D

F#, C#, G#                                                                Key of A

F#, C#, G#, D#                                                         Key of E

F#, C#, G#, D#, A#                                                   Key of B

F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#                                            Key of F#

F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#                                      Key of C#

HINTS:

1. The key of G has only a single sharp in its key signature, which is F#, and because there is no last order in the key signature of G, you need to think up a minor 2nd from F# to get the key.

2. The key of D, and other sharped keys that follow (A, E, B, F#, and C#), require you to look the last sharp in the listed order of the key signature AND move that sharp up a minor 2nd to get the key. For instance......

* If D major is the key, the last sharp on the key signature order is C#, so you need to go up a major     
2nd (C# to D) to get the key
* If A major is the key, the last sharp on the key signature order is G#, so you need to go up a major

2nd (G# to A) to get the key of A.

3. The listed sharps that you need to go up a minor 2nd are also in boldface.

REVIEW

For the flatted key signatures, think of the pentultimate flat in the listed order of the key signature.

(Exceptions: Keys C and F)

For the sharped key signatures, think of going up a minor 2nd on the last sharp listed in the key signature

(Exceptions: Keys C and G)

How to Teach High School Chorus--Several Aspects

Auditioning a Singer

Vocalises

 ---should include simple major scales, simple minor scales, and triad arpeggios

 ---shoud also involve ear training/sight singing

[All of this should be done to figure out the singer's range]

Before a choral session........

Vocalises and Warm-ups, which include:

--Often, Latin vowels and English phonetic sounds  (i.e.), are done for diction warm-up.

--Sustained chords, often moved up a few minor seconds down or up from the original

    spot for pitch recognition and for "listening to each other"

--Glissandos up and down

--Like in private vocal lessons, use the half-step technique, going up or down from the

   original key.

When reading a choral song before rehearsing.....

--Figure out potential problems with

   --specific notes

   --unusual time signatures

    --changes in time signatures

    --modulations (for example, constant key changes)

    --melismas and related runs that can be difficult to execute

    --a song's specific language (e.g., Italian, French, German)

    --the character needed for the piece

   --the history of the song or songs, if any

If choral conducting, be sure to use a color-coded system for important patterns and events in the score. This will facilitate cuing. Also use your mouth as a signal.

What to look for in the song during the actual choral rehearsal.......

--listening to each other

--seating arrangment of the chorus

--pitch recognition

--problems with certain notes being over or under the pitch

--diction, whether it is English or another language.

--intonation

--balance

To Sing On Book or Sing Off-Book

Singing off-book allows for even stronger attention to the conductor.

Singing on-book makes sure that pitches are correct but the drawback is less attention to

    the conductor.

Diagram of a 4-Beat Pattern in Music/Choral Conducting

Classical Music Appreciation----Musical Terms

SONATA

    *    comes from the Italian verb “sonare”, to sound, and hence, it means “sounded.”
         (indirectly, it means a sound piece)

    *     it is a musical form of a large scale, divided into separate pieces called
           “movements”

    *    usually, three or four movements make up a sonata

    *    the sonata movements can be independent of one another, or can be played through
         without any pause


SONATINA

• comes from the Italian to mean “little sound piece.” Generally, it is a piece that is
        shorter than a typical sonata, although it still is divided into movements like a
         typical sonata

Example: Sonatina in C Major, op. 36, no. 1 (Muzio Clementi)

CONCERTO

*    comes from the word “concert” in Italian

*     at first, the term focused on the solo instrument that would be performed
      'front and center’ in front of accompanying instruments in the Baroque era
      (1600-1725)

Example: Brandenburg Concertos 1-6 (Johann Sebastian Bach)

*     then, the concerto’s meaning changed in the Classical era (1725-1800), to mean
      a large orchestral work where a soloist or soloists would play in front of an
      orchestra, with flashy sections called “cadenzas”, usually played by the soloist
      while the orchestra is silent

Example: Piano Concerto no. 20 in D minor (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)

   

Grand Concert Fantasy on "La Sonnambula" (Franz Liszt)-- A World of Changing Key Centers

       

     The La Sonnambula fantasy, unlike the Don Juan, Norma, and

Robert le Diable fantasies (which were also composed by

Franz Liszt), have slightly more areas of modula-

tions of key center. The possible reason that Liszt focuses more

on key center in the Sonnambula fantasy was to reflect the dream

inside Amina, the sleepwalker, who falls asleep and is discovered

by the villagers in the bedroom in the "Osservate" aria. Not only

that, he also uses the key center to portray a continued spell

Amina carries during the "Tutto è sciolto" passage.

 Major Key Centers in Liszt's Grand Fantasy on "La 
Sonnambula"

------------------------------------------------------------------

A. Osservate

1. Beginning part                           Db, Ab, Db

2. Middle part                              Bb, Dbm, E, C, A, C#m

3. Ending part                              Db, Bbm, Db

B. Tutto è sciolto; Pasci il guardo        

1. Beginning part(Tutto è sciolto)          Bbm, Db; Bbm, Db

2. Middle part #1(Pasci il guardo)          A

3. Middle part #2(Pasci il guardo, reprise) Dm: D, Em, D

C. Osservate--Reprise

1. Reprise                                  Db, Bbm, Ebm

2. Cadenza                                  V7 of Eb

D. Ah, non giunge

1. First part                               Eb, Cm, G, Eb

                                                               
2. Second part(reprise with trill in r.h.)  Eb, Cm, G, B, Eb, Cm,

                                                V7 of Eb                                                               

3. Third part(second reprise with trill)    Eb, E, V7 of Bb

                                                         
E. Voglia un cielo

1. First part                               Eb, Cm, F, Cm, Eb

2. Second part(reprise)                     Eb, Cm, F, Cm, Eb

3. Coda                                     Eb, Cb, Abm, Eb(done

                                              twice)

------------------------------------------------------------------

     Note that the Ah! non giunge aria comes when Amina's "dream

spell" is broken and Amina gets reunited with her rightful lover.

Bellini tends to use the B-flat key in the original opera score

occasionally, especially in the Ah! non giunge. Liszt, however,

uses E-flat major for the aria (perhaps, to Liszt, E-flat major

is perceived as a brighter flatted key than B-flat)as an ending

for the fantasy.

A Little Look into the Chamber Fantasy on Bizet's "Carmen" for piano solo by Busoni

A lot of operatic transcriptions on "Carmen" had been done but this one by Ferruccio Busoni seems to be a less obvious transcription performed nowadays. Still this transcription works. Here is a bit of what happens inside a few of these sections.

 PART 2 (mm. 82-101) Here, the Act II flower song is depicted, where Don José says to Carmen that this symbol represents the desire for love, although Carmen remains indifferent to his wishes. The contemporary accompaniment seems to make the aria more of an hallucination then a straight-forward faithful transcription. A transitional section based on the famous fate motive appears on mm. 102-109, leading to a V7 of D-flat key center.

 PART 3 (mm. 110-186) This time, the part brings out the Habanera aria sung by Carmen in Act 2, who sings that falling in love with a man may bring with it danger. The key starts in Db major, and then comes back to the original D minor (m. 135), where there is a flourishing figuration of the motive. Another transition-filled passage depicts the Act 4 quarrel when Don José and Carmen that grows into a climax, just before Carmen gets stabbed (mm. 169-186), which leads to the V7 of A by running scales.

DATES OF SELECTED TRANSCRIPTIONS OF FRANZ LISZT

Fantasy on La Tyroline (D'Auber)                                                          1820

Reminiscences of Norma (Bellini)                                                            1840-1

"Salve Maria," of I Lombardi (Verdi)                                                       1848

Concert Fantasy on Widmung (Schumann)                                              1848

Fantasy on 2 Motives on Le Nozze di Figaro (Mozart)                            1850

Les Patineurs from Le Prophète (Meyerbeer)                                          1850

Bridal Procession and Prélude from Lohengrin (Wagner)                          1852

Concert Fantasy on Ernani (Verdi)                                                         1859

Concert Fantasy on Rigoletto (Verdi)                                                      1859

Spinning Song from The Flying Dutchman (Wagner)                              1860

Waltz from Faust (Gounod)                                                                    1861

Festival Chorus and March from Don Carlo (Verdi)                                1868

Polonaise from Eugene Onegin (Tschaikovsky)                                      1879

Sacred Dance and Final Duet from Aïda (Verdi)                                     1879

Solemn March on Parsifal (Wagner)                                                       1882

Illustration on Simon Boccanegra (Verdi)                                                1885

My Own Anticipated Thesis Defense Questions and Answers

QUESTIONS

1. In the keyboard of J.S. Bach, the free fantasy was either inserted before a fugue by itself, or if was given what alternate name?

2. Tell briefly the structure (the usual one) of Domenico Scarlatti's piano sonatas.

3. Derek Watson said that Liszt's hands moved like what?

4. For most two-stave passages, Liszt would often use up-stemmed or down-stemmed notes to do what?

5. Was it regular procedure to use rests in the empty spaces between the opposite directions of the stemmed notes?

6. The "Unser dunkel Poebel meint" variations, composed in 1787, was taken from what

opera by Christoph Wilhelm von Gluck?

7. The tragic aria in Act IV, "Le gioje i dolori tra poco avran fine", was taken from what

Verdi opera?

8. Charles Rosen said that the pianoforte was important in the fantasy whether he was the arranger or what other person?

9. Charles Rosen said  that the great instrumentalists were trained as what?

10. Charles Rosen labeled these four composers as mainly keyboard performers. Name them.

ANSWERS

1. It was given a name, capriccio or toccata.

2. It starts with an exposition in the first part, and  then a development and a short

recapitulation in the second part.

3. A great ballet dancer.

4. To indicated the parts of the texture.

5. No.

6. The Pilgrim From Mecca.

7. La Traviata.

8. The innovator.

9. Singers.

10.Scarlatti, Handel, J.S. Bach, and Couperin.

Main Structure of Chopin's Polonaise-Fantasy

Introduction (mm. 1-23)	mm. 1-2--ab: i-VI-VII-bbII (-N6-V7) mm. 3-6--V7 in ab ends unresolved mm. 7-8--eb: i-VI-bVII-bbII-N6-V7 mm. 9-17--change of key center to E           major, with a partial revela-           tion of the polonaise theme mm. 18-22-change of key center to ab mm. 23-24--l.h., on V of Ab, starts a            polonaise  riff to end intro-            duction
Part A- Polonaise (mm. 24-147)	mm. 24-43--full revelation of polonaise            theme mm. 44-65--short reprise of polonaise            theme with new, transitional            material mm. 66-79--New material, changing from            Ab to V7b9 of fm in key center mm. 80-91--Reprise of new material, now            in E major and modulating mm. 92-107--Reprise of polonaise theme             starting in Eb major mm. 108-115--Reprise of polonaise theme              now in Ab minor mm. 116-127--New material, still in              polonaise mm. 128-147--Change to B minor; right              hand has first broken octave              figuration, then scalar              figuration on a i 6-4 in bm,              fading away in slow chords
Part B- Nocturne and Reprise of Polonaise (mm. 148-225)	mm. 148-167--Nocturne theme, with a              little introduction in mm.              148-151 mm. 168-181--Reprise of nocturne theme,              ending with a pause in mm.              180-181 mm. 182-197--Material of polonaise based              on material from mm. 116-              127 mm. 198-205--V7 in B; single, double,              and triple trills mm. 206-214--Coda of the nocturne theme mm. 215-216: Reprise, B: I-bIII-bvii-bii

          

Part C-Transition (mm. 226-241)	mm. 226-229--Stormy passage that ends in              3rd inversion of V7 in Gb mm. 230-233--Another stormy passage that              ends in 3rd inversion of V7               in A mm. 234-237--Another stormy passage of              even more instability in              harmony mm. 238-241--Rising octave passage on              a camouflage of V7 through              nonharmonic passing tones
Part D- Coda (mm. 242-288)	mm. 242-248--Triumphal reprise of polo-              naise theme, now in rhythmic              movement in triplets, now in              A-flat major mm. 249-253--Sudden change to B major,              then a cascade of resolving              secondary dominants ends              with a ii6 in A-flat mm. 254-280--Triumphal reprise of the              nocturne theme in A-flat              major, again in triplets.              Calms down in power and              texture at about m. 280. mm. 281-288--Laid-back coda, ending with              a sudden ff in m. 288

COMMONLY-USED EDITOR'S TITLES FOR SOME OF THE MENDELSSOHN'S "SONGS WITHOUT WORDS"

"Hunting Song"

Op. 19, no. 3, in A major (Molto vivace)

"Venetian Boat Song no. 1"

Op. 19, no. 6, in G minor (Andante sostenuto)

"Venetian Boat Song no. 2"

Op. 30, no. 6, in F-sharp minor (Allegretto tranquillo)

"Passion"

Op. 38, no. 5, in A minor (Agitato)

"Duet" (or "Duetto")

Op. 38, no. 6, in A-flat major (Andante con moto)

"Folk Song" (or "Volkslied")

Op. 53, no. 5, in A minor (Allegro con fuoco)

"The Flight"

Op. 53, no. 6, in A major (Allegro molto vivace)

"Funeral March"

Op. 62, no. 3, in E minor (Andante maestoso)

"Venetian Boat Song no. 3"

Op. 62, no. 5, in A minor (Andante con moto)

"Spring Song"

Op. 62, no. 6, in A major (Allegreto grazioso)

"Spinning Song"

Op. 67, no. 4, in C Major (Presto)

PARTIAL LIST OF OPERAS THAT OPENED UP IN THE 19TH CENTURY IN EUROPE

PARTIAL LIST OF OPERAS THAT OPENED UP IN THE 19TH CENTURY IN EUROPE

Carmen

The Damnation of Faust

Der Freischütz (The Free-Shooter)

Faust

Les Hugenots

La Muette de Portici (The Mute Lady of Portici)

Le Prophète (the Prophet)

Rigoletto

Robert le Diable (Robert The Devil)

My Own Comments of Don Juan Fantasy of Liszt

And what does Liszt do to imitate the orchestra at the start? The opening fantasy of Don Juan is one example---he makes a strong wall of solemn chords to imitate the brass instruments in the original score to "Di rider finirai". And just the ornament, Liszt adds the inner trill in the left hand--the possible reason is that when the statue warns the Don that he will come back, the trills represent the Don's legs shaking in fear.

Gazzaniga - Differences in Character to Da Ponte's Don Giovanni

The main differences in the characters are this: unlike da Ponte's use of one servant,

Leporello, Bertoli uses two servants: Pasquariello and Laterna, but he focuses more on the former than the latter.

The condemnation of the Don to hell is straightforward in involvement, but the Demon voices in Da Ponte's version are called Furies (perhaps attributed to the characters to Dido and Aeneas)

Maturina is a substitute for Da Ponte's character Zerlina.

Biaglo is a subsitute for Da Ponte's Masetto.

Oljola is the Itallianate substitute name for Ulloa.

Dates of Some Piano Works by Claude Debussy and Franz Liszt

Claude Debussy 2 Arabesques (1888-91) Reverie (1890) Pour te Piano (1894) Images I (1899) Estampes (1903) L'isle joyeuse (1904) Masques (1904) Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum (1906) Images II (1907) Gollwogg's Cakewalk (1908) Preludes I (1910) Preludes II (1912-13) Franz Liszt Funerailles (1841) Transcenental Etudes (1851, revised) Sonata in B minor (1852) Dante Sonata (1858) Tarantella from 'Venezia e Napoli' (1859) Valse Oubliee no. 1 (1881) Hungarian Rhapsody no. 20 (1885) Robert Schumann Variations on an Original Theme (1834) Arabeske, op. 18 (1838) Kinderscenen, op. 15 (1838) Kreisleriana, op. 16 (1838) Eight Novelettes, op. 21 (1838) Phantasiestücke, 5 Pieces, (1851)

Classical Music Appreciation--Summary on J.S. Bach And Some His Music

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)

--born in Eisenach, Germany, in 1685

--became court musician at the ducal court at Weimar; most of his contrapuntal works     

    (1708-17) came out of his work in Weimar

---50 members of the Bach family were musicians

Example was Johann Christian Bach (1613-1661), who was an instrumentalist

---The rest of his work as composer was in Leipzig, and made friends with Georg

     Phillpp Telemann and George Frederic Handel.

---In 1733, he composed one of his biggest choral works—the Mass in B minor.

List of Some of the Important Bach Works

Air on a G String

---The famous music from his Orchestral Suite no. 3

----In the key of D major, the piece is so called because the violins play the notes on the

        G string, one of the four strings played on the violin

Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor (c. 1720)

---the “fantasy” part is a free-fantasy, filled with runs, arpeggios and chromatic changes

---the fugue part is in 3 voices, in a ¾ meter

Partita in B-flat Major for Keyboard Alone (1726)

----composed as a suite of movements; the final movement, the Gigue, is very popular

     (it is a sort of keyboard exercise in crossover notes over accompanying triplets)

Italian Concerto in F major for Keyboard Alone (1735)

   ---almost in a form of a keyboard sonata since it has three movements

   ---the first movement is fast; the second, slower, and the third, even faster

The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (1722)

The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II (1744)

---both collections contain 24 preludes and fugues in all the major and minor keys.

---in Book I, each prelude shows a different musical style in the Baroque period.

       For instance, Prelude #21 is an organ toccata; #9 is a 3-voice pastorale.

---Prelude and Fugue no. 6 in D minor from Book II

      The prelude is in a fast ¾ meter almost in a toccata with continuous sixteenth notes

      The fugue is in a slower 4/4 meter with a mixture of faster and slower notes, and

          …more smooth sounding than the prelude. Also more chromatics as well.

The Goldberg Variations (1741)

--an aria taken as a theme, followed by 30 variations.

--most of the variations are “canons” (imitative pieces almost similar to round songs like

    “Frere Jacques”), focusing on a different type of interval (such as 5^th, octave, etc.)

--takes about a little over 30 minutes to complete

Introduction to Music - 12-Week Sample Course Outline (college-level)

INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC

Assume that the "chapters" will be equivalent to one week of study.

Chapter 1

This chapter attempts to answer these three questions or statements:

1. What is music in general?

2. The basic parts that create music.

3. The difference between music and "noise"

Chapter 2

This chapter covers....

1. The several parts that make up music: pitch, melody, harmony, and timbre.

2. The introduction to bowed string instruments: the violin, the viola, the violoncello

    and double bass.

3. An introduction to music notation: the grand staff, the measure and bar line, the

    time signature, and the treble clef and the bass clef.

Prepare for Quiz #1 on Chapters 1 to 3

Chapter 3

This chapter covers....

1. The introduction to woodwind instruments: the flute, the oboe, the clarinet, and

    the bassoon.

2. More basic concepts to music notation: the whole note, the half note, the quarter note,

    and the dotted half note.

3. The basic arrangement of a symphony orchestra.

Quiz #1: Chapters 1 to 3

Chapter 4

This chapter covers....

1. The introduction to brass instruments: the trumpet, the French horn, the trombone

    (the slide trombone) and tuba.

2. More concepts to music notation: the basic time signatures (2/4, 3/4, 4/4 (or common

    time), 6/8 and cut time (2/2)).

3. A basic introduction to blues music structure, which includes the blues scale.

Chapter 5

This chapter covers.....

1. The introduction to non-pitched percussion instruments: the bass drum, the cymbals,     

     the snare drum, and the gong.

2. More concepts to music notation: the eighth note, the dotted quarter note, the sixteenth   

    note, and an introduction of a basic tuplet (the "triplet")

3. An introduction to the basic chord qualities: minor, major, augmented, and diminished.

Review Exam: Chapters 1-5

Prepare for Midterm Exam for Chapters 1-5, and 6-7

Chapter 6

This chapter covers....

1. The introduction to pitched percussion instruments: the timpani, the marimba, the 

    celesta, and the bells

2. More concepts to music notation: the double bar, the final double bar, the repeat sign,

    D.C. al Fine ("from the head to the end"), Fine ("the end")

3. An introduction to the major scale (the "Ionian" mode)

Chapter 7

This chapter covers...

1. Basic eurythmics, which include clapping to rhythms, and basic human rhythm

   techniques such as body drumming.

2. More concepts to music notation: the lead sheet, chord symbols, and fake books

3. An introduction to world music: capoeira

Midterm Exam: Chapters 1-7

Chapter 8

This chapter covers....

1. Different types of classical chamber music arrangements: the wind quintet, the string

   quartet, the piano duo, and the string trio.

2. More concepts to music notation: introduction to articulations (staccato, legato, accent,

     and "fermata" (or "pause"))

3. An introduction to world music: Afrobeat/highlife music

Prepare for Quiz #2 for Chapters 8-9

Chapter 9

This chapter covers.....

1. The sub-genres that make up jazz music: bebop, free jazz, swing, ragtime, fusion (or

   "funk"), Latin jazz, smooth jazz.

2. More concepts to music notation: the "tie", the breve note (or "double whole note"),

    cue notes, and the basic rests (half, whole, quarter)

3.  An introduction to world music: the bolero from a Cuban standpoint and the bolero

     from a Spanish standpoint.

Quiz #2:  Chapters 8-9

Chapter 10

This chapter covers......

1. The sub-genres that make up rock music: progressive rock, soft rock, Latin rock, heavy

    metal, power rock, power ballad, 50s and 60s rock-and-roll, disco, soul, rhythm-and-

    blues, jamrock.

2. More concepts to music notation: the basic symbols of guitar tablature: the finger

    numbers, the basic "effect" symbols, and how the note relates to the fret of the

    guitar.

3. An introduction to the three types of minor scales: natural minor, melodic minor, and

    melodic minor

Chapter 11

This chapter covers....

1. The basic concepts and structure of opera and musical theater, which will include

    the overture, ballet interludes, opera-comique, and recitative.

2. More concepts to music notation: reading a percussion staff

3. The 8 degrees that cover both the major and minor scales (tonic, supertonic,

   mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, leading tone, octave)

Prepare for Final Exam for Chapters 1-12

  

Chapter 12

The chapter covers....

1. The role of the conductor in symphony orchestras or choirs.

2. More concepts to music notation: the tremolo, the glissando, the multimeasure rest,

    and more introduction to tuplets (the duplet, the quadruplet, the quintuplet, the

    sextuplet, and the septuplet)

3. Introduction to world music: Russian music concepts (the minor second, and the

     "khovorod" (or "round dance"))

4. An introduction to the concepts of the "concerto".

Final Exam: Chapters 1-12

Musical Forms in Preludes 20-24 of the Well-Tempered Clavier Book I (J.S. Bach)

The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I--Prelude Forms (J.S. Bach)

Prelude no. 20 in A minor--2-part invention

Prelude no. 21 in Bb major--toccata

Prelude no. 22 in Bb minor--in a style of an organ/harpsichord prelude

Prelude no. 23 in B major--3-part invention

Prelude no. 24 in B minor--binary form

The Basso Continuo

Basso Continuo (or Thorough-Bass)

 It is one of the most distinct and consistent features of the Baroque as a whole.

Functioning as both melodic and harmonic bass, it was played by a combination of 2 kinds of movements....

1. One or more melodic instruments (viola da gamba, or bassoon)

2. A keyboard instrument (organ or harpsichord), or lute.

What Would Hector Berlioz Say in the "Marche Au Supplice" from "Fantastic Symphony" if He Did This in Poetic Form?

Now suppose Berlioz made an opera of the "Symphonie Fantastique", and made the 4th movement ("March To The Scaffold") with a libretto to add to the symphony orchestra version of this poetic symphony he wrote.

Berlioz writes in his program notes in that 4th movement that he was high on opium, and in his hallucinogenic dreams, he dreams that he murdered his lover and he himself is condemned to the guillotine. On the chopping block, just before the blade cuts his head off, Berlioz thinks about his last thoughts of her dead lover before he dies of decapitation.

Sure, Berlioz did write his opera called "The Damnation of Faust", but the Fantastic Symphony was of course, a large piece made out of 5 symphonic poems or "movements."

The libretto, in my guess, will likely involve a character that would play Hector Berlioz, and an opera chorus, and will likely have a scene similar to the end of the Francis Poulenc opera, "Dialogue of the Carmelites", where the Carmelites are beheaded--the guillotine scene. In addition, the libretto, would be written, in Berlioz's way, something like this:

SOLO:

Now I'm condemned to be cut off....

Forced to march on, I cannot scoff;

Gallows, execution...

O, that blade I see...is no fun!

O, that gulliotine stands,

As are fettered my hands,

O, guards push me to that supplice!

O, I cannot stand that thing of death,

It makes me tense with every breath,

Now let me die upon that platform please!

O, drums, sound that frightful roll

That precedes the blade's fall

Which sends a legal sign to all!

CHORUS:

Oh, that supplice!

SOLO:

O, drums, sound that frightful roll;

And now, I will not fail

Though I don't die in jail---

O, I am crying a terrible wail!!

I have memories of a lady that I killed...

And my awful arrest for this....

There was no more bliss....

For that dame I miss, I miss, I miss.....

Guillotine, cut off my own head, for I am ever tarnished!

Life now has no more meaning anymore, for murder's end that I can never mend!

CHORUS:

He'll die!!!

SOLO:

Guillotine, now cut off my very life as if I'm wood not varnished...

I can't bear it anymore; I want my life to end because I have no more to send.

CHORUS:

He'll die!!!

SOLO:

Oh, guillotine, fall!!

CHORUS:

Dah duh duh duh duh duh, dah duh duh duh duh duh!

SOLO:

Oh, fall, blade of awe!!!

CHORUS:

Dah duh duh duh duh duh, dah duh duh duh duh duh!

SOLO:

O, my God, pray for me right now...

With praise as my head I bow...

O, give me mercy when I go to heaven......

O, Jesus, I'm goin' to face a punishment of me beheaded...

I can't repent, for it's too late and I have did the sin that caused her to be dead!

O Jesus, cry, weep for me, for my own capital chastisement.....

I'd die like you, as if I'm goin' to be crucified and die without a hint!

Lord, cry for that dame!

CHORUS:

Dah duh duh duh duh duh, dah duh duh duh duh duh!

SOLO:

Cry, for she is slain!

CHORUS:

Dah duh duh duh duh duh, dah duh duh duh duh duh!

SOLO:

O, guillotine descend,

Come on, fall down and let my life come to an end....

(Note, this covers only the first two-thirds of the 4th movement)

Schumann's "Kreisleriana"--An Outline

Here, I give the tempo indications in German, the beginning key center of the pieces, and the beginning time signature of the pieces.

1. Aüsserst bewegt (D minor), 4/4

An agitated triplet section in the RH (A section) with a contrasting B section, softer than the first section, in B-flat major.  When the A section returns, it is the same as before--agitated.

2. Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch (Bb major), 3/4

Quasi poetic, quite nocturnal, and like a Lied.

   A. Intermezzo I--Sehr lebhaft (F major)--2/4

   Almost in the style of Papillons (from Carnaval, op. 9);

   a moto perpetuo piece with foci on syncopations of eighth

   notes.

   B. Return to Sehr innig (Bb major)--3/4

   Back to the nocturne-like them again.

   C. Intermezzo II--Etwas bewegter (G minor)--3/4

   Running, flowing 16th notes in arpeggi, punctuated by

   inner-note melodies, over a bass line in legato octaves in

   dotted rhythms and long notes. Main theme looks like a

   circle of 5ths.

   D. Langsamer--Adagio (Bb major)--3/4

   Starts of as a transitional episode to the return of

   almost the whole nocturne theme, and ends with a brief

   coda.

  

3. Sehr aufgeregt (G minor)--2/4

This is a precursor to the Schnell und spielend (or "Fast and

Playful") scherzo of the no. 8 piece in Kriesleriana. Sprightly, humorous triplets dominate the r.h., against slower-going notes in the L.H.

   A. Etwas langsamer

   Breaks off slightly slower into 16th notes, both rising     

   and falling scalar melodies are present.

  

   B. Erstes tempo

   As before--a return to the Sehr aufgeregt in the original

   G minor key.

   C. Noch schneller

   This is the coda of the piece, more agitated, and with

   more triplets. The final measures have notes crossing

    paths over each other in eighth notes.

4. Sehr langsam (Bb Major)--4/4

Nocturne-like, almost Eusebius-style, almost in the style of a Bach prelude.

   Bewegter (G minor)

  Change to G minor, with 3-part texture (upper part has

  slower melody; inner part has 16th notes; bass line has

   quarter notes)

   Erstes tempo (Bb major)

   Reprise of the A theme; ends in a mediant (D major)

5. Sehr lebhaft (G minor) 3/8

A fast movement/scherzo form, focusing on rests and dotted rhythms. Later in the piece, it goes into a waltz/mazurka bent, with a developing climax on hemiolas. Then, there is a reprise of the waltz/mazurka theme (B part) and goes back to the A section to finish.

6. Sehr langsam (Bb major)--12/8

Almost pastoral-like as in the beginning, and then, later on, it turns into a style imitating a C.P.E. Bach free fantasia.

   Etwas bewegter

   Now, the key still goes in B-flat major and goes into a

   siciliana-like form--like a dance.

   Erstes tempo (slower)

   Back to the A form, as a coda.

7. Sehr rasch (C minor)--2/4

Very agitated and quite frightening moto perpetuo in the A section; B section is only slightly calmer with its still

agitated 3-part texture. Return of A section has the same

violent agitation, but ending in G minor.

The C section is almost in a style of a fast Bach prelude, or a little fugato.

   Noch schneller

   As before in the B section, and it returns eventually to

   the opening measures of the piece---frightening as before,

   and suddenly, everything drops into....

   Etwas langsamer

   ...a calmer mood, that ends the seventh piece for good.

8. Schnell und Spielend (G minor)--6/8

The final piece in the Kreisleriana seems like a 'scherzo in 3'. In the B section, the left hand octaves go into 2/4 against the r.h. in 6/8 doing call and response leaps.

   A. Mit aller Kraft (D minor)--6/8

   A stronger Florestan-like scherzo almost characteristic of     the music of Wagner.

   B. Return (G minor)

   Back to C minor, and then to G minor, with the same

   scherzo theme, and with time, it fades out at the end to

   almost nothing.