Don't get me wrong. It was a pleasant enough piece, but it just didn't do anything for me. It was nothing interesting, intriguing, or memorable.
I had the opposite reaction this week. It wasn't long after the start of Louise Farrenc's C minor symphony that I thought to myself, "Hmm...this is interesting" -- and my interest held and even heightened as the piece played on. The symphony is written in four movements: 1. Andante Sostenuto -- Allegro 2. Adagio Cantabile 3. Minuetto Moderato 4. Allegro Assai The first movement opens with quiet, pulsing chords in the strings, and then a solo clarinet introduces a warm and supple line that is later shared with other woodwinds. Soon, though, the allegro section propels the movement forward, and one review I read compared the work to something by Schumann and "to me, prefigures some of the lyricism and drama of Tchaikovsky." I thought of another composer though -- the lyrical and fiery movement reminded me of the overture Felix Mendelssohn wrote for Victor Hugo's play "Ruy Blas." The pastoral second movement is much more serene than the taut opening movement. The third movement -- marked "Minuetto Moderato -- is nothing dainty as one might expect from a minuet. Instead, it is much more determined and deliberate. The final movement returns to the more urgent tempo from the symphony's opening. One review I read stated nicely, "This is a perfectly iconic Romantic era sound, and ends with sufficient magnitude." Farrenc's symphony hooked me from the start and held my interest though the entire piece. I loved it.
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Well, it's been two weeks, not one, and I'm late with my comments and rating for Cecile Chaminade's Concertino for Flute. On the one hand, I have no excuse because on the date I posted this as my choice for the "week of 3/12," I listened to the piece several times. If only I had published my comments and rating then. **sigh** On the other hand, when I didn't post my comments on 3/12, I later got totally consumed with a job I've taken on to help a local middle school (I'm working as a long-term substitute teacher in an English 8 classroom) -- and I"m deeply involved with my students in a project that culminates this Wednesday (we're sponsoring a "Small Talk Gallery," a display of small poems {Haikus and other short poems} and mini-artworks {1.5 x 2 inch} inspired by artists such as Pollock, Rothko, Basquiat and others). I'll post pictures of the gallery and the event we're hosting later this week or next week.
That was back on Sunday, March 12 -- and on that morning when I selected the piece, I listened to it almost immediately as I was grading some papers.
Before I knew, I'd graded a few papers -- and the piece concluded. "Hmm," I thought. "I'd better listen to that again because I really didn't focus on it." I played it again, I graded a few more papers, and in a matter of about 12 minutes, the song concluded again. "Hmm," I thought. "Maybe I should listen again?" I listened to the work a third time. Meh. It just didn't do anything for me. Don't get me wrong. It was a pleasant piece, and the woman in the video played it beautifully, but it was just -- banal. Like a dish in a bland diet -- like canned fruit. Sweet. Soft. Nothing spicy. And low in the "fiber" of what makes memorable music. Info on the piece -- if you're interested -- is HERE.
“Carillon Mystique” is a serene and haunting piece, and it is gentle in both tempo and tone – and though it is a calm and languid piece, it is quite complex.
At the start, there is a series of quarter notes which carries the melody, and the notes are woven into a string of eighth notes so that the pianist must apply added pressure to melodic line while using less pressure on the eighth notes. Then grace notes are introduced – which, like the eighth notes – require a lighter touch. Then quarter notes are layered above and below, more grace notes are interposed, triplets appear and lead to sixteenth notes, and trills and various runs flow in – all while the steadfast melody necessitates steady and skillful attention so as not to get lost in the ebb and flow of notes and embellishments. White researching the composer and the piece, one site I visited reviewed the piece as follows: “In this expressive piece, Bonis evokes both the resonant chiming of individual bells as well as the tinkling cascades of the carillon. The pedal is used to create bell-like sonorities and also adds to the spiritual character of the piece, as implied by ‘Mystique’ in the title.” It is a lovely piece. |
A New Hope:As the header above says, each week I will listen to a piece of classical music that I've never heard before, and then I will report out what I thought about it. Archives
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