Have you ever seen the film noir classic “Sunset Boulevard”? That story opens at an aged mansion on Sunset Boulevard where a group of police officers are photographing the body of Joe Gillis, played by William Holden, who is floating face down in the swimming pool. SPOILER ALERT: The story is narrated by Joe, the dead body in the pool.
Perhaps you’ve seen “Double Indemnity,” another film noir tour de force. That tale begins as insurance salesman Walter Neff, played by Fred MacMurray, returns to his office in downtown Los Angeles with a gunshot wound on his shoulder. SPOILER ALERT: He then records a confession of insurance fraud and murder on a Dictaphone. Why the mention of these two film noir magnum opuses (or is it opi)? Well, I listened to Frank Martin’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra this past week, and right from the start – with the pulse of quiet strings and woodwinds – the piece establishes a mysterious and ominous tone. A little more than two minutes into the work, the violin begins to narrate its tale, told in three movements: I: Allegro tranquillo II: Andante molto moderato III: Presto Will the violinist end up floating in the pool of a forgotten film star? Or has the musician recently murdered an alluring femme fatale? Well, I’ll leave the exact details of the story to the listener – but suffice it to say, the central plot figure in Frank Martin’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra is most certainly the violin, and it is telling its story in this stylistic work. It is definitely worth a listen! : ) Oh, and by the way: I looked up the plural for "opus" -- is it "opuses" or "opi"? You might be surprised. Here is what I found: "The most common plural of 'opus' in English is 'opuses.' 'Opi' is fairly common in the field of classical music, though mostly in informal contexts. Some people use the Latin plural, 'opera.'"
0 Comments
|
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
September 2023
Categories
All
|