Music Education: Sonata

 

Sonata

Sonata refers to a particular structure or form of music in which composers have written works ever since the 16th century. A sonata can be for solo instruments like the piano or a combination of two instruments like the piano and violin, piano and clarinet, piano and cello, piano and horn etc. There is another type of sonata for three instruments known as Trio Sonata which used to be popular in the 16^th and 17^th centuries in which two of the instruments really played the major role and the third held the tune rather like the Indian tanpura or drone instrument. Sonatas are usually in three movements but there is no fixed rule. The first movement is constructed with two melodies rather like the first movement of the symphony. A simple formula will help to understand this construction. Suppose we call the two melodies A and B, A being strong and masculine, B being soft and feminine. How are they presented? The first part of the movement belongs to A then B is introduced and combined with A almost like a marriage and then out of the blending or the marriage of these two melodies a third melody or C emerges as the conclusion of the movement. Therefore we can map the flow of this movement with the following equation,

                              A       B        ABBA         C

Where A refers to  the  first  melody B  to the second melody ABBA to the blending of the two and C to the conclusion. In some sonatas there is an introduction before A, which appears rather like the opening of a door and we can call this section D. The first movement of the symphony and the concerto is based on this formula. So if you are good in catching tunes you should be able to follow these forms of music and have fun and enjoy yourself. Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and Brahms all wrote beautiful Sonatas.

List

1.    Beethoven Moonlight Sonata    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5OaSju0qNc

 

2.    Mozart Sonata for Violin and Piano K378 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKeVF_Dluao&t=68s

 

3.    Beethoven Sonata Pathetique

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrcOcKYQX3c&t=615s

 

4.    Brahms Sonata for Cello and Piano no 1 Opus 38

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XiYrzsgWto

 

5.    Joseph Haydn Piano Sonata nº 59 in E flat, Hob. XVI:49

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWF-48jIrSU&t=754s

 

6.    MOZART Sonata in C minor, K. 457

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfptgKV1qI4

 

7.    Beethoven.Violin.Sonata.No.9.Op.47.kreutzer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COGcCBJAC6I&t=573s

 

8.    Beethoven.Violin.Sonata.No.5.Op24.Spring

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGFs7n6n3-8

 

9.    Beethoven Sonata N° 23 'Appassionata'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ak_7tTxZrk&t=58s

 

10. Beethoven Sonata N° 29 'Hammerklavier'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwZsDzGY1XA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music Education : Symphony

 

The Symphony

 

The most famous of all musical forms. It means an orchestral composition in four sections with distinct pauses in between sections. The four sections are called movements. But there are symphonies with more or less than the standard four movements. The first movement is usually the most important movement of a symphony and it sets the mood of the whole symphony. It usually deals with two melodies or themes as they are called, which are displayed, developed and brought to a conclusion. The first movement is usually fast paced, magnificent and noble. The second movement is in contrast, lyrical, personal, meditative and slow moving. It is intimate in mood. The third movement is a dance and full of vivid motion. This dance movement has two melodies, one stated by the full orchestra and the other by a few instruments grouped together. The constant contrast that these two melodies produce is the charm of this movement. The last movement or finale is a blazing, triumphant fast paced piece of music of epical grandeur. The symphonic message is the triumph of the human will over tragedy and the infinite possibilities of human endeavor. Though there are symphonies that end tragically in a slow piece of music, most symphonies conclude with a blazing panorama of sound.

The great symphonies are the symphonies of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Sibelius, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky. If you can listen to some symphonies of these composers you will get a good idea of the sound of the symphony. Symphony has become part of the English language and it means a richly blended outpouring of different strands of sound. The word symphonic suggests grand scale and size. Musically it means just that, a large scale work of tremendous passion and grandeur.

I have provided a list of 10 important symphonies below. Click on the link, you will be followed to Youtube. Track the movements and their pace each time you listen one. Sometimes the movements and their lengths are written below the Youtube title in the description section. For example, if you pick up Beethoven 3^rd Symphony you will find 4 movements;

                                          0:20 I. Allegro con brio

                                         16:13 II. Marcia funebre: Adagio assai

                                         32:02 III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace

                                         37:57 IV. Finale: Allegro molto

Here, time of each movement is mentioned in HH:MM ( hour:minute) format. The term Allegro means Fast pace and Adagio means slow pace. Vivace means lively.

Likewise you can read a description of movements of each symphony from Youtube or Internet to learn the separate pace and mood of movements. About naming some symphonies as Eroica or Farewell or Unfinished, I shall share anecdotes in a separate post.

 

Ten Great Symphonies

1.      Beethoven : 3^rd Symphony ‘Eroica’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InxT4S6wQf4)

                               5^th Symphony (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv2WJMVPQi8)

                               9^th Symphony  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOjHhS5MtvA)

2.      Mozart :    Symphony no.40 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sGqkMU-mGQ)

                  Symphony no.25 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApvqOhbsriA&t=130s)

3.      Dvorak  : New World Symphony   (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoeDafIQvNM)

4.      Haydn : Symphony no.45 ‘Farewell’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpD9ofCm6Ak&t=265s)

5.      Schubert : Symphony no.8 ‘Unfinished’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW0-75f8ov4)

6.      Mendelssohn : Symphony no.4 ‘Italian’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HX_jF1_Tgc)

7.      Tchaikovsky : Symphony no.5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2JBT0HC98I)

 

Music Education: Concerto

Concerto

A concerto is music of contrasting colours created through the orchestra. There are two types of contrast which represent the two types of concertos. One is the contrast of a small group of instruments and the full orchestra. This is the Concerto Grosso. It used to be very popular at the time of Bach and Handel, two composers who lived in the 17^th century. The second type of concerto is the solo concerto or the contrast of one single instrument, piano or violin, with the whole orchestra. The solo concerto became popular at the time of Beethoven, Mozart and the romantic composers like Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann and Brahms.

The concerto grosso had no fixed number of movements or sections but the solo concerto is usually in three movements. The first movement is very much in structure like the first movement of symphony dealing with the two melodies and their development. Basically it is a dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra. The second movement is lyrical and personal, intimate and very romantic. The third is fast paced and brings the concerto to a triumphant conclusion. If you can listen to the concertos of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Brahms you will get a good idea of the sound world of the concerto. All romantic solo concertos have passages where only the soloist plays. This is called cadenza.

If you are aware of Indian classical music then you will observe concerto is more of like Jugalbandi where two different instruments (Sitar and Tabla, Sarod and Tabla, Flute and Harmonium etc.) develop two melodies together like a session of question and answer.

I am attaching examples of concerto grosso and solo concerto with brief description of some. Violin and Piano are quite common in concertos as the solo instrument. However I am giving some examples of unusual instruments like Harp, Oboe, Lute, Mandolin, Organ and Recorder. There are some examples where Bach used four pianos for a concerto and Beethoven used Piano, Violin and Cello for his Triple Concerto. Baroque composers like Bach, Teleman, Haydn, Handel, and Vivaldi had used Organ, Harp, Trumpet, Lute, Mandolin etc which are not commonly in use today.

 

 

List of Concertos

1.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnDLlajMxyo&t=259s

Four Seasons by Vivaldi

This is the most popular concerto of all time. There are four distinct concertos named Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Violin is the solo instrument contrasting with the orchestra. The opening movement of the Spring is the most lively music you will ever hear. There is beautiful pizzicato (plucking of the string of violin) sound in the Winter mimicking gentle sound of snowfall.

1.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cokCgWPRZPg

Violin Concerto, Beethoven

In his entire lifetime Beethoven wrote only one violin concerto but this is the most complete violin concerto ever written. This is an example of concerto solo. Among the three movement my favorite is the last one which is Rondo. Rondo means cyclical arrangement of a leading theme. You will hum this Rondo theme once you hear it. Also note the cadenza or the only violin playing during Rondo.

2.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbQORqkStpk

Brandenburg Concerto, Bach

This is an example of concerto grosso where group of instruments like violin,oboe,trumpet,bassoon etc play in contrast to the orchestra. The rich polyphonic sound makes a pleasant hearing.

3.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4pJxad_aI8&t=2000s

Piano Concerto no.5, Beethoven

The third movement of this magnificent piano concerto has a melodious tune you will hum. This is popularly known as Emperor concerto.

4.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv5LeIkwPmg

Piano Concerto 1, Tchaikovsky

The rapid first movement is a treat to your ears. You will feel as if the sound is flowing like a river.

5.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay1hyj8Lo00

Concerto for Harp and Orchestra, Handel

The sound of this Harp concerto is angelic.

6.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2uYb6bMKyI

Piano Concerto no 21, Mozart

This is also known as Elvira Madigan because of a Swedish film who used this lyrical music. The 2^nd movement is the most peaceful work ever written in musical world.

7.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htDf0bpFIys

Concerto Grosso op 6, Handel

Hear the groups of instruments in contrast with the orchestra.

8.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyY5pB2a0cU

Lute Concerto, Vivaldi

This is a guitar like instrument not much in use today but what a jolly piece of music you will hear from the first note.

9.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT_63UntRJE

Clarinet Concerto, Mozart

Such a beautiful example of a wind instrument contrasting with a full orchestra.

10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hggISFswKcw

Recorder Concerto,RV443, Vivaldi

Listen to another beautiful flute like wind instrument used by Vivaldi, a baroque master.

11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHjgSiTBddM

Trumpet Concerto, Haydn

Another beautiful wind instrument from baroque era. You will not stop humming the first movement.

12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDrVtXPpuRI&t=126s

Oboe Concerto, Mozart

13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ49G2-Chhs

Concerto for 4 Pianos, BWV 1065, Bach

This concerto is an example of concerto grosso with 4 pianos playing together.

14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSs6HKwhbAA

Concerto for 4 violins, Vivaldi

This is another fine example of concerto grosso.

15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEGNuBO4EsA

Cello Concerto no 6 in D Major, Boccherini

16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmpjXrS6ekk&t=576s

Triple Concerto, Beethoven

This is a masterpiece played by Richter (Piano), David Oistrach(Violin) and Rostropovich(Cello) conducted by Herbert von Karajan of Berlin Philharmonic.

17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8mJnX8up6g

Concerto for two mandolins, Vivaldi

18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK2m0To3BCk

Piano Concerto no.17, Mozart

Mozart was pleasantly surprised to hear the 3^rd movement from a starling bird in a pet shop who had picked this up and whistled. The 3^rd movement is simply worth remembering.

19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_yxtaeFuEQ

Cello Concerto, Dvorak

20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo6ekt2kTVg

Organ Concerto B-flat major op. 4 No. 6, Handel

21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC6cPairOTA

Violin Concerto, Mendelssohn

 

 

 

 

Review : Bombay Begums

 I am here to review Bombay Begums and I can say after binge watching it in 2 days, Bombay Begums is by the women, of the women and for the women, a rarity in Indian film industry. Alankrita Srivastava requires to be applauded for such swift storytelling where there are no stories. It is about real women facing real problems - where do you see a story here? The series begins in the middle of something the characters are steeped in , you do not see much of their past, you only see the present. Hence in 2 episodes the events lead to a story swiftly and takes us to a whirlwind tour in modern day Indian women's lives where they are breaking glass ceilings, experimenting with their sexuality, making great strides in the male dominated professions and breaking stereotypes. And I can't imagine a city other than Mumbai for making Bombay Begums.

For The first time the problems women face during menopause is shown in a series in such details of sudden hot flat flashes, necessity of ACs and frequent restroom visits. Equally important is the way menarche is introduced as a young woman's anxiety and attempt to enter adulting. Like in the Made in Heaven series, the young girl Shai (step daughter of Rani) acted as the joints of a braid. Puja Bhatt made a dream comeback. Her role was meaty and domineering in the boardroom to bedroom. She perfectly played the role of Queen yet displayed her vulnerabilities. Plabita Borthakur did justice to her sweet, dreamy eyed freshly minted MBA role. Her confusion about her sexuality, her final protest against sexual harassment was convincing. Sahana Goswami was perfect for ambitious corporate climber and Vivek Gomber played the role of her husband with finesse. In the end their decision to separate was well received. 

Amruta Subhas made a spectacular role of a prostitute who dreams of a life of respect. In this entire series Amruta Subhas made sure she is the next big face in the Indian web series industry. Hers was a memorable role with Mumbai street slangs, a life in the Chawls and her decision to turn around rung a chord in many viewers. Rahul Bose had a cameo. I liked the fact that female characters are shown in shades of grey. For example Sahana Goswami took a decision to climb the corporate ladder though her husband wanted her to become a stay at home mother. After miscarriage she joins her job without guilt and she had a casual fling without remorse. Rani had her secret fling too with the governor and she too disclosed in the ned her harrowing tale of sexual harassment in the hands of the thespian. Most of our films want to show women suffering from pangs of guilt if they deviate from the social or moral norms. Bombay Begums left the characters just as they are in reality, flawed and unabashedly guilt free or guilty .In the end when all the loose ends are tied we hear the footsteps of police in corporate bigwig Rani's house to bring some more skeletons from the closet. I shall definitely wait for a Season 2 and I hope Alankrita will enthral us with more such lovely and relatable stories.

40 years of 36 Chowringhee Lane

2021 marks 40th anniversary of 36 Chowringhee Lane. 1981 was an important year - The Telegraph of Calcutta was launched, Maruti Suzuki was born. At the height of paralell cinema movement 1981 witnessed one of the first English language movie in India - 36 Chowringhee Lane. There are many more Like English August, Monsoon Wedding to come but Aparna Sen definitely paved the path for English language movies in India. 

 This movie also portrayed the Anglo Indians with sensitivity. Movies made on Anglo Indians always portrayed women having a different lifestyle than the contemporary Indians. Satyajit Ray in Mahanagar portrayed them as lipstick-wearing alluring secretary who is teaching one or two steps of seduction to the nubile bengali woman. Saptapadi showed Rina Brown, an Anglo Indian girl not to be accepted by a Hindu household in an inter faith relationship. Julie, a hindi film made on the premise of inter faith relationship also showed prejudice. Aparna Sen broke this myth by portraying the loneliness of an Anglo Indian teacher in a Kolkata school. Jennifer Kendall played to perfection the role of Shakespeare loving spinster Violet Stoneham. Her lack of companionship, students not caring for Shakespeare she loves to teach and those rickshaw ride in tortuous Kolkata bylanes depicted her loneliness. Her student Nandita and Nandita's boyfriend Samaresh bonding with her was temporary and she realized in the end life moves on and her lonliness was not to go. Nandita and Samaresh used her room for their pre marital tete-a-tete in the pretext of writing and Violet mistook their company as friendship. Overall it was an important part of Kolkata displayed in the movie- place of Anglo Indians, lack of space for romantic couples and the love for Victorian relics the city inherited- the English language itself. 

 I will forever remember that last scene - desolate Violet Stoneham reciting Shakespeare to a dog strolling through Queen's Way. 36 Chowrighee lane movie is a piece of Kolkata etched in my heart. This is a movie where a city slowly seeps in as a character. This is a movie much ahead of time. It showed pre marital sex, a taboo in those days and never shown in films. It showed the need of space for romantically inclined couples. It showed Anglo Indians in movies in good light. Overall it became a classic for depicting one of the most humane feeling of Loneliness.

Polymaths and Western Classical Music(Schweitzer,Borodin,Paderewski,Godowsky Jr)

I am writing about multi talented people and their involvement in western classical music. There were doctors who were composers, there was a head of state who also was a concert pianist. So I would exemplify polymaths and their talents in music. I am writing about 4 of them - Schweitzer,Borodin, Paderewsky and Godowsky Jr. I don't include others in this polymath musician category but will try to share about more such multitalented people in classical music in next blog. For this article, I thank Wikipedia and Youtube for providing with such rare information. Even 15 years ago a serious collector will not be privy to such recordings (video especially). Today at the click of fingertip Youtube gives me access to a Schweitzer or Paderewsky videos. Without Youtube and Wiki I could not have finished this article.

1. Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer was a doctor, a theologist and a humanitarian who received a Nobel Peace prize in 1952 for serving the poor in Gabon. He not only dedicated his life for the service of God but also had a lifelong passion for Organ and J.S.Bach.

Youtube has become an archive from where I inserted this rare video of Schweitzer playing Bach on Organ in remote jungle of Lamberene now Gabon. I add another rare video of him playing Prelude in D of Bach below.

Ever since I read about him in high school I idolized him, I believe Schweitzer was one of the greatest human ever alive. He was a multitalented genius whose reverence for life is unquestionable. The famous journalist Norman Cousins wrote in his book An Anatomy of an Illness that despite having a busy schedule of a doctor serving in an African jungle Schweitzer would play his organ late till night.

There are some more audio recordings of Schweitzer in Youtube I dont know if they are authentic. Just putting a record label or CD label may not make it authentic and I leave the veracity of those recordings to the serious collectors.

2. Alexander Borodin

 He was a doctor and a trained chemist, a co discoverer of Aldol reaction every chemistry student knows. But he had a passion for music and he composed symphonies, a symphonic poem, an Opera named Prince Igor and several string quartets. I added his (Borodin), In the Steppes of Central Asia, Polovtsian dances (Svetlanov) above for your listening pleasure. Isn't it beautiful to note a chemist could produce such serene music? Listen to Borodin's Nocturne, one of the most peaceful music you will ever hear.

3. Ignacy Paderewsky
He was Prime Minister of Poland in 1919, a crucial fighter for Poland's freedom. He was a world class concert pianist also and played profusely throughout the United States for fund raising. His own composition Minuet in G reminds you of Mozart and by the time of his death this busy politician and diplomat left behind a volume of instrumental and orchestral works. Thanks to Youtube I could share his original playing of his Minuet in G.

Just 3 years before his death at the age of 77 Paderewsky played Chopin Polonaise no.53 in a movie Moonlight Sonata.

4. Leopold Godowsky Jr

He was a world class chemist who invented the famous Kodachrome colour film and revolutionized photography. He was also a trained classical violinist and played in Los Angeles Philharmonics and San Fransisco Symphony Orchestra. His father Leopold Godowsky Sr was a famous pianist and composer. I could not retrieve any Godowsky Jr work from Youtube or Internet but a rare video of Godowsky senior in NYC in 1935 maybe shot in Kodachrome his violinist son invented.

I will request you to comment and add. I welcome your comments.

Tansen er Tanpura review

I was amused to see Tansen er Tanpura. Concept is nice. It is a nice way to mix Indian classical music in a thriller and present it to new generation for whom classical music holds almost no appeal. Though I did not like Bengali song in Hamsadhwani but other classical songs were relatable especially the raag Kedar ( Kanha re nanda nandana). Bikram Chatterji did a good job, the girlfriend of his is quite forgettable. The idea of sound waves opening a treasure box may be borrowed from Samaddar er Chabi of Satyajit Ray.

However I was quite amused by that pigmyphone, the miniature record player hidden inside the paintings. I was baffled too. I searched for them in Internet and found that Amazon sells a similar looking mini record player with 3 inch vinyl records.

https://www.amazon.com/Crosley-Turntable-3-inch-Records-Silver/dp/B07P83H6KK

The price with record is around $64. This is battery operated. If this is the product they showed in Tansen er Tanpura then the year of hiding this in 1997 is flawed. This is a recent invention. It was not available in 1997. Rather according to RSD website (https://recordstoreday.com/RSD3) this product RSD3 became available in 2019 with the oldest RSD product being available in 2011.

I guess the work Tansen er Tanpura is a fiction and not a reality. The product cannot be functional from 1997 to 2020 because it is battery operated (4 AA batteries) and those batteries cannot be solar powered. So technically showing this product in 1997 and then hiding it for 20 years and suddenly its becoming functional is figment of imagination. But I liked the product and I will buy it. Thank you Tansen er Tanpura series to bring to my notice a technological marvel.