The Daily Book of Classical Music

365 readings that teach, inspire & entertain

Leslie Chew, Scott Spiegelberg, Dwight DeReiter, Cathy Doheny, Colin Gilbert, Travers Huff, Susanna Loewy, Melissa Maples, Jeff McQuilkin

• Publisher: Walter Foster Publishing
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9781610586061
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Classical Music

Music lovers of all ages are drawn to the pure melodies of classical music. Now aficionados of this timeless genre can learn something about classical music every day of the year! Readers will find everything from brief biographies of their favorite composers to summaries of the most revered operas. Interesting facts about the world's most celebrated songs and discussions of classical music–meets–pop culture make this book as fun as it is informative. Ten categories of discussion rotate throughout the year: Classical Music Periods, Compositional Forms, Great Composers, Celebrated Works, Basic Instruments, Famous Operas, Music Theory, Venues of the World, Museums & Festivals, and Pop Culture Medley.

DAY 1

CLASSICAL MUSIC PERIODS

Medieval Music (400–1400)

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

Medieval Music is music written in Europe in the Middle Ages—a time period that started with the fall of the Roman Empire and ended in the middle of the 15th century.

Because the creation of lasting manuscripts in the Middle Ages was quite an expensive endeavor (including the need for rare parchment and the use of scribes), there are very few surviving scores left from the Medieval time period, and the scores that do exist are from wealthy families and organizations—consequently not at all indicative of the common music of the day.

Medieval music, for example, can be classified into the sacred and the secular. However, since the majority of the studied scores are of the sacred variety, there isn’t much solid, accurate information about secular music.

Another hindrance of musicologists’ study of Medieval music is the rudimentary nature of the notation system of the times. Much of the music made was communicated through oral tradition, and when music was written, it certainly wasn’t with our exacting musical language. Instead, vague approximations of harmonic lines were outlined, and rhythms were merely suggested.

Unlike the notation, though, the instruments of Medieval music were strikingly similar to our modern versions. Both string and wooden wind instruments were used; pictures even suggest a comparable bow usage.

Medieval music is quite beautiful; it may sound a bit repetitive at times, but if you allow the plainsong chanting to wash over you, listening to it can be a wonderfully meditative experience. —SL

LISTENING HOMEWORK

Hildegard von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum

Philippe de Vitry Motets

Guilliuame de Machaut Messe de Nostre Dame

DAY 2

COMPOSITIONAL FORMS

Binary Form

WE KNOW WHAT WE WANT

Most musical forms result from two conflicting desires: the desire for something familiar, and the desire for something new. The binary form is the most basic example of this.

A simple binary form is in two parts—A and B—roughly equal in duration, and distinguished by different melodies. These parts are divided by clear cadences, and quite often each part is repeated, becoming a two-reprise form. Thus we end up with AABB, repeating A material to give us something familiar before moving to a new B section. The repetitions provide boundaries for the sections and give us the opportunity to hear and remember the melody.

Bach’s famous Air on the G String demonstrates how the B melody of the Air can be related to the A melody, with some similar rhythms and contours, but it also creates the feeling of something new by starting on a lower pitch and using different chords.

We like familiar things so much that a common variant of the binary form is the rounded binary form: ABA. The music is still in two sections, but the second section finishes with a return to the starting A melody, usually shortened. With the typical repeats, this becomes AA BABA. The theme from the third movement of Mozart’s Piano Sonata K. 284 shows how A can change when it returns. A modulates to a new key, but the return of A in the second section is altered to stay in the original key. —SS

DAY 3

GREAT COMPOSERS

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)

THE MUSIC INSIDE HIS HEAD

Ludwig van Beethoven’s life and work straddled the classic and Romantic periods, and thus he is claimed by both. While many composers came from strongly musical families, Beethoven stood out from his kinfolk. There were musicians in his line—his father first taught him piano and violin—but none in his family before or since took any interest in composing.¹ Nevertheless, from an early age Ludwig showed such genius that he was fancied to be the “new Mozart.”²

Taught by Haydn and Salieri in the classical style, Beethoven took a more emotional turn than his predecessors. Noticing (with panic) that his hearing was failing, Beethoven entered a period of fierce creativity, composing some of his most famous works. By 1818 he could no longer communicate except by writing; yet amazingly he continued to produce some of his most profound pieces while completely deaf—most notably his Symphony No. 9.

It is suggested that in his early years Beethoven wrote for his audience, but in his latter years—alone in his deafness—he apparently wrote for himself.³ His last pieces were so advanced and progressive that audiences of his day could not comprehend them. When Beethoven’s outer world fell silent, he could no longer draw influence from the music surrounding him. All that was left was the music inside his head. —JJM

DAY 4

CELEBRATED WORKS

Symphony No. 5 in C minor

BY LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN, 1808

In the entire history of music on planet Earth, there might not be any composition more renowned than the tour de force that is Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. A commanding exhibition of power, majesty, accessibility, and sophistication, it towers as a testament to the magnificent possibilities of structured sound. Having said that, by no means is there universal consent that the work is even Beethoven’s finest accomplishment, but such is the subjective nature of musical interpretation, and such is the genius of Beethoven.

Of course, the symphony’s sinister da-da-da-DUM opening motif (which has been imaginatively compared to fate knocking on the door) has taken on a life of its own, but it functions as much more than a catchy hook. Not only in the frenzied first movement but throughout the entire symphony that authoritative rhythmic phrase makes a series of dramatic reappearances that serve to unify it. In the thrilling final movement, after 30 minutes of C minor turbulence, a long and satisfying sequence of C major chords brings a relieving sense of stability that the piece seems to frantically seek from the start. —CKG

RECOMMENDED RECORDING

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7; Carlos Kleiber (conductor); Wiener Philharmoniker; Deutsche Grammophon; 1995

DAY 5

FAMOUS OPERAS

Dido and Aeneas

HENRY PURCELL (1659–1695)

“Remember me, but ah, forget my fate.” This haunting line from Dido’s lament, “When I Am Laid in Earth,” exemplifies for many listeners the exquisite example of Baroque opera that is Dido and Aeneas, the tragedy in three acts by English composer Henry Purcell that premiered in 1689. Librettist Nahum Tate loosely based the story on Virgil’s Aeneid, a love story involving Dido, Queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, who is shipwrecked at Carthage. When witches remind Aeneas that he is d...