Stephen Mould Video
Ultimo aggiornamento
2024-05-13
Aggiorna
Sir Edward Elgar Mould Staple Schumann Proms 1890 1892 1918 1920 1931 2020
These charming pieces are less often heard now than much of Elgar's other work, not least since fewer folk go to church where they originally belong. The published set, probably written during Elgar's tenure of St George's, Worcester in the later 1880s, consists of nine pieces (one, a brief actual 'interlude'), of which we here offer three, each in triple-time, on a 'fast(ish)-slow-fast' model as a reconstituted suite-within-a-suite. Other more expansive Elgar works in this tripartite mould include the Organ Sonata in G (whose first movement was, for decades, a RCO exam staple) and various transcriptions of the Serenade for Strings; there are also arrangements of the Pomp & Circumstance Marches, but from the 2020 perspective we might fairly claim those have had their day ~ even no.4, which to Ian's mind is at least as fine a piece as no.1. Elgar himself later abjured the 'Land of Hope and Glory' lyrics, and in this 'woke' season of curtailed Proms there has been as much heat as light about whether, and/or how, those might yet be sung to maintain the Last Night tradition as 'Britain prepares to leave the EU' [*see footnote, below]. Much such commentary appears to emanate from nostalgic sentimentalists who would barely (as they almost say) know their Arne from their Elgar anyway, as to the British Isles' undoubtedly robust musical heritage. Regular Interludes viewers will know Ian had aimed to spend the back decan of August exploring the wild southwest of Ireland and in particular, the Ring of Kerry, of which he first became aware through Peter Hope's enchantingly atmospheric orchestral suite. Covid-19 and associated strictures having stymied that trip, the Malverns (with its own Elgar Route, in the heart of England) seemed a fair and pragmatic substitute. It bears observing that in 1920, Elgar was working mainly from Brinkwells, a fine secluded house near Fittleworth in Sussex ~ far nearer Ian's own newer stamping-ground, and with views towards the South Downs as an inspirational creative backdrop in place of Elgar's beloved Malverns. If such a swap was good enough for him, a reciprocal pilgrimage seems eminently reasonable! The three re-ordered Vesper Voluntaries were originally published in Book 26 of a clearly popular series aimed at jobbing parish organists, almost inevitably alongside less well-crafted, run-of-the-mill Victoriana that have not withstood subsequent changes in time and taste. Those whose first thought of Elgar is of the later, grey, walrus-moustached figure conducting 'Land of Hope ... ' at the 1931 opening of Abbey Road Studios, should delve further back into his youth: his active involvement in cycling (more or less all over the Malverns, except perhaps along the very hilltops); he was also a keen amateur chemist, and indeed a football fan. The 'Enigma Variations' are perhaps the most popular examples of him as a miniaturist, but there are abundant salon pieces, partsongs and the like, and, for string players that do eventually tire of 'Chanson de Matin', or indeed the Serenade, a wonderfully brooding Piano Quintet; not to mention the sublime Cello Concerto. Consciously avoiding the 4/4 time-signature with its potentially bombastic connotations, for present purposes we have a wistfully lilting 9/8 Allegro (surely anticipating the Serenade's [1892] opening movement); a seemingly maudlin, yet never treacly sentimental, Allegretto Pensoso ~ which works equally well as a Larghetto, not least with the intimate and contemplative original Vespers context in mind; and the insouciant Andantino, which Ian found, both playing it and while assembling bucolic scenery for the video, put him in mind of Schumann ('The Merry Peasant', beginning with the same rising fourth in the same key, plus several reminiscently folksy figures later within the piece). Ian would have loved proper summer weather in which to savour most fully Elgar's formative surroundings, but the cusp of autumn under typically ambivalent English skies, perhaps, helps 'underscore' that sense of melancholy that is usually there even in such seemingly smaller and gentler Elgar works. All the images were taken in and around the excellent Elgar Route in the final week of August 2020, and a return visit to paternal roots in Ledbury has helped renew Ian's own valued bond with another such undeniably beautiful part of the world. And now back over to Sir Edward, to express his love of that landscape in his unique, distinctive yet readily savourable idiom ... * From Elgar's diary, 11 November 1918: 'The war is over, thank God. What a terrible, cruel waste of life there has been. Alice and I went to the Coliseum tonight and they played Land Of Hope And Glory not once, but twice; the whole audience joined in. I could not. I regret very profoundly how this song has become an anthem to war. There's been so much sorrow and sacrifice over the past four years; nothing glorious about it. The world is a changed place and I am awfully tired of it.'
Mirage - Shruthi Bhedham in Kalyani (65 th Melakartha) This vibrant Pratimadhyama melakarta is a very popular Raga. Most of the Pratimadhyama melakarta ragas have a strong character for they can retain their identity even if treated without Sa (Shadjam) and Pa ( Panchamam). Similarly, you can enjoy the alluring Mohanam that springs out of the Rishabam of Kalyani devoid of Sa and Pa. Now you can do Shruthi Bhedham from the remaining four notes Ga, Ma, Dha and Ni and find for yourselves what ragas emerge from it. SUBSCRIBE to get the latest Lalgudi GJR Krishnan: (http•••) Subscribe to get the latest update #LalgudiViji Connect with Lalgudi GJR Krishnan Online: Visit the Lalgudi GJR Krishnan WEBSITE: (http•••) Like Lalgudi GJR Krishnan on FACEBOOK: (http•••) Subscribe Lalgudi GJR Krishnan on YOUTUBE: (http•••) About Lalgudi GJR Krishnan: Lalgudi GJR Krishnan is one of the foremost violinists in the world and a leading exponent of the Lalgudi Bani. Son and disciple of the legendary maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman, Krishnan has nurtured and propagated the legacy of the Lalgudi Bani while also blending his own artistic elements to mould it into his unique and distinctive style. His style is defined by total mastery over technique, bhava, laya, and a philosophical adherence to the notion that the violin must closely mimic the human voice. Click - Wikipedia (for more info) - (http•••)
Saramathi l Lalgudi GJR Krishnan l Carnatic Violin l Dandapani Desigar l Tamil Composition #lalgudigjrkrishnan #carnaticmusic #carnaticviolin #DandapaniDesigar #saramathi #Tamilcomposition SUBSCRIBE to get the latest Lalgudi GJR Krishnan: (http•••) Subscribe to get the latest update #LalgudiViji Connect with Lalgudi GJR Krishnan Online: Visit the Lalgudi GJR Krishnan WEBSITE: (http•••) Like Lalgudi GJR Krishnan on FACEBOOK: (http•••) Subscribe Lalgudi GJR Krishnan on YOUTUBE: (http•••) About Lalgudi GJR Krishnan: Lalgudi GJR Krishnan is one of the foremost violinists in the world and a leading exponent of the Lalgudi Bani. Son and disciple of the legendary maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman, Krishnan has nurtured and propagated the legacy of the Lalgudi Bani while also blending his own artistic elements to mould it into his unique and distinctive style. His style is defined by total mastery over technique, bhava, laya, and a philosophical adherence to the notion that the violin must closely mimic the human voice. Click - Wikipedia (for more info) - (http•••)
Richard Strauss Mould Beethoven Freed Willem Mengelberg 1898
Richard Strauss - Ein Heldenleben op 40 Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life), Op. 40, is a tone poem by Richard Strauss. The work was completed in 1898. It was his eighth work in the genre, and exceeded any of its predecessors in its orchestral demands. Generally agreed to be autobiographical in nature, despite contradictory statements on the matter by the composer, the work contains more than thirty quotations from Strauss's earlier works, including Also sprach Zarathustra, Till Eulenspiegel, Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Death and Transfiguration. Strauss began work on the piece while staying in a Bavarian mountain resort in July 1898. He proposed to write a heroic work in the mould of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony: "It is entitled 'A Hero's Life', and while it has no funeral march, it does have lots of horns, horns being quite the thing to express heroism. Thanks to the healthy country air, my sketch has progressed well and I hope to finish by New Year's Day." Strauss worked on Ein Heldenleben and another tone poem, Don Quixote, during 1898. He regarded the two as complementary, saying they were conceived as "direct pendants" to one another. There was speculation before the premiere about the identity of the hero. Strauss was equivocal: he commented "I'm no hero: I'm not made for battle", and in a programme note he wrote that subject of the piece was "not a single poetical or historical figure, but rather a more general and free ideal of great and manly heroism." On the other hand, in the words of the critic Richard Freed: The music, though, points stubbornly to its own author as its subject, and Strauss did concede, after all, in a remark to the writer Romain Rolland, that he found himself "no less interesting than Napoleon," and his gesture of conducting the premiere himself instead of leaving that honor to the respected dedicatee [i.e., Willem Mengelberg] may well be viewed as further confirmation of the work's self-congratulatory character. For more: (http•••) #MusicHistory #ClassicalMusic #Strauss
o
- cronologia: Direttori d'orchestra.
- Indici (per ordine alfabetico): M...