Listen to This (45 page)
Authors: Alex Ross
What does the movement evoke, if not the triumph of darkness? I wonder whether it is in some way a final answer to the question posed in the years after Schumann’s death. Job asked: Why is light given? Why go on? What do we have that is better than death? In all the late works, Brahms may be contemplating that problem. In the Intermezzos, he extols solitude. In the chamber works for clarinet—two sonatas, a trio, the Gypsy-flavored quintet—he values companionship, long conversations into the night. In the
Four Serious Songs,
based on biblical texts, he sees that “all is vanity” and gives himself over to “faith, hope, and charity.” In the Fourth Symphony, however, Brahms speaks in tones of rationalized thunder, as if he were reading aloud from the text of God’s own contemptuous answer to Job: “Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof? … Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail … ?”
Four Serious Songs,
based on biblical texts, he sees that “all is vanity” and gives himself over to “faith, hope, and charity.” In the Fourth Symphony, however, Brahms speaks in tones of rationalized thunder, as if he were reading aloud from the text of God’s own contemptuous answer to Job: “Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof? … Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail … ?”
The radiant terror of God’s works finds an analogue in a tour de force of styles past and present. Around they go, chaconne and lament, Bach and Wagner, chorale and folk tune, village band and proto-modernist orchestration. The finale of Brahms’s Fourth is a
Götterdämmerung
in nine minutes, an apocalypse in strict time, musical history stripped to the bone. At the center is nothing, the gray void that the first movement revealed in two or three shivery glimpses. The whole of it seems a convincing demonstration of Nietzsche’s dictum that without music life would be a mistake.
Götterdämmerung
in nine minutes, an apocalypse in strict time, musical history stripped to the bone. At the center is nothing, the gray void that the first movement revealed in two or three shivery glimpses. The whole of it seems a convincing demonstration of Nietzsche’s dictum that without music life would be a mistake.
If you would like to hear some of the music discussed in these pages, a free audio companion is available at
www.therestisnoise.com/listentothis
. There you will find streaming samples arranged by chapter, along with links to audio-rich websites and other channels of direct access to the music. An iTunes playlist of twenty representative excerpts can be found at
www.therestisnoise.com/playlist
. For a glossary of musical terms, go to
www.therestisnoise.com/glossary
.
www.therestisnoise.com/listentothis
. There you will find streaming samples arranged by chapter, along with links to audio-rich websites and other channels of direct access to the music. An iTunes playlist of twenty representative excerpts can be found at
www.therestisnoise.com/playlist
. For a glossary of musical terms, go to
www.therestisnoise.com/glossary
.
“Running through every piece is a spirit of adventure, common sense, joy, and, ultimately, engagement.”
—Alan Moores,
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times
“An impressive but never showy blend of historical reportage and thoughtful analysis … The triumph of
Listen to This
is that Ross dusts off music that’s centuries old to reveal the passion and brilliance that’s too often hidden from a contemporary audience. It’s a joy for a pop fan or a classical aficionado.”
Listen to This
is that Ross dusts off music that’s centuries old to reveal the passion and brilliance that’s too often hidden from a contemporary audience. It’s a joy for a pop fan or a classical aficionado.”
—Alan Light,
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review
“Hugely enjoyable … offers fresh and unexpected stimulation at every turn.”
—Charles Hazlewood,
The Guardian
(London)
The Guardian
(London)
“Such a pleasure to read … a critic with an unusually wide frame of reference.”
—
The Economist
The Economist
“It is rare to find a music critic who can write as authoritatively about Mozart and Schubert as he can about Radiohead and Björk … .
[Listen to This]
is a reminder that a love of music need not—nay, should not—be bound by category.”
[Listen to This]
is a reminder that a love of music need not—nay, should not—be bound by category.”
—
Toronto Star’s
“Ten Best Books of the Year”
Toronto Star’s
“Ten Best Books of the Year”
“Lively and fascinating … Ross has a wonderful knack for catching the human gesture embedded in a musical phrase.”
—Ivan Hewett,
The Daily Telegraph
(London)
The Daily Telegraph
(London)
“Listen to This
reveals … [Ross] to be the exact kind of critic his era needs … In other words, he’s a thinker with style and a stylist who thinks … . Alex Ross is one of the great civilized pleasures anywhere on any subject.”
reveals … [Ross] to be the exact kind of critic his era needs … In other words, he’s a thinker with style and a stylist who thinks … . Alex Ross is one of the great civilized pleasures anywhere on any subject.”
—Jeff Simon,
The Buffalo News
(Editor’s Choice)
The Buffalo News
(Editor’s Choice)
“A love letter to sound … Ross deftly draws in the ears of the seasoned and the uninitiated alike, demystifying the traditions of music while celebrating its ability to transform … . Undeniably essential.”
—Doyle Armbrust,
Time Out
(Chicago)
Time Out
(Chicago)
“Smart and thoughtful … The substantive, passionate writing contained in this book is a strong argument against the ossification of ‘classical music.’ It is also an argument for the continued relevance of the critic—someone who shows why we should listen to this, and why we should care.”
—Geeta Dayal,
Bookforum
Bookforum
ALSO BY ALEX ROSS
The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century
ALEX Ross has been the music critic for
The New Yorker
since 1996. He is the author of the international bestseller
The Rest
Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century
, which was a finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and won a 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award. In 2008, he was named a MacArthur Fellow.
The New Yorker
since 1996. He is the author of the international bestseller
The Rest
Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century
, which was a finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and won a 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award. In 2008, he was named a MacArthur Fellow.
NOTES
SUGGESTED LISTENING
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INDEX
PREFACE
xiii
“Writing about music is like dancing about architecture”:
Alan P. Scott explores the provenance of this quotation at
www.pacifier.com/~ascott/they/tamildaa.htm
(accessed Dec. 7, 2009).
“Writing about music is like dancing about architecture”:
Alan P. Scott explores the provenance of this quotation at
www.pacifier.com/~ascott/they/tamildaa.htm
(accessed Dec. 7, 2009).
xv
“a specific variant”:
Bruno Nettl, “Music,” in
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians,
2nd ed., ed. Stanley Sadie (Macmillan, 2001), vol. 17, p. 427.
“a specific variant”:
Bruno Nettl, “Music,” in
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians,
2nd ed., ed. Stanley Sadie (Macmillan, 2001), vol. 17, p. 427.
1. LISTEN TO THIS
This chapter is an expanded version of an article that appeared in
The New Yorker
on February 16, 2004.
The New Yorker
on February 16, 2004.
4
“Fewer classical records”
: James Goodfriend, “Losing Touch,”
Stereo Review
23:6 (Dec. 1969), pp. 54, 56.
“Fewer classical records”
: James Goodfriend, “Losing Touch,”
Stereo Review
23:6 (Dec. 1969), pp. 54, 56.
4 “
The economic crisis”
: Alfred Wallenstein, “Plan for Self-Help; A Conductor Gives His Idea of How Orchestras Might Solve Problems,”
The NewYork Times,
Dec. 10, 1950.
The economic crisis”
: Alfred Wallenstein, “Plan for Self-Help; A Conductor Gives His Idea of How Orchestras Might Solve Problems,”
The NewYork Times,
Dec. 10, 1950.
4
“Concerts are poorly attended”
: Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt, “Mechanical Music,” in
The Weimar Republic Sourcebook,
ed. Anton Kaes, Martin Jay, and Edward Dimend-berg (University of California Press, 1994), p. 598.
“Concerts are poorly attended”
: Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt, “Mechanical Music,” in
The Weimar Republic Sourcebook,
ed. Anton Kaes, Martin Jay, and Edward Dimend-berg (University of California Press, 1994), p. 598.
4
“The death of classical music”
: Charles Rosen,
Critical Entertainments: Music Old and
New (Harvard University Press, 2000), p. 295.
“The death of classical music”
: Charles Rosen,
Critical Entertainments: Music Old and
New (Harvard University Press, 2000), p. 295.
6
“melancholy,, sometimes progressing”:
Charles O’Connell, notes to Jascha Heifetz’s recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony (RCA Victor LM 2129).
“melancholy,, sometimes progressing”:
Charles O’Connell, notes to Jascha Heifetz’s recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony (RCA Victor LM 2129).
6
“There has been a stab”
: Leonard Bernstein,
The Infinite Variety of Music
(Simon and Schuster, 1966), pp. 198-99.
“There has been a stab”
: Leonard Bernstein,
The Infinite Variety of Music
(Simon and Schuster, 1966), pp. 198-99.
7
“I love the vast surface”:
Carl Nielsen,
Living Music,
trans. Reginald Spink (Hutchinson, 1953), p. 40.
“I love the vast surface”:
Carl Nielsen,
Living Music,
trans. Reginald Spink (Hutchinson, 1953), p. 40.
10
dismissal proceedings:
John Butt,
Music Education and the Art of Performance in the German Baroque
(Cambridge University Press, 1994), p. 17.
dismissal proceedings:
John Butt,
Music Education and the Art of Performance in the German Baroque
(Cambridge University Press, 1994), p. 17.
11
“the former style of music”
: Hans T. David, Arthur Mendel, and Christoph Wolff, eds.,
The New Bach Reader: A Life of Johann Sebastian Bach in Letters and Documents
(Norton, 1998), p. 149.
“the former style of music”
: Hans T. David, Arthur Mendel, and Christoph Wolff, eds.,
The New Bach Reader: A Life of Johann Sebastian Bach in Letters and Documents
(Norton, 1998), p. 149.
11 “
Right in the middle”:
Robert Spaethling, trans. and ed.,
Mozart’s Letters, Mozart’s Life: Selected Letters
(Norton, 2000), p. 160.
Right in the middle”:
Robert Spaethling, trans. and ed.,
Mozart’s Letters, Mozart’s Life: Selected Letters
(Norton, 2000), p. 160.
11
“While most were”
: James H. Johnson,
Listening in Paris: A Cultural History
(University of California Press, 1995), p. 9.
“While most were”
: James H. Johnson,
Listening in Paris: A Cultural History
(University of California Press, 1995), p. 9.
11
Walt Whitman mobilized opera:
See section 26 of “Song of Myself.”
Walt Whitman mobilized opera:
See section 26 of “Song of Myself.”
12
“the first classic that”:
Johann Nikolaus Forkel,
On Johann Sebastian Bach’s Life, Genius, and Works,
in David, Mendel, and Wolff,
The New Bach Reader
, p. 420.
“the first classic that”:
Johann Nikolaus Forkel,
On Johann Sebastian Bach’s Life, Genius, and Works,
in David, Mendel, and Wolff,
The New Bach Reader
, p. 420.
12 “
If the art”
: Ibid., p. 420.
If the art”
: Ibid., p. 420.
12
“patriotic admirers”
: Ibid., p. 418.
“patriotic admirers”
: Ibid., p. 418.
12 “
After the first act”
: Cosima Wagner,
Cosima Wagner’s Diaries,
vol. 2, ed. Martin Gregor-Dellin and Dietrich Mack, trans. Geoffrey Skelton (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980), pp. 894, 898.
After the first act”
: Cosima Wagner,
Cosima Wagner’s Diaries,
vol. 2, ed. Martin Gregor-Dellin and Dietrich Mack, trans. Geoffrey Skelton (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980), pp. 894, 898.
13
“monumental character”
: Richard Wagner,
Selected Letters of Richard Waner
, trans. and ed. Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington (Norton, 1988), p. 210.
“monumental character”
: Richard Wagner,
Selected Letters of Richard Waner
, trans. and ed. Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington (Norton, 1988), p. 210.
13 “Kinder! macht Neues!”: Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt,
Briefwechsel zwischen Wagner und Liszt,
vol. 1, ed. Erich Kloss (Breitkopf & Härtel, 1910), p. 179.
Briefwechsel zwischen Wagner und Liszt,
vol. 1, ed. Erich Kloss (Breitkopf & Härtel, 1910), p. 179.
13
“New works do not
”: Jan Swafford,
Johannes Brahms: A Biography
(Knopf, 1997), p. 190.
“New works do not
”: Jan Swafford,
Johannes Brahms: A Biography
(Knopf, 1997), p. 190.
13
“get upset when”:
William Weber,
The Great Transformation of Musical Taste: Concert Programming from Haydn to Brahms
(Cambridge University Press, 2008), p. 259. For statistics on concerts in Leipzig, see p. 171.
“get upset when”:
William Weber,
The Great Transformation of Musical Taste: Concert Programming from Haydn to Brahms
(Cambridge University Press, 2008), p. 259. For statistics on concerts in Leipzig, see p. 171.
13 “
Music could quickly come”:
Wayne M. Senner, Robin Wallace, and William Meredith, eds.,
The Critical Reception of Beethoven’s Compositions by His German Contemporaries,
vol. 2 (University of Nebraska Press, 2001), p. 16.
Music could quickly come”:
Wayne M. Senner, Robin Wallace, and William Meredith, eds.,
The Critical Reception of Beethoven’s Compositions by His German Contemporaries,
vol. 2 (University of Nebraska Press, 2001), p. 16.
13
“the great works of the great composers”:
Lawrence Levine,
Highbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America
(Harvard University Press, 1990), p. 118.
“the great works of the great composers”:
Lawrence Levine,
Highbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America
(Harvard University Press, 1990), p. 118.
14
twenty-five cents:
Jessica C. E. Gienow-Hecht,
Sound Diplomacy: Music and Emotions
in
Transatlantic Relations, 1850—1920
(University of Chicago Press, 2009), p. 132.
twenty-five cents:
Jessica C. E. Gienow-Hecht,
Sound Diplomacy: Music and Emotions
in
Transatlantic Relations, 1850—1920
(University of Chicago Press, 2009), p. 132.
14
“America is saddled”:
Arthur Farwell, “The Incubus of Musical Culture,”
The International
6 (July 1912), pp. 31-32.
“America is saddled”:
Arthur Farwell, “The Incubus of Musical Culture,”
The International
6 (July 1912), pp. 31-32.
14
“prestige-hypnotized”;
Daniel Gregory Mason,
Tune In, America: A Study of Our Coming Musical Independence
(Knopf, 1931), p. 44.
“prestige-hypnotized”;
Daniel Gregory Mason,
Tune In, America: A Study of Our Coming Musical Independence
(Knopf, 1931), p. 44.
14
“We would respectfully request”:
Ibid., p. 59.
“We would respectfully request”:
Ibid., p. 59.
14
“After the Funeral March”:
Ibid., p. 52. For more on Stokowski and applause, see Oliver Daniel,
Stokowski: A Counterpoint of View
(Dodd, Mead, 1982), pp. 288—89; and Herbert Kupferberg,
Those Fabulous Philadelphians: The Life and Times of a Great Orchestra
(Scribner’s, 1969), p. 78.
“After the Funeral March”:
Ibid., p. 52. For more on Stokowski and applause, see Oliver Daniel,
Stokowski: A Counterpoint of View
(Dodd, Mead, 1982), pp. 288—89; and Herbert Kupferberg,
Those Fabulous Philadelphians: The Life and Times of a Great Orchestra
(Scribner’s, 1969), p. 78.
15
Ellin Mackay:
“Why We Go to Cabarets: A Post-Debutante Explains,”
The NewYorker,
Nov. 28, 1925, pp. 7—8. See also Mackay, “The Declining Function: A Post-Debutante Rejoices,”
The NewYorker,
Dec. 12, 1925, pp. 15-16.
Ellin Mackay:
“Why We Go to Cabarets: A Post-Debutante Explains,”
The NewYorker,
Nov. 28, 1925, pp. 7—8. See also Mackay, “The Declining Function: A Post-Debutante Rejoices,”
The NewYorker,
Dec. 12, 1925, pp. 15-16.
15
“‘Alexander’s Ragtime Band,”’ “the circus can be”:
Gilbert Seldes,
The Seven Lively
Arts (Sagamore Press, 1957), pp. 264, 309.
“‘Alexander’s Ragtime Band,”’ “the circus can be”:
Gilbert Seldes,
The Seven Lively
Arts (Sagamore Press, 1957), pp. 264, 309.
16
“sick moment in the progress”:
Mason,
Tune In, America,
p. 164.
“sick moment in the progress”:
Mason,
Tune In, America,
p. 164.
16
“It is the Palais Royalists”:
Quoted in Henry Osborne Osgood,
So This Is Jazz
(Da Capo, 1978), p. 146.
“It is the Palais Royalists”:
Quoted in Henry Osborne Osgood,
So This Is Jazz
(Da Capo, 1978), p. 146.
17 $6.93: Howard Pollack,
Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Marc
(Henry Holt, 1999), p. 90.
Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Marc
(Henry Holt, 1999), p. 90.
17
eighteen million copies:
Norman Lebrecht,
The Life and Death of Classical Music
(Anchor, 2007), p. 136.
eighteen million copies:
Norman Lebrecht,
The Life and Death of Classical Music
(Anchor, 2007), p. 136.
17
According to one report:
Goodfriend, “Losing Touch,” p. 54.
According to one report:
Goodfriend, “Losing Touch,” p. 54.
18
“I intentionally won’t use”
: Alex Abramovich, “Curator Rock,”
Slate,
Jan. 19, 2004,
www.slate.com/id/2094027
(accessed Jan. 15, 2010).
“I intentionally won’t use”
: Alex Abramovich, “Curator Rock,”
Slate,
Jan. 19, 2004,
www.slate.com/id/2094027
(accessed Jan. 15, 2010).
18
“No computers were used”
: David Hajdu,
Heroes and Villains: Essays on Music, Movies, Comics, and Culture
(Da Capo, 2009), p. 117.
“No computers were used”
: David Hajdu,
Heroes and Villains: Essays on Music, Movies, Comics, and Culture
(Da Capo, 2009), p. 117.
19
music is music:
Edward Jablonski,
Gershwin
(Doubleday 1987), p. 167.
music is music:
Edward Jablonski,
Gershwin
(Doubleday 1987), p. 167.
19
“culturally aware non-attenders”
: Rebecca Winzenried, “Stalking the Culturally Aware Non-Attender,”
Symphony,
Jan.—Feb. 2004, pp. 26—32.
“culturally aware non-attenders”
: Rebecca Winzenried, “Stalking the Culturally Aware Non-Attender,”
Symphony,
Jan.—Feb. 2004, pp. 26—32.
2. CHACONA, LAMENTO, WALKING BLUES
22
“given by the devil”
: Maurice Esses,
Dance and Instrumental Diferencias in Spain During the 17th and Early 18th Centuries,
vol. 3 (Pendragon, 1994), p. 131.
“given by the devil”
: Maurice Esses,
Dance and Instrumental Diferencias in Spain During the 17th and Early 18th Centuries,
vol. 3 (Pendragon, 1994), p. 131.
23
“riding in to Seville”
: Thomas Walker, “Ciaccona and Passacaglia: Remarks on Their Origin and Early History”
Journal of the American Musicological Society
21:3 (Autumn 1968), p. 302.
“riding in to Seville”
: Thomas Walker, “Ciaccona and Passacaglia: Remarks on Their Origin and Early History”
Journal of the American Musicological Society
21:3 (Autumn 1968), p. 302.
23
“So come in, all you nymph girls”
: Miguel de Cervantes,
Obra completa,
vol. 2, ed. Florencio Sevilla Arroyo and Antonio Rey Hazas (Centro de Estudios Cervantinos, 1994), p. 771.
“So come in, all you nymph girls”
: Miguel de Cervantes,
Obra completa,
vol. 2, ed. Florencio Sevilla Arroyo and Antonio Rey Hazas (Centro de Estudios Cervantinos, 1994), p. 771.
23 “Vida bona”: Richard Hudson,
Passacaglia and Ciaccona: From Guitar Music to Italian Keyboard Variations in the 17th Century
(UMI, 1981), pp. 6–8.
Passacaglia and Ciaccona: From Guitar Music to Italian Keyboard Variations in the 17th Century
(UMI, 1981), pp. 6–8.
23
“Un sarao de la chacona”:
Text from
Villancicos
y
Danzas Criollas,
recording by Jordi Savall’s Hesperion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya (Alia Vox 9834).
“Un sarao de la chacona”:
Text from
Villancicos
y
Danzas Criollas,
recording by Jordi Savall’s Hesperion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya (Alia Vox 9834).
24
religious authorities had warned him:
Jodi Campbell,
Monarchy, Political Culture, and Drama in Seventeenth-Century Madrid: Theater of Negotiation
(Ashgate, 2006), pp. 50—51.
religious authorities had warned him:
Jodi Campbell,
Monarchy, Political Culture, and Drama in Seventeenth-Century Madrid: Theater of Negotiation
(Ashgate, 2006), pp. 50—51.
24
“lascivious, dishonest”
: Louise K. Stein, “Eros, Erato, Terpsichore and the Hearing of Music in Early Modern Spain,”
Musical Quarterly
82:3/4 (Autumn–Winter 1998), p. 661.
“lascivious, dishonest”
: Louise K. Stein, “Eros, Erato, Terpsichore and the Hearing of Music in Early Modern Spain,”
Musical Quarterly
82:3/4 (Autumn–Winter 1998), p. 661.
25
“I consider music”
: Igor Stravinsky,
Chroniques de ma vie
(Denoël/Gonthier, 1962), p. 63.
“I consider music”
: Igor Stravinsky,
Chroniques de ma vie
(Denoël/Gonthier, 1962), p. 63.
25
Psychologists have found
: Aniruddh D. Patel,
Music, Language, and the Brain
(Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 314.
Psychologists have found
: Aniruddh D. Patel,
Music, Language, and the Brain
(Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 314.
25
Mafa people of Cameroon
: Thomas Fritz et al., “Universal Recognition of Three Basic Emotions in Music,”
Current Biology
19:7 (April 2009), pp. 573—76.
Mafa people of Cameroon
: Thomas Fritz et al., “Universal Recognition of Three Basic Emotions in Music,”
Current Biology
19:7 (April 2009), pp. 573—76.
26
“A vision of the grave”
: Robert Müller-Hartmann, “A Musical Symbol of Death,”
Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes
8 (1945), p. 201.
“A vision of the grave”
: Robert Müller-Hartmann, “A Musical Symbol of Death,”
Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes
8 (1945), p. 201.
26
“Change
me to
a rainbow”
:
Béla
Bartók,
Rumanian Folk Music,
vol. 2, ed. Benjamin Suchoff (Martinus Nijhoff, 1967), p. 647; translation is in vol. 3, p. 561.
“Change
me to
a rainbow”
:
Béla
Bartók,
Rumanian Folk Music,
vol. 2, ed. Benjamin Suchoff (Martinus Nijhoff, 1967), p. 647; translation is in vol. 3, p. 561.
26
“Woe is me”:
Lajos Vargyas,
Folk Music of the Hungarians,
trans. Judit Pokoly (Akadémiai Kiadó, 2005), pp. 504-505, 706.
“Woe is me”:
Lajos Vargyas,
Folk Music of the Hungarians,
trans. Judit Pokoly (Akadémiai Kiadó, 2005), pp. 504-505, 706.
26
“killing the bride”:
Margarita Mazo, “Stravinsky’s
Les Noces
and Russian Village Wedding Ritual,”
Journal of the American Musicological Society
43:1 (Spring 1990), pp. 99—142. See esp. example 8.
“killing the bride”:
Margarita Mazo, “Stravinsky’s
Les Noces
and Russian Village Wedding Ritual,”
Journal of the American Musicological Society
43:1 (Spring 1990), pp. 99—142. See esp. example 8.
26
Comparable laments:
See Janos Sipos, David Somfai Kara, and Éva Csaki,
Kazakh Folksongs from the Two Ends of the Steppe,
trans. Judit Pokoly (Akadémiai Kiadó,
2001), p. 43; Elizabeth Tolbert, “The Musical Means of Sorrow: The Karelian Lament Tradition” (PhD diss., University of California, Los Angeles, 1988), p. 174; “Funeral Music” on the recording
Indian Music of the Upper Amazon
(Smithsonian Folkways FW04458); and Steven Feld,
Sound and Sentiment: Birds, Weeping, Poetics, and Song in Kaluli Expression,
2nd ed. (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990), pp. 86–111.
Comparable laments:
See Janos Sipos, David Somfai Kara, and Éva Csaki,
Kazakh Folksongs from the Two Ends of the Steppe,
trans. Judit Pokoly (Akadémiai Kiadó,
2001), p. 43; Elizabeth Tolbert, “The Musical Means of Sorrow: The Karelian Lament Tradition” (PhD diss., University of California, Los Angeles, 1988), p. 174; “Funeral Music” on the recording
Indian Music of the Upper Amazon
(Smithsonian Folkways FW04458); and Steven Feld,
Sound and Sentiment: Birds, Weeping, Poetics, and Song in Kaluli Expression,
2nd ed. (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990), pp. 86–111.
27
“It comes from the first sob”:
Federico García Lorca,
Deep Song and Other Prose,
trans. and ed. Christopher Maurer (New Directions, 1975), p. 30.
“It comes from the first sob”:
Federico García Lorca,
Deep Song and Other Prose,
trans. and ed. Christopher Maurer (New Directions, 1975), p. 30.
27
“Hey, the wind’s blowing”
: Vargyas,
Folk Music of the Hungarians,
pp. 407, 669.
“Hey, the wind’s blowing”
: Vargyas,
Folk Music of the Hungarians,
pp. 407, 669.
27
Peter Kivy … argues
: Peter Kivy,
Sound Sentiment: An Essay on the Musical Emotions
(Temple University Press, 1989), pp. 71–83.
Peter Kivy … argues
: Peter Kivy,
Sound Sentiment: An Essay on the Musical Emotions
(Temple University Press, 1989), pp. 71–83.
28
“not mere signs”
: John Stevens,
Words and Music in the Middle Ages: Song, Narrative, Dance and Drama,
1050–1350 (Cambridge University Press, 1986), p. 303.
“not mere signs”
: John Stevens,
Words and Music in the Middle Ages: Song, Narrative, Dance and Drama,
1050–1350 (Cambridge University Press, 1986), p. 303.
28
“the intentions and passions”
: Oliver Strunk and Leo Treitler, eds.,
Source Readings in Music History,
rev. ed. (Norton, 1998), p. 387.
“the intentions and passions”
: Oliver Strunk and Leo Treitler, eds.,
Source Readings in Music History,
rev. ed. (Norton, 1998), p. 387.
30
“cheerful harmonies and fast rhythms”
: Gioseffo Zarlino,
On the Modes,
trans. Vered Cohen (Yale University Press, 1983), p. 95.
“cheerful harmonies and fast rhythms”
: Gioseffo Zarlino,
On the Modes,
trans. Vered Cohen (Yale University Press, 1983), p. 95.
31
“If [the subject] be lamentable”
: Thomas Morley
A Plain and Easy Introduction to Practical Music
(Randall, 1771), p. 202.
“If [the subject] be lamentable”
: Thomas Morley
A Plain and Easy Introduction to Practical Music
(Randall, 1771), p. 202.
32
“Speaking without a mouth,” “pleasing melancholy”:
Robert Burton,
The Anatomy of Melancholy,
vol. 2 (Dent, 1932), pp. 116, 118.
“Speaking without a mouth,” “pleasing melancholy”:
Robert Burton,
The Anatomy of Melancholy,
vol. 2 (Dent, 1932), pp. 116, 118.
32
“No doubt pleasant are the tears”:
Peter Holman,
Dowland, “Lachrimae” (1604)
(Cambridge University Press, 1999), p. 52.
“No doubt pleasant are the tears”:
Peter Holman,
Dowland, “Lachrimae” (1604)
(Cambridge University Press, 1999), p. 52.
32
“musical sounds can evoke”
: Patel,
Music, Language, and the Brain,
p. 319.
“musical sounds can evoke”
: Patel,
Music, Language, and the Brain,
p. 319.
32
“The world has become sad”:
Oscar Wilde, “The Decay of Lying,” in
Complete Works of Oscar Wilde
(Perennial Library 1989), p. 983.
“The world has become sad”:
Oscar Wilde, “The Decay of Lying,” in
Complete Works of Oscar Wilde
(Perennial Library 1989), p. 983.
32
arsenic poisoning
: Francesco Mari, Aldo Polettini, Donatella Lippi, and Elisabetta Bertol, “The Mysterious Death of Francesco I de’ Medici and Bianca Cappello: An Arsenic Murder?”
BMJ
333 (Dec. 23-30, 2006), pp. 1299-1301.
arsenic poisoning
: Francesco Mari, Aldo Polettini, Donatella Lippi, and Elisabetta Bertol, “The Mysterious Death of Francesco I de’ Medici and Bianca Cappello: An Arsenic Murder?”
BMJ
333 (Dec. 23-30, 2006), pp. 1299-1301.
32
“stun the beholder with their grandeur”:
Skip Sempé, “La Pellegrina,” essay accompanying his recording of
La Pellegrina
with the Capriccio Stravagante Renaissance Orchestra and Collegium Vocale Gent (Paradizo 0004).
“stun the beholder with their grandeur”:
Skip Sempé, “La Pellegrina,” essay accompanying his recording of
La Pellegrina
with the Capriccio Stravagante Renaissance Orchestra and Collegium Vocale Gent (Paradizo 0004).
33
“new manner of song”
: Strunk and Treitler,
Source Readings in Music History,
pp. 659–62.
“new manner of song”
: Strunk and Treitler,
Source Readings in Music History,
pp. 659–62.
34
“great submerged iceberg”:
Richard Taruskin,
The Oxford History of Western Music,
vol. 1,
The Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century
(Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 619.
“great submerged iceberg”:
Richard Taruskin,
The Oxford History of Western Music,
vol. 1,
The Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century
(Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 619.
34
“a narrative of the flow”:
Alexander Silbiger, “On Frescobaldi’s Re-creation of the Chaconne and the Passacaglia,” in
The Keyboard in Baroque Europe: Musical Performance and Reception,
ed. Christopher Hogwood (Cambridge University Press, 2003), p. 18.
“a narrative of the flow”:
Alexander Silbiger, “On Frescobaldi’s Re-creation of the Chaconne and the Passacaglia,” in
The Keyboard in Baroque Europe: Musical Performance and Reception,
ed. Christopher Hogwood (Cambridge University Press, 2003), p. 18.
34
“Zephyr returns and blesses the air”
: Translation by Alan Curtis, in notes to his recording of Monteverdi’s Complete Duets, vol. 1, with Il Complesso Barocco (Virgin Classics 45293).
“Zephyr returns and blesses the air”
: Translation by Alan Curtis, in notes to his recording of Monteverdi’s Complete Duets, vol. 1, with Il Complesso Barocco (Virgin Classics 45293).
35
“emblem of lament”: Ellen
Rosand, “The Descending Tetrachord: An Emblem of Lament,”
Musical Quarterly
65:3 (July 1979), p. 349.
“emblem of lament”: Ellen
Rosand, “The Descending Tetrachord: An Emblem of Lament,”
Musical Quarterly
65:3 (July 1979), p. 349.
36
“opera as we know it”:
Ellen Rosand,
Opera in Seventeenth-Century Venice: The Creation of a Genre
(University of California Press, 1991), p. 1.
“opera as we know it”:
Ellen Rosand,
Opera in Seventeenth-Century Venice: The Creation of a Genre
(University of California Press, 1991), p. 1.
38
“a display designed by men”
: Susan McClary
Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality
(University of Minnesota Press, 1991), p. 89. See also Suzanne G. Cusick, “Re-Voicing Arianna (and Laments): Two Women Respond,” Early Music 27:3 (Aug. 1999), pp. 437–49.
“a display designed by men”
: Susan McClary
Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality
(University of Minnesota Press, 1991), p. 89. See also Suzanne G. Cusick, “Re-Voicing Arianna (and Laments): Two Women Respond,” Early Music 27:3 (Aug. 1999), pp. 437–49.
38
“a sense of the supernatural”:
Wendy Heller,
Emblems of Eloquence: Opera and Women’s Voices in Seventeenth-Century Venice
(University of California Press, 2003), p. 101.
“a sense of the supernatural”:
Wendy Heller,
Emblems of Eloquence: Opera and Women’s Voices in Seventeenth-Century Venice
(University of California Press, 2003), p. 101.
39
Rose Pruiksma notes:
Rose A. Pruiksma, “Music, Sex, and Ethnicity: Signification in Lully’s Theatrical Chaconnes,” in
Gender, Sexuality, and Early Music,
ed. Todd M. Borgerding (Routledge, 2002), pp. 227–48.
Rose Pruiksma notes:
Rose A. Pruiksma, “Music, Sex, and Ethnicity: Signification in Lully’s Theatrical Chaconnes,” in
Gender, Sexuality, and Early Music,
ed. Todd M. Borgerding (Routledge, 2002), pp. 227–48.
39
“One dreads the arms”:
Ibid., p. 233.
“One dreads the arms”:
Ibid., p. 233.
40
“proceed with relentless power”:
Wilfrid Mellers,
François Couperin and the French Classical Tradition
(Dover, 1968), p. 202.
“proceed with relentless power”:
Wilfrid Mellers,
François Couperin and the French Classical Tradition
(Dover, 1968), p. 202.
43
“of such a nature”:
Hans T. David, Arthur Mendel, and Christoph Wolff, eds.,
The New Bach Reader: A Life of Johann Sebastian Bach in Letters and Documents
(Norton, 1998), p. 105.
“of such a nature”:
Hans T. David, Arthur Mendel, and Christoph Wolff, eds.,
The New Bach Reader: A Life of Johann Sebastian Bach in Letters and Documents
(Norton, 1998), p. 105.
43
“presence of grace”:
Ibid., p. 161.
“presence of grace”:
Ibid., p. 161.
44
“the lone violinist”
: Susan McClary
Reading Music: Selected Essays
(Ashgate, 2007), p. 334.
“the lone violinist”
: Susan McClary
Reading Music: Selected Essays
(Ashgate, 2007), p. 334.
44
“repeated strumming”
: Alexander Silbiger, “Bach and the Chaconne,”
The Journal of Musicology
17:3 (Summer 1999), p. 375.
“repeated strumming”
: Alexander Silbiger, “Bach and the Chaconne,”
The Journal of Musicology
17:3 (Summer 1999), p. 375.
44
“Some of these ventures”
: Ibid., p. 384. See also Raymond Erickson, “Secret Codes, Dance, and Bach’s Great ‘Ciaccona,”’
Early Music America
8:2 (2002), pp. 34–43.
“Some of these ventures”
: Ibid., p. 384. See also Raymond Erickson, “Secret Codes, Dance, and Bach’s Great ‘Ciaccona,”’
Early Music America
8:2 (2002), pp. 34–43.
45
Martin Luther vilified:
See Martin Luther’s “Sermon von der Betrachtung des heiligen Leidens Christi” of 1519. Eric Chafe, in
Tonal Allegory in the Vocal Music of J. S. Bach
(University of California Press, 1991), pp. 134—40, argues that “Weinen, Klagen” is modeled on that sermon.
Martin Luther vilified:
See Martin Luther’s “Sermon von der Betrachtung des heiligen Leidens Christi” of 1519. Eric Chafe, in
Tonal Allegory in the Vocal Music of J. S. Bach
(University of California Press, 1991), pp. 134—40, argues that “Weinen, Klagen” is modeled on that sermon.
46
“Time’s cycle had been straightened”:
Karol Berger,
Bach’s Cycle, Mozart’s Arrow: An Essay on the Origins of Musical Modernity
(University of California Press, 2007), p. 176.
“Time’s cycle had been straightened”:
Karol Berger,
Bach’s Cycle, Mozart’s Arrow: An Essay on the Origins of Musical Modernity
(University of California Press, 2007), p. 176.
46
“Orpheus’s lyre opened the gates”:
E.T.A. Hoffmann, “Review of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony” in E. T A.
Hoffmann’s Musical Writings: “Kreisleriana,” “The Poet and the Composer,” Music Criticism,
ed. David Charlton, trans. Martyn Clarke (Cambridge University Press, 1989), p. 236.
“Orpheus’s lyre opened the gates”:
E.T.A. Hoffmann, “Review of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony” in E. T A.
Hoffmann’s Musical Writings: “Kreisleriana,” “The Poet and the Composer,” Music Criticism,
ed. David Charlton, trans. Martyn Clarke (Cambridge University Press, 1989), p. 236.
46
“that has the following Crucifixus”:
Lewis Lockwood,
Beethoven: The Music and the Life
(Norton, 2003), p. 406.
“that has the following Crucifixus”:
Lewis Lockwood,
Beethoven: The Music and the Life
(Norton, 2003), p. 406.
48
Alexander Poznansky has established:
See Alexander Poznansky
Tchaikovsky’s Last Days: A Documentary Study
(Clarendon, 1996).
Alexander Poznansky has established:
See Alexander Poznansky
Tchaikovsky’s Last Days: A Documentary Study
(Clarendon, 1996).
48
So argued Stefan Wolpe:
See Martin Zenck, “Reinterpreting Bach in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries,” in
The Cambridge Companion to Bach,
ed. John Butt (Cambridge University Press, 1997), pp. 240-50.
So argued Stefan Wolpe:
See Martin Zenck, “Reinterpreting Bach in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries,” in
The Cambridge Companion to Bach,
ed. John Butt (Cambridge University Press, 1997), pp. 240-50.
49
“I was very much impressed”:
György Ligeti, remarks at Theory and Musicology Symposium, New England Conservatory, March 9, 1993.
“I was very much impressed”:
György Ligeti, remarks at Theory and Musicology Symposium, New England Conservatory, March 9, 1993.
49
Richard Steinitz
…
defines:
Richard Steinitz,
Gyorgy Ligeti: Music of the Imagination
(Northeastern University Press, 2003), p. 294. See also Steinitz, “Weeping and Wailing,”
Musical Times
137:1842 (Aug. 1996), pp. 17-22; and David Metzer,
Musical Modernism at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century
(Cambridge University Press, 2009), pp. 144–62.
Richard Steinitz
…
defines:
Richard Steinitz,
Gyorgy Ligeti: Music of the Imagination
(Northeastern University Press, 2003), p. 294. See also Steinitz, “Weeping and Wailing,”
Musical Times
137:1842 (Aug. 1996), pp. 17-22; and David Metzer,
Musical Modernism at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century
(Cambridge University Press, 2009), pp. 144–62.
50
“fast, exuberant, passionate”:
Steinitz,
Ligeti,
p. 340.
“fast, exuberant, passionate”:
Steinitz,
Ligeti,
p. 340.
50
“the weirdest music I had ever heard”:
W C. Handy
Father of the Blues: An Autobiography
(Da Capo, 1991), p. 74.
“the weirdest music I had ever heard”:
W C. Handy
Father of the Blues: An Autobiography
(Da Capo, 1991), p. 74.
51
chants of the Ewe and Yoruba peoples:
Gilbert Rouget, “Un Chromatisme africain,”
L’Homme
1:3 (1961), pp. 32–46.
chants of the Ewe and Yoruba peoples:
Gilbert Rouget, “Un Chromatisme africain,”
L’Homme
1:3 (1961), pp. 32–46.
52
as Peter Williams points
out: Peter Williams,
The Chromatic Fourth During Four Centuries of Music
(Clarendon, 1997), pp. 237–38.
as Peter Williams points
out: Peter Williams,
The Chromatic Fourth During Four Centuries of Music
(Clarendon, 1997), pp. 237–38.
53
As Everett notes:
Walter Everett, “Pitch Down the Middle,” in
Expression in Pop-Rock Music: Critical and Analytical Essays,
2nd ed., ed. Walter Everett (Routledge, 2008), p. 150. See also Everett,
Foundations of Rock: From “Blue Suede Shoes” to “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”
(Oxford University Press, 2009), pp. 275-76.
As Everett notes:
Walter Everett, “Pitch Down the Middle,” in
Expression in Pop-Rock Music: Critical and Analytical Essays,
2nd ed., ed. Walter Everett (Routledge, 2008), p. 150. See also Everett,
Foundations of Rock: From “Blue Suede Shoes” to “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”
(Oxford University Press, 2009), pp. 275-76.
53
“absolutely stone, raving mad”:
Will Shade, “Dazed and Confused: The Incredibly Strange Saga of Jake Holmes,”
Perfect Sound Forever,
Sept. 2001,
www.furious.com/perfect/jakeholmes.html
(accessed Aug. 21, 2009). Holmes went on to apply his talents to advertising, writing or co-writing such well-known commercial jingles as “Be All That You Can Be,” “Be a Pepper,” and “Raise Your Hand If You’re Sure.”
“absolutely stone, raving mad”:
Will Shade, “Dazed and Confused: The Incredibly Strange Saga of Jake Holmes,”
Perfect Sound Forever,
Sept. 2001,
www.furious.com/perfect/jakeholmes.html
(accessed Aug. 21, 2009). Holmes went on to apply his talents to advertising, writing or co-writing such well-known commercial jingles as “Be All That You Can Be,” “Be a Pepper,” and “Raise Your Hand If You’re Sure.”
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