J. S. Bach - Cantata Actus Tragicus 'Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit' BWV 106

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) wrote over 300 sacred cantatas for services in the Lutheran Church, about 195 survive. It is known that he composed three complete sets of cantatas consisting of one for every Sunday of the year and one for every church holiday. They are written for almost every kind and blend of instrumental groupings imagined, from solo cantatas to cantatas with a large performing group.

Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, (God's time is the very best time) also known as Actus Tragicus was written for performance at a funeral, possibly for one of Bach's uncles. It is composed for the unusual combination of continuo, two viola da gambas,  two alto recorders,  bass viol, Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass soloists, and choir.  The instrumentation of this cantata gives a nod to the sound of the music of Bach's predecessors.

The viola da gamba is a type of viol, a stringed instrument used in the Renaissance and Baroque era. It is similar to a cello, except it generally has six strings and frets like a guitar.  It is strung with gut strings and has a more mellow sound than  cello. 

The recorder is a type of whistle flute made of wood that was also popular in the Renaissance and Baroque eras. It was especially associated with music of a pastoral nature.

This cantata is thought to be an early work, written when Bach was twenty two years old. It remains one of his popular cantatas, not least of all because of the short instrumental Sonatina for recorders, viols and continuo that opens the work.
The text is a combination of bible passages and excerpts from Lutheran Church Chorales that would have been familiar to the church congregations where the cantatas were given.

The cantata is in 4 parts:
1st Part - A gently moving instrumental sonatina.

2nd Part - 
a) Chorus - God's time is the best of all times. In Him we live, move and are, as long as He wills.In Him we die at the appointed time, when He wills. (Acts 17:28)
b) Tenor solo - Ah, Lord, teach us to consider that we must die, so that we might become wise. (Psalm 90:12)
c) Bass solo - Put your house in order; for you will die and not remain alive! (Isaiah 38:1)
d)Chorus and soprano -
Chorus - It is the ancient law: human, you must die! (Ecclesiasticus 14:17)
Soprano - Yes, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelations 22:20)

3rd Part - 
a)Alto aria - Into Your hands I commit my spirit, You have redeemed me, Lord, faithful God. (Psalm 31:6)
b) Bass aria and alto chorus
Bass - Today you will be with Me in Paradise. (Luke 23:43)
Chorus - With peace and joy I depart in God's will,
My heart and mind are comforted, calm, and quiet.
As God had promised me: death has become my sleep. (Taken from Chorale Mit Fried und Freud, by Martin Luther)

4th Part Chorus -
Glory, praise, honor, and majesty
be prepared for You, God the Father and the Son,
for the Holy Spirit by name!
The divine power makes us victorious through Jesus Christ, Amen. (Taken from chorales In dich hab' ich gehoffet, Herr, by Adam Reusner, and Ich hab mein Sach Gott heimgestellt, by Johann Leon )

Bax - Symphony No. 6

Arnold Bax (1883 - 1953) was an English composer and poet who had a restless intellect that caused him to read voraciously. He developed a strong affinity for Ireland through the works of W.B Yeats the Irish poet and playwright. Bax visited Ireland for extended stays and the countryside and ocean side inspired him to write music that reflected his love for the country and the people. But Ireland was not his only influence.  Norwegian and Russian music also influenced his compositions.

His orchestral music is complex and colorful with more than a hint of impressionism in it. He composed 7 symphonies, many tone poems, and other pieces for orchestra as well as chamber, choral, and solo piano music. He was a fine pianist, but very rarely was on the concert platform.

His Symphony No.6 was written in 1935 and premiered later that same year. It was Bax's favorite symphony. Formally it is in three movements, but there are two sections in the opening movement and three in the final movement. The symphonic music of Bax shows his skill with the orchestra and use of materials as well as good, original material to begin with.

I. Moderato - Allegro con fuoco -  The symphony begins in C-sharp minor with the bass trombone playing an ostinato figure:

The woodwinds play dissonant chords over the bass trombone. This dissonant introduction continues and expands until the strings play a declaiming motive that is punctuated with percussion and brass until it segues directly to the first theme of the movement, which is based on material heard in the introduction. The music comes to a brief pause before the first theme continues. A section of transition leads to a second lyrical theme first heard in the flutes. The first theme returns and is developed. Tension increases until a full-blooded rendition of the first theme in the brass blares out from the orchestra. The music grows softer and the second theme returns. The tempo picks up speed as material from the first theme gathers momentum and ends the movement in a resounding thump.

II. Lento molto espressivo - The themes of this movement are related to the material already heard in the first movement. An interesting variant appears over a steady beating accompaniment a little over halfway through the movement. The movement winds down to a gently quiet ending.

III.  The last movement is in three sections:
a) Introduction (Lento moderato) -  A solo clarinet plays material that will be heard later in the movement. The strings enter with a variant of the clarinet theme that builds in intensity. Other woodwinds enter and play another motive until transitional material segues into the scherzo section.
b) Scherzo & Trio (Allegro vivace - Andante semplice) -  The opening theme of the scherzo is a variant of the clarinet theme heard in the introduction. Other snippets of music resemble motives heard in previous movements. The trio moves gently through the orchestra, primarily in the strings. The scherzo returns with a vengeance and slowly builds to an impressive climax. The music slowly winds down and segues to the last section.
c) Epilogue (Lento) - A solo horn plays the clarinet theme over a delicate accompaniment of divided and muted solo strings, as well as the harp. The music slowly throbs with previous motives in colorful but subdued instrumentation. The music turns mysterious as it gradually dies away until it comes to rest in the key of C major.

Paganini- Caprice No.24 For Solo Violin

Nicolò Paganini (1782 - 1840) was an Italian violinist, guitarist and composer. Paganini was perhaps one of the greatest violinists that ever lived. He expanded violin technique far beyond what was thought possible in his time. His influence was not only brought to bear on technique, but his compositions inspired many other composers.

Paganini studied under many violin teachers but his progress was so swift that he outgrew them. He held a few minor court posts before he went on concert tour of Italy.  He continued touring Italy until he gave a concert in Milan, Italy in 1813 where he drew a lot of attention, not only from his playing but his womanizing and gambling also.  He gained in notoriety so much that he began touring Europe in 1828 to wild acclaim. He continued tours of Europe and England until he quit concertizing in 1834 due to poor health.

He was a rare combination of genuine artist and showman as he would do animal imitations with his violin, play an entire piece on one string, and other stunts that pleased the crowds and made some think he was a charlatan. But he was a serious musician and composer as his compositions show. Paganini's prowess with the violin was so great that there were rumors that he had made a pact with the devil to be able to play so magnificently. This rumor persisted even after his death, in nice, France as he was denied a Catholic burial because of his being in league with the devil.  After four years and an appeal to the Pope, the body was allowed to be shipped to Genoa, Italy but it still was not buried until 1876 in Parma, Italy26 years after his death.

His 24 Caprices For Solo Violin , Opus One, were written between 1802 and 1817. They were published in 1819.

Each one of the 24 exploits a specific technical issue, so they are actually etudes for the violin.  Except the Caprice #24. This caprice throws a myriad of technical problems at the player as a summing up of all that has gone before with the other twenty three. It is a set of variations on an original theme that has inspired many other musicians to write their own set of variations on it, including Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Schumann, Liszt and many others. His compositions remain a paragon of violin technique and musicality even after so many years past his death.

Paganini's Caprice #24 For Solo Violin:

Liadov - Eight Russian Folksongs

Anatoly Liadov (1855 - 1914) was a Russian composer and pianist who was born into a musical family, as his father was a conductor. He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and later became a professor where he taught  Sergei Prokofiev among others.

He studied composition with Rimsky-Korsakov, was expelled for absenteeism, only to be readmitted later.  He became friends with Tchaikovsky and knew Mussorgsky and the rest of The Five and shared with them an interest in music based on Russian folksong, legend and history.

Liadov had neither the temperament or inclination to compose any large-scale works. The attempts he made at these were never finished. His talent was with the musical miniature, as many of his compositions were piano miniatures. The few orchestra works he wrote were mostly brief tone poems. He was a master of counterpoint, and a brilliant orchestrator, but his composing method was very slow and methodical.

Eight Russian Folksongs Opus 58 was written in 1906 and are true to form with his nature of composition. The eight songs take about 15 minutes to play and show his brilliance with orchestration and inventiveness. The skill he used in setting these eight pieces does make you wonder what he could have accomplished if he had been more ambitious.

The Eight Songs are:

1. Religious Chant. Moderato
2. Christmas Carol 'Kolyada'. Allegretto
3. Plaintive Song. Andante
4. Humorous Song 'I Danced With The Gnat'./Allegretto
5. Legend Of The Birds. Allegretto
6. Cradle Song. Moderato
7. Round Dance. Allegro
8. Village Dance Song. Vivo

Liadov's Eight Russian Folksongs for orchestra: 

Penderecki - Threnody To The Victims Of Hiroshima

Krzysztof Penderecki (born 1933) is a Polish composer and conductor.  He was a member of the avant-garde music movement in the 1960's.  The composition that brought him to international attention was Threnody : To The Victims of Hiroshima for 52 stringed instruments. He wrote the piece in 1960 as an exercise in writing for strings treated with unconventional scoring and performing techniques. He originally named the piece 8'37".  But in Penderecki's own words, “[The piece] existed only in my imagination, in a somewhat abstract way. When Jan Krenz recorded it and I could listen to an actual performance, I was struck with the emotional charge of the work. I thought it would be a waste to condemn it to such anonymity, to those“digits”. I searched for associations and, in the end, I decided to dedicate it to the Hiroshima victims."

 The work is written in unconventional notation and calls for the players to slap the sides of their instruments, play behind the bridge and to play in quarter tones. The overall effect is indeed disconcerting. It is by no means an easy piece to listen to, but it brings forth the horrors of the atomic bomb blast in what some may not call music, but it certainly is powerful and cannot be ignored.

Penderecki has since moved away from the avant-garde into the realm of more traditional music with rich harmonies and compositions based on tonality. He does revert back to his avant-garde style to good effect within some of his more recent compositions.



Penderecki's Threnody To The Victims Of  Hiroshima:

Arriaga - Symphony in D Major

Juan Crisostomo Arriaga (1806 - 1826) was a Spanish musical prodigy who without any regular musical studies composed an opera in 1821 when he was 15 years old.  An opera that was being performed in public no less. He finally went to the Paris Conservatory due to the generosity of some wealthy patrons in his home town that had seen his opera and recognized his talent.

Arriaga completed his studies at the Conservatory after only three years and immediately wrote three string quartets for publication. He also became an associate professor under the guidance of his teacher at the Conservatory. He wrote the Symphony in D major in 1825 while still in Paris.  It was the only symphony he wrote, and the work reflects the stylistic trends he learned about in his studies.

The symphony is said to be in D major, but in the first movement the composer uses D minor as much as the major. The final movement also doesn't establish the dominance of the principle key of D major, a unique thing for a symphony written at the time.

Arriaga died of a lung ailment, exhaustion, or both in Paris when he was 19 years old.

Bruckner - Symphony No. 3

When Anton Bruckner (1824 - 1896) paid a visit to Richard Wagner in 1873, he brought along his 2nd and 3rd Symphonies.  He wanted to dedicate one or the other to Wagner, his musical idol, and he wanted to give the master his choice.

Wagner welcomed Bruckner, whereon Bruckner began to shower him with praises and idol worship. Wagner's ego was at least as large as his genius for composition, so he took the praise as usual, like he deserved it. He poured a glass of beer for Bruckner and himself (an act that sent Bruckner into rhapsodies of "Imagine the master pouring a beer for me!" in a later letter) and began to read through the symphonies. They drank beer and talked, or at least Wagner talked. He usually did all the talking. Bruckner was most likely too awe-struck to say much.

Wagner made his choice, and Bruckner left.  But Bruckner being Bruckner, after he got back to his room he couldn't remember which symphony Wagner chose for the dedication, either because of the excitement of the occasion (or the beer).  So Bruckner had to write him and ask, "Symphony in D minor, where the trumpet begins the theme?"  Wagner wrote back and answered, "Yes! Best wishes! Richard Wagner." Wagner always referred to  "Bruckner the Trumpet" after the incident.  Wagner did seem to be impressed with symphony, especially the opening. He later said that Bruckner was the only symphonist that came close to Beethoven.  And the silhouette of Wagner offering a pinch of snuff to Bruckner is misleading. Bruckner was a tall, large-framed man who would have dwarfed Wagner's 5'5" frame. As for Bruckner's dedication, he called Wagner "the unreachable world-famous noble master of poetry and music."

The 3rd Symphony was premiered in 1877. The conductor who was to lead the orchestra died at the last minute so Bruckner lead the orchestra. Bruckner was not a very good orchestral conductor and by the time the symphony was over most of the audience and even some of the orchestra had left.  This depressed him so much he immediately began to revise the score. After many different editions, the original manuscript was found and it is the original version of the symphony edited in 1877 that is generally played.

Bruckner's  Symphony No. 3 in D minor is in 4 movements:

I. Gemäßigt, mehr bewegt, misterioso - In typical Bruckner fashion, the first movement is in his own style of sonata form. Bruckner's use of groups of themes begins with the trumpet playing the opening over a constant string accompaniment. This opening is continued until it reaches a huge climax with the orchestra playing in unison. The next part of this theme group is calmer and leads to another loud outburst from the orchestra. This first theme group is repeated, with slight variations and leads into the second theme group. The second group of themes is more lyrical and begins in the strings. The so-called Bruckner rhythm (two beats followed by three beats is contained within this second group. The second group develops into a climax for full orchestra, after which a third theme group is ushered in by the brass. The brass play a variant of the very opening trumpet theme. The exposition ends with a climax dominated by the brass. The development begins mysteriously and soon concentrates on the opening trumpet theme. The theme is varied, and some of the other parts of the first theme group are commented on. Bruckner uses bits of themes, offers themes in counterpoint, and the development section slowly grows to a tremendous climax as the brass utilizes the trumpet theme. Parts of themes appear after the brass climax and lead directly to the recapitulation where all the theme groups are repeated, with some parts varied and modulated to keys different than the opening. The first movement ends in a coda that contains a repeat of the trumpet theme in a from the brass with thundering. This alternates with a gentle repeat of other material until the brass takes control and blares out the opening trumpet theme in a faster tempo with the strings churning out an accompaniment along with the roaring timpani.

II. Adagio, Bewegt, quasi Andante - This movement is built upon three themes. The serene opening theme is carried by the violins and slowly expands chromatically and in volume until it reaches yet more chromatic shifting. It suddenly grows soft, then returns to intensity in the violins with underpinnings by the horns. Again it grows softer, the music expands once again until the woodwinds make a comment followed by the strings and the brass. The second theme is first carried by the violas and expands to other instruments. The second theme ends with a pause, and the third theme begins softly in the violins. This theme is expanded and developed at length. The second theme returns and undulates in tension and volume until it reaches a huge climax. The first theme has to make several attempts to gain a foothold as the brass keep trying to shoo it away. But it finally prevails and reaches its own high point. The movement ends with gentle strings, woodwinds and horns.

III. Scherzo - Ziemlich schnell - The music begins softly with not so much as a theme as a rhythm, and rapidly builds in volume. It reaches the top of the crescendo falls back slightly, reaches the top of another crescendo and pauses. The soft beginning starts the second section of the scherzo and the music dies down for a repeat of the opening.  The trio is an Austrian ländler in a major key. The scherzo is repeated verbatim, and in the edition played in the accompanying video there is a short coda that sums up the scherzo.

IV. Finale, Allegro - This movement is also in Bruckner's version of sonata form. The first theme begins with strings playing a rapid figure while the brass put forth a fanfare similar to the trumpet theme in the first movement. There is an abrupt halt and the second more casual theme is played in the strings.  Another halt and a loud third theme is brought forth from the orchestra. The music works up to a huge climax with some mellow after thoughts by the horns and the exposition section is complete. The development concerns itself mostly with the opening brass fanfare but some snippets of other themes are sprinkled throughout it. There is a repeat of the second theme, then the third. The music flows to the end, repeating parts of themes along the way until the trumpets play the theme of the very opening of the symphony. The full orchestra plays  a tremendous accompaniment as the trumpet theme ends the symphony.