Scarlatti - Five Keyboard Sonatas

The Italian composer Domenico Scarlatti has been a favorite of listeners, performers and composers since a collection of thirty of his keyboard sonatas were published in 1738 under the title Essercizi per Gravicembalo. Frédéric Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Béla Bartók, Dmitri Shostakovich and other composers studied, played and sometimes made transcriptions of Scarlatti's music. Although Scarlatti is categorized in music history as a Baroque composer, his keyboard sonatas were forerunners of what was to become the sonata form as used by Haydn, Mozart, and almost all composers since.

His father Alessandro Scarlatti was an influential Italian composer of operas and other vocal music. Domenico was born in 1685, the same year as J.S. Bach and Handel. He wastaught by his father and for the first half of his life composed operas and vocal music in imitation of his father. He was a skilled harpsichordist, and there is a story (likely apocryphal) of Scarlatti and Handel competing on the organ and harpsichord, where Scarlatti was deemed the better player of the harpsichord and Handel the better player on the organ.

Alessandro Scarlatti

Scarlatti went to Lisbon, Portugal in 1719 as teacher to the Portuguese princess Maria Magdalena Barbara. When she married into the Spanish royal family Scarlatti followed her to Madrid, Spain as music master to the court. He remained in Spain for the rest of his life and died there in 1757.

Many of the 555 keyboard sonatas he composed were composed for use by the Princess as she was a skilled keyboardist. After he became her teacher, he virtually gave up composing vocal music and concentrated on sonatas for keyboard. With so many sonatas, identification by key is not possible. For example, there are 61 sonatas alone in the key of C. There have been different musicologists that have given numbers to the sonatas, with the first being Alessandro Longo who published all of the sonatas known with corresponding numbers. These numbers are abbreviated with an 'L' before the number. In 1953 the American Ralph Kirkpatrick published his biography of Scarlatti along with his renumbering of the sonatas in chronological order. These numbers have somewhat replaced the Longo numbers, but many times both numbers are given for a sonata.

The basic pattern is the same for nearly all of the sonatas.  An example, the Sonata In C Major (K.133 L.282) begins with a theme in the home key of C major. After this theme there is other material that leads to a section in a minor key (C minor, parallel minor of C major) which leads directly to a section in G major, the dominant of the home key of C major. This constitutes the first part of the binary form and is repeated. The second part begins with the opening theme transposed to the key of E-flat major, the relative major of C minor. The second theme is referred to briefly, new material is presented, previous material is repeated in different keys, the 2nd part ends in the home key of C major and is repeated:



All of the sonatas are written in binary form, in two related sections that are both usually repeated. There are two or three main themes in each part with other material that binds the themes together. Key relationships are straightforward, with tonic-dominant-dominant-tonic being primary. Scarlatti varies his form (key relationship-wise) enough to maintain interest. His themes can be quirky, consists of huge jumps, hand crossings, all manner of techniques that make many of the sonatas unique to performance on a keyboard. There are some that have been transposed for guitar, but most don't transcribe very well.

The influence of Spanish music on the Italian Scarlatti has been the subject of much debate by musicians. The best evidence of the influence is most likely to be heard in the sonatas themselves. The repeated notes in Sonata In F Minor (K.239, L.281) as well as the bass line suggests the guitar. As the home key is F minor, major keys play the role of contrast in this sonata:



Another example of the influence of the Spanish guitar is the Sonata in D Major (K.119, L.415) not only in the repeated notes but by the thick texture of some of the chords that suggest the earthiness of Spanish gypsies and early flamenco. Hand crossings in the second part for each hand test the accuracy of the player:



Not all of Scarlatti's sonatas are fast. He wrote many sonatas that are slower, although some players still take them at a brisk pace. The Sonata In C Major (K.132, L.457) has a tempo indication of 'Cantabile', song-like.  Musicologists think there is a good case to be made for performing the sonatas in groupings of two or three sonatas. A good example could be to play the following sonata and then the C Major sonata K.133 above. They are both in the key of C, one is slow, one is fast :



And then there are the sonatas like Sonata In A Major (K.209, L.428) with the designation Allegro, which can mean many different things. It can be a clue as to the tempo meaning bright, lively, or it can also give a clue as to the mood of the piece; happy. This sonata's mood seems to me to be a happy one:



There remains the problem of what keyboard instrument is appropriate for Scarlatti's sonatas. Purists argue for the harpsichord and clavichord, possibly the organ for some of them. Others say that as long as they are played with 'taste', the sonatas can be played on the modern piano. To me, it is a question of preference. I have heard performances on different kinds of keyboard instruments, and even on guitar, that are very good. There are some that sound better on the harpsichord, especially the ones that imitate the guitar. The harshness of thick chords with closely placed notes seems more appropriate to the spirit of the music than the same chords on a modern piano.  But that's just me. Whatever the instrument, if they are played by a good musician that understands something of the time and the style they were written in, the performance will be musical.

Berlioz - Roman Carnival Overture

In many ways Hector Berlioz was unique among the 19th century classical composers. He was not a child prodigy and only began his musical studies at the age of 12. He was groomed by his father (who was a physician) for a career in medicine, so he was discouraged from learning the piano in his youth and never learned to play the instrument. He learned the guitar and flute on his own, and never had any formal training in harmony and trained himself with text books.

In the France of Berlioz's day there was a government scholarship for artists called the Prix de Rome. It was originally for painters and sculptors but was extended to include music composition in 1803. Many French composers vied for the scholarship as the winner traveled to study at the French Academy in Rome for two years with all expenses paid by the French government. The entrants had to compose a fugue and a cantata to a text supplied by the judges, a group of conservative French musicians. There was also a pension provided to the winner for the duration of their study, which was one of the reasons Berlioz applied for the prize. He tried four different times before he finally won in 1830. This was after he had composed and premiered the first version of the piece he is most well-known for, his Symphonie Fantastique. 

While Berlioz composed very little music while in Rome (he detested the city and took every opportunity to travel

Bust of Benvenuto Cellini

elsewhere in the country), he came to love the surrounding countryside which served to inspire much of his later music such as Harold In Italy. An expectation for a returning Prix de Rome winner was the composition of an opera. Berlioz's first operatic effort was Benvenuto Cellini, with the libretto based on the autobiography of the 16th-century sculptor, poet and musician. Berlioz looked upon Cellini as a kindred spirit which acted as an inspiration to the composer. The opera was premiered in 1838 and received four performances before the rest of the scheduled ones were canceled, as the opera was a complete failure. Berlioz drastically revised the score for a revival of the opera under the direction of Franz Liszt, and made further revisions for another performance by Liszt in 1852 and the opera became a success.  

After the initial premiere of 1838 (and before the successful revival of 1852), not wanting to let some of good tunes go to waste that he had composed,  Berlioz composed a stand-alone overture from some of the themes of the opera in 18.  He called it Le Carnaval Romain  (The Roman Carnival). The second act of the opera does take place in a carnival in Rome. The opening of the overture is a fragment of a saltarello  from the original opera. Berlioz then uses music from a love duet of the opera played by the English horn. He then quotes some choral music, where upon the opening saltarello returns and combines in a dialogue with the love theme. The saltarello overpowers the love theme, and the music gets wilder and wilder until the brass and woodwind loudly trills out the final chord with the strings. 

The Roman Carnival Overture was a success for the composer, and it was used as a prelude to the second act of Benvenuto Cellini in its revival, but it did have its detractors. Berlioz's music could be wild in content and unique in orchestration. His knack for orchestral innovation was not always easy for listeners to comprehend, nor was it easily understood by some contemporary conductors and musicians. Indeed, Berlioz became a conductor initially because he was so dissatisfied with the way his music was performed. As with so many other aspects of this composer, he was self-taught as a conductor.  But through hard work and natural ability, he became one of the best conductors of his era as well as being one of the most important and influential composers of the Romantic era.  

Loewe - Symphony No. 1 In D Minor

Carl Loewe came to be known as  'The Schubert of North Germany' and was born in 1796. He was especially known for his songs and ballads but was also a singer, conductor, and composer of other types of music. The quality of his vocal music caused Richard Wagner (known for his withering condemnations of many of his contemporary composers) to comment that Loewe was a serious German master that used the German language with meaning, and who could not be overly revered.

Loewe received his first instruction in music from his father who was the village cantor. While he was a choir boy he had a high soprano voice that became a baritone after his voice broke. While Loewe was in the choir at the Marktkirche in Halle, his talent so impressed the Kappelmeister Daniel Gottlob Türk that he took the lad into his home as a private pupil. After the death of Türk he managed to obtain a scholarship at the local university where he majored in theology and philosophy. He had already written an opera and some songs by this time.

After his schooling was over in 1819 he left Halle to do some traveling and met Goethe, Hummel and Weber. In 1820 he was invited to apply for a teaching post at the Gymnasium and seminary in  Stettin, Prussia ( after World War Two this town was renamed Szczecin and is now in  Poland). He passed the examinations, won the position and stayed there the rest of his working life. A year later he was appointed the royal and municipal musical directorship and became organist for the local church. He began concert touring as a singer, pianist and conductor in the 1840's and appeared in Vienna, London, Scandinavia and Paris. He was said to have a fine baritone voice and a commanding stage presence.

As a conductor he conducted the premiere of Mendelssohn's Overture To A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1827, and did most of his composing in the years he was in Stettin. He wrote chamber music, music for piano solo, cantatas, operas, and over 400 songs and ballads for voice. He also wrote two symphonies, the second in E minor had its first performance in 170 years in 2004. His first symphony in D minor is in 4 movements:
I. Allegro maestoso - The movement begins with a strong D minor chord from the full orchestra, followed by the dramatic first theme. A shorter, more lyrical second theme in a major key played in the woodwinds, appears and is soon swallowed up by the repetition of the first theme as the exposition is repeated. The development section expands on pieces of the first theme, along with fragments of the second theme. After the short development section the recapitulation begins with the repeating of the first theme with modulations that lead into the second theme in a different major key than before. The first theme returns in a short coda that throws the ending back to the dramatic. A sonata form movement with bold themes, terse and concentrated in mood.

II. Scherzo - Vivace - A strongly rhythmic scherzo in the minor that turns fugal for a brief sequence before it returns to the opening material. The entire scherzo is repeated, the trio enters with statements from the woodwinds that are commented on by the strings. The trio is short, and the scherzo is repeated in full.

III. Andante grazioso - A short intermezzo with apparently not too much to say, perhaps the weakest movement in the symphony, but it does show Loewe's lyrical side.

IV. Adagio espressivo -  The opening of the finale is the closest thing to a slow movement this symphony has. A gentle theme leisurely unwinds. The next section has the strings play pizzicato, then the theme begins at a quicker pace with a counter melody played with it. A second theme is begun in the oboe, then with the full orchestra. The first theme returns with the woodwinds and returns to a slower pace. The theme repeats in different combinations of instruments. A fugal rendition of the theme is next heard in the strings and continues with woodwinds. The theme appears in the flute, once again in the major. The second theme is heard again, the full orchestra once again plays the theme and the movement builds to the final statement of the theme and after a short coda the movement ends.

Loewe resigned his positions in Stettin after 46 years of service due to poor health. He moved back to Germany and died of a stroke in 1869. As a curious aside, in 2012 while renovations were being done on a pillar in the cathedral in Stettin where Loewe was an organist, an urn was found inside the pillar that was thought to contain the heart of Loewe. A commission was appointed to investigate, and after examining documents and inscriptions on the pillar, it was determined that the urn did indeed contain the heart of the composer.

Villa-Lobos - Chôros No. 1 For Guitar

Late in the 19th century Brazil experienced a period of modernization and social revolution. The music conservatories in Brazil primarily focused on instruction in the European style of music before modernization, but Villa-Lobos had very little formal training in musical theory and harmony. Born in 1887, most of his education was gained by listening to and observing the musicians that played at the family musical evenings planned by his father, who was a librarian and musician. Music of his native country and of Latin America, as well as European classical music tradition contributed to the formation of his style.

Heitor learned to play the cello, guitar and clarinet and played with bands of street musicians. His early compositions were based on improvisations on his guitar. He was also a cellist in a Brazilian opera orchestra for a time. After much practical experience as a performer he decided to compose seriously.

He wrote a tremendous amount of music in many forms. One of his first masterpieces was a set of pieces titled Chôros, which is a Portugese word that means weeping. The term came to be used for the music played by bands of street musicians in Brazil that improvised their music on Brazilian and African instruments. Villa-Lobos uses many types of Brazilian music for his Chôros in many different combinations. Originally there were 14 Chôros, but the scores for the last two are lost. Villa-Lobos also composed an Introduction for the set for guitar and orchestra, and a final two for violin and cello duet.

Villa-Lobos spent time in Paris and most of the Chôros were composed there.  The Mexican composer Manuel Ponce was in Paris at the same time and met Villa-Lobos. He had this to say about him:

"Villa-Lobos, in his curious trilingual dialect (French, Spanish, Portuguese) tells me that his music comes directly from the Brazilian forests. It evokes his far-off Amazonas, the violence of the savage rhythms, negro melodies twisted in their bodies’ syncopations, in the frenzy of dances which the composer’s genius has managed to link together in the prodigious ‘choros’, one of which caused a scandal in the Pasdeloup concerts."

Chôros Number One was the first to be written in 1920 and is for solo guitar. The guitar is a unique instrument in many ways. To write well for the classical guitar, the composer usually has to be a good guitarist themselves, which Villa-Lobos was. The piece is short, and full of the rhythms and sounds of Brazil combined with a European feel for structure.

J.C. Bach - Symphony In B-flat Major, Opus 18 No. 2

The youngest surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Christian Bach was trained in music by his father and his older half-brother C.P.E. Bach. When he was twenty years old he went to Italy and converted to Catholicism, which probably sent his Lutheran ancestors rolling over in their graves. Whether out of conviction or convenience,  his conversion helped his career in Italy as he was appointed organist for the cathedral in Milan. His furthered his musical education while in Italy and began composing operas. It was on a trip to England to supervise the performance of some of his operas that he found London to his liking. He stayed there until his death in 1782.

He adopted the English equivalent of his name and was known as John Bach. He joined forces with viola da gamba and cello player Carl Abel (who was also trained by J.S. Bach) and began the Bach-Abel Concert series, the first subscription concerts in England.  Many famous performers appeared in these concerts, and various works by Haydn got their first hearing at these concerts. Bach was very popular until the late 1770's when the fickleness of the public turned their attention to other composers. He died deeply in debt in 1782. 

Carl Abel

J.C. Bach broke away from the style of music from the rest of his family and composed in the new galante style which emphasized melody with an accompaniment instead of  polyphony.  J.C. Bach didn't promote or much care for the learned style of his father, as he called him "the old wig."  He also compared himself to his brother C.P.E. Bach by saying, "My brother lives to compose; and I compose in order to live." 

Like his older brother C.P.E. Bach, J.C. Bach's music influenced many composers, most notably Mozart. Bach had met the younger composer when Mozart toured England. They played piano duets together, and the first piano concertos by Mozart were orchestrations of some of Bach's keyboard sonatas.  J.C. Bach was once credited with writing over 90 symphonies, but modern scholarship has determined that about half of that number are actual Bach compositions. The Opus 18 symphonies are some of Bach's finest works. Although composition dates are not known for all of them, they were published in 1781. The second symphony in this set is actually an overture from one of Bach's operas, Lucio Silla. Opera overtures were in fact the ancestor of the symphony and were used somewhat interchangeably. The symphony is in three movements:

I. Allegro assai - Unlike the symphonies of C.P.E. Bach, J.C. Bach uses flowing melodies. The first theme brings a fanfare quality to the fore, with  secondary parts of the theme segueing to the actual second subject, here played by a pair of flutes being answered by a pair of oboes while the strings play a simple accompaniment. The exposition is not repeated. The first theme expanded upon which constitutes the development section. Bach does not have a formal recapitulation. After the development of the main theme the secondary theme is played once again and the movement comes to a close. 

II. Andante - An example of the importance of melody in the galante style, as the tune is simply accompanied. 

III. Presto - A simple tune danced by the strings with the woodwinds adding seasoning. A contrasting middle section of answer and call between strings and woodwinds leads to a repeat of the opening and the very short finale is over.  

C.P.E. Bach - Symphony In F Major Wq. 183/3

C.P.E. Bach, known as Emmanuel to his friends, left the employ of Frederick The Great in 1768 after spending 30 years in Berlin. The years in Berlin had been fruitful as he composed many works for the keyboard while there as well as writing his famous An Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments. This book changed keyboard technique forever and is an invaluable guide to how music was performed in Bach's day.  He was one of the first musicians that recommended the use of the thumbs when playing the keyboard. There is some evidence that his father J.S. Bach also allowed the use of the thumbs in certain circumstances, but Emmanuel broadened their use.

It was not only this treatise that changed the unorthodox to the orthodox. Emmanuel's compositions did also. He stands between two musical eras, the Baroque and Classical. He didn't compose music in the galante style of his younger brother Johann Christian either. Emmanuel's music takes sudden turns, runs the full gamut of emotions. He keeps the listener off balance, for just as you get a good foot hold of what's going on, he throws the listener a curve. That is what makes his music appealing for some, and perhaps not so much for others. Robert Schumann disliked Emmanuel's music, Johannes Brahms loved it.

After his stint in Berlin Emmanuel got the position of director of music in Hamburg, succeeding his godfather Georg Philip Telemann who had recently died. Emmanuel was more of a businessman than his father, for while he was in Hamburg he published and sold his compositions himself and earned more money than his father ever did.

While he was in Hamburg he wrote the set of  symphonies known as the Four Symphonies In Twelve Obbligato Parts. These symphonies were printed in Emmanuel's lifetime and intermittently throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. They are the only works of C.P.E. Bach that have an unbroken history of performance from Emmanuel's lifetime to the present.

The third symphony in F Major follows the three movement pattern of the rest of the symphonies in the set:
I. Allegro di molto - Bach begins straight away with a theme of short statements followed by a pause. The theme quickly evolves into longer statements. After a short pause the woodwinds make their comments and the theme returns to its evolution through the strings. The second theme also consists of short statements by the strings, but the wind instruments play more of a role in this one by filling in the harmonies. The strings proceed to a trill followed by a large downward leap. A short interlude is played by the strings, and the trill and downward leap is repeated. The development section has the first theme commented on and the second theme interjects with key changes. The first theme reappears, the second theme is played in the tonic, complete with the trills and downward leap. The first theme appears once again, but is suddenly cut short as a brief lead-in is played that changes the mood and prepares for the second movement that is played without pause.

II. Larghetto - The violas and cellos play a theme in D minor that is taken up by the whole orchestra. Bach instructs the cembalo (the keyboard instrument that is part of the basso continuo) to remain silent through this short movement.

III. Presto - The cembalo is directed to resume playing as a sprightly theme is played by the violins and winds as the rest of the orchestra backs them up. The music plays piano for a few bars, and the orchestra answers with a forte. This section is repeated. The second section has the music change keys and elaborate on the theme. This section is also repeated.

Glière - Symphony No. 1

Reinhold Glière attended the Moscow Conservatory and was taught by some of the best music teachers in Russia in the late 19th century.His studies included the violin and the usual harmony and theoretical subjects. One of his main influences was Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov who taught him composition and instrumentation. He graduated with high honors in 1900 and shortly after began teaching at the Gnessin School of Music in Moscow.

He began writing the first symphony during his final year of school in 1899 and finished the work in 1900.  It is solidly cast in the tradition of Russian symphonies by Tchaikovsky. Glière especially shines in his use of the orchestra. There are some that discount Glière as a symphonist, but I disagree. At the very least he wrote with a firm orchestral and compositional technique, and his earliest symphony is a pleasure to listen to, even if it doesn't hit the depths or the heights.  He only wrote three symphonies with his last one being his masterpiece, Symphony No. 3 Ilya Muromets.

Symphony No. 1 in E-flat is in 4 movements:

Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov

I. Andante - Allegro moderato - Andante - The first movement begins with a gentle introduction played by the clarinet. The oboe soon takes up the tune, and the strings continue to set the mood. This introduction contains bits and pieces that gel into the first theme which is ushered in with the oboe and clarinet taking turns before the full orchestra has its say with the theme. There is additional material played after the first theme and this leads directly into the second theme. The clarinet plays the mellow and lyrical second theme. The horns take up the second theme, and after a slow winding down of  the music the development section begins with the oboe leading the way for the first theme's expansion. A chromatic development has the theme rise in pitch and intensity. Rumbling snatches of the second theme are next to be developed. A climax is reached and quickly subsides as the recapitulation begins. The two main themes are repeated with obligatory key change given to the second theme. The horn plays the second theme, trading off with the oboe. The four horns once again nobly play the second theme. The coda is short, and the movement ends with the identical slow introduction that opened it.

II. Allegro molto vivace - The second movement is a scherzo written in 5 beats to the bar:

 After a short introduction for horns, cellos and basses, the violins and violas scamper along in eighth notes with the 5/4 time signature translating to 2+3 beats to the bar. The woodwinds take up the scamper, and the music modulates and grows into a tripping stomp before it dies back down to the opening figure in the violins. The trio is begun by the clarinet and manages to smooth out the tripping quality of the 5/4 time signature somewhat. The music swells in volume as the trio is interrupted by the beginning scampering figure a few times until the trio is silenced and the scherzo proper returns. The movement ends with a loud chord by the orchestra.

III. Andante - A slow (but not too slow) lyrical melody in G minor with a Russian flavor begins the movement. It slowly unwinds, slightly ebbs and flows until it melts into another gentle theme played by the oboe. The first theme is elaborated on, the music continues to unwind and Glière shows how well he learned about the orchestra from Ippolitov-Ivanov. The music reaches a climax shortly before the end. It dies down after that to a poignant end.

IV. Finale : Allegro - A short introduction by the horns and orchestra before the rapid dance tune begins. The second theme is right in keeping with the mood of the movement. The development section begins straight away with a motive played from the first theme. The music gets a little more intense as the first them continues to be developed. The horns play the secondary theme as the woodwinds chirp an accompaniment. After the rather straight-forward (but pleasant) development, the first dance tune appears in full to begin the recapitulation. The second theme appears, the music comments on the opening of the first theme, and the movement ends.