CCXLI. BARTÓK, Béla: String Quartet #6

 CCXLI. BARTÓK, Béla (1881-1945)

String Quartet #6 (1939)
1. Mesto -- Più mosso, pesante -- vivace
2. Mesto -- Marcia
3. Mesto -- Burletta -- moderato
4. Mesto
Tesla Quartet
(30:09)

The Middle Quartets (#3, 4, and 5) were written in 1927, 1928, and 1934, respectively. They are of such different character than this, his final work for the genre; they seem worlds apart.

And they are. Those earlier works were full of unique, almost indescribable episodes of thrilling, terrifying leaps of imagination, reimagining centuries of writing for the perfectly-formed four-voice string choir that was such a staple of composers through the masterpieces of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.

**

With the death of his mother and the impending world war, Bartók's last quartet reflects a world-weary gloominess not present in the earlier, more vital works. However different from the middles, The Sixth definitely does not lack passion.

Each movement begins with a dirge-like Mesto (mournful):

First Movement

and the first and seconds spin out one of the main themes (notice the slight differences):

a second theme is introduced:

The movement concludes, spooky:

Second Movement

a slightly longer Mesto, accompanied by shivering tremolos.

A March, quickly broken up into fragments:

Third Movement

Another solemn introduction:

followed by a rough-and-tumble Burletta, reaturing a few quarter-tones!

Reminiscent of the pizzicato movement of the Fourth. Notice the short, nervous  4-note phrase that interrupts the pizz with arco:

Fourth Movement

Is all Mesto and develops it into tragic proportions. The work ends softly, dissolving into nothingness:

CCXL. BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van: Sonata for Violin and Piano #6 in A Major, Op. 30, No. 1

CCXL. BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van (1770-1827)

Sonata for Violin and Piano #6 in A Major, Op. 30, No. 1 (1801-02)
1. Allegro
2. Adagio molto espressivo
3. Allegretto con variazioni
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Enrico Pace, piano
(24:18)

The three Opus 30 sonatas were dedicated to Tsar Alexander I.

Before the Eroica (see Post XXIX) dedication to Napoleon was obliterated, Beethoven thought highly of the man. Apparently so did the Tsar. The antagonism and war would come later. Perhaps he was a music lover, but it seems that the ruler never even acknowledged the dedication.

**

First Movement

The interplay between instruments is gorgeous (second stave, for example) ... notice the E-Sharps, augmenting the first inversion tonic chord, which then moves to a subdominant D -- the E-Sharp making it minor before it slips into major. Very inventive stuff.

Second Movement

Moving to the subdominant, here's another great passionate slow movement theme; Beethoven never seemed to run out of them!

The flourishes in the piano eventually require some 128th-notes!

Third Movement

Theme and variations. A simple theme, giving Beethoven plenty of license to make increasingly complicated variations:

Variation IV, for example, where the violin plays triple- and quadruple-stops!

The final variation resembles the theme closely, but with lots of embellishment.

CCXXXIX. BACH, J.S.: Invention #1 in C Major, BWV 772

CCXXXIX. BACH, J.S. (1685-1750)

Invention #1 in C Major, BWV 772 (1723)
Anna Kuvshinov (age 9), harpsichord
(1:42)

CCXXXVIII. BACH, J.S.: Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden, BWV 1083

CCXXXVIII. BACH, J.S. (1685-1750)

Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden, BWV 1083 (1746-47)
Kathrin Lorenzen, soprano
Elvira Bill, alto
Bach Collegium Saarbrücken
Rainer Oster, cond.
(44:30)

A musical parody of Giovanni Battista Pergolisi's Stabat Mater (1736).

Pergolisi is often credited as the source of Stravinsky's Pulcinella (see Post CCII), but it is now believed that that was incorrect.

CCXXXVII. BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van: 33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120

CCXXXVII. BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van (1770-1827)

33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 (1819-23)
Fatjona Maliqi, piano
(56:46)

Anton Diabelli was an Austrian publisher, editor and composer who whipped out this little waltz theme in 1819, and invited many Austrian and German composers to write a set of variations:

Schindler -- whose biographical accounts of Beethoven are almost always off the mark -- reports that Beethoven at first refused to take part in Diabelli's project, dismissing the theme as banal (which it is) and unworthy of his effort.

Not much later -- says Schindler -- Beethoven changed his mind upon learning that Diabelli was prepared to pay a handsome price for a full set of variations, and decided to show the world what he could do with such slim material.

**

And show us he did.

Analysis.

**

Fatjona Maliqi is still a very young woman, but her talent and deep understanding of this great work is undeniable.

CCXXXVI. RILEY, Terry: The Cusp Of Magic

CCXXXVI. RILEY, Terry (1935-       )

The Cusp Of Magic (2004)
1. The Cusp of Magic
2. Buddha's Bedroom
3. The Nursery
4. Royal Wedding
5. Emily and Alice
6. Prayer Circle
Kronos Quartet
Wu Man, pipa, toys
(41:15)

"Usually the more highly evolved individuals born on this day (June 24th, Riley's birthday) are attracted to spiritual pursuits which they see as manifesting Divine Love. Those on their path to this ultimate goal cultivate kindness, awareness, sensitivity, psychic abilities, religious fervor, and respect for all living things."
 -- Gary Goldschneider and Joost Elffers, The Secret Language of Birthdays [sln.ne]

Hmm. Wonder what it says about me:

THE DAY OF GLARING TRUTH

CURIOUS / KNOWLEDGEABLE / IMPRESSIVE
JUDGEMENTAL / ACCUSATORY / SELF-RIGHTEOUS

Oh well.

**

Commissioned by Kronos for a work celebrating his 70th birthday, Riley decided to a pipa to the mix:

"In this work, the different timbre and resonance of the pipa and the Western string quartet highlight the boundary regions of cultural reference, so that the Western musical themes might be projected with an Eastern accent and vice-versa. My plan was to make these regions seamless so that the listener is carried between worls without an awareness of how he/she ends up there." -- TR

1. The Cusp of Magic

The Peyote Ritual. Drum and rattle. Expansion and contraction.

The pipa's entrance is like a psychedelic banjo being played from a porch swing painted in bright neon colors. The music builds towards an electric climax.

2. Buddha's Bedroom

The pipa is further integrated into the quartet mix here, which moves between pizzicato and arco.

Wu Man sings the lullaby in Chinese:

"Mama's back home, my sweet baby, please go to sleep ..."

The music seems to alternate between some monochordal Bartókian rhythms to Wan playing some jazzy, string-bending licks on the pipa.

3. The Nursery

Here Wan sings a lullaby written by Riley, again in Chinese, and later in the background of the mix in English:

"Little clown, rest your head and don't you fret ...
The best times for you are coming yet ..."

The pipa takes on a mandolin-like quality over softly-bowed chords by the quartet. The movement ends in a ethereal cloud of harmonics, percussion, and some bizarre laughter!

4. Royal Wedding

Here Riley exploits his deep knowledge of classical Indian ragas, using a 16-beat gat as the basis for the music. But as East meets West, there is modulatory repeating chords in the strings with Wan's pipa joining in percussively ...

5. Emily and Alice

Emily is David Harrington's (first violinist) granddaughter and Alice is Janet Cowperthwaite's (Kronos' manager) daughter. Harrington:

"Terry called me and said that he wanted to create a magical experience for Kronos and our listeners, and that's when I said to him that one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had was carrying my infant granddaughter and playing her the musical toys I've collected from varous tours. He decided that these sounds should be in this piece, and came over to the house during Emily's nap. Terry and I had fun playing with Emily's toys and some of Alice's toys as well, which were borrowed for the occasion, and sampled the sounds."

A magical experience, yes ...

6. Prayer Circle

The Peyote Ritual concludes with the sunrise. Similar to a passacaglia or chaconne, Riley incorporates a Cuban montuno to suggest southern warmth.

The music builds up in irregular rhythms to an ecstatic climax.

CCXXXV. MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus: Symphony #28 in C Major, K. 200

CCXXXV. MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791)

Symphony #28 in C Major, K. 200 (1773-74)
1. Allegro spiritoso
2. Andante
3. Menuet -- Trio
4. Presto
Norwegian Chamber Orchestra
Francois Leleux, cond.
(21:18)

Seventeen- or eighteen-year-old Wolfgang was nearing the end of his turbulent tenure in Salzburg in the employ of the Archbishop. Despite his upstart attitude and his nonchalance concerning regular gainful employment, he kept popping out marvelous music in the symphonic genre -- as well as many sonatas, string quartets, masses, serenades, and even a few minor operas.

This symphony doesn't quite reach the divine heights of the later ones, but is nevertheless an example of the boy genius reaching for the heavens:

1. Allegro spiritoso

2. Andante

3. Menuet -- Trio

4. Presto

CCXXXIV. BARTÓK, Béla: Dance Suite

CCXXXIV. BARTÓK, Béla (1881-1945)

Dance Suite (1923)
1. Moderato
2. Allegro molto
3. Allegro vivace
4. Molto tranquillo
5. Comodo
6. Finale. Allegro
Frankfurt Radio Symphony
Juraj Valĉuha, cond.
(19:08)

Written to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the union of Buda and Pest, forming the Hungarian capital of Budapest.

Buda in the Middle Ages

**

Frequently programmed by orchestras today, the premiere was not too successful:

"My Dance Suite was so badly performed that it could not achieve any significant success. In spite of its simplicity (!) there are a few difficult places, and our Philharmonic musicians were not sufficiently adult for them. Rehearsal time was, as usual, much too short, so the performance sounded like a sight-reading, and a poor one at that." -- Bartók

The movements are usually played without pause.

1. Moderato

Although redolent of folksong material, the composition is pure Bartók. This movement is rather Arabic in character:

2. Allegro molto

A vigorous dance featuring pounding minor thirds and a sliding trombone part (red arrow):

3. Allegro vivace

With almost a bagpipe feel, the dance melody opens with a bassoon, a clarinet, and then full strings:

4. Molto tranquillo

Tightly-spaced whole tones give way to an eerie melody which Bartók gradually thickens, beginning first with English Horn and bass clarinet:

adding the oboe:

and finally the A clarinet. Bartók then reverses the whole thing.

5. Comodo

Under a pedal-tone E, this -- the shortest section -- features a quick descending chromatic motif which becomes thicker and leads to the final movement:

6. Finale. Allegro

A ferocious dance (same as Movement 3) begins with a piling up of Perfect Fourths in the strings:

the dance figure in the clarinet:

then with thicker orchestration:

and ending with a bang:

**

One can plainly observe the seeds of his Concerto for Orchestra (1945) [Post CV] in this earlier work.

CCXXXIII. BACH, J.S.: Cantata #124: Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht, BWV 124

CCXXXIII. BACH, J.S. (1685-1750)

Two versions

Cantata #124: Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht, BWV 124 (1725)
1. Chorus: Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht
2. Recitative (tenor): Solange sich ein Tropfen Blut
3. Aria (tenor): Und wenn der harte Todesschlag
4. Recitative (bass): Doch ach! welch schweres Ungemach
5. Aria (soprano, alto): Entziehe dich eilends, mein Herze, der Welt
6. Chorale: Jesum laß ich nicht von mir
Mailänder Kantorei
Ensemble Strumentale della Mailänder Kantorei
Davide Pozzi, cond.
(15:22)

Concentus musicus Wien
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, cond.
[boy soprano & alto]
(14:11)

It is my preference to feature a live YouTube performance in these posts -- but I cannot help but include a second choice -- Harnoncourt, who uses boys in the soprano/alto duet. It is a superior performance in all other aspects, but the video is static, of course. Choose your own path.

**

Except for the recitatives and final chorale, everything is in THREE! This opening chorus is like a minuet, beautifully decorated with the concertante oboe d'amore:

1. Chorus: Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht

The cantus firmus is freely adapted by Bach. Compare them:

2. Recitative (tenor): Solange sich ein Tropfen Blut

3. Aria (tenor): Und wenn der harte Todesschlag

The strings punch out a four-note motif while the oboe again soars above. The beginning lines are written with a roughness corresponding to the text:

Und wenn der harte Todesschalg (And when the dreaded stroke of death)
Die Sinnen schächt, die Glieder rühret (Upon my weakened frame descending)
Wenn der dem Fleisch verhaßte Tag (Shall suffocate my dying breath)
Nur Furcht und Schrecken mit sich führet (My soul from out my body rending)

But then, Bach softens the edge with his word-painting of the final two lines:

Doch tröstet sich die Zuversicht (Yet his my hope and joy will be)
Ich lasse meinen Jesum nicht (That I, my Jesus, still have Thee)

4. Recitative (bass): Doch ach! welch schweres Ungemach

5. Aria (soprano, alto): Entziehe dich eilends, mein Herze, der Welt

Again, I prefer the pure tones of the boys' voices in the Harnoncourt version. Either way, this duet is delightful:

6. Chorale: Jesum laß ich nicht von mir

Again, the cantus firmus -- greatly altered by Bach -- appears in the soprano:

CCXXXII. HARTMANN, Karl Amadeus: String Quartet #1

CCXXXII. HARTMANN, Karl Amadeus (1905-1963)

String Quartet #1 (1933)
1. Langsam
2. Con sordino
3. Con tutta forza
Pellegrini Quartett
(23:00)

Surely, it must have been either sheer luck or knowing the right people, but Hartmann -- whose music is hardly ever played today -- lived through the Nazi era without being sent to a concentration camp, despite writing a work in 1933 entitled Miserae, dedicated to my friends who sleep for all eternity; we do not forget you (Dachau, 1933-34).

**

Bartók's Fourth String Quartet (see Post V) was written in 1928.

Hartmann wrote this five years later, in '33. The influence of the Fourth is unmistakable here -- some sections seem nearly ripped from its pages -- but nevertheless there are some beautiful and even completely original ideas here.

First Movement

This lovely, slippery fugato features entrances at four different pitches (A-Flat, D-Flat, E-Flat and C); there follows a fast section which one could compare to the Fourth in many details:

Second Movement

We have here a near copy of the middle movement of the Fourth. Notice the stacked double stops before the cello solo -- almost a copy of the Bartók.

There is one absolutely striking moment in this movement; Hartmann moves the quartet in rhythmic unison with a ghostly harmonic arrangement (bars 29-36):

Third Movement

One need only look at the final page of the score to see the -- let's call it "identity" -- to the Bartók:

Of course, one can never have enough Bartók Fourth, and -- fairly -- this is not just a pale copy.

It's a very vibrant copy.