Classical Music Treat for Halloween

Spooky Listening for Ghoulish Sound

Music affects moods and environment. Classical music has been greatly used in movie soundtracks for dramatic effects.

Those feeling the spirit of the Halloween, consider adding this list of thrillingly devilish classical music, scary and horrifying halloween listening thrills. Some of them may have been used in film scores, like Bach, Johann Sebastian's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565. This is JS Bach's most famous organ piece. 

• Bach, Johann Sebastian: Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565.This is JS Bach's most famous organ piece, considered to be the most scary organ music. Often associated with dramatic silent films, there are lots of unsettling tension in the music, from the opening motif through the pulsing rhythm of the entire piece.

• Beethoven, Ludwig van: Ghost Piano Trio. A nickname of Beethoven's Piano Trio in D Op.70 No.1, because of the slow movement's ghostly atmosphere.

• Chopin, Frideric: Marche funèbré. Funeral marches are slow ceremonial marches. Chopin's piece is Piano Sonata in B flat op.35. He also wrote another one in C minor.

• Grieg, Edvard: In the Hall Of The Mountain King. It is the fourth part of a musical set written by Grieg from Peer Gynt, an orchestral suite. In the story, Peer Gynt is being chased by the gnomes after he refuses to marry the daughter of the mountain king. This music reflects the tumultuous chase, built on a single fragment that is repeated over, then grows wilder and wilder until Peer Gynt can't take it any longer.

Note: The list is longer when I first wrote it for Suite101.com. I wasn't able to copy my numerous published articles when the company closed. I'll update when info available. Tel. Oct 25, 2011.


(c) October 25, 2011.  Tel. Inspired Pen Web. 

Conductor Georg Solti

Classical Music Dateline:  October 21

Featuring Conductor Georg Solti (1912-1997)

Georg Solti, KBE, was born today October 21, in 1912.  He was a Hungarian-born British conductor, both in orchestral and operatic music. Widely regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, Georg Solti holds the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, winning 31, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Link:   Georg Solti's Seven Most Watched YouTube Videos.  (www.WQXR.org)

Oscar Wilde

Irish Poet, Playwright, Novelist and Essayist

Brief biography of Oscar Wilde, a celebrated Irish poet, playwright, essayist and novelist

"You don't love someone for their looks, 

or their clothes, or for their fancy car, 

but because they sing a song only you can hear." 

~ Oscar Wilde

An Irish poet, essayist, playwright and novelist, Oscar Wilde was famous for his wit. He is best known for his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, his fairy tale The Happy Prince and his play The Importance of Being Earnest.

 

Early Life

Oscar Fingall O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854-1900) was born in Dublin on October 16, the second son of a surgeon, Sir William Wilde. His mother was Lady Jane Francesca Wilde, a poet. Oscar Wilde was a natural scholar, and he did well at both university in Dublin and Oxford. With his flamboyant and charming manner and conversation, he was soon well known in London society.

Beginnings of Writing Career

In 1884 Wilde married Constance Lloyd. They had two sons, Cyril and Vyvyan. During this time Wilde worked as a journalist and it was not until he was 34 that he had literary success with The Happy Prince and Other Tales, a book of children's fables.

The Novelist

Wilde's only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, tells a much darker story. The central character is addicted to good living but has a dreadful secret. In the story, he remains young and handsome, but his portrait grows ugly as a result of his moral decline.

The Playwright

He wrote nine plays between the years 1879 and 1895. His most popular is the comedy of manners The Importance of Being Earnest. It is a hilarious satire that dwells on the double lives of two would-be bridegrooms. 

Wilde and Homosexuality

Whilst his professional life was at a peak, Wilde's private life was unhappy. He had been having an affair with Lord Alfred Douglas. At the time homosexuality was illegal in Britain, and Wilde was sent to prison in 1895. The Ballad of Reading Gaol, a narrative poem, records his thoughts about imprisonment.

Last Years

After his release in 1897, Wilde went to live in France under the alias Sebastian Melmoth. However, his reputation and health were ruined. He died three years later in Paris, on November 30, 1900, aged 46.

Works by Oscar Wilde

The Happy Prince and Other Tales, 1888

The Picture of Dorian Gray, Novel, 1890

Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories, 1891

The Duchess of Padua, play, 1891

Lady Windermere's Fan, 1892

A Woman of No Importance, 1893

The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895

An Ideal Husband, 1895

Salome, 1896

The Ballad of Reading Gaol, 1898  

Photo Credit:

Oscar Wilde.   nndb / Public Domain. 

Sources:

Biographical Dictionary, edited by Una McGovern, Chambers (2002)

Dictionary of the Arts, Gramercy Books, (1994)

Dictionary of Writers, edited by Rosemary Goring, Larousse (1994)   

Note: I originally wrote this piece in full version for Suite101.com in 2008. This is a very short version. / Tel

(c) March 1, 2010. Updated October 16, 2019.  Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved

Dame Joan Sutherland Passes Away

Tuesday October 12, 2010  

Opera legend Dame Joan Sutherland has died in Europe after a long illness.

Dame Joan Alston Sutherland OM AC DBE, died in the early hours of Monday.  She was born in Sydney on November 7, 1926.  Her family said she died peacefully in the early hours of yesterday morning at her home in Switzerland. She was 83.


She was Australia's most fabulous diva and one of the greatest sopranos of her time.  "La Stupenda," as she was dubbed, led the renaissance of Italian bel canto and French romantic operas, reviving roles of extraordinary difficulty.  She was "the voice of the century", according to the famous late Luciano Pavarotti, the great Italian tenor.

Rest in Peace, Dame Joan, our favourite Aussie opera singer. Thank you for all those brilliant performances that will remain with us.


Related Articles:

• Australia's 9NEWS  "Dame Sutherland Dies"
• Songs my Mother Taught Me Notes

Video Credit:

Joan Sutherland's Last Song - Her Final Farewell. YouTube, uploaded by Drelnis.  Accessed October 11, 2010.  (Apology. The video is no longer available.


(c) October 11, 2010. Updated November 7, 2019. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.  

Mozart Opera Bastien und Bastienne

Classical Music / Opera

Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Bastien und Bastienne was one of Mozart's earliest Singspiel ( a form of German light opera, typically with spoken dialogue, popular especially in the late 18th century), written in 1768 when he was only twelve years old. It was allegedly commissioned by Viennese physician and 'magnetist' Dr. Franz Mesmer (who himself would later be parodied in Così fan tutte) as a satire of the 'pastoral' genre then prevalent. It is not clear whether this piece was performed in Mozart's lifetime.

The opera is written in both French and German manners. Many of the melodies are French in manner, but Bastienne's first aria is true German lied. This melody is also used in Mozart's Trio in G for Piano, Violin and Violoncello, K. 564 (1788). Another purely German lied is Bastienne's aria "I feel certain of his heart". Mozart utilizes the orchestra sparingly, with the exception of the reconciliation scene.


Libretto:

In German by Friedrich Wilhelm Weiskern, Johann Heinrich Friedrich Müller  [de] and Johann Andreas Schachtner, based on Les Amours de Bastien et Bastienne by Justine Favart and Harny de Guerville. After its supposed premiere in Mesmer's garden theater (that is only corroborated by an unverified account of Nissen), it was not revived again until 1890, based on Marie Justine Benoite Favert's parody of Jean Jacques Rousseau's "Le Devin du Village."

Premiere:


Written by Mozart in 1768 when he was only 12 years old, the first known performance was on 2 October 1890 at Architektenhaus in Berlin.

Pastoral tale of 18^th-century Europe. Arias, duets, one trio; recitative; dialogue.

The opening theme of Mozart's overture resembles that of the first movement of Beethoven's Symphony no. 3, Eroica (in a different key). It is unlikely that Beethoven was familiar with Mozart's youthful opera. In any case, opening a movement with an arpeggio of the tonic chord was an extremely common occurrence in the Classical period. The resemblance is likely coincidental.

Although he was very young, Mozart already had excellent vocal writing skills and a knack for parody and whimsy which would reach full flower in his later works. Bastien und Bastienne is possibly the easiest to perform of Mozart's juvenile works.

Characters:

Bastien, a shepherd  (tenor)

Bastienne,a shepherdess   (Soprano)

Colas, a magician    (bass)

One Act.  (35 minutes)

Synopsis:

Place: A pastoral village
Time: Not determined

Bastienne, a shepherdess, is in love with Bastien. She fears that her "dearest friend", Bastien, has forsaken her for another pretty face and a wealthy girl. She decides to go into the pasture to be comforted by her flock of lambs. Before she can leave, however, she runs and complains to the magician Colas, the village soothsayer. Bastienne requests the help of his magical powers to help win back her Bastien.

Colas (being a soothsayer) knows all about the problem, and comforts her with the knowledge that Bastien has not abandoned her, rather, he's merely been distracted lately by 'the lady of the manor'. His advice is to arouse Bastien's jealousy and act coldly towards him, which will make him come running back.

Bastien is heard approaching, so Bastienne hides herself. Bastien swaggers in, proclaiming how much he loves Bastienne. Colas informs him that Bastienne has a new lover. Bastien is shocked and asks the magician for help. Colas opens his book of spells and recites a nonsense aria filled with random syllables and Latin quotations. Colas declares the spell a success and that Bastienne is in love with Bastien once more. Bastienne, however, decides to keep up the game a bit longer and spurns Bastien with great vehemence. Bastien threatens suicide, which Bastienne merely shrugs off.

Finally, the two decide that they have gone far enough with theor lover's quarrel and agree to reconcile. Colas joins them as they all sing a final trio in praise of the magician.

Resources:

1. Various reference materials from my Mozart library and other classical music reference materials, including opera books of  Da Capo and Batta. / Tel

2. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org


(c) October 2,  2010.  Updated October 2, 2019. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.