Those, erm, Robust Roman Choirs
In case any of you are wondering whether the rather distinctive sound of Roman choirs that so many of us have come to dread in television broadcasts (or live, if you're luckier than me) of Papal Masses is a recent phenomenon, I can assure you that it is at least a hundred years old.
In The Musical Times of July 1, 1893, a reader writes in describing the performance of Palestrina's music in Rome:
"During a stay of some weeks last year in Rome I had several opportunities of hearing the traditional method [of rendering Palestrina's music] at St. Peter's and St. John Lateran, and I am not sure that it would commend itself to an English audience. The choirs, consisting of from twelve to fifteen voices, sang fortissimo throughout, and the organ was played from beginning to end so loudly that the voices were scarcely heard, and no variation of tone was introduced. During Lent, however, the organ was silent, and the choirs sang with excellent precision, attack, and intonation; but the constant fortissimo seemed somewhat monotonous."
The author of that article preferred the performance of Palestrina heard in Germany.
07 February 2008
Cool Things From Google Books
If any of you are interested in music of the 18th Century, or 18th Century Italian culture in general (of which music and opera were an important part) there are some books available on Google Books that you should take a look at. Some good books are available only if you have access through a participating library, but the books below are available to anybody.
The first is by Dr. Charles Burney, an English musician who traveled Continental Europe in search of interesting cultural experiences, went to parties with and interviewed many of the important musicians, composers and librettists of the day, and published books about all of it when he went home. His writings are extremely valuable to music historians, and his writing style is mostly engaging and readable, although the facsimile versions of his books sometimes require a mental adjustment to deal with the "s" that looks like an "f." (This has occasioned some hilarity on my part because it looks like the text version of speech impediment.)
The book by him which is available to the non-library-privileged reader is Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Abate Metastasio. Pietro Metastasio ("abate" indicates that he was a seminary student or minor cleric of some kind, like about every third Italian male of his social class at the time) was THE Italian poet of his day. The opera libretti that he wrote were given musical setting more times than any other--his most popular works were set as many as 120 times! After a successful early career in Italy, he was made court poet in Vienna and remained in that position for forty years. He was also the closest friend and confidant of the famous castrato Farinelli (whose life loosely formed the basis of one of the worst "historical" movies ever made); they called each other "brother" and "twin" and kept an extensive correspondence, though due to Farinelli's engagements in England and Spain they almost never saw one another.
Two volumes of John Hoole's nearly-contemporary English translations of Metastasio's work are also available here and here.
The other recommended work is that of Violet Paget, who wrote under the name of Vernon Lee. Violet Paget was born in 1856 and began her writing career in 1880, nearly a hundred years after most of the events about which she wrote in her non-fiction. Considering this, and considering that she did not have a university education, it is astonishing that she wrote with such understanding about 18th Century culture. In 1880 music history was still a relatively undeveloped "fringe" discipline, and until the middle of the 20th Century nearly all of the focus was on Germanic music, considered to have produced the greatest and most progressive composers--Beethoven and Wagner. 18th Century opera was considered by most to be rather silly, the music insufficiently passionate and the libretti unrealistic. Perhaps the libretti are unrealistic, but as Violet Paget understood, opera of the day had its own ideals and conventions and we would do better to try to judge the worth of the works by the standards by which 18th Century people would have judged them, rather than trying to compare a libretto by Metastasio with music by Vivaldi to an opera by Wagner. To be sure, she sometimes writes with a tone of irony about some of the sillier notions of 18th Century people, but overall her understanding is remarkable for a woman of her day who was mostly self-educated.
I have only taken a look at her Studies of the Eighteenth Century in Italy so far. Unfortunately the silver page decoration (which I saw on my professor's copy of the book) did not scan very well, so you will have to imagine how pretty the real book looks. There are several other of her works available online, as well, including The Enchanted Woods: and Other Essays on the Genius of Places and Juvenilia: Being a Second Series of Essays on Sundry Æsthetical Questions. I greatly look forward to having a few spare moments to peruse them.
If any of you are interested in music of the 18th Century, or 18th Century Italian culture in general (of which music and opera were an important part) there are some books available on Google Books that you should take a look at. Some good books are available only if you have access through a participating library, but the books below are available to anybody.
The first is by Dr. Charles Burney, an English musician who traveled Continental Europe in search of interesting cultural experiences, went to parties with and interviewed many of the important musicians, composers and librettists of the day, and published books about all of it when he went home. His writings are extremely valuable to music historians, and his writing style is mostly engaging and readable, although the facsimile versions of his books sometimes require a mental adjustment to deal with the "s" that looks like an "f." (This has occasioned some hilarity on my part because it looks like the text version of speech impediment.)
The book by him which is available to the non-library-privileged reader is Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Abate Metastasio. Pietro Metastasio ("abate" indicates that he was a seminary student or minor cleric of some kind, like about every third Italian male of his social class at the time) was THE Italian poet of his day. The opera libretti that he wrote were given musical setting more times than any other--his most popular works were set as many as 120 times! After a successful early career in Italy, he was made court poet in Vienna and remained in that position for forty years. He was also the closest friend and confidant of the famous castrato Farinelli (whose life loosely formed the basis of one of the worst "historical" movies ever made); they called each other "brother" and "twin" and kept an extensive correspondence, though due to Farinelli's engagements in England and Spain they almost never saw one another.
Two volumes of John Hoole's nearly-contemporary English translations of Metastasio's work are also available here and here.
The other recommended work is that of Violet Paget, who wrote under the name of Vernon Lee. Violet Paget was born in 1856 and began her writing career in 1880, nearly a hundred years after most of the events about which she wrote in her non-fiction. Considering this, and considering that she did not have a university education, it is astonishing that she wrote with such understanding about 18th Century culture. In 1880 music history was still a relatively undeveloped "fringe" discipline, and until the middle of the 20th Century nearly all of the focus was on Germanic music, considered to have produced the greatest and most progressive composers--Beethoven and Wagner. 18th Century opera was considered by most to be rather silly, the music insufficiently passionate and the libretti unrealistic. Perhaps the libretti are unrealistic, but as Violet Paget understood, opera of the day had its own ideals and conventions and we would do better to try to judge the worth of the works by the standards by which 18th Century people would have judged them, rather than trying to compare a libretto by Metastasio with music by Vivaldi to an opera by Wagner. To be sure, she sometimes writes with a tone of irony about some of the sillier notions of 18th Century people, but overall her understanding is remarkable for a woman of her day who was mostly self-educated.
I have only taken a look at her Studies of the Eighteenth Century in Italy so far. Unfortunately the silver page decoration (which I saw on my professor's copy of the book) did not scan very well, so you will have to imagine how pretty the real book looks. There are several other of her works available online, as well, including The Enchanted Woods: and Other Essays on the Genius of Places and Juvenilia: Being a Second Series of Essays on Sundry Æsthetical Questions. I greatly look forward to having a few spare moments to peruse them.
04 February 2008
02 February 2008
Book Game II
Here are my results:
"Several centuries later, the biography of the much-admired Jean de Boucicaut, marshal of France, Le Livre des fais du bon messire Jehan le Maingre, dit Boucicaut, announced in words clearly recalling Chretien's:
Two things have been established in the world, by the will of God, like two pillars to sustain the orders of divine and human laws... and without which the world would be like a confused thing and without any order... These two flawless pillars are Chivalry and Learning, which go very well together."
From Chivalry and Violence in Medieval Europe by Richard W. Kaeuper
Here are my results:
"Several centuries later, the biography of the much-admired Jean de Boucicaut, marshal of France, Le Livre des fais du bon messire Jehan le Maingre, dit Boucicaut, announced in words clearly recalling Chretien's:
Two things have been established in the world, by the will of God, like two pillars to sustain the orders of divine and human laws... and without which the world would be like a confused thing and without any order... These two flawless pillars are Chivalry and Learning, which go very well together."
From Chivalry and Violence in Medieval Europe by Richard W. Kaeuper
31 January 2008
Book Meme
Picked up from Scuffulans hirsutus
Book Meme Rules
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people
"'Oh, good Lord, no!'" Uncle William spoke vehemently and shut his mouth with a snap, glancing at his escort with furtive blue eyes. Marcus turned to Campion, betraying that he had given up the idea of persuading Uncle William to open the proceedings. 'Look here,' he said."--Police at the Funeral, by Margery Allingham
Rather than tagging people, I think I'll let my readers pick it up as they please. There probably aren't more than five of you anyway. Leave a link in the comment box so I can see what you come up with!
Picked up from Scuffulans hirsutus
Book Meme Rules
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people
"'Oh, good Lord, no!'" Uncle William spoke vehemently and shut his mouth with a snap, glancing at his escort with furtive blue eyes. Marcus turned to Campion, betraying that he had given up the idea of persuading Uncle William to open the proceedings. 'Look here,' he said."--Police at the Funeral, by Margery Allingham
Rather than tagging people, I think I'll let my readers pick it up as they please. There probably aren't more than five of you anyway. Leave a link in the comment box so I can see what you come up with!
28 January 2008
Long-haired Chihuahua at Prayer
No, I'm not kidding. The dog imitates the pose of Buddhist monks (based on the article I guess he's owned by a Buddhist monastery). Check it out.
No, I'm not kidding. The dog imitates the pose of Buddhist monks (based on the article I guess he's owned by a Buddhist monastery). Check it out.
27 January 2008
Draw us in the Spirit's tether
Draw us in the Spirit's tether;
For when humbly, in thy name,
Two or three are met together,
Thou art in the midst of them:
Alleluya! Alleluya! Touch we now thy garment's hem.
As the faithful used to gather
In the name of Christ to sup,
Then with thanks to God the Father
Break the bread and bless the cup,
Alleluya! Alleluya! So knit thou our friendship up.
All our meals and all our living
Make as sacraments of thee,
That by caring, helping, giving,
We may true disciples be.
Alleluya! Alleluya! We will serve thee faithfully.
Text by Percy Dearmer
Tune "Union Seminary" by Harold Friedell
Draw us in the Spirit's tether;
For when humbly, in thy name,
Two or three are met together,
Thou art in the midst of them:
Alleluya! Alleluya! Touch we now thy garment's hem.
As the faithful used to gather
In the name of Christ to sup,
Then with thanks to God the Father
Break the bread and bless the cup,
Alleluya! Alleluya! So knit thou our friendship up.
All our meals and all our living
Make as sacraments of thee,
That by caring, helping, giving,
We may true disciples be.
Alleluya! Alleluya! We will serve thee faithfully.
Text by Percy Dearmer
Tune "Union Seminary" by Harold Friedell
17 January 2008
Cool Desktop Wallpaper
Looking for a new backdrop for your computer? Checkout the Vladstudio Cathedrals Wallpaper Pack now available for download. It includes regular and widescreen versions of sepia-toned sketch-looking pictures depicting the cathedrals of Barcelona, Cologne, Florence, Milan and Moscow.
Their website has some other nice wallpapers too, mostly more abstract than the cathedral pictures.
Looking for a new backdrop for your computer? Checkout the Vladstudio Cathedrals Wallpaper Pack now available for download. It includes regular and widescreen versions of sepia-toned sketch-looking pictures depicting the cathedrals of Barcelona, Cologne, Florence, Milan and Moscow.
Their website has some other nice wallpapers too, mostly more abstract than the cathedral pictures.
16 January 2008
Curious
Last semester, one of my students wrote me a paper on chant, arguing that music students today ought to study chant more closely. I was curious to note that most of his citations came from the Catholic Encyclopedia and the writings of Justine Ward. Once again this semester he is in the class I am assisting with, and I have noticed him reading First Things before the start of class. I now assume that he must have been the one who finished the "Gloria Patri" in Latin last semester when the professor couldn't remember the end of it.
I wonder if I should have a chat with him. I wonder where he goes to Mass.
Last semester, one of my students wrote me a paper on chant, arguing that music students today ought to study chant more closely. I was curious to note that most of his citations came from the Catholic Encyclopedia and the writings of Justine Ward. Once again this semester he is in the class I am assisting with, and I have noticed him reading First Things before the start of class. I now assume that he must have been the one who finished the "Gloria Patri" in Latin last semester when the professor couldn't remember the end of it.
I wonder if I should have a chat with him. I wonder where he goes to Mass.
13 January 2008
New Blog
My husband and I have started a new blog called "Requiescat in pace," dedicated to praying for the dead by posting prayer cards from funerals. Check it out. If you have a prayer card to contribute, please scan it and send it along to requiescat.blog@gmail.com, or email us and we'll give you an address where you can send a photocopy or an original card.
This will not impact the irregularly scheduled service from Catholics, Musicians, Students that you, our three or four dear readers, have come to expect.
My husband and I have started a new blog called "Requiescat in pace," dedicated to praying for the dead by posting prayer cards from funerals. Check it out. If you have a prayer card to contribute, please scan it and send it along to requiescat.blog@gmail.com, or email us and we'll give you an address where you can send a photocopy or an original card.
This will not impact the irregularly scheduled service from Catholics, Musicians, Students that you, our three or four dear readers, have come to expect.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
