Uma viagem no Barroco - 23 François Couperin - La Sultane (1668-1733)

François Couperin - La Sultane

François Couperin, known as le grand to distinguish him from an uncle of the same name, was the most distinguished of a numerous family of French musicians, officially succeeding his uncle and father as organist of the Paris church of St. Gervais when he was eighteen. He enjoyed royal patronage under Louis XIV and in 1693 was appointed royal organist and belatedly royal harpsichordist. As a keyboard-player and composer he was pre-eminent in France at the height of his career. He died in Paris in 1733.

Couperin composed church music for the royal chapel under Louis XIV. The surviving Leçons de ténèbres are possibly the best example of this form of composition, the first of the three for soprano solo and continuo and the third for two sopranos, settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah for the Holy Week liturgy.

Couperin's chamber music includes L'apothéose de Lully (The Apotheosis of Lully), a tribute to the leading composer in France in the second half of the 17th century Jean-Baptiste Lully, a tribute to the Italian composer Corelli, L'apothéose de Corelli, part of a larger collection of ensemble pieces under the title Les goûts réunis (Tastes United), an exploration of the rival French and Italian tastes in music, a quarrel in which Couperin remained neutral. The Concerts royaux represent another important element in Couperin's music for instrumental ensemble.

Couperin's compositions for the harpsichord occupy a very important position in French music. In 27 suites for the harpsichord, most of them published between 1713 and 1730, Couperin offered a series of harpsichord pieces, many of them descriptive in one way or another. These richly varied suites or "ordres" represent the height of Couperin's achievement as a composer and arguably that of the French harpsichord composers (Naxos).

Sonate en Quatuor "La Sultane": I. [Gravement]; II. [Gaiement]; III. Air [Tendrement]; IV. [Gravement]

Manfredo Kraemer, violin. Jay Bernfeld, viola da gamba. Carol Lewis, viola da gamba. Michel Murgier, basse de violon. Mike Fentross, theorbo. Skip Sempé, clavecin.

Capriccion Stravangante. Director: Skip Sempé.

Uma viagem no Barroco - 21 Johann Kaspar Ferdinand Fischer - Chaconne (1665-1746)

Johann Kaspar Ferdinand Fischer - Chaconne

Johann Casper Ferdinand Fischer was born in Germany around 1670, though we shall never be certain when. We find the first record of his existence in the mid-1690's when appointed Hofkapellmeister to the Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm, and it was the brilliance that Fischer brought to music at the court that made him an important musical figure. Obviously a fine harpsichordist, he was responsible for bringing a French influence into German music. There is just one question mark that remains unanswered, and that surrounds the variability of the quality of music which carries his name, leading to the speculation that there may have been two - or even three - generations of Fischers who contributed to the works that carry his name. That has been given further substance by the fact that Fischer would have had to compose for over 60 years to cover the approximate dates of composition, which would have been a long time in the early 18th century.

Possibly his most outstanding work, the Musicalischer Parnassus, published in 1738, represents the fusion of French and German styles. In the form of nine suites, they transform the style of French orchestral dances to the more restricted tonal scale of the harpsichord. Yet Fischer achieved works of a vivacity and piquant pleasure, many that would rival in impact and melodic invention the finest keyboard music of Scarlatti. Each suite carries the name of one of the Muses, and can be seen as a reflection of the supposed character of that Muse. Fischer's knowledge of French style extends to the use of the latest dance rhythms of the time, and the idea of using pairs of Minuets. This 'modern' outlook for a man probably in his late 50's or early 60's has added to the speculation of a younger hand being responsible. Though looking back, we find it consistent with a composer who had always been willing to experiment. In this case Fischer was employing many of the latest compositional styles, the rotating musical figures of the gigue in the third suite being just one example, while his oft use of broken chords, adds a distinctly humorous atmosphere to the dances. The summation is a group of short movements that prove a constant joy (Naxos).

Gustav Leonhardt joue sur l'orgue Dom Bedos de Sainte-Croix de Bordeaux la Chacconne de Johann Kaspar Ferdinand Fischer.

Uma viagem no Barroco - 19 - Jean Philippe Rameau-Tristes Apprets Pales Flambeaux (1683-1764)

Jean Philippe Rameau-Tristes Apprets Pales Flambeaux

French composer of the 18th century, and a highly influential music theorist. Born in Dijon, where his father was an organist, Rameau traveled to Italy at the age of 18 and subsequently was employed as an organist in several French cities, most notably Clermont-Ferrand, where he stayed until 1722 and where he wrote his Traité de l'harmonie (Treatise on Harmony, 1722). He moved to Paris in 1723, where he taught harpsichord and music theory. His early compositions include light theatrical pieces and religious and harpsichord music. In 1731 he became director of the private orchestra of a wealthy music patron. This patronage enabled him to turn to opera. Rameau's 30 or so operas include many masterpieces of the French lyric theater: the tragedies Hippolyte et Aricie (Hippolytus and Aricia, 1733), Castor et Pollux (Castor and Pollux, 1737), Dardanus (1739 and 1744 versions), and Zoroastre (1749); the opéra-ballets Les Indes galantes (The Gallant Indies, 1735), Les fêtes d'Hébé (The Festivals of Hebe, 1739), and La princesse de Navarre (1745); and the comedy Platée (1745). His orchestration was powerful and innovative, as was the manner in which he used harmony for dramatic effect.

His Piéces de clavecin en concerts (Concerted Music for Harpsichord, 1741), for two violins and harpsichord, are among the earliest such works to give the keyboard an independent, rather than accompanying part. His theoretical writing set in systematic form the harmonic practices of the previous 100 years and detailed theoretical concepts that remained basic to European harmony until about 1900. Rameau died in Paris, September 12, 1764. [baroque-music.com; cf wikipedia]

Uma viagem no Barroco - 19 Arcangelo Corelli - Concerto no. 8 (1653-1713)

Arcangelo Corelli - Concerto no. 8 "Scritto per la Notte di Natale" in sol minore

The Italian composer and violinist Arcangelo Corelli exercised a wide influence on his contemporaries and on the succeeding generation of composers. Born in Fusignano, Italy, in 1653, a full generation before Bach or Handel, he studied in Bologna, a distinguished musical center, then established himself in Rome in the 1670s. By 1679 had entered the service of Queen Christina of Sweden, who had taken up residence in Rome in 1655, after her abdication the year before, and had established there an academy of literati that later became the Arcadian Academy. Thanks to his musical achievements and growing international reputation he found no trouble in obtaining the support of a succession of influential patrons. History has remembered him with such titles as "Founder of Modern Violin Technique," the "World's First Great Violinist," and the "Father of the Concerto Grosso."

His contributions can be divided three ways, as violinist, composer, and teacher. It was his skill on the new instrument known as the violin and his extensive and very popular concert tours throughout Europe which did most to give that instrument its prominent place in music. It is probably correct to say that Corelli's popularity as a violinist was as great in his time as was Paganini's during the 19th century. Yet Corelli was not a virtuoso in the contemporary sense, for a beautiful singing tone alone distinguished great violinists in that day, and Corelli's tone quality was the most remarkable in all Europe according to reports. In addition, Corelli was the first person to organize the basic elements of violin technique. (continuar a ler em Baroque Composers and Musicians. Cf. tb Wikipedia)

Uma viagem no Barroco - 18 Jan Dismas Zelenka - Da Vivo Tronco Aperto (1679-1745)

Jan Dismas Zelenka, Da Vivo Tronco Aperto

Most of Zelenka's compositions were sacred works, including three oratorios, 21 masses, and numerous other pieces of music. Zelenka's orchestral and vocal pieces are often virtuosic and difficult to perform. In particular, his writing for bass instruments is far more demanding than that of other composers of his era, notably the "utopian" (as Heinz Holliger describes them) demands of the oboe scores in his trio sonatas.

It is no secret that J.S. Bach held Zelenka in high esteem, as witnessed by a letter from Bach's son C.P.E. Bach to J.N. Forkel, of 13 January 1775, perhaps accounting for Bach's own striving to produce a full-length Catholic mass (the B minor/H-moll mass) in his final years.

It was mistakenly assumed that many of Zelenka's autograph scores were destroyed during the fire-bombing of Dresden in February 1945. However, the scores were not in the Catholic cathedral, but were in a library north of the river. Some are certainly missing, but this probably happened gradually - and these represent only a small proportion of his extant works.

The "Zelenka movement," which started in the 1960s, is gaining momentum, as witnessed by a number of recent live performances of his works in far-flung parts of Europe such as Copenhagen and Glasgow. One must consider that the now-lionized Bach only attained his current esteem in the twentieth century, thanks to the efforts of 19th-century composers, including Mendelssohn and Mahler; Jan Dismas Zelenka appears to be another "sleeping giant" of the Baroque era.

More than half of Zelenka's works have now been recorded, mostly in the Czech Republic and Germany, and it is only a matter of time before all 21 masses will have been recorded. The Missa Purificationis (ZWV 16) is the latest to appear (on Nibiru Records; see below). Some would say that this mass reflects Zelenka at his peak, as at the time (1733) he was very much in the limelight at the Dresden court. (This is the last mass to include brass instruments). Others would say that Zelenka's compositional peak corresponds to his final masses from 1739-1744 (ZWV 19-21) [Wikipedia].

Aria sung by altus MAGDALENA KOZENA; orchestra: CAPELLA REGIA MUSICALIS conducted by ROBERT HUGO.

Uma viagem no Barroco - 17 Henry Du Mont - Memorare (1610-1684)

Henry Du Mont - Memorare (Herreweghe)

Walloon musician, born near Liège. Dumont became a choirboy in Maastricht in 1621, receiving there his musical education. He remained there 17 years, becoming successively chorister, clerk, and organist. Hearrived in France in 1938 and is recorded in Paris as organist of the Church of Saint Paul. In 1652 he became harpsichordist to the Duc d'Anjou, Louis XIV's brother. He was appointed harpsichordist to the Queen in 1662, and in the following he became assistane Maître de Chapelle Royale.

When Dumont arrived in Paris, he must have found sacred music remarkably conservative, for at the time in his native Flanders Italian music of the early seventeenth century had already bee widely adopted in churches. Probably this led to the hyperbolic claim in his first publication, Cantica sacra cum vocibus tum instrumentis modulata, to be the first to use the basso continuo, although he may well have been the first to use the trio texture of two solo voices and continuo in the for of the petits motets, which would become the most popular form of sacred music during LouisX IV's grand siècle. Certainly it was the first to be printed in France with a basso continuo.

In 1657, Ballard published Dumont's Melanges containing galant and drinking chansons, psalms, pieces for viols, for organ and harpsichord, three Magnificats, and motets for 2, 4, 5 and 6 voices. Dumont's Grand Motets pour la Chapelle Royale was published posthumously in 1686 (hoasm). Conferir também Musicologie.

Uma viagem no Barroco - 16 Johann Jakob Froberger, Toccata I A minor (1616-1667)

Johann Jakob Froberger, Toccata I A minor

Johann Jakob Froberger (baptized May 19, 1616 – May 7, 1667) was a German Baroque composer, keyboard virtuoso, and organist. He was among the most famous composers of the era and influenced practically every major composer in Europe by developing the genre of keyboard suite and contributing greatly to the exchange of musical traditions through his many travels. He is also remembered for his highly idiomatic and personal descriptive harpsichord pieces, which are among the earliest known examples of program music.

Only two of Froberger's many compositions were published during his lifetime, but his music was very widely spread in manuscript copies and he was one of the very few 17th century composers who were never entirely forgotten. His works were studied in the 18th century (although perhaps not very extensively, and certainly without influence on the emerging Classical style) by Handel, Bach and, extraordinarily, even Mozart and Beethoven (Wikipedia). Conferir também Here of a Sunday Morning.

Tocatta I A minor Johann Jakob Froberger 1649

RCSMM Madrid
Fernando Aguado, Clave

Uma viagem no Barroco - 15 Giovanni Legrenzi - O Dilectissime Jesu Per Il Santissimo, Op 17 (1626-1690)

Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-1690) - O Dilectissime Jesu Per Il Santissimo, Op 17

Giovanni Legrenzi (baptized August 12, 1626 – May 27, 1690) was an Italian composer of opera, vocal and instrumental music, and organist, of the Baroque era. He was one of the most prominent composers in Venice in the late 17th century, and extremely influential on the development of late Baroque idioms across northern Italy.

Legrenzi was active in most of the genres current in northern Italy in the late 17th century, including sacred vocal music, opera, oratorio, and varieties of instrumental music. Though best known as a composer of instrumental sonatas, he was predominantly a composer of liturgical music with a distinctly dramatic character. The bulk of his instrumental music may also be included in this category, since it would have been used primarily as a substitute for liturgical items at Mass or Vespers. His operas were immensely popular (and extravagantly presented) in their day, though like his oratorios, few have survived. His later dance music was certainly connected with the operatic repertoire, though the function of an early collection (Op. 4, which is musicologically famous for its inclusion of six pieces designated sonate da camera) is less clear. [Wikipedia]

Ensemble El Mundo, dir.Richard Savino

Ruth Escher, soprano

Uma viagem no Barroco - 14 Philipp Heinrich Erlebach - Himmel, du weißt meine Plagen (1657-1714)

Philipp Heinrich Erlebach - Himmel, du weißt meine Plagen (1657-1714)

A key figure in late seventeenth century German music, composer Philipp Heinrich Erlebach nonetheless has gained recognition very slowly for his considerable role in the middle Baroque. Born in the East Friesland town of Esens, Erlebach was a citizen of East Friesland when it was a free duchy, and would have come of age in an atmosphere heavily impacted by Franco-Flemish culture. It was in the service of the Friesian Court that Erlebach first made his name as a musician, and based on his exceptional abilities Erlebach's services were loaned out to the court of Albrecht Anton von Schwarzberg-Rudolstadt, Count of the larger principality of Thuringia, starting in 1678. In 1681, Erlebach was named to the post of Kapellmeister to the Thuringian Court, a position he held until his death 33 years later. In this time, Erlebach built a reputation as one of the great composers in Central Germany, and enjoyed connections to the courts in Nuremburg, Mühlhausen (where the young Johann Sebastian Bach was employed from 1707-08) and at Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Count Albrecht Anton's successor, Prince Ludwig Friedrich I, thought enough of Erlebach's music to purchase his manuscript collection from Erlebach's widow after the composer's death in 1714. Unfortunately, a fire in 1735 wiped out this entire legacy, and posterity is dependent upon published editions, manuscript copies and a single holograph in Erlebach's own hand to account for his talents. [Cf. Answers.com]

Uma viagem no Barroco - 13 Franz Tunder - O Jesu dulcissime (1614 - 1667)

Franz Tunder - O Jesu dulcissime - MacLeod

Franz Tunder (1614 – November 5, 1667) was a German composer and organist of the early to middle Baroque era. He was an important link between the early German Baroque style which was based on Venetian models, and the later Baroque style which culminated in the music of J.S. Bach; in addition he was formative in the development of the chorale cantata.

Along with Heinrich Scheidemann and Matthias Weckmann, Tunder was one of the most important members of the North German organ school; however, few of his works are preserved. His surviving output suggests a marked preference for the chorale fantasia style, though he is also known for chorale versets, such as his setting of Jesus Christus unser Heiland, notable in particular for the opening pedal flourish (probably the earliest surviving example of an opening pedal solo in an organ work), a technique that was to be more fully exploited by Dietrich Buxtehude.

Notas da Wikipedia.

Uma viagem no Barroco - 12 Giuseppe Tartini - Sonata in G Minor - Devil's Trill (1692 - 1770).

Giuseppe Tartini - Sonata in G Minor - Devil's Trill

Ontem foi proposto um compositor coevo do nascimento do Barroco. Hoje, a proposta é a de um compositor que ainda aparece arrolado no Barroco mas cuja música já não soa, pelo menos a um diletante como o autor deste blogue, a Barroco. Diria que é um compositor pós-Barroco. O aristocrata italiano (na verdade nasceu na República de Veneza, numa cidade, Piran, que hoje faz parte da Eslovénia), Giuseppe Tartini, foi violinista e compositor. A sua obra mais conhecida é a sonata Devil's Trill (Trilo do Diabo). Uma obscura lenda, porventura originada, ou adornada, por Madame Blavatsky, diz que a peça resultou de um sonho de Tartini, onde o diabo aparecia aos pés da cama tocando violino. Lendas à parte, a peça do vídeo tem ao violino não o diabo mas Itzhak Perlman.

Uma viagem no Barroco - 11 Gregorio Allegri - Miserere Mei Deus (1582 - 1652).

Gregorio Allegri - Miserere Mei Deus

Onde começa e onde acaba uma determinada época? Por exemplo, aquilo que é dado a ouvir hoje data do tempo em que o Barroco incoava, mas deveria soar, na época, como uma música verdadeiramente conservadora. Não soa a música barroca, mas este Miserere Mei Deus é uma grande peça musical. O compositor italiano, Gregorio Allegri, foi padre e pertenceu à escola de compositores de Roma. Estudou com um grande amigo de Palestrina, Giovani Maria Nanini. Interpretação do Kings College Chapel Choir, dirigido por Stephen Cleobury.

Uma viagem no Barroco - 10 Tomaso Albinoni - Concerto em ré menor, para trompete (1671 - 1751).

Tomaso Albinoni - Concerto em ré menor, para trompete

Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni foi, fundamentalmente um compositor veneziano de óperas. Atribuem-se-lhe mais de oitenta. Hoje é conhecido, principalmente, pela sua música instrumental, nomeadamente os concertos para oboé. Vídeo de hoje: Albinoni Concerto em ré menor, para trompete. Trompete-Maurice André. Orquestra Filarmónica de Londres. Maestro-Jesus Lopez-Cobos.

Uma viagem no Barroco - 09 Alessandro Scarlatti - Concerto n° 6 in E major (1660 - 1725).

Alessandro Scarlatti - Concerto n° 6 in E major

Não confundamos este Scarlatti, Alessandro, com o outro, Domenico, filho do primeiro, e compositor da corte portuguesa. Alessandro Scarlatti ficou famoso pelas suas óperas e cantatas de câmara. A música de Scarlatti estabelece um elo de conexão entre o primeiro barroco italiano e a música clássica do século XVIII, cujo expoente máximo é Mozart. Neste vídeo não se identifica o grupo musical dirigido po Ottavio Dantone.

Uma viagem no Barroco - 08 Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck - Hexachord Fantasia (1562 - 1621).

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck - Hexachord Fantasia

Uma Viagem no Barroco vai hoje de jornada até aos Países Baixos. Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck foi um pedagogo, organista e compositor holandês. É um compositor de transição entre a música do Renascimento e a do Barroco. Reconhecido com um grande compositor de música para instrumentos de teclado, um dos mais importantes antes de JS Bach, também compôs música vocal, mais de 250 obras, entre canções, madrigais, motetes e Salmos. A Hexachord Fantasia é interpretada por Ernst Stolz em cravo.

Uma viagem no Barroco - 07 Marc-Antoine Charpentier - Te Deum, H 146 (1643 - 1704).

Marc-Antoine Charpentier - Te Deum, H 146

Uma Viagem no Barroco desloca-se hoje da música de origem germânica para a música francesa, para o compositor Marc-Antoine Charpentier, um dos grandes nome do barroco musical francês. Ao consultar, na Internet, a sua biografia descobre-se que nunca trabalhou na corte de Luís XIV, tendo, em contrapartida trabalhado para Teatro, com Molière. O leitor, mesmo que nunca tenha escutado uma obra de Charpentier, certamente reconhecerá o prelúdio, ou parte dele, deste Te Deum, uma obra que o autor considerava particularmente belicosa. Le Parlement de Musique (Mathilde Etienne, Ariane Wohlhuter, James Oxley, Thomas Van Essen, Bertrand Chuberre), Dir: Martin Gester.

Uma viagem no Barroco - 06 Heinrich Schütz - Meine Seele erhebt Herren (SWV 344) (1585 - 1672).

Heinrich Schütz - Meine Seele erhebt Herren (SWV 344)

Heinrich Schutz disputa com Dietrich Buxtehude o honroso título de melhor compositor alemão antes de JS Bach. Influenciado por Gabrieli e Monteverdi, é um compositor essencialmente de temática sacra. Pelo menos foi essa que lhe sobreviveu. A peça escolhida para hoje, uma belíssima peça, é Meine Seele erhebt Herren (SWV 344). Maria Cristina Kiehr (Soprano) e o Concerto Vocale. Direcção de René Jacobs. Uma sugestão de audição: The Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

Uma viagem no Barroco - 05 Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber - "Missa Salisburgensis" - Kyrie (1644 - 1704).

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber - Missa Salisburgensis - Kyrie

A sugestão de hoje, nesta viagem pelo barroco musical, é o extraordinário Kirye da Missa Salisburgensis, do compositor boémio-austríaco Heinrich Ignaz Fraz Biber. Biber é um dos grandes compositores para violino. Esta interpretação da Missa Salisburgensis é do Musica Antiqua Köln, dirigido por Reinhard Goebel, e Gabrieli Consort & Players, dirigido por Paul McCreesh. Se me fosse permitida uma sugestão, não deixaria de recomendar vivamente as Mystery Sonatas, de Biber.

Uma viagem no Barroco - 04 Jean Baptiste Lully - Ballet de Arts, 1. L´Agriculture (1632 - 1687).

Jean Baptiste Lully - Ballet de Arts, L´Agriculture I

Uma visão pastoral do éden, onde pastores e pastoras vivem em paz e em felicidade. Esta temática é já fundamental no Renascimento e no período de nascimento da Ópera. Nietzsche, em Origem da Tragédia, não se cansa de mostrar o ridículo que seria estabelecer uma identidade entre o estado de natureza pastoral e aquele que representariam os míticos sátiros, adoradores de Diónisos. Com a transição e sedimentação do Barroco, o idílio pastoral não desaparece. Aqui temos uma emergência dessa cosmovisão numa peça do compositor francês Jean-Baptiste de Lully. Mas curiosamente a obra denomina-se Ballet des Arts, sendo a primeira a Agricultura. Na obra encontramos outras artes, desde a caça à guerra, passando pela ourivesaria ou a cirurgia. Eram os tempos modernos que se afirmavam.

Uma viagem no Barroco - 03 Jacopo Peri - Io, che d'alti sospir vaga e di pianti (Euridice) (1561 - 1633).

Jacopo Peri - Io, che d'alti sospir vaga e di pianti (Euridice)

Para hoje, em Uma Viagem no Barroco, uma figura de transição entre a estética musical do Renascimento e a do Barroco. Jacopo Peri disputa com Monteverdi a honra de ter sido o inventor da ópera, embora o assunto seja controvertido. Teria escrito uma primeira ópera, Dafne, por volta de 1597. A peça musical de hoje faz parte da primeira obra musical reconhecida como ópera e que chegou até nós, Euridice, apresentada em 1600. Peri associado ao um patrono musical florentino, Jacopo Corsi, tentam recrear a antiga tragédia grega. Mesmo para um diletante, a sonoridade musical das obras de Jacopo Peri está mais próxima do cânone renascentista do que do barroco.