During class we learned that composers of the ars nova began increasing the complexity of the music they composed, both melodically and rhythmically. This prompted the challenge of why a composer would try to write more intricate music?
Some of the responses espoused in class were experimentation, challenge for performers, and more interest for the listener. Whether she realized it or not, I think one of the students came up with the most profound reason of all.
Because they could.
While it may not have been so apparent at the time, we can now look back over the development of music from the earliest extant examples of monophonic chant to post-modern music, with all of the varying categorizations within those genres and see the increasing complexity of the music.
You do not generally see quantum leaps in development in any discipline, music or otherwise. You see people taking the next step. When you string together enough steps, you've made quite a journey. This applies to music.
Composers made music more intricate during the ars nova because it was new and they were experimenting with convention. They tried different things to see whether they liked them or not. I would guess that composers tried some new things that simply didn't take, but those are the "steps" that didn't survive because they didn't work.
The experiments that worked, however, were the steps that ultimately led to the next period in music. The really interesting thing, though, is the knowledge that time does not end with us. As such, music students in a thousand years may well be looking at the music composed today with the same impression of simplicity that we look at monophonic chant today.
Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
Monday, October 19, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Wagner’s Siegfried-Idyll: The Calm Amidst the Storm
The sound of two violins drift through the open bedroom door as Cosima slowly opens her eyes. She sees her bedroom aglow from the muted sunlight slipping through the curtains, illuminating dust motes in a graceful dance as they float through the air. The violins are joined by a cello and viola, then two more violins, weaving a simple, yet intricate, fabric of sound that borders on the ethereal. As a lone flute joins the fabric of the music, Cosima realizes what is happening. Her beloved husband, Richard, has written a song to surprise her on her birthday. Her eyes well up with tears of joy and she lays her head on the pillow and lets the ethereal sound wash over her body, not wanting to stand up and ruin this perfect moment.
Such is the way Cosima Wagner awoke on Christmas morning, 1870. Richard Wagner had composed the Siegfried Idyll as a birthday present for her, a piece which stands as one of Wagner’s only pieces composed solely for orchestra, and staged its premiere performance on the steps of Triebschen, the Wagners’ home on Lake Lucerne. It is also a piece that, underneath it’s beauty and simplicity, contains complex stories of intrigue, scandal, politics, and love.
The Composer
Richard Wagner was surrounded in mystery and intrigue from the day he was born. He was born “in a room on the second floor of the ‘Red and White Lion’” (citation omitted) on May 22, 1813 in Leipzig, Germany, putatively to Karl Friedrich and Johanna Wagner. But even his parentage is in doubt as it is widely believed that his biological father was the actor Ludwig Geyer. In fact, when Karl Friedrich died less than six months after Richard’s birth, Geyer married Johanna and adopted the infant Richard, raising him as his own.
Geyer, naturally, instilled a love of culture in his household and young Richard became intensely interested in literature, not music. It was not until attending a concert of Weber’s Der Freischutz that Wagner first became interested in music. (citation omitted) After hearing performances of Beethoven’s symphonies and, most notably, Fidelio, Richard became obsessed with music. (citation omitted) Richard himself remarked that Fidelio “exercised a great fascination over me... the introduction to which affected me deeply.” (citation omitted)
After that performance, Richard took to studying music independently, while sporadically studying with various teachers to varying success. The vast majority of Wagner’s musical education, however, came from his own initiative and personal studies. In many ways, Wagner was an impatient man who tired of the rigid, formal structure of musical education. Nonetheless, whether because of his own talent and ability, his connections through Geyer, or his dogmatic perseverance and sheer force of will, he was ultimately able to secure a post at the Wurzburger Theater.
Richard was later offered the post of conductor at the Magdeburg Theatre Company in Lauchstadt in 1834. While the Opera itself was poorly managed and Richard nearly resigned his post to return to Leipzig, he changed his mind when he met Minna Planer. He described the meeting by noting that “her appearance and bearing formed the most striking contrast possible to all the unpleasant impressions of the theatre which it had ben my lot to receive on this fateful morning.” (citation omitted) They were married two years later in 1836.
In the ensuing years, Richard enjoyed increasing success as a composer while making the acquaintance of several prominent figures, including royalty and many great musicians, such as Franz Liszt. His renown became so great that he was able to foster the careers of several other up-and-coming musicians. One such man was Hans von Bulow, husband of Lizst’s daughter, Cosima. Richard vouched for him and helped him obtain his first post as a conductor. The two became close friends, Bulow and his wife often spending summers at Richard’s home.
By this time, Richard and Minna were separated, Minna living in an apartment which Richard had paid for. Richard was quite taken with Cosima and they began a passionate love affair which would become the source of gossip and intrigue for years to come. Bulow and Cosima would visit Triebschen, Wagner’s home on the shores of Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, where they would stay for months at a time. During these stays, Cosima would stay with Richard, leaving Bulow as the odd-man-out. Wagner fathered three children with Cosima. Two girls, Isolde and Eva, whom Bulow accepted as his own, and one boy, Siegfried.
Richard convinced Bulow to grant Cosima divorce in 1870 and the two were wed a few months later when Richard was 57 years-old and Cosima 32 years-old. Both Bulow and Liszt were appalled at the marriage, but both continued to publicly support Richard and his music. Richard’s detractors, however, looked upon the affair, scandal, and subsequent marriage to criticize Richard. Despite Richard’s philandering ways earlier in life, he remained faithful and devoted to Cosima for the rest of his life. It seems that he had finally found the partner he was searching for.
December 25, 1870
After his marriage to Cosima, Richard began work on the Siegfried Idyll. The piece was originally titled the Triebschen Idyll with Fidi’s Birdsong and the Orange Sunrise. (citation omitted) Wagner was working on the opera Siegfried at the time, but even though certain motives from the Idyll appear in the opera, the two works are not related. Richard composed the piece as a birthday present for his new wife and it was intended as a programatic piece depicting Cosima singing a lullaby to the baby Siegfried and imagining the man who might grow from the child.
After he completed the work, he engaged fifteen musicians for its premiere. Based upon the instrumentation of the full orchestral version, it is most likely that the ensemble consisted of two first violins, two second violins, and one each of viola, cello, double bass, flute, oboe, bassoon, and trumpet, with two horns and two clarinets rounding out the small ensemble. Richard wanted the piece to be a surprise, so the ensemble rehearsed in secret at Triebschen.
There is some disagreement about the date of the actual premiere. Some sources pinpoint the date as December 24, 1870. (citation omitted) Most mark the Idyll’s premiere as December 25, 1870. (citation omitted) Others are somewhat more ambiguous, such as The Milton Cross New Encyclopedia of The Great Composers and Their Music, (citation omitted) which notes that the piece was performed as a birthday gift to Cosima (her birthday being December 24), yet noting the date as December 25, 1870. Regardless of the exact date of the premiere, one thing can be certain. Cosima knew nothing of it.
On the fateful morning, Richard organized the musicians on the steps of the grand hallway at Triebschen. They began playing as Cosima awoke to the delicate sounds of the piece lifting through the bedroom door. In her diary, she detailed her feelings from that morning. “As I awoke, my ear caught a sound, which swelled fuller and fuller; no longer could I imagine myself to be dreaming, music was sounding, and such music! When it died away, Richard came into my room... and offered me the score of the symphonic birthday poem.” (citation omitted)
The piece stands as a poignant and touching display of Richard’s love for Cosima. In fact, Richard never intended to make the piece available to the public, intending for it to remain a private gift between himself ad Cosima. It was only during later financial difficulties that Richard was forced to re-score the piece for full orchestra and publish it. (citation omitted) This is most fortunate as its beauty has captured the ears of listeners since its publication, to this day remaining the most popular and oft-performed non-operatic piece he wrote.
The Idyll
The piece, as noted earlier, is decidedly programatic, Wagner himself describing in detail the program. The first ninety measures of the piece are a lullaby where Cosima “sings of the purity and holiness of the child’s soul.” (citation omitted) This section begins with an exposed first violin section playing a piano octave leap from b-natural to b-natural, executing a challenging string crossing which begins the simple yet touching melody and main theme of the piece. The viola and cellos immediately join the first violins with a descending step-wise counter-melody highlighted with eighth note triplets. This section is based upon the German lullaby Sleep, Baby, Sleep. The piece gradually builds upon this theme with layer upon layer added until every instrument other than the trumpet is weaving a complex fabric of sound.
The character of the piece shifts abruptly at measure 50 as the second clarinet, bassoon, and horns have a sequence of five piano triplets followed by a half note. This constitutes the first major performance trouble spot since the first note in the first violins, as it is difficult to keep the four musicians in time on the triplets after the flowing tempo of the previous section. The first violins follow that with a descending major sixth signifying the baby yawning and stretching, followed by another yawn in the cellos and basses, this of a descending minor seventh. The pattern is then repeated, this time with a minor sixth in the first violins and an astonishing leap of a major thirteenth in the cellos and basses. The effect is that of peace and tranquility. The series of trills in the first violins and violas following this phrase beginning at measure 56 indicate that “the boy is now deeply asleep.” (citation omitted)
Cosima then “gazes thoughtfully upon her beloved child and dreams about his future.” (citation omitted) Measure 140 begins the section where Cosima “thinks of the unknown man who will grow from this boy.” (citation omitted) This is marked by a series of arpeggios by the strings which is evocative of the beginning of a dream. Perhaps Richard intends us to envision Cosima drifting off to sleep along with Siegfried, or perhaps she is only daydreaming as she gazes upon his sleeping form.
After the arpeggios and four sustained trills, the meter switches to 3/4 at measure 148 signifying “a handsome man in flowering youth.” (citation omitted) This is followed by a descending clarinet line at measure 180 expressing Cosima’s delight. The theme in this section is taken from Siegfried’s theme of glory from the opera Siegfried. This theme is built upon until measure 259, first sounding in the woodwinds and horns, and later in the strings, then finally building to a crescendo in all of the musicians, save the lone trumpet. Wagner describes this section in his program notes:
He is driven to accomplish important deeds. He gains for himself a place among men. But then comes a moment of contemplation. A nameless desire captures the youth’s heart as he wanders alone (forest sounds and birdsongs and the theme of love and unity from Siegfried). Passion awakens in him, and he feels for the first time soulwearying pains.
Measure 259 marks another thematic shift, as well as a change in tempo from 3/4 back to 4/4. The first horn plays a haunting call signifying “the full happiness of his life in love.” (citation omitted) This section was likely inspired by Richard’s love for Cosima herself, the loving father naturally wanting the same happiness for his son that he enjoys. Wagner has also inserted the birdsong from Siegfried in both the clarinet and flute foretelling success. This theme builds in urgency through the moving lines in the cellos and violins until it resolves in a majestic processional, perhaps intended to evoke images of a wedding or of great success. This is the moment, at measure 295, that the lone trumpet first enters with its clarion call, at which time it plays for twelve measures before disappearing for the remainder of the piece.
The significance of this cannot be overlooked and, indeed, it was not, even for that first performance. The trumpet part was played on that day by Hans Richter, a young hornist from Vienna who was also a resident musician at Triebschen. (citation omitted) One story tells of a young Richter, aware of the importance of this tiny part, rowing out to the middle of Lake Lucerne to practice his part out of earshot of the villa. (citation omitted) These twelve measures stand in marked contrast to the rest of the piece because of the clarity and tone of the trumpet. The effect is certainly evocative of accomplishment and pride, both on the part of the young Siegfried and of his mother. This feeling is also likely a reflection of Wagner’s pride in both his wife and his son.
After this majestic passage, the mood of the piece returns to one of peace and tranquility as Cosima awakens from her dream and gazes, once again, upon her beloved Siegfried. Her heart swells with pride and love beginning at measure 334 before returning to the lullaby theme at measure 351. The birdsong returns as a final harbinger of the future success of young Siegfried, played against a return of the horn’s love theme.
The piece concludes as it began, with the lullaby heard in the strings, the last voicing of that theme heard in the cellos as the second violins and violas modulate chords around the sustained e-natural in the first violins and basses. The piece ends with two whole note voicings of an E Major chord in the full orchestra, sans trumpet. These last two notes symbolize “a final loving kiss from the mother (after which) the future hero rests in the care of God.” (citation omitted)
Conclusion
Richard Wagner’s life was one of turmoil, mystery, drama, intrigue, and great passion. His supporters consider him one of the most gifted composers of all time. His detractors condemn him for his poor moral character, his very public anti-semitism, and his poor treatment and betrayals of even his closest friends. Regardless of one’s opinions of Wagner and his music, it is clear that he was a very intense and driven individual, and that character is abundantly clear in his operatic works. Perhaps that is why the Siegfried Idyll so captures the imagination of the world even to this day.
It stands as a marked, and hauntingly beautiful, contrast to the public life of this man. In fact, there seems ample evidence to believe that his love for Cosima, the inspiration for this piece, acted as something of a transitory event for Richard. While it could not erase years of misdeeds, bigotry, and betrayals, it certainly exposed a new side of Wagner. A side which he laid bare in the Siegfried Idyll. Perhaps it is fortunate that he never intended to publish the work, for it lends itself to a vulnerability and honesty that seems very unWagnerian, giving us insight into the Wagner that few knew.
In a life fit for a Wagnerian opera, Richard Wagner revolutionized the world of opera with his music, his showmanship, and his fascinating life. His successes, tempered with his failures, make for compelling drama. And right in the middle of it all, we are provided with this musical treasure, in some ways, the greatest of all of Wagner’s creations. This calm amidst the storm. This tribute to beloved wife and cherished son.
This Siegfried Idyll.
Such is the way Cosima Wagner awoke on Christmas morning, 1870. Richard Wagner had composed the Siegfried Idyll as a birthday present for her, a piece which stands as one of Wagner’s only pieces composed solely for orchestra, and staged its premiere performance on the steps of Triebschen, the Wagners’ home on Lake Lucerne. It is also a piece that, underneath it’s beauty and simplicity, contains complex stories of intrigue, scandal, politics, and love.
The Composer
Richard Wagner was surrounded in mystery and intrigue from the day he was born. He was born “in a room on the second floor of the ‘Red and White Lion’” (citation omitted) on May 22, 1813 in Leipzig, Germany, putatively to Karl Friedrich and Johanna Wagner. But even his parentage is in doubt as it is widely believed that his biological father was the actor Ludwig Geyer. In fact, when Karl Friedrich died less than six months after Richard’s birth, Geyer married Johanna and adopted the infant Richard, raising him as his own.
Geyer, naturally, instilled a love of culture in his household and young Richard became intensely interested in literature, not music. It was not until attending a concert of Weber’s Der Freischutz that Wagner first became interested in music. (citation omitted) After hearing performances of Beethoven’s symphonies and, most notably, Fidelio, Richard became obsessed with music. (citation omitted) Richard himself remarked that Fidelio “exercised a great fascination over me... the introduction to which affected me deeply.” (citation omitted)
After that performance, Richard took to studying music independently, while sporadically studying with various teachers to varying success. The vast majority of Wagner’s musical education, however, came from his own initiative and personal studies. In many ways, Wagner was an impatient man who tired of the rigid, formal structure of musical education. Nonetheless, whether because of his own talent and ability, his connections through Geyer, or his dogmatic perseverance and sheer force of will, he was ultimately able to secure a post at the Wurzburger Theater.
Richard was later offered the post of conductor at the Magdeburg Theatre Company in Lauchstadt in 1834. While the Opera itself was poorly managed and Richard nearly resigned his post to return to Leipzig, he changed his mind when he met Minna Planer. He described the meeting by noting that “her appearance and bearing formed the most striking contrast possible to all the unpleasant impressions of the theatre which it had ben my lot to receive on this fateful morning.” (citation omitted) They were married two years later in 1836.
In the ensuing years, Richard enjoyed increasing success as a composer while making the acquaintance of several prominent figures, including royalty and many great musicians, such as Franz Liszt. His renown became so great that he was able to foster the careers of several other up-and-coming musicians. One such man was Hans von Bulow, husband of Lizst’s daughter, Cosima. Richard vouched for him and helped him obtain his first post as a conductor. The two became close friends, Bulow and his wife often spending summers at Richard’s home.
By this time, Richard and Minna were separated, Minna living in an apartment which Richard had paid for. Richard was quite taken with Cosima and they began a passionate love affair which would become the source of gossip and intrigue for years to come. Bulow and Cosima would visit Triebschen, Wagner’s home on the shores of Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, where they would stay for months at a time. During these stays, Cosima would stay with Richard, leaving Bulow as the odd-man-out. Wagner fathered three children with Cosima. Two girls, Isolde and Eva, whom Bulow accepted as his own, and one boy, Siegfried.
Richard convinced Bulow to grant Cosima divorce in 1870 and the two were wed a few months later when Richard was 57 years-old and Cosima 32 years-old. Both Bulow and Liszt were appalled at the marriage, but both continued to publicly support Richard and his music. Richard’s detractors, however, looked upon the affair, scandal, and subsequent marriage to criticize Richard. Despite Richard’s philandering ways earlier in life, he remained faithful and devoted to Cosima for the rest of his life. It seems that he had finally found the partner he was searching for.
December 25, 1870
After his marriage to Cosima, Richard began work on the Siegfried Idyll. The piece was originally titled the Triebschen Idyll with Fidi’s Birdsong and the Orange Sunrise. (citation omitted) Wagner was working on the opera Siegfried at the time, but even though certain motives from the Idyll appear in the opera, the two works are not related. Richard composed the piece as a birthday present for his new wife and it was intended as a programatic piece depicting Cosima singing a lullaby to the baby Siegfried and imagining the man who might grow from the child.
After he completed the work, he engaged fifteen musicians for its premiere. Based upon the instrumentation of the full orchestral version, it is most likely that the ensemble consisted of two first violins, two second violins, and one each of viola, cello, double bass, flute, oboe, bassoon, and trumpet, with two horns and two clarinets rounding out the small ensemble. Richard wanted the piece to be a surprise, so the ensemble rehearsed in secret at Triebschen.
There is some disagreement about the date of the actual premiere. Some sources pinpoint the date as December 24, 1870. (citation omitted) Most mark the Idyll’s premiere as December 25, 1870. (citation omitted) Others are somewhat more ambiguous, such as The Milton Cross New Encyclopedia of The Great Composers and Their Music, (citation omitted) which notes that the piece was performed as a birthday gift to Cosima (her birthday being December 24), yet noting the date as December 25, 1870. Regardless of the exact date of the premiere, one thing can be certain. Cosima knew nothing of it.
On the fateful morning, Richard organized the musicians on the steps of the grand hallway at Triebschen. They began playing as Cosima awoke to the delicate sounds of the piece lifting through the bedroom door. In her diary, she detailed her feelings from that morning. “As I awoke, my ear caught a sound, which swelled fuller and fuller; no longer could I imagine myself to be dreaming, music was sounding, and such music! When it died away, Richard came into my room... and offered me the score of the symphonic birthday poem.” (citation omitted)
The piece stands as a poignant and touching display of Richard’s love for Cosima. In fact, Richard never intended to make the piece available to the public, intending for it to remain a private gift between himself ad Cosima. It was only during later financial difficulties that Richard was forced to re-score the piece for full orchestra and publish it. (citation omitted) This is most fortunate as its beauty has captured the ears of listeners since its publication, to this day remaining the most popular and oft-performed non-operatic piece he wrote.
The Idyll
The piece, as noted earlier, is decidedly programatic, Wagner himself describing in detail the program. The first ninety measures of the piece are a lullaby where Cosima “sings of the purity and holiness of the child’s soul.” (citation omitted) This section begins with an exposed first violin section playing a piano octave leap from b-natural to b-natural, executing a challenging string crossing which begins the simple yet touching melody and main theme of the piece. The viola and cellos immediately join the first violins with a descending step-wise counter-melody highlighted with eighth note triplets. This section is based upon the German lullaby Sleep, Baby, Sleep. The piece gradually builds upon this theme with layer upon layer added until every instrument other than the trumpet is weaving a complex fabric of sound.
The character of the piece shifts abruptly at measure 50 as the second clarinet, bassoon, and horns have a sequence of five piano triplets followed by a half note. This constitutes the first major performance trouble spot since the first note in the first violins, as it is difficult to keep the four musicians in time on the triplets after the flowing tempo of the previous section. The first violins follow that with a descending major sixth signifying the baby yawning and stretching, followed by another yawn in the cellos and basses, this of a descending minor seventh. The pattern is then repeated, this time with a minor sixth in the first violins and an astonishing leap of a major thirteenth in the cellos and basses. The effect is that of peace and tranquility. The series of trills in the first violins and violas following this phrase beginning at measure 56 indicate that “the boy is now deeply asleep.” (citation omitted)
Cosima then “gazes thoughtfully upon her beloved child and dreams about his future.” (citation omitted) Measure 140 begins the section where Cosima “thinks of the unknown man who will grow from this boy.” (citation omitted) This is marked by a series of arpeggios by the strings which is evocative of the beginning of a dream. Perhaps Richard intends us to envision Cosima drifting off to sleep along with Siegfried, or perhaps she is only daydreaming as she gazes upon his sleeping form.
After the arpeggios and four sustained trills, the meter switches to 3/4 at measure 148 signifying “a handsome man in flowering youth.” (citation omitted) This is followed by a descending clarinet line at measure 180 expressing Cosima’s delight. The theme in this section is taken from Siegfried’s theme of glory from the opera Siegfried. This theme is built upon until measure 259, first sounding in the woodwinds and horns, and later in the strings, then finally building to a crescendo in all of the musicians, save the lone trumpet. Wagner describes this section in his program notes:
He is driven to accomplish important deeds. He gains for himself a place among men. But then comes a moment of contemplation. A nameless desire captures the youth’s heart as he wanders alone (forest sounds and birdsongs and the theme of love and unity from Siegfried). Passion awakens in him, and he feels for the first time soulwearying pains.
Measure 259 marks another thematic shift, as well as a change in tempo from 3/4 back to 4/4. The first horn plays a haunting call signifying “the full happiness of his life in love.” (citation omitted) This section was likely inspired by Richard’s love for Cosima herself, the loving father naturally wanting the same happiness for his son that he enjoys. Wagner has also inserted the birdsong from Siegfried in both the clarinet and flute foretelling success. This theme builds in urgency through the moving lines in the cellos and violins until it resolves in a majestic processional, perhaps intended to evoke images of a wedding or of great success. This is the moment, at measure 295, that the lone trumpet first enters with its clarion call, at which time it plays for twelve measures before disappearing for the remainder of the piece.
The significance of this cannot be overlooked and, indeed, it was not, even for that first performance. The trumpet part was played on that day by Hans Richter, a young hornist from Vienna who was also a resident musician at Triebschen. (citation omitted) One story tells of a young Richter, aware of the importance of this tiny part, rowing out to the middle of Lake Lucerne to practice his part out of earshot of the villa. (citation omitted) These twelve measures stand in marked contrast to the rest of the piece because of the clarity and tone of the trumpet. The effect is certainly evocative of accomplishment and pride, both on the part of the young Siegfried and of his mother. This feeling is also likely a reflection of Wagner’s pride in both his wife and his son.
After this majestic passage, the mood of the piece returns to one of peace and tranquility as Cosima awakens from her dream and gazes, once again, upon her beloved Siegfried. Her heart swells with pride and love beginning at measure 334 before returning to the lullaby theme at measure 351. The birdsong returns as a final harbinger of the future success of young Siegfried, played against a return of the horn’s love theme.
The piece concludes as it began, with the lullaby heard in the strings, the last voicing of that theme heard in the cellos as the second violins and violas modulate chords around the sustained e-natural in the first violins and basses. The piece ends with two whole note voicings of an E Major chord in the full orchestra, sans trumpet. These last two notes symbolize “a final loving kiss from the mother (after which) the future hero rests in the care of God.” (citation omitted)
Conclusion
Richard Wagner’s life was one of turmoil, mystery, drama, intrigue, and great passion. His supporters consider him one of the most gifted composers of all time. His detractors condemn him for his poor moral character, his very public anti-semitism, and his poor treatment and betrayals of even his closest friends. Regardless of one’s opinions of Wagner and his music, it is clear that he was a very intense and driven individual, and that character is abundantly clear in his operatic works. Perhaps that is why the Siegfried Idyll so captures the imagination of the world even to this day.
It stands as a marked, and hauntingly beautiful, contrast to the public life of this man. In fact, there seems ample evidence to believe that his love for Cosima, the inspiration for this piece, acted as something of a transitory event for Richard. While it could not erase years of misdeeds, bigotry, and betrayals, it certainly exposed a new side of Wagner. A side which he laid bare in the Siegfried Idyll. Perhaps it is fortunate that he never intended to publish the work, for it lends itself to a vulnerability and honesty that seems very unWagnerian, giving us insight into the Wagner that few knew.
In a life fit for a Wagnerian opera, Richard Wagner revolutionized the world of opera with his music, his showmanship, and his fascinating life. His successes, tempered with his failures, make for compelling drama. And right in the middle of it all, we are provided with this musical treasure, in some ways, the greatest of all of Wagner’s creations. This calm amidst the storm. This tribute to beloved wife and cherished son.
This Siegfried Idyll.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Ordo Virtutum - Program Notes
Ordo Virtutum
Hildegard von Bingen
b. c.1098
d. September 17, 1179
First performed circa 1152
Ordo Virtutum (latin for Order of the Virtues) is one of the earliest extant examples of a liturgical drama. Liturgical dramas are morality plays set to music and were precursors to opera and, ultimately, modern-day musicals. Ordo Virtutum is significant not only because of its standing as one of the earliest of these morality plays, but also because it was written by a woman.
Hildegard von Bingen was a remarkable figure, both in general history and in the world of music. Born to noble parents in 1098, she entered religious service at the age of eight after claiming to see visions. She was initially educated by the abbess Jutta of Spanheim, but rose to the position of abbess of the Benedictine Abbey of Disibodenberg upon Jutta’s death. It is then that von Bingen made her most significant musical contributions.
While not much is known about the music of von Bingen’s time due to the limited number of preserved works, approximately 80 of her compositions are still in existence. Ordo Virtutum is one of the most well known and oft-performed of those pieces.
Composed in monophony, which is a form of chant containing only one melodic line and no harmony, Ordo Virtutum is one of the first examples of a liturgical work which tells a story and has characters. Previously, chant was used primarily during church services and was a medium of prayer. Ordo Virtutum stands as a dramatic leap in the development of the liturgy, as well as Western musical development.
Ordo Virtutum tells the story of the struggle of the human soul between the Devil and the 16 Virtues. There are twenty singing roles, female voices representing the Soul and the Virtues. The Devil, by contrast, has only a speaking role. The drama is intended to teach lessons about piety and virtuous living through a life of devotion to the Lord.
Hildegard von Bingen
b. c.1098
d. September 17, 1179
First performed circa 1152
Ordo Virtutum (latin for Order of the Virtues) is one of the earliest extant examples of a liturgical drama. Liturgical dramas are morality plays set to music and were precursors to opera and, ultimately, modern-day musicals. Ordo Virtutum is significant not only because of its standing as one of the earliest of these morality plays, but also because it was written by a woman.
Hildegard von Bingen was a remarkable figure, both in general history and in the world of music. Born to noble parents in 1098, she entered religious service at the age of eight after claiming to see visions. She was initially educated by the abbess Jutta of Spanheim, but rose to the position of abbess of the Benedictine Abbey of Disibodenberg upon Jutta’s death. It is then that von Bingen made her most significant musical contributions.
While not much is known about the music of von Bingen’s time due to the limited number of preserved works, approximately 80 of her compositions are still in existence. Ordo Virtutum is one of the most well known and oft-performed of those pieces.
Composed in monophony, which is a form of chant containing only one melodic line and no harmony, Ordo Virtutum is one of the first examples of a liturgical work which tells a story and has characters. Previously, chant was used primarily during church services and was a medium of prayer. Ordo Virtutum stands as a dramatic leap in the development of the liturgy, as well as Western musical development.
Ordo Virtutum tells the story of the struggle of the human soul between the Devil and the 16 Virtues. There are twenty singing roles, female voices representing the Soul and the Virtues. The Devil, by contrast, has only a speaking role. The drama is intended to teach lessons about piety and virtuous living through a life of devotion to the Lord.
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