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The six Brandenburg Concertos of J.S. Bach were dedicated to the Margrave of Brandenburg, Christian Ludwig. They are dated 24 March 1721, but this is simply the date of their compilation, as Bach likely worked on them for a period of time leading up to the compilation and subsequent dedication. In 1721, Bach was Kapellmeister in Cöthen for Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen. Bach and his family had lived in Cöthen for four years, and the work was good until Leopold married a woman displeased with the prince’s musical hobbies. This, combined with Bach’s interest in moving to a city with a university for the education of his sons, caused the composer to seek out new job opportunities. As a result, Bach organized his set of six concertos and sent them, along with a lengthy dedication letter, to the Margrave of Brandenburg. The gift netted no commission, no job, and not even a thank-you from Christian Ludwig. Yet remarkably, if not ironically, these six pieces are the benchmark of Baroque music, in addition to being Bach’s most popular compositions. Five of the six Brandenburg Concertos, including the 3rd, follow the model of the concerto grosso: two or more solo instruments pitted against an ensemble. Prior to Bach’s touch, the concerto grosso form was fairly established in that regard - the soloists would play and the ensemble would react in answer to the soloists. But Bach brilliantly integrates solo lines within phrases, and likewise inserts solo parts within the ensemble.
In early 1943, Benjamin Britten struggled with a severe case of measles, worked on his exceptional opera, Peter Grimes, moved in with his musical and life partner, tenor Peter Pears, and wrote his Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. Britten and Pears left five months before the start of World War II in 1939. They were disenchanted with the musical atmosphere in Great Britain, so they traveled first to Canada, then to the United States. When the war began in the fall, they wanted to go back, but were advised against it. In 1942, they returned to England. Britten received exemption from the war as a conscientious objector. Britten wrote incidental music for An American in England, a radio drama about an American journalist in England during the war. He heard the Royal Air Force Orchestra perform the music, and instantly adored the principal horn player, Dennis Brain. Britten wrote to a friend in March of 1943: “I’ve practically completed a new work (6 Nocturnes) for Peter and a lovely young horn player Dennis Brain, & Strings... It is not important stuff, but quite pleasant, I think.” The prologue and epilogue of the Serenade are performed by solo horn. The melody was composed such that the horn uses no valves - only the natural harmonics of the instrument. The epilogue calls for the horn player to be offstage; therefore, Britten removed solo horn from the seventh movement to allow the player to leave stage. When Dennis Brain died at age 36 in a car crash, Britten led a performance of the seventh and final “Sonnet,” “O soft embalmer of the still midnight,” in a memorial concert. Five of the songs in the Serenade are based on texts from English poets Charles Cotton, Lord Alfred Tennyson, William Blake, Ben Jonson, and John Keats. “Dirge” is based on an anonymous fifteenth-century English song called a “Lyke-Wake Dirge.” The opening horn call is haunting, lovely and demanding on the performer. Subsequent movements allow for playful interplay between the horn and tenor. Their first interaction in the “Pastoral” establishes the singer as primary soloist, but the horn comes to the forefront in “Nocturne,” while the tenor eventually sings “Blow, bugle, blow!” “Elegy” is unsettling, with tremendous leaps required of the horn soloist juxtaposed against steady, pulsing strings. The singer begins the “Dirge” a cappella, creating an atmosphere that will not remain. The orchestra enters with mischievous activity, and the horn follows suit with the strings. As the “Dirge” started with tenor, the “Hymn” begins with horn with a light, dancing melody, beautifully enhanced by tenor. “Sonnet” belongs to the tenor soloist, as the horn moves offstage for the “Epilogue.” “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” is the last serenade written by Mozart, and without question the most recognizable. His 13th serenade is one of only two written after he moved to Vienna from Munich in 1781, as ordered by Archbishop Colloredo. The bulk of Mozart’s serenades were written in Salzburg, and Mozart scholar Maynard Solomon says the serenade as a form for Mozart were so bound to Salzburg life, he essentially lost interest in writing them after he left the city. Additionally, serenades historically were written by composers and performed only once; it is thought that dozens, if not hundreds, of serenades from 18th century composers are simply gone. As is the case with so many of Mozart’s compositions, the story of why “Eine Kleine” was written is unspectacular compared to the music itself. In fact, with this serenade, there is no indication as to why it was written, no history of a commission in existence, no dedication to explain its appearance in the catalog of Mozart’s music. The 13th serenade simply takes its place in the lengthy list of brilliant works produced by a man for which music seemed so simple to create. The music of “Eine Kleine” is remarkably simple and light when compared with the other music Mozart was working on at the time, his opera Don Giovanni. The themes of the first movement work beautifully together, and the balance achieved by Mozart is paramount. The three remaining movements are equally as delicate and poised. One of the most striking things about Mozart’s 13th Serenade is how recognizable the themes are from each of the four movements. It’s unusual for a four-movement work to contain universally recognizable themes in every single movement, yet Mozart accomplished just that with “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.”
Suite for 13 Winds Richard Strauss graduated from the Ludwigs-Gymnasium in 1882 and entered the University of Munich. He was 18 years old, and already had a couple of relatively significant compositions to his name. One in particular caught the interest of famous conductor Hans von Bülow: Strauss’s Serenade for 13 winds in E-flat major. Von Bülow performed the Serenade while touring with his renowned Meiningen Orchestra in Berlin. He was so taken by the piece, he asked Strauss to write a similar piece for the Meiningen Orchestra. Strauss began working on his Suite for 13 wind instruments in B-flat major right away, before he had the details of the request from von Bülow. After Strauss wrote the first two movements, he discovered von Bülow wanted Baroque forms to structure the flow of the music. As a result, the final two movements are a gavotte and a fugue, respectively. Strauss was never that fond of his Suite, but it clearly demonstrates a taste of what would come as he matured compositionally. The Suite has never been as popular as the Serenade, which in many ways is unfortunate. It may not contain the cohesion of its predecessor, but the Suite is symbolic of a marked turning point in Strauss’s career. What he may not necessarily display in thematic control, he makes up for in his delicate treatment and firm understanding of the instrumentation for which he wrote. The clarinet line that begins the “Romanze” is gorgeous in its chromatic weaving and twisting from the lower to the upper range of the instrument. The “Gavotte” is mischievous and light, quite an alternative to the ominous beginnings of the final movement. It is easy to wonder what the Suite might have been had Strauss known prior to completing the “Praeludium” and “Romanze” that von Bülow wanted Baroque forms to govern the work, but also easy to accept and enjoy the product of the young Strauss’s mind.
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