JS Bach, Orchestral Suite No 2

The complete catalog of Johann Sebastian Bach's works includes a total of 1128 pieces. At least that number is what is recorded in the recognized catalog with the acronym BWV accompanying the mention of each of his works. We know the German master, except for opera, was lavished in all genres. Therefore, it is striking that in a genre such as the orchestral suite, very fashionable for the time (Telemann, the most famous composer of his time in Germany, wrote at least 130), Bach wrote only four pieces in his entire life. 

Originating in the short pieces with which Jean-Baptiste Lully used to prologue his operas and ballets, the suite, also called overture, consisted of a succession of French-named dances that followed the overture proper. As already mentioned, its popularity was high, a result of the fascination with French culture and music in Germany and other European countries during the 16th and 17th centuries – a simple and austere way of imitating the glamour of the French court.

"Light" music
Of course, it is music that can be described as "light", for which Bach was not particularly inclined, and hence his meager output. The suites were the pleasant side of pure music, how the nobility entertained themselves and had a good time. The master, on the other hand, preferred to write ecclesiastical music, or music that at least included the challenge of capturing in it a challenging fugue.

Orchestral Suite No 2, in B minor, BWV 1067
The suites' instrumentation varied greatly depending on the musical ensemble (the Collegium Musicum) to which Bach might have had access. Suite No. 2 was probably written in Leipzig, around 1720, and there the master could count on the assistance of a transverse flute to which he entrusted a short fugue section in the overture.

The overture is followed by a rondo, and then the aforementioned French-named sections, although their origin may be different. The polonaise, by the way, is of Polish origin, and the sarabande, Spanish or rather from the New World.

The work closes with a playful and joyful badinerie, especially suitable for the flutist to show off. Together with the "aria" from Suite No. 3, it is one of Bach's most famous pieces and the movement to which the work owes its popularity.

Movements or Sections:
00:00  Overture
06:38  Rondeau
08:15  Sarabande
11:04  Bourrée (1 and 2)
12:50  Polonaise
14:05  Double
16:03  Menuet
17:09  Badinerie

The performance is by the German ensemble Berlin Baroque Soloists. Flute soloist: Emmanuel Pahud.

Ginastera, Danza final (Malambo) from Estancia

Alberto Ginastera was only twenty-four years old when asked to compose a ballet reflecting Argentina's various aspects of country life. The commission came from a well-known American troupe, the American Ballet Caravan, who saw in Ginastera the right composer to construct a work capable of combining South American folk music with the most rigorous elements of the classical European tradition. On that stage Ginastera was in his element – in 1940 he was one of the most outstanding talents in Latin American concert music.

Estancia, a ballet in one act and five scenes, was to be premiered in 1942. The composer fulfilled the commission on time but, unfortunately, the ballet company disbanded shortly thereafter. So the work remained in limbo for quite some time, and its premiere did not occur until 1952. However, nine years earlier, in 1943, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires had the privilege of presenting for the first time a suite for an orchestra consisting of four dances that Ginastera had wisely extracted from the score before the ballet was completely finished.

Alberto Ginastera (1916 - 1983)

The concert suite thus formed took on a life of its own, to the point that today it is more popular than the ballet that gave rise to it. In the four dances, Ginastera achieved a perfect combination of the features of traditional Argentine forms and non-traditional harmonies. And he did not neglect the titles, clearly native, naming each piece in a simple and unglamorous way: 1. Los trabajadores agrícolas – 2. Danza del trigo – 3. Los peones de hacienda – 4. Danza final.

The malambo
The most acclaimed of the four pieces is the final dance: a malambo, a virile, showy, and striking dance of the Argentine gauchos in six-octave rhythm, which has become one of the composer's most popular works.

The malambo is presented here in two versions, orchestral and for solo piano.

NYO2, an orchestral training program for talented young instrumentalists ages 14–17 created by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI) performs the Danza Final led by conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto in a performance at the New World Center in Miami Beach, FL in July 2018. 

Piano solo version. Alberto Bohbouth, from Argentina.

Chopin, Mazurca op 7 No 1

In Chopin's complete oeuvre, the mazurkas have a privileged place. Throughout his life, the Polish musician wrote a total of 57 mazurkas, the first of them at the age of fourteen. But he only published 47. The other ten, considered by their author not worthy of publication, were made known by his friend and colleague Julian Fontana in 1858, seven years after the composer's death. An impressive number, no doubt. Although most of them do not exceed four minutes in length, together they constitute the most refined Chopin wrote, the most personal and perhaps the most original.

Although with origins in Polish folklore, the reminiscences of popular themes that can be glimpsed in Chopin's mazurkas are scarce. He has invented the themes himself, entirely, preserving the rhythmic patterns and accents that, characteristically, go on the weak beats of the bar, ternary, without exception. Sometimes the themes are very simple, but the genius of Frédérick always manages to give them a personal twist. Polish music, yes, but stylized, seems to have been the goal of the master.

The Opus 7
Five mazurkas make up opus 7, all of them lively and cheerful (because there are also serene and restful ones, in the total of his work), with the No. 1 in B flat standing out for its simple brilliance. They were probably composed in 1831, perhaps in Stuttgart or perhaps even earlier, in Warsaw. The only certainty is that they were published in Leipzig, in 1832, not long after the master had settled in Paris, a restless city not yet recovered from the uprisings of July of the previous year. There he would spend the next eighteen years of his life.

Mazurka No 5, opus 7 No 1 in B flat major
Just over two minutes long, this little gem opens with a wide-ranging melody that, beginning on the "dominant," gives the impression of coming from somewhere else, of being the continuation of a piece that had already begun. The melody is repeated, with a persistent accent on the second beat of each measure. Then a new section provides the necessary contrast (0:31). This scheme, main melody and contrast (new each time) is repeated three times, until its closing, abrupt and unadorned, as the maestro thought it should be.

The rendition is by Polish pianist Krzysztof Ksiazek, while participating in the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw, in 2015.

Paganini, Caprice No 24 in A minor

One of the greatest treatises on music in the history of the violin is Niccolo Paganini's 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, which represents the pinnacle of the development of the instrument´s technique. Their impact reached even beyond the violin, inspiring composers like Chopin and Liszt, for example, to devise their respective Études for piano. Moreover, the technical feats that Niccolo lavished in his performances largely motivated Franz Liszt to replicate on the piano what the Italian master was doing on the violin.

The twenty-four pieces were composed over a long period, between 1802 and 1817, and finally published as a whole in 1820, when the master was forty-eight years old. Despite his somewhat cadaverous appearance, he is living the best stage of his life. Paganini is wealthy and famous. He is also generous, and addresses the 1820 dedication to "gli musici", to the musicians, to everyone.
Nor does he lack humor; years later, perhaps thinking of a later edition, he writes on the originals a note dedicating each Caprice to 23 fellow composers, among them Liszt, Vieuxtemps, Spohr, Thalberg, Kreutzer. But he has reserved Caprice No. 24 for himself, annotating after his name: "regrettably buried".

Caprice No. 24 in A minor
It is precisely Caprice No. 24 that attracted the attention of the public and authors of the time (also of our days), who, inspired by the piece, created a significant number of arrangements and variations for various instruments and instrumental ensembles. Among those arising in the 19th century, let us note: Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini by Rachmaninoff, Études on Paganini, by Liszt, also those of Schumann, the Variations on a theme of Paganini by Brahms. A long etcetera follows, conceived by less renowned authors. In our days, let us point out the jazzy arrangement by Benny Goodman.

Theme and variations
Marked quasi presto, the piece is less than five minutes long. Despite its short duration, it is constructed in the form of a theme and variations, exactly eleven variations, plus a finale. A wide variety of advanced, highly demanding techniques are present: very fast scales and arpeggios, double and triple trills, left-hand pizzicato, parallel octaves and tenths, rapid leaps, and string crossings... Nothing seems to be beyond the reach of the violinist who had a pact with the devil.

The rendition is by the Russian master Maxim Vengerov. Brilliant interpretation, although one must regret the liberties taken by the cameraman or the editor. Too many. One commenter on Youtube wonders if they might have been drunk.

Castrati - Händel - "Lascia ch'io pianga"

The famous castrati began their peculiar history by joining church choirs because women were no longer allowed to sing there. St. Augustine had forbidden them. Later, in the 18th century, I castrati became outstanding opera singers who amazed Europe with their talent. Most of them had been "transferred" to singing schools by their needy parents, hoping they would develop a superb voice that would make them rich and famous. The children were castrated and then sent to these schools, where they received musical and vocal education. A few went down in history as the greatest singers of all time, the famous Farinelli among them.

Castrati had the voice of a woman but the lungs of a man, capable of true vocal feats that to this day have been imitated but not surpassed. Just look at the vocal parts that Händel, Gluck, or Rossini wrote for them, full of technical difficulties of all kinds that make one think that the composers were writing for a special class of singers who, actually, were voice machines or vocal mechanisms more efficient than anything we have ever seen before.

Superstars
So it's no wonder that the castrati were the first superstars of music. Rich, vain, and handsome, they took Europe by storm, spending time with the nobles on equal terms. With the noble ladies, mainly highborn girls in search of exotic and stimulating experiences, they could become lovers without worrying about unexpected pregnancies.

Their love affairs were the talk of Europe. Some took the gay option. But the vast majority, Italians all of them, were recognized as "heart stealers", and one mistress after another fell at their feet:

Caffarelli, famous, almost died at the hands of a jealous husband. No less prominent Senesino eloped with a girl from a good family but ended up in prison. Luigi Marchesi was involved in a big scandal in London when a lady left her husband and children to live with him. Pacchierotti had a thorny affair in Naples that led the lady's lover (ex-lover) to plan to assassinate him. Velluti, in turn, devoted himself to chasing damsels all over Europe until he ended up in Russia living with a Grand Duchess.

There was one last castrato, Alessandro Moreschi, who was a member of the Vatican Choir in the second half of the 19th century. He died in 1922. A few years earlier, in 1906, Pius X had eliminated them by means of a papal bull issued motu proprio.

Lascia ch'io pianga
We salute them all from this modest tribune with the French countertenor Philippe Jarousky performing the "workhorse" of modern countertenors, the aria Lascia ch'io pianga ("Let me weep") from Act II of Händel's opera Rinaldo, premiered in London in 1771.
[Historical data taken from a 1984 New York Times article].

Rossini, William Tell Overture

In 1829, at the age of 37, Gioachino Rossini, until then the most successful composer of operas in all of Europe, abandoned the stage and retired to Passy, his estate on the outskirts of Paris, to cultivate the land and become better at his second passion, gastronomy.
William Tell was his last opera, out of a total of 39 written in the incredible span of nineteen years. Written in French, the work was commissioned by the Paris Opera, and premiered in its halls in August 1829, although with some cutting, as its original length, almost five hours, was considered excessive for the tastes of the time... and for ours, too.

The plot
Set in the 13th century, the opera Guillaume Tell is based on poems by Schiller and tells the story of a Swiss patriot, that is, Tell, who fights against the Austrian troops who have conquered his country. He is imprisoned with his son Jemmy and subjected to the famous challenge of aiming his bow and arrows at an apple that has been placed over Jemmy's head. Guillaume shoots his arrow through the apple, leaving his son unharmed, but makes the mistake of telling his captor that if he had wounded Jemmy, the next arrow would be aimed at him. He is arrested, but manages to escape, later leading a victorious revolt against the Austrian army.

A popular overture
Nowadays, the opera is rarely, if ever, performed. It is rather a rarity. But its overture is by no means so. On the contrary, it has become one of the most familiar pieces to the ear for the common people, able to recognize it immediately even if they do not know its author, let alone know that it belongs to an opera. The popular piece has had the luck, the good luck, of the Waltz of Zwanilde, by Léo Delibes (Coppelia), or the Dance of the Hours, by Ponchielli (Gioconda). Melodies that we can hum instantly, even if the names of Ponchielli or Delibes do not appear in our records.

The Lone Ranger and the March of the Soldiers
We have heard the piece in countless television commercials, various movies, and even in the elevator, but its popularity is mainly due to the television series The Lone Ranger, very popular a few decades ago, from where it began to gallop through the history of commercials, always being present in chases of all kinds.

The complete overture lasts approximately twelve minutes and is made up of four sections. The last of these, Finale, or March of the Swiss Soldiers, attempts to represent (we can see how well it did) a cavalry charge, announced at minute 8:27 by horns and trumpets.

The Santa Monica High School Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Joni Swenson, performs this version.

Debussy, "La Plus que Lente", waltz

At the beginning of the twentieth century, a particular way of composing waltzes became popular in Paris, constituting a genre in its own right. It was called "slow waltz" and, as you might expect, it was played very slowly. Acclaimed by the public and preferred by the interpreters, the slow waltz swept the Parisian ballrooms and cafes in versions of simple musical groups, which Claude Debussy must have heard more than once, taking the idea somewhat sarcastically, to compose a waltz slower than any other.

Molto rubato con morbidezza
But Debussy's irony in relation to tempo only went as far as the title. The waltz La plus que lente, which could be roughly translated as "the even slower waltz", is a piece for piano (there is an orchestral version by Debussy himself) that should be played at normal speed, in no case with extreme slowness. And this is clear from the tempo indication that Debussy himself marked for the piece: molto rubato con morbidezza, that is, something like "very free and with tenderness", without highlighting any "speed". The title was only humorous, perhaps in an attempt to emulate his former friend Erik Satie.

C. Debussy (1862 - 1918)

The little work, lasting no more than five minutes (considering the obstinate interpreters of the title... there are some) appeared shortly after the publication of Book I of The Preludes, in 1910. By that time, the master had already composed his major works, which he would complete with Book II of the Preludes, in 1912, and the Twelve Etudes, in 1915.

Three years later, colon cancer will end the life of the French composer, in March 1918, at the age of 55, in the middle of the aerial bombardment of Paris, four days after the beginning of the German Spring Offensive. A miserable cortege would accompany the coffin through the deserted streets of a besieged city.

The rendition is by South Korean pianist Seong-jin Cho, winner of the First Prize at the International Chopin Competition, Warsaw, 2015.