New Music for July: Tarantella Napoletana in Primer and Level Four.
This is The Tarantella for many Italian-Americans. It is named after the the tarantula spider (in Italian, "tarantola") and its place of origin, Naples. Yet the Tarantella may be danced to many melodies, and many composers have composed their own. The Tarantella is in a fast 6/8 meter, though the primer version here has been changed to 3/4 for ease of reading. Legend has it that dancing this strenuous dance would be an antidote to the tarantula's bite.
"Sakura" is a traditional Japanese folk song depicting spring, the season of the cherry blossom. The song was first composed during the Edo period for children learning to play the koto (see picture below). The koto is derived from the Chinese guzheng. Originally, the lyrics "Blooming cherry blossoms" were attached to the melody of "Sakura." The song has been popular since the Meiji period, and the lyrics in their present form were attached then. It is often sung in international settings as a song representative of Japan.
--from Wikipedia
Listen to "Sakura" played on a guzheng.
The Slavonic March (also known as Marche Slave), is an orchestral composition by Tchaikovsky. In June 1876, following incidents in which Turkish soldiers killed a large number of Christian Slavs who were rebelling against the Ottoman Empire, Serbia declared war on Turkey. Many Russians sympathized with those they considered to be their fellow Slavs and sent volunteer soldiers and aid to assist the Kingdom of Serbia. A close friend of Tchaikovsky asked him to compose a piece for a concert benefiting the wounded Russian volunteers. In a burst of patriotism, Tchaikovsky composed and orchestrated what was first known as the "Serbo-Russian March" (later to be known as "Marche Slave") in only five days. The piece was premiered in Moscow on November 17, 1876 to a warm reception.
--from Wikipedia
Listen to Tchaikovsky's original orchestral version.
"Oh! Susannah" was composed by Stephen Collins Foster who was born in what was then called Lawrenceville, but what is now part of my home town Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also like me, he was the baby of the family. In 1846, Foster moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and became a bookkeeper with his brother's steamship company. While in Cincinnati, Foster penned his first successful songs, among them "Oh! Susanna". This song would prove to be the anthem of the California Gold Rush from 1848 to 1849. If you come to Pittsburgh you should see the Stephen Foster Museum at the University of Pittsburgh, curated by my friend, Deane Root.
New Music for May: Schubert's "Ave Maria" (complete) Level Four.
This is the complete version of the very popular Level Three piece on my site. It was originally composed as a setting of a song from Walter Scott's poem "The Lady of the Lake." In Scott's poem the character Ellen Douglas, the "Lady" of "the Lake" (Loch Katrine in the Scottish Highlands) has gone with her father to hide in the "Goblin's cave" nearby to avoid drawing the vengeance of the King on their host, Roderick Dhu. While there she sings a prayer addressed to the Virgin Mary, calling upon her for help.
--from Wikipedia
Music for April: Theme to "Raindrop" Prelude by Chopin in Level Four.
Portrait of Chopin by Eugène Delacroix
The theme to this prelude was arranged for you by Karolina Szurek in honor of the 200th anniversary of Chopin's birth.
This prelude is one of a set of preludes in Opus 28. It "is the longest of the collection of short preludes, but it's known for reasons other than its length: The prelude is noted for its repeating A-flat [in this arrangement, G], which appears throughout the piece. The A-flat sounds like raindrops to many listeners, giving Op. 28 No. 15 a nickname: The "Raindrop" Prelude. The "Raindrop" Prelude is associated with romance, having appeared as the musical backdrop in romantic film scenes -- its stormy middle section has even been used in Halo 3, a war video game."
This drawing was published in Two Years Experience
among the Shakers, by David Rich Lamson, in 1848.
"Simple Gifts was largely unknown outside of Shaker communities until it became world famous thanks to its use in Aaron Copland's score for Martha Graham's ballet, Appalachian Spring, first performed in 1944. Copland used "Simple Gifts" a second time in 1950 in his first set of Old American Songs for voice and piano, which was later orchestrated.
The composer of "Simple Gifts," Elder Joseph Brackett was born in Cumberland, Maine, on May 6, 1797. He first joined the Shakers at Gorham, Maine, when his father's farm helped to form the nucleus of a new Shaker settlement. In 1819, Joseph moved with the other Shakers to Poland Hill, Maine, where he learned that he could sing very well. He later served as first minister of Maine Shaker societies, as well as Church Elder at New Gloucester, Maine, now known as Sabbathday Lake, the last remaining Shaker community. Elder Joseph Brackett died on July 4, 1882."
--Wikipedia.com
Listen to Aurora Playing My Piece
"Arctic Nights," from Intermediate Level One. Gracias Aurora!
