June 7th, 2009
“A genius on paper,” sums up Johann Sebastian Bach is as little words as possible. He’s a composer with such a tremendous influence that musicologist, students, scholars and musians are still studying his works 258 years after his death. His 2-part inventions and fugues are among the very first thing any serious music student will be introduced to. They are of such importance because they are, in my opinion, the backbone of a large majority of music; both popular and classical.
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Tags: bach, baroque, chorus, classical music, orchestra
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April 1st, 2009
Many new, exciting and inventive operas came from the mind of George Caspar Schurman. He was one of the predecessors of Keiser to Hamburg’s opera theater. Although he was only there for a short while his more prominent works were done in his later years. Schurman was noted for his unique structure and care in voice writing as well as his orchestration. The operas that he produced had magnificent string arrangements which rivaled that of Johann Sebastian Bach. In one of his more famous pieces, Ludovicus Pius, oder Ludewig der Fromme, one could hear (or even view with a score) the grand counterpoint the created (Oxford 318, 319, 320). The bass line is relatively simple. However, the violins are in great form weaving in and out of those simple lines. Additionally, he employed pizzicato strings for its expressive nature in Act I of Ludovicus Pius (321).
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Tags: baroque, german, Hamburg Opera House, opera, Telemann
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March 30th, 2009
During this time Handel join Hamburg’s opera orchestra as a violinist in 1703. There he wrote his first opera Almira in 1705 (“Encyclopedia” 292). The libretto from which it was based was written by Friedrich Christian Feustking and derived from the Venetian libretto by Guilio Pancieri (Hogwood 26). It’s a three act opera that was primarily sung in German with few Italian arias and a single aria that was sung in both German and Italian. The Opera involved dance as well, including ballet, a saraband and chaconne which had brought all three parts of the opera together again. Almira was an instant success. It ran for twenty nights after its opening (Hogwood 26, 27; “Encyclopedia” 23). Despite the success, the opera took much criticism for its text by Feustking (Hogwood 26).
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Tags: Almira, baroque, german, Hamburg Opera House, handel, Keiser, opera
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February 24th, 2009
The next and second German opera to be composed was in likeness to Schutz’s. It shared the same title; however, it was set to a different libretto written by Opitz in 1627. This version was longer than the original one that Schutz used. This Dafne was composed by Giovanni Andrea Bontempi and Marco Gioseppe Peranda in 1671. The song style within this opera seems to reflect upon the style of Monteverdi than that of typical German characteristics. It is unclear whether either intellectually knew Monteverdi but it is certain that his style had a profound influence upon these two gentlemen. Not more than two years later both Bontempi and Peranda wrote another opera called Jupiter and Jo. Little is known of the music for this opera, for only the libretto remains (Oxford 304).
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Tags: baroque, german, opera
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February 23rd, 2009
Opera, in its conventional form, had first appeared in 1597 in Italy and later expanded toward Germany, France and England (“Encyclopedia” 491). Opera began just three years before the first years of what we now consider to be the Baroque Period (1600-1750 AD) in music. The word “baroque” according to Webster’s Dictionary means: “a jeweler’s trade term for ill-shaped pearls.” This term is in reference to general sound of the music that was composed within this era. Although it had intellectually surpassed that of the prior generations it still did not have the lush and extravagant harmonies of the Classical period. Specifically the German Baroque opera is of great importance.
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Tags: baroque, german, opera
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