DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (July 1, 2020)
In the C Minor Series No. 1, we presented Johann Sebastian Bach and his revolutionary 1747 "Musical Offering". It may seem hard to believe, but after Bach's death in 1750, his music was relegated to such obscurity that even Haydn and Mozart knew little of him. Bach's music was seen as elitist, written for the court and the erudite, rather than the people. "Enlightenment" tastes of the late 1700s favored more simplistic music, such as song and accompaniment. One key player in this shift was Jean Jacques Rousseau, author of the philosophical school of Social Contract. Rousseau's book, "Social Contract," published in 1762, argues that individuals should consent to surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority in exchange for the protection of their remaining rights and the maintenance of social order. Rousseau was also a prominent musical theorist and composer. He tried, unsuccessfully, to "simplify" music theory, and insisted on the "Unity of Melody," which argues that melody should be one, and have primacy over all other parameters. He wrote:
"For a Music to become interesting, for it to convey to the soul the feelings it is intended to excite, all the parts must concur to fortify the expression of the subject; the harmony must serve only to make it more energetic; the accompaniment must embellish it without covering or disfiguring it; the bass must, by a uniform and simple progression, somehow guide the person who sings and the one who listens, without either of them perceiving it.
"The unity of melody requires indeed that one never hear two melodies at the same.
"The whole together must convey only one melody to the ear and only one idea to the mind."
Never hear two melodies at the same time?! No wonder Bach’s contrupentual compositions are out of favor!
Van Swieten's Salon
Baron Gottfried van Swieten (October 1733- March 1803), was a Dutch-born Austrian diplomat, librarian, and amateur musician. Van Swieten spent some of his diplomatic careers in Berlin, where the musical circle of Princess Anna Amalia performed and admired the works of Bach and Handel. Historian David Shavin documented that Baron von Swieten also visited Frederick the Great and that the King sang the theme he gave to Bach for the visiting diplomat. For the rest of his life, Van Swieten became a champion of Bach. He expressed his view about the value of Bach's work in the prominent German publication, "Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung:
"I belong, as far as music is concerned, to a generation that considered it necessary to study an art form thoroughly and systematically before attempting to practice it. I find in such a conviction, food for the spirit and for the heart and I return to it for strength every time I am oppressed by new evidence of decadence in the arts. My principal comforters at such times are Handel and the Bach's and those few great men of our own day who, taking these as their masters, follow resolutely in the same quest for greatness and truth."
Upon returning to Vienna in 1777, Van Swieten began inviting young musicians to his home, holding musical salons that performed the then, out of favor and obscure works of J.S. Bach and Handel—thus reviving their tradition of counterpoint. Among these young musicians was the 26-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Mozart grabbed on powerfully to the musical discoveries of Bach. Among the many works of Mozart where we can clearly hear the ideas of the "Musical Offering," are the "Adagio and Fugue in C Minor, K546," the "Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, K491," and the "Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Minor, K457". We include short audio comparing all of these works. One extraordinary moment compares the Fugue theme from Bach's "Fugue in A Minor" from WTC Book 2 (From June 29's C Minor Series No. 1), with Handel's fugue "And With his Stripes" from the Messiah, and Mozart's double-fugue "Kyrie Eleison" from his Requiem. We hope that you will enjoy the unveiling of these unexpected gems.
https://soundcloud.com/user-216951281/music-as-science-the-c-minor-series
Tomorrow we will examine the great "Fantasy in C Minor, K475". Some say it is an introduction to the "Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Minor, K457". We feel that Mozart may not have been entirely satisfied with the sonata, and composed this to advance his experiments and discoveries of Bach's work.
Mozart takes Bach's 5 note opening, and extends it to 7, by adding, in particular an F#. We ask our readers what difference does that make? Also, where is Bach's descending chromatic scale?
Bach C - Eb - G - Ab - B
Mozart C - Eb - F# - G - Ab - C- B
We include a performance of the Fantasy followed by the piano sonata, performed by Alicia de Larrocha.
We also include a performance of the Piano Concerto in C Minor, performed by Andras Schiff:
1st movement: https://youtu.be/nqTHzgh7Fok
2nd movement: https://youtu.be/H5zY44vaPNo
3rd movement: https://youtu.be/_AAO64LFM5w