Requiem Mass in D minor - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1756 - 1791

As I haven't yet posted about Mozart, I thought it would be fitting to write about one of his most intense and wonderful works; The Requiem Mass in D minor. When it comes to writing about Mozart, I find it difficult to know where to start, because to me, his music is completely astounding. Composed in Vienna in 1791, the piece was famously left unfinished by the composer when he died in December. However, the real reason that this piece is so famous is because of all the myths and stories that surround it. In particular, the 1797 play and 1984 film 'Amadeus' portrays Antonio Salieri as the mysterious commissioner that drives Mozart to his death-bed, with the intention to claim the piece as his own. This (like much of the rest of the movie) is not the case, as the requiem was commissioned by Count Franz von Walsegg for his late wife. The reason for the ambiguity of who commissioned the mass was because of Walsegg's discretion in commissioning the work secretly through others.

Constanze Mozart
1762 - 1842

Confusion about the work was also caused because of Mozart's wife, Constanze. As Mozart was known for his irresponsible handling of money, he and his wife were desperate to receive the large payment that was in store for them once the requiem was finished. However, because Mozart died before completing the piece, it was crucial to Constanze that nobody knew that not all of it was composed by the man himself, as any doubt would leave her without payment. For me, the most tragic aspect of this work, is that it is often referred to as the cause for Mozart's death. According to Constanze, Mozart had said: "I fear I am writing a requiem for myself", as well as complaining of pain, swelling and strange thoughts whilst writing it. Because of their financial situation, Mozart's funeral was modest, with few mourners and only a handful of admiring musicians. Despite this, Mozart's reputation suddenly rose after his death, with memorial gatherings all over Vienna, as well as a number of books published to celebrate his legacy.

The Requiem itself is split into fourteen movements. Although there are a lot of varied movements, there are various musical footprints of Mozart's that make a number of them memorable. For instance:  the subtle transition from the Introitus to the Kyrie, the trombone solo that opens Tuba Mirum and the famous string ostinato of the Confutatis. I wanted to talk about a couple of the movements (two of my favourites), the Confutatis and Introitus. The Introitus opens the whole work, and is heartbreakingly beautiful. The opening sequences are made up of suspensions between wind and syncopated strings. Each of the parts enter one by one after the basses - and - as the voices stop, the strings lead into a soprano solo that is then mimicked later by the rest of the sopranos and choir, almost sounding like a soprano chorale over the rest of the busy voices. The movement finishes with a recap of the opening ideas, with added semi-quaver phrases for each of the four voice parts. Even within the first movement, Mozart captures the essence and concept of a requiem brilliantly, and leads straight into the Kyrie.

For me, the most striking movement of the whole mass is the Confutatis. Not only does it open with the flurrying sound of the strings' ostinato - here, Mozart seems to create a perfect example of musical juxtaposition with his writing for tenors and basses against the sopranos and altos. The basses open the movement with the words 'confutatis maledictis' which is answered by the tenors. This back-and-forth conversation of aggression carries on between the tenors and basses until the entry of the sopranos and altos, which turns to major, piano and - unlike the leaping, staccato phrases of the lower voices - is written in a very linear fashion, that creates a completely contrasted sound. This idea is then repeated before the choir eventually joins together into a mass of constant modulations until the end of the movement. Mozart's Requiem is - by far - one of my all time favourite works. Not only is it intensely beautiful and undoubtedly musically intelligent, it is most exhilarating work I have ever sung, and I urge anyone who hasn't already to listen to the whole thing - or better yet, hear it in concert!

Steve Reich - Triple Quartet

Steve Reich
Born 1936

I was first taught about the music of Steve Reich four years ago in GCSE music. When it came to the subject of minimalism, our teachers told us that the only four words we needed to know were 'Philip Glass' and 'Steve Reich'. Then, I looked down on minimalism as I thought it was just like copying and pasting different phrases into Sibelius - but I couldn't have been more wrong. Musical innovations of Reich include tape loops, phasing and other typical minimalist techniques such as addition, subtraction and cell displacement. Not only has Reich influenced many classical composers, but also many Pop and Rock musicians such as King Crimson and Michael Hedges.

When it comes to his own influences, Reich says that Bach, Debussy, Bartok and Stravinsky are the composers that he admires the most. However, Reich was also heavily influenced by Jazz musicians such as singers Ella Fitzgerald and Alfred Deller, as he was interested in the vocal techniques such as vibrato and scat singing that could change the overall sound of their voices. Like Philip Glass, Reich is vague when it comes to a detailed description of his musical style, and finds the term 'minimalist' rather restricting.

An extract from an interview by Rebecca Kim with Steve Reich in 2000:

The point is, if you went to Paris and dug up Debussy and said, 'Excusez-moi Monsieur…are you an impressionist?' he'd probably say 'Merde!' and go back to sleep. That is a legitimate concern of musicologists, music historians, and journalists, and it's a convenient way of referring to me, Riley, Glass, La Monte Young. It's become the dominant style. But, anybody who's interested in French Impressionism is interested in how different Debussy and Ravel and Satie are—and ditto for what's called minimalism. Basically, those kind of words are taken from painting and sculpture, and applied to musicians who composed at the same period as that painting and sculpture was made.

Reich's 'Triple Quartet' was composed on commission by the Kronos Quartet. The music - despite being written for three separate quartets - is played by one, as they pre-record the 2nd and 3rd quartets in the studio, and play along to them as the 1st for the album, and for their own live performances. To me, the movements are
good examples of Reich as a minimalist composer, and contain all minimalist techniques, as well as sounding exotic and cathartic with his use of held pedal notes and chimes on bells. Despite the fact some criticise minimalism for its repetitive nature, I see it as the exact opposite - as it is much more fun trying to identify the subtle changes that go on that - without listening carefully - might just go over the listener's head.

Atonement - Elegy for Dunkirk

Dario Marianelli

Despite my love of film music, it is not often that I come across a modern film score that is truly moving, as they usually consist of the typical phrases made up of endless suspensions and pauses without any melody. However, when I watched 'Atonement' for the first time, I was struck particularly by the music that accompanied the scene that saw the British soldiers waiting at Dunkirk titled 'Elegy for Dunkirk'. The music for the film was composed by Dario Marianelli and performed by the English Chamber Orchestra - as well as Caroline Dale playing the solo cello. Marianelli won three awards for the score including Film Score of the Year, Best Original Score, and Film Music Composition of the Year for 'Elegy for Dunkirk'.

A still from the scene at Dunkirk

In the film, the scene is about five minutes in length, and has no speech - only a sweeping shot of the entire beach and the various soldiers that are there. The music is made up of a string orchestra and solo cello, and halfway through we hear the entry of a group of soldiers singing the hymn: 'Dear Lord and Father of Mankind'. Not only is the music very powerful because of the hymn, which describes the strength of God - but also because of the intensely unexpected and heartbreaking harmonies that run over the top. For anyone who knows the hymn, they will notice that the harmony is completely different. However, I believe this to be an extremely effective piece of film composition because of the irony of the harmony and hymn placed together. The words of the hymn read:

Drop Thy still dews of quietness,Till all our strivings cease;

Take from our souls the strain and stress,And let our ordered lives confess

The beauty of Thy peace, The beauty of Thy peace

Breathe through the heats of our desire, Thy coolness and Thy balm;

Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire; Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,

O still, small voice of calm! O still, small voice of calm!

The score for the scene can be heard here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnqx9RvswZs

The actual scene itself is more effective than the music alone because you can see the total destruction and bleak background of the beach itself. As well as this, there are the added shouts and snippets of conversation heard by the soldiers as the main characters pass them by. I consider this to be one of the most poignant and touching war-scenes I have ever seen - and the film is definitely worth watching. Here is the extracted scene from the film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXTnRdMdZXA

One of my own perhaps?

I have finally figured out how to work YouTube, and how to create, upload and share videos of some of the compositions that I have written. So, I thought I would share one of my recent videos. Before listening, bare in mind that I am still restricted to the awful and synthesised sounds of the composition software: Sibelius. If only I could play the whole piece at once on all of the instruments...

I wrote this with the inspiration of film composers Mychael Danna (The Time Traveller's Wife) and Aaron Zigman (The Notebook). I love background film music because of the delicacy and serenity of it, as well as the fact it can support drama without taking away attention from the screen. The idea of the piece starts off simply, with the strings and the addition of a solo piano. As the theme develops, the piano communicates with the harp, developing into a melody for solo clarinet, that then transforms the whole piece entirely. I can't really criticise my own work, so I'll leave it up to the judgement of its viewers.

The BBC Proms

Eric Whitacre

People are always very shocked to hear that in my whole life, I have only ever been to see one performance at the proms. (It was Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring'). This year, when looking through the catalogue (which I have to say costs more to buy than the actual 'prom' tickets), I noticed that the general programme for the Proms is similar each year, especially with the obligatory ending consisting of the national anthem, and Pomp and Circumstance. This year, I will be going to my second performance at the Proms to see my favourite contemporary choral composer: Eric Whitacre.

The first time I went to see Eric Whitacre live, it was incredible. Not only because I love his music, but because the choir that he brought together called 'The Whitacre Singers' had the most amazing blend that created a seriously magical atmosphere. This was also the first time I had heard one of the works on his latest album 'Water Night' called 'Alleluia' written for a choir in Cambridge that Whitacre worked with personally. When talking about the piece, Whitacre said that despite the fact he isn't a particularly religious man, he found the word 'Alleluia' (praise God) to be a deeply spiritual word that would enhance the music written for it.

The Whitacre Singers

This piece is going to be performed at his performance at the Proms, and I am thoroughly looking forward to it. The suspense at the beginning of the piece is created by the suspended note sung by upper voices, accompanied by the mimicking of the lower voices, and the emphasis of the text from the solo soprano. The work then builds gradually, until the entire choir sings together. There is even a more haunting section sun by solo baritone. This work is typical of Whitacre in terms of the harmony, cadences and part settings - but I love it all the same, and creates a spiritual relaxation for even those without religious convictions. For anyone who hasn't already got a ticket, I urge you to queue up to prom, as it will be well worth it.

Schubert's Unfinished Symphony

Franz Schubert
1797 - 1828

Franz Schubert is today known as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Despite the fact that Schubert's life was unfortunately very short, he managed to create a musical legacy of lieder, operas, symphonies and a large amount of chamber music, particularly for the piano. As well as this, Schubert had very little appreciation of his work during his lifetime, (as with many composers) and only had his work properly integrated into the ears of society when later composers such as Brahms, Schumann and Liszt discovered his talents, and admitted to being influenced by his music.

In 1822, Schubert began work on his famous 'Unfinished' Symphony (No. 8). The work is often referred to as Schubert's first romantic symphony because of its expressive melody and dramatic harmonies. For any who don't know, the reason it is called the 'Unfinished' Symphony is because the piece is literally not finished - and we are still unsure why, as Schubert stopped writing whilst he still had six years of his life left. This is possibly one of the most striking pieces I have heard because of the extreme contrast between moods created by Schubert with techniques particularly in the strings, but also with other aspects of composition such as dynamic range and pauses (for dramatic effect).

The opening of the first movement is extremely ominous, played only by the lowest of the strings - the cellos and double basses. After this opening, we hear the entrance and the flurry of the upper strings, playing in semi-quavers, accompanying the first melody played by wind. For the next few phrases, I get the feeling of taking one step forward and two steps back, as the melody in the wind is constantly and abruptly interrupted by the sforzandos of the rest of the orchestra. At 1:12, when the orchestra appears to have come to its climax, we are left only with the sound of the horns, that play a pivot note to take the rest of the orchestra into another key for the next subject. The melody is first heard in the cellos, then upper strings. This melody is interesting, because in theory, it could go on forever. However, because Schubert was typically unconventional, he stops it with a general pause for the entire orchestra, and returns with a sudden crash into the development section of the second subject. The introduction is then repeated, as we hear the low, ominous and chromatic sounds of the lower strings for a second time. The rest of the symphony is just as detailed and genius as the opening section. However, seeing as its length is just under half an hour, it might be something to save until you have some free time on your hands!

Thomas Tallis - Spem In Alium

Before reading this post, I challenge you to listen to the recording below, and guess how many vocal parts there are in Thomas Tallis' 'Spem In Alium'. I was also given this challenge when I first heard the piece, and I thought somewhere around twenty. However, I was mistaken, as it is in fact an extraordinary number of fourty separate parts - this is definitely what makes this piece such a remarkable composition.

Thomas Tallis was an English composer in the 16th century, and is still considered today as one of England's greatest early composers. Tallis also worked alongside William Byrd, another great British composer of polyphony. They were both given permission to publish their music under the rule of Queen Mary, and thank God that they did, as they're music is the little that we have left of them, seeing as we know very little about their lives.

The text for 'Spem In Alium' (Latin for 'hope in any other') has been used by several other composers, however is only really recognised as Tallis' incredible fourty part polyphonic masterpiece. The voices are written in eight choirs of five voices each (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass). Interestingly, the combination of the choirs is not always constant, as for the most part of the beginning of the piece, only one choir will sing at a time with the others only entering to imitate. Whilst the opening music travels from the first choir to the eighth, Tallis then repeats this idea backwards, taking the vocal line back again to the first choir. In the second section of the piece, Tallis then pairs the choirs together to make four double choirs, that repeat the same imitation process. Finally, for the ending, all fourty voices come together.

What I find particularly interesting about this work, is the use of vocal combinations, and the varied sounds that a choir could achieve because of Tallis' writing. For instance, there are times at which only solo voices can be heard (e.g. the beginning of the piece that consists only of upper voices) and there are times at which Tallis uses one whole five-part choir, and finally - there are occasional moments where you can hear two or more choirs (sometimes all) each singing separate and lyrical melodies. When I first knew how many parts there were, I was sceptical as I had the view 'surely there are only so many notes that you can use?'. However, I was completely mistaken, and despite the early musical aspects of this piece, various clashes can be heard that actually add to the movement of the music.

This is definitely one piece in which having a conductor is absolutely crucial, as none of the singers can simply rely on each other. Instead, trying to coordinate fourty different voice parts is a job that might be beyond most conductors, and most singers for that matter!

Requiem - Maurice Duruflé

Maurice Duruflé
1902 - 1986

Maurice Duruflé was a pianist, organist and composer in the twentieth century. As one of the brightest musicians of his age, he entered Le Conservatoire de Paris, where he graduated with the skills that would eventually enable him to compose for years to come. As well as this, Duruflé was even awarded the position of assistant organist at Notre Dame in Paris.

Despite his talents as a performer, he was seriously injured in a car accident in 1975, which left him confined to his own apartment for most of the rest of his life, leaving his musical commitments to his wife Marie-Madeleine. Although he is seen by many as a great composer, Duruflé was one of the most self-critical musicians of his time, and was rarely satisfied with his compositions - even altering them once they had been published, creating several different versions of some of his pieces. His most famous work is his requiem, which - although relatively short compared to other composers - is truly beautiful, and contains particularly heartbreaking and emotional movements such as the mezzo-soprano solo, Pie Jesu.

The reason I love this requiem so much, is because of Duruflé's creative and haunting use of harmony, as well as his wonderful arrangement for organ. Unlike most other large works, I cannot pick a favourite movement, as they can all stand on their own as intricate and inspirational pieces. To pick two contrasting movements, I chose the mezzo-soprano solo Pie Jesu, and the choral wonder: Sanctus. The Pie Jesu, reflecting the translation: Kind Lord Jesus, grant them rest. Kind Lord Jesus, grant them everlasting rest. Starting on a sustained organ chord, the entrance of the voice creates a tender mood for the piece, that later grows into something much more dramatic. Moreover, the voice is in constant conversation with a solo cello, which emphasises the yearning harmonies beneath. As well as playing with different time signatures, the requiem is full of unexpected chord progressions, often switching completely in the middle of the phrase. At 1:38, the piece comes to its climax, and settles down again to 'rest' at the end. The video above is a recording sang by Sarah Connolly, accompanied by Robert Cohen on cello.

Much more up beat than the Pie Jesu, the Sanctus provides a chance for the whole choir to sing their guts out! Similar to the solo, the Sanctus is full of twists and turns in time and harmony. Opening just with sopranos and altos, the piece builds gradually to a very loud exclamation of 'hosana in the highest' from the whole choir at 1:55. This is immensely fun to sing, as I know from singing it with my school choir, as all of the sopranos are desperately trying to reach up to the very high top Bb. Despite being two of the most distinctive movements from the requiem, I urge you to listen to the whole thing as it lasts only just under an hour, and is honestly worth it!