UK Version - Naxos Music Library
Transcription
UK Version - Naxos Music Library
Written by Darren Henley Darren Henley THE STORY OF CLASSICAL MUSIC CONTENTS Track List Marin Alsop conducting the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra 4 CD-ROM Contents 29 Classical Music – from the notes on the page, through history, to performance today 32 Biographies: Darren Henley and Aled Jones 36 About Classic FM 37 Aled Jones Feature 38 Historical Timeline 42 Other titles available from Naxos AudioBooks 53 How to use the CD-ROM 54 Acknowledgements 56 Would you like to follow on the screen what Aled Jones says? You can if you put CD 4 into your computer to find the CD-ROM, and then click on ‘The Spoken Text’. You can also print it out and follow it on paper. 3 CD 1 1 The Story of Classical Music 2 THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD (600–1490) The Year 600 – Music in Churches CD 1 (cont.) Concerto: Duo seraphim from Vespers of the Blessed Virgin 2:14 The Scholars Baroque Ensemble 2:06 Music featured: Recercar Music featured: Anonymous Gregorian chant from the Proper of the Mass: Introitus – Adorate Deum Nova Schola Gregoriana; Turco Christopher Wilson, lute 8.550711 6 3 Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) 2:31 4 Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525/6–1594) 8.554003 London 2:10 Henry Purcell (1659–1695) Joseph Payne, organ Oxford Camerata; Summerly 8.550573 The Birth of Opera 3:45 8.550718 Dido’s Lament from Dido and Aeneas Kym Amps, soprano; The Scholars Baroque Ensemble Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) Music featured: ‘Ecco pur ch’a voi’ from L’Orfeo Cappella Musicale di S Petronio di Bologna; Vartolo 4 3:04 Music featured: Voluntary in G Music featured: Missa Papae Marcelli 5 Aradia Baroque Ensemble; Mallon 7 2:37 THE BAROQUE PERIOD (1600–1750) Into the 17th Century Music featured: Entrée from Ballet des plaisirs 8.550998 THE RENAISSANCE PERIOD (1490–1600) Medieval to Renaissance 8.553694 Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687) Music featured: O ignis spiritus Oxford Camerata; Summerly 8.550662–63 Franciscus Bossinensis (fl.1510) 8.554094–95 5 8.553108 CD 1 (cont.) 8 Germany CD 1 (cont.) 2:05 11 Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706) George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) Music featured: Canon Tallis Chamber Choir; Royal Academy Consort; Summerly Anna Holbling, violin; Capella Istropolitana; Krcek Italy 2:04 Capella Istropolitana; Warchal Music featured Concerto grosso No. 8 ‘Christmas Concerto’ 10 8.550109 La Réjouissance from Firework Music Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1715) Cologne Chamber Orchestra; Müller-Brühl The Scholars Baroque Ensemble (Choral Masterpieces) László Czidra, recorder; Zsolt Harsányi, bassoon; Pál Kelemen, cello; Zsuzsa Pertis, clavichord Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) Music featured: Toccata in D minor 12 Chorale: O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden from St Matthew Passion Pavel Bogacz, violin; Capella Istropolitana; Edlinger 13 8.554607 Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741) 8.554043 4:30 8.550056 Gloria in D major Oxford Schola Cantorum; Northern Chamber Orchestra; Ward 6 8.553221 Music featured: Spring from The Four Seasons Takako Nishizaki, violin; Capella Istropolitana; Gunzenhauser Air on the G string from Orchestral Suite No. 3 Capella Istropolitana; Dvořák 2:16 8.553257 Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 Cologne Chamber Orchestra; Müller-Brühl Tomaso Albinoni (1671–1750) 8.550700 Music featured: Adagio in G minor 8.550184 Hungarian Festival Choir; Hungarian SSO; Oberfrank (Favourite Arias and Choruses) 8.550827 Presto from Recorder Sonata in G minor 6:51 Wolfgang Rübsam, organ 8.550109 Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah 8.551077 Germany 8.557003 Alla hornpipe from Water Music 8.553221 Capella Istropolitana; Warchal 9 8:03 Music featured: Zadok the Priest 7 8.550767 CD 1 (cont.) CD 1 (cont.) 14 THE CLASSICAL PERIOD (1750–1830) The Classical Period – An Explanation 1:56 15 Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788) 1:24 19 5:33 Music featured: Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525 Capella Istropolitana; Sobotka Music featured: Sinfonia No. 4 in G major 8.550026 Symphony No. 41 ‘Jupiter’ Salzburg Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra; Lee 16 Mozart’s great works Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714–1787) 8.553289 1:33 Music featured: Dance of the Blessed Spirits from Orfeo ed Euridice Drottningholm Court Theatre Orchestra; Ostman Capella Istropolitana; Wordsworth 8.550299 Non più andrai from The Marriage of Figaro Andrea Martin, baritone; Donna Robin, soprano; Capella Istropolitana; Wildner (Operatic Arias and Duets) 8.550435 Piano Concerto in C major, K. 467 8.660064 Jenó´ Jandó, piano; Concentus Hungaricus; Ligeti 8.550434 Requiem 17 Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) 6:21 8.550235 Piano Sonata in A major, K. 331 Music featured: Symphony No. 94 ‘The Surprise’ Jenó´ Jandó, piano Capella Istropolitana; Wordsworth 8.553222 8.550258 A Musical Joke Jenó´ Keveházi, horn; Kodály Quartet Symphony No. 45 ‘Farewell’ Capella Istropolitana; Wordsworth 8.553222 8.550437 Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja from The Magic Flute Andrea Martin, baritone; Donna Robin, soprano; Capella Istropolitana; Wildner (Operatic Arias and Duets) Symphony No. 101 ‘The Clock’ Capella Istropolitana; Wordsworth 18 Soloists; Slovak Philharmonic Chorus; Slovak PO; Košler 8.553222 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) 8 5:21 8.550435 Symphony No. 40 in G minor Capella Istropolitana; Wordsworth 8.550299 9 CD 1 (cont.) 20 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) 21 Beethoven’s great works CD 2 4:22 1 The composer as a star 1:28 4:58 2 Nicolò Paganini (1782–1840) 2:48 Music featured: Symphony No. 5 Music featured: Caprice No. 24 in A minor Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia; Drahos 8.553476 Ilya Kaler, violin Piano Sonata in C sharp minor ‘Moonlight’ Violin Concerto No. 1 Jenó´ Jandó, piano 8.550294 Egmont Overture Ilya Kaler, violin; Polish NRSO; Gunzenhauser 3 Slovak PO; Gunzenhauser 8.550072 Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia; Drahos 8.553474 Symphony No. 9 ‘Choral’ Soloists; Nicolaus Esterházy Chorus; Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia; Drahos 8.553478 Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) 2:04 Zagreb Festival Overture; Michael Halász 4 8.556683 Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826) 2:04 Music featured: Clarinet Concerto No. 2 THE ROMANTIC PERIOD (1830–1900) Background History 8.550649 Music featured: Overture to William Tell Symphony No. 1 22 8.550717 Ernst Ottensamer, clarinet; Slovak SPO, Kosice; Wildner 2:22 5 Total time on CD 1: 78:04 Franz Schubert (1797–1828) 8.550378 4:48 Music featured: Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning-Wheel) Ruth Ziesak, soprano; Ulrich Eisenlohr, piano 8.554666 Piano Quintet in A major ‘Trout’ Jenó´ Jandó, piano; István Tóth, double bass; Kodály Quartet 10 11 8.550658 CD 2 (cont.) CD 2 (cont.) Symphony No. 8, ‘Unfinished’ Violin Concerto in E minor Slovak PO; Halász 6 8.550145 Hector Berlioz (1803–1869) 4:13 Takako Nishizaki, violin; Slovak PO; Jean 9 Music featured: Un bal from Symphonie fantastique San Diego Symphony Orchestra; Talmi 8.553597 7 Fryderyk Chopin (1810–1849) 8.554494–95 2:02 Jenó´ Jandó, piano 10 8.554480 Robert Schumann (1810–1856) 1:35 Music featured: Piano Concerto in A minor 4:58 Music featured: Nocturne in E Flat, Op. 9 No. 2 Jenó´ Jandó, piano; Budapest SO; Ligeti Balász Szokolay, piano 8.550291 11 Prelude in D Flat ‘Raindrop’ Irina Zaritzkaya, piano 8.550018 Clara Schumann (1819–1896) 1:33 Music featured: Romance, Op. 11 No. 1 8.550291 Piano Concerto No. 2 8 Franz Liszt (1811–1886) Music featured: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 8 Dies irae from Requiem Toronto Mendelssohn Choir; Elora Festival Orchestra; Edison 8.550153 Yoshiko Iwai, piano István Szekely, piano; Budapest SO; Nemeth 8.550123 Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) 5:51 12 Music featured: Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream Slovak PO, Bramall 8.554433 Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) 4:32 Music featured: Intermezzo in C sharp minor Idil Biret, piano 8.550354 Academic Festival Overture Wedding March from A Midsummer Night’s Dream Slovak PO, Bramall 8.553501 8.554433 Belgian Radio and Television PO, Rahbari 8.550281 Piano Concerto No. 1 The Hebrides Slovak PO, Dohnányi 8.554433 12 Jenó´ Jandó, piano; Polish NRSO; Wit 8.553182 13 CD 2 (cont.) 13 Max Bruch (1838–1920) CD 2 (cont.) 2:39 Soloists; Hungarian State Opera Chorus and Orchestra; Morandi Music featured: Violin Concerto No. 1 17 Takako Nishizaki, violin; Slovak PO; Gunzenhauser 14 Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) 8.550195 8.554128 Richard Wagner (1813–1883) 18 The Waltz – The Strauss Family 8.550468 4:18 Johann Strauss I (1804–1849) 3:48 Music featured: Kettenbrücke-Walzer Music featured: The Ride of the Valkyries from The Valkyrie Slovak RSO; Mund 8.550944–45 1:16 Slovak SPO, Kosice; Walter (Can-Can and Other Dances from the Opera) Royal Scottish NO; Titner Tanzquartette Wien 8.550211 8.555689 Radetzky March Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin Slovak Philharmonic Chorus; Slovak RSO; Wildner 16 Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880) Music featured: Can-Can from Orpheus in the Underworld 1:37 Music featured: Symphony No. 4 ‘Romantic’ 15 Dies irae from Requiem Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) Budapest Strauss Ensemble; Bogar 8.550507 8.550900 Johann Strauss II (1825–1899) 4:13 Music featured: The Blue Danube Music featured: Anvil Chorus from Il trovatore Slovak Philharmonic Chorus; Slovak RSO; Dohnányi 19 Triumphal March and Chorus from Aida Slovak Philharmonic Chorus; Slovak RSO; Dohnányi 8.550241 La donna è mobile from Rigoletto Yordy Ramiro, tenor; Slovak RSO; Rahbari 8.554065 14 Strauss Festival Orchestra; Lenárd 8.550241 8.550152 Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) 4:42 Music featured: The Carnival of the Animals Soloists; Slovak RSO; Lenárd 8.550335 15 CD 2 (cont.) 20 Léo Delibes (1836–1891) CD 2 (cont.) 1:04 25 Music featured: Coppélia Slovak RSO; Mogrelia 21 Vytautas Sondeckis, cello; Lithuanian CO; Geringas (Romantic Music for Cello and Orchestra) 2:01 Music featured: Overture from Carmen 23 Russia, the national voice and the ‘Mighty Handful’ Alexander Borodin (1833–1887) Philharmonia Orchestra; Batiz 8.550727 2:10 1:25 Music featured: In the Steppes of Central Asia 26 8.550726 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) 8.550051 Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881) 4:28 Music featured: Pictures at an Exhibition 8.553271 Swan Lake Slovak PO; Halász 8.553271 The Nutcracker Slovak PO; Halász Jenó´ Jandó, piano 8.550044 5:16 Music featured: The Sleeping Beauty Slovak RSO; Lenárd Slovak PO; Nazareth 24 8.554381 Sheherazade Soloists; Slovak Radio Symphony Chorus and Orchestra; Rahbari 22 3:47 Music featured: The Flight of the Bumble-Bee (arr. B. Traubas) from The Tale of Tsar Saltan 8.553356–57 Georges Bizet (1838–1875) Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908) 8.553271 Symphony No. 6 in B minor ‘Pathétique’ Polish NRSO; Wit 8.550782 Pictures at an Exhibition (orchestrated Ravel) Slovak PO; Nazareth 8.550051 Total time on CD 2: 79:12 Night on the Bare Mountain Slovak PO; Nazareth 8.550051 16 17 CD 3 1 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky continued CD 3 (cont.) ‘Now give three cheers’ from HMS Pinafore 3:33 Soloists; D’Oyly Carte Opera Orchestra; Godfrey Music featured: Piano Concerto No. 1 5 Bernd Glemser, piano; Polish NRSO; Wit Music featured: Meditation from Thaïs 8.555923 János Selmeczi, violin; Camerata Transylvanica; Selmeczi 1812 Overture NSO of Ukraine; Kuchar 2 Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) 6 Symphony No. 9 ‘From the New World’ 3 Music featured: Piano Concerto in A minor 8.550118 4 Slovak RSO; Clark 8.551108 England – Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) 3:29 Claude Debussy (1862–1918) 2:42 Music featured: La Mer 8.550262 Golliwog’s Cake Walk from Children’s Corner Idil Biret, piano 8.550885 Music featured: Overture to HMS Pinafore Royal Ballet Sinfonia; Penny 8.554165 18 8.550765 8.550088 Belgian RTPO; Rahbari In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt CSFR State PO (Kosice); Gunzenhauser 2:17 Pavane, Op. 50 2:54 7 Jenó´ Jandó, piano; Budapest SO; Ligeti Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) Oxford Schola Cantorum; Oxford Camerata, Summerly 8.550271 Norway – Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) 8.554682 Music featured: Pie Jesu from Requiem, Op. 48 8.550143 Slovak PO; Gunzenhauser 2:45 THE LATE ROMANTICS, IMPRESSIONISTS AND OTHERS 2:58 Music featured: Slavonic Dance, Op. 46 No. 8 Slovak PO; Košler France – Jules Massenet (1842–1912) 8.550819 8.110175 19 CD 3 (cont.) 8 Spain – Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909) CD 3 (cont.) 2:04 13 Music featured: El Puerto from Iberia Guillermo González, piano 9 10 8.554311 Industrial progress 0:45 England – Edward Elgar (1857–1934) English Northern Philharmonia; Daniel 14 5:25 Erik Satie (1866–1925) 1:54 Klára Körmendi, piano 8.553981 Maria Kliegel, cello; RPO; Halász 8.554463 Music featured: Gymnopédie No. 1 15 Cello Concerto 8.550305 Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) 2:26 Music featured: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand 8.550503 François-Joël Thiollier, piano; Polish NRSO; Wit Nimrod from Enigma Variations English Northern Philharmonia; Daniel 8.553981 Italy – Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) RPO; Leaper 16 Luba Organasova, soprano; Jonathan Welch, tenor; Slovak RSO; Humburg 8.550501 Richard Strauss (1864–1949) 2:02 Music featured: Also sprach Zarathustra 8.660003–04 Nessun dorma from Turandot Slovak PO; Košler Thomas Harper, tenor; Slovak RSO; Halász 8.550497 Austria – Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) 1:53 Music featured: Symphony No. 2, ‘Resurrection’ 17 8.550182 Finland – Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) 8.554265 8.550523–24 20 2:05 Music featured: Finlandia Iceland SO; Sakari Polish NRSO; Wit 8.550753 Boléro 4:09 Music featured: O soave fanciulla from La Bohème 12 1:26 Slovak RSO; Jean Music featured: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 11 France – Paul Dukas (1865–1935) Music featured: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice 21 CD 3 (cont.) 18 England – Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) CD 3 (cont.) 3:06 22 Music featured: Fantasia on Greensleeves New Zealand SO; Judd 8.555867 BRT Philharmonic, Brussels; Rahbari English Northern Philharmonia; Lloyd-Jones Gustav Holst (1874–1934) 2:05 23 8.554060 Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) 6:04 Music featured: Dance of the Knights from Romeo and Juliet RSNO; Lloyd-Jones NSO of Ukraine; Mogrelia 8.555776 Russia – Sergei Rachmaninov (1873–1943) 8.553184–85 Troika from Lieutenant Kijé 3:33 Richard Hayman and his Orchestra Music featured: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini 8.555029 Symphony No. 1 ‘Classical’ NSO of Ukraine; Kuchar Bernd Glemser, piano; Polish NRSO; Wit 8.550809 8.553053 Peter and the Wolf Piano Concerto No. 2 Dame Edna Everage, narrator; Melbourne SO; Lanchbery Bernd Glemser, piano; Polish NRSO; Wit 8.550810 24 NEW DIRECTIONS IN THE 20TH CENTURY 21 8.550472 Belgian RTPO; Rahbari 8.553955 Music featured: Jupiter from The Planets 20 3:23 The Firebird The Lark Ascending 19 Russia – Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) Music featured: The Sacrifice from The Rite of Spring Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) Ulster Orchestra; Yuasa Peter Hill, piano 22 Belgian RTPO; Rahbari 25 8.550261 Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967) 8.554371 Music featured: Suite from Háry János 8.553870 Hungarian SSO; Antál Piano Pieces, Op. 11 No. 3 2:30 Music featured: Concerto for Orchestra 2:05 Music featured: Verklärte Nacht (arranged for string orchestra) Hungary – Béla Bartók (1881–1945) 8.554170 1:10 8.550142 23 CD 3 (cont.) 26 Austria – Anton Webern (1883–1945) CD 4 2:25 1 Music featured: Passacaglia Ulster Orchestra; Yuasa 8.554841 8.554841 Carl Orff (1895–1982) 1:36 Slovak RSO; Gunzenhauser 2 Music featured: O Fortuna from Carmina Burana Soloists; Slovak RSO and Chorus; Gunzenhauser Joaquín Rodrigo (1901–1999) 1:43 8.559088 AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR 3 8.554832 USA – George Gershwin (1898–1937) Samuel Barber (1910–1981) RSNO; Alsop 1:06 Norbert Kraft, guitar; Northern CO; Ward 8.550282 Music featured: Adagio for strings 8.550196 Music featured: Concierto de Aranjuez 29 8.550282 Fanfare for the Common Man Ulster Orchestra; Yuasa 28 2:54 Slovak RSO; Gunzenhauser Symphony 27 Aaron Copland (1900–1990) Music featured: Hoe Down from Rodeo Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) 1:56 Music featured: Suite from West Side Story (Prologue) 5:06 Soloists; Nashville SO; Schermerhorn Music featured: An American in Paris 4 New Zealand SO; Judd 8.559107 Rhapsody in Blue Kathryn Selby, piano; Slovak PO; Hayman 8.550295 8.559126 England – William Walton (1902–1983) Music featured: Spitfire Prelude and Fugue from The First of the Few English Northern Philharmonia; Daniel 8.553869 Piano Concerto Kathryn Selby, piano; Slovak PO; Hayman 8.550295 Total time on CD 3: 79:17 24 2:39 25 CD 4 (cont.) 5 Russia – Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) CD 4 (cont.) 4:17 9 Music featured: Romance from The Gadfly NSO of Ukraine; Kuchar 8.553299 Boris Berman, piano 8.555949 MINIMALISM Tahiti Trot Russian SSO; Yablonsky Piano Concerto No. 2 10 Michael Houstoun, piano; New Zealand SO; Lyndon-Gee 6 England – Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) 8.553126 Slovak RSO; Lenárd 11 8.550499 France – Francis Poulenc (1899–1963) 8.554345 England – John Tavener (b. 1944) 1:54 St. John’s College Choir, Cambridge; Robinson USA – Philip Glass (b. 1937) 1:51 2:59 Adele Anthony, violin; Ulster Orchestra; Yuasa Ile de France Vittoria Regional Choir; Orchestre de la Cité; Piquemal Melbourne SO; Lanchbery 12 8.554170 COMPOSERS OF THE AVANT-GARDE France and USA – Edgard Varèse (1883–1965) 2:19 Music featured: Déserts Polish NRSO; Lyndon-Gee Hans Zimmer (b. 1957) 1:32 Music featured: Suite from Gladiator The City of Prague PO; Nic Rain; Bateman The Fantasy Album, Silva Screen Records FILM 360CD With kind permission from Silva Screen 8.554820 26 8.554568 FILM MUSIC 8.553176 The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant 8.555256 Music featured: Violin Concerto Music featured: Gloria 8 1:52 Music featured: Song for Athene 1:56 Music featured: Theme from The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra 7 USA – John Cage (1912–1992) Music featured: Piano Sonata V 27 CD 4 (cont.) 13 CD-ROM CONTENTS – ON CD 4 Howard Shore (b. 1946) 1:17 Music featured: The Fellowship from Lord of the Rings The City of Prague PO; Nic Raine; Bateman The Fantasy Album, Silva Screen Records FILM 360CD With kind permission from Silva Screen 14 John Williams (b. 1932) 1:43 Music featured: Hedwig’s Theme from Harry Potter The City of Prague PO; Nic Raine; Bateman The Fantasy Album, Silva Screen Records FILM 360CD With kind permission from Silva Screen 15 Epilogue 1:12 Music featured: Maurice Ravel Boléro RPO, Leaper 8.550501 Total time on CD 4: 32:12 Total time on CDs 1–4: 4:28:45 To view CD-ROM features, insert CD 4 into your computer Who’s Who – The Composers Musical Instruments National Flags and Anthems Manuscripts and Scores Learn How to Read Music! Dictionary of Music Quizzes and Games The Spoken Text CD Booklet Catalogues and Sampler CD-ROM Credits Written by Genevieve Helsby and Nicolas Soames Designed by Arthur Ka Wai Jenkins For guidelines and system requirements please see page 54 28 29 Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop CLASSICAL MUSIC from the notes on the page, through history, to performance today What is classical music? It is the music that has lasted through the centuries. If it has lasted, it suggests that it is the best music, or at least the best music that was written down. Music does survive in another way: the oral tradition, where tunes are handed down personally from musician to musician, taught by listening and copying. This is used for folk music, which can survive very accurately, as well as be refreshed by every generation. However, it generally works only for music that involves just one or two parts. After that, it gets too complicated to remember. When you have a piece involving about ten or more parts, the only way to make it last is to write it down. That is why musical notation became so important. As we learn on this recording, notation began in the eighth century for music sung in churches. It has developed a lot since then to include different instruments, different keys, and to show more accurately things like the length of notes, the speed, whether it’s loud or soft… even silence can be notated: you just write lots of rests instead of notes! Notation made it possible for the music of great composers to survive: the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven lives on today because of notation. Of course, it is not just the paper and the notes that made sure their music survived: it had to be good! Everyone knew, when Mozart was alive, that his music was especially good – well, almost everyone. When his opera The Magic Flute was first performed, the Emperor of Austria actually said to him: ‘Too many notes, Mr Mozart!’ Not the nicest thing to say to a composer immediately after a first performance! And he was wrong. The Magic Flute turned out to be a hit opera for 200 years. Everyone knew too that Beethoven was the most important composer of his time. Of course, he really needed notation because his deafness stopped him from 32 enjoying the music in the way we do – by just listening to it. He could look at the notes on the page and hear the music in his head. And Bach? Well, Bach was so busy writing music and playing the organ that he didn’t have much time to think about the future of his music; but other people came to know how valuable he was. Mozart studied his music, then Mendelssohn studied his music, and, later, Bruckner did too. So did many others. Once again, it was all thanks to musical notation: all that scribbling done in Bach’s time became like gold dust. Notation was important also for Schubert. Poor Schubert! Music poured out of him – he had melodies in his head all the time, and he wrote it down as fast as he could, anywhere, on anything. In one day alone, he wrote eight songs. But only a few friends realised at the time what a unique and talented composer he was. He heard performed a lot of the songs that he wrote and much of the chamber music, but his symphonies were never performed professionally for him – though that didn’t stop him writing nine! He simply had to compose: he had to put down on paper the sounds he heard in his head. Schubert died just one year after Beethoven, in 1828. His friends carried on playing some of his music, but most of it was beginning to be forgotten. Then one day, Robert Schumann was browsing through a library in Vienna, looking at old manuscripts that were there, and he came across Symphony No. 9 by Franz Schubert. It was in Schubert’s own handwriting. He started to look at it (he could hear the sounds clearly in his head because he was a pianist and composer himself). He realised that there, sitting in a library box, silent and forgotten, was a masterpiece. It was exciting and full of bright tunes and rhythms that stick inside your head. He was so excited he got a copy made and sent it straight off to Felix Mendelssohn, telling him that this was such a remarkable symphony it should be played. So Mendelssohn agreed and arranged a performance. He did this for some of Bach’s pieces, too, which were being neglected. So in this way, music that is preserved in silence on a page for years, sometimes for generations or centuries, comes alive again. It is not usually possible to play it exactly as the composer wished, because 33 every performance of a work is slightly different. It depends on the players: some violinists, for example, play without much vibrato while others play with more; some play slightly faster or more smoothly, while others play more slowly or in a more bouncy way. This is what performance is about: making the music come alive here and now. And this is the miracle of classical music – that hundreds of years after it was written, it still can sound as fresh and lively as if it was written yesterday. Fashion does not really come into classical music. Some music is very fashionable for a time, but then is forgotten: it is important only for the people of a particular century or year, or moment. Classical music, on the other hand, is music that has lasted through the centuries, and has been loved and played by many different generations of people. These people have worn different kinds of clothes, behaved in different ways – but still enjoyed the same classical works. Bach, Mozart and Beethoven (and others) have survived to the 21st century, so it is likely they will go on to the 22nd, 23rd, 24th centuries and beyond… with the help of musical notation. New composers of today are adding to classical music all the time. Some of this will be forgotten in ten years’ time or even sooner. Some will not even be noticed by most people until well after the composer is dead – but then, gradually, it will come back to the concert hall, like a forgotten friend coming out of the mist. There is so much wonderful music to discover from all the centuries, it is difficult to know where to start. Hopefully, this introduction will give you some pointers. You might hear a composer or a style and think you like that best: you can then listen and discover more. You could even play the music yourself: by playing the cello, or perhaps the clarinet or the piano, you are right in the middle of the musical experience. Aled Jones himself knew what it was like to be in the centre of music-making when he was a young boy. As a chorister, he sang every morning, rehearsing and then performing. He had to get up early, but the musical standard was high and it was fun. He was fortunate enough to have a particularly beautiful voice and to be a born performer: he really loved big concerts and important moments. That is why he had such an extraordinary career 34 as a young musician, selling millions of records and singing to audiences all over the world. He even sang with the famous conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein! Now, as an adult, Aled is equally active. He is still a singer (though his voice is much lower now – somewhere between baritone and tenor) and he travels the world, performing. He is a radio and television presenter too: he introduces classical music to hundreds of thousands on the British radio station Classic FM, and introduces musical programmes on television. For him, playing, introducing and listening is all part of an active musical life. He knows that classical music is a journey that goes on for as long as you listen and play. Nicolas Soames 35 Aled Jones is the presenter of the Sunday breakfast show on Classic FM and a Sunday morning interview programme on BBC Radio Wales. On television, he is one of the main presenters of BBC One’s Songs of Praise and also hosts the BBC One Wales arts programme On Show. As a boy soprano, he sold more than six million records worldwide. In 2002, he returned to performing, this time as a baritone. His new albums Aled and Higher have each sold more than 300,000 copies. Darren Henley is the Managing Editor of Classic FM. His radio programmes have been honoured by the Sony Radio Academy Awards, the New York International Radio Festival and the United Nations. Darren writes regularly for the Classic FM Magazine, for which he is editorial consultant. He was previously a journalist for ITN and Invicta Radio in Kent. He is the co-author of all three titles in the best-selling Classic FM Pocket Book series, published by Boosey & Hawkes. 36 Classic FM is the world’s largest classical music radio station, with 6.5 million listeners tuning in every week. We believe that classical music can be an important part of everybody’s life, no matter what their age or background. A further 500,000 children also tune in to the radio station each week. Classic FM has a very active music education programme, working across the UK to introduce as many children as possible to classical music. Classic FM broadcasts across the UK on 100-102 FM, on DAB Digital Radio, on Sky Digital channel 856 and also on NTL and Telewest Digital cable services. The radio station is also streamed live around the globe on www.classicfm.com where you can find up-to-the-minute information about Classic FM’s programmes, along with classical composers and performers. Classic FM TV was launched at the beginning of 2003 and has already been enjoyed by more than five million viewers. It broadcasts classical music videos 24 hours a day on Sky Digital Channel 464 and ntl:digital channel 921. The Classic FM Magazine is the biggest-selling classical music magazine in newsagents across the UK. Published monthly, it provides readers with extensive coverage of classical music CD releases, as well as big-name interviews and news about classical music events around the country. Classic FM’s boxed-set CDs have now sold more than 1.5 million copies, with albums such as Smooth Classics: Do Not Disturb and Classic FM Hall of Fame Gold, regularly achieving gold disc status. 37 Aled Jones – A Voice in Action the pop charts, is just a terrific thrill.” “I’m so proud of that album. There’s been an amazing reaction; it’s not just the sales, but the letters I’ve had. Like people saying they’ve lost loved ones and this album has helped them get through it. It’s had a deeper meaning for people and that is so humbling.” ‘Aled’ has had sales in excess of 300,000. Its success has transformed Aled’s professional life. All the years of uncertainty after his voice broke at the age of 16 instantly disappeared. At the age of 32 he is confident of his artistic direction in the As a boy soprano Aled Jones was used to recording and releasing albums. They were all part of the job of being a child star, notching up six million sales in a remarkable eight-year career. In those days he took it for granted his albums would go Top 5. When it came to releasing his first album as an adult he felt differently. He was nervous about how it would be received. The emotional commitment was still there in the singing, but now he was involved in the entire creative process from choosing songs to the design of the CD booklet. Within days of ‘Aled’ the album being released in September 2002 apprehension was replaced by elation. ‘Aled’ went straight to number one in the classical charts where it stayed for four weeks, and entered the pop Top 20. “I’m not massively ambitious. I don’t want to conquer the world. I just wanted the album to be liked by people. When you’ve been quite successful as a youngster,” says Aled Jones modestly, “and you come back and release an album, you’re waiting for everyone to knock it. And the relief of knowing you’ve gone to number one in the classical charts, and into 38 knowledge that singing will truly be his lifelong career. His new album ‘Higher’ continues in the same stylistic vein as its predecessor, mixing classical with a few, just two, pop tunes – ‘You Raise Me Up’ by Secret Garden, and ‘San Damiano (Heart And Soul)’, a hit in 1984 for Sal Solo. The rest is a collection of traditional songs, classical and sacred, guided on their way to the heart by Aled’s pure, heartfelt and unpretentious interpretations. “There are so many people the industry describes as ‘crossover’,” says Aled. “I don’t understand what that is because I’m singing the sort of music I did as a boy, in exactly the same way I did as a boy, but as a boy they called me a classical artist. I’m in this for the long term, it’s definitely not a flash in the pan thing.” There are no gimmicks, just a newly svelte Aled. He’s lost a stone and a half in the past year, not with the help of a trainer or diets, simply because of his new fast pace of life as the demand for his presence has exploded internationally. In 2002 he gave two public concerts. In 2003 there was a 14-date autumn tour with orchestra in the UK and in Australia, as well as performing at open-air concerts and festivals. More fundamental than the weight loss has been the change in Aled’s warm and distinctive voice. His high baritone has got higher, edging its way towards a tenor. “My voice is changing timbre, it has gained about four notes in pitch. On the first day of recording the album, after singing a few tracks my producer Robert Prizeman, who worked with me on my first album, said there was a real difference. It was much more confident and rounded.” As a boy Aled was an instinctive singer, picking up a piece of music and being able to interpret it almost immediately. But when he started out again last year he hard to work at it. “It was a hard slog. I had to 39 really think about how I’d phrase a piece, whereas now that’s come back to me, I can just do it. And it’s so exciting for me because then it means I can put the emotion into a song.” Aled wants to keep stretching the boundaries of his ability. He plans to take singing lessons, for the first time since his comeback. “I think it would be interesting to push it a little bit to see where it would go.” Insanely busy, he is combining his singing career with an established career as a TV and radio presenter. It was his appearance on ‘Songs of Praise’ that brought him to the attention of Universal Classics and that job continues with Aled presenting ‘Songs of Praise’ on a regular basis. He also presents a Sunday morning show on Classic FM. Recent figures have shown the station bringing in 500,000 listeners between the age of 15 and 24. “I’m getting loads of letters and emails from young people saying that they’ve bought the album and they really like it.” There’s also a recorded Sunday morning show for BBC Radio Wales, and he presents the arts programme ‘On Show’ for BBC One Wales. Through all his work, whether singing or presenting, the same philosophy applies. “I hate this attitude that classical music or the arts have to be highbrow. I want everything I do to be accessible to everyone. It has to be entertainment.” Despite the crescendo of success, the qualities that endeared Aled to the nation and beyond are still there: his unfailing politeness, generosity of spirit and sensitivity. His life has changed dramatically not just professionally. He and his wife Claire now have a baby daughter Emilia, born in February 2002. “When the last album was launched I was doing a concert in St. David’s Hall in Cardiff – you know, small venue, no pressure,” he jokes. “Songs of Praise were filming. I was absolutely nervous. I had to go on stage, present it and sing. And dad came in with Emilia on a papoose, and she just saw me and grinned, and I thought to myself, God why am I worried about doing this. This is what’s real.” It’s a new Aled, and the world has had to shift its perception of who he is. The man himself feels privileged to be on this incredible journey. “I’m having the time of my life. I feel really fortunate I’ve been given the opportunity to have a chance and for it to go well. I’m on cloud nine.” 40 B flat clarinet 41 T I M E L I N E – M E D I E VA L / R E N A I S S A N C E P E R I O D S 600 800 1000 1020 1040 1060 1080 1100 1120 1140 1160 1180 1200 1500 1510 1520 1530 1540 1550 1560 1570 1580 1590 Hildegard of Bingen (German) 1098–1179 Pérotin (French) 1160–1220 Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina (Italian) 1525/6–1594 Guillaume de Machaut (French) 1300–1377 John Dunstable (English) 1390–1453 William Byrd (English) 1543–1623 Guillaume Dufay (French) 1398–1474 Thomas Tallis (English) c.1505–1585 Johannes Ockeghem (Franco-Flemish) 1410–1497 Josquin Desprez (Franco-Flemish) 1440–1521 Claudio Monteverdi (Italian) 1567–1643 Alexander Agricola (Franco-Netherlandish) 1446–1506 Jacob Obrecht (Netherlandish) 1450–1505 800 Charlemagne becomes Holy Roman Emperor 597 Pope Gregory, who gave his name to Gregorian Chant, sends St Augustine to convert the English 1517 Martin Luther nails his condemnation of Rome to the church door in Wittenburg 1520 Luther publicly burns the Papal Bill excommunicating him; 1054 Eastern Orthodox Church breaks with Rome c.1020 Guido of Arezzo devises musical notation 1095 The First Crusade 1066 Norman invasion of England 1075 Turks take Jerusalem and other Holy places 42 1149 Second Crusade ends in failure 1170 Thomas à Becket murdered 1545–1563 The Council of Trent 1549 First English prayer book issued 1558 Spread of Protestantism throughout Europe Elizabeth I 1534 succeeds Mary Henry VIII proclaims himself Rejects authority head of the Church of England of Rome Dissolution of the Monastries begins 1553 1529 Mary, a Catholic, becomes Ottomans driven back Queen of England from gates of Vienna Persecution of Protestants follows 43 1585 War between England and Spain over trade and religious differences 1599 The Globe Theatre built in Southwark, London TIMELINE – BAROQUE/CLASSICAL PERIODS 1600 1610 1620 1630 1640 1650 1660 1670 1680 1690 1700 1710 1720 1730 1740 1750 1760 1770 1780 1790 1800 1810 1820 Jean-Baptiste Lully (French) 1632–1687 Christoph Willibald Gluck (German) 1714–1787 Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (German) 1714–1788 William Byrd d.1623 Arcangelo Corelli (Italian) 1653–1713 Johann Pachelbel (German) 1653–1706 Franz Joseph Haydn (Austrian) 1732–1809 Henry Purcell (English) 1659–1695 Tomaso Albinoni (1671–1750) Antonio Vivaldi (Italian) 1678–1741 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Austrian) 1756–1791 Claudio Monteverdi d.1643 Johann Sebastian Bach (German) 1685–1750 Antonio Salieri (Italian) 1750–1825 George Frideric Handel (German) 1685–1759 Ludwig van Beethoven (German) 1770–1827 Domenico Scarlatti (Italian) 1685–1757 1618 Start of 30 Years War Last attempt by Catholics to stamp out the Reformation 1603 Queen Elizabeth I dies 1605 Gunpowder Plot 1620 Pilgrim Fathers sail to America 1701 1807 1660 1776 c.1730 1642 Britain, Holland and Austria Slave trade American Declaration of Independence The first pianos are English Civil War Restoration of the form alliance to prevent abolished in Britain monarchy and war with England manufacturered in Saxony; 1649 France becoming strongest Canaletto begins his 1789 1680 Charles I executed power in Europe paintings of Venice’s Grand George Washington becomes The Dodo 1665 1756–1763 England becomes Canal first American president; 1707 The Great becomes extinct a republic The Seven Years War 1720 French Revolution begins Act of Union Plague of London 1683 South Sea between 1773 1794 1654 The Ottoman Turks Bubble Scotland and The Boston Execution of Robespierre ends 1666 1815 Louis XIV, reach the gates of financial crisis England Tea Party 1740–1748 Reign of Terror in France Wellington the Sun King, The Great Fire Vienna again ruins thousands The War of of London defeats crowned 1803 Austrian c.1644 1713 1681 Napoleon at Napoleonic the Battle of succession Antonio Stradivari, William Penn establishes Pennsylvania War between the Alliance Wars begin violin maker, born and France ends as a refuge for persecuted Quakers Waterloo 44 45 TIMELINE – ROMANTIC PERIOD 1780 1790 1800 1810 1820 1830 Carl Maria von Weber (German) 1786–1826 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 Richard Wagner (German) 1813–1883 Arnold Schoenberg 1874–1951 Gioacchino Rossini (Italian) 1792–1868 Franz Liszt (Hungarian) 1811–1886 Franz Schubert (Austrian) 1797–1828 Modest Mussorgsky (Russian) 1839–1881 Fryderyk Chopin (Polish) 1810–1849 Gustav Mahler (Austrian) 1860–1911 Gaetano Donizetti (Italian) 1797–1848 Giacomo Puccini (Italian) 1858–1924 Georges Bizet (French) 1838–1875 Gabriel Fauré (French) 1845–1924 Hector Berlioz (French) 1803–1869 Felix Mendelssohn (German) 1809–1847 Anton Bruckner (Austrian) 1824–1896 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian) 1840–1893 Giuseppe Verdi (Italian) 1813–1901 Antonín Dvor̆ák (Czech) 1841–1904 Robert Schumann (German) 1810–1856 Johannes Brahms (German) 1833–1897 Isaac Albéniz 1860–1909 Edvard Grieg (Norwegian) 1843–1907 Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (Russian) 1844–1908 Camille Saint-Saëns (French) 1835–1921 Alexander Borodin (Russian) 1833–1887 1900 Freud writes his 1836 1864 Interpretation of 1893 1839 Davy Crockett Louis Pasteur invents Dreams Henry Ford builds killed at the First Opium pasteurisation 1872 his first car War Alamo 1854-6 Spanish Civil War 1896 Crimean War 1831 1876 1861 First modern Olympics Pushkin completes American Civil War 1869 Alexander Bell invents held in Athens Suez the telephone Eugene Onegin 1904 1866 Canal 1859 1837 1847 1877 War between Nobel opens Darwin publishes Victoria becomes California Tomas Edison patents Russia and Japan The Origin of Species invents Queen in Britain Gold Rush the phonograph dynamite 46 47 THE 20TH CENTURY – I 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 Edward Elgar (English) 1857–1934 Ralph Vaughan Williams (English) 1872–1958 Gustav Holst (English – of Swedish descent) 1874–1934 Sergei Prokofiev (Russian) 1891–1953 Sergei Rachmaninov (Russian) 1873–1943 Dmitri Shostakovich (Russian) 1906–1975 Béla Bartók (Hungarian) 1881–1945 Aaron Copland (American) 1900–1990 Samuel Barber (American) 1910–1981 Benjamin Britten (English) 1913–1976 Claude Debussy (French) 1862–1918 Richard Strauss (German) 1864–1949 Carl Nielsen (Danish) 1865–1931 Jean Sibelius (Finnish) 1865–1957 Joaquín Rodrigo (Spanish) 1901–1999 Manuel de Falla (Spanish) 1876–1946 Charles Ives (American) 1874–1954 John Adams (b. 1947) 1914 1924 1936-39 Panama Canal opened Stalin succeeds Spanish Civil Lenin War 1914-18 1929 1912-13 First World War The Wall Street Crash Balkan wars 1939-1945 1926 1917 1933 Second World War General Strike Bolsheviks seize Hitler becomes in Britain power in Russia German Chancellor 48 1950–53 Korean War 1956 Suez Canal seized by Egypt Philip Glass (b. 1937) 1969 1963 John F. Kennedy Neil Armstrong assassinated becomes the first man on the moon 1967 The Beatles release Sergeant Pepper 1991 1983 First CD players go on sale Persian Gulf War 1989 1980 Fall of the Berlin John Lennon 1994 Wall shot End of Apartheid in South Africa 49 New millenium 2001 9/11 – World Trade Centre in New York attacked and destroyed THE 20TH CENTURY – II 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 Arnold Schoenberg (Austrian) 1874–1951 Alban Berg (Austrian) 1885–1935 Anton Webern (Austrian) 1883–1945 Maurice Ravel (French) 1875–1937 Igor Stravinsky (Russian) 1882–1971 Olivier Messiaen (French) 1908–1992 Leosˇ Janáček (Czech) 1854–1928 Henryk Górecki (Polish) 1933– ° (Czech) 1890–1959 Bohuslav Martinu Francis Poulenc (French) 1899–1963 Darius Milhaud (French) 1892–1974 Edgard Varèse (French-American) 1883–1965 George Gershwin (American) 1898–1937 John Cage (American) 1912–1992 John Williams (b. 1932) Hans Zimmer (b. 1957) Steve Reich (American) (b. 1936) György Ligeti (Hungarian) (b. 1923) Karlheinz Stockhausen (German) (b. 1928) Toru Takemitsu (Japanese) 1930–1997 Luciano Berio (Italian) 1925–2003 Pierre Boulez (French) (b. 1925) Witold Lutosl/awski (Polish) 1913–1994 Arvo Pärt (Estonian) (b. 1935) 50 51 1990 2000 Also available from Naxos AudioBooks’ Junior Classics section TALES FROM THE GREEK LEGENDS GREAT EXPLORERS OF THE WORLD Read by Benjamin Soames 2 CDs · NA201912 · 962634019 3 2 MCs · NA201914 · 962634519 5 Read by Sam Dastor, Frances Jeater, Trevor Nichols and Kerry Shale 2 CDs · NA229112 · ISBN 962634291 9 2 MCs · NA229114 · ISBN 962634791 0 Violin 52 FAMOUS PEOPLE IN HISTORY – I FAMOUS PEOPLE IN HISTORY – II Read by Trevor Nichols and Katinka Wolf 2 CDs · NA217212 · ISBN: 962634172 6 2 MCs · NA217214 · ISBN: 962634672 8 Read by Daniel Philpott and Laura Brattan 2 CDs · NA219712 · ISBN: 962634197 1 2 MCs · NA219714 · ISBN: 962634697 3 53 How to use the CD-ROM The 15 audiobook tracks contained on CD 4 of The Story of Classical Music will play in any conventional CD player. In addition, CD 4 is an interactive CD-ROM. When it is inserted into the CD-ROM drive of a computer, up will come pictures, articles, sheet music, quizzes and lots more. Windows® PC users Insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive. The CD-ROM part should automatically run. If it does not, double-click on INDEX.HTM in the CD-ROM (usually the D: drive). Macintosh users Insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive. The CD-ROM part should automatically run. If it does not, double-click on INDEX.HTM, located in STORY CM CD-ROM on the desktop. System requirements The enhanced CD should run on a Windows® PC, Macintosh, or any computer with a web browser and the capability to read CD-ROMs. For optimum performance, your computer should have a web browser capable of displaying frames, a colour display capable of displaying at least 256 colours at a resolution of 1024 x 768, and a connection to the Internet. Whilst every care has been taken in the production of this enhanced CD, we would recommend that you have an up-to-date back-up of your hard drive before using the disc. Naxos AudioBooks cannot accept responsibility for any disruption, damage, or loss of data or computer systems encountered whilst using the disc or the data contained thereon. Macintosh and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Computer Inc., registered in the US and other countries. Cello 54 55 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS With particular thanks to: The Classic FM team – Darren Henley, Kate Juxon and Roger Lewis Genevieve Helsby for her imaginative work in writing and editing the CD-ROM Sarah Butcher for editing the words and music together in such a skilful manner Silva Screen for permission to use tracks from The Fantasy Album (FILMXCD360) Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for permission to use photographs of the orchestral sections in action John Myatt Woodwind and Brass, instrument specialists (57 Nightingale Road, Hitchin, Hertfordshire – www.myatt.co.uk), for use of woodwind and brass instrument pictures Hill & Co. (5 High Street, Welwyn, Hertfordshire) for violin and viola pictures Alto saxophone 56 57 For a complete Naxos AudioBooks catalogue please contact: In the UK: Naxos AudioBooks, Select Music & Video Distribution, 3 Wells Place, Redhill, Surrey RH1 3SL. Tel: 01737 645600. In Ireland: Cosmic Sounds Ltd., 1a Farmhill Road, Goatstown, Dublin 14. In the USA and Canada: Naxos of America Inc., 416 Mary Lindsay Polk Drive, Suite 509, Franklin, Tennessee TN37067. In Australia: Select Audio/Visual Distribution Pty. Ltd., PO Box 691, Brookvale, NSW 2100. In New Zealand: Triton Music Ltd., P.O. Box 100-899, NSMC, Auckland. Trumpet 58 Pictures by kind permission of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Aled Jones