TCP Classical

Today’s post is a continuation of several recent posts dedicated to personal favorite large choral classical works in the western tradition. From my earliest memories as a child listening daily to classical music on our home phonograph, the most memorable moments continue to be the large choral works that became ingrained in my consciousness and remain so to this day.

Charles Gounod’s St. Cecelia Mass is one of these very special choral works. From its first hearing in the mid-sixties (recorded in 1963) on an Angel LP disc, it became a family favorite – and remains so to this day, just short of fifty years later. Of course the original vinyl disc was replaced several times over the decades, until it went out of print in the late eighties or early nineties. I thought that our family might never be able to reconstruct the original sound from that recording, but I was quite excited to find the EMI re-release on CD arriving in 2001. We were not disappointed. The CD was an excellent transcription (in ADD format) and we had our beloved ‘St. Cecelia Mass’ back with us in all of its glory, with greater clarity and less noise than we had with our original recordings.

(Source: timothycarl)

Today’s post is a continuation of several recent posts dedicated to personal favorite large classical choral works. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem Mass, K626, is believed to be his last composition. Composed on his deathbed in 1789, his ‘Requiem’ was left unfinished by the composer. We still do not have definitive proof on how much of his ‘Requiem’ was written by Mozart, and how much may have been written or perhaps completed (as many today believe) by his student Franz Xaver Süssmayr. We many never know for sure.

Today’s post is the third of several dedicated to personal favorite large classical choral works. ‘The Creation’, composed by Franz Joseph Haydn (1798), has been rising over the years in my own personal lexicon to the point where it is on virtually the same plan as ‘Messiah’. For me, it is about the music. The Biblical stories of the Creation from the Books of Genesis and Psalms, etc. are well known and will not be repeated in today’s post, but the way in which Haydn evokes the telling of the story in musical terms is simply amazing. Apparently, the passage from Genesis ‘And God Saw the Light’ was so musically descriptive that, upon its premiere, the audience gasped with amazement and appreciation and interrupted the performance for several minutes.

Today’s post is the second of several dedicated to personal favorite large classical choral works. Since I started blogging about classical music in the western tradition almost four years ago, I have consistently returned to personal favorites in this extensive literature. I realize that many of you share (and many of don’t share) my passion for my personal favorites, but I wanted to focus today’s blog on certain aspects of a given masterwork – in this case, ‘Messiah’ by George Frederick Handel, to give you some insights into my perception of these various works.

Today’s post is the first of several dedicated to large classical choral works in the western tradition. I have chosen these seven works drawn from each of the seven periods that I have previously defined as the universe for my comments on various aspects of classical music. Each of these works is representative of a specific period and draws its inspiration from the religious experiences of its composer. My earliest childhood memories include listening to large community ensembles performing many of these works, most notably ‘Messiah’ by George Frederick Handel, and I wanted to begin to share some of these extraordinary compositions with my readers. The absence of Bach’s Mass in B minor, Handel’s “Messiah” and Brahm’s Ein Deutsches Requiem (among others) is by design. These masterpieces are well exceptionally well known and I simply wanted to expand our reader’s knowledge base with these other special examples.

Today’s post is the third in a three-part series examining the challenges facing America’s symphony orchestras, and other classical musical enthusiasts, in developing the next generation of classical music listeners and concertgoers. Having already discussed the changing American landscape for hands-on experience in playing instruments geared toward classical music and hearing classical music being played in churches, schools and local ensembles, my focus for today’s post is on key advocacy approaches that I believe will help enable our past successes to continue.

In my previous post I began what I hope will be an extended discussion about supporting classical music in the twenty-first century. I titled that particular post ‘Next Generation Concertgoers‘ and outlined several factors that I believe had a real effect on my generation’s (the baby boomers) in-person concert attenance and financial support for America’s symphony orchestras throughout the country. That post focused on the abundant local opportunities throughout America, especially in our primary and secondary educational programs in the fifties and sixties, for instruction in music. This instruction helped to enable the various vocal and instrumental programs available in one’s local environment including church or school choirs, bands and orchestras, and helped to provide the baby boomers with a strong foundation for lifelong knowledge – and sustained interest – in classical music.

Having just spent a lovely weekend in the company of a group of highly knowledgeable symphonic concertgoers, today’s post marks my initial foray into this ongoing challenge for American symphony orchestras. It is well-documented that American symphony orchestras have been experiencing declining subscription sales as their primary group of patrons, the baby boomers, are retiring and watching their pennies more closely. All of these orchestras, including those with substantial endowments, are working overtime trying to narrow the widening gap between declining subscription revenue and increasing operating costs.

Musical Films: Impromptu (Chopin), The Tragic Life (Tchaikovsky) & Rhapsody in Blue (Gershwin)

Today’s blog marks the second in my new series of master composers in the western classical tradition in films. As noted in my previous post, I have watched with great interest over the past several decades how an increasing number of world-class, well known classical composers have been featured in a variety of films. I am partial to those productions that have a significant focus on the music of these masters as an integral part of the story line and today’s examples continue on that theme.

Musical Films: Amadeus (Mozart), Immortal Beloved (Beethoven) & La Traviata (Verdi)

Today’s blog marks the first in my new series of master composers in the western classical tradition in films. I have watched with great interest over the past several decades how an increasing number of world-class, well known classical composers have been featured in a variety of films starting with Giuseppe Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’ in 1982, ‘Amadeus’ (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1984) and ‘Immortal Beloved’ (Ludwig van Beethoven in 1994) among others. I am partial to those productions that have a significant focus on the music of these masters as an integral part of the story line.