Opus 109

Coenraad Bos      Coenraad Bos (1875-1955) was a Dutch pianist and vocal accompanist. In his book The Well-Tempered Accompanist, he recounts his experiences throughout his long career in music, and offers advice to aspiring accompanists. Here is the  Wikipedia biography of him, and here is a link to the book on Archive.org . The Practical and the Impractical      Overall, the practical advice on accompanying is rarely specific. Rather, Bos's emphasis is on presenting the general principles and requisite skills of accompanying. Because of this, accompanists looking for detailed and exhaustive lists of advice will be disappointed. His emphasis on the cultural background that a complete accompanist should have is perhaps what is most striking about this book. A familiarity with languages, knowledge of poetry and how to interpret it, and a basic knowledge of singing are all skills that a good accompanist must possess in addition to  (not instead of) ...

Last year, I didn't get around to writing a post like this, so now I will be reviewing the past two years of my musical endeavors - discussing what I learned, enriching experiences I had, and what I look forward to improving upon in 2024. It was my desire to improve as a musician that led to me starting this blog, so I thought it fitting to reflect on these things. New Discoveries The past two years of have been the most musically involved for me, from discovering new composers to improving my piano technique, and giving a variety of performances. First, the composers. I present them in roughly chronological order rather than the order I discovered or "rediscovered" them. Domenico Scarlatti Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas are not new to me - I grew up hearing them (primarily on classical guitar), and they have always been a source of musical inspiration and joy. However, until the past year or so, I had only tinkered with them on the piano. In years of piano lessons, Sca...

       I wanted to introduce readers to a documentary that I recently came across on YouTube entitled, "Domenico Scarlatti: His Music and His World." A 1985 BBC production, the documentary explores the fascinating life of this great composer and the rich cultural heritage that led to the creation of his works, especially the 555 keyboard sonatas.     What stands out in the production, besides it great artwork and scenery of Italy and Spain, are the phenomenal performances by the Colombian harpsichordist Rafael Puyana. As a pianist, it is always intriguing to watch the specialized technique required to play the harpsichord convincingly. Puyana's subtle adjustments of the tempi, along with Scarlatti's mastery of the keyboard idiom, give the impression of greater dynamic contrast than is actually possible on harpsichord.     I also appreciated the presence of two vocal works by Scarlatti - his Stabat Mater and Salve Regina. In the face of s...

Song of the Week Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951) Dawn | Opus 24, no. 7 The Music One of Medtner's sunniest songs, "Dawn" is an all-around joy to listen to. The eight songs of Opus 24 are, in general, some of Medtner's most melodically appealing and Romantic songs. The Performance The Text Poem by Afanasy Fet (1820-1892) Russian Шёпот, робкое дыханье. Трели соловья, Серебро и колыханье, Сонного ручья, Свет ночной, ночные тени, Тени без конца, Ряд волшебных изменений Милого лица, В дымных тучках пурпур розы, Отблеск янтаря, И лобзания, и слёзы, И заря, заря!... English (translation  ©  Henry Drinker) Whisp'ring, timid, softly breathing, trills the nightingale. Silver brooklet, lazy weaving, ripples thru the vale; flick'ring visions, gleams of beauty, fantasies of grace; magic changes, gone, returning, in a loving face ; purple shadows, smoothly stealing, creep across the lawn, tears and laughter, sighs and kisses, and the dawn, the dawn!  

Song of the Week Giovanni Paisiello (1740-1816) Il mio ben quando  verrà (When My Beloved Comes) from Nina, o sia La Pazza per Amore The Music I came across this beautiful aria several weeks ago when I found an old six vinyl set of the opera at an antique shop. At home, I put the music on (starting from Act I) and it mostly served as pleasant background music as I did other work. Once it came to "Il mio ben quando  verrà ", however, I had to just stop for a moment and appreciate the music. It context, Nina, the Count's daughter, is stricken with grief about her beloved, Lindoro, who seems to everyone else to have died. Nevertheless, she never fully accepts that he has died, and her song expresses hope for his return. (Spoiler - he didn't really die!) The Performance I think Bartoli's recording is notable both for the delicacy she brings to every melodic line and the anguish of Nina that she conveys (especially around the five minute mark, and at 6:10). The Text by...

Song of the Week Enrique Granados (1867-1916) La Maja Dolorosa No. 1 (The Forlorn Maiden) The Music      The first of three songs entitled "La Maja Dolorosa," this week's song comes from Granados' 12 Tonadillas en estilo antiguo, a set inspired by paintings of Francisco Goya (1746-1828). It's a shame that Granados did not write more art songs, since the Tonadillas are some of the finest examples of that genre to come from Spain. This song is particularly notable for the stark and dramatic atmosphere created by the piano's enigmatic harmonies. The Performance      There are not many performances of Granados' vocal music, but I figure any rendition by Teresa Berganza is going to be a solid choice. The Text Fernando Periquet (1873-1940) Spanish ¡Oh muerte cruel! ¿Por qué tú, a traición, mi majo arrebataste a mi pasión? ¡No quiero vivir sin él, porque es morir, porque es morir así vivir! No es posible ya sentir más dolor: en lágrimas deshecha ya mi alma está. ...