“Wedding Day At Troldhaugen”, from Lyric Pieces op. 65 by Edvard Grieg:
There is a wonderful contrast between the joyful, exuberant first theme and the tender, reflective middle passage.
The pianist is the excellent Leif Ove Andsnes, who I believe will shortly be in Los Angeles helping to commemorate the tenth anniversary of that city’s new Walt Disney Concert Hall.
“La Fille aux cheveux de lin”, from the book of Preludes by Claude Debussy. Performed here by Lang Lang.
A wonderful, still, reflective piece with which to ease into the weekend.
Extracts from the score to the ballet “Les Biches” by Francois Poulenc (1923):
Quirky and well-orchestrated, though it does cause me to flash back to the listening component of my A-Level music exam, where over a decade ago I was sitting in a cold sweat at an examination table writing about this very piece.
The haunting choral piece “On The Transmigration Of Souls”, by John Adams, commissioned in the immediate wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 as a tribute to the victims and those who were left behind.
Performed here by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
From the Wikipedia entry:
In an interview Adams explained: “I want to avoid words like ‘requiem’ or ‘memorial’ when describing this piece because they too easily suggest conventions that this piece doesn’t share. If pressed, I’d probably call the piece a ‘memory space.’ It’s a place where you can go and be alone with your thoughts and emotions. The link to a particular historical event – in this case to 9/11 – is there if you want to contemplate it. But I hope that the piece will summon human experience that goes beyond this particular event.”
The title itself carries a certain heaviness of thought and meaning. According to Adams, “Transmigration means ‘the movement from one place to another’ or ‘the transition from one state of being to another.’ But in this case I meant it to imply the movement of the soul from one state to another. And I don’t just mean the transition from living to dead, but also the change that takes place within the souls of those that stay behind, of those who suffer pain and loss and then themselves come away from that experience.”
I was present at the world premiere performance by the NYPO at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, in 2002. A very moving experience.
Trois Pièces by Francois Poulenc.
1. Pastorale
2. Hymne
3. Toccata
The Hymne, in particular, is quite stunning. And the Toccata fiendishly difficult!
I do like these YouTube videos where you are able to follow the score along with the music.
Semi-Partisan Politics 