Time again to test our geographic mettle with those fiends from National Geographic (Zombies? Zombies??? Gimme a break!)

Zombies, eh?

by Ken

We haven't done this in a while, and when I saw the new issue of National Geographic in the mailbox this evening when I got home from today's urban gadding (first a visit to NYC Transit's Bergen Sign Shop out in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, then a Historic Districts Council walk up in Harlem and even farther up in Mott Haven, the Bronx, focusing on three still-in-use Carnegie-paid-for public libraries, with a drive-by of a third on the bus en route to the Bronx), I thought, you know, we haven't done this in a while!

So here it is, direct from the address insert in this month's subscription mailing:

1  Izmir, Adana, and Bursa are major cities in what country?

2  The Strait of Malacca links the South China Sea with which ocean?

3  Name the largest city in Scotland, which is located on the Clyde River.

4  The Corfu Channel separates the Greek island of Corfu from which neighboring country?

5  What country north of Ghana, formerly known as Upper Volta, won independence from France in 1960?

THE ANSWERS

I DID JUST . . . WELL, NEVER YOU MIND HOW I DID

Okay, okay, I got three right, and two others maybe not quite as right. I'm frankly a little dubious about (4), the answer to which seems hardly worth concerning ourselves with. So maybe I don't know exactly where Corfu is. Am I expected to keep track of every last Greek island? Hey, there are, uh, millions of them. And then --


HOLD ON! RECOUNT! I WANT A RECOUNT!

Now just a doggone minute! When did [name withheld] become Scotland's largest city? Everybody knows that [name withheld] is the capital and Edinburgh the largest city. Okay, Edinburgh isn't on the Clyde (it's on the Firth of Forth, as I was reminded when I looked it up), and I should have remembered that (besides, shouldn't that be "the River Clyde," not "the Clyde River"?), but it hardly mattered since I knew perfectly well what the largest city in Scotland is -- I've got this! And in any case I can hardly be expected to keep track of every confounded river in the world.



Oh.

Never mind.

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Sunday Classics Quiz-Contest: Belated happy 200th, Frederic! (Now name our Chopinistas)

by Ken

I've been mulling some sort of Chopin "project" to go with the anniversary year (March 1 was our Frédéric's 200th birthday), and one obvious possibility might be to work out work through the 24 preludes, the one group of his piano compositions that actually were conceived, and intended to be played as, a set. (Difficult as it may be to believe, he really didn't expect us to sit down and listen to 53 mazurkas -- or, even more fatiguing, 19 nocturnes -- all in a row.)

So I thought we'd give it a test run tonight. The Chopin preludes are all short works, of course (No. 1 ranges from 0:31 to 0:52 in the performances we're hearing; No. 2, from 1:52 to 2:09; you'll notice that Pianist A gives both the shortest performance of No. 1 and the longest performance of No. 2), so I though pairing them might be the way to go, even apart from the structural logic -- the same as the preludes and fugues in the two books of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, encompassing all 24 major and minor keys by going through the "circle of fifths," starting in C major and its "relative minor" key, A minor (the keys with no sharps or flats), and going up a fifth each time, so that the next preludes are in G major and E minor, respectively. How strong the musical connections are between the nominal "pairs" is something you can decide for yourself.

It seems to me more that Chopin was most concerned with imagining a "good piece" for each of the 24 keys, with great concern for variety (or perhaps that came automatically?) and not so much regard to the major-minor pairings, but one of the glories of music of this precision, concentration, and depth is that it's meant to last the listener a lifetime. In the Prelude No. 1, for example, you're going to hear four very different ideas of what the basic rhythm of the piece is, and by extension the basic mood. Prelude No. 1 also demonstrates the fanatical concision of which Chopin was capable, ending almost before we've had a chance to get to know it. Which again is what makes this music to live with. On this rehearing, a couple of these performances within seconds brought tears to my eyes.

The four pianists we're hearing have two things in common: They're all seriously important artists, and I happen to have their recordings of the Chopin Preludes on CD. The age range, by my calculation, is from 25 to 73, which makes me wonder whether we shouldn't also be trying to see if we can hear the relative ages of our four pianists.

Our contenders are all on this list:

Martha Argerich
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Ivan Moravec
Maurizio Pollini
Arthur Rubinstein
Rudolf Serkin

(You'll notice the mix of nationalities here -- Brazilian, Russian, Czech, Italian, Polish, and German -- which ensures that the four pianists we're actually hearing are similarly diverse.)

CHOPIN: Preludes, Op. 28:

No. 1 in C major

No. 2 in A minor

A


B


C


D


Don't feel limited to guessing the pianists. In fact, don't feel you have to identify any of them. Feel free to comment on any aspect of the music (either or both pieces) or any one or more of the eight performances. If you do want to identify any of the recordings, maybe you'd like to explain how you arrived at your conclusions or guesses. If you've never heard the music and would like to share something that strikes you about either the music or any of the performances, possibly better still.

If your comment seems likely to add somehow to other listeners' experience of the music, you could be the winner even if you don't identify any of the artists. Multiple entries are not only allowed but welcome, provided you've got something to share.

Speaking of people who may never have heard this music, or may be still relatively unfamiliar with it, I would love to have some of you sharing it here. And I hope nobody will be put off by the printed music. Even if you don't read music, I think that especially with such brief, concentrated pieces you can pick up some strong visual clues about the pacing and textures of the music. Again, if you have responses you'd like to share, there are people here who'd be interested to hear them.

One obvious last question: Might this be a project worth pursuing? If so, would you rather hear the same pianists carry through all 24 preludes, or would you want to hear some others? (I think we've actually got a pretty interesting foursome here, so much so that )(We could also introduce "guest artists" along the way.

A SUGGESTED LISTENING TRICK

A trick I might propose, especially with such a wonderfully diverse group of performers, is to listen to all four performances of one prelude and then go back and rehear at least the first one you heard, to see whether, and how, it sounds any different.

Believe it or not, this time there are no tricks (or at least none that I can think of). There's even a built-in clue (and points to be had for guessing what the clue is, though the points don't count for anything -- don't let that stop you), and that's in addition to the already-divulged age range of our performers at the times of these recordings.


IN TOMORROW NIGHT'S PREVIEW AND SUNDAY'S POST

In the Saturday night preview we dip farther back in recorded history, and Sunday we identify all the pianists and make some observations about the two preludes.

SUNDAY CLASSICS POSTS

The current list is here.

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Sunday Classics Quiz-Contest: What's wrong with three of these Mozart overtures (or right with the other one)?

This week: Win a rare CD of Josef Krips conducting Mozart overtures


What could ever be wrong with the Marriage of Figaro Overture? It's performed here by the Staatskapelle Berlin under Daniel Barenboim, Berlin State Opera, 1999.

by Ken

AND THE WINNER IS . . .

Winner of last week's prize, a CD of Sousa marches played by the Band of H.M. Royal Marines conducted by Lt. Col. G.A.C. Hoskins, M.V.O., L.R.A.M., R.M. (Prinicipal Director of Music, Royal Marines), is our friend Bil -- first for his thoughtful response to my question about the difference between American and British band performances of Sousa marches ("thoughtful" because it agrees with me), and second in hopes of shutting him up about these damned prizes. Bil, please let me know where to send yours (KenFromDWT@aol.com).

Thanks to all who joined in last week. Just to be clear: The prize isn't necessarily for getting the most correct answers, but for making the liveliest contribution to the discussion. Yours truly is the sole judge. Contest result to be announced next Friday, unless I decided to do it sooner.

ABOUT THIS WEEK'S PRIZE

Okay, "rare" may be a stretch, although it's certainly not common. (I probably shouldn't say this, but the copies I've found have generally been in bargain bins. But then, many priceless treasures have been refugees from the bargain bins.) On this Adès CD, Josef Krips conducts nine Mozart overtures, the eight "basic" ones -- Idomeneo, Abduction from the Seraglio, The Impresario, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, La Clemenza di Tito, and The Magic Flute -- plus La finta giardiniera, with Zurich's principal orchestra, the Tonhalle. Here is his unhurried but glowing performance of the Marriage of Figaro Overture, which we just heard above. It's not the ultimate in polish, but for me it overflows with warmth and humanity -- just listen to the Tonhalle winds sing!

MOZART: Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), K. 492: Overture

Tonhalle Orchestra (Zurich), Josef Krips, cond. Adès, recorded 1960

I've said before that I don't think you can conduct Mozart with an unclean soul. Krips had a soul of singular radiance. (We just heard some of his live 1969 Vienna performance of Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder.) He was one of the great Mozart conductors of the 20th century. His 1955 Decca recording of Don Giovanniremains not just my favorite recording of that seminal opera but one of the best-conducted performances of a Mozart opera (or maybe any opera) I've heard. He made a gorgeous recording of the sublime C minor Concerto (No. 24) with Arthur Rubinstein,with whom he of course recorded one of the classic Beethoven concerto cycles. And, oh yes, with the Concertgebouw Orchestra he made wonderful recordings of the Mozart Symphonies Nos. 21-41.

A curiosity: For some reason, the letter that Krips wrote to the members of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in 1963 as he concluded his ten years as the orchestra's music director is posted online -- not in text form, but as a scan of the actual letter. I find it a fascinating document.

THIS WEEK'S QUIZ

As noted above, there's something wrong with all but one of these Mozart overtures. Note, however, that it's not necessarily the same thing wrong with all of them. In tomorrow night's Sunday Classics Preview we'll have some additional musical selections that should clear up at least some of the mysteries.

A


B


C


D



IN TOMORROW'S SUNDAY CLASSICS PREVIEW

As noted, we'll have some additional musical selections related to the quiz pieces, which will point us to the subject(s) of Sunday's post.


UPDATE (SUNDAY MORNING)

Here are the missing credits for our musical selections above. The remaining questions are answered in this morning's update to the Saturday night Sunday Classics Preview.

(A)
MOZART: Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio), K. 384: Overture
[with concert ending by Johann André] Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Neville Marriner, cond. EMI, recorded c1981

(B)
MOZART: Don Giovanni, K. 527: Overture
[with concert ending by Mozart] Staatskapelle Dresden, Sir Colin Davis, cond. BMG, recorded c1998

(C)
MOZART: Così fan tutte, K. 588: Overture
Berlin Philharmonic, Eugen Jochum, cond. DG, recorded December 1962

(D)
HAYDN: L'Incontro improvviso: Overture
Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Antal Dorati, cond. Philips/Decca, recorded June 1979)


SUNDAY CLASSICS POSTS

The current list is here.

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Sunday Classics preview answers

The answers to both Friday night's and last night's Guess the Composer(s?) Quizzes are now posted as UPDATEs to the original posts.

I think all questions -- at least the ones I can answer -- are answered. -- Ken

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Sunday Classics preview: Three more mystery works are added to the Guess the Composer(s?) Quiz

UPDATE below with the rest of the answers
(Last night's answers are already posted)


Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the BBC Symphony in fine performances of the third and fourth movements, the lovely Menuet and [at 5:14] the spirited "Rigaudon," from Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin, at a 2007 Proms concert in London's Royal Albert Hall. The "Rigaudon" is another piece I considered for our mystery works. (I didn't include it!)

by Ken

Last night we began this two-part quiz, out of which Sunday's musical program will eventually emerge. Tonight, as promised, here are three more mystery works. Also as promised, the composer(s) is/are to be found on this master list:

Alban Berg
Hector Berlioz
Leonard Bernstein
Johannes Brahms
Benjamin Britten
Claude Debussy
Louis Moreau Gottschalk
Charles Gounod
Olivier Messiaen
Carl Nielsen
Jacques Offenbach
Hans Pfitzner
Sergei Prokofiev
Maurice Ravel
Camille Saint-Saëns
Arnold Schoenberg
Dmitri Shostakovich
Johann Strauss Jr.
Richard Strauss
Igor Stravinsky
Sir Arthur Sullivan
Hugo Wolf

Again, it's possible that some or all of tonight's composer(s) may be the same as last night's.


Mystery Work D

This lovely yet somehow off-kilter little waltz has been discovered by the TV music scavengers. This is a sort of thing for which the composer had an uncanny facility.
(1)

(2)


Mystery Work E

Here we hear the sheer audacity of musical imagination running wild. Well, maybe not running wild exactly; behind the scenes, the eerie beauty of this little piece is in fact quite tightly controlled. If I didn't know the work, there's a composer on our master list I would be eyeing. I would be wrong.
(1)

(2)


Mystery Work F

We're only going to hear this piece once, and even this performance is downloaded. (This is a piece I've known exclusively in a performance that I have only on LP.) I was on the verge of downloading yet another version, but I decided this one would be enough, even with that unusual instrumental combination of . . . oh no! If I tell you that, you'll go and Google that.




SATURDAY NIGHT BONUS

As you'll guess from its lack of a beginning or end, this is an orchestral interlude, creating a transition from a large chunk of the most beautiful music ever written (no joke this time) to what may be the most horrible (in a good way!) musical shock.
(1)

(2)



AND THE ANSWERS ARE --

I've finally come up with a plan. The plan is that I'll post all the identifying information for Friday's mystery works (and the performances) as an "update" around 6am PT tomorrow (Sunday) morning, and then I'll do the same for tonight's mystery works as an update here around 9:30am PT, half an hour before post time for the actual Sunday Classics post (10am PT).


UPDATE: IT'S A SHOSTAKOVICH-SCHOENBERG CELEBRATION

[D] SHOSTAKOVICH: No. 6, Waltz 2, from Jazz Suite No. 2

(1) Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly, cond. Decca, recorded April-May 1991
(2) Philadelphia Orchestra, Mariss Jansons, cond. EMI, recorded March 1996

[E] PROKOFIEV: No. 3, "Night," from Scythian Suite, Op. 20

The composer I might have guessed (wrongly) is Debussy.

(1) Minnesota Orchestra, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, cond. Vox, recorded 1983
(2) Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, André Previn, cond. Philips, recorded March 1987

[F] SCHOENBERG: Weihnachtsmusik (Christmas Music)
for two violins, cello, and harmonium

I first got to know the Weihnachtsmusik via Decca's London Sinfonietta set of Schoenberg's Complete Works for Chamber Ensemble, the same LP box that contained last night's glorious Iron Brigade. I found the latter on CD -- improbably tacked onto Pierrot Lunaire and the Op. 24 Serenade. But I had to resort to download for this digital version of the Christmas Music.

Ensemble Stanislas. Gall, recorded c1991

[BONUS] SCHOENBERG: Gurre-Lieder (Songs of Gurre):
Part I, Orchestral Interlude

The interlude follows the last of the impassioned alternating solos for the Danish King Waldemar and his lover Tove, and sets up the horrible shock revealed at the start of the "Song of the Wood Dove." We'll be hearing more of Gurre-Lieder -- a bit more this Sunday, then a lot more next week.

(1) Staatskapelle Dresden, Giuseppe Sinopoli, cond. 
Teldec, recorded August 1995
(2) New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta, cond. Sony, recorded May 23-28, 1991

CONFIDENTIAL TO ANYONE WHO GUESSED EITHER MESSIAEN OR PFITZNER FOR ANY OF OUR EIGHT MYSTERY WORKS: Well, really now! (You might check the brief discussion under "Jeux de vagues" in last week's post.)


SPEAKING OF TOMORROW'S SUNDAY CLASSICS POST,
AND COMING CLEAN, A LITTLE --

I'll go so far as to reveal now that, between our six mystery works and the two bonus works, we have heard three works each by two composers. Those composers will be featured in tomorrow's post. In fact, we're going to hear more of two of the works we've sampled -- and even more of one of them next week.


SUNDAY CLASSICS POSTS

The current list is here.

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Sunday Classics preview: It's a Guess the Mystery Composer(s?) Quiz!

UPDATE below, where (most) questions are answered


No, this isn't one of our mystery works. It could have been if it weren't fully identified in the clip! Still, Stravinsky's Greeting Prelude will give you some idea of where we're going tonight, if not necessarily where we're headed.

by Ken

We have three mystery pieces tonight, each performed twice, by anywhere up to three composers, and tomorrow night we're going to have three more pieces, by anywhere up to three composers, some of whom may be the same. To make it easier, this time we have a master composers' list, from which all of the composers this weekend (however many of them there are, or is) are drawn:

Alban Berg
Hector Berlioz
Leonard Bernstein
Johannes Brahms
Benjamin Britten
Claude Debussy
Louis Moreau Gottschalk
Charles Gounod
Olivier Messiaen
Carl Nielsen
Jacques Offenbach
Hans Pfitzner
Sergei Prokofiev
Maurice Ravel
Camille Saint-Saëns
Arnold Schoenberg
Dmitri Shostakovich
Johann Strauss Jr.
Richard Strauss
Igor Stravinsky
Sir Arthur Sullivan
Hugo Wolf

(This is one of those moments when I really wish I knew how to do columns. Wouldn't this list look neat in two columns?)

Mystery Work A

But enough fooling around. Let's plunge right in with our first mystery selection. Why don't we start with an easy one? Everybody knows this one.
(1)

(2)


Mystery Work B

This is another pretty easy one, if you happen to be familiar with it, less easy if you're not. It's an orchestral arrangement, done under unusual circumstances, and it's the arranger -- and the circumstances -- we're looking for, not so much the original composer, although it might be nice to give him at least a shout-out. The original composer and our arranger, by the way, knew this little morsel under quite different names. If I told you the name applied by the arranger, you would probably have no idea just from that what the original piece was. But you could Google that title, so I can't tell you.
(1)

(2)


Mystery Work C

Sometimes I think this is the greatest piece of music ever written. At any rate, it's as great a piece of music as we appear to have any need, or use, for. Note in particular the trio section (at 2:03 of the first performance, 2:10 of the second), introduced by that bugle-like piano fanfare (1:52 and 1:56, respectively). Heaven! I expect you may have some questions about the second performance, but you can save yourself the trouble of asking. I don't know. Probably it's explained in the liner notes, but I don't have the record. I've lived with and loved the first performance for a lot of years; the other one I just downloaded. Extra credit to anyone who can 'splain for us.
(1)

(2)



FRIDAY NIGHT BONUS!

This work provides a link between the mystery works above and a work we're going to hear Sunday. This is a most remarkable little piece -- first for the remarkable journey it travels to wind up where it does (you're missing some important context hearing it by itself, but even this part of the journey is pretty remarkable), and second for the way it manages to get there. The first recording unmistakably shows its age (it's from . . . no, I can't tell you; someone will try Googling that!), not to mention some scrappy orchestral work, but I love its spunk.
(1)

(2)



UPDATE: IN WHICH (MOST) QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED

[A] GOUNOD: Funeral March of a Marionette

Once upon a time the principal tune was instantly recognizable as the theme from the TV mystery anthology Alfred Hitchcock Presents. I wonder now how many people under, say, 40 have even heard of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

(1) Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler, cond. RCA, recorded May 10, 1963
(2) BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Yan Pascal Tortelier, cond. Chandos, recorded 1999

[B] SHOSTAKOVICH (arr.): Tahiti Trot

Don't ask me why, but Vincent Youmans' "Tea for Two" (written, with lyrics by Irving Caesar, for the 1925 musical No, No, Nanette) has always been known in Russia as "Tahiti Trot." Here's the Wikipedia account of the curious circumstances that produced this 1927 arrangement: "Shostakovich wrote it in response to a challenge from conductor Nikolai Malko: after the two listened to the song on record at Malko's house, Malko bet 100 roubles that Shostakovich could not completely re-orchestrate the song from memory in under an hour. Shostakovich took him up and won, completing the orchestration in around 45 minutes."

(1) Philadelphia Orchestra, Mariss Jansons, cond. EMI, recorded March 1996
(2) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly, cond. Decca, recorded April-May 1991

[C] SCHOENBERG: Die eiserne Brigade (The Iron Brigade)

for string quartet and piano

The wonderful Decca recording was made as part of a deadly serious five-LP set of Schoenberg's Complete Works for Chamber Ensemble as performed by the London Sinfonietta directed by David Atherton. By the way, the piece was written in 1916 while the 41-year-old composer was languishing in military service during World War I. Again, don't ask me about the singing and animal noises in the Gall version.

(1) London Sinfoniettta: Nona Liddell and Joan Atherton, violins; Donald McVay, viola; Jennifer Ward Clarke, cello; John Constable, piano. Decca, recorded Oct. 1973-May 1974
(2) Stanislas Quartet; Jeff Cohen, piano. Gall, recorded c1991

[BONUS] SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 6 in B minor,

Op. 54: iii. Presto

(1) Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, cond. Columbia/Sony, recorded March 26, 1945
(2) Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Järvi, cond. Chandos, recorded May 1985


IN TOMORROW NIGHT'S PREVIEW, AND THEN SUNDAY --

As noted, we have three more Mystery Orchestral Works -- let's call them D, E, and F, which either are or aren't connected to tonight's Works A, B, and C. And who knows? There might be another bonus. Once the composers have been identified, we can fill in the missing credits -- titles, performers, that sort of thing. Actually, I thought we might include that information, but that would just be playing into the hands of the Mad Googlers.

In Sunday's post we'll hear, well, more music!


SUNDAY CLASSICS POSTS

The current list is here.

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Sunday Classics preview: DWT Opera Quiz -- Is this any way to start an opera? (Part 2)

Confidential to the operaphobic: There's hardly any singing in tonight's music (UPDATED with answers)


by Ken

A

B


It should go without saying that great composers, just like great writers, worry a lot about how they start a piece, how they grab an audience's attention while preparing us in some fashion for what's to follow.

C

D


It took the fledgling form of opera awhile to settle into the convention of starting with an overture of some sort played by the orchestra, but once established, the convention held for some 250 years, and has hardly been totally abandoned. Of course over that tme the overture -- or its shorter, usually less self-contained cousin the prelude -- came to take such a wide range of forms that composers still had to think long and hard about how, in that overture, they wanted to make contact with their audience.

E


Inevitably, though, resistance to even that much of a convention set in. We've already devoted fairly close attention to the bewildering assortment of ways that Puccini -- following the example of the great Verdi in his final masterworks, Otello and Falstaff and dispensing with any but the briefest orchestral introduction -- got his operas going.

F

G


One of these excerpts -- possibly more, but at least one -- was written to begin an opera by one of the greatest of all opera composers. So the challenge is to identify the opera-starter(s), and of course the opera(s).

H

I


Naturally, it would be lovely to have the other excerpts identified as well, which leads us to --

HINT 1: The excerpts are all by the same composer, and they are all connected somehow.

HINT 2: As usual, there could be a trick or several, but also as usual, there could be some aids built in. The photo at the top is a dead giveaway, if you know what it is.

NOTE: My aim is to post the answers, including English texts for the few vocal parts, in an update about noon ET (9am PT) tomorrow.


UPDATE: THE ANSWERS

Since the criterion was "written to begin an opera," the correct answers are C and D, although E+B also wound up beginning many performances of the opera (see below). The opera in question, the source of all our excerpts, is Verdi's Don Carlos. C is the orchestral introduction to the original -- no, no, I mean the original original -- opening, an interesting scene that was cut for length before the Paris premiere (as were a number of other chunks of the opera) and replaced by the hunters' chorus D. (At the Met, James Levine has made the scene that starts with C part of his standard performing version of the opera.)

E+B is the opening of Act II, Scene 1 in the five-act version of the opera. However, when Verdi yielded to pressure to produce a still-shorter version for wider consumption, he omitted the first act, which is really a sort of prologue, and the opening of Act II became of the four-act version of the opera. A pretty darned striking opening, if you ask me.

Apart from A and B, which are obviously related, and were pulled out of order as an intentionally deceptive setup, following the two alternate openings of Act I (C and D) the excerpts appear in the order that they do in the opera.

E, as you know, followed by B, is the opening of Act II, Scene 1 in the five-act version, or of Act I, Scene 1 in the four-act version. This scene, set in the monastery of San Yuste, is in fact the one we're going to be focusing on this week. The monks' chorus is recalled vividly in A, the orchestral introduction to the final act.

The lovely F is the prelude to the garden scene, Act III, Scene 1, and G is the tingling opening of Act III, Scene 2, the auto-da-fé ("act of faith") -- what could be more festive than the burning of heretics condemned by the Inquisition?

H is the brooding introduction to the sleepless King Phillip's Act IV, Scene 1 pre-dawn monologue (known in Italian as "Ella giammai m'amò") in his study, a succession of extraordinary numbers that may add up to the greatest scene Verdi ever wrote. In it the Grand Inquisitor demands the head of the king's confidant Rodrigo, the Marquis of Posa, and in Scene 2 (to which I is the brief orchestral inroduction), the order is carried out as Posa visits his friend Carlos in prison.

Finally, as noted above, A opens Act V, introducing Queen Elisabeth's monologue, "Tu che le vanità."

A. Act V Prelude
Orchestra of the Royal Swedish Opera (Stockholm), Alberto Hold-Garrido, cond. Naxos, recorded live Dec. 18, 1999 and Jan. 22 and 27, 2000

B. Act II, Scene 1: Monks' Chorus
Martti Wallén (bs), the Monk; Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Swedish Opera (Stockholm), Alberto Hold-Garrido, cond. Naxos, recorded live Dec. 18, 1999 and Jan. 22 and 27, 2000

Scene: The tomb of Charles V in the monastery of San Yuste

A choir of monks is praying in the offstage chapel. Onstage, a kneeling monk pray before the tomb.

MONKS: Charles, the supreme emperor,
is no longer more than mute dust.
At the feet of his heavenly maker
his haughty soul now trembles.
A MONK: He wanted to rule over the world,
forgetting the one who in the sky
guides the stars on their faithful path.
His pride was immense;
his error was profound.
MONKS: Charles, the supreme emperor &c.
A MONK: Great is God alone, and if he wills it
he makes heaven and earth tremble.
Ah! Merciful God,
compassionate to the sinner,
you will grant
that peace and pardon
descend on him from heaven.
MONKS: Let your wrath not fall,
not fall on his soul.
ALL: Great is God alone.
He alone is great.

C. Act I: Orchestral introduction to the original opening
Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, James Levine, cond. Sony, recorded April-May 1992

D. Act I: Replacement introduction
[in French] Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala, Claudio Abbado, cond. DG, recorded January 1983 and June 1984

Scene: The forest of Fontainebleau

The princess Elisabeth of Valois and her party enter. Offstage hunters are heard from either side.

HUNTERS: The stag flies beneath the branches.
By St. Herbert,
let's follow, it as long as the day lasts,
In the deserted wood.

E. Act II, Scene 1 Prelude (opening of four-act version)
Orchestra of the Royal Swedish Opera (Stockholm), Alberto Hold-Garrido, cond. Naxos, recorded live Dec. 18, 1999 and Jan. 22 and 27, 2000

F. Act III, Scene 1 Prelude
Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala, Claudio Abbado, cond. DG, recorded January 1983 and June 1984

G. Act III, Scene 2 opening
Chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, cond. EMI, recorded Sept. 15-20, 1978

Scene: A great plaza in front of Nostra Donna d'Atocha

The crowd is gathered for the auto-da-fé.

CHORUS: The day of rejoicing has dawned.
All honor to the greatest of kings.
The peoples have confidence in him.
All the world lies prostrate at his feet.
Our love follows him everywhere,
and this love will never wane.
His name is the pride of Spain
and must live forever.
CHORUS OF MONKS [leading the condemned]:
The day has dawned, day of terrors,
the terrible day, the fatal day.
They will die, they will die.
Just is the severity of the Immortal.
But the supreme voice of forgiveness
Will revoke the anathema
if the sinner in the ultimate hour
will repent.
CHORUS: The day of rejoicing &c.

H. Act IV, Scene 1 Prelude
Orchestra of the Royal Swedish Opera (Stockholm), Alberto Hold-Garrido, cond. Naxos, recorded live Dec. 18, 1999 and Jan. 22 and 27, 2000

I. Act IV, Scene 2 Prelude
Orchestra of the Royal Swedish Opera (Stockholm), Alberto Hold-Garrido, cond. Naxos, recorded live Dec. 18, 1999 and Jan. 22 and 27, 2000

ABOUT THE PHOTO: That's the exterior of the monastery of San Yuste, where Charles V was buried -- and the setting for Act II, Scene 1 and Act V (in the five-act version) of Don Carlos.


IN TOMORROW'S SUNDAY CLASSICS PREVIEW --

How Charles V became emperor of the world

Then Sunday's post: "In Verdi's Don Carlos all paths lead back to the tomb of Charles V"


SUNDAY CLASSICS POSTS

The current list is here.

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Sunday Classics preview: Yes, it's another "Guess the Composer" quiz

by Ken

We've done this before, so you know the drill.

1. Piano version



2. Orchestral version



Once again we've got a piano version, and this time an orchestral version. So we need to know:

* Which is the original version? (Watch out, this could be a trick!)

* Who composed it?

* Who made the arrangement?

* Bonus points if you can identify the performers, or at least the pianist.

There will probably be some sort of prize. Apparently the quest for knowledge and the approval of one's peers don't count for much anymore.

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Sunday Classics preview: Sure, you can identify the piece, but is one performance different from the others?

(And yes, Bil, there'll be a prize

for identifying all our fiddlers)


by Ken

And don't worry if you're new to this stuff and can't identify the piece.Not only are you more than welcome here, the freshness of your ears may give you an advantage. Plus, I'm going to guarantee that you know at least one composition by this composer, which you'll hear in tomorrow night's Sunday Classics preview. As you may have guessed, the composer is the subject of Sunday's post.

To me, one of these performances captures an essential quality of the music that the others don't. In this regard there are no right or wrong answers -- feel free to share anything that strikes you about any or all of the performances. (They'll all be identified in tomorrow night's preview.)

A.


B.


C.


D.


E.



SUNDAY CLASSICS POSTS

The current list is here.

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