Music History Highlights

By Dr. Robin Kay Deverich

Brief historical profile of composers featured in Music Book 1:

Johann Sebastian Bach

Arcangelo Corelli

George Frideric Handel

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Johann Pachelbel

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Franz Schubert

Giuseppe Tartini

Pauline Viardot

Antonio Vivaldi

Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750). Air from Orchestral Suite No. 3  

Bach's career as a composer and musician included positions such as church organist in the towns of Arnstadt and Muhlhausen; court organist and concertmaster for the Duke of Weimar; director of music for Prince Leopold of Anhalt at Cothen; and in 1723, Cantor of St. Thomas Church and civic director of music for Leipzig . Bach's Leipzig position was one of the most prestigious musical positions in Germany at the time, and included responsibilities such as: music for the four main churches in Leipzig , musical training of students at a boarding school associated with St. Thomas , and various duties for the city of Leipzig 's musical affairs. In 1729, Bach added to his Leipzig responsibilities when he assumed leadership of the Leipzig collegium musicum, a voluntary organization founded by Telemann in 1704. Members of the collegium musicum included university students and professional musicians, and they contributed to the musical culture of the community with weekly concerts.

Bach was the father of twenty children: seven with his first wife, his cousin Maria Barbara Bach, and thirteen with his second wife, Anna Magdalena. As was common during this era, however, half of his children did not survive past childhood. Bach taught his children music, and was proud to note that his family often performed together as a vocal and instrumental concert group. Some of Bach's children went on to become noted musicians such as Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Johann Christian Bach.

Bach's musical output was related to his employment, thus while he was employed as an organist at Arnstadt, Muhlhausen and Wiemer, he composed a large number of organ works. During his tenure as Kapellmeister at Cothen, he wrote large amounts of instrumental works, and while he was Cantor at Leipzig , he wrote hundreds of cantatas and other sacred vocal works for church services. During Bach's term as leader of Leipzig 's collegium musicum, he wrote new instrumental music as well as new arrangements of instrumental works he had written in Cothen. It is interesting to note that Bach regarded the purpose of all of his music as being “to the glory of God,” and he often inscribed his compositions with letters such as S.D.G. (soli Deo gloria- “to God alone be glory”). [1]

Bach's Air, often known as Air for the G string, is an arrangement of the slow movement from his Orchestral Suite No. 3, and was written for one of his Leipzig collegium musicum concerts.

Corelli, Arcangelo (1653-1713). Op. 2: Sonata No. 1, Preludio; Sonata No. 3, Allemanda; Sonata No. 8, Sarabanda; Op. 1: Sonata No. 3, Giga.

Arcangelo Corelli was an Italian violinist, teacher and composer. He made a significant contribution to violin music with his instrumental compositions such as solo sonatas, trio sonatas and concertos. Corelli studied music at the Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna , and began his professional career as a violinist in Rome . Some of Corelli's influential patrons included Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili, Queen Christina of Sweden , and Cardinal Ottoboni. At various points in Corelli's musical career, he was employed as a chamber musician and composer for Queen Christina, and served as Cardinal Pamphili's music master. He was invited to live at Pamphili's palace, and while there, he composed, performed and led chamber groups such as Cardinal Pamphili's academies: musical functions held on Sundays at Pamphili's Palazza al Corso, and which were purportedly one of the main musical events in Roman society at the time. When Cardinal Pamphili moved to Bologna in 1690, Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni acquired the patronage of Corelli. Corelli was invited to live at Cardinal Ottoboni's place, the Cancelleria, and musical academies were regularly held there on Monday evenings. In 1706, Corelli was honored with admittance to the Arcadian Academy , and was accorded the designation Arcomelo Ermanto.

Although Corelli did not produce a large number of instrumental compositions, his six opuses of sonatas, trio sonatas and concerti grossi exerted a significant influence on the development of the solo sonata, trio sonata and concerto grosso genres. Advances in music publishing contributed towards Corelli's music being widely disseminated throughout western Europe, as illustrated by 35 known editions being made of his Op. 1 between the years 1681 to 1785.

It was a common practice during the Baroque era for musicians to dedicate compositions to their patrons, and Corelli dedicated his first collection of trio sonatas, Op. 1, to Queen Christina in 1681. This work is comprised of twelve trio sonatas which follow the “church” sonata format of four movements, generally slow-fast-slow-fast. Corelli dedicated his second collection of trio sonatas, Op. 2, to Cardinal Pamphili in 1685. The eleven sonatas in this work follow the chamber sonata format, and the opus concludes with a chaconne. Corelli's chamber sonatas generally began with a preludio, and were followed by two or three dance movements with the final movement, a gigue or gavotte. [2]

Handel, George Frideric (1685-1759). Royal Fireworks Suite: La Rejouissance and Menuet.

Although George Friederich Handel was born in Germany , he spent most of his adult life as a musician in England . He showed an early interest in music, but his father, a barber-surgeon, wanted him to be a lawyer. Handel's musical talent was so apparent that his father finally gave his reluctant approval for him to study music, and Handel began lessons with the organist and composer Friedrich Zachow, in Halle . Following Handel's graduation from the University of Halle , he became a church organist for a brief period, then moved to Hamburg where he composed his first opera in 1705. In 1706, Handel moved to Italy for several years to further his interest in Italian music, and received acclaim as a promising young composer.

In 1709, Handel returned to Germany when was offered the position of Music Director for the Elector of Hanover in northern Germany . However, Handel stayed in Germany for only a brief time. He requested extended leaves of absences from this position so he could travel to London to compose and produce operas and other musical works. In 1714, Handel was still in England and was faced with a dilemma when his German employer, the Elector of Hanover, was appointed George I of England . Handel purportedly was able to redeem himself with the king and continued as a court composer to King George. Handel spent most of his musical life in London , and was internationally recognized as a superb composer of music in almost all genres: instrumental works, operas, oratorios, sacred vocal music, and keyboard music. His compositional techniques foreshadowed many progressive elements of the Romantic era.

Handel was commissioned to write music to celebrate the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. The resulting work, Music for the Royal Fireworks in D, otherwise known as the Royal Fireworks Suite, was played outdoors in 1749 during a fireworks display in Green Park , and was a great success. La Rejouissance and Menuet are movements from this suite.[3]

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-91). Concerto in A for Clarinet K. 622, Adagio.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was one of the most influential composers during the Classical period.. He wrote over 600 musical works, and excelled in composing all of the major styles of music popular during his era such as opera, piano concertos, symphonies, chamber and solo instrumental music, songs and sacred vocal music.

Mozart was born in 1756 in Salzburg , and was taught music by his father, Leopold, a violinist and composer. He was a musical prodigy, and began composing and performing publicly from the age of six. His father took him on performance tours throughout Europe, and Mozart not only had the opportunity to play before wealthy patrons and nobility in cities such as Paris, London and Munich, but he also was exposed to numerous types of music thus contributing to his mastery of a wide variety of styles in his compositions.

Mozart did not choose to follow the traditional path taken by most musicians during his era: seeking an appointment as composer to a wealthy patron. Although he worked for a number of years for the Archbishop of Salzburg, Mozart felt the patronage system was too restrictive, and he moved to Vienna in 1781 to pursue a musical career on his own. In 1782, he married Constanze Weber, a singer, and they had six children. Mozart was well-received as a musician in Vienna , and he earned a living by teaching, giving concerts, procuring commissions for his music, publishing his music, and later in his career, as a court musician to the Hapsburg court. However, he and his wife were apparently unable to manage finances well, and as a result, they were frequently in debt. Mozart died from rheumatic fever on December 5, 1791.

Mozart composed Concerto in A for Clarinet in 1791 for his friend Anton Stadler. Mozart originally intended to write this piece for basset-horn, and wrote the first movement for basset-horn in the key of G, then changed his mind, and instead wrote the piece for Stadler's “basset clarinet” which is a clarinet which extends down a major third. Adagio is the slow movement from this piece, and has been transcribed for strings. [4]

Pachelbel, Johann (1653-1706). Canon in D.

Johann Pachelbel was a German organist, teacher and composer. He composed music for organ, voice, harpsichord, and chamber ensembles. The majority of his music was composed for church services, and his organ chorales and sacred vocal music are considered significant contributions to Protestant church music.

Pachelbel was a music student at the university at Altdorf and also was a scholarship student at the Gymnasium Poeticum at Regensburg . In 1673, he traveled to Vienna , and became the deputy organist of St. Stephen's Cathedral. In 1677, he had a one year appointment as the court organist at Eisenach , and in 1678, he became the organist of the Protestant Predigerkirche at Erfurt . He spent the next twelve years in Erfurt composing, playing the organ and teaching.

In 1681, Pachelbel married Barbara Gabler, but she and their infant son died from the plague. In 1684, he married Judith Drommer Trummert, and they had five sons and two daughters. During Pachelbel's stay in Erfurt , he became well acquainted with Ambrosius Bach, the father of Johann Sebastian Bach. Ambrosius asked Pachelbel to be the godfather to one of his daughters, Johanna Juditha, and also requested that he teach music to his son Johann Christoph. It is interesting to note that Johann Christoph later taught music to his brother Johann Sebastian Bach.

In 1690-92, Pachelbel served as a musician under the patronage of Duchess Magdalena Sibylla at the Wurttemberg court at Stuttgart . The impending threat of a French invasion caused him to leave Stuttgart in 1692, and he served as the town organist at Gotha in Thuringia for the next three years. In 1695, he was invited to become the organist of St Sebald, Nuremberg , a prestigious position, and he continued as organist there until his death in 1706.

Pachelbel's musical works include a large body of organ music such as organ chorales, fugues, toccatas, preludes, ricercares, fantasias, ciacconas, suites and variations. His vocal music include motets, sacred concertos, arias and music for vespers and masses. He also composed chamber music, and Canon in D is one of these works. It was originally transcribed for two violins and bass continuo, and it is likely that he composed this piece in the 1690s while he was in Nuremburg. The bass line consists of a two measure ostinato (a short melodic phrase that is repeated) and serves as the foundation for the 28 variations which follow. The term canon is often used to describe a form of composition in which two or more voices follow in imitation of each other, often in an overlapping format. [5]

Rachmaninoff, Sergei (1873 - 1943). Vocalise Opus 34, No. 14.

Sergei Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, concert pianist and conductor. He studied music at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and the Moscow Conservatory. Rachmaninoff graduated from the Moscow Conservatory a year early, and received honors in piano performance, and the highest composition award possible: the Great Gold Medal.

Following World War I, the political and financial turmoil of Russia convinced Rachmaninoff that it would be prudent to immigrate. Although he was unable to procure exit visas for his family to officially move from Russia , Rachmaninoff took his family with him when he went to Stockholm in 1917 for a music engagement, and they remained in western Europe following his concert. The following year, they moved to the United States . Since they were unable to take their money and belongings with them when they left Russia , Rachmaninoff realized that a career as a concert pianist would be more financially stable than trying to earn a living as a composer, so he focused his career on concertizing and recording in the United States and Europe . Although Rachmaninoff continued to compose music during the years 1918-1943, he was unable to devote as much time to composition as he had in the past. He died from cancer in 1943 in Beverly Hills , California.

Rachmaninoff's musical compositions often have lyrical melodies and a lush Romantic sound. He composed approximately 100 musical works such as piano concertos, sonatas and character pieces, as well as symphonies, operas, choral music, solo vocal music, instrumental pieces and chamber music. Rachmaninoff composed Vocalise in 1912 (he later revised it in 1915), and it is the fourteenth song in his 14 Songs Op. 34. Although Vocalise has no text, the other thirteen songs in this collection were set to poems written by some of Russia 's most famous Romantic poets such as Pushkin, Polonsky and Korinfsky. Rachmaninoff wrote most of these songs to feature the unique abilities of specific Russian singers, and Vocalise was written with the singer Nezhdanova in mind. [6]

Schubert, Franz (1797-1828). Piano Trio in B flat major, Op. 99. Andante un poco mosso.

Franz Schubert, an Austrian composer and musician, was the son of a schoolmaster. Although Schubert died at the young age of thirty-one, he was a prolific composer and wrote symphonies, piano works, chamber music, sacred vocal music, and art songs, and is particularly noted for his creative use of harmonic color and the ability to write beautiful melodies.

When Schubert was young, he was accepted as a choirboy in the imperial court chapel, which included a boarding-school education at the Imperial and Royal City College in Vienna . In addition to his regular studies, Schubert learned the violin and piano, and was a music pupil of the composer Antonio Salieri. Although many of Schubert's peers were required to join the military, Schubert was too short---he was smaller than the minimum height of five feet, thus he avoided the mandatory military conscription for Austrian citizens.

In 1813, Schubert left college, enrolled in a training school for elementary teachers, and in 1814, began teaching at his father's school. Although Schubert preferred a full-time career as a composer, financial reasons apparently necessitated that he teach school and compose in his spare time. In 1818, Schubert procured a music teaching position as music master to the children of Count Johann Esterhazy in Hungary . This position gave him more freedom to compose, and by 1819, Schubert's reputation as a composer was well-known enough for him to earn a living through his music.

Schubert often met with his friends for domestic evening concerts of his music, gatherings that they called Schubertiades. It is likely that Schubert's Piano Trio in B flat major, Op. 99, was originally played at a Schubertiad. This piece was first performed publicly in Vienna in 1827 by the Schuppanzigh Quartet. [7]

Tartini, Giuseppe (1692-1770). Sonata a tre Op. 8, No. 6. Andante.

Giuseppe Tartini was an Italian violinist, teacher and composer. He made significant contributions to the genres of violin concertos and sonatas, and is often considered to be a pioneer of the “gallant style,” a style of music during the mid-eighteenth-century that often used a virtuosic style of playing, melodious melodies, and a chordal style of accompaniment (homophony). He was a noted violin teacher, and authored violin treatises on ornamentation and technique.

Although Tartini received training to become a priest, he apparently rejected his parent's wishes that he join a monastery, and he instead pursued a career as a musician. Tartini was employed as a violinist by churches such as St. Anthony's Basilica in Padua , Italy which was noted for having one of the finest orchestras in Europe at that time. He also spent several years in Prague as a musician for Count Kinsky, a Bohemian court chancellor.

Tartini was an influential violin teacher, and many of his views regarding violin instruction can be found in his book, Traite des agrements, that was published soon after his death. Leopold Mozart, father of Wolfgang Mozart, plagiarized many of Tartini's ideas when he published a violin instruction text, Violinschule, in 1756. [8]

Tartini's Sonata a tre, Op. 8, No. 6 is a trio sonata, written for two violins and a bass continuo.  It appears to have first been published in Paris in 1749.

Viardot, Pauline (1821-1910). 6 Morceaux pour Piano et Violon. No. 5, Vielle Chanson.

Pauline Viardot was a French singer, composer and voice teacher. Her musical works include pieces for violin and piano, operettas, and many songs for voice and piano. Viardot was the daughter of two opera singers: Manuel Garcia, and Joaquina Garcia-Stiches. Viardot received vocal training from her parents, studied piano with Meysenberg and Liszt, and composition with Reicha.

Viardot sang in operas such as Rossini's Otello, Meyerbeer's Le prophete, Berlioz's 1859 Paris production of Gluck's Orfeo, and gave Brahm's debut performance of his Alto Rhapsody. In 1840, she married the French writer Louis Viardot, and their Parisian home was an influential gathering place for musicians and intellectuals. Musicians such as Schumann, Saint-Saens and Faure dedicated songs to her, and some of her close friends included Chopin, Gounod, Massenet, George Sand, and Turgenev.

Viardot had four children: two daughters who became concert singers, a daughter who became a writer and composer (Louise Heritte-Viardot), and a son, Paul (1957-1941) who studied violin with Leonard and became a conductor, composer and violinist. Viardot dedicated 6 Morceaux pour Piano et Violon to her son Paul, and this work was first published in Paris by J. Hamelle in the 1890s. Vielle Chanson is the fifth piece in this collection of lyrical, romantic pieces for violin and piano. [9]

Vivaldi, Antonio (1678-1741). Four Seasons Op. 8. Spring, No. 1; Winter, No. 4; Fall, No. 3.

Antonio Vivaldi was one of the most significant Italian composers during the Baroque era. He was a virtuoso violinist and composer of instrumental music, operas and sacred music, and is particularly noted for his contributions to the development of the concerto form. He was born in Venice , Italy , and studied the violin with his father, Giovanni Battista, a professional violinist. Vivaldi's family encouraged him to become a priest, probably to achieve increased social status, so he trained for the priesthood and was ordained a priest in 1703. Vivaldi happened to have had red hair, thus these factors contributed to his nickname il prete rosso (“the red priest”). Although he claimed that poor health caused him to give up his vocation as a priest, Vivaldi clearly was more interested in a career in music than the priesthood.

At the age of twenty-six, Vivaldi was appointed maestro di violino at the Pio Ospedale della Pieta (hereafter referred to as la Pieta), one of four Venetian institutions for illegitimate, orphaned, or abandoned girls. This particular orphanage specialized in music and had many fine musicians and an exceptional orchestra. Vivaldi's responsibilities eventually included teacher of violin, director of concerts, choirmaster, and composer. Many of his symphonies and concertos were composed for student and faculty associates of la Pieta.

Vivaldi earned a living as a musician not only through his affiliation with la Pieta, but also through the sale of his music in manuscript and published forms. He composed over 800 works such as approximately 500 instrumental concertos, over 90 solo and trio sonatas, instrumental chamber music, and vocal music such as operas, masses, oratorios and cantatas.

Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, was written in 1725, and is found in the beginning of a collection of violin concertos entitled Il cimento dell-armonia e dell'inventione (“Tests of Harmony”), which he dedicated to one of his patrons, the Bohemian Count Wenzeslaus von Morzin. The programmatic The Four Seasons violin concertos depicts sounds associated with the seasons such as music that imitates the sounds of birds singing in the movement entitled Spring, and music that depicts the sound of a cold, icy wind in the movement entitled Winter. [10]

©2009 RK Deverich. All rights reserved.

[2]Talbot, Michael.  "Arcangelo Corelli," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.  Ed. Stanley Sadie.  London : Macmillian, 1980.  4:768-774.

[3]Dean, Winton and Hicks, Anthony.  "George Frideric Handel," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.  Ed. Stanley Sadie. London : Macmillian, 1980.  8:83-140.

[4]Sadie, Stanley and Hicks , Anthony.  "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.  Ed. Stanley Sadie.  London : Macmillian, 1980.  12:680-752.

[5]Nolte, Ewald V.  "Johann Pachelbel," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.  Ed. Stanley Sadie.  London : Macmillian, 1980.  14:46-54.

[6]Norris, Geoffrey.  "Sergey Rakhmaninov," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.  Ed. Stanley Sadie.  London : Macmillian, 1980.  15:550-558.

[7]Brown, Maurice J. E. and Sams, Eric.  "Franz Schubert," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.  Ed. Stanley Sadie.  London : Macmillian, 1980.  16:752-811.

[8]Brainard, Paul.  "Giuseppe Tartini," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.  Ed. Stanley Sadie.   London : Macmillian, 1980.  18:583-588.

[9]Fitzlyon, April .  "Pauline (Michelle Ferdinande) Viardot," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.  Ed. Stanley Sadie.   London : Macmillian, 1980.  19:694-695.

[10]Talbot, Michael and Ryom, Peter.  "Antonio Vivaldi," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.  Ed. Stanley Sadie.   London : Macmillian, 1980.  20:31-46.

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