For January 2025 the Classics a Day team challenges you to look back a century. The "modern" era of music was well underway in 1925. Some of the works composed still shock audiences today.
The challenge is to post classical works that were created, premiered, or recorded for the first time in 1925. Here are my posts for the second week of #Classical1925.
Second, director Graham Ross had the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge record standing in a circle. These perfectly blended yet perfectly balanced performances reveal the artistry of Palestrina's polyphony.
Ross also chose to intersperse contemporary British choral works into the program. These reveal Palestrina's influence on English composers. They also show his influence on British choral traditions.
Missa Memor esto verbi tui a 5 was first published in 1972. Missa Emendemus in melius a 4 was published in the Missarum liber septimus (1594). Both are models of Palestrina's art. The text is always clearly declaimed and easily understandable. And that holds true no matter how complex the polyphony becomes.
I was most impressed by the performances recorded here. There's a luminous quality to the choir's blend that suits this music. Yet each line was easy to follow throughout. There was also a nice balance of room ambiance. It made the voices sound full, without muddying the sound.
Well executed on every level.
Palestrina Revealed
Palestrina, Byrd, White, Mundy
Choir of Clare College, Cambridge; Graham Ross, director
Harmonia Mundi HMM 905375
For January 2025 the Classics a Day team challenges you to look back a century. The "modern" era of music was well underway in 1925. Some of the works composed still shock audiences today.
The challenge is to post classical works that were created, premiered, or recorded for the first time in 1925. Here are my posts for the first (partial) week of #Classical1925.
And the music written between those two milestones? Well, sort of a mix of Baroque instrumentation with proto-Classical melodies. In other words, transitional.
Except it wasn't. Especially to those who lived through it. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach built on the music of their father. But they also contributed to a new style of music -- Empfindsamer Stil (Sensitive Style).
Francesco Corti titled his album "The Age of Extremes." It accurately describes the music it contains, the music of Empfindsamer Stil. Composers of the Baroque Era followed the Doctrine of Affections. That is, each movement should consistently present just one emotion. It's one of the reasons movements in Baroque suites are so short.
Empfindsamer Stil strove for a more natural expression of music. Melodies became simpler and eschewed the fussy ornamentation of the Baroque. And dramatic contrasts within movements became common. Dynamics also became more nuanced, in search of "natural" expression. And movements became longer to accommodate the contrasts within.
Corti and Il Pomo d'Oro present works by three composers who embraced this style and made it their own. Georg Benda is represented by two harpsichord concertos. Benda's writing for the instrument is innovative, concentrating on melodic expression.
A harpsichord concerto by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach is also present. He was Johann Sebastian Bach's eldest son. His music, to me, bears strong similarities to his father's work. Wilhelm can't quite let go of melodic ornamentation. And his work doesn't have the relaxed flow of Benda's. All that aside, it's a well-crafted piece of music that deserves an audience.
Il Pomo d'Oro is a fine ensemble. They play with both delicacy and precision. It gives the music the Empfindsamer Stil hallmarks -- lightness and transparency. And they can deliver the power when needed!
Corti presents two solo harpsichord works by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. He was Johann's second eldest surviving son. As a composer, he was recognized for his innovative use of harmony and manipulation of form. Corti is a phenomenal player, as these works demonstrate.
Bach's "Les Folies d'Espagne" is not for the faint of heart (or shaky of skill). His Andante in C minor is a simpler work but requires a different skill. It must sound emotive and charming. Easy when played on a piano, but not on a harpsichord. Corti has that skill.
If you still believe that the music in the 1760s was transitional, give this a listen. Corti shows that Empfindsamer Stil had a distinctive sound and a valid aesthetic all its own.
The Age of Extremes
Georg Benda; C.P.E. Bach; W.F. Bach
Francesco Corti, harpsichord and conductor
Il Pomo d'Oro
Arcana A573
