#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalBubble Week 2

This month's Classics a Day theme follows a trend. In May 2020 we were sheltering in place. The theme was #ClassicalDistancing -- music for unusual solo instruments best played at home. In June, social bubbles were allowed, and so the theme #ClassicalBubble called for duos. Again, for unusual instruments best played at home.

This month we ease the restrictions even further with a theme of trios. Trios for unusual instruments etc., etc. Here are my selections for the second week of the expanded #ClassicalBubble taking time off for Labor Day, of course).

0/9/08/20 Mark Applebaum (1967 - ) Catfish for Percussion Trio

Applebaum is both a classical composer and jazz pianist. Many of his compositions have some form of improvisation or looseness to them.

09/09/20 Michel Corrette (1707-1795) - Premiere Suite for Musette/Vielle and basso continuo

In the Baroque period, melodic instruments were often interchangeable. The musette was a close relation to the hurdy-gurdy, which was also a popular instrument in 18th Century France.

09/10/20 Trio for pipa, zheng, and erhu

Chinese musical instruments and their repertoire have a rich history. These three instruments were developed between 400-600 CE.

09/11/20 Leo Smit (1900-1943) Trio for Flute, Viola, and Harp.

Smit was a Dutch composer who was friends with Les Six. When Holland fell to the Nazis, the Jewish Smit was sent to Sobibor camp where he was killed. https://youtu.be/RHbv0FECXhs

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalBubble Week 1

This month's Classics a Day theme follows a trend. In May 2020 we were sheltering in place. The theme was #ClassicalDistancing -- music for unusual solo instruments best played at home. In June, social bubbles were allowed, and so the theme #ClassicalBubble called for duos. Again, for unusual instruments best played at home.

This month we ease the restrictions even further with a theme of trios. Trios for unusual instruments etc., etc. Here are my selections for the first week of the expanded #ClassicalBubble.

09/01/20 Franz Joseph Haydn - Baryton Trio No. 81

The baryton was kind of a bass viol with gut strings in the front, and wire strings in the back. Because his employer played this obscure instrument, Haydn wrote 123 trios for it.

09/02/20 Franz Joseph Haydn- - Concerto no. 5 in F for 2 lire organizzate

The "organ lyre" was a kind of a hurdy-gurdy, Haydn wrote 15 pieces for it on commission from the King Ferdinand IV of Naples, who played it.

09/03/20 Philippe Dugué - Trio Sonata in C for Musett, Hurdy-gurdy, and continuo

Dugué was a hurdy-gurdy player living in Paris. His few surviving compositions are all for his instrument.

09/04/20 Nicolas Chédeville - Sonata No. 6 for Musette and basso continuo in G minor

The musette de cour was a small bagpipe with bellows. It was very popular in the French court during the late 1600s-early 1700s.

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalBubble Week 4

Last month, the Classics a Day team came up with a theme to reflect the reality of social distancing. The challenge was to share solo works for unusual instruments -- the kind of instruments best played in social isolation. 

For June, the team is again going with the times. Social bubbles are small groups of people (usually family members) who live together and therefore don't need to maintain distance from each other. So the challenge is to share examples of classical bubbles. That is, duos for unusual instruments best not shared in public. 

Below are my selections for the fourth and final week of #ClassicalBubble

06/22/20 Vittorio Ghielmi (1968-) Duet for viola da gamba

Viola da gambas first appeared in the mid-15th Century and were used consistently through the 1750s. They were eventually replaced by cellos.

06/23/20 Anon. 14th C. Opening of Heaven's Gates for pipa duet

Historians place the origin of the pipa over 2,000 years ago. That makes this 14th Century tune a relatively recent addition to the pipa's repertoire.

06/24/20 PDQ Bach (1807-1742?) Fugue in C minor for Calliope Four Hands

An organ sounds by pushing air through it. A calliope sounds by pushing steam through it. The possibilities of that louder, harsher sound were not lost on PDQ.

06/25/20 John Dowland (1563-1626) - Lute Duet

By the 1500s, lutes had grown from 4 to 10 stringed instruments. That led to music of greater complexity and polyphony.

06/26/20 Nicole Leuchtmann - Bickering Piccolos

The piccolo plays an octave higher than the flute and was usually used sparingly for orchestral color. Recently, composers have been exploring its potential as a solo instrument (or duet in this case).

06/29/20 Anon. 14th C. Viella roue duet for hurdy-gurdy

The hurdy-gurdy was a popular instrument Renaissance court musicians. It could play loudly, ideal for dancing. Two are even louder.

06/30/20 Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) Duet for two recorders in B flat major

Many of Telemann's works were written to be played with any treble instrument. This duet could be played with violins or transverse flutes.

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalBubble Week 3

Last month, the Classics a Day team came up with a theme to reflect the reality of social distancing. The challenge was to share solo works for unusual instruments -- the kind of instruments best played in social isolation. 

For June, the team is again going with the times. Social bubbles are small groups of people (usually family members) who live together and therefore don't need to maintain distance from each other. So the challenge is to share examples of classical bubbles. That is, duos for unusual instruments best not shared in public. 

Below are my selections for the third week of #ClassicalBubble

06/15/20 PDQ Bach (1807-1642?) - Duet for Basson and Tuba

Writing engaging, complex music for two low bass instruments can be a real challenge. One that PDQ completely failed at.

06/16/20 Michael Praetorius (1571-1621) - Bransle de la Torche for two crumhorns

The crumhorn was a double-reed instrument popular in the Renaissance. The instrument had a limited range of about a ninth and was often used to double choral lines.

06/17/20 John Cage (1912-1992) - 3 Dances for 2 prepared pianos

This 1945 work was commissioned by piano duo Robert Fizdale and Arthur Gold. In addition to their ground-breaking concerts, they also hosted a TV cooking show. They dedicated their cookbook to George Balanchine.

06/18/20 Dave Anderson (1962 - ) Seven Double Bass Duets

Anderson is the principal bass for the Louisiana Philharmonic. As a composer, he's concerned with expanding the repertoire for his instrument.

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalBubble Week 2

Last month, the Classics a Day team came up with a theme to reflect the reality of social distancing. The challenge was to share solo works for unusual instruments -- the kind of instruments best played in social isolation. 

For June, the team is again going with the times. Social bubbles are small groups of people (usually family members) who live together and therefore don't need to maintain distance from each other. So the challenge is to share examples of classical bubbles. That is, duos for unusual instruments best not shared in public. 

Below are my selections for the first week of #ClassicalBubble

06/08/20 Gene Koshinski - As One for percussion duo

Koshinski's work uses two performers with identical setups -- including a shared bass drum and marimba.

06/09/20 Wolfgang Amadues Mozart (1756-1791) Horn Duos K. 487

The horns of Mozart's day were valveless instruments. Limited to the harmonic series of the tube, players used hand stopping and pitch-bending to get extra notes.

06/10/20 Bellerofonte Castaldi (1580-1649) Duet for two Theorbos

Castaldi was a composer and a lutenist. This duet comes from a collection he published in 1623.

06/12/20 Andy Scott (1966-) Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Harp

Scott is a British composer and saxophonist. His sonata pushes the technical limits of both the saxophone and the harp.

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalBubble Week 1

Last month, the Classics a Day team came up with a theme to reflect the reality of social distancing. The challenge was to share solo works for unusual instruments -- the kind of instruments best played in social isolation. 

For June, the team is again going with the times. Social bubbles are small groups of people (usually family members) who live together and therefore don't need to maintain distance from each other. So the challenge is to share examples of classical bubbles. That is, duos for unusual instruments best not shared in public. 

Below are my selections for the first week of #ClassicalBubble

06/01/20 Stephen W. Beatty (1938 - ) Duet for Viola and Heckelphone

One instrument's the butt of jokes; the other has a funny name. And yet musically, they both have a beautiful sound, as Beatty demonstrates.

06/02/20 Harry Partch (1901-1974) The Wind for Harmonic Canon II and Bass Marimba

Partch built his own instruments to play his own music based on his own musical scales. The Harmonic Canon has 44 strings and is tuned differently for each piece.

06/03/20 Ricardo Matosinhos (1982 - ) Song without Words, Op. 80a for Tenor Wagner Tuba and Piano

The Wagner tubas were originally built for the composer's Ring Cycle. He was inspired to design the instruments after visiting Adolphe Sax.

06/04/20 Giorgio Mainerio (c.1530-1582) Caro Ortolano for two racketts

The rackett (AKA the sausage bassoon) was a Renaissance double reed. It first appeared around 1575 and was almost completely replaced by the bassoon by 1700.

06/05/20 Leopoldo Francia (1875-1918) Adagio for mandolin duet

Francia was one of the most famous mandolinists of his day. He played and composed in a traditional Italian style.