autumn

Sink into autumn with my listening playlist, full of autumn inspired music from the world of classical music.

What’s your favourite season? I know a lot of people would say autumn (or ‘fall’ in the US). Would it surprise you to I love every season and the changes between them?… sad to see the previous season go, and to welcome the return of the new season like an old friend.

There are many depictions of the seasons in art and music, so I thought I would add a few here and link it to a youtube playlist for you to explore more.

Feel free to add your favourite pieces in the comments section below if I’ve missed something out! You’ll see I’ve included a range of instruments/emsembles/styles/periods and I hope a few that you enjoy exploring for the first time as I have.

1 Chant d’automne, Faure

Sung by soprano Mary Bevan, accompanied by Joseph Middleton

2 Four Seasons, Autumn, 3rd Movement Allegro, Vivaldi

Played by Voices of Music, with solo baroque violin from Carla Moore

3 ‘October - Autumn Song’ from The Seasons, Tchaikovsky

Solo piano Olga Scheps

4 ‘Now the Leaves are Falling Fast’, from On This Island, Benjamin Britten

Sung by Peter Pears, Accompanied by Benjamin Britten

5 ‘September’ from Das Jahr, Fanny Hensel (Fanny Mendelssohn)

Solo piano Diana Sahakyan

6 ‘The Fall of the Leaf’, Imogen Holst

Solo cello Amily Airhart

7 ‘September’ from Vier Letzte Lieder, Richard Strauss

Sung by Renee Fleming, at the Proms, in 2001

8 The Seasons: 1. Autumn, Thea Musgrave

Solo clarinet Concerto played by Victoria Soames Samek, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Conducted by Thea Musgrave

9 Pensee D’automne, Massenet

Sung by Huguette Tourangeau, Accompanied by Richard Bonynge

10 Autumn Gardens, Einojuhani Rautavaara

Played by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy

Let there be Light!

In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.

- Sir Frances Bacon

Welcome to a blog post with a bit of a difference! For this month, I have chosen the subject of light as a contrast to last months dark and spooky themes.

Music (being noise) does not directly contain light, but I am going to make a list of music that seeks to examine, describe, and explain light in some way. Click on the link below to take you to the youtube playlist on my youtube channel where you can listen/watch the excerpts back to back.

Here in the blog there will be short explanations and listening notes you can choose to follow along with, or not, as you feel like it.

As ever, feel free to comment and let me know your favourite pieces about light. Have I missed anything out you think should have been included?

Rusalka’s Song to the Moon, Dvorák

Rusalka is a water nymph, singing to the moon which is reflecting in the pool of water. She asks the moon to send her love to the human Prince who hunts around the lake, who she has fallen in love with. The music is full of shimmering ripples and dark forboding, as this story won’t end well.

Lux Aeterna, Ligeti

It won’t surprise you to find that several pieces in this selection about light are from the latin mass. This, however, is one of the more modern and perhaps the most challenging piece I’ve chosen, written in 1968.

Featuring a 16-part choir, this setting was used in Stanley Kubrick’s film ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. The words are:

Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine; et lux perpetua luceat eis

Translated as: "May everlasting light shine upon them, O Lord, with thy saints in eternity, for thou art merciful. Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and may everlasting light shine upon them."

The music is written to be very close harmony cluster chords and dissonance, so many have a mixed response. Some people find it very unsettling, others find it relaxing. What about you?

In splendour bright is rising now the sun, The Creation, Haydn

Here is a sunrise, written to illustrate the creation as depicted in Genesis. The chords build to a radiant burst of sunshine where there once was nothing. Short and sweet, but very dramatic when seen live!

Lux Aurumque, for Wind Ensemble, Eric Whitacre

Eric Whatacre is a living composer who has become a celebrity in music circles for his beautiful choral music. Here I’ve chosen a wind ensemble version of this choral piece, as it really demonstrates the beauty of his writing to describe the golden light of the title. I also think the wind arrangement is very peaceful and atmospheric for our playlist, a mid point to reflect.

Lux Aeterna, Requiem, Verdi

Now that you’ve heard some very modern interpretation of Lux Aeterna, here is Verdi’s version performed in 1874.

The requiem includes some huge music scored for a large orchestra and large choir, but here the music is much more quiet and intimate, the soloists are partly unaccompanied, all eyes are on them as they sing of angels and the light shining, with twinkling woodwind.

Four Sea Interludes: no 3 Moonlight, Britten

We started with the moon, we had a little sunshine in the middle, and now we are ending with the moon again.

the Four Sea Interludes are taken from the opera Peter Grimes, first performed in 1945. The story follows the life of an unfortunate fisherman from a small fishing village. Several of his young apprentices go missing, drowned. The village people decide Peter is in some way to blame.

Written to cover the scene changes, the sea interludes describe the light, energy, and brooding of the sea, one of my favourite pieces of music.

Listen to the full playlist on Youtube by clicking on the link.

I hope you’ve enjoyed exploring some pieces of music about light - which is your favourite? Have I missed out something? As ever, write me a comment, and see you again next month.