Berlioz
Janna Hoskin
station - I was listening to '2', which mostly plays classical music and
the like) played all his stuff all day and did biographical information
and stuff in between the pieces.
Something I found interesting when I heard it was that Berlioz was very
enamoured with words.
Apparently everything he wrote was related to words in some way, be it a
story or a concept or something from literature.
So I'm wondering if perhaps that's why I like his music so much; I love
words - I'm a writer, I'm a reader - and I'm a musician and composer, as
well.
Just a random thought. Anyone else have any thoughts about things like
this to share?
-Janna
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Calgary, AB, Canada
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Little Man" (Songs For Dustmites, 2003)
http://crosswinds.net/~jlhasd/index.htm
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Dolphinius
> Yesterday was Berlioz' 200 birthday
Have you checked? I am doubtful as there is no post from Tim
announcing it :-)
>, and CBC Radio (national radio
> station - I was listening to '2', which mostly plays classical music and
> the like) played all his stuff all day and did biographical information
> and stuff in between the pieces.
>
> Something I found interesting when I heard it was that Berlioz was very
> enamoured with words.
>
> Apparently everything he wrote was related to words in some way, be it a
> story or a concept or something from literature.
I am not familiar with many of Berlioz's works but it is true of his
Symphonie Fantastique.
> So I'm wondering if perhaps that's why I like his music so much; I love
> words - I'm a writer, I'm a reader - and I'm a musician and composer, as
> well.
Maybe if one brain fashions music round a story it is more likely
another brain will do the same when it listens to it?
> Just a random thought. Anyone else have any thoughts about things like
> this to share?
Are you familiar with the end of the third (final) movement of
Prokofiev's third piano concerto? That creates vivid images in my mind
(someone struggling to clamber up to the summit of a mountain,
planting a flag on the top and achieving their goal, but then slipping
and tumbling all the way down to a tragic end :-)).
That concerto also inspired a sonnet by the poet Konstantin Balmont (I
think he was thinking of a beach at the same point):
An exultant flame of a crimson flower,
A verbal keyboard sparkling with flames
That suddenly leap forth in fiery tongues.
A ranging stream of molten ore.
The moments dance a waltz, the ages a gavotte,
Suddenly a wild bull, startled by foes,
Bursts his chains, halts, his horns poised to strike.
But once again the tender sounds call from afar.
From tiny shells children fashion a castle.
An opaline balcony, beautiful, finely wrought.
But all is dashed in a foaming wave.
[Last three lines snipped as they're a tribute to Prokofiev rather
than the concerto]
I listened to Mahler's 5th symphony for the first time in years the
other night. Why had I left it so long?
Dolphinius
(Male, early thirties, UK, self-diagnosed AS)
Stephen Wilson
> words - I'm a writer, I'm a reader - and I'm a musician and composer, as
> well.
>
> Just a random thought. Anyone else have any thoughts about things like
> this to share?
I've never been good on the art front. I can copy drawings quite accurately
(I was even accused of tracing one in school once), but I cannot draw from
imagination to save my life. I also find it difficult to appreciate modern
art. I can appreciate paintings when I can recognise them, and I
particularly like the drawings of M.C. Escher. My written and spoken English
are pretty good, but I'm not creative and couldn't write stuff like poetry.
But I do appreciate both sight and sound. I have a good ear for music, and
although I've never composed anything, I can pick out melodies, bass lines,
chords, etc. in songs and sight read fairly well. However, the music is
always far more important to me than the lyrics...
Janna Hoskin
> Janna Hoskin <treat...@shaw.ca> wrote in message news:<kzxCb.687031$9l5.333562@pd7tw2no>...
>
>>Yesterday was Berlioz' 200 birthday
>
>
> Have you checked? I am doubtful as there is no post from Tim
> announcing it :-)
Well, I'm pretty sure, as they said more than once that it was Berlioz'
200th Anniversary. I generally assume that to mean birthday. ;)
>>, and CBC Radio (national radio
>>station - I was listening to '2', which mostly plays classical music and
>>the like) played all his stuff all day and did biographical information
>>and stuff in between the pieces.
>>
>>Something I found interesting when I heard it was that Berlioz was very
>>enamoured with words.
>>
>>Apparently everything he wrote was related to words in some way, be it a
>>story or a concept or something from literature.
>
>
> I am not familiar with many of Berlioz's works but it is true of his
> Symphonie Fantastique.
He did a Romeo & Juliet, and apparently everything he wrote was based on
some kind of word thing. He also did a LOT of song settings and other
pieces that had words to be sung.
>>So I'm wondering if perhaps that's why I like his music so much; I love
>>words - I'm a writer, I'm a reader - and I'm a musician and composer, as
>>well.
>
>
> Maybe if one brain fashions music round a story it is more likely
> another brain will do the same when it listens to it?
Only if, as Schoenberg and Kandinsky proposed, the work is true art and
was created in the moment of true inner necessity. (Sorry about that
sentence, it probably makes no sense to anyone else. I discovered that
Schoenberg and Kandinsky - an artist - were friends and read a book of
their letters, then read Kandinsky's book _Concerning the Spiritual in
Art_ and then wrote a paper on their like ideas.)
I think also part of why I like Berlioz so much is that everything
musical I write is also based on words...
>>Just a random thought. Anyone else have any thoughts about things like
>>this to share?
>
>
> Are you familiar with the end of the third (final) movement of
> Prokofiev's third piano concerto? That creates vivid images in my mind
> (someone struggling to clamber up to the summit of a mountain,
> planting a flag on the top and achieving their goal, but then slipping
> and tumbling all the way down to a tragic end :-)).
No, though I do like Prokofiev. I don't much like piano music except
when my Mom, brother, or best friend is playing. One of those weird things.
> That concerto also inspired a sonnet by the poet Konstantin Balmont (I
> think he was thinking of a beach at the same point):
>
> An exultant flame of a crimson flower,
> A verbal keyboard sparkling with flames
> That suddenly leap forth in fiery tongues.
> A ranging stream of molten ore.
> The moments dance a waltz, the ages a gavotte,
> Suddenly a wild bull, startled by foes,
> Bursts his chains, halts, his horns poised to strike.
> But once again the tender sounds call from afar.
> From tiny shells children fashion a castle.
> An opaline balcony, beautiful, finely wrought.
> But all is dashed in a foaming wave.
>
> [Last three lines snipped as they're a tribute to Prokofiev rather
> than the concerto]
Very cool. I once wrote a viola piece (solo viola, no accompaniment)
based on a poem about the second coming. Can't recall the poem title or
author right now, more's the pity... and the piece is apparently in
Thunder Bay in my big box of music. Anyway, I had to write something
based on a literary work and a piece of visual art, so I chose a poem
that had all kinds of great images in it and a painting by Kandinsky.
The interesting part was that both the painting and the poem also
evoked, for me, images from a trilogy I'd read a year or so previous
called _The DarkAngel_, by Meredith Ann Pierce.
Maybe I'll kidnap back my viola piece this Christmas... ;)
> I listened to Mahler's 5th symphony for the first time in years the
> other night. Why had I left it so long?
I'm rediscovering classical music. I'm always impressed when I
recognise the composer. (I almost never recognise the piece itself,
except that I'll know it's familiar and I may have played it at some point.)
Janna Hoskin
The popular-style music I choose to listen to now has to have
intelligent lyrics as well as being musically sound (and interesting).
I have no patience for stupidity in music.
Dolphinius
> Dolphinius wrote:
> > Maybe if one brain fashions music round a story it is more likely
> > another brain will do the same when it listens to it?
>
> Only if, as Schoenberg and Kandinsky proposed, the work is true art and
> was created in the moment of true inner necessity. (Sorry about that
> sentence, it probably makes no sense to anyone else. I discovered that
> Schoenberg and Kandinsky - an artist - were friends and read a book of
> their letters, then read Kandinsky's book _Concerning the Spiritual in
> Art_ and then wrote a paper on their like ideas.)
You're right - it doesn't mean much to me. However, it's funny you
should mention Kandinsky. He's one of my favourite artists. My bedroom
is deliberately minimally furnished but the one thing I really wanted
(and after two or three years overcame the interia and went out and
bought :-)) was a framed Kandinsky print (the Green Composition) to
hang on the wall. I love looking at it.
> I think also part of why I like Berlioz so much is that everything
> musical I write is also based on words...
What sort of works do you compose?
> > Are you familiar with the end of the third (final) movement of
> > Prokofiev's third piano concerto? That creates vivid images in my mind
> > (someone struggling to clamber up to the summit of a mountain,
> > planting a flag on the top and achieving their goal, but then slipping
> > and tumbling all the way down to a tragic end :-)).
>
> No, though I do like Prokofiev. I don't much like piano music except
> when my Mom, brother, or best friend is playing. One of those weird things.
For some reason I don't like solo piano works. However, I love piano
concertos. I'm not sure why the orchestra makes such a difference.
Maybe I desire more variety of sound than a piano alone can offer.
Prokofiev's violin concertos are fantastic too. I find them great when
I'm stressed. They seem to absorb my negative feelings and help relax
me.
> I once wrote a viola piece (solo viola, no accompaniment)
> based on a poem about the second coming. Can't recall the poem title or
> author right now, more's the pity... and the piece is apparently in
> Thunder Bay in my big box of music. Anyway, I had to write something
> based on a literary work and a piece of visual art, so I chose a poem
> that had all kinds of great images in it and a painting by Kandinsky.
> The interesting part was that both the painting and the poem also
> evoked, for me, images from a trilogy I'd read a year or so previous
> called _The DarkAngel_, by Meredith Ann Pierce.
> Maybe I'll kidnap back my viola piece this Christmas... ;)
Do! Is it something you could record and put on the internet (perhaps
with some narrative discussing the poem and painting which inspired
it)?
> > I listened to Mahler's 5th symphony for the first time in years the
> > other night. Why had I left it so long?
>
> I'm rediscovering classical music. I'm always impressed when I
> recognise the composer. (I almost never recognise the piece itself,
> except that I'll know it's familiar and I may have played it at some point.)
I have a similar problem. I first recognise the piece. Then deduce the
composer (or subset of possible composers). Only sometimes do I
remember the name of the work.
Janna Hoskin
> Janna Hoskin <treat...@shaw.ca> wrote in message news:<MSJCb.693884$pl3.124632@pd7tw3no>...
>
>>Dolphinius wrote:
>
>
>>>Maybe if one brain fashions music round a story it is more likely
>>>another brain will do the same when it listens to it?
>>
>>Only if, as Schoenberg and Kandinsky proposed, the work is true art and
>>was created in the moment of true inner necessity. (Sorry about that
>>sentence, it probably makes no sense to anyone else. I discovered that
>>Schoenberg and Kandinsky - an artist - were friends and read a book of
>>their letters, then read Kandinsky's book _Concerning the Spiritual in
>>Art_ and then wrote a paper on their like ideas.)
>
>
> You're right - it doesn't mean much to me. However, it's funny you
> should mention Kandinsky. He's one of my favourite artists. My bedroom
> is deliberately minimally furnished but the one thing I really wanted
> (and after two or three years overcame the interia and went out and
> bought :-)) was a framed Kandinsky print (the Green Composition) to
> hang on the wall. I love looking at it.
Well, I worked on it all day and just got the paper I wrote about their
ideas up on my site. It's linked from the homepage, or you can just go
here: http://www.crosswinds.net/~jlhasd/concerning.htm
I found some of Kandinsky's paintings online when looking for
already-scanned versions of the ones I'd included in my paper (managed
to find 'em all!) - made me remember how much I like his stuff. (And
most of my 'artwork' at the moment is movie posters.)
>>I think also part of why I like Berlioz so much is that everything
>>musical I write is also based on words...
>
>
> What sort of works do you compose?
Well, I write songs. Basically just setting my poetry to music in a
singable fashion. ;)
My Senior Project (for eclectic chamber ensemble) in fourth year was
based on one of my favourite books - _The Tower of Geburah_, by John
White. I hope to expand it someday into a full orchestral/choral work
that evokes the entire novel... and then perhaps continue with the other
five books in the series.
I have another piece in progress (has been for literally *years*) that
is based on _Deerskin_, by Robin McKinley. It's another chamber
ensemble piece. I'm using matrices and other such twelve-tone methods
to write it.
Then I have a musical, also in progress (for longer than Deerskin),
based on Ursula K. LeGuin's _Always Coming Home_.
My smaller projects have been based on concepts. I wrote a solo
clarinet composition that evokes a river and did an electroacoustic
piece based on some ideas I'd gleaned from the St. John's autism list;
my favourite piece is a viola-clarinet duet based on some ideas
regarding the development of the soul.
>>>Are you familiar with the end of the third (final) movement of
>>>Prokofiev's third piano concerto? That creates vivid images in my mind
>>>(someone struggling to clamber up to the summit of a mountain,
>>>planting a flag on the top and achieving their goal, but then slipping
>>>and tumbling all the way down to a tragic end :-)).
>>
>>No, though I do like Prokofiev. I don't much like piano music except
>>when my Mom, brother, or best friend is playing. One of those weird things.
>
>
> For some reason I don't like solo piano works. However, I love piano
> concertos. I'm not sure why the orchestra makes such a difference.
> Maybe I desire more variety of sound than a piano alone can offer.
>
> Prokofiev's violin concertos are fantastic too. I find them great when
> I'm stressed. They seem to absorb my negative feelings and help relax
> me.
I should look him up again. I don't currently own a lot of 'classical'
CDs. I own a few, of course; I was a music major at one point in time,
and I do love listening to it. I think my most prized instrumental CDs,
though, are my Richard Stoltzman and Benny Goodman CDs. Yes, I'm a
clarinetist. I dream of playing like Stoltzman one day, he's a
phenomenal jazz clarinetist *and* can play the more traditional stuff!
>>I once wrote a viola piece (solo viola, no accompaniment)
>>based on a poem about the second coming. Can't recall the poem title or
>>author right now, more's the pity... and the piece is apparently in
>>Thunder Bay in my big box of music. Anyway, I had to write something
>>based on a literary work and a piece of visual art, so I chose a poem
>>that had all kinds of great images in it and a painting by Kandinsky.
>>The interesting part was that both the painting and the poem also
>>evoked, for me, images from a trilogy I'd read a year or so previous
>>called _The DarkAngel_, by Meredith Ann Pierce.
>
>
>>Maybe I'll kidnap back my viola piece this Christmas... ;)
>
>
> Do! Is it something you could record and put on the internet (perhaps
> with some narrative discussing the poem and painting which inspired
> it)?
Meh, I think that would require finding a violist to record it for me.
Also there are some visual aspects to the piece - for instance, it
begins in darkness and relies somewhat heavily on the use of lighting
throughout. It never has been performed. I would like it to be done
one day, with the painting projected onto a screen behind the player and
the poem printed in the programs. I'd say read before or after, but I
don't know just where it would really fit. I made it visual as well as
auditory because it was based on literature and visual art. I love
combining modalities. Wish I was a better visual artist.
>>>I listened to Mahler's 5th symphony for the first time in years the
>>>other night. Why had I left it so long?
>>
>>I'm rediscovering classical music. I'm always impressed when I
>>recognise the composer. (I almost never recognise the piece itself,
>>except that I'll know it's familiar and I may have played it at some point.)
>
>
> I have a similar problem. I first recognise the piece. Then deduce the
> composer (or subset of possible composers). Only sometimes do I
> remember the name of the work.
Yeah, well, try being me with a poor aural learning centre and required
to be able to identify pieces on hearing them in music history listening
tests. I had to be able to list title, movement (where applicable),
composer, year, and often genre. Granted, we had a list of
pieces/movements to listen to, but seriously a lot of music sounds the
same to me and I can't hear chord progressions to save my life. Nobody
else in my classes understood why I had such a hard time telling apard
the Gregorian chants and piano concertos and so on and so forth. *sigh*
I was lucky I passed those classes.
Janna Hoskin
> Janna Hoskin wrote:
>
>
>
>>Well, I worked on it all day and just got the paper I wrote about
>>their
>>ideas up on my site. It's linked from the homepage, or you can just
>>go here: http://www.crosswinds.net/~jlhasd/concerning.htm
>
>
> thought, i'll respond when i've had time to think about it.
>
> sammi
*nodnod* That's fine. The original was 23 pages long for the body, and
the appendices take it to 47. One of my friends said it was a THESIS,
not just a term paper... I disagree, because the main body of the paper
doesn't have enough to do with the music aspect for it to count as a
thesis for a music major. ;)
Take your time. It's been a while since I've had anyone to discuss this
stuff with, so I'll be interested in what you have to say! :)