Music Appreciation Assignment
- Medieval and Renaissance Periods
Francesco Landini was born between c. 1325 and 1335 and died in September of 1397. Most authors state that he was born in the Metropolitan city of Florence, Italy, although others, especially his great-nephew, Cristoforo Landino, mentioned Fiesole, near Florence. He composed all his songs in and around Florence, Italy. Francesco got his training by studied with other great composers such as Jacopo de Bologna and Giovanni de Cascia. He played several instruments, such as the organetto, lute, lira, harp and rebec. However, he is most known for the organetto and even the two surviving portraits of him portray him carrying and possibly playing the organetto. Francesco contributed to the classical genre. Jacopo de Bologna was Francesco’s teacher in 1391 and taught him how to play the organ. His work depicts the time period in many ways including the Italian trecento style also called the Italian ars nova. Although most of his works were primarily secular, he also made some ballatas and madrigals, some of which have survived to the present time. Some of the most famous works by Francesco include the ballata Questa Fanciulla amor found in five manuscripts. Francesco suffered from smallpox and became blind from childhood (Georgakarakou, 2015). This instance made him take refuge and find peace in music. His work is innovative as he was very well-versed with improvisation skills and he invented an instrument syrena syrenarum by combining the features of the psaltery and lute.
- The Baroque Era
Barbara Strozzi was born in 1619 in Venice, Italy and died in 1677. Strozzi got most of her training from Francesco Cavalli through the support of her father Giulio Strozzi. The only instrument that Barbara played was a lute. She contributed to the Baroque genre music and helped advance opera that was just beginning at the time. Francesco Cavalli was Barbara’s teacher who helped mould her into the great composer she became. Barbara’s work is evident of the time period through her focus on solo voice music used in the developing opera at the time (Montgomery, 2019). Barbara did not have some specific famous work but her compositions to the cantata repertoire made her one of the leading female composers of her time. The primary challenges that Barbara faced tied to her status as a woman and being unmarried. Most composers were male at the time thus earning her satirical writings suggesting that she was a prostitute. However, this did not deter her focus. The innovation that Barbara promoted was her cantata music that were very few before her time.
- The classical era
William Billings was born in 1746 in Boston, Massachussets, US and died in 1800. He received some training from local singing schools but mostly taught himself much about music. Billings did not master any musical instrument. The genre of Billings music was classical. Billings also came from a working-class background and could not afford music school. However, while at a local singing school, his teacher was John Barry. Billings passion and focus on the Psalms is characteristic of the time period when the psalms was the primary musical form. One of his most popular works was the collection, ‘the singing master’s assistant’ published in 1778 (Gray, 2018). Billings faced challenges primarily because of his poor background. As a trained tanner, music distracted him making him financially unstable. Billings work was innovative in that it moved away from the psalms traditions, adopted some features of Anglo-Irish folk and was more secular than literary.
- The romantic era
Louis Moreau Gottschalk was born in New Orleans, Los Angeles in 1829 and died in Tijuca, Brazil in 1869. He composed his songs in various places such as Paris, France and New York. He also received training by studying violin under Felix Miolan and later piano with Francois Letellier. He went to Paris at the age of 11 and studied piano with Charles Halle and Camille Stamaty and also harmony with Pierre Maleden. Gottschalk played instruments such as the piano, violin, and organ. However, he is best known as a pianist. He contributed to the classical jazz genres. His teachers included Felix Miolan, Francois Letellier , Charles Halle, Camille Stamaty and Pierre Maledein. Liszt and Chopin were his primary influences for the compositions Bamboula, La savane and Le Bananier (Mitchell, 2018). Gottschalk’s work is characteristic of his time because it revealed life in the civil war and his support of the North. One of his most notable music was ‘The Piano Works of Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Gottschalk received a challenge when he became involved with a woman and had to flee to South America facing more challenges such as riots, the revolution, cholera outbreaks and eventually his contraction of malaria. What was innovative about his work was that he combined European Romanticism with indigenous North and South American aspects.
- The Early Twentieth Century
Manuel de Falla was born in Novemver 1876 in Cadiz, Spain and died in November 1946 in Alta Gracia, Argentina. He composed his works in different places including, Paris, France, Madrid, Spain, and Argentina. He received training from Jose Trago in learning the piano and Felipe Pedrell for composition (Christoforidis, 2019). Although he could play the piano, Falla was primarily a composer and did not play instruments much. The genre of his work was classical Latin. The teachers that de Falla had included his mother, Jose Trago and Felipe Pedrell. Other influences for his work included Claude Debussy, Paul Dukas, and Maurice Ravel. Manuel’s work is characteristic of his time because of the development of such aspects as neoclassic that made him change his style. One of his most famous works was the opera La Vide Breve that won first prize at a national competition in 1905. There is no mention of any difficulties that affected Manuel’s work. Manuel was innovative by fusing together the rythms and melodic sounds of Spanish folk songs with modern harmonies and instrumentation. He also factored in some aspects of the works of Debussy, Ravel, and Dukas.
- American Innovations in the arts
William Christopher Handy was born in Alabama, US in 1873 and died in New York City in 1958. He received training from a local barbershop and also picked up the cornet. He learned how to play the piano, guitar, and organ, although he is well-known for the cornet and trumpet. His music genres comprised, blues, classical and jazz (Dunkel, 2015). His primary influence came from African American music folklore traditions. His work was characteristic of the time when ragtime music was the norm and there were no African American composers. The African American folk songs at the time were emotional and sad songs depicting their hardships. Some of his most famous works include the ‘The St. Louis Blues’ and the ‘Yellow Dog blues.’ Handy faces challenges because of lack of finances such as in 1892, when the Lauzette Quartet was forced to split due to a postponement of their show and they could not afford to continue working together. Handy was an excellent innovator. He took the vocal melodies of African American folklore and added harmonization and transformed the blues into a compositional form.
- Twentieth century internationalism
Ali Akbar Khan was born in April 1922 and died in June 2009. He was born in Bengal, Indian that is now in Bangladesh. He composed most of his works in India and the US. Khan received voice training from his father, Allaudin Khan while his uncle, Fakir Aftabuddin taught him drums. Khan learned how to play drums among other instruments such as the sitar, violin and rabab but excelled the most on the sarod. He contributed to the Hinduism classical music and international jazz genre. Khan’s primary influence and teacher was his father who had been a musician before him. His work is characteristic of the time period that is when the classical was succeeding. Some of his most famous works include, the ‘Hungry Films’ soundtrack and being named ‘Ustad’ after working as a court musician to the maharaja of Jodhpur. There is no mention of any challenges that Khan encountered as his family supported and encouraged his music career. His work was innovative as he was the first to record an Indian classical in the US and on an American television.
References
Christoforidis, M. (2019). Manuel de Falla’s Siete canciones populares españolas: The composer’s personal library, folksong models and the creative process. Anuario Musical, (55), 213-235.
Dunkel, M. (2015). WC Handy, Abbe Niles, and (Auto) biographical Positioning in the Whiteman Era. Popular Music and Society, 38(2), 122-139.
Georgakarakou, M. (2015). Some Observations on the Blind Medieval Composer Francesco Landini. Enabling Access for Persons with Visual Impairment, 85.
Gray, M. (2018). Singing Sedition: Piety and Politics in the Music of William Billings.
Mitchell, R. P. (2018). Gottschalk’s engagement with the ungovernable: Louis Moreau Gottschalk and the bamboula rhythm. Educational Studies, 54(4), 415-428.
Montgomery, V. S. (2019). REFLECTIONS ON BARBARA STROZZI. Early Music America, 25(1), 30-34.