Classical Period – Beethoven’s 7th – The Golden Age

* Upload Video File * Record from Webcam Watch this video in a new window Charles Latshaw conducts Beethoven Symphony #7 mvt II

(I have included the second movement for you to listen to, as it is my favorite part and the entire symphony is rather long running about 34 minutes.)

The Classical Period has been called the “Golden Age of Music” with little wonder as it produced some of the greatest geniuses in music history, such as Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.  Music in this era differed from the music of the previous Baroque Era as it was lighter, less complicated and more accessible to the middle classes.

This was the age of Enlightenment (not to mention revolutions) and the common man was seen as being capable of tapping into his intellectual side and being responsible for acts of great goodness and bravery. Between the French and American revolutions the middle classes achieved more power and influence and with these they demanded more influence in the art spectrum.

Emphasis was on grace, proportion and balance, known as classicism, in all the arts, not least of all, the music world. Music became softer and mainly homophonic though not exclusively. Moderation and control were evident in the elegant beauty of the melodies but did not interfere with their expressiveness.

Unlike composers from the Baroque period who earned their livings through the patronage of the church or the high court, Ludwig van Beethoven supported himself though annual stipends and gifts from members of the aristocracy as well as fees from his concerts and music lessons and the general proceeds from the sale of his work. Perhaps the most extraordinary detail of Beethoven’s besides his obvious genius was that he produced many of his best works AFTER he had become completely deaf. One of the most talented composers who still inspire us today tragically never heard most of his own music outside his own head and imagination.

Beethoven completed his Symphony No. 7 in a major, Op. 92 in1812 while he was living in Teplice which is located in present day Czech Republic. He dedicated this piece to the Count Moritz von Fries; and yes, by this time he was entirely deaf.

The Seventh Symphony is in the usual symphonic form with four movements. The first movement is in sonata form with dance-like rhythms. The second movement is slower than the other three movements and is the most popular. It is also in my top three favorite pieces of music of all time. The first time I heard it I was seven years old and I became so overwhelmed by its beauty that tears ran down my face. To this day I have difficulty listening to it without welling up with emotion. The third movement is a scherzo and trio, which is played twice. The fourth and final movement is in sonata form again and played very dynamicly. The entire symphony depicts joy and tragedy interlocked, with the listener swept away, equally transfixed with them both.

Beethoven himself referred to it as “one of my best works.” I have to agree.

Sources:

1. Classical period (music). From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved on June 23, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_period_(music).
2. Symphony No. 7 (Beethoven). From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved on June 23, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._7_(Beethoven).
3. Ludwig van Beethoven. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved on June 23, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beethoven.
4. Charles Latshaw conducts Beethoven Symphony #7 mvt II. (video clip) from YouTube.com. Retrieved on June 23, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs5pH4GKYkI.

Baroque Period – The Rape of the Sabine Women

(The Rape of the Sabine Women by Nicolas Poussin was created between 1634 and 1635 in Rome. It was commissioned by the Cardinal Luigi Omedei. It can be viewed now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It is necessary to specify that the word “rape” in the title of this painting refers to abduction, not sexual assault.)

The Rape of the Sabine Women depicts the climax of a story in Roman history that isn’t often shared around the family fireplace; small wonder since the bad guy not only gets the girl but world dominance to boot. Try fashioning a cautionary tale against theft, violence and murder most foul with that ending. This is a plot scheme Disney wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. Still, a very interesting story none-the-less.

The story unfolds when the male founders of the ancient Roman Empire failed to convince their Sabine neighbors to allow their daughters to intermarry with them. The Romans response to this rejection was far from chivalrous. They desired to create an empire and wives being a necessary component of this plan, they plotted to aquire them with a no-nonsense approach.

It is here, under the ruse of attending a peaceful feast hosted by the Romans that the Sabines found themselves in a bit of a pickle, a legendary and brutal pickle. The Roman leader, depicted in red, gives the signal and at once the Roman soldiers fall upon the Sabine women snatching them from their husbands, fathers, mothers, and children. Those family members who desperately but ineffectually resisted were killed on the spot. A violent and bloody scene to be sure.

The afterstory is a bit more positive. While quite violent in the act of the actual kidnapping, the Roman soldiers went on to treat these women whom they kidnapped with respect that was unparalleled for the time. They were offered full rights of citizenship within their new status of wives of Roman citizens and mothers of the future Roman empire. I would have found this feeble consolation to having to live my life with my husband’s murderer but legend tells us the women eventually embraced their new rights, their new lives and their new families that they had had little choice in forming. Perhaps, in another time, I would have reacted the same; it is impossible to say. Still, the legend fascinates.

The story itself draws interest (violence, drama, sex, human rights – who said ancient history is dull?) but so does the style of the painting which communicates a good deal. The style is very naturalistic and classicizing as well as being very clear and legible even though the scene is depicting a frenzy of action. This can be seen as a result of the mandate through the Council of Trent that all art be direct, legible and completely accessible to the audience. The scene is kept clean and clear throughout the chaos as Poussin keeps everything very organized. In my opinion, a little too organized.

While I find the painting beautiful and fascinating, I also find the marked attention to rigid orderliness, especially in the architecture set in the background to the right, somewhat insipid. It is distracting as I try to take in the painting as a whole. The alternating light and shadows give a sense of rhythm in all the dramatic movement but there, that building stands, a sore, boring thumb in the middle of so much attention to detail. The experience is much the same when you attend a low budget play complete with tacky backdrops only to find the acting transcends the rest and you enjoy yourself regardless.  Still you wonder, how great would it have been if only the backdrop hadn’t been quite so shabby?

Sources:

1. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The Rape of the Sabine Women. Retrieved on June 19, 2009, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rape_of_the_Sabine_Women.

2. Smart History. Poussin’s Landscape with St. John (1640) and the Rape of the Sabines (1635) (video clip). Retrieved on June 19, 2009 from http://smarthistory.org/poussin.html.

Botticelli – The Birth Of Venus

Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus was privately commissioned by the Medici family in 1482 in Florence, Italy. The Medici’s were an extremely powerful family whose influence made Florence the cultural center of the world and whose patronage of artists such as Botticelli, Michelangelo, and Raphael gave fruit to some of the most beautiful and influential works of art, which still inspire the world today.

This painting was likely meant as a metaphor representing beauty as a neo-platonic ideal. Perfect beauty was to be experienced in thought and then through art but it was not to be encountered here on earth. This quest for beauty was considered a spiritual pursuit that would ultimately lead to God. This message would have appealed to the Medici’s, who were the founders of the Platonic Academy of Philosophy, as they were significant figures in the rebirth of Humanism.

The theme of the painting is based upon Greek mythology, indicating the impact of humanist thought which pulled away from the prevalent Roman Catholic influence. Humanism allowed a widening of the borders of what was acceptable in political, economical and cultural spheres but still many similar themed works of art were destroyed for their pagan content. The Birth of Venus’s preservation is a sign of the Medici’s power and influence even as far as the papacy.

The painting itself is very stylized. It represents a Greek myth in which Venus, the Classical goddess of love and beauty, is born under rather brutal circumstances. The background of the story is necessary in order to appreciate the meaning of the scene portrayed. Uranus, a Titan, in Greek myth was murdered by Zeus, the king of the gods, through castration; when his genitals fell and mixed with the foam of the sea, Venus was conceived, and The Birth of Venus comes to life.

The painting depicts the next stage in the story where Venus stands, altogether emerged from the sea and fully-grown upon a half shell and in perfect, neo-platonic beauty. The Winds, Zephyr and Aura, blow Venus toward shore upon her shell where one of the Graces (or Horae, one of three goddesses of the seasons) awaits ready to cover her in a beautiful strip of material. The effect of the Humanist philosophy is apparent with the focus on Venus’ body and her almost too perfect beauty, elongated features and seamless grace. In the background a landscape of waves and shoreline with many orange trees are simply painted.

I was able to see The Birth of Venice first hand several years ago at the Uffizi in Florence. The first detail of the painting, which caught, more demanded my attention, was its size, as it is rather large with dimensions of 172.5 cm by 278.5 cm. The second detail was the colors as they are significantly brighter in person than in any images of the painting I have seen in books or on the Internet. They are incredibly bright and striking.

The main focus is Venus, standing delicately in the center of the canvas on her half shell completely nude but modestly posing with the two Winds to her right, beautifully entwined with each other, blowing visible wind and flowers in her direction causing her hair to swirl about her body in beautiful motion. Other effects which reveal motion are the leaves of the orange trees on shore, the waves around Venus and the clothes of the Horae, which swirl about her as she awaits her chance to clothe the approaching Venus.

This painting is one of my favorites not only of the Renaissance era but also of all time for it translates beauty to me on many levels. The content itself is lovely with its imagery and beautiful story telling. Also, the style of painting is stunning with the effect of grace and movement visible throughout. The colors themselves entrance and seduce, inducing the same effect I experience while listening to Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. I suppose, upon danger of sounding overly sentimental, The Birth of Venus is a symphony I experience through my eyes.

Sources:

1.The Birth of Venus (Botticelli). Retrieved on June 10th, 2009 from Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birth_of_Venus_(Botticelli).

2.Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. Harris, B, Laird, C. Retrieved on June 8th, 2009 from SmartHistory : http://www.smarthistory.org/Botticelli.html.