AMD6

This week, as I have been studying for finals, I have found myself listening to classical music- what a shock. However, instead of listening to Bach or Händel, as I usually do, I listened to Beethoven. While I hold Bach in the highest regard, and believe him to be the greatest composer of music that ever lived, I think that Beethoven was the greatest composer of symphonies (with the Austrians Gustav Mahler and WA Mozart a close second and third, respectively). Of Beethoven's symphonies, his 9th is (at least in my opinion, and many other musically educated people) not only his singular greatest piece of work, and one of the greatest- if not the greatest singular work- of all time (in my mind there is a difference between the perfect music that Bach wrote- like his Passions- and the grandeur that is the Ninth Symphony).  Everything about it is amazing in its splendor. In the first movement, Beethoven draws from peace and ambiguity, a driving power and clarity. The second introduces a beautiful fugue, so different from any I have heard before- and I have heard many a fugue. It almost has a medieval air about it. This fugue modulates into a new key and continues the sonata form. The third is completely different than any of the other movements, in that it is slow, lyrical, and calming. After the frenzy that was the second movement, the third feels like a lullaby.

However, these movements all serve as preparation for the final movement, perhaps the most famous piece of music ever written. I would call this fourth movement as symphony within a symphony, in that it has four very distinct parts to it. The first sections briefly quotes all three of the previous movements in order, each dismissed by the cellos and basses which then play in an instrumental foreshadowing of the coming chorale. At the introduction of the main theme, the cellos and basses take it up and play it through. The entire movement as a grand, musical reading of Friedrich Schiller's poem "Ode an Die Freude"- "Ode to Joy" (with some lyrical edits made by Beethoven to fit better musically). The main theme, as sung by the solo bassist begins with:

O Freunde, nicht diese Töne! Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen, und freudenvollere. Freude! (men's chorus: Freude! ) Freude! (chorus again: Freude! )

He then launches into the main musical theme (what we all hum when we think of Ode to Joy):

Freude, schöner Götterfunken

Tochter aus Elysium,

Wir betreten feuertrunken,

Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!

Deine Zauber binden wieder

Was die Mode streng geteilt;

Alle Menschen werden Brüder,

Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

The choir repeats, and then all four soloists continue with (after which the choir repeats):

Wem der große Wurf gelungen,
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein;
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!

Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Brüsten der Natur;
Alle Guten, alle Bösen
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Küsse gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott.
Vor Gott!

After the climax of "Vor Gott!", the second section of the final movement is a huge contrast. It begins quietly and small- only in the bassoons and piccolos, with a single trumpet. This section takes the form of a military march, in which the solo tenor sings:

Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan,
Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.

As the choir and soloist finish singing this part, Beethoven wrote an amazing, powerful double orchestral fugue (oh my gosh!) which drives the ensemble... off of the cliff. As soon as this fugue finishes, there is but momentary quiet... after which the entire ensemble explodes into a recapitulation of the main "Freude, schöner Götterfunken" theme. After this, the third section suddenly begins. It presents a new theme, and is much slower, almost meditative. The text is as follows:

Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt!
Über Sternen muss er wohnen.

The final section is a fugato finale on the themes of the first and third sections of this movement. The movement has a thematic unity, in which every part may be shown to be based on either the main theme, the "Seid umschlungen" theme, or some combination of the two. The final section that the choir sings is:

Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Seid umschlungen,
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Freude, schöner Götterfunken
Tochter aus Elysium,
Freude, schöner Götterfunken
Götterfunken!

Gosh, this was a long post. But, Beethoven's 9th has a very long run time, even relative to other symphonies. It is a grand, beautiful, influential piece of music, and Schiller's poem provides the perfect meaning to the symphony. It is such a joyous piece (obviously), but also conveys a sense of unity and brotherhood ("Was die Mode streng geteilt; Alle Menschen werden Brüder...). There are many wonderful recordings under the hands of great conductors with amazing soloists. If you want an authentic German experience, I would recommend listening to the recording made by Wilhelm Furtwängler; however, the Austrians Karl Böhm and Herbert von Karajan were also incredible conductors and recorded incredible performances of this piece. Personally, I think that nobody was a better conductor of Romantic era music than Leonard Bernstein. So, embedded is his version with the Wiener Philharmoniker, in 1970. Even in his old age, he had such energy and grasp of the music.  

Kultur6

I must admit, I am continually befuddled by German culture. There are so many aspects to it that, as we have read throughout the semester, are completely backwards than in the United States. It doesn't make sense that a closed door is inviting; however, I can see the logic in confidently approaching the door, giving it a stern knock, and entering with purpose. Especially in the context of Germany, it conveys much more strength and resolve to enter a room with a purpose and a goal in mind; compare this to walking in sheepishly- it leaves a completely different impression. This enforces the stereotype of Germans being stern and industrious (a bit of a contradiction coming from Der Speigel, which- as we read- wrote an article about German humor). Furthermore, I commend the Germans for taking such a serious national interest in recycling, something our government has yet to do on such a scale. Our government could learn quite a bit about environmentalism from Germany. I have read previously that Germany's solar plants were able to produce record levels of output this year- so much, in fact, that half of the country was powered one day by electricity resulting from solar plants alone. Quite the feat indeed.

Kultur 5

I found the "No Entschuldigung" article to be quite funny. Despite having brushed up against a few people in a crowded room or on the street, or stepping on a few feet getting off in a hurry, I try to say "Sorry" if I can. Yes, I have missed saying it a few times, and- as I'm sure Germans could attest- nothing happens if you don't say sorry in these kinds of situations (at least not in my experiences). I honestly think that Americans are too concerned of clearing their conscience of any wrongdoing. However, what wrongdoing is there in accidentally rubbing shoulders with someone on the street? Are you supposed to stop them and plead for forgiveness? Maybe I too have just "come to terms with more day-to-day physical contact", as the Germans have. However, I don't think I would be comfortable plowing through a crowded room like and Arctic ice-breaker. 

AMD 4

For this AMD, I watched a documentary in german about the late Karl Richter (I mentioned him in my Bach post). Richter was a German conductor, organist, and harpsichordist. While he is often lauded as one of the greatest interpreter of Bach (specifically for his directing/conducting of the Münchener Bach-Chor and Münchener Bach-Orchester), he was also a prodigious instrumentalist. At the age of 23 he was appointed as an organist for the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, one of the most prestigious organist positions in the world- partly because the Thomaskirche was the church where Bach was Musical Director in the 1700s. His renditions of Bach's greatest works (the Passions, the Mass, Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, etc.) are known by Bach experts as intense, deep, and expressive. One thing that makes Richter so unique is that he did not conduct Bach in a Romantic manner, as many of his contemporaries did. He avoided drastic fluctuation in tempo, and kept the sound balanced throughout the orchestras that he conducted. Richter died of a heart attack in München in 1981, at the age of 55.

Listening to the documentary and reading the subtitles, I was able to pick out some of the subjects we have gone over in class. What I found really interesting was how different the construction of sentences in german is compared to English. It seemed as though what was being spoken was incredibly scrambled, when compared to the english sentences. While I notice this in class, I was surprised by the degree of which it can seem "scrambled". 

Kultur 3

The article that really caught my interest was the Spiegel article "Teutonic Humor". I thought it was incredibly interesting to have a "stereotypical sense of humor" based upon the region of the country. I have not come across this kind of stereotype before. American humor is incredibly diverse, there really aren't stereotypes. Furthermore, when someone says "British humor", I have a fairly good idea of what they mean; however, I don't necessarily recognize that there is a difference between the humor of London and Liverpool. I was able to see many parallels between the humor of the different parts of Germany presented and humor that we recognize in America. The Berliner's humor seems to me most like that of American "city-folk", while the humor of the Bavarian reminds me of what traditional (traditionally rural) Americans would view as funny. One could argue that slapstick, obvious humor is traditional humor, and as such it doesn't surprise me that the Bavarian has this sense of humor. 

After reading the article, I feel like I would most enjoy the humor of The Hamburger. I have been told that I have an incredibly dry sense of humor, and I think it's pretty obvious. My "jokes" (I hate using the word joke because I don't ever have a traditional punchline) are usually based on blunt, sarcastic, or ironic observations that I point out to others in deadpan. This may be the reason why shows like Seinfeld and The Office are some of my favorite, because they are grounded in observational comedy. For me, the most subtle "jokes" are the ones that make me laugh the most. 

AMD 3

This week, I thought it would be useful to practice the German I have learned so far. As it so happens, several members of the clarinet section in the MMB who either are pursuing German as a minor, or as a part of a double major- most of whom are upperclassmen with several semesters of German study completed. We practiced having conversations, of course. Additionally, we would refer to parts of our pregame and half time show in German. For example, when we would play "Varsity", we would call it "Schulauswahl", or when our director would tell us to go to "Five in Front" (before we play the first "Hail to the Victors valiant") we would say "fünf davor". We played "Eye of the Tiger" during our half time show, so naturally we called it "Tigerauge", despite the fact that it wasn't the best translation. Overall, these small injections of German made an intense 3 day practice week in preparation of the most important home game of the year a bit less menacing. 

On an unrelated note, we beat die Spartaner. So that was great!

AMD2

This weekend, since the marching band did not travel to Purdue for the football game , several of us went in small groups. I went with several other clarinets. While in the car for the 5 hour drive there, I brought along one of my all time favorite books: Also sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen (Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None), by Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche was born in 1844 near Leipzig in the German Kingdom of Prussia. He is probably the most well known German philosopher for his notable work in existentialism. However, many people who are unfamiliar with his work do not realize that he is also one of the greatest writers of both prose and poetry Germany has ever produced. His writing is somewhat dry- it isn't a book I would recommend, simply because it can be not understand any of what he means.

I much prefer the book he published previous to Zarathustra, Die fröliche Wissenschaft (The Gay/Joyous Science). While Zarathustra is written in a manner that is similar to a novel (in fact, many compare its layout to that of the Bible- a mock Gospel, in a way). Die fröliche Wissenschaft, on the other hand, it written entirely in "sections" that are aphorisms- short, pithy statements that are easy to remember. Each section has a heading number, a topic sentence or question, and a response. For example, one of my favorite aphorisms is "Section 270: What Saith Thy Conscience? "Thou shalt become what Thou art." While many of these aphorisms can be several paragraphs long, many are also one sentence long. I much preferred the format of Die fröliche Wissenschaft and I feel like I was able to learn more in reading it compared to Zarathustra. I would indeed recommend it.

Kultur 2

As I read through the articles, what I found quite interesting is that these "Germanic" qualities seem more to me like "Eastern European" qualities. I see many of the same qualities (constant complaining, the blunt statements, the staring) from my relatives in the former Yugoslavia. I would assume that this has a lot to do with the fact that most modern Eastern European governments were once Communist, just as Germany was (pre-Unification). It seems that each time my overseas family skypes my parents, they have something new to complain about. Be it the government, their health, the weather, there's always something new (and almost always minor) to complain about. They can also be incredibly blunt with their statements- a trait that I share. It seems that they don't have the patience to beat around the bush- they say what they think. That can be either a very good trait, or one that is very bad (especially for Westerners who don't expect it). And if there's anything that is evident throughout Eastern Europe, it's the staring. My grandmother is a huge perpetrator of this. We like to laugh about it, that she has no shame- regardless of who it is, where we are, if something interests her for whatever reason, she stares. During my last visit to Macedonia, I noticed the stares as well. People see Americans or hear English being spoken, and their first inclination is to observe. As creepy as it is, I think it is beneficial for all of us to just observe the people and happenings around us once in a while.

Matthäus-Passion

This week, while working on an essay, I did what I usually do when I work on large essays: listen to baroque music. I am classically trained in baroque harpsichord and organ, so it's more easier for me to enjoy listening to than modern music. Sometimes I listen to Beethoven's symphonies (even though he is technically early Romantic era, I listen to his symphonies for sheer pleasure and... because they last quite a while on average, so I only need to queue up one or two for each essay session). This week I listened primarily to the works of Bach- my all time favorite composer. Bach (known to many non-musicians as the composer of "that Halloween organ song") was the cantor of the Thomaskirche in Liepzig from 1723-1750. In his life time, Bach composed over 1.000 known compositions- many of his compositions are believed to be lost, mainly because they were disposed of before Bach became a pretty big deal (long after his death, well into the 19th century). I listened to two of Bach's major works while writing my paper: the Matthäus-Passion (St. Matthew's Passion) and the h-mol-Messe (Mass in B minor). The Matthäus Passion is in Deutsch, whereas the h-mol-Messe is in Latin. 

I also took the time to listen to Georg Friederich Händel's (known by many for perhaps his most famous work, the soaring "Hallelujah!" chorus from his oratorio "Messiah") 5th Orgelkonzerte (Organ Concerto), which I would recommend listening to (my favorite part, performed by Karl Richter- arguably one of the greatest interpreters of Bach and Händel to ever live, can be found here). I would say it is a perfect example of baroque at its finest. In order to prevent me from droning on about baroque music, I figure I will simply embed part 1 of 2 of the Matthäus Passion- under Karl Richter's expert hand. Happy watching! 

I may be a member of the Michigan Marching Band, but counterpoint (the main element behind baroque music) is my main area of musical expertise. Unfortunately, it's an area of expertise for a relatively small number of people. So, if anyone has any questions about baroque music in general, or a specific aspect, I would be ecstatic to answer it. 

Some other recommended listening:

-Die Passacaglia un Fuge in c-Moll (Bach)

-Die Goldberg-Variationen (Bach- in my opinion, his greatest single work)

-Die Brandenburgischen Konzerte (Bach)

-Die Wassermusik (Händel)

Honestly, the list for Bach would be incredibly long if I were to post his greatest works... regardless, enjoy! May they help you get through an essay as well!

Mein Lieblingswort ist "Wahrheit".