Today we celebrate the birth date of Caspar David Friedrich, born on this date in 1774. His works have a moody darkness to them, with figures overwhelmed by the sublime beauty and grandeur of Nature. They are pensive visions.
In these landscapes, humanity seems so small, so fragile. Yet, there is a peacefulness within, an awareness of the transience of life in the face of the ancient cycles of the world. I find myself swept away into Friedrich's quiet world.
Detail of The Chasseur in the Forest (1813) by Caspar David Friedrich
And we can't pass up on celebrating the centennial of John Cage's birth. I'm really not much of a fan, but he certainly had a significant influence in the philosophy of aesthetics, from musical composition to poetic structure. I could write a vast commentary on his works, but gjuum llokdd hid, maqucf fronticly, dna kltovit ahendwei magdran. ;-)
It always amuses me that, whenever I take a vacation from the daily blogging, my readership seems to soar in terms of pageviews. Sometimes, it is because something about which I have written enters into wider consideration. This time it seems just random. It's curious, but I'm happy that some new readers have stumbled upon this humble blog.
As the photo above indicates, I went to visit the Norton Simon Museum over the weekend. They have a pretty good exhibit on still lifes, entitled "Significant Objects: The Spell of Still Life." Now, I'm not a fan of that genre of painting, but it was interesting looking at the huge collection on display, everything from Dutch tulip drawings to Claes Oldenburg's giant soft ketchup bottle. Yeah, it was comprehensive. ;-)
Hopefully, I'll get to write up a review of the show. It'll be tricky, since there is no photography allowed, but most of the images are available on the internet or from my own collection of photographed works. But for now, here's a Lipchitz:
And, for half of this post, let's celebrate the birth date of Anton Bruckner, who was born on this date in 1824. Does this have anything to do with still lifes or my increased vacation readership? No, but incoherence is the name of today's game. ;-)
It's a fun opera, with many impressive arias and clever compositional techniques. But what always captures my interest is how it illustrates European fascination with "oriental" culture. Harems, eastern despots, and exotic customs, these are some of the hallmarks of the genre, frequently played for laughs.
And for erotic imaginings. The "Orient" was an almost fantastic place where Reason and Order were overwhelmed by the sensual and the decadent. So, artists and composers rose to the challenge of satisfying European desires for this Dionysian vision, filled with spices and odalisques.
Even for those familiar with operatic repertoire, the name of Alfredo Catalani draws a momentary blank; it sounds familiar, but what did he write? As the mental list of titles runs through the mind, a sweet and haunting song rises from the unconscious.
"Ebben? Ne andrò lontana"
The famous aria from La Wally!!! The one-hit wonder of Italian opera! That's Catalani. If YouTube had existed back in the 1890s, people would have been Catalani-rolled.
Well, that's not really fair. Given his short life, he produced a respectable body of work. They aren't "works of genius" but they're enjoyable bits of music, charming and graceful. The rise of modernism and experimental operatic concepts resulted in an already obscure composer falling into even greater obscurity. But the music remains beautiful, a ghostly echo of traditional opera, a style that was fading away even as Catalani was penning these notes.
It's been a while since we last celebrated the birth date of a classical composer. Since Richard Strauss was born on this date in 1864, we'll enjoy a few of his works. I'm not the biggest fan of late Romanticism; it's often too overblown for my tastes, loud and long, heavy and bombastic. But, whereas Mahler or Bruckner might make my eyes glaze over, Strauss keeps me engaged.
Moreover, I'm an opera enthusiast and Strauss writes some fine pieces. From the charming homoeroticism of Der Rosenkavalier (no, really, one of those ladies is supposed to be a man) to the passionate depravity of Salome, these are compelling works of musical narrative.
Detail of Salome Dancing Before Herod (1876) by Gustave Moreau
So, let's listen to a few classic tales, expressed in luscious music.
I've never been a big fan of the compositions of Johannes Brahms.
Certainly, they're beautiful works, but, to my tastes, they are too formal, too polished, too cerebral or academic. Moreover, I love narrative designs, but Brahms was emphatically anti-narrative, seeking to compose "pure" music. In his quest for perfect structure, it feels to me like he designed away authenticity.
Nevertheless, his creative genius can't be denied. Although his works are not my favorites, they definitely are masterpieces of compositional craftsmanship. So, to celebrate his birth date (born in 1833), let's listen to some music.
Detail from the cover image of the Cure's album, Pornography (1982)
Put on your black clothes, smudge on the thick make-up, and get your inner Goth goin'!
Today, we're celebrating the 30 year anniversary of the Cure's Pornography, a classic work of goth rock. Seriously, how can you beat lines like "It doesn't matter if we all die" or "Everything as cold as life" or "The atmosphere rots with time"? There's some hardcore existential angst in those lyrics, intensified by the rough and moody instruments.
I was still a youngster when this album came out, but my aesthetic sense was starting to take form. Although I was never a Goth, the dark romanticism of this music certainly made a mark. Later, when I began studying the English Romantic poets and the French Existentialist writers, around 1987, the seeds of this record bloomed in my own creative vision.
Yeah, I never took on the style, but the Goths and I were kindred souls. ;-)
I'm not the biggest fan of his work, but there are some memorable compositions. My favorite piece is Isle of the Dead, Op.29, a symphonic poem written in 1908. It captures the late Romantic aesthetic perfectly, with heavy orchestral sounds and a focus on the Sublime.
In my youth, I was very ambivalent about Rachmaninoff. Sometimes I would dismiss his music as "schlock" or "overweight and overwrought" or some over such insult, but, upon hearing Isle of the Dead, I noticed the artistry in the thickness of sound, the lyricism that can only emerge from lush orchestrations.
I can't say that it converted me into an enthusiast, but I looked upon his work anew, appreciating the unique vision for its own values, for its own approach to art.
So, take a mental trip on Charon's ferry across the River Styx. But don't drink of the River Lethe; you will want to remember this music. ;-)
Franz Schubert is my favorite composer. He has influenced me more than any other creative genius, in any of the arts or sciences. No works of art resonate within my mind with the potency of his music.
Why? There are too many reasons to articulate in a coherent and accessible manner, but I think it can be boiled down to two main points: Romanticism and Melody.
Schubert's Romantic style fully embraces the wandering and dark musings of the imagination. However, he maintains Classical tightness and eloquence, avoiding the overblown excesses that weigh down the work of later Romantic composers. For Schubert, all of the passion and inspiration of the Sublime can be articulated, with effectiveness and efficiency, into a tightly structured, highly melodic song
As regards melody, it is through this that the Romantic narrative is expressed. Moreover, these tales of sound and emotion have the narrative purpose at their core, as their premise. Sometimes the story is vague, simply a progression of emotion, and, sometimes, it is direct, programmatic in design. In either case, one can't listen to this music within being drawn into Schubert's narrative mindscape.
Portrait of Franz Schubert (1825) by Wilhelm August Rieder
I could go on endlessly about these two topics, as well as countless other aspects of Schubert's music. However, in celebrating his birth date, born 1797, I think it is only fitting to let his music make its own case.
The forlorn realm of solitude, among decrepit wrecks and empty desolation, is where the lonely people dwell, sometimes in the form of anthropomorphic animals and sometimes as ghostly visages emerging from darkness; this sad and quiet place is called Nowhere, a region that transcends physical space, a state more of the spirit than of the body.
Esao Andrews' exhibit "Nowhere" at Thinkspace Gallery gives us a powerful view of this lonely place. With evocative colors and haunting composition, this exhibition insinuates a dark Romantic aesthetic into the viewer's mind. The icy regrets, the shadowy abandonment, these poignant sorrows linger like specters within the paint.
And yet, there is undeniable beauty, a sublime quality that empowers these works. "Nowhere" inspires a dreadful fascination.
Detail of Polished & Powdered (2011) by Esao Andrews
I especially admire the play of color that contrasts the muted shades of Nowhere, like a promise, a beckoning hope, of better and brighter times to come.
My approach to appreciating art, in all of its forms, is to look for a meaning, a narrative, some type of significance, which will stimulate my mind in some aesthetic manner. Therefore, illustration would seem to be the art form which I would love most, but it isn't. Too often, illustrators rely upon the written text to carry the burden of the narrative creativity, which results in mere functionality without adding to or transforming the base inspiration.
In my view, illustration is like alchemy, taking a source material and transforming it, through the addition of images, into a more refined product. Of course, some works start out at such a higher grade that you can't really "improve" it, but a quality illustrator can add value by creating linked images that amplify the impact of the text.
Few illustrators in the history of the art form have been as good at this as Gustave Dore.
The Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones (1866) by Gustave Dore.
So, in honor of his birth date, born in 1832, let's admire some of his awesome Biblical illustrations.
Published on January 1, 1818, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus founded two genres of fiction dear to my heart, Horror and Science Fiction. Certainly, there are older instances that could claim the credit, but Shelley's novel isn't merely a "scary tale" or "speculative" fiction; it gets to the philosophical and aesthetic premises that define each of these genres.
As regards Horror, the exploration of transgression, the danger of human genius removed from moral concern, and the hubris of finite humanity imposing its limited awareness upon a Nature that surpasses both comprehension and control, these are themes and topics that characterize the best of the genre since Frankenstein.
For Science Fiction, the intellectual quandaries posed by the novel, such as the concept of "person" or the ethical concerns raised by pressing into uncharted realms of technology, have become staples of speculative fiction. No "Artificial Intelligence" story can be told without being compared to the progenitor of the genre.
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was the older sister of the famous Romantic composer, Felix Mendelssohn, wife of the prominent court painter, Wilhelm Hensel, granddaughter of the great Jewish philosopher, Moses Mendelssohn, and the grandmother of a few notable intellectuals; the tradition of defining her in relation to prominent male relatives is a disservice to her own underappreciated genius.
Born to a respectable German Jewish family in 1805, Fanny Mendelssohn was subjected to the societal marginalization that was socially prominent toward women. In spite of her obvious musical talent, her family never allowed her to cultivate the knowledge and skill to meet her potential. While her brother was developed into one of the greatest voices of early Romantic composition, Fanny picked up her technique through self-taught trial and error as a performer.
Fortunately, her brother encouraged her compositional activities, publishing her works under his own name so as to avoid the scandal that would have ensued if the true authorship was known. When Fanny married Wilhelm Hensel, who supported her musical endeavors, she eventually began to publish under her own name.
Sketch of Fanny Mendelssohn by Wilhelm Hensel
Let's honor her birth date by listening to some beautiful music. And reflect upon the even greater music to which we cannot listen, those pieces that were never realized by Fanny because of the many social obstacles that prevented their creation, lost to the ignorance of misogyny.
In Xanadu did Kubla Kahn A stately pleasure-dome decree: Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea. So twice five miles of fertile ground With walls and towers were girdled round: And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills, Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree; And here were forests ancient as the hills, Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
Today we celebrate the birth date of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, born on this day in 1772. Yeah, the unabashed Romanticism and emotive excessiveness may not be cool for the contemporary school, but his smooth lyricism and flowing rhymes deserve some time to be read again with a fresh point of view. ;-)
Marigolds: Tagetes Patula
And what of the marigolds? Well, I was thinking of how folks are setting up "haunted house" trappings with store bought fabrications. That's fine, but I'd rather take my decor "old school" with simple pumpkins amidst the marigolds, the flower of the dead.
I always have a tough time listing my favorite anything, from book to movie to song. This is also true in choosing my favorite painters. However, I'm certain the Caspar David Friedrich consistently makes the top five. Friedrich was born on this date in 1774, so let's take the opportunity to appreciate his unique genius.
I feel that his style is the definitive look to Romanticism, especially as regards contemplation of the Sublime. Moreover, his muted colors and overwhelming spaces creates that sense of loneliness or insignificance that characterizes the later Gothic aesthetic. Additionally, his focus on death and transience works as a critique of materialism and the "heroic arrogance" of classicism and neo-classicism.
In Friedrich's world, the sublime grandeur of Nature reduces human accomplishment and material ambition to inconsequential ruins. It's a profoundly terrifying view that has influenced Western aesthetics up to the contemporary era.
Detail of Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (1818) by Caspar David Friedrich
So what can humanity do? Contemplate the awesome spiritual immensity of the Sublime.
It's been a while since we celebrated the birth date of a composer of classical music. So, let's take the opportunity to think on and enjoy the works of the great Norwegian composer, Edvard Grieg, born on this date in 1843. Overall, I'm not wild about his music, but I usually find it charming and fun. Late Romantic compositions often incorporated nationalistic themes and styles. Grieg's work is a paradigm of this trend.
My main criticism of his works is that they are so excessively folksy and syrupy that it's a bit overwhelming. It almost becomes campy or self-satirical. However, there is such a dedicated seriousness to the underlying compositional techniques that it can't be dismissed as mere bombast or sentimentality. No, although the expressive impression of these works seems flashy and shallow upon a casual listen, they are actually deep and complex works.
Time for another music homage. Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky was born of this date in 1840. For me, among the great composers, Tchaikovsky is the great storyteller, the master of narrative music. His compositions develop a premise, regardless of compositional structure: ballet, concerto, symphony, or tone poem. When you listen to his music, there is a progression of conflict and resolution, an intensification of emotion leading to catharsis.
This goes beyond mere program music. In the case of such music, the narrative is made explicit. Yeah, Tchaikovsky does this too, see the 1812 Overture or Romeo and Juliet.
His influence is still with us, in the form of modern movie scores and soundtracks. And that's why he is so accessible to the contemporary ear. For many modern listeners, the music of Bach, Chopin, Mozart, and Schubert requires some mental focus to appreciate, a effort that many are not willing to expend. But because of its lyric narrative, Tchaikovsky's music sneaks up on the listener. The stories that they tell are timeless and universal.
I can go on and on with the importance of narrative, but I'll let the music speak for itself. In each of these pieces, asks what is this music "about"? They are arranged in increasing order of abstraction.
Alright, Swan Lake is an gimme. But listen again but with your eyes closed? Does the narrative change?
1812 tells a clear tale of battle and triumph. That's obvious, but take note of how the music tells the story.
This one's a bit tougher. There is no clearly stated "plot" focus, but there is a "setting" clue, a Rococo theme upon which variations are played. So, what is it "about"?
Yeah, it's called Souvenir de Florence, but is that related to its narrative? If not, what is the it about???
Anyways, we could play this game all day long and then some. But I encourage you to give Tchaikovsky some time. There is a lot to explore. There is much to learn. And there is a great deal of Beauty to enjoy.
When I discovered an interest in classical music, Chopin was not among my favorites. I liked music with lofty orchestration or rich vocals. Works like Mozart's Requiem or Beethoven's 9th Symphony were my type of music. Gradually, my tastes opened up to smaller ensemble pieces, like Schubert string quartets or Brahms piano trios. Finally, I started to discern the charm of instrumental solos.
Therefore, Chopin has gone from boring to beautiful in my estimation. When listening to his music, I feel my spirit elevated by his Romantic genius.
