Performing Arts
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Impromptu in G flat major by Franz Schubert
Performed by Anonymous |
Artist’s Statement:
I’ve come back to Schubert’s Impromptu in G flat major multiple times over the years, finding new nuances within the melodies as I mature as both pianist and person.
Schubert is famous for his complex pieces. This particular impromptu has the effect of three distinct voices: the simple melody carried predominately in the fifth and fourth fingers of the right hand, the base of the left hand, and the fluttering tune in between.
Call it a stretch, but I’ve come to see this piece as a metaphor for renewal. The impromptu always returns to the simple elegance of its first few lines, despite the turbulence of the middle sections. Although the middle triads veer towards convolution, the melody and bass remain constant. Similarly, I find solace in knowing that no matter the chaos in our lives, there will always be steady touchstones to which we can turn.
I’ve come back to Schubert’s Impromptu in G flat major multiple times over the years, finding new nuances within the melodies as I mature as both pianist and person.
Schubert is famous for his complex pieces. This particular impromptu has the effect of three distinct voices: the simple melody carried predominately in the fifth and fourth fingers of the right hand, the base of the left hand, and the fluttering tune in between.
Call it a stretch, but I’ve come to see this piece as a metaphor for renewal. The impromptu always returns to the simple elegance of its first few lines, despite the turbulence of the middle sections. Although the middle triads veer towards convolution, the melody and bass remain constant. Similarly, I find solace in knowing that no matter the chaos in our lives, there will always be steady touchstones to which we can turn.
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The Nightingale by Alexander Aleksandrovich Alyabyev
Performed by Jean Clara Cartwright Jean Clara Cartwright is currently a first study singer at the University of Nottingham with a highlighted focus and love for coloratura soprano arias. After previously winning a number of state piano competitions in the Philippines and completing her DipABRSM exam, she decided to solely focus on singing and in developing her voice to a higher standard. She is a soprano choral scholar at St Mary’s Church in Nottingham, which has presented her with numerous opportunities for solo work and CD recordings. |
Artist’s statement:
Alyabyev (also known as as Alabiev or Alabieff), was one of the founding fathers of the Russian art song. Born in Tobolsk, Siberia to an affluent family, Alyabyev then was taught music during his early years. Throughout the Napoleonic Wars, he fought as an officer until 1823 having formerly joined the Russian Army in 1812.
The Nightingale is one of Alyabyev’s most popular works, was composed in 1825 whilst he was in prison. The song was founded on a poem written by Anton Delvig, later becoming noticed throughout Russia for its folk-like quality in style. In strophic form, this piece is often a showpiece for virtuoso coloratura’s. The performance emphasising the relationship musically between the soprano’s voice and that of the birds’ (such as the call and response section between the singer and piano accompaniment imitating the bird) through additionally inserted ornamentation and imitative improvisations identifies the singer with the nightingale she sings to and about. This song was also one of Tchaikovsky’s much-loved songs from his childhood, often sang to him by his mother.
The relevancy that this piece has to renewal has several factors, first of all how Russian art song is not so commonly sung in today’s time. A once so popular song now unheard of, yet when hearing this piece for the first time, its entrancing melody made me want to learn and be able to sing this myself. Bringing nineteenth-century music into the modern era via my recital and being able to perform this aria to my friends, family and peers. Renewal also holds a link with a sense of growth that is apparent from the features of the ornamentation in the piece, this development from the original melodic line that then blossoms into a far more decorative version of itself.
Alyabyev (also known as as Alabiev or Alabieff), was one of the founding fathers of the Russian art song. Born in Tobolsk, Siberia to an affluent family, Alyabyev then was taught music during his early years. Throughout the Napoleonic Wars, he fought as an officer until 1823 having formerly joined the Russian Army in 1812.
The Nightingale is one of Alyabyev’s most popular works, was composed in 1825 whilst he was in prison. The song was founded on a poem written by Anton Delvig, later becoming noticed throughout Russia for its folk-like quality in style. In strophic form, this piece is often a showpiece for virtuoso coloratura’s. The performance emphasising the relationship musically between the soprano’s voice and that of the birds’ (such as the call and response section between the singer and piano accompaniment imitating the bird) through additionally inserted ornamentation and imitative improvisations identifies the singer with the nightingale she sings to and about. This song was also one of Tchaikovsky’s much-loved songs from his childhood, often sang to him by his mother.
The relevancy that this piece has to renewal has several factors, first of all how Russian art song is not so commonly sung in today’s time. A once so popular song now unheard of, yet when hearing this piece for the first time, its entrancing melody made me want to learn and be able to sing this myself. Bringing nineteenth-century music into the modern era via my recital and being able to perform this aria to my friends, family and peers. Renewal also holds a link with a sense of growth that is apparent from the features of the ornamentation in the piece, this development from the original melodic line that then blossoms into a far more decorative version of itself.