THE BIRTH OF BRITISH MUSIC (4 of 4)

The Birth of British Music

The Birth of British Music - Mendelssohn The Prophet.

Mendelssohn - The Prophet

Conductor Charles Hazlewood explores the lives, times and music of great composers. In the final programme in the series, he looks at Mendelssohn, whose music embodies the sound of the Victorian age. A friend of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Mendelssohn made ten visits to Britain and his work appealed strongly to British tastes.

Mendelssohn's melodies such as O for the Wings of a Dove and Hark! the Herald Angels Sing became hugely popular and his astonishing overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream perfectly captured the Victorians' fondness for Shakespeare and fairy stories. He portrayed the grandeur of Scotland through a romanticism shared with poets such as Keats and Wordsworth, and captured the public imagination with his pioneering use of a new conductor's tool - the baton.

Charles's journey includes a stormy boat trip to Fingal's Cave and a visit to a chocolate factory, as well as a trip to the recently restored Birmingham Town Hall, where a massed choir comprising choral groups from across the West Midlands is brought together with the BBC Concert Orchestra and soloist Andrew Shore to perform extracts from Mendelssohn's iconic work Elijah.

See also: The Birth of British Music.

Main research: BBC.

THE BIRTH OF BRITISH MUSIC (3 of 4)

The Birth of British Music

The Birth of British Music - Haydn The Celebrity.

Haydn - The Celebrity

In the third of four programmes exploring the development of British music, conductor Charles Hazlewood looks at the fascinating two-way relationship the great composer Haydn had with Britain.

Since Haydn was an astute businessman, it was no coincidence that he chose London as the place to make his personal fortune, taking advantage of the increasing demand for subscription concerts and the lucrative domestic market.

On a visit to the Royal Institution of Great Britain and to William Herschel's house in Bath, Charles explores how Haydn's fascination with musical form and structure in music ran alongside his great interest in science, including the structure of the universe. He also travels to Austria to visit the stunning Esterhazy Palace near Vienna where Haydn worked for over three decades, and to Scotland to investigate Haydn's rather curious association with some of our most famous Scottish folk songs.

See also: The Birth of British Music.

Main research: BBC.

THE BIRTH OF BRITISH MUSIC (2 of 4)

The Birth of British Music

The Birth of British Music - Handell The Conquering Hero.

Handel - The Conquering Hero

In the second of four programmes, conductor Charles Hazlewood explores the glorious music of Handel, who made his home in Britain and became a celebrity and national icon in the process.

Millions across the world heard Handel's 'Zadok the Priest' when Elizabeth II was crowned Queen at Westminster Abbey in 1953, but he was immensely popular in his own lifetime too, as his memorial in Westminster Abbey shows. World-renowed soloists Danielle de Niese and Ian Bostridge join Charles Hazlewood's ensemble, Army of Generals, in some of the best-loved music in our history.

Also included in this programme is an unusual take on John Gay's 'The Beggar's Opera', the 18th-century smash hit that poked fun at Handel's world. Charles invites comedian Phill Jupitus to take a new approach to the music along with acclaimed folk singers Rachel and Becky Unthank, guitarist Adrian Utley from Portishead, and distinguished jazz drummer Martin France.

The Foundling Hospital Museum and Handel's birthplace in Halle are two of the many places Charles visits to explore the stories behind this fascinating composer who has had such a profound influence on our cultural heritage.

See also: The Birth of British Music.

Main research: BBC.

THE BIRTH OF BRITISH MUSIC (1 of 4)

The Birth of British Music

BBC - The Birth of British Music - Purcell The Londoner.

Purcell - The Londoner

In this series, conductor Charles Hazlewood explores the development of British music through the lives, times and works of four great composers, each with a major anniversary in 2009.

The first programme celebrates the music of Henry Purcell, one of the most seminal but mysterious figures of British musical history. Charles investigates what life would have been like for a composer in 17th-century London through a wide range of Purcell's music, from the vast but often overlooked output of tavern songs to his glorious sacred music and pioneering stage works such as Dido and Aeneas. He discovers how Purcell's work is still central to British life today, visiting the Grenadier Guards at Wellington Barracks and attending the Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph.

Music is performed by Charles Hazlewood's own ensemble, Army of Generals, as well as renowned musicians including Sir John Tomlinson and the Choir of Westminster Abbey.

See also: The Birth of British Music.

Main research: BBC.

THE BIRTH OF BRITISH MUSIC

Series in which conductor Charles Hazlewood explores the lives, times and music of great composers.

Purcell - The Londoner

The first programme celebrates the music of Henry Purcell, one of the most seminal but mysterious figures of British musical history. Charles investigates a wide range of Purcell's music, from his tavern songs to his sacred music and pioneering stage works. Music is performed by Charles Hazlewood's own ensemble, Army of Generals, as well as Sir John Tomlinson and the Choir of Westminster Abbey.

Handel - The Conquering Hero

The second of four programmes focuses on Handel, who made his home in Britain and became a celebrity and national icon in the process. In an unusual take on John Gay's 'The Beggar's Opera', Charles invites comedian Phill Jupitus to take a new approach to the music along with acclaimed folk singers Rachel and Becky Unthank, guitarist Adrian Utley from Portishead, and jazz drummer Martin France.

Haydn - The Celebrity

In this episode, Charles looks at the fascinating two-way relationship the great composer Haydn had with Britain. Haydn was an astute businessman, so it was no coincidence that he chose London as the place to make his personal fortune, taking advantage of the increasing demand for subscription concerts and the lucrative domestic market.

Mendelssohn - The Prophet

In the final programme, he looks at Mendelssohn, whose music embodies the sound of the Victorian age. Mendelssohn's overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream captured the Victorians' fondness for fairy stories, and he pioneered the use of a new conductor's tool - the baton. Charles's journey includes a trip to Birmingham Town Hall, where a massed choir performs extracts from Mendelssohn's iconic work Elijah.

Main source: BBC.

A ORIGEM DO VIOLINO

VIOLINO

A palavra violino vem do latim médio, vitula, que significa instrumento de cordas. Sua origem vem de instrumentos trazidos do leste da Europa do Império Bizantino. Os primeiros violinos foram feitos na Itália entre os meados do fim do século XVI e o início do século XVII, evoluindo de antecessores como a rebec, a vielle e a lyra da braccio. A sua criação é atribuída ao italiano Gasparo de Salò. Durante duzentos anos, a arte de fabricar violinos de primeira classe foi atributo de três famílias de Cremona: Amati, Guarneri e Stradivarius. Toda a invenção do violino foi conduzida pelas raízes do instrumento milenar chines erhu, as raízes deste instrumento foram os instrumentos de cordas friccionados por arco mais antigos já descobertos.

O violino propriamente dito manteve-se inalterado por duzentos anos. A partir do século XIX modificou-se apenas a espessura das cordas, o uso de um cavalete mais alto e um braço mais inclinado. Inclusive, a forma do arco consolidou-se aproximadamente nessa época. Originalmente com um formato côncavo, o arco agora tem uma curvatura convexa, o que lhe permite suportar uma maior tensão das crinas, graças às mudanças feitas pelo fabricante de arcos François Tourte, a pedido do virtuose Giovanni Battista Viotti, em 1782.

O violino tem longa história na execução de músicas de raiz popular, que vem desde os seus antecessores (como a vielle). A sua utilização tornou-se mais expressiva a partir da segunda metade do século XV.

Violino e a sequencia de Fibonacci: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, ...

O violino pertence à família de instrumentos de cordas, tal como o violoncelo e a viola, sendo o  mais pequeno de todos.

Numa orquestra existem mais violinos do que qualquer outro instrumento. A secção de cordas da orquestra toca mais vezes que as outras e a maioria dos apreciadores de música clássica afirmam que conseguem ouvir durante muito mais tempo o som dos instrumentos de cordas do que o som de outro instrumento qualquer.

Isso só acontece porque o violino é um instrumento extremamente versátil. Soa bem em conjunto, combina bem com outros instrumentos e pode ser tocado de diversas formas. Não é portanto surpresa que tanto os compositores, como os executantes e os ouvintes sejam atraídos por ele.

Mas para ficarmos a saber mais sobre este extraordinário instrumento, nada melhor que saber mais sobre a sua história e como é que ele nasceu.

Os antigos instrumentos como o Nefer egípcio, o Ravanastron da India, o Rebab árabe, o R’Jenn Sien dos chineses e até mesmo da antiga Lira dos gregos, foram a base para a criação de inúmeros outros, conforme as necessidades acústicas e os gostos musicais foram evoluindo.

O primeiro violino como o conhecemos hoje, foi criado por volta de 1500, por Gasparo Duiffopruggar, da Bavária, considerado o pioneiro na fabricação do instrumento.

Quase a seguir surgiu a Escola da Bréscia, na Itália, e em seguida a família Amati, da cidade de Cremona, estabeleceu-se na primazia da construção do violino. Durante quase duzentos anos foram três as famílias que produziam violinos e todas elas de Itália: A família Amati, a Guarneri e a Stradivari.

Destes três fabricantes, o mais famoso, pela sua qualidade, foi sem qualquer dúvida o italiano António Stradivari. Ele tornou o violino mais comprido, reforçou o corpo e alargou os “f-f”, (aberturas de som), enriquecendo assim o timbre. Deu a cada pequeno detalhe um toque de refinamento, o que fez com que seu trabalho fosse reverenciado em toda a Europa.

O seu período áureo foi entre 1700 e 1724,  durante o qual nasceram os seus melhores instrumentos. Atualmente ainda existem cerca de seiscentos violinos de sua autoria e são tocados pelos melhores violinistas do mundo.

O violino é considerado o Rei dos Instrumentos e a sua posição hierárquica numa orquestra, apenas é superada pelo maestro. É sempre o primeiro-violinista que rege todos os outros instrumentos.

Uma das obras mais famosas compostas para violino é “As Quatro Estações” de Antonio Lucio Vivaldi e um dos maiores violinistas de todos os tempos foi Niccolò Paganini.

Por coincidência (ou não) ambos são italianos, o que mostra o quanto este instrumento tem de passional e romântico.

Veja também: CLASSICAL MUSIC.