Classic Ephemera E-Book

Darren Henley

• Herausgeber: Elliott & Thompson
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2009

Seitenzahl: 253

Beschreibung

How long did it take Rossini to compose The Barber of Seville? Which composer named five of his children Johann? Why was Elgar depicted on the back of a £20 note? Find out all this and more in the brand new edition of Classic FM's Classic Ephemera, an irresistible compilation of facts, figures and trivia from the world of classical music. Written by the authors of the Classic FM Pocket Book of Music, Classic Ephemera covers everything from composer biographies to a guide to the ten most famous operas. Accessible and informative, it contains everything you need to know about classical music, and more besides. Amusing, light-hearted but always enlightening, Classic Ephemera is the perfect gift for any classical music lover.

Leseprobe

CLASSIC EPHEMERA

CLASSIC EPHEMERA

Compiled by

Darren Henley and Tim Lihoreau

First published 2009 by Elliott and Thompson Limited 27 John Street, London WC1N 2BXwww.eandtbooks.com

ISBN 978-1-9040-2781-2

Copyright © Darren Henley and Tim Lihoreau

The right of the authors to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

The Classic FM logo is a registered trademark of Classic FM Ltd

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

9 8 7 6 5

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Printed and bound in the UK by CPI Mackays, Chatham ME5 8TD

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

A Word About Classic fm

Text

Who Followed Whom?

The Classic fm Hall of Fame

Index

FOREWORD

by Howard Goodall

I was invited to join the Classic FM team in the spring of 2008, as presenter of a weekly Saturday afternoon show and, in due course, as Composer-in-Residence. What has taken me by surprise in my year of presenting Howard Goodall On… each week (for which I choose and research my own music choices) is how much I would learn in the process.

I thought I knew my classical music trivia, to a point, but I have been quite taken aback at the wealth of intriguing minutiae that I have uncovered along the way, nuggets of knowledge that definitely weren’t on the syllabus of my university music course. It turns out that Classic FM has been unearthing unexpected facts – the kind that bring a smile to your face – all along, and I am merely Johnny-come-lately on a quest others have been pursuing for many years, especially Tim Lihoreau and Darren Henley, the authors of this book. It has been a challenge for me to reveal information about composers that even they didn’t know. It is possible. I note, for instance, with undisguised glee that in the ‘composers who share the same birthday’ list in this book Tim and Darren have omitted one remarkable double-birthday in the field of musical theatre: Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber (22nd March, 18 years apart). I share mine with jazz legend Miles Davis, but I wouldn’t dare suggest putting my own in amongst the existing illustrious list!

Discovering that Russian composer Alexander Scriabin died from a shaving cut, for example, in my programme about ‘sticky endings’ or that Armenian composer Khachaturian (he of the ‘Sabre Dance’) was actually a trained biologist, a fact brought to the surface in my programme on music and science, has given me immense satisfaction, and I’m not embarrassed to admit it.

This collection, to which I feel I may have occasionally but modestly contributed as fellow-traveller, is a kind of QI for music. We composers turn out to upset many preconceptions about us as tormented, ill-tempered loners, battling with an exasperated landlord, a long-suffering patron, or an inebriated conductor (though all of these confrontations have also occurred). We have foibles. We develop strange superstitions and routines and many of us – contrary to the popular view of us as obsessively single-minded – have other interests, hobbies and fascinations. Apart from Borodin’s professional achievements as a research chemist, Rossini’s eminence as a chef de cuisine or Paderewski’s becoming Prime Minister of Poland, there’s Gerald Finzi, an English composer of the early 20th century, who was a serious apple grower and cider-brewer: indeed, without his extensive orchards, some rare varieties of British apple would otherwise have become extinct by now. This is what one might call core repertoire.

In a written answer to a question from a reader of the Soviet newspaper Pravda, composer Prokofiev once actually worked out the mathematical equation that would reveal when composers had exhausted all possible combinations of notes in their works. I love this kind of anecdote; it tells me much more about Prokofiev than that he went – with thousands of others – to study at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire. His death was also on the same day as Stalin’s, going virtually unreported as a consequence, in case you were interested. If the word ‘anorak’ is lurking at the back of your diaphragm on hearing these pieces of research, resist its lure and choke it back, since, surely, life’s richness is captured in the subtle details of the tapestry.

If on the other hand you are still ruminating over that calculation of Prokofiev’s, then admit it, you’re hooked, aren’t you? Well, it starts with the bewildering proposition that each melody of 8 notes is made up of 6 million alternatives. I am hoping that 70 years since he wrote that, there are still a few left for the likes of me. If not, there’s always that old cider press in the barn…

INTRODUCTION

Since we first turned on our transmitters, all of us at Classic FM have believed that classical music should be a part of everyone’s life. If you already listen to the music we play every day and you want to know more about it, then you’ve come to the right place.

This may not be the biggest book about classical music that you’ll be able to find. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in facts, stories and, most important of all, recommendations for great music to listen to.

As we put together our radio programmes, we often discover fascinating facts and titillating titbits about the world of classical music. After many years of collecting this information, we’ve gathered it all together here in one single book, which spans composer biographies, instrument profiles, general trivia, lengthy lists and quotable sayings. This is the result.

So if you’re hoping to uncover the killer fact to spice up your after-dinner conversation; if you want to dazzle your friends with your knowledge of the stories behind the greatest classical music; or if, like us, you’re simply an acquirer of trivia, we hope there will be something for you in the next 180 or so pages.

If you haven’t listened to Classic FM yet, then hopefully this book will well and truly whet your appetite, as well as answering some of the questions about classical music that you’ve always wanted to ask.

Darren Henley Tim Lihoreau

A WORD ABOUT CLASSIC FM

Classic FM is the UK’s only 100% classical music radio station. Since we began broadcasting in September 1992, the station has brought classical music to millions of people across the UK. If you’ve yet to discover for yourself the delights of being able to listen to classical music 24 hours a day, you can find Classic FM on 100-102 FM, on DAB Digital Radio, online at www.classicfm.com, on Sky channel 0106 and on Virgin Media channel 922.

Classic FM Magazine is published monthly, containing full details of the station’s programming, as well as the latest news and interviews from the world of classical music. A free CD accompanies each month’s magazine, which is available from most newsagents.

Among Classic FM’s many CD releases is a new range exclusively available from HMV. The Classic FM Full Works series provides top quality recordings of many of the most popular classical works, played in full by world famous musicians. Priced at just £5.99, these CDs are perfect for both the dedicated collector and for those who are just discovering classical music. You can find out more at www.classicfm.com/fullworks.

Classic FM works particularly closely with five orchestras around the UK, with the aim of encouraging new listeners to enjoy the power and passion of hearing a live orchestra playing in the concert hall. Check the station’s website to find out if the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra or the London Symphony Orchestra are performing near you.

“

For changing people’s manners and altering their customs there is nothing better than music.SHU CHING, 600 B.C.

”

MUSICAL ERAS

Any music that was composed before 1600 is said to be from the Early or Renaissance period. Gregorian chant falls into this category (named after Pope Gregory who did much to develop church music), lots of which is very beautiful and relaxing.

Music written between, roughly, 1600 and 1750 is described as coming from the Baroque period. Composers who were producing new material at this time include Bach, Handel and Vivaldi.

Now, here’s a funny one. Everything we play on Classic FM is classical music. But anything written between roughly 1750 and 1830 is described as coming from the Classical period. This includes the work of Haydn and Mozart. Beethoven, too, wrote some music in the classical period but he also stayed on after the bell had gone for the early Romantic period and wrote some stuff in that one too.

Love features heavily in classical music, just as it does in pop. But, when we are talking about eras, romantic refers to the composers who were writing music from roughly 1830 to 1910, including Schubert, Chopin and Berlioz.

Modern music is another odd one. Anything written after the early 1900s is generally referred to as coming from the Modern period, despite the fact that some of it is now more than a hundred years old. A car of equivalent age would be vintage. In time, we may come to call it ‘20th and 21st Century’ music, to allow for stuff written after the year 2000.

If you imagine that eras in music are like star signs, with Modern as Aquarius (genius or mad, hard to tell), Romantic as Cancer (slushy, doe-eyed, dreamy) and Classical as Gemini (sometimes slushy, sometimes not), then Baroque is clearly the Virgo – neat, tidy, everything in its place, but never too much emotion.

FIVE LINES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD

One of the great unsung heroes of classical music – in fact, all music – is Guido D’Arezzo. He was the clever chap who came up with the five lines on which almost all music is now written, called a ‘stave’. He thought of it at more or less the same time as somebody in China invented gunpowder.

“

Music helps not the toothache.GEORGE HERBERT, POET

”

OPUS

The Italian word for ‘work’, used, simply, to put together a database of a composer’s work in chronological order. So Opus 3 would be the third piece (or a part of the third piece) that a composer had written. Opus numbers tend to follow the published date of a work, not necessarily the date the composer wrote it. Hence, Chopin’s published Piano Concertos No. 1 and No. 2 were actually written in the order 2 and 1 (see page 60). Mozart and J.S. Bach have their own numbering systems. Mozart’s was done by Ludwig von Köchel, who, being a shy and retiring sort of chap, decided to give each of Mozart’s works a Köchel number instead of an Opus number. In J.S. Bach’s case, his pieces all have BWV in front of the number. These initials stand for ‘Bach Werke-Verzeichnis’, which is German for ‘Catalogue of Bach’s Works’, and are not, as some think, a ‘best before’ date mark.

Check out: Three great numbers to learn are: Beethoven’s Opus 67, Mozart’s K622, and Tchaikovsky’s Opus 20 – great to drop in at parties. (They are better known as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake).

OLDEST ORCHESTRA

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the very first symphony orchestra was the Gewandhaus Orchestra, which began playing in Leipzig, Germany, in 1743.

“

Why should the devil have all the good tunes?ROWLAND HILL, INVENTOR OF THE ‘PENNY BLACK’ STAMP

”

“

You have Van Gogh’s ear for music.BILLY WILDER, FILM DIRECTOR AND WRITER

”

THE INSTRUMENTS OF THE ORCHESTRA

Imagine. Four different types of instruments – some thirty string players alone, as well as ten or so brass, around the same number of woodwind and a liberal sprinkling of percussionists. Seventy-odd different players in all, spread out over a space the size of a tennis court, being told what to do by a guy (or girl) who needn’t ever have played a note in his (or her) life. Shouldn’t work, should it? But it does. Amazingly.

The human windmill waving the stick in front of the orchestra is the conductor. A passable conductor can be the difference between a bad and a good performance. A great conductor can be the difference between a good and an unforgettable one. (Every now and again in the papers, you will see reviews of concerts where a ‘golden silence’ occurred at the end of a work, when everyone was just too overwhelmed to start clapping). If you can’t quite work out exactly what it is that conductors do, imagine them in the same category as those seemingly imperceptible tights for women which support the bottom – without them, things tend to go pear-shaped.

The illustration above shows how orchestras are conventionally set out on stage, although conductors are free to indulge in a game of musical chairs and move everyone around if they so wish.

CHANGING THE HILDEGARD

Hildegard of Bingen, one of the foremost early composers, not to mention one of the very few famous women composers, wasn’t born in Bingen. Nor did she live or die in Bingen. She was actually from Rupertsberg, just down the road. Maybe Bingen just rolled off the tongue easier.

“

Military justice is to justice what military music is to music.GROUCHO MARX, ACTOR AND WRITER

”

A LICENCE TO PRINT MONEY

The English composers Thomas Tallis and William Byrd became rich men when Queen Elizabeth I granted them the exclusive right to print sheet music and manuscript paper in England for 21 years from 1575.

“

The good singer should be nothing butan able interpreter of the ideas of the master, the composer. In short, the composer and the poet are the only true creators.GIOACHINO ROSSINI, COMPOSER

”

SINGERS

Sopranos are the highest female voices, providing not only the female lead but also, more often than not, the love-interest for the male tenors in opera. Sopranos often heard on Classic FM include Maria Callas, Renée Fleming, Lesley Garrett, Anna Netrebko and Angela Gheorghiù. Mezzo-sopranos, such as Cecilia Bartoli, have voices that are slightly deeper.

Altos are usually female singers who either can’t sing as high as sopranos, or who can but want a quiet life, free from throat strain. Just as violas are the slightly lower, some would say duller, versions of violins, so the altos are… well, let’s leave it there, shall we? Men can be altos too, but… well, again, let’s just leave it there.

Tenors are generally the ‘heroes’ of the opera world, getting many of the best male arias. The most well-known are The Three Tenors – José Carreras, Placido Domingo and the late Luciano Pavarotti – a trio who became multi-millionaires on the back of their stadium concerts around the globe.

Baritones are male singers whose voices are higher than basses, but lower than tenors. So if you can’t reach the high notes and have only ever been able to get the low notes first thing in the morning, best become a baritone. The international superstar Bryn Terfel is a fine example of a bass-baritone, whose voice, predictably, lies somewhere between a bass and a baritone.

The basses are the lowest of the male singers, the ones who sound like they’ve just got up after a heavy night on the sauce. In opera, they don’t get as many of the hero roles as the tenors: if this seems unfair, listen to Lee Marvin singing in Paint your Wagon and ask yourself – would you elope with him? Incidentally, bass is pronounced ‘base’. Again, quite apt if you remember Lee Marvin’s character.

The girls aren’t the only ones who can sing high in classical music. Counter-tenors, such as James Bowman or Andreas Scholl, have voices that are higher than tenors. However, they hit the high notes without having had to resort to surgery. This was not the case with castrati, who were castrated to ensure that their voices never broke. The practice was worryingly fashionable in the 18th century, when the desire for a voice which was a cut above meant a cut below. Castrati were even resident in the Vatican. Alessandro Moreschi, who died in 1922, was the last known castrato and became rather famous in the process. He was the director of the Sistine Chapel Choir in Rome. Nowadays, we’re all for loving music, but castration really is a snip too far.

If you hear somebody talking about a singer, no matter what type their voice, or whether they are male or female, performing an aria, this basically means they are singing a ‘song’. Most of the big hits from operas are arias. They are the solos or set pieces performed by singers playing the big roles.

There is a simple way to spot a singer from among a crowd of other classical musicians: they will be obsessed about protecting their throat and so will be wearing a scarf tied tightly around their necks in even the most sub-tropical of summery conditions. They are also often to be seen carrying bundles of sheet music under their arms, as they take any opportunity to learn their part for their next performance.

“

One should try everything once,except incest and folk-dancing.ARNOLD BAX, COMPOSER

”

GIOVANNI DA PALESTRINA (1525-1594)

The composer Palestrina wasn’t called Palestrina. Sorry to shock you, but it’s true. His name was Giovanni Pierluigi. He became known as Giovanni da Palestrina – John from Palestrina – because that was the small town near Rome which he called home.

Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli – literally ‘the Mass for Pope Marcellus’ – was never actually listened to by its dedicatee. Pope Marcellus reigned for a mere 55 days before he died, never having got around to hearing the piece that carries his name.

Check out: the Missa Brevis – a small and perfectly formed place to start.

“

I don’t mind what language an opera is sung in so long as it is a language I don’t understand.SIR EDWARD APPLETON, PHYSICIST

”

OPERA

Operas tend to be big on great tunes, passion, sorrow, romance and drama. Sadly, they are rarely big on plot. Opera storylines tend to centre around either unrequited love, or bizarre ‘what-do-you-mean-you’re-really-a-horse-in-disguise?’ madness. Broadly speaking though, most opera storylines go something like this: Man falls in love with woman. Woman turns out to be either related or someone she claimed not to be. Man and woman’s love doomed. Cue angst (in song). Woman (can be man – doesn’t matter) dies horrific death, preferably involving consumption. Remaining lover dies. Big song. The end. Everyone goes down the pub.

In fact, opera is really what classical music would be like if Quentin Tarantino had invented it. But despite the high body count, it has given us some of the most spectacular and beautiful pieces anywhere in classical music. You will find the potted plots of ten famous operas spread throughout the pages of this book.

“

No good opera plot can besensible, for people do not sing when they are feeling sensible.W. H. AUDEN, POET

”

10 DONS IN OPERA

Don Alfonso

Donizetti:

Lucrezia Borgia

Don Alvaro

Verdi:

La Forza del Destino

Don Basilio

Rossini:

The Barber of Seville

Don Carlos

Rameau:

Les Indes Galantes

Don Curzio

Mozart:

The Marriage of Figaro

Don Fernando

Beethoven:

Fidelio

Don Giovanni

Mozart:

Don Giovanni

Don José

Bizet:

Carmen

Don José Martinez

Delius:

Koanga

Don Quixote

Purcell:

Don Quixote

“

In opera, anything that is too stupidto be spoken is sung.VOLTAIRE, PHILOSOPHER

”

SINGING FOR YOUR SUPPER

The Austro-Hungarian Emperor Leopold II loved the premiere of Cimarosa’s opera The Secret Marriage so much that he invited the whole cast and orchestra to dinner, before demanding that they stage the whole performance from beginning to end once again.

RECORD BREAKER

The biggest selling classical CD of all time is The Three Tenors Live in Concert, which was recorded live in Rome in 1990.

THREE TENORS CONCERTS

How many Three Tenors concerts do you think there were? Two? Three maybe? Think again.

Rome – July 7, 1990 Monte Carlo – June 9, 1994 Los Angeles – July 16, 1994 Tokyo – June 29, 1996 London – July 6, 1996 Vienna-July 16, 1996 New York – July 20, 1996 Gothenburg – July 26, 1996 Munich – August 23, 1996 Düsseldorf – August 24, 1996 Vancouver – December 31, 1996 Toronto – January 4, 1997 Melbourne – March 1, 1997 Miami – March 8, 1997 Modena – June 17, 1997 Barcelona – July 13, 1997 Paris – July 10, 1998 Tokyo – January 9, 1999 Pretoria – April 18, 1999 Detroit – July 17, 1999 San Jose – December 29, 1999 Las Vegas – April 22, 2000 Washington – May 7, 2000 Cleveland – June 25, 2000 São Paulo – July 22, 2000 Chicago – December 17, 2000 Seoul – June 22, 2001 Beijing – June 23, 2001 Yokohama – June 27, 2002 Saint Paul – December 16, 2002 Columbus – September 28, 2003

“

You don’t need any brains to listen to music.LUCIANO PAVAROTTI, TENOR

”

TENOR AT THE MOVIES

When you’re famous for one thing, it can seem like a good idea to try your hand at something else, to see if you can become celebrated for that too. So it was, in 1982, for Luciano Pavarotti when he made an ill-fated bid to achieve stardom as a film actor. Pavarotti played the male lead role in a romantic comedy with the unlikely title, Yes, Giorgio. The movie told the tale of an international opera star, by the name of Fini, who suddenly loses his voice. Thanks to the medical expertise and love of a young lady doctor, called Pamela, his vocal cords perk up and all is well in the world. Pavarotti’s character is heard to utter a chat up line that deserves to achieve immortality: ‘Pamela, you are a thirsty plant. Fini can water you’. The New York Times review of the film notes: ‘Yes, Giorgio is rated PG (“Parental Guidance Suggested”). Its sexual innuendoes will not disturb children, although adults may find them alarming.’

“

If you think you’ve hit a false note, sing loud. When in doubt, sing loud.ROBERT MERRILL, BARITONE

”

CROSSOVER CLASSICAL MUSIC

The boundaries of what is, and what isn’t, classical music can sometimes become quite blurred. A singer might have a selection of popular operatic arias in his repertoire, which he sings in an operatic style. These fall comfortably into the definition of being classical music and, although he does not perform in full operas, we would be happy to agree that this is genuine classical music. But at the same time, a singer might also perform what are essentially pop songs in an operatic style. This definitely doesn’t make them opera and they shouldn’t really be thought of as classical music in its strictest sense. However, many crossover performers have enjoyed huge success in selling records and at getting audiences along to large-scale live concerts. For many people, they offer a route into listening to classical music, and they should hold no threat to the core classical music world. Crossover classical music comes at the point where pop music and classical music collide. Sometimes it doesn’t quite work, but sometimes this fusion can create quite a stir.

“

The opera house is an institution differing from other lunatic asylums only in the fact its inmates have avoided official certification.ERNEST NEWMAN, MUSIC CRITIC

”

CHART TOPPER

When the Salford-born tenor, Russell Watson, released his first album The Voice in 2001, it topped the UK’s classical music chart for an entire year until the release of his second album, Encore, which replaced The Voice in the top spot.

INSTRUCTIONS

The Italian word adagio is a composer’s way of telling a performer to play their music slowly. It is slower than andante but faster than largo. Slow movements, in general are often simply called ‘adagios’ because so many bear this marking.

At the other end of the scale, allegro is another instruction from a composer to a performer. The message is to play fast – not, however, as fast as presto but faster than allegretto (which means allegro-ish). Probably the most famous allegro of all is the ‘da da da DER…’ of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.

Allegro is not to be confused with Allegri or the Austin Allegro. The first is a composer born in the 16th century, best known for his choral masterpiece Miserere. The second is a 1970s car often favoured by aunties and geography teachers. Paradoxically neither of these groups is exactly renowned for being fast.

Legato is another order composers like to issue to musicians – this time they are asking the performer to play smoothly. The opposite is staccato – a rather spikier sound.

So why are all these instructions in Italian? Well, Italy was once the centre of the music industry and therefore all the composers wrote their directions in Italian. This continues today, meaning that a German composer writing for a Spanish pianist and a Dutch violinist would still tell them what speed to play in Italian. Odd, but true.

“

We’re not worried about writing for posterity. We just want it to sound good right now.DUKE ELLINGTON, COMPOSER

”

LISTEN EAR

Allegri’s glorious Miserere was written for the Sistine Chapel Choir in Rome. The Pope declared the music to be so powerful that the score was closely guarded in case anyone else tried to copy the music. It’s said that when the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart heard the Miserere performed during a visit to the chapel, he rushed home and wrote it out in full from memory.

“

Singers have the most marvellous breathcontrol and can kiss for about ten minutes.JILLY COOPER, NOVELIST

”

JOHANN PACHELBEL (1653–1706)

One of classical music’s One-Hit-Wonders, this organist and composer is famous for his Canon. Just like Albinoni’s Adagio, it only became mega-well-known more than a couple of hundred years after it was written. But, unlike Albinoni, at least it was all his own work. J.S. Bach was a big fan. By the way, in this instance ‘canon’ has nothing to do with the weapons of war, that are now often used to blast away in time with the music during live outdoor performances of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture in the grounds of stately homes around Britain. No, Pachelbel’s Canon is an excellent example of a genre of music you probably know from your childhood. Think back to Frère Jacques or London’s Burning – you might have known them as ‘rounds’ but the basic principles are the same.

“

It is clear that the first specification for acomposer is to be dead.ARTHUR HONEGGER, COMPOSER,I AM A COMPOSER (1951)

”

DOUZE POINTS

Marc-Antoine Charpentier is the composer behind the Eurovision Song Contest’s biggest hit. The Prelude to his Te Deum is used as the theme music, which is heard at the beginning and end of the annual televisual extravaganza. Some critics believe that it’s the only decent work to be heard all evening.

“

Composers shouldn’t think too much – it interferes with their plagiarism.HOWARD DIETZ, SONG WRITER

”

HENRY PURCELL (1659–1695)

Often referred to as the first great English composer, Purcell was an amazing young talent, becoming Organist of Westminster Abbey – a top job – by the time he was 20. Despite the fact that he only lived for another 16 years, he had a busy old time of it, composing every conceivable type of music. The correct way of pronouncing his name is ‘Persil’ – rather like the washing powder. Please note that although Purcell is a pleasant accompaniment to doing the washing and ironing, there’s absolutely no suggestion whatsoever that his music will make your whites brighter at any temperature.

Check out: ‘When I am laid in earth’ (known as ‘Dido’s Lament’) from Dido and Aeneas | the Rondo from Abdelazar | Trumpet Tune and Air in D | Come Ye Sons of Art.

Well, I Never! The huge void left after the death of Purcell, not filled until the arrival of Elgar some 200 years later (if you don’t count the naturalised Handel), led England to be dubbed ‘the land without music’.

TOMASO ALBINONI (1671–1751)

Best known for his Adagio for Organ and Strings, even though it was actually written by an Italian professor in 1958 – the same year as Pele scored a hat-trick in the World Cup in Sweden. It was based on only a fragment of the original manuscript. So, Albinoni wrote hundreds of tunes in his lifetime but is now famous for one he didn’t write. A bit like jazz musician, Dave Brubeck, and his hit Take Five.

Check out: Any of his Oboe Concertos.

Name drop: Remo Giazotto, the Italian professor who reworked the Adagio.

“

It is not hard to compose, but it is wonderfully hard to let the superfluous notes fall under the table.JOHANNES BRAHMS, COMPOSER

”

OBOE

A black, wooden instrument that looks a bit like a clarinet with a straw sticking out of the top. It has a more ‘nasal’ sound than the clarinet, but, played well, can sound utterly beautiful. Played badly, it can bring to mind Sweep from The Sooty Show being attacked by geese. Either way, its piercing sound can always be heard through everything else. It’s also the instrument you hear before an orchestral concert, playing the note to which all other instruments tune.

Check out: Albinoni: Oboe Concertos | Ravel: Boléro | Jean Françaix: The Flower Clock.

Name drop: A bit like the bassoon, this one – nobody will ever chastise you for not knowing names of oboe players. Maybe keep composer and oboe player Heinz Holliger in reserve, for special occasions.

Well, I Never! A Heckelphone is the name given to the now largely obsolete baritone oboe, invented in 1904 by, not surprisingly, a Mr Heckel.

“

I cannot switch my voice. My voice is not like an elevator going up and down.MARIA CALLAS, SOPRANO

”

COR ANGLAIS

The cor anglais, which translates as ‘English horn’, is one of the less well-known instruments of the orchestra. Many people mistakenly think that it must be part of the brass section. It actually looks like an oversized oboe and resides firmly in the family of woodwind instruments. Anybody who says they can tell it apart from an oboe is either (a) a genius, (b) a liar, or (c) a cor anglais player.

Check out: You can hear the cor anglais playing the main tune in the slow movement of Dvořák’s New World Symphony and playing the part of the swan in The Swan of Tuonela by Sibelius.

Name drop: As with bassoonists, it’s not recommended that you actually name any cor anglais players. If you are ever asked to provide details, simply adopt a misty-eyed, far-away look and sigh knowingly.

YOU CAN’T BE GOOD AT EVERYTHING