Reasons to study music history? Really it all comes down to one reason: music history is fabulously interesting! In the world of music history, sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction and I am here to walk you through three of music history’s most florid, sordid, and flamboyant tales!
First off, we have Carlo Gesualdo. Gesualdo was an Italian nobleman and composer who lived from 1566 to 1613. Gesualdo was an Italian nobleman and composer who upon discovering his wife acting unfaithful to him, laid a trap to catch the lovers together and then killed them both! Charming. The Italian authorities of the time did nothing because apparently, killing an unfaithful wife and lover was allowed according to the social code of aristocratic revenge. However, the press had a field day with the story and Gesualdo retired to his family castle to get away from all the hate (just because it was allowed, it didn’t mean people had to be ok with it).
Well it turns out that his previous actions were not enough to repel absolutely everyone and four years later, in 1594 our impetuous composer married again! What this woman was thinking, I know not, but it must have been for money because this is what he looked like…I mean, that goatee…
And that marriage wasn’t so good either. Gesualdo abused his wife and was unfaithful to her and the couple pretty much lived apart. Gesualdo took up with another woman who became his mistress and this lady was eventually put on trial for witchcraft! Her sentence was to live the rest of her life in the Gesualdo’s castle. Make it make sense please! And so she and Carlo lived out the rest of their days in his creepy old castle.
Now I know Gesualdo seems like a pretty bad dude so far, but he really did make beautiful music. He liked best to write choral music for female choirs and here his arrangement of “O Vos Omnes”.
Okay! Next, let’s talk about Wagner! Richard Wagner was a German composer who took 26 years to complete his masterpiece… which makes sense because his masterpiece takes about 15 hours to perform! This incredible work is called “The Ring Cycle” and no, it has nothing to do with J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. What it does have to do with is Norse mythology. Wagner created an epic story about all the old German gods and he set it to music. Basically, it is four massive opera’s all linked together.
Although this is all very interesting and epic in itself, where is the scandal I promised you? Well it turns out Wagner was also the favorite composer of none other than Adolf Hitler, which gives him a pretty bad name, as you can imagine. Hilter loved that this composer wrote his masterpiece about all of the German gods, like a tribute to German culture, which was Hitler’s whole deal. Also, although Wagner died around the time when Hitler was born and thus had no real ties to the Nazi’s, he was anti- Semetic and said so in some of his writings. This only served to make Hitler love him more. Gnarly, huh!
Be that as it may, the Ring Cycle is still one of the foremost classical pieces in the world and here is a little taste for you! You may recognize this one from Hollywood, too...
The red curtains swing open. Every lady in the audience leans forward attentively, eagerly. Not a sound is heard. And then a tall, thin, handsome man strides on stage and the overcrowded theater bursts into pandemonium. The air reverberates with enthusiastic cheers as the man makes his way to the middle of the stage and seats himself at a piano there. The hubbub subsides as the man raises his hands to begin and every eye and ear is fastened on the scene. Mesmerized, the crowd is totally silent as the man brings down his hands for some stirring opening chords and remain enthralled as the chords give way to one lovely melody after another. The ladies sigh and wipe tears from their eyes and the gentleman try to remain stoic. Gradually the mood changes and the piece becomes faster and faster. The mood of the audience changes with the piece and every person is on the edge of their seats, forgetting to breathe as the piece becomes impossibly fast and the pianist’s hands become a blur. Faster and faster the piece goes as a lady from the audience screams and faints out of sheer excitement. A premonition of things to come in our world of music history perhaps, as the Beatles and Elvis encountered similar reactions. The piece roars to a finish and the crowd erupts into frantic applause. The pianist slowly removes his pure white gloves and tosses them into the crowd and the ladies go wild, each trying to grab hold of one. Lisztomania!
Franz Liszt was the world’s first rockstar and the sensation he made was dubbed “Lisztomania”. And yes, the world’s first rockstar was a classically trained pianist who wore a suit and tie. However, crowds did go absolutely nuts for him and fought over his gloves and even his cigar ashes! Despite being the peoples’ idol, Liszt was more than just some guy who had piano skills. He was a prolific composer of the Romantic era, a conductor and a teacher with a prodigious number of students. Moreover, during his eight year tour of Europe at the height of Lisztomania, he gave most of the proceeds of the tour to various charities! What a great guy! And I got to say, I think he was kinda cute!
And here is a piece composed by Liszt!
So I hope you enjoyed three little music history blurbs and you continue to learn more about the mad, wacky world of music history, because there is so much more out there for you to discover!
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