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Petrarch... yes, I chose this portrait of Bach intentionally, rather than the usual rather dour looking old man that is somewhat suggestive of the Quaker Oats man with constipation (he needs more fiber in his diet). Bach was not this ever serious Puritan. I have read several stories about his activities as a ladies man including one in which he was caught (doing who knows what) in the church organ loft with a young woman. Considering the number of children he sired we must surmise that he had more on his mind than simply God, the Church, Death, and Counterpoint.
:lol: Hadn't heard the gossip about the organ loft before.
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Originally Posted by stlukesguild View Post
Many music lovers were outraged at the manner in which Mozart was present in the film Amadeus. While the film certainly played fast and loose with the facts, there is much to support the image of Mozart as rather immature... especially with regard to social relationships. There are any number of letters written by him laden with lewd sexual comments and vulgarities of an almost juvenile manner... and yet he was also able to compose Le Nozze di Figaro.
That's actually one of the reasons I like him. His song Leck mir den Arsch fein recht schön sauber makes me laugh every time I read it. Another good one is from the lyrics of his Difficile lectu. He also makes use of the most wonderful scatological expressions, telling his father in one letter that he was so annoyed he could **** oranges! The man was colorful and seems like the kind of guy you'd like to have a drink with even if you didn't love his music. That sort of thing doesn't tarnish my opinion of an artist in the least. It's rather endearing actually.
I was just recently remembering a recording my grandfather sometimes played at Thanksgivings at his house, which had a recording of some of Mozart's music (one of the wind quartets?) and then a voice over reading an English translation of some of Mozart's very bawdy notes on the score. Definitely changed the way one experienced the music. ;)
I thought it was just fine to show the more "human" side to Mozart in Amadeus and certainly it's something that many people found surprising and attractive about that take on the biography. I didn't find it a wholly satisfying as a portrayal of Mozart, though because I just didn't feel that the actor playing the part felt a deep connection to music. I thought Hulce did a marvelous job with a very entertaining character and a good portrayal of one side of Mozart. The humorous, social scenes were very natural and engaging, but in the scenes when he was supposed to be immersed in the music or composing, it felt much more like someone making a big effort to act a role than a really convincing portrayal of a musician. The beautiful score and filming certainly covered this well, but I wonder if some of the objections that Mozart lovers have are less to the inclusion of the bawdy aspects of the man than the absence of a certain bond with the music that I personally just didn't feel was present in that performance in the way that I do feel a very real connection to the music with an actor like Jamie Foxx, both in Ray and in his more recent film, which I've just seen, The Soloist. If I were magically able to recast Amadeus I would probably put a young Hugh Laurie in the role as an actor who has a clear personal abiding love for and dedication to music and the comic/dramatic range to pull off roles ranging from Bertie Wooster to House.
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I also concur on the Art of the Fugue which I own 4 different versions: one on organ by Glenn Gould, another orchestrated for baroque orchestra with Sir Neville Mariner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, another on string quartet by the Emerson Quartet... and the most recent played upon recorders by the Loeki Stardust Quartet (highly recommended!):
Haven't heard either the Loeki Stardust Quartet or the Emerson Quartet versions. I'll have to see about checking them out. I adore the Gould. I have a disc of him playing them first on the organ and then the piano, which is wonderful.
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Yes, I've heard all of those versions, too (even the Loeki Stardust Quartet), and I never tire of hearing different versions of the Art of the Fugue. I especially like hearing the various completions that have been composed. If it were up to me, BWV1080 completions would be a thriving genre of musical composition.
blue--This was reminding me that I have you to thank for inspiring me to try the first contrapunctus of The Art of the Fugue on the piano, which I can now perform decently enough for my own enjoyment. Weren't you trying to pick out parts of it on the guitar? How did that go?
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I never really got into Monteverdi. Maybe it's time I give him another chance.
Yes, do give Monteverdi another try. I think the key is to start with something like the 1610 Vespers or some of the arrangements for the psalms (By sheer coincidence I happen to have his arrangement of psalm 109 playing at the moment which is adding much richness to a rather dismal gray Chicago afternoon). Psalm 111 is probably his most famous:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL0QD...layer_embedded
Some of the madrigals are also wonderful. The operatic works can be lovely but, at least in their entirety, I think may be a slightly more acquired taste.
