Program Notes...

...okay...I'm trying a trick here. I don't seem to get writers block when I write on The Salt Water Chronicles, but as soon as I open up a new Word doc and see that horrible, blank whitness staring at me, all the demons start crashing into my brain and I become convinced that there is no way I can write anything remotely intelligent about music (don't forget that part about how I never COULD write anything remotely good about music and that's why I never wrote my dissertation etc. etc. etc. It's a great tape loop I've got goin' on in this brain, trust me). SO I'm going to inflict my thoughts about Faure, Brahms, and Turina upon the unsuspecting world at large. Okay, here we go (really...honest...)

Ah-hem.

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), Gabriel Faure (1845-1924), and Joaquin Turina (1882-1949)--composers from three different countries, whose careers shadowed historical events from the creation of the German state to the horrors of WWII and the Franco Regime--created vastly disparate and unique sound worlds.

Although the formal structure of the first movment of Faure's Op. 15 hews to a clear, fairly strict sonata form, he creates intensity from through his rich and complex harmonic language . He frequently employs intense, slithering chromaticsm to create color in his unique sound world. Despite the minor key of the movement, the music contains little Sturm und Drang. Instead, it is filled with moments of space and tranquility created by his specific dynamic markings and textures.

The opening movement of Brahms' Op. 25, on the other hand, fully inhabits the word of storm and stress. Phrases ache with yearning and forward motion; moments of jubilance are subsumed by mystery and darkness. The first movement of Op. 15 also clearly illustrates Brahms' use of continuous development, a hallmark of his style. Brahms almost never presents material the same way twice, but instead will alter the key, or the texture, or the harmonic underpinnning. In this way, he commands our attention and creates a distinct style.

Better known for his guitar and keyboard works, Turina wrote just one Piano Quaret. He creates a third, unique sound world that is strongly influenced by the rhythms and harmonies of Spanish folk music. Like Brahms, he restates themes throughout a piece, but without the intense contrapuntal textures. Instead, Turina creates drama through dotted rhythms, pizzicato,and exploting the extremes of each instrument's register.

Each composers' work reveals different aspects of the Piano Quartet medium. Their approaches to harmony, form, and texture create sound worlds that allow us to escape for a moment from our own.


ARGGG--okay, enough of this torture. Why I turn all formal and my thoughts freeze when I start writing about music...I don't know. I'll look at this again tomorrow. Blah.