History AwesomeMusic / Classical

** In 1965, Walter Hussey, the Dean of Chichester Cathedral, commissioned a choral work from Bernstein for the 1965 Southern Cathedrals Festival. The result was a piece made from purest awesome: the ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1axCTkIfP9Q Chichester Psalms]]'', a setting of six excerpts from the Book of Psalms in the original Hebrew. After a short introduction from Psalm 108 that builds in energy, we dive into the giddy, joyful first movement, a setting of Psalm 100 in 7/4 time that sounds like 4/4 time with the last half beat clipped, as though the music is so eager to get going that it keeps skipping ahead. The second movement juxtaposes a serene, solo alto-led rendition of Psalm 23 with a rumbling, bass voice-dominated "interruption" on Psalm 2; while the former seems to win out, the "interruption" keeps peeking through the final measures as a sign of internal conflict. The third movement goes from a bustling introduction to a gentle setting of Psalm 131, its 10/4 metre evoking images of swaying palms. A coda on the first verse of Psalm 133 brings back the main themes from the introduction to tie everything together in time for a reverent "Amen".

** Fauré started early. When he was nineteen and still in college, he received a homework assignment to write a song for SATB choir and piano or organ. The resulting song, "Cantique de Jean Racine", is probably the only homework assignment to have [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantique_de_Jean_Racine its own Wikipedia article]]. It is sweet, deceptively simple, and beautiful beyond words--even the volunteer children's choir they have singing the song on [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]] can't much ruin it.

** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZl9JlZz2Y8 Prélude, Adagio, et Choral varié]] on the plainchant melody of the Pentecostal hymn "Veni, creator spiritus" is a masterclass in how choral tunes of the Middle Ages can transcend the centuries by continuing to reveal new facets of themselves.[[note]] As the original Gregorian chant uses the Mixolydian mode, Duruflé's treatment of it does likewise, which can scramble the unwary listener's sense of tonality.[[/note]] The Prélude grows out of a triplet figure spun from the third line ("Imple superna gratia"), with a contrasting theme based on the second line ("Mentes tuorum visita") thrown in. As the Prélude tapers off, the organist pushes the stops in one by one for the hallowed ground of the Adagio, which incorporates more fragments of the "Veni creator" melody as the tonal centre climbs by minor thirds until it comes full circle for the final section, which opens with the first full statement of the hymn melody in truly majestic fashion. The four variations include a dialogue between the ''cantus firmus'' in the pedal and the "Imple superna gratia" melody in the manuals, a variation for manuals only, a canon at the fifth that returns to the sacred atmosphere of the Adagio, and another two-voice canon incorporating the triplets from the Prelude before the four phrases of the theme dissolve into a whirlwind of counterpoint, all building to a spectacular coda for full organ in which a figure based on the "Veni creator" melody booms forth in the pedal.

** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZl9JlZz2Y8 Prélude, Adagio, et Choral varié]] on the plainchant melody of the Pentecostal hymn "Veni, creator spiritus" is a masterclass in how choral tunes of the Middle Ages can transcend the centuries by continuing to reveal new facets of themselves.[[note]] As the original Gregorian chant uses the Mixolydian mode, Duruflé's treatment of it does likewise, which can scramble the unwary listener's sense of tonality.[[/note]] The Prélude grows out of a triplet figure spun from the third line of the hymn, with a contrasting theme based on the hymn "Mentes tuorum vista" thrown in. As the Prélude tapers off, the organist pushes the stops in one by one for the hallowed ground of the Adagio, which incorporates more fragments of the "Veni creator" melody as the tonal centre climbs by minor thirds until it comes full circle for the final section, which opens with the first full statement of the hymn melody in truly majestic fashion. The four variations that follow add different layers of counterpoint, all building to a spectacular coda for full organ in which a figure based on the "Veni creator" melody booms forth in the pedal.

** One of Dupré's most popular compositions, thanks to its seasonal theme, is ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LFb-H0z6LU Variations sur un Noël]]'' (''Variations on a Christmas Carol''), in which he uses the melody of the 15th-century French carol "Noël Nouvelet" as the basis of ten contrapuntal variations, including three canons (one of them a double canon) at different intervals and a fugato, all building to a virtuostic, celebratory coda in which the minor tonality finally explodes into major.

* The music of the Second Viennese School may be very much an acquired taste (and one many listeners openly resist acquiring), as it takes a sledgehammer to traditional tonality and concepts of melody and harmony, but Alban Berg's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqSSHwFEn_8 Violin Concerto]] still stands as one of the most beloved 20th century examples of the form, straddling traditional diatonicism and the twelve-tone technique pioneered by Berg's mentor, Arnold Schoenberg. Inscribed "To the memory of an angel",[[note]] The "angel" in question was Manon Gropius, daughter of Alma Schindler (whose first husband was Music/GustavMahler) and Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius, whose death from polio at the age of 18 sparked Berg into stopping work on his opera ''Lulu'' to compose the concerto. Sadly, Berg only outlived Manon by eight months; he did not live to see the concerto performed - or to finish ''Lulu''.[[/note]] its first movement opens with a slow sonata allegro and leads into a light-hearted scherzo with two trios. The second movement opens with a pseudo-cadenza of stunning virtuosity that calls on the soloist to perform such feats as left-handed pizzicato and two- or even three-voice counterpoint, but things calm down for the work's emotional heart: a chorale on the hymn "Es ist genug",[[note]] The first four notes of the opening phrase of "Es ist genug" are, not coincidentally, the top four notes of the "tone row" Berg uses as the basis for the concerto's melodic writing.[[/note]] with the clarinets at one point playing the harmonies used by [[Music/JohannSebastianBach Bach]] in his setting of the hymn in the cantata ''O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort'' (BWV 60). The hymn tune is passed to various sections of the orchestra, with the first violins eventually playing in unison with the soloist until they fall silent one by one to lead into a reverent coda, the music ultimately settling into the rising and falling perfect fifths with which it began.

** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lcus9Kchiw Morning song]] from the cantata ''Elverskud''.

** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZl9JlZz2Y8 Prelude, Adagio, et Choral varié]] on the plainchant melody of the Pentecostal hymn "Veni, creator spiritus" is a masterclass in how choral tunes of the Middle Ages can transcend the centuries by continuing to reveal new facets of themselves. The Prelude grows out of a triplet figure spun from the third line of the hymn, with a contrasting theme based on the hymn "Mentes tuorum vista" thrown in. As the Prelude tapers off, the organist pushes the stops in one by one for the hallowed ground of the Adagio, which incorporates more fragments of the "Veni creator" melody as the tonal centre climbs by minor thirds until it comes full circle for the final section, which opens with the first full statement of the hymn melody in truly majestic fashion. The four variations that follow add different layers of counterpoint, all building to a spectacular coda for full organ in which a figure based on the "Veni creator" melody booms forth in the pedal.
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwuo5WN_a4I Suite]] begins with a Prelude and a Sicilienne that are as lovely as anything Duruflé composed, but the real fireworks come in the non-stop virtuosity of the concluding Toccata, sure to exhilarate performer and listener alike from the first measure to the last.[[note]] Not that Duruflé saw it that way; he regretted publishing the Toccata and never included it in his concert programmes.[[/note]]

** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZl9JlZz2Y8 Prelude, Adagio, et Choral varié]] on the "Veni creator" Gregorian chant is a masterclass in how choral tunes of the Middle Ages can transcend the centuries by continuing to reveal new facets of themselves; the concluding chorale variations are a contrapuntally dazzling exploration of the melody at its heart.
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwuo5WN_a4I Suite]] begins with a Prelude and a Sicilienne that are as lovely as anything Duruflé composed, but the real fireworks come in the non-stop virtuosity of the concluding Toccata, sure to exhilarate performer and listener alike from the first measure to the last.
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7joUtiMFOqg Prelude et Fugue sur le nom d'Alain]] was written in memory of Duruflé's friend Jehan Alain, who was killed on the battlefields of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, and uses a musical mnemonic of his surname for a monumental work that builds to an almost transcendent coda.

* Polish-American composer Leopold Godowsky, though he wrote some phenomenally difficult original music, is perhaps best known for taking 26 of Chopin's 27 études[[note]] the omission being the sombre Op.25 No.7 in C-sharp minor[[/note]] (see corresponding entry) and cranking their technical demands up and beyond in a set of 54 studies[[note]] numbered 1-48 (skipping 37) with six extras, and usually referred to as "53 Studies" as there are two versions of No.28[[/note]] which tax almost any pianist's skill to its absolute limit, and any performance of them in appropriately skilled hands is undiluted awesome. While many of the studies "simply" involve re-scoring the Chopin études for left hand alone or reversing the melodic and harmonic roles of the right and left hands, some studies go further:

* Polish-American composer Leopold Godowsky, though he wrote some phenomenally difficult original music, is perhaps best known for taking 26 of Chopin's 27 études[[note]] the omission being the sombre Op.25 No.7 in C-sharp minor[[/note]] (see corresponding entry) and cranking their technical demands UpToEleven and beyond in a set of 54 studies[[note]] numbered 1-48 (skipping 37) with six extras, and usually referred to as "53 Studies" as there are two versions of No.28[[/note]] which tax almost any pianist's skill to its absolute limit, and any performance of them in appropriately skilled hands is undiluted awesome. While many of the studies "simply" involve re-scoring the Chopin études for left hand alone or reversing the melodic and harmonic roles of the right and left hands, some studies go further:

* "Elves' Hill" by Friedrich Kuhlau was written in 1828 to celebrate a wedding in the Danish Royal Family, and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NpRttZ2XNc Ouverture]] has everything needed [[PatrioticFervor for such an occasion]]: tender, lyric folk-songy themes alternate with rousing brass and percussion chords, and the whole thing leads up to a finale where the manliness of the already [[RatedMForManly manly]] royal anthem "King Christian" is taken UpToEleven.

* Classical composers from Latin America tend to be overlooked compared to their counterparts from Europe and (to a lesser extent) the United States, and Exhibit A for the case that they deserve more attention is Argentina's Alberto Ginastera. His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kesUKzsJjfg Piano Concerto No.1]] ranks among the most savagely difficult piano concerti ever composed, blending European influences with South American sensibilities to create something truly remarkable. The first movement bookends a set of variations with furious passages showcasing the piano, and follows this with a scherzo that takes the opposite tack by bracketing a dramatic centre with more mysterious episodes. The otherworldly atmosphere continues through the viola solo-led slow movement, but its solemnity is swept aside by the violent concluding "Toccata concertata", the most original and terrifying of the four movements, and a true SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for any soloist and orchestra up to the task.[[note]] Keith Emerson of Music/EmersonLakeAndPalmer liked the toccata so much, he included an arrangement of it on the band's 1973 album ''Brain Salad Surgery''.[[/note]]

* Classical composers from Latin America tend to be overlooked compared to their counterparts from Europe and (to a lesser extent) the United States, and Exhibit A for the case that they deserve more attention is Argentina's Alberto Ginastera. His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajl0jpQvL6Q Piano Concerto No.1]] ranks among the most savagely difficult piano concerti ever composed, blending European influences with South American sensibilities to create something truly remarkable. The first movement bookends a set of variations with furious passages showcasing the piano, and follows this with a scherzo that takes the opposite tack by bracketing a dramatic centre with more mysterious episodes. The otherworldly atmosphere continues through the viola solo-led slow movement, but its solemnity is swept aside by the violent concluding "Toccata concertata", the most original and terrifying of the four movements, and a true SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for any soloist and orchestra up to the task.[[note]] Keith Emerson of Music/EmersonLakeAndPalmer liked the toccata so much, he included an arrangement of it on the band's 1973 album ''Brain Salad Surgery''.[[/note]]

* "Vesti la giubba" from ''Theatre/{{Pagliacci}}'' by Ruggero Leoncavallo is one of the most recognisable tenor arias ever composed, and was used to great effect in ''Film/TheUntouchables''. Enrico Caruso, widely regarded as the greatest tenor of the first half of the 20th century, made it a staple of his repertoire, the emotion of a man who has just discovered his wife loves another and now has to put on a literal [[SadClown clown's face]] to perform a Theatre/CommediaDellArte version of that very scenario coming through in every note.

** ''Ride of the Valkyries''. Sure, it's MusicOfNote, but it's still CMOA. Unfortunately, this one's picked up a few nasty connotations due to the Nazis' usage of it. But then, it could be argued that more people associate ''Ride of the Valkyries'' with ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' than with ThoseWackyNazis. Or with Bugs Bunny - "Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit!" Or the tank driver in ''VideoGame/StarCraft''.

** [[Music/PachelbelsCanon The "one hit" in question is his]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlprozGcs80 Canon in D]], another of the most instantly recognisable works in all of classical music. It is sometimes joked that if a classical enthusiast is asked to identify a piece of classical music used in film or television, 90% of the time the answer is either Pachelbel's Canon or [[Music/CarminaBurana Orff's "O Fortuna"]].
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkuWlSioQpQ This version]] certainly belongs on this list.
*** As does [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM this comedic take]], which lampshades just how prevalent PachelbelsCanonProgression is in Western culture.
*** See also the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cP26ndrmtg Christmas version.]]

** By far Holst's most familiar work is ''The Planets'', a suite of seven pieces dedicated to each of the seven planets besides Earth[[note]] The suite was composed about fifteen years before Pluto's discovery in 1930; though Holst died in 1934, he never considered writing a piece for Pluto, partly because of his MagnumOpusDissonance regarding the work. An extra movement called "Pluto, the Renewer" was commissioned from composer Colin Matthews in 2000 and, even following Pluto's re-classification as a dwarf planet in 2006, is still occasionally, if rarely, included in performances and recordings.[[/note]], many of them outstanding classics.

*** "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" is the suite's most famous movement; some would say that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B49N46I39Y&t=3m07s the string solo]] practically qualifies as a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}. Holst recomposed that part to create "I Vow to Thee My Country", one of England's many unofficial anthems. At the time he was assigned to set the words to music, he was overworked to the limit and relieved beyond belief to discover that they fit this part of Jupiter.
*** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51oHwMiqslo Uranus, the Magician]]". Starts out bombastic, gets quiet, then ''epic'', then quiet again, then finally revs up to ''Fucking MEGA EPIC'' for the finale.

** Fauré's ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtJeTMRzn8A Requiem]]'' in D minor departs from the usual trend for Requiem masses by deliberately omitting the "Dies irae" sequence altogether (saving the fire and brimstone for the brief "Dies illa, dies irae" passage in the "Libera me") and making its section "Pie Jesu" a separate movement instead. The 6th movement, "Libera me", and the 7th movement, "In Paradisum", were used to poignant effect in the final episode of British detective series ''Series/InspectorMorse''. In performances and recordings, the ''Requiem'' is frequently paired with the "Cantique de Jean Racine" to create a programme of some of the loveliest sacred music ever composed.
*** "In Paradisum" is often used in films; in Jon Amiel's ''The Silent Twins'', about June and Jennifer Gibbons, it's actually the love theme. Amiel also directed ''Film/{{Copycat}}'', so perhaps that's AuthorAppeal. It also appears in ''Film/{{S1m0ne}}'', ''Film/TheThinRedLine'', ''Series/{{Endeavour}}'' and ''Film/{{Novitiate}}'' among many others.

** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ-gzmGu1J4 Toccata]], the finale from his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByRkggPFiMM Symphony No.5 for Organ in F minor,]] is Awesome Music, but seeing it played, it also doubles as a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for any organist who can successfully pull it off! (And that includes [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8vz1D_L_OE Widor himself.]]) But truly appreciating the awesomeness of the finale requires [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MkaWrX8oHA hearing it in context,]] as the capstone following an epic first movement that moves from a set of variations to a chorale and then doubles back to the variation theme for a spectacular coda, a low-key scherzo and trio, and two slow movements, one solemn and dignified and the other almost otherworldly in its beauty.

** Shortly before his death at the age of 79, Fauré completed his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiOFD5WCzrw String Quartet]] in E minor after putting it off for decades.[[note]] Music/MauriceRavel had dedicated his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieRQyyPowH0 String Quartet]] in F major to Fauré in 1903; while Fauré wasn't exactly enamored with it at first, he did ask to see the manuscript for it again a few days later, saying "I could have been wrong". [[/note]] What resulted was three movements full of highly moving and dynamic music, particularly in the second movement ''Andante'', where Fauré has a field day with dynamics; crescendos and diminuendos happen frequently. The third movement ''Allegro'' combines scherzo and finale in an utterly spellbinding way before neatly wrapping everything up in the glory of E major.[[note]] Sadly, he never heard it performed, as his hearing had deteriorated to the point that what little sound he could still hear was horribly distorted, leading him to decline an offer of a private performance while he was on his deathbed.[[/note]]

** Saint-Saëns also composed a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv6XFrQHthU Requiem Mass]], perhaps one of his more underperformed works, in memory of his friend and patron Albert Libon. Compared with other Requiem Mass settings of his time, which tend to be more symphonic (think of the Requiem Masses by Verdi and Dvořák, to give two examples), Saint-Saëns' Requiem is relatively shorter and more subdued so it can be played in a liturgical setting. The resulting piece is sorrowful, yet it is expressed beautifully, especially at the "Requiem - Kyrie" movement.

** Shortly before his death at the age of 79, Fauré completed his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiOFD5WCzrw String Quartet]] in E minor after putting it off for decades.[[note]] Music/MauriceRavel had dedicated his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieRQyyPowH0 String Quartet]] in F major to Fauré in 1903; Fauré wasn't exactly enamored with it at first, but he did ask to see the manuscript for it again a few days later, saying "I could have been wrong". [[/note]] What resulted was three movements full of highly moving and dynamic music, particularly in the second movement ''Andante'', where Fauré has a field day with dynamics; crescendos and diminuendos happen frequently. The third movement ''Allegro'' combines scherzo and finale in an utterly spellbinding way before neatly wrapping everything up in the glory of E major.[[note]] Sadly, he never heard it performed, as his hearing had deteriorated to the point that what little sound he could still hear was horribly distorted, leading him to decline an offer of a private performance while he was on his deathbed.[[/note]]

** Shortly before his death at the age of 79, Fauré composed a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiOFD5WCzrw String Quartet]] in E minor after putting it off for decades. What resulted was three movements full of highly moving and dynamic music, particularly in the second movement ''Andante'', where Fauré has a field day with dynamics; crescendos and diminuendos happen frequently. The third movement ''Allegro'' combines scherzo and finale in an utterly spellbinding way before neatly wrapping up everything in the glory of E major.[[note]] Sadly, he never heard it performed, as his hearing had deteriorated to the point that what little sound he could still hear was horribly distorted, leading him to decline an offer of a private performance while he was on his deathbed.[[/note]]

** Fauré's ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtJeTMRzn8A Requiem]]'' in D minor departs from the usual trend for Requiem masses by deliberately omitting the "Dies irae" sequence altogether (saving the fire-and-brimstone for the brief "Dies illa, dies irae" passage in the "Libera me") and making its section "Pie Jesu" a separate movement instead. The 6th movement, "Libera me", and the 7th movement, "In Paradisum", were used to poignant effect in the final episode of British detective series ''Series/InspectorMorse''. In performances and recordings, the ''Requiem'' is frequently paired with the "Cantique de Jean Racine" to create a programme of some of the loveliest sacred music ever composed.

** Fauré's ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtJeTMRzn8A Requiem]]'' in D minor departs from the usual trend for Requiem masses by deliberately omitting the "Dies irae" sequence altogether and making its section "Pie Jesu" a separate movement instead. The 6th movement, "Libera me", and the 7th movement, "In Paradisum", were used to poignant effect in the final episode of British detective series ''Series/InspectorMorse''. In performances and recordings, the ''Requiem'' is frequently paired with the "Cantique de Jean Racine" to create a programme of some of the loveliest sacred music ever composed.
** Shortly before his death at the age of 79, Fauré composed a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiOFD5WCzrw String Quartet]] in E minor after putting it off for decades. What resulted was three movements full of highly moving and dynamic music, particularly in the second movement ''Andante'', where Fauré has a field day with dynamics; crescendos and diminuendos happen frequently. The third movement ''Allegro'' combines scherzo and finale in an utterly spellbinding way before neatly wrapping up everything in the glory of E major.

** Fauré's ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtJeTMRzn8A Requiem]]'' in D minor departs from the usual trend for Requiem masses by deliberately omitting the "Dies irae" sequence and making its section "Pie Jesu" a separate movement instead. The 6th movement, "Libera me", and the 7th movement, "In Paradisum", were used to poignant effect in the final episode of British detective series ''Series/InspectorMorse''. In performances and recordings, the ''Requiem'' is frequently paired with the "Cantique de Jean Racine" to create a programme of some of the loveliest sacred music ever composed.

** Fauré's ''Requiem'' in D minor deliberately departs from the usual trend for Requiem masses by sticking the "Dies irae" passage in ridiculously awesome fashion in the 6th movement "Libera Me" instead of devoting an entire fire-and-brimstone movement to it. Both this and the 7th movement, "In Paradisum", were used to poignant effect in the final episode of British Detective Series ''Series/InspectorMorse''. In performances and recordings, the ''Requiem'' is frequently paired with the "Cantique de Jean Racine" to create a programme of some of the loveliest sacred music ever composed.