Thursday, October 12, 2023, 12:30PM
Natasha Costello, flute
Alyse Hokamp, flute
Duetto III, Carl Stamitz (1745-1801)
I. Andante non moderato
II. Romance
III. Fugato
Classical era music is characterized by relatively simple, memorable melodies, and parallel harmonies in 3rds and 6ths.
Carl Stamitz was a prolific German composer of instrumental music during the classical era.
The style of music has many similarities to Mozart, who lived his short life within Stamitz’s lifetime (1756-1791).
The first movement, Andante non moderato, is in binary form, which consists of two repeating sections (AABB), though we will only be repeating the first section.
The Romance (II) is in Liedform (ABA). The second A section is an exact repeat of the first, with the music instructing the player to go back to the beginning (da capo) and stop at the designated ending (fine).
The final movement, Fugato, is not a strict fugue, but includes passages in the fugal style. A fugue refers to a composition where a musical idea is introduced (subject) in succession by the different voices, echoing each other and interweaving the parts as the music progresses. The subject reappears throughout the composition, sometimes in fragments or with different modifications (transformations).
Terzo Duetto sopra motivi dell’opera Rigoletto di Verdi (Third duet on motives from Verdi’s opera Rigoletto), Raffaello Galli (1824-1889)
Rigoletto, by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) premiered in Venice in 1851. The opera is based on an 1832 play by Victor Hugo, Le roi s’amuse.
This duet comes from a set of three Rigoletto duets by the professional banker/amateur flutist Raffaello Galli.
We will play three tunes from this lengthy duet (this third duet alone is 15 minutes!).
Caro Nome (Precious name)- This is one of the most famous arias (Italian songs) from Rigoletto, besides the infamous La donna è mobile. Gilda, the female protagonist, is singing about the man she has fallen in love with after she finds out his name… even though he has actually created a fake name!
È il sol dell’anima, la vita è amore (Love is the sunshine of the soul)- Sung by the male lead, the Duke of Mantua, after meeting Gilda. Unfortunately, his feelings for her are very fleeting…
Banda/dance music- this is music that occurs during a dance within the opera, and is played by an offstage ensemble, separate from the orchestra in the pit.
Fun fact: Natasha and Alyse played in the banda for The Dallas Opera’s 2022 production of Rigoletto!
Sonata in D Major for two flutes or violins, Georg Philip Telemann (1681-1767)
I. Dolce
II. Allegro
III. Largo
IV. Vivace
Telemann was a German composer of the Baroque era, where music mimicked the art style of the time. The term Baroque referred to art that was highly ornate and detailed.
The classical era that followed was a reaction to the complex, affected style of the Baroque era.
The first two movements use elements of the fugue (like Stamitz), where a musical subject is introduced successively, imitated, and transformed.
Melodía de arrabal (Suburban melody), Carlos Gardel (1890-1935)
Gardel was a French born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was internationally famous for his tangos.
Melodía de arrabal was a 1933 American musical film, which starred Gardel.
Gardel died tragically in a plane crash at the height of his career.
Thank you for joining us today!
Alyse Hokamp 