Béla Bartók

Béla Viktor János Bartók was born in the Banatian town in the Kingdom of
Hungary on March 25th 1881. He is a composer, and folklorist was influenced by
the Hungarian music, Romanian, and Serbian, as well.
 The interest of popular music for Bartok does not appear in his life as a
result of a search for sources of inspiration, for the contrary, it was rooted in
an early identification with the musical tradition of his country of origin.
“His first compositions, from the early 1890s, were frequently dance pieces –
waltzes, ländlers, mazurkas, and, especially, polkas which he often named
after friends or family members”. His studies and the incorporation of folk-
music in his works did not stay at the level of these stylized European
dances. The use of first hand musical material provided him with a deeper
understanding of the emotional and spiritual content of driving rhythms and
unusual melodies. Bartók progressively transformed folk-music sources into
the more abstract principles of his compositions.”
 His compositional style is described by some scholars as eclectic or/and
extremely influenced by Schoenberg and Stravinsky. The Hungarian folk
music influence in the music of Bela Bartok is passionately reflected in his
set of piano pieces based on folk tunes. For example, the Fourteen Bagatelles
written for Piano in 1908, in which the accompaniment is very simple to give
the folk tune the prominence. In this way, he wanted to keep the
authenticity of the source. Also the folk influence in Bartok music could be
seen through the modal character of his melody in another of his Bagatelles.
In this way, he avoids diatonic resolutions. This could be seen in the opening
of the first of the Fourteen Bagatelles where the juxtaposition of two scales
presents the mixing of the Aeolian and Phrygian modes. Some scholars
describe the use of ten tone scales in the Allegro Barbaro by Bartok, where
the right hand is written in C major, and the left hand is in C sharp minor.
In his second Violin Sonata, Bartok uses an improvisatory character to
recreate village fiddlers of Hungary.
 Rhythm in Bela Bartok's music is completely tied to folk melodies.
Hungarian rhythms are almost present in all of his compositions. The two
Orchestral Suites, the Piano Sonata, and the Piano Concerto, and the String
Quartets, "furnish ample evidence of insistent rhythms." The interest in
folklore music by Bela Bartok did not keep him confined within the
boundaries of Hungarian studies. As a musicologist, through searching for
traditional melodies and rhythms took him as far as Algeria.
 After one of his tours to Spain and Portugal as a performer, he decided to
return via ferry across the Straits of Gibraltar ending in Morocco where he
was able to hear Arab music. The influence from this type of music could be
seen in Bela Bartok's music from different musical elements which include
melody, rhythm, instrumentation, articulation, etc.
Just to cite some of the works by Bela Bartok where this Arab influence is
visible, we can mention: Suite Opus 14 (for Piano) Movement 3 String Quartet
No. 2, Movement II Miraculous Mandarin "Chase Scene" (62-71) Violin Sonata,
No. 1, Movement III Dance Suite for Orchestra, Movement I-IV Piano Concerto
No. 1, Movement II-III String Quartet No. 4, Movement V Piano Concerto No. 2,
Movement III Violin Duet No. 42, Arabian Dance Mikrokosmos, Volume 2, No.
 58, “In Oriental Style”. Along with the recordings that he made from his
travels to the Arab world, musicology analysis of melodies, rhythms,
especially scale system from the Arab world was part of the deep work done
by Bela Bartok. The microtonal system in the Arab music has a great impact
in his compositional style. By the use of glissandos and melismatic melodies,
Bela Bartok tried to resemble the sonority of the melodies of the Arab music.
In the same way, Bartok treats the Hungarian meter 9/8 in different
combinations, like 3+3+3, or 3+2+4, or 2+2+3+2, he approached to Arab
rhythm patterns called Modes that are based in the onomatopoeic syllabus
such as dum, tak, taka, by using them in various combinations of “long” and
“short” values rather than regular meter signatures.
 He pointed out that dynamics and colouring in music comes about only by
relating one sound to another. He gave a vivid illustration of his point. " Ask
the greatest piano virtuoso in the world to hit a note on the piano," he said, "
just one single note-then ask the nearest taxi-driver to do the same-and you
will find that each note was hit by the two men exactly alike-one didn't
sound a bit finer or more beautiful than the other. In order to discover the
difference between the taxi-driver and the great artist-they have to hit two
notes . . . there each will reveal himself, for it is the relationship between the
sounds upon which the colouring hinges."

He died on September 26th 1945 at the age of 64. Doctors cited leukemia as the
cause of death. His final string quartet, the String Quartet No.6 written for the
Concerto for Orchestra was arguably his most famous work. Together with Franz
Liszt, he would go down in history as one of the most influential Hungarian
composers of his time.
 Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is the greatest and most celebrated composer of the
classical period and the most gifted musical genius in history. Born in January 27,
1756 in Salzburg, Mozart was not appreciated as a composer during his time. Great
success did not arrive until the generation of the romantics, who found in Mozart
what they believed to be a kindred spirit. Through an examination of his early life
as a child prodigy, musical mastery, large number and range of works, mastery of
the classical style, and endless praise from fellow composers, we can begin to see
why his legacy has grown and remained strong after his death.

 Wolfgang Mozart was a child prodigy who revealed his extraordinary talent at
the incredibly young age of three years old. In 1763, when Mozart was about
seven years old, he wrote his first large composition – six sonatas for violin
and piano. The mere fact that Mozart was able to play and compose these
pieces at such a young age is a testament to his musical genius.
 Mozart had an undeniable mastery of music. He was a superb clavier player,
one of the greatest clavier virtuosi of his time. Although he was also
proficient on the violin it was the keyboard that mainly occupied his
attention.
 Improvisation was one of Mozart’s most impressive skills. During his early
years of composing he did not need to write down piano sonatas or
variations, as he could just improvise them. He would only put his
compositions on paper if a pupil was trying to learn them or if he wanted to
send them to a publisher. From these first-hand accounts it is clear that
Mozart had mastered the skill of improvisation.
 Composition was yet another incredible skill of Mozart. The extraordinary
thing about the way he composed was that it came so naturally to him. He
didn’t have to search for ideas about what to write – compositions simply
appeared in his head and then he wrote them down. Creating a piece of
music came so easily to him that at times he would be working on two or
three pieces at a time, as they would appear in his mind all at once. Mozart
could also compose a piece at an impressive speed. He once composed a
sonata for pianoforte and violin the night before he was supposed to perform
it in concert and played it by memory the next day. Within his compositions
are numerous examples of his absolute artistry of contrapuntal
combinations, movement structure, use of counterpoint, harmonic
modulations, and tonal colour. With his extraordinary keyboard,
improvisational, and composition skills, it is an undeniable fact that
Wolfgang Mozart possessed a profound mastery of music.
 Mozart wrote an impressive number and variety of works over the course of
his short life. The entire catalogue is exhausting, but among the works are
20 operas, 15 masses, 17 church sonatas, more than a 100 airs, songs,
choruses, and vocal canons, around 50 symphonies and concertos, 17 piano
 sonatas, 42 sonatas for violin and piano, 26 string quartets, 8 string
quintets, 7 piano trios, 2 piano quartets - all written with an exceptional
degree of perfection. The sheer number and extreme versatility of his work is
a testament to this self-proclaimed ability.

 A key element of the classical style was a lightness that contrasted the
earlier work of the Baroque period. Mozart achieved this with his melodies,
which held him above the rest of the composers of his time. These delicate
melodies were the most accessible part of Mozart’s music and allowed an
exposure to a wide range of listeners. ‘Komm, liber Mai’, is a song using one
of Mozart’s melodies that every German schoolchild still sings today.
 Another aspect of the classical style is a wide range of dynamics and mood.
In true classical form Mozart would use a wide range of expression and a
strong contrast of styles and feelings within a single work. Mozart’s mastery
of the classical style makes him the greatest composer of the classical period
with no shortage of praise for him from fellow composers

Mozart died at the young age of thirty-five on December 5, 1791. Although he

lived a short life, he was able to compose for a span of twenty-nine years.
Because he started writing at such a young age, he was given almost as full of a
‘composing life’ as other composers, who started creating music a lot later in
their life. As a result of his early life as a child prodigy, musical mastery, large
number and range of works, mastery of the classical style, and endless praise
from fellow composers, Mozart’s music and influence continues to transcend
history. Thus, Mozart is undoubtedly the most celebrated and recognized
composer of the classical period, and the most gifted musical genius of all time.
 William Byrd
William Byrd (1543 – 4 July 1623), was an English composer of the Renaissance.
He wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various
types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard (the so-called Virginalist school),
and consort music. Although he produced sacred music for Anglican services,
sometime during the 1570s he became a Roman Catholic and wrote Catholic
sacred music later in his life.
 While serving at Lincoln Cathedral, Byrd composed numerous pieces for
choir, viol, and keyboard. These works show an Italian influence and are
written in a polyphonic style. Polyphonic music has more than one melody
of equal importance sounding simultaneously.
 Byrd was a prodigious composer. He wrote music for every genre of his day.
There are volumes of sacred songs suitable for both Catholic and Anglican
worship. There are secular songs in English. There are pieces for choir,
pieces for soloists accompanied by viols, pieces for viol ensembles, and
collections of compositions for keyboard. In all of these genres, he did
outstanding work.
 The period of the 1560’s saw the production of some of Byrd’s earlier
keyboard works, such as Ground as Gamut and A minor fantasia, while also
composing some psalm motets like Ad Dominum cum tribularer and De
lamentation. These compositions usually followed a similar trend of
appreciating and handpicking thematic topics and arrangements from the
Christian practice of Tenebrae, and demonstrating a genuine interpretation
of Elizabethan Catholic practices and rituals.
 Some of his most famous works include the song books released at the end
of the 1500s. These included the 1588 collection that Byrd named Psalms,
Sonnets and Songs of Sadness and Pietie, and the 1589 compositions
collectively recognized as Songs of Sundrie Natures. The most striking
element found within the tunes in these collections was the inclusion of
vocal parallels, which Byrd synced in line with the instrumental sections of
the songs. However, other themes from earlier children’s plays, consorts and
some popular secular genres are also proactively symbolized in the
compositions.
 Byrd's sacred music was well represented by the two volumes of Gradualia,
published in 1605 and 1607. These volumes contain short sacred songs that
are used in the Proper of the Roman Catholic Mass. The Proper consists of
the sections of the Mass that have a different text for each day. Byrd set
these texts in such a way that the different pieces of the Proper would fit
together musically, supporting each other and complementing each other.
 Prior to this, Proper texts were a bit of a mash-up, combining some music
from here, some music from there, with no concept of the sections creating a
musical whole.
 In the latter half of his life, it became evident from his later releases that
Byrd had increasingly become affluent and enthused with Catholicism. With
the likes of O Lux Beata Trinitas, Miserere Mihi and Tribue Domine, this
period laid down the foundations for Byrd’s last few contributions as a
composer. This claim finds proof in the compositions of the period between
1575 and 1590, when Byrd’s motets focused more on the sufferings and
biblical texts of the Catholic community. A few examples where Catholic
themes are evident are Come to Me Grief (1580) and Delight is Dead (1580).
 Perhaps the highlight of his last few years as a professional composer was
his final composition, Psalmes, Songs and Sonnets (1611), that mostly
included songs and motets from previous works, although two of songs had
been configured in to brand new pieces. What set apart this collection was a
new form of song texture, where most of the compositions would be arranged
in five and six parts.

In the contemporary setting of music, where so many different genres have been
developed, the classical works of William Byrd are still held up to the highest
recognition. Following a strong doctrinal theme together with various
improvisational vocal, chamber and keyboard techniques, Byrd still sets a
revolutionary example in modern classical music.
 Spicer Adventist University
Pune-411007

Submitted By: Leisel Dsouza

ID No: 16328003

Submitted To: Miss Mary Davy

Date: 07/10/2019

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