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Unit 11 The Cellist of Sarajevo
Activity One
The Roses Against Bombs—
ANTI-WAR MASTERPIECES
Activity Two
Cello & Famous Cellists
Anti-war Masterpieces
• Folk Song: Where Have All The Flowers Gone
• Classical Music: War Requiem
• Novel: All Quiet on the Western Front
Anti-war Masterpieces: FOLK SONGWhere Have All The Flowers Gone?
• Music & Lyrics by:Pete Seeger(b. 1919- )
Who is Pete Seeger?A MusicianA SingerA SongwriterA FolkloristA labor activist
The most important: Peace Advocate
This song was presented when the U.S. involved in the Vietnam War. With its proceeding, more and more Americans began to detest it. Many movies and folksongs were produced to echo people’s rage. Among them, “Where Have All The Flowers Gong?” was the most famous one.
The main idea of this folk song is accusing the pointless sacrifice. Numerous young life fell down in Vietnam. Their death, just like the flowers “gone with the wind”, was a matter of no consequence to those who called the war into action.
Hence, Seeger asked, “When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?”—When will the politicians learn? Possibly simple: THEY NEVER LEARN…
Let’s enjoy the song sung by The Kingston Trio…
Where have all the flowers gone?Long time passing.
Where have all the flowers gone?Long time ago.
Where have all the flowers gone?Young girls picked them every
one.When will they ever learn?When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing.Where have all the young girls
gone?Long time ago.
Where have all the young girls gone?
Gone the young man, every one.When will they ever learn?When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing.Where have all the young men
gone?Long time ago.
Where have all the young men gone?
Gone for soldiers, every one.When will they ever learn?When will they ever learn?
Where have all the soldiers gone?Long time passing.
Where have all the soldiers gone?Long time ago.
Where have all the soldiers gone?Gone to graveyards, every one.
When will they ever learn?When will they ever learn?
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing.Where have all the graveyards
gone?Long time ago.
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Gone to flowers, every one.When will they ever learn?When will they ever learn?
Where have all the flowers gone?Long time passing.
Where have all the flowers gone?Long time ago.
Where have all the flowers gone?Young girls picked them every
one.When will they ever learn?When will they ever learn?
Back
Anti-war Masterpieces: CLASSICAL MUSIC
Benjamin Britten
(1913-1976)
WAR REQUIEM
WAR REQUIEM(Op. 66)
A requiem with Latin Text from
Missa pro defunctis
&
Nine Poems by WILFRED OWEN
World Premier
May 30th, 1962
Coventry Cathedral, London
Britten is a man with anti-war convictions. During the war time, Japan Government entrusted him to write a new work to celebrate their Emperor’s enthronement. Britten should give them a very dark work entitled “Symphonia da Requiem!”
The reopen of the Coventry Cathedral symbolized the real ending of World War II. To warn the world the cruelty and inhuman of war, Britten decided to write “War Requiem.”
“War Requiem” is a special music pieces.
Britten still adapted the Latin Text from the
original Missa procedure. Meanwhile, he
adapted nine poems from a World War I
poet, Wilfred Owen.
WILFRED OWEN (1893-1918)A poet during the World War I, he originally was in favor of the war. However, after attending the war, he suddenly realized the cruelty of the front. With sympathy, he wrote down the poems mourning for those died in the battlefield.
WILFRED OWEN (1893-1918)
“I am not concerned with poetry,” he said. “My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity. All a poet can do today is warn. That is why the true poets must be truthful.”
WILFRED OWEN (1893-1918)Owen was shot to death in one of the last vain battles of this war on November 4, 1918, seven days before the war ended.
He was one of 9,000,000 million victims of World War I.
Britten adapted Owen’s poems into this Requiem. Actually, the central thought of the whole pieces lies among the nine poems instead of the Latin Text.
In this work, the orchestra, chorus and children’s chorus would accompany the soprano to present the Latin Text.
In the meantime, the tenor and baritone would sing out Owen’s poems with the chamber orchestra by solo or duet.
The music you heard at the beginning of this section is the opening of “War Requiem.”
Now, please listen to the first poem: Anthem for Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owen. (Sung by Peter Pears and conducted by Benjamin
Britten with the Melos Ensemble.
Kind permission: Decca Record Company Limited,
London.)
Anthem for Doomed Youth
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?Only the monstrous anger of the guns.Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle.
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries for them from prayers or bells,Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,--The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all?Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.
The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall;Their flowers the tenderness of silent minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.
(Chorus after the poem)Kyrie eleison. (Lord, have mercy upon us.)Christe eleison. (Christ, have mercy upon us.)Kyrie eleison.
My Friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie:
“Sweet and fitting it is to die for one’s country.”
--Wilfred Owen
Back
Anti-war Masterpieces: NOVEL
All Quiet on the Western Front
(Im Westen Nichts Neues)
(1929)
All Quiet on the Western FrontAll Quiet on the Western Front
(Im Westen nichts Neues)(Im Westen nichts Neues)
Written by Erich Maria Remarque
Published in 1929
A bestseller of the 20th Century
Critics praised it as—
“The Great World War I Novel”
Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970)German. He himself also experienced the reality of battlefield, just like Wilfred Owen. He began as a teacher after demobilizing, and his writing career began one year later. “All Quiet on the Western Front” is his most successful work.
Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970)Because of criticizing German politicians, Nazi not only banned his books, but also deprived him of his citizenship, and even accused him of pacifism. In 1932, Remarque moved to Switzerland and then to the U.S. in 1939, where he became a citizen in 1947.
All Quiet on the Western FrontRemarque published this book in 1929, but at first was rejected by one publisher. However, it sold 1.2 million copies in a year.
This book is a contrast to patriotic rhetoric, exposing the myth of “Supremacy of the Nation” in a quite cool style.
A 19-year-old young man, Paul Baumer, and his friends were e
ncouraged to join the army. As a soldier, he learned the hard lessons of fighting on the front and even killed an enemy soldier i
n his hands...
The story is about...The story is about...
“Comrade, I did not want to kill you. . . Forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy?If we threw away these rifles and this uniform you could be my brother just like Kat ...”
For the first time, Paul killed a man. He cried...
From this incident, he realized...
“After all, War is war.”
During this war, he saw and experienced all of the death, the wound, and destruction in his eyes.
“I am so alone, and so without hope that I can confront them without fear. The life that has borne me through these years is still in my hands and my eyes.”
All of Paul's friends had been killed or dead. He gave in to the isolation. He died alone in the end.
“This book...simply to tell of a generation of
men who, even though they may have escaped
shells, were destroyed by the war.”
This is what the author This is what the author intended to tell the readers...intended to tell the readers...
“He had fallen forward and lay on the earth as though sleeping. Turning him over one saw that he could not have suffered long; his face had an expression of calm, as though almost glad the end had come.”
--End of “All Quiet on the Western Front”
May the war never come again.
End of Activity One
ACTIVITY TWO
CELLO&
FAMOUS CELLISTS
Cello: brief introduction
A String Instrument
Whole Length: 48 inches
Length of String: 27 inches
Length of Bow: 28.25 inches
The Anatomy of Cello tuning pegs(琴軫 )
belly/front(面板 )
strings(弦 )
f-hole(f型孔 )
bridge(琴橋 )
The left side is violin, and the right side cello. It’s clear to know the different size of these two popular string instrument. Of course, it’s impossible for a cello player to “put” cello on his shoulder.
The first cello appeared in the begging of 16th century with the name “Viole da Braccio.”
At first, there was only three strings on cello. Later on, there were cellos with four, five and six strings. In 1710, the standard anatomy of cello was initially set up.
The cello we see today showed in 18th century.
In the orchestra, oftentimes cello and its twin double bass play the basement melody of a music piece. However, due to its abundantly expressive ability, composers write many beautiful tunes for cello.
Let’s listen to a short passage of cello:
The Famous CellistsPablo Casals
Mstislav RostropovichJacquelin Du Pré
Yo-yo Ma
A Fighter of Freedom and Humanity
PABLO CASALS (Spain, 1876-1979)
Casals is not only famous for his contribution to music, but also for his behavior against the Spanish Civil war and Francisco Franco’s regime.
He refused to perform in those countries recognized Franco’s Spanish government, and exiled himself in Prades for decades.
He is the one that really unearths the value of Bach’s 6 Unaccompanied Cello Suites, which is acknowledged his greatest contribution to classical music.
His playing is full of expression and less rigid than that of his contemporaries. Briefly, his performance is full of emotion and unparalleled richness of color, sentiment and beauty. His approach to a piece is mostly “romantic,” especially his Bach repertoire.
It’s easy to misunderstand that cello is easy to play through his performance, because he develops a simpler technique of cello playing.
Recommended Recordings of Casals
J.S. Bach: 6 Unaccompanied Cello Suites
Anton Dvorak: Cello Concerto
A Humanitarian from the Iron Curtain
MSTISLAV ROSTROPOVICH(Russia, b. 1927- )
Though both a cellist and a conductor, obviously, Rostropovich is mostly famous for his status as a cellist. He has been acclaimed as the world’s greatest cellist.
He was exiled from USSR because of supporting the banned novelist Alexander Solzhenitsyn(索忍尼辛 ). But before this, Rostropovich continued fighting against the unreasonable control from the authorities for years.
Due to his effort to humanism and his marvelous cello playing, numerous composers dedicated new cello repertoires to him, including Britten, Khachaturian, Prokofiev and Shostakovich.
Several of these works have become the basic requirement for the young cellists dreaming to be a great cellist.
His interpretation has also been acknowledged as the standard of these great pieces.
He is also a cellist with perceptual. When performing, he always tries his best to express the emotion hidden in the score to the utmost. Therefore, the critics said that he is the authentic successor of great Pablo Casals. Many even thought that he went further.
He has recorded almost entire cello literature except Bach’s Suites. He is so careful about this piece that he didn’t record it until 1995.
Recommended Recordings of Rostropovich
Dvorak: Cello Concerto
Prokofiev: Symphonic Concerto
Shostakovich: Cello Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Britten: Symphonic Concerto
Cello Sonata
Tchaikovsky: Variation on a Rococo Theme
A Comet, A Tragic Heroine
JACQUELINE DU PRÉ(Great Britain, 1945-1987)
Before Du Pré, nobody thought a female becoming an outstanding cellist, because cello is too big and heavy for them. Jacqueline Du Pré’s appearance totally overthrew this misconception.
She is acclaimed the greatest talented cellist. Under the tutoring of William Pleeth, Paul Tortelier, Pablo Casals and Mstislav Rostropovich and with her gifted technique, she quickly hit the world.
No one would deny that she combined mind, heart, body and soul with cello, which can clearly figure out why her interpretation is always full of the most expressive tones. She successfully joints the female delicacy and male-like power together into her interpretation.
The critics praised her performances like “convincing phrasing”, “raw energy”, “sound like a human voice,” etc.
Elgar’s Cello Concerto is acknowledged as her greatest interpretation. Even today, whenever mentioning this piece, it’s Du Pré that we’ll talk about first.
However, in 1973, she was diagnosed with “multiple sclerosis” (多重肌肉硬化症 ), a disease that has no known cure. She was forced to leave the stage in her 28, so young for a yet-to-be artist. She could never play again. Fifteen years later, she passed away in London.
Recommended Recordings of Du Pré
Elgar: Cello Concerto
Boccherini: Cello Concerto
Haydn: Cello Concerto
Dvorak: Cello Concerto
Schumann: Cello Concerto
Lalo: Cello Concerto
Schubert: String Quartet “Trout”
The Master with Chinese Consanguinity
YO-YO MA(U.S.A., b.1955- )
Regardless of his colour or kindred, Yo-yo Ma moves this world not only by his attractively warm music, but also his neighbor-liked smile. It’s believed that he has been qualified to be the first one when it comes to the master cellist in the 21st century.
Born in France, growing up in the States, Chinese parents, Ma is a typical multi-culture integration. His attending Harvard University decisively added his interpretation with more humane specialty.
Listening to his playing, you may sense a kind of softness and elasticity. He is never a cellist with strong power. Instead, his profound insight into the score and easy-to-be-caught phrasing is the main reason why one wouldn’t reject his performance, even if he doesn’t really recommend his music.
The most obvious example is his first Bach’s 6 Unaccompanied Cello Suites recording. Though quite young he was then, his fresh overage music soon shocked the world.
After nearly exploring the whole cello repertoires, Ma recently put more emphasis on “Crossover” music.
From the earliest album “Hush” with Bobby McFerrin, in a decade, he has gone through country-style, Latin Tango and “Silk Road” projects. Each new attempt proves his striving to find more connections that stimulate the imagination. Some critics realize that his recent performance is more colorful and detail, which might be due to these projects.
For Ma, music should be a way to communicate with his audiences. Hence, he would still continue searching new expressive ways of music to enrich his interpretation.
Though some fraternity criticizes or doesn’t acknowledge his “risk” or “being more and more commercialized,” Ma still remains the most popular cellist in this age.
Recommended Recordings of Ma
Bach: 6 Unaccompanied Cello Suites
Elgar: Cello Concerto
Brahms: 3 Cello Sonatas
Beethoven: Triple Concerto
Hush (album with Bobby McFerrin)
Piazzolla: Soul of the Tango
Wish you enjoy the beautiful cello music!!
END of ACTIVITY TWO
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