"The Little Church Around the Corner"
One East 29th Street, New York
MUSIC NOTES:
Lent V - April 1
Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) was the organist at St. Peter's in Rome from 1608 until his death. He is an important figure in organ composition of this period, and many of his works intended for use in the church service were published in 1635 in a work entitled Fiori musicali (Musical Flowers). The Toccata for the Elevation is included in this publication, and is one of his best-known pieces. Its theme is loosely based on a Gregorian melody from the Mass of the Apostles. The toccatas of Frescobaldi are highly improvisatory, while maintaining a sense of restraint and avoiding excessive technical display.
Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612) is often regarded as the greatest German composer of the late 16th century. As a youth he studied in Venice under the towering figure of Giovanni Gabrieli (who composed today's organ postlude), and then returned to Germany, where he held positions at Augsburg, Nuremberg, Ulm and Dresden. His music is a rich blend of the Italianate style that he learned in Venice and the contemporary compositional style of his native Germany. His melodic lines are carefully crafted, and underpinned by a solid harmonic structure.
Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) was born into the same German tradition as Hassler, and also studied in Venice, a city which at the time was renowned for its music (the period represents the zenith of Venice's glory as a city-state overseen by the powerful Doge.) Although these two composers' dates overlap somewhat, they belong to different stylistic periods. Hassler is a Renaissance composer, and his music typifies the restraint and fluidity of that era. Schütz introduces more flamboyance and exuberance into his music, characteristic of the emerging Baroque period.
Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612) is often regarded as the greatest German composer of the late 16th century. As a youth he studied in Venice under the towering figure of Giovanni Gabrieli (who composed today's organ postlude), and then returned to Germany, where he held positions at Augsburg, Nuremberg, Ulm and Dresden. His music is a rich blend of the Italianate style that he learned in Venice and the contemporary compositional style of his native Germany. His melodic lines are carefully crafted, and underpinned by a solid harmonic structure.
Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) was born into the same German tradition as Hassler, and also studied in Venice, a city which at the time was renowned for its music (the period represents the zenith of Venice's glory as a city-state overseen by the powerful Doge.) Although these two composers' dates overlap somewhat, they belong to different stylistic periods. Hassler is a Renaissance composer, and his music typifies the restraint and fluidity of that era. Schütz introduces more flamboyance and exuberance into his music, characteristic of the emerging Baroque period.
