Obscure Music Mondays

A few weeks ago, we looked at solo piano music by Joachim Raff, his Metamorphosen, this week we revisit the prolific output by Raff. The self-taught composer wrote much chamber music, including the delightful late Piano Trio No. 4, Op. 158. Continue reading →

This week, we move to a composer who's name is more known, Chrales Villiers Stanford, a vanguard of the British musical scene, but one who's compositions have faded away gradually. Stanford's orchestral compositions and operas are well forgotten today (though we'll be sure to feature some of those here in upcoming months!), but his vocal works survived him well. Unfortunately, these two continue to fall out of favor, including his Stabat Mater, which we look at today. Continue reading →

This week we take a look at a work from a composer who's life was tragically cut short during World War I, Ernest Bristow Farrar. Just two days after going to the western front of the war, Farrar's short life ended at the age of 33. His extensive compositional output in the years preceding the war have, unfortunately, fallen into obscurity. Today we look at a work for solo voice, chorus, and orchestra, a setting of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's The Blessed Damozel. Continue reading →

The early 20th Century brought about a wide variety of musical styles - from the overtly romantic stylings of Richard Strauss to the academic stylings of Schoenberg's 12 tone system. What is often overlooked is the theatrical works of composers of the early 20th Century, which often fed the concept of the modern movie score - a genre unto itself for many modern day music lovers. Today we look at Max von Schillings' Violin Concerto No. 1, a dramatic work for violin and orchestra that is rarely performed today. Continue reading →

While many of Johann Sebastian Bach's works were forgotten shortly after his death (until "re-discovery" of the works in the 19th century), his influence on music was carried on through his students and admirers. Amongst those, we can count Johann Kirnberger, a composer and theorist who was a great admirer of Bach's, and rumored to have been a student of Bach. Today we look at his Flute Sonata in G Major. Continue reading →

Female composers have historically struggled for recognition in a field dominated by men, even in the modern world. Looking back into the 19th and early 20th centuries, we see even more of a struggle. Such was the case of Dame Ethel Smyth, an English composer who was active as a composer primarily in the late 19th century, with a limited composition output in the early 20th century as she slowly lost her hearing. Today we look at her Cello Sonata in A minor, Op. 5, composed in 1887. Continue reading →

Joachim Raff was a promising composer in Germany in the mid-1800's, but chose his own path. Criticized by both the schools of Wagner and Brahms, Raff's music fell into obscurity in the 1900's, even though it shows great promise and much of the fine technique of the romantic era. Today we look at his Metamorphosen, the third of his 3 Klavier-Soli, Op.74. Continue reading →

Known foremost as a pianist in his time, Friedrich Kalkbrenner was also an accomplished composer. Looking through his output, one sees a significant amount of solo piano music, with a few chamber works (and a very limited selection of vocal works). Today we turn to Kalkbrenner's chamber output, with his Septet, Op. 132, also known as the Grand Septet. Continue reading →

In American music, the name Sousa is synonymous with John Philip Sousa’s marches that fill the air every summer. Sousa, though, desired to become a theatrical composer to rival Gilbert and Sullivan. El Capitan and Chris and the Wonderful Lamp are probably his most known stage works, but today we take a look at one of the lesser known works, The American Maid, also known as The Glass Blowers. Continue reading →