DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 17, 2020)
Yesterday we looked at the creative progress in “fugue” up to Bach. Today, let’s look at the powerful choral fugues from Handel, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven.
1. G F Handel (1685-1759): "They loathed to Drink of the River," from "Israel in Egypt". Composed in just one month, between October and November 1738, “Israel in Egypt” premiered at London’s King’s Theatre in the Haymarket on April 4, 1739. It is composed entirely of selected passages from the Old Testament, mainly from Exodus and the Psalms. It was not well received at first. But Handel proves his greatness with the dramatic use of the chorus, setting it on an equal footing with the solo roles, and this powerful choral fugue.
https://youtu.be/yl6lh4PHTXc?list=TLPQMTMwOTIwMjC-gaN1_BsoeA
2. J S Bach (1685-1750): "Kyrie Eleison" from "Mass in B Minor." Composed in 1749, the year before his death, the “Kyrie Eleison” of the mass is a fugue with five-voice chorus (Soprano I & II, Alto, Tenor, Bass). The massive fugue is preceeded by a short introduction.The words, "Kyrie Eleison", simply mean, "God have Mercy on us." Like Beethoven later on, Bach understood that you cannot simply say the words. you have to make them real to people by taking them to higher and higher levels.
3. W A Mozart (1756-1791): "Kyrie Eleison: from "Requiem". Composed partly in Vienna in late 1791, it is Mozart’s last and unfinished work at his death on December 5th the same year. The “Kyrie Eleison”, in four voices—soprano, alto, tenor and bass., combines two sections that are usually presented separately, "Kyrie Eleison" (God have mercy upon us), and "Christe Eleison" (Christ have mercy upon us), into a double fugue.
4. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): "Gloria" from " MIssa Solemnis." Composed between 1819 to 1823, it was first performed on April 7, 1824 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, under the auspices of Beethoven's patron Prince Nikolai Galitzin. The “Gloria”, which comes after the “Kyrie Eleison”, ends with a massive fugues, on the text "In gloria Dei patris. Amen", leading into a recapitulation of the initial Gloria text and music.