The song goes on
19/05/14 05:31
Muzio Clementi was a child prodigy. By the age of 13 he hd already composed an oratorio and a mass. By 14 he was principal organist of a church. When he was 16, Sir Peter Beckford, a wealthy Englishman visited Rome and was so impressed by the young Clementi that he arranged for the youth to come to England. Beckford agreed to sponsor the boy’s musical education until he reached the age of 21. It has been reported that the young Clementi would spend eight hours a day at he harpsichord, practicing the works of Bach, Handel Scarlatti and others. After his sponsorship by Beckford, Clementi moved to London and began a distinguished musical career as a performer, composer, conductor, music publisher and even a maker of pianos.
On Christmas Eve 1781, during a European Tour he agreed to enter a contest with Mozart for the entertainment of the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II and his guests. In the Viennese court the two composers performed and improvised selections from their own compositions. The Emperor declared the contest a tie. Some have portrayed Clement and Mozart as rivals, but it is more likely that their meetings were very cordial. Clementi frequently wrote of his admiration for Mozart.
Unlike many musical geniuses, Clementi was also a successful and brilliant businessman. He secured full publishing rights to all of Beethoven’s music in England. He directed a thriving pianoforte manufacturing business. He used his concertinos to demonstrate his pianos and sales soared. He earned an elegant and luxurious lifestyle with his many business ventures.
Clementi published 110 piano sonatas. These days some of the earlier and somewhat easier to play sonatas have been called sonatinas. The later sonatas are extremely challenging, perhaps more difficult to play than Mozart.
Sonatina Op. 36, No 1, may be the most famous of Clementi’s works. It has been published in numerous books of piano studies for intermediate students.
I didn’t know the story of Muzio Clemnenti when I was a child. What I did know were the the opening melodies of his Sonitina Op. 36, No. 1. I didnt’ know the name of the piece. I didn’t know the composer. I knew that it was a piano piece that our mother practiced frequently. She could play all three movements of the sonatina and it was a regular piece that we would hear as we came into the house for lunch from school. I learned to run home because as soon as everyone got home she’d stop playing the piano and we would have our noon meal. Sometimes she’d play the piano in the evening as well.
As an adult, that piece always brings memories of mother, home and childhood joy to my mind. I love to hear it. I never learned it myself, though I suppose that if I would dedicate enough time to practice it is still not beyond my reach.
Yesterday, however, was a special treat for me. I had done the research on Clemeni and the other composers to prepare for my role as mc of a benefit concert. It was fun to read about a man who had composed a piece that has such a prominent role in my memories. Then, near the mid point of the concert I sat and listened as an eleven-year-old played the sonatina. She clearly had mastered the piece and played it at a very challenging tempo - probably nearly the tempo intended by its brilliant composer. It was a bit faster than my mother used to play. But it was delightful and it brought a tear to my eye.
It seems that musical genius is one of the great gifts that shows up in most generations. What a delight it brings to our lives! What a tremendous impact it has on the well-being of so many people.
Yesterday’s concert, as I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, was a benefit that was conceived and planned by two remarkable youth. The bother and sister read about the Congo initiative in the regular resources our church used to promote One Great Hour of Sharing. They wanted to do something to help advance the initiative and so came up with the plan of having a benefit concert. it was difficult to find a time for the concert in the midst of many busy lives and the actives of a church that always has something going. But a date and time were chosen. The crowd was a bit smaller than I would have wanted, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the two performers.
They raised nearly $1,100 through the power of their music!
There have been times when I have wondered about the amount of money that we spend as a church on music. We own expensive instruments. In a way they are a luxury for our congregation. We love the music and we have been generous in providing instruments for our worship, for education in the community, and for concerts. Sometimes, however, I have wondered about our priorities. The cost of our piano could have build a home in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. The most recent expansion of our pipe organ probably would have provided two or three homes.
Then I have experiences like yesterday. The inspiration of the music from the instruments provides for on-going mission and outreach. Using music to expand the mission of the congregation is just one of the ways that this ministry goes forth. The life of the piano is probably a couple of centuries. The pipes in the organ will last five centuries or more. Both will be providing music long after our generation has drifted into history and new generations have come to be in charge of the decisions of the congregation.
A song from my childhood that had been around for 150 years before I was born, has flowed through history delighting audiences in so many venues. Yesterday it became a way to deepen the connections between our congregation and the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The music keeps flowing. I, for one, hope that the song is never stilled.
On Christmas Eve 1781, during a European Tour he agreed to enter a contest with Mozart for the entertainment of the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II and his guests. In the Viennese court the two composers performed and improvised selections from their own compositions. The Emperor declared the contest a tie. Some have portrayed Clement and Mozart as rivals, but it is more likely that their meetings were very cordial. Clementi frequently wrote of his admiration for Mozart.
Unlike many musical geniuses, Clementi was also a successful and brilliant businessman. He secured full publishing rights to all of Beethoven’s music in England. He directed a thriving pianoforte manufacturing business. He used his concertinos to demonstrate his pianos and sales soared. He earned an elegant and luxurious lifestyle with his many business ventures.
Clementi published 110 piano sonatas. These days some of the earlier and somewhat easier to play sonatas have been called sonatinas. The later sonatas are extremely challenging, perhaps more difficult to play than Mozart.
Sonatina Op. 36, No 1, may be the most famous of Clementi’s works. It has been published in numerous books of piano studies for intermediate students.
I didn’t know the story of Muzio Clemnenti when I was a child. What I did know were the the opening melodies of his Sonitina Op. 36, No. 1. I didnt’ know the name of the piece. I didn’t know the composer. I knew that it was a piano piece that our mother practiced frequently. She could play all three movements of the sonatina and it was a regular piece that we would hear as we came into the house for lunch from school. I learned to run home because as soon as everyone got home she’d stop playing the piano and we would have our noon meal. Sometimes she’d play the piano in the evening as well.
As an adult, that piece always brings memories of mother, home and childhood joy to my mind. I love to hear it. I never learned it myself, though I suppose that if I would dedicate enough time to practice it is still not beyond my reach.
Yesterday, however, was a special treat for me. I had done the research on Clemeni and the other composers to prepare for my role as mc of a benefit concert. It was fun to read about a man who had composed a piece that has such a prominent role in my memories. Then, near the mid point of the concert I sat and listened as an eleven-year-old played the sonatina. She clearly had mastered the piece and played it at a very challenging tempo - probably nearly the tempo intended by its brilliant composer. It was a bit faster than my mother used to play. But it was delightful and it brought a tear to my eye.
It seems that musical genius is one of the great gifts that shows up in most generations. What a delight it brings to our lives! What a tremendous impact it has on the well-being of so many people.
Yesterday’s concert, as I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, was a benefit that was conceived and planned by two remarkable youth. The bother and sister read about the Congo initiative in the regular resources our church used to promote One Great Hour of Sharing. They wanted to do something to help advance the initiative and so came up with the plan of having a benefit concert. it was difficult to find a time for the concert in the midst of many busy lives and the actives of a church that always has something going. But a date and time were chosen. The crowd was a bit smaller than I would have wanted, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the two performers.
They raised nearly $1,100 through the power of their music!
There have been times when I have wondered about the amount of money that we spend as a church on music. We own expensive instruments. In a way they are a luxury for our congregation. We love the music and we have been generous in providing instruments for our worship, for education in the community, and for concerts. Sometimes, however, I have wondered about our priorities. The cost of our piano could have build a home in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. The most recent expansion of our pipe organ probably would have provided two or three homes.
Then I have experiences like yesterday. The inspiration of the music from the instruments provides for on-going mission and outreach. Using music to expand the mission of the congregation is just one of the ways that this ministry goes forth. The life of the piano is probably a couple of centuries. The pipes in the organ will last five centuries or more. Both will be providing music long after our generation has drifted into history and new generations have come to be in charge of the decisions of the congregation.
A song from my childhood that had been around for 150 years before I was born, has flowed through history delighting audiences in so many venues. Yesterday it became a way to deepen the connections between our congregation and the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The music keeps flowing. I, for one, hope that the song is never stilled.