Musical Moments #20
“Mournful and yet grand is the destiny of the artist.”
Franz Liszt
“Il Pirata (The Pirate) Overture” Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835)
At a dinner party in the summer of 1835, Vincenzo Bellini was visiting with Heinrich Heine, the famous writer, when Heine abruptly stated, “You are a genius, Bellini, but you will pay for your great gift with a premature death. All the great geniuses died very young, like Raphael and like Mozart.” The superstitious Bellini was horrified and understandably wanted no interaction with Heine, but sadly at the next party where they were both to attend, Bellini sent his regrets due to an illness, the one that ended his life a few weeks later.
Born in Sicily and educated primarily in Naples, Bellini traveled where his works were being produced and performed, including lengthy stays in London, Milan, and Paris where he found himself running in high social circles. His other musical acquaintances were also impressive and included Donizetti, Paganini, and Mendelssohn. But perhaps his most ardent supporter was Rossini, who in life helped him to acquire commissions, and in death organized his funeral, took care of his estate, and created a committee to raise funding for a memorial to be built in his honor with a musical inscription under which the text written on his tomb translated, "I did not believe you would fade so soon, oh flower."
As Rossini so respectfully eulogized in stone, Bellini is a perfect example of a shining star that flared out too early. This premature demise greatly contributed to his fall into relative obscurity even though he had become quite influential and well respected during his short life of only thirty-three years. His short life was filled with contract complications, business disagreements and cold feet with a number of romantic dalliances.
Of Bellini’s work, Verdi raved about his “extremely long melodies as no-one else had ever made before.” Liszt, Chopin and Glinka were fans, and even Wagner, who rarely said anything positive about another composer, was taken by Bellini’s ability to match music with text. Certainly, Bellini could write a compelling melody.
Today, few may know his most famous opera Norma, but the one that gained him early success was Il Pirata, the source of our overture. This work premiered in 1827 and was an immediate and continued success, during his life time, with many full houses in multiple cities. Bellini will once again be on the top of the opera world in May 2021 when the New York Met will present the work.
Bach Festival Orchestra’s performance of Il Pirata comes from our May 2005 concert.
-John V. Sinclair
“Where words leave off, music begins.” – Heinrich Heine
Listen on YouTube
“True music is for the ear alone……. shut his eyes while hearing music; thereby to concentrate his whole being on the single pure enjoyment of the ear.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1796)
“Agnus Dei” from Mass in Bb - Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837)
Mozart was so impressed with the piano playing of eight-year-old Johann Hummel that he offered him lessons free of charge and allowed him to live with the Mozart family for two years while studying with the master. Hummel went on to continue his first-class pedagogical pedigree through study with Muzio Clementi, Antonio Salieri, and even Joseph Haydn.
Hummel became arguably the greatest piano virtuosi of his time, concertizing throughout Europe and Russia and holding important Kapellmeister posts in Stuttgart, Weimar, and the Eisenstadt Court where he replaced an aging Haydn. While serving in that position, he continued the tradition of commissioning masses with this “Agnus Dei” setting rising from that period. Hummel commissioned many of the best sacred works of the late classic era, but the work we most often hear today is his Trumpet Concerto.
Hummel demonstrated his knowledge and skill as a great pianist by publishing A Complete Theoretical and Practical Course of Instruction on the Art of Playing the Piano Forte which sold thousands of copies in the first few days of publication. The method ushered in a new style of playing ornaments and fingerings that influenced Carl Czerny and his pupil Franz Liszt.
Alongside Beethoven, Hummel was an important musical figure in helping the transition from the classical to the romantic musical era. The friendship he had with Beethoven was deep, though at times complicated, but upon hearing that Beethoven was in his last days, Hummel rushed to visit him on his death bed. It was there that Hummel’s student Ferdinand Hiller cut off a lock of Beethoven’s hair that after modern day analysis informed us the cause of Beethoven’s death—extreme lead poisoning.
History is at times unreliable. Hummel died very famous, but his music was mostly forgotten. When the revival of the classical era music transpired in the early 1900s, his music was passed over for Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, the very men who had admired him.
The “Agnus Dei” text featured here comes from the ordinary mass and simply means, “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.” This live recording from our 75th Anniversary Festival features the Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra.
-John V. Sinclair
“It was a serious moment for me when Beethoven appeared. Was I to try to follow in the footsteps of such a genius? For a while I did not know what I stood on; but finally, I said to myself that it was best to remain true to myself and my own nature.”
Johann Hummel writing about how Beethoven’s talent was threatening.