The Farewell Symphony

When we learned about "The Farewell Symphony," I was really interested in why it received the name it did. It is really called Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp minor by Joseph Haydn in 1772. The symphony was written for Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy. Well, the symphony received its name because one summer, Haydn and the orchestra were staying at the prince's summer palace. They weren't there by choice, but they were forced too. They ended up staying a lot longer than they were supposed to. They all wanted to go home to their wives but they couldn't. Haydn, being the smart and genuine man, decided to hint to the prince that this was unacceptable. During the last movement, each musician of the orchestra left one by one and blowing their candle out as they left. By the end, there were only two musicians left: Haydn himself and the concertmaster. The Prince got the hint and let everyone leave the next day. One other interesting thing I found out was that in Haydn's Symphony No. 85, he references The Farewell Symphony. It is referenced in the first movement. I wonder why he wanted to reference it in this symphony?

On my mind

Hey! Whoever is reading this I would just like to say I had a great time in this class. I did learn quite a bit about the French, thanks to Professor Matthews. Even though at first I thought the class would be horrible because we had to sing the first few classes, I kind of thought that is what Dr. F was going to have up do every time we talked about music. But over all this class was a good course to talk as a freshman and I ended up enjoying more than I thought I would.

Mozart's Formula

Despite the impression of Mozart's music on people, his music did have a more casual tone than composers such as Bach and later Beethoven. Mozart's music is rife with self-plagiarizing and formulaic use of musical form, as well as a strict adherence to tonal rules and basic counterpoint. It is reasonable to assume that Mozart held a less adventurous view of music than other composers.
However, this strict adherence to tonality suggests that while Mozart may not have been terribly creative, he was very skilled in the mass production of well-written music. He knew exactly what he was doing as he was writing. This strict adherence to the rules, of course, did not allow him the creative freedom that other composers took, which led to the aforementioned self-plagiarizing and use of formula.

Freemasons in Music

I thought it was very interesting how much music was inspired by or contained characteristics of the Freemasons. Some of the major elements/ideas include equality, love, forgiveness, tolerance, and brotherhood. 

Haydn included some of these elements in his music. He is credited with creating the string quartet, which is meant to be musically equal. Each instrument (two violins, a viola, and a cello) has its own "big moment" and the music flows like conversation; there is never a fight between two parts for the spotlight. Mozart's opera, The Magic Flute, is known as the Masonic opera. Many of the Freemason elements are themes in the opera: love, enlightenment, truth, and wisdom.

The number 3 also appears a lot in music inspired by the Masons. For example, Haydn's Opus 33, number 3 ("the bird movement") lasts 3 minutes and 33 seconds. In The Magic Flute, the opera opens with 3 chords in E flat major (which has 3 flats). There are 3 ladies, 3 boys, and 3 tests. 

Voltaire's Candide

Voltaire's Candide, being a satire, comments and pokes fun at society. One of the things I found most interesting was how revolutionary his views were. We discussed how the book gives evidence to Voltaire being a feminist. All of the female characters (the Old Woman, Cunegonde, Paquette) undergo terrible treatment. They raped, treated like property, shared between two men... Voltaire seems to sympathize with the women and promote equality between the sexes. In the play, Dr. Pangloss is seen educating both young men and women in the same classroom.

Candide also reveals Voltaire's views on slavery. In Chapter 19, Candide meets a slave on the road. The man is missing both a hand and a leg; his master had cut them off. The slave tells Candide about his horrible living and working conditions, and mentions how all mankind is related, no matter what skin tone. Candide is deeply affected by what he sees and cries. He even renounces Pangloss's ideas about optimism. This scene clearly shows that Voltaire was against slavery.

The Sorrows of a Young Werther

Goethe's Sorrows of a Young Werther are profoundly sad. Yet, his style of writing allows the reader to truly see the world through another person's eyes. Werther looks at the world in a far different manner than I do and more than likely, different than many people do. Reading this story allowed me to see life, love, hapiness, and the arts in a different light. Although the novel was written in 1774, there are so many things that a reader can relate to, even if you're from the 21st century. Goethe has so much to say about life, love, literature, music, and relationships. Here are some quotes involving the afore mentioned which the modern day reader can relate:
"...those people are happiest who live for the moment" (29).
"And I like those writers the best who help me find my world again...and the story is interesting and sympathetic as my own life at home, which may not be paradise but is, on the whole, a source of inexplicable joy to me" (37).
"Distance is the future" (43).
"One this is certain---nothing justifies a man's existence like being loved" (63).
"A man who is never satisfied with himself and can therefore never be satisfied" (73).
"To think that there are people who have no feeling at all for the few things on this earth that are of real value" (91).
Goethe creates a highly passionate and emotional character, Werther. This characer is someone everyone can relate to in even just the slightest way. From his sheer joy for learning, to the pains of unrequited love. The Sorrows of a Young Werther explores the vast depths of human emotion.

Goethe and Towns and Country

I have been struck by Goethe's view of towns.  Throughout this semester we have found philosophers trying to explain the state of nature and people living as closely to nature as they can.  In The Sorrows of a Young Werther, Goethe gives the opinion of the town being an example of people not living in a natural state.  The town is not an attractive thought because it is a group of people living together and making rules.  Rules seem to be where conflict starts, people trying to tell other people what to do.  But he finds "indescribable beauties of nature surrounding it," it being the town.  This is the country, which, to Goethe, is an example of people living in the closest state of nature.  It is untouched by man, no thought put into it, no scientific interference, so civilization has ruined it.  The country is where people should live if they want to living in the closest state of nature that they can.  I'm not sure why, but this view has stuck with me since we talked about it in class.  I think that it makes sense with the views of the time.  People living together in a place created by humans isn't as natural as living a more isolated life in an area that has been left untouched seems more natural to me.