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Archive for the ‘Classic Music’ Category

For too long, classical music has been regarded as the domain of instrumentalists, composers, academic musicologists and, typically, anyone over 40 years old. But while the majority of today’s youth would rather listen to Britney Spears’ greatest hits or watch My Chemical Romance on MTV, the view that young people are completely uninterested in classical music is not just erroneous – it’s simply not grounded in historical reality.

Mozart, widely regarded as one of the greatest classical composers of all time, wrote his first symphony at age eight and was dead by the age of 35. Schubert also died when he was 31, while Chopin famously didn’t live past the age of 39. Moreover, the phenomenon of the castrato in classical music in the 1700s shows that young people haven’t just been interested in classical music throughout the years – they’ve practically been canonised as part of a classical music tradition that, although lost, is not forgotten.

Today’s orchestras, choirs and opera houses are packed with young singers and musicians, many of whom are still in their twenties. Moreover, almost all modern, successful classical musicians will have undergone training from a very young age. Charlotte Church may have made headlines when she released her debut album “Voice of an Angel” in 1998 aged just thirteen, but while her phenomenal mainstream success was not typical, the fact that she was such a young musician in the classical industry was.

In the twenty-first century, the likes of Katherine Jenkins and “male soprano” Michael Maniaci, 28 and 29 years of age respectively, are making headlines the world over for their innovative approach to classical music and their stunning vocal range. Edward Gardner, the new Music Director of Glyndebourne on Tour (one of the UK’s premier operatic fixtures), is also only 28, proving that there is certainly no dearth of young people performing classical music, although there may be fewer youths than OAPs listening to it.

But as classical music institutions and performing arts organisations try their best to reduce their median audience age, classical music isn’t just becoming more accessible to young people – it’s also becoming more affordable. Scottish Opera, for instance, offer special ticket deals for people under 26, while many music-specialist booksellers are making classical music books and guides that will help younger classical listeners learn more about the craft. So while many may lament the loss or decline of youth interest in classical music in today’s world, they need only look towards the country’s concert halls to see where the future lies.

The system of Indian classical music known as Raga Sangeet can be traced back nearly two thousand years to its origin in the Vedic hymns of the Hindu temples. Unlike Western classical music which has written scores, an Indian classical performance is based on improvisation, and anywhere from 10% to 90% of the performance could be extempore, depending on the creative imagination of the artist. The music is rendered orally to the disciple by his guru, popularly known as guru-shishya (teacher-student) parampara (tradition).

The very heart of Indian music is the raga, the melodic form upon which the artist improvises his performance. A raga is a scientific, precise, subtle and aesthetic melodic form with its own ascending and descending movement consisting of either a full seven-note octave or a series of six or five notes.

Every raga is characterized by its own particular mood. The acknowledged order of these nine sentiments, or emotions, is as follows: romantic and erotic, humorous, pathetic, anger, heroic, fearful, disgust, amazement and peaceful. Each raga, in addition to being associated with a particular mood, is also closely connected to a particular time of day or a season of the year. Thus through the rich melodies and rhythm of Indian music, every human emotion, every subtle feeling in man and nature, can be musically expressed and experienced.

In terms of aesthetics, a raga is the projection of the artist’s inner spirit: a manifestation of his most profound feelings and sensibilities. The musician breathes life into each raga as he unfolds and expands it so that each note shimmers and pulsates with life and the raga is revealed vibrant and incandescent with beauty.

The tala, or rhythmic cycle of a raga, plays an equally important role in expressing the mood. There is a unique relationship between melody and rhythm. The intricacies depict the complexities and sophistication with which they are woven together. The division in a taal and the stress on the first beat, called sum, are the most important feature. The most exciting moment for a seasoned listener is when both the musicians, after their individual improvisations, come back together on the sum.

Today, Indian classical music is a permanent part of Western culture. Many composers and musicians have been influenced by our music. The openness, will to learn, and sincere enthusiasm of Western audiences are a continuing source of inspiration and delight. Indian music is one of the highest forms of music existing and nourished through its rich cultural heritage.

Classic Records: are they still available?

The unforgettable tunes of the world famous musicians and the singers of the past are till date in great demand, the world over. You may always cherish to preserve those rare musical collections. Basically the classic music was composed during the 19 th century. The era between Johann Sebastian Bach to Ludwig van Beethoven is the “Golden Age” of Classical Music. The Classic Records preserve these types of music.

Importance of Classic Records:

For a better understanding of the importance of Classic Records, you will have to first understand the difference between classical music and popular music. This distinction is made on the basis of the choice of instrumentation. The instruments used in Classic Records were invented much before the 19th century. These instruments are somewhat similar to the Orchestra.

Some of the renowned Classic music performers, Oistrakh, Martzy Haendel, Du Pre, Szeryng, Bernstein, Furtwangler, De Vito, Fournier, Mainardi, Francois, Gieseking, Kempe, Heifetz, Karajan, Schuricht, Klemperer, Lipatti, Neveu used instruments like piano and harpsichord which are not used in popular music.

In the recent times you can get a feel of the Classic Music in some contemporary compositions. However, they cannot be claimed to be Classic Records on that ground. While you hear the classical records attentively, you will notice amazing use of certain technicalities. The wonderful use of



modulation

polyphony

sophisticated harmonies

subtle variation rather than exact repetition,



make the tunes of the legends like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Tubby Hayes, and other Classic Music fabulous and unique. You will feel like hearing those records over and over again. Every time you hear, you can discover newer and attractive reasons for your liking of those Classic Records. Though classic music often reflects certain complications by itself, yet it will remain unforgettable forever.

It has been noticed that the craze for classic music has dropped to a considerable extent since 1900s.Yet; there is a growing demand of Classic Records from the parents. Parents today try their level best to make their children hear classical music exclusively.

Though the classical records are rare, yet you can find them online. Only you have to select the correct place. Whether your interest is in Audiophile (TAS list), piano, string violin, quartet, cello, orchestral, opera, Decca SXL, Mercury, Deutsche Grammophon, Decca LXT, Columbia 33CX, Columbia SAX, or EMI ASD all the Classic Records are well preserved and still available.