Daily Hit of Music

Beethoven 's Violin Sonata No. 9 is a sonata for violin and piano, known for its technical difficulty and unusual length. The sonata was originally dedicated to the virtuoso violinist George Bridgetower.  George Bridgetower, virtuoso violinist born to a Polish mother and West Indian father. Lived in England for much of his life. (1778-1860) Image source Shortly after the completion, the work was premiered by Bridgetower and Beethoven on 24 May 1803 at the Augarten Theatre at a concert that started at the unusually early hour of 8am. Allegedly, Bridgetower sight-read the sonata, having never seen the work before since there had been no time for any rehearsal. In bar 35 of the first movement, Beethoven had written a huge run just for piano, spanning several octaves. After Beethoven executed the run, Bridgetower imitated it on the violin. Beethoven looked up from the piano in astonishment, ran across the stage, embraced Bridgetower, ran back to the piano and continued playing.  Listen

Pokarekare Ana is a traditional New Zealand love song. It emanated North of Auckland and was popularised by M ā ori soldiers who were training near Auckland before embarking for the war in Europe.  The  M ā ori are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand.  Portrait of a young maori woman with moko by Louis John Steele (1891) Image source Read more about Ta moko M ā ori originated with settlers from eastern Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of waka (canoe) voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several centuries in isolation, these settlers developed their own distinctive culture, whose language, mythology, crafts and performing arts evolved independently from those of other eastern Polynesian cultures.  Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian triangle Image source We've put together a few different versions of this beautiful song: DHM YouTube DHM YouTube DHM YouTube TEXT: Māori English Pōkarekare ana, ngā wai

Caterina Assandra was an Italian composer and Benedictine nun born in the province of Pavia. She became famous as an organist and published several works during her lifetime, some of which reached outside the borders of Italy.  Caterina Assandra (c.1590 - after 1618) Image source The local composer Agostino Agazzari influenced Assandra's style. Due to Assandra's residence in the convent, her vocal music was often written for female voices so that her music could function without male singers.  Listen to Assandra's setting of Duo Seraphim: Latin text: Duo seraphim clamabant alter ad alterum: Sanctus Dominus Deus Saboath. Plena est omnis terra gloria ejus.  (Isaiah 6:3) Tres sunt, qui testimonium dant in coelo: Pater, Verbum et Spiritus Sanctus: et hi tres unum sunt. Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Plena est omnis terra gloria ejus. Translation: Two seraphim cried to one another: Holy is the Lord God of Sabaoth. The whole earth is full of his glory. There are three who bear wit

The Sagbutt (also spelled Sackbut) is an early trombone invented in the 1400s, probably in Burgundy. Man playing the sackbut. Engraving by J.C. Weigel (1661 - 1726) Image source Possessing thicker walls and a narrower bell, the sagbutt imparts a softer tone compared to a modern trombone. The word derives from the Old French word saqueboute  meaning "pull-push": this motion refers to the sliding mechanism which enables the instrument to achieve lower pitches than the trumpet. However, in Italy, composers such as Giovanni Gabrieli, would have known the instrument as trombone , meaning 'large trumpet'.  Watch this introduction to the instrument: DHM YouTube Take a listen to the following compositions written by the English composer and music theorist, Matthew Locke. These 'five-part things for His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts' were probably written for performance at the coronation celebrations of King Charles II in 1661.  DHM YouTube Matthew Locke, leading Eng

The Chick Corea Elektric Band is a jazz fusion band, led by legendary keyboardist and composer Chick Corea. Their second album, Light Years (1987) has been described as a fusion of jazz, funk and rock. Musically, 'funk' refers to a style of urban dance music driven by syncopated bass lines and drumbeats and accented by any number of instruments involved in rhythmic counterplay, all working toward a "groove".  The line-up of the band at the time of Light Years formed what is considered the band's definitive lineup: Chick Corea - Keyboard Image source John Patitucci - Bass Image source Dave Weckl - Drums Image source Frank Gambale - Guitar Image source Eric Marienthal - Saxophone Image source Take a listen to Light Years : DHM YouTube And Time Track from the same album: DHM YouTube This blog is intended to be educational and to share knowledge about music. Daily Hit of Music does not claim to own anything contained in this post and declares its sources openly.  The

Konnakol ( கொன்னக்கோல்) is the art of vocally performing percussive syllables in South Indian Carnatic music. Carnatic music is one of two main subgenres of Indian classical music. The rhythmic language of konnakol is one of the most intricate systems in the world and is the spoken component of solkattu, which refers to a combination of spoken konnakol syllables while simultaneously "counting" the tala (meter) with the hand.  Image source In the Tamil language, the word "konnakol" means to stammer . Konnakol, however, is hardly akin to that which is involuntary - instead, mastering this art form takes many years, but can result in such a rapid articulation of rhythmic subdivisions, that it might sound like stammering. In fact, konnakol has helped many people with speech disorders.  Watch these brilliant performers and notice how they count the 'tala' with their hands whilst reciting konnakol: DHM YouTube B C Manjunath & Varijashree Venugopal: DHM YouTube

Kathleen Ferrier (1912 - 1953) Image source Kathleen Mary Ferrier was born in Lancashire, England. During her short career as a contralto, she went from one triumph to another, whilst maintaining humility, humour and  love for truth, people and life.  Listen to her recording of Handel's Ombra mai fu: DHM YouTube Ferrier's father was the village schoolmaster at Higher Walton. A good singer himself, he taught most of the music at the school. He then became headmaster at a school in Blackburn, where the family moved when young Kathleen was just two years old. Ferrier was a keen member of her school choir - even then she had a big voice, but was usually asked to stand at the back and sing quietly. Her mother, keen to encourage Kathleen's musical interest, arranged piano lessons for: Kathleen excelled in all her examinations.  Ferrier at the piano Image source Ferrier left school at 14 and went to work for the General Post Office in Blackburn, first in the telegrams department a

In music, 'fugue' is a compositional procedure characterised by the systematic imitation of a principal theme (the subject). Over time, these imitations sound in simultaneous melodic lines (counterpoint).  Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) The works of J.S. Bach stand at the very pinnacle of the history of the fugue: Bach's fugues remain unsurpassed in their extraordinary variety and no other composer produced so many examples of fugues for every musical medium available to him at the time. Watch Inside the Score 's quick introduction to the concept of the 'fugue': DHM YouTube Now listen to the complete fugue from Bach's C minor Prelude & Fugue (No.2) as performed by the renowned interpreter of Bach's keyboard music, Glenn Gould:  DHM YouTube For a performance with the score, watch this (2:28 for Fuga): This blog is intended to be educational and to share knowledge about music. Daily Hit of Music does not claim to own anything contained in this pos

As well as being the prototype of the modern violin virtuoso - expanding the technical possibilities of the instrument - Antonio Vivaldi also wrote some beautiful vocal music.  Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741) Image source The aria "Vedrò con mio diletto", has became a famous concert piece to sing, especially for countertenors, but was originally intended to be sung by the character  Anastasio in Vivaldi's opera 'Giustino'.  Listen to it here: DHM YouTube Italian (original) Text: Vedrò con mio diletto L'alma dell'alma mia Il core del mio cor pien di contento. E se dal caro oggetto lungi convien che sia Sospirero penando ogni momento... Text translation:  I will see with joy, the soul of my soul heart of my heart full of content. And if from my dear object I be far away I will sigh, suffering every moment...  This blog is intended to be educational and to share knowledge about music. Daily Hit of Music does not claim to own anything contained in this post and

Shreya Ghoshal Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) Image source Take a listen to the very beautiful and highly virtuosic singing of Shreya Ghoshal: DHM YouTube Shreya Ghoshal is an Indian playback singer. She has recorded songs for film music and albums in various Indian languages and has established herself as a leading playback singer of Indian cinema. She has received four National Film Awards, seven Filmfare Awards including six for Best Female Playback Singer.  Ghoshal was on track to become a playback singer from an early age. At the age of four, she started learning music and by the age of six, she had started her formal training in classical music. Aged 16 she was noticed by film-maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali when she entered and won the television singing reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa (the title referring to notes of a 'rag'/'scale' in Indian classical music). Following that, she made her Bollywood playback singing debut with Bhansali's romantic drama Devdas (

Charles Ives was an American composer who is known for a number of compositional innovations that anticipated many of the later musical developments of the 20th century.  Charles Ives (1874 - 1954) Image source His First Violin Sonata is not necessarily his most modernist and forward-thinking work, but is nevertheless very striking, even to the modern ear. He wrote the following of his First Violin Sonata: " This sonata is in part a general impression, or kind of reflection and remembrance of the peoples' outdoor gatherings in which men got up and said what they thought, regardless of the consequences-of holiday celebrations and camp meetings in the 80's and 90's - suggesting some of the songs, tunes, and hymns, together with some of the sounds of nature joining in from the mountains in some of the old Connecticut farm towns. The first movement may, in a way, suggest something that nature and human nature would sing out to each other -sometimes. The second movement, a

Composer, Suffragette: Ethel Smyth (1858 - 1944) Image source At the age of 10, Ethel Smyth began composing hymns and chants and learnt how to play the piano. In 1877, she left home to study music at the conservatory in Leipzig, Germany. Disillusioned with tuition at the conservatory, she left after a year to study with Heinrich von Herzogenberg. Through him she met Brahms, Tchaikovsky , Grieg, Dvorak and Clara Schumann : in particular, Brahms and Dvorak encouraged her in composition.  In the 1890s, she returned to England and in 1910, she joined the Women's Social and Political Union. Ethel Smyth at a WSPU meeting, 1912. From The Womens' Library Collection, LSE Library.   Her song The March of the Women was sung by suffragettes throughout London.  Listen to it here: DHM YouTube In 1912, following a large-scale Suffragette protest, she was sentenced to two months in Holloway prison for smashing a window of a politician's residence with her friend Emmeline Pankhurst. Whilst

Infelix ego  ("Alas, wretch that I am") is a Latin meditation on the opening section of the Expositio upon Psalm 51, Miserere mei Deus , written by the Italian Christian preacher, reformer and martyr, Girolamo Savonarola. He was renowned for his conflict with tyrannical rulers and a corrupt clergy. After the overthrow of the Medici in 1494, Savonarola was the sole leader of Florence, successfully setting up a democratic republic.  Girolamo Savonarola (1452 - 1498) Image source Savonarola's triumph was too great and too sudden not to give rise to jealousy and suspicion. He wrote this text once he eventually found himself in prison, after being tortured on the rack. The victim's ankles were fastened to one roller and the wrists to another. As the interrogation from the corrupt authorities progressed, a handle gradually increased the tension on the chains, inducing excruciating pain. This rack would strain the ropes until the sufferer's joints were dislocated and eve