# Anacrusis - the history of music



## Ispin (Jul 24, 2009)

*If I've overlooked a thread similar to this one, I apologize. Be patient with a newbie, please. *

Now to the point. At the beginning of the October the second edition of my course in philosophy of art is starting out. It is entitled: _Art of the Baroque - The Forgotten Codes_. The course isn't devoted to exclusively a music. Notwithstanding music should play an important role in it. As my students usually are not familiar with classical music, at the beginning of my course I try to provide them with an sketchy picture of the whole Western music. To this purpose I've prepared a selection of short pieces written by various Western composers. If you find this idea interesting, if you have some free time, please listen to the music I have prepared. Any comment is welcome. It is likely to improve my scholar work as well.

What is to be found in my selection is described beneath the link (the link should take you to my web site).

http://apertum.110mb.com/abstrakt-Izaak&Rebeca.html

1.​
To begin with, I am presenting the Japanese Zen Fuke Komuso music. What I have chosen is _Shirabe_, an introductory piece to the set of 10 sacred Zen melodies (_Honkyoku_). _Shirabe_ (Introduction) is played by John Singer, who is a virtuoso of Japanese bamboo flute. Next I proceed to the tradition of the Chinese ancient music. As a representative of it I have picked out _Taiji tune_, a piece of taoist music played by _The Taoist Music Orchestra of The White Cloud Taoist Temple_ (Benijing). The two samples of the Oriental music should give you a background for the music of West.

2.​
After having heard them you can listen to _Anacrusis_. _Anacrusis_ serves as a representative of the music of ancient Greece, and to the same purpose the next piece entitled _Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 2436_ is adopted. However, _Anacrusis_ belongs to the tradition of pagan Greece, while _Papyrus_ gives you an example of the music of early Christian epoch. _Anacrusis_ and _Papyrus_ are performed by Paniagua's group.

3.​
The presentation of the medieval music begins with a sacred Gregorian chorale (_In Paradisum Angeli_), and then it shifts to the secular _Hoccetus_.

4.​
As to Renaissance, I have decided to choose a mass by Palestrina and a madrigal by de Rore. The mass (part 1. _Agnus Dei_) is sung by a group of Bulgarian "folk" singers (cannot believe they are genuine folk singers). It is neither a joke nor is it done for a mere fun. De Rore's beautiful madrigal is sung by trained singers of _The Hilliard Ensemble_.

5.​
So as to span the variety of the Baroque, I start my presentation with a crumb of Schutz's _St Matthew's Passion_, which is followed by Carissimi's _Plorate colles_ and Albinoni's _Concerto a cinque in d_, part 1.

6.​
The representatives of the Classicism are: Haydn's _Cello Concerto in C_ part 3. (with Du Pré) and Beethoven's _V Symphony_ part 1. Actually, I have made use of Liszt's transcription of the symphony played by Gould; once again, it was not my intention to ridicule either Beethoven or Liszt.

7.​
And now Romanticism. First comes out _Ave Maria d'Arcadelt_ by Liszt, next the first movement of Mahler's _II Symphony_. Mahler's symphony is the only case I have chosen for some extra-musical reasons, or at least also for such reasons. Namely its first part was written just after Malehr had read Mickiewicz's _Dziady_ (a romatic Polish national drama). So there is a _polonicum_ in that case.

8.​
It was extremely difficult for me to prepare a portrait of the music of XX century, so diverse it seems to be. After long dithers, I decided to select Reich's _Pulse I_, Szymanski's _Piano Étude No 1_., and Dufour's _Terra incognita_ part 1. _De inventione_. That is all... Oh, I have almost forgotten about it. At the end of the story there is a_ bonus_... 

Ispin

PS
Unfortunately the mp3 file with Dufur's music is damaged. I must fix it


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## UniverseInfinite (May 16, 2009)

How did you get the numerous music pieces onto a web-embedded player list?

Detail, please!


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## Ispin (Jul 24, 2009)

UniverseInfinite said:


> How did you get the numerous music pieces onto a web-embedded player list?
> 
> Detail, please!


Nothing strange about it, and nothing wrong. First and foremost you should have all those pieces; an do believe me I've got all of them _lege artis_. Next you should have a converter, unless you are a collector of mp3 files. As far as I am concerned, collecting mp3 files in the case of the classical music makes no sense for some reasons which are to obvious to deserve our attention and our time (their low quality for instance). Once you have converted the selected pieces of music, you should find a file hosting service. I strongly recommend DivShare (here you are, the link: http://www.divshare.com/login). Finally you are ready to upload converted mp3 files and you can organize your play-list in few easy steps (just drag and drop technique).

I hope you are happy with the above explanation. If not, just ask me. Fortunately, I am not only a piano player, a philosopher but also an engineer, however without any pretension of becoming - let me put it that way - _an mp3 dealer_.

Yours I.


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## UniverseInfinite (May 16, 2009)

Ispin said:


> and you can organize your play-list in few easy steps (just drag and drop technique).


, yeah, thank you very much!

So, where did you find the player to "drag and drop" uploaded music?


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## Ispin (Jul 24, 2009)

UniverseInfinite said:


> , yeah, thank you very much!
> 
> So, where did you find the player to "drag and drop" uploaded music?


Simply register for a DivShare account (use the link in my above note) - that's the whole thing. There are several possibilities. I suggest that you start with a free account (5GB). As soon as you have uploaded a couple of mp3s, DS provides you with: a) a simple mp3 player b) a drag and drop tool to organize your play-list; c) the requisite codes with which you can embed the player if you have a web site or if you take part in a forum.

For sure you can upload music in another audio formats, however it cannot be played with the DS-mp3-player.

What is more, you can upload you documents, pictures and videos. In that case DS automatically converts them into flash format an gives you a simple flash-player, unless you block the possibility. (Of course, the originals are preserved.)

You can protect your files and folders with a password; that is important, I think.

Generally speaking, very convenient... and I recommend DivShare once again. For the reasons which should be clear I definitely moved from RapidShare to DS.

 Cheers, Ispin (ask me in case you meet any trouble)


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## UniverseInfinite (May 16, 2009)

Dear Ispin, thank you again for such caring detail guidance! UniverseInfinite has uploaded 3 mp3 files on Divshare and hasn't seen any player appearing yet


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## Ispin (Jul 24, 2009)

Dear Universe*Infinite*,

I'm going to teach you in a *finite* number of relatively easy steps.

1. As you've got a DSA (DivShare Account, ha, ha...), just login!
2. Look at the upper corner on your right and find: "Organize this Playlist"
3. Click it! You will see the list of (in your case) three items.
4. Choose one of them and do press the left button of the mouse; next move the item up or down; finally drop it in a proper position.
5. As the list is organized, click " I'm done!"
6. Now, click "dashboard" (at the top!), wait a moment and look at the list of all your files. Choose the first one on the left - click "Share". In a moment you will see something like that:

*Embed MP3:* 
*Download:* <http://divshare... troc ...>
*Forum:* 
*Email to:* [email protected] *{Send}*

Copy the first line of code and paste it into the source code of your web site (if you own a site at all) - actually, this is what I've done in case of the my 'baroque' site. You are right, the code generates the player !

Copy the third line of code if the player should appear on (within? - not a native speaker:-( ) a forum site (honestly, I did not do that here, for one thing, I am a newbie; I should rather be far-sighted, patient and I ought to observe the way the senior members of TC behave, if I'd like not to be purged off)

Copy the second line of code and either insert it into the source code of a web/forum site or send it via email to a person/friend (depending on whether you'd like to share the file with any visitor of the site or with a chosen, specific person).

If you remember an e-mail address, you can write it down just after "Email to: [email protected]" ("julie..." will disappear at once) and click "Send". The download link will be sent to the person prefered person.

6 points + 4 examples + 4 comments amounts to 14. 14 is less than Aleph zero (the first infinite number in the infinite set of different infinite cardinal numbers; cf. Cantor's famous diagonal theorem.)

Now, I am serious again. Just ask again if you are still faced with any problem.

Ispin

PS

Send an e-mail with the second line of code to yourself. Than click the link and pay heed to what happens. (*do not rush* to download your mp3, wait and observe the site)


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## Ispin (Jul 24, 2009)

*to finish with...*

Dear UI

Here is the last exercise.

1. Login
2. Double click on any file.
3. Enjoy listening to your music and/or download it.

Notice that as you paste the download code within any of your posts, "3" is also available to any TC visitor with one click.

(the download option can be suspended via the general settings of your DSA; in such a case the possibility of listening to the music remains untouched)

Good luck.


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## UniverseInfinite (May 16, 2009)

Haha, Ispin, thank you! UI has found out that the most important thing to get a "play list" is to create a folder under the default Audio section. The newly created folder becomes the "play list". So, music files in this folder become the tracks for this play list.

Thank you again for your guidance!

Bravo!


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## Ispin (Jul 24, 2009)

- _*finis coronat opus*_, UI.


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## toucan (Sep 27, 2010)

Ispin said:


> Any comment is welcome.
> 
> 1.​
> To begin with, I am presenting the Japanese Zen Fuke Komuso music.


Why? Have the preponderance of scholars and of Connoisseurs given us any reason to believe Japanese Zen music was an influence on the development of Western Music - and an influence so strong at that that a brief overview of Western Music must begin with an overview of Japanese music or else we cannot understand it?!!!



> 3.​
> The presentation of the medieval music begins with a sacred Gregorian chorale (_In Paradisum Angeli_), and then it shifts to the secular _Hoccetus_.


Should an overview of the Middle Age not include some discussion of Perotin's role in the development of Western Polyphony + some discussion of Philippe de Vitry's role in the development of musical notation & the role that in turn has played in facilitating the development of polyrythms, counterpoint, fugues, etc?



> 5.​
> So as to span the variety of the Baroque, I start my presentation with a crumb of Schutz's _St Matthew's Passion_, which is followed by Carissimi's _Plorate colles_ and Albinoni's _Concerto a cinque in d_, part 1.


Varied as the Baroque may be why can an overview of it not include discussion of the inventor of the field (and of the modern Opera as well, more oor less) - Monteverdi that is - or of the composer many people believe is the supreme climax of all Western Music, John Sebastian Bach?



> 6.​
> The representatives of the Classicism are: Haydn's _Cello Concerto in C_ part 3. (with Du Pré) and Beethoven's _V Symphony_ part 1. Actually, I have made use of Liszt's transcription of the symphony played by Gould;


A piano transcription of Beethoven - by a romantic - as almost sole representative of classicism: whatever!

I do not have time this minute to listen to "part 3" of the Haydn Concerto and therefore to see if there is anything in it truly representative of classical forms, as in developement of two themes leading to re-expositions of the first theme, etc...



> once again, it was not my intention to ridicule either Beethoven or Liszt.


 If you make this disclaimer once again people will suspect you of being the sort of teacher who claims jazzified Mozart's are cool, fun - and pedagogically pertinent.



> 7.​
> And now Romanticism. First comes out _Ave Maria d'Arcadelt_ by Liszt, next the first movement of Mahler's _II Symphony_. Mahler's symphony is the only case I have chosen for some extra-musical reasons, or at least also for such reasons. Namely its first part was written just after Malehr had read Mickiewicz's _Dziady_ (a romatic Polish national drama). So there is a _polonicum_ in that case.


If you are so convinced Poland is uniquelly romantic then why didn't you assign a Chopin Polonaise instead of construing an Austrian Composer as a "Polonicum" (sic) in disguise, on such flimsy grounds as his having read a book by a Polish author?

Besides, Chopin is easier to grasp for most beginners than Gustav Mahler.
(Not that I object at all to the inclusion of Mahler in any class on romantic music, mind you. But let's find more solid reasons to do so and also not assume Romanticism can do without Schumann, Berlioz, Brahms, Wagner)



> 8.​
> It was extremely difficult for me to prepare a portrait of the music of XX century, so diverse it seems to be. After long dithers, I decided to select Reich's _Pulse I_, Szymanski's _Piano Étude No 1_., and Dufour's _Terra incognita_ part 1. _De inventione_.


But no Debussy, Stravinsky, Bartok - or, yes, Schoenberg?



> Oh, I have almost forgotten about it. At the end of the story there is a_ bonus_...


Let us hope the bonus isn't someone like Sade (the singer, not the author, who does have a legitimate place in the history of letters, though perhaps not as pre-eminent as Voltaire or even Laclos)

Sade was the bonus given my daughter in a "music appreciation" (sic) class, in elementary school. Alongside Jazzified Mozart. Though I must say, the representative of the modern period in that class was even worse than Szymanski, Dufourt or Reich. It was just one song. Not a song by Debussy or Ravel or Satie or Berg - or Richard Strauss or even Rachmaninoff. It was a song by the primary music teacher in that school. I will have the charity not to say his name. He was God to the two other music teachers, both females: two of his songs were actually published. Such accomplishment. The school she was in was one of the most reputed in town: what must the other schools have been like! No music class at all would be better - less damaging - than badly taught music. Those who are really made for it don't need teachers anyway, their instincts will guide them. Same with the visual Arts (where all the schools do is teach them to imitate other artists - often teachers themselves, instead of trying to make them understand why Monet is a better painter than Carolus Durand)


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