Music in the Time of War

February 4, 2013, 7:00 pm

Share this Post

This week we explore works inspired by, reacting to, or written in protest of war. Bill opens with Mass in Time of War by Joseph Haydn, an oddly cheery mass that Haydn wrote in the hopes that it would convince God to stop Napoleon’s advance into Austria. Beethoven, fascinated by military maneuvers, used music to create a scene of battle in which the British and French are represented by a leitmotif from their respective countries. We continue with patriotism and the pain of war expressed by Russian composers Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich, and end in England and America with Britten’s War Requiem, and Roy Harris’s “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.”

Playlist

Episode 1

Joseph Haydn: Paukenmesse (Mass in Time of War)
Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists/Gardiner
Heiligmesse & Mass in Time of War
Decca 470 819; 37:50

Ludwig van Beethoven: Wellington’s Victory, I
LSO/Dorati
1812 Festival Overture, Op. 49 / Capriccio Italien / Wellington’s Victory
Mercury 434360; 8:16

Zoltán Kodály: The Battle and Defeat of Napoleon from Hary Janos
Philharmonia Orchestra/Leinsdorf
Prokofiev – Lieutenant Kije / Kodaly – Hary Janos
Seraphim 60209; 3:42

Episode 2

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Ouverture solennelle “1812”, Op. 49
New York Phil/Bernstein
Symphony No. 5 / Slavonic March / “1812” Overture
Sony 47634; 15:29

Sergei Prokofiev: Battle on the Ice from Alexander Nevsky
London Symphony Orchestra/ Abbado
Alexander Nevsky – Lieutenant Kijé – Scythian Suite
DG 447419; 12:00

Dmitri Shostkovich: Symphony No. 13, Babi Yar, I
CSO/Solti; Anthony Hopkins, narrator
Shostakovich: Symphony No 13
London 444791; 19:41

Episode 3

William Billings: “Chester”
Gregg Smith Singers & Ensemble
The Continental Harmony (Music of William Billings)
Columbia Masterworks MS 7277; 1:57

William Schuman: “Chester” from New England Triptych
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra/ Slatkin
Schuman: Symphony No. 10
RCA 61282; 2:57

Charles Ives: Three Places in New England, I
San Francisco Symphony/Thomas
An American Journey
RCA 63703; 8:50

Morton Gould: An American Salute
Boston Pops/ Fiedler
American Salute
RCA 6806; 4:09

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem (excerpts)
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus/Shaw
Barber, Bartok, Vaughan Williams / Shaw, Atlanta So & Chorus
Telarc 80479; 10:57

Traditional: 26th Regiment Quickstep
American Brass Quintet
A Storm in the Land: Music of the 26th N. C. Regimental Band
New World 80608; 1:39

Samuel Barber: Commando March
Cleveland Symphonic Winds/Fennell
Frederick Fennell, The Cleveland Symphonic Winds / Holst: Suite No. 1 in E-Flat, Suite No. 2 in F / Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks / Bach: Fantasia in G
Telarc 80099; 3:16

Richard Rodgers: Victory at Sea, I
Cincinnati Pops/Kunzel
Victory At Sea And Other Favorites
Telarc 80175; 5:07

Aaron Jay Kernis: Symphony No. 2, I
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Wolff
Second Symphony / Musica Celestis
Argo 448900; 6:13

Johnny Mandel: Theme from M*A*S*H “Suicide is Painless”
Bill Evans Trio
You Must Believe In Spring
Warner Bros 3504; 4:58

Episode 4

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 3, Pastoral, II & III
LSO/Previn
The 9 Symphonies
RCA 89827; 15:45

Benjamin Britten: War Requiem (excerpts)
LSO/Britten
War Requiem
London 414383; 35:15

Episode 5

George Butterworth: “Loveliest of Trees” & “The Lads in Their Hundreds” from Shropshire Lad
Terfel, bass baritone; Martineau, piano
The Vagabond & Other Songs By Vaughan Williams, Butterworth, Finzi, Ireland
DG 445946; 2:36, 2:19

Benjamin Britten: War Requiem (excerpts)
LSO/Britten
War Requiem
London 414383; 25:57, 22:42

Roy Harris: “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”
Zimdars, piano
Violin Sonata & Complete Piano Works
Albany 105; 1:46