And it is time now on WFMT for Schickele Mix with Peter Schickele. All set, Peter?
Two for the show, three to get ready, and here's the theme.
[theme: Mozart, Symphony No. 24]
Hello there, I'm Peter Schickele, and this is Schickele Mix, a program dedicated to the proposition that all musics are created equal. Or as Duke Ellington put it, if it sounds good, it is good.
And I'll be derned if our bills aren't paid by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and also from this irreplaceable radio station, whose state-of-the-county facilities make possible the production of these productions, which are then taken and run with by PRI, Public Radio International.
For some reason, I got to thinking about the symphonies of Robert Schumann recently. Well, you can't think about food and sex all the time. And I realized that the order in which the symphonies are numbered happens to be the order in which I first heard them. The first, the Spring Symphony, is one of my favorite symphonic pieces. Our family had a terrific recording with Szell and the Cleveland.
And then I played bassoon in the Second Symphony with the Fargo-Moorhead Community Orchestra. I'm telling you, that slow movement just melts me. If you ever want to see a person turned into a puddle right before your very eyes, you know what to do. I don't remember when I first heard the third one, the Rhenish Symphony, but I'll bet I was a bit confused at the beginning. I mean, when I heard the very opening of the first movement,
[music excerpt: Schumann, Symphony No 3 in C, Opus 61; London Philharmonic/Welser-Möst]
I'm sure I thought, well, that's in triple time, a nice broad three. I'm sure that in my mind I counted it like this. I hope I can get the London Philharmonic to come in with me here. 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, but then when it gets to what's would have been the fourth measure the way I was counting it, all of a sudden the ground shifts.
[music excerpt: Schumann, Symphony No 3 in C, Opus 61; London Philharmonic/Welser-Möst]
All of a sudden, there are bars that sound like they're in a fast three, twice as fast, in fact. 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3. So what's going on? Is this piece in a broad three or a fast three? Well, when you listen farther on, you become aware that the fast three situation predominates. You get accents on every downbeat in the fast 3-4 time later on.
[music excerpt: Schumann, Symphony No 3 in C, Opus 61; London Philharmonic/Welser-Möst]
But in the rest of the movement, it often shifts back and forth between the broad 3 and the fast 3 feeling. What's going on here is called hemiola. Hemiola refers to the rhythmic relationship between 3 and 2. For instance, take a 6-8 measure. Go ahead, pick any one, they're all the same.
The 6 eighth notes in a 6-8 measure are usually divided into two groups of three, 1-2-3-4-5-6, 1-2-3-4-5-6, but you could accent them so they're divided into three groups of two, 1-2-3-4-5-6, 1-2-3-4-5-6, which is how the eighths are grouped in 3-4 time. It doesn't matter if the basic unit is 8th notes or quarter notes or 16th notes.
If you're fooling around with intermixing three groups of two and two groups of three of the same unit, you're playing with hemiola, and you'd better have a license. Unless you're Spanish, then you're born with a license. Now, I've got a special treat for you today. It just so happens that I once wrote a piece that exactly illustrates the hemiola relationship.
Years ago, I did music for a church service that involved a men's choir and a boys' choir. We wanted to have a very dignified recessional, but the boys, with their shorter legs, simply couldn't walk as slowly as the men. So I devised a sort of a refrain in which the men took a step every three beats, following the bass line, and the boys followed the upper lines, which changed notes every two beats.
Just to make sure they didn't get mixed up, I used the counting out of the units as lyrics. Now, you regular listeners know that when it comes to custom Schickele Mix recordings, no expense is spared. We do things alphabetically around here. At Schickele Mix, art comes before commerce.
In this case, I flew the entire Vienna Boys Choir and the Benedictine monks of Santo Domingo de Silos to Venice, Italy. I wanted to record there because St. Mark's Cathedral has more than one organ, so we could have a separate organ doubling each part.
Unfortunately, and I must say, I was surprised at this, many, in fact most, members of both organizations disappeared and spent the whole day sightseeing. But we did round up enough to do the piece. Here, in a Schickele Mix exclusive, is the world premiere recording of a piece that could be called Hemiola for Beginners, but is, in fact, called Recessional for Different Size Legs.
[music: Schickele, "Recessional for Different Size Feet"; Peter Schickele]
The Recessional for Different Size Legs by Yoris Trulli, performed by the, well, by members of the Vienna Boys Choir, the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos, and the organists of St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice, Italy. A study in hemiola. By the way, the derivation of the word hemiola is interesting. You know me, I get bugged if I can't find out the entomology of a word.
In this case, it's so obvious I don't even have to look it up. Ola, O-L-A, is a suffix meaning having to do with music, as in pianola and victrola and payola. Then the first two syllables, he-me, indicate the duality, he-me, that's the other person and myself, the duality of the 3 x 2 and 2 x 3 construct. Okay, let's go back to Schumann. You know that theme we were dealing with?
[sung: Schickele hums the Schumann theme]
That's the first theme of the opening movement of Schumann's Third Symphony. Now, listen to the first theme of the opening movement of Brahms' Third Symphony. After two introductory chords, it's almost exactly the same thing, about the same tempo, virtually identical rhythm at the top, starting out with the broad feeling and then going into the fast feeling. Remember, the rhythm of the Schumann theme is
[sound: Schickele taps the rhythm]
Here's the Brahms.
[music excerpt: Brahms, Symphony No. 3 in F, Opus 90, 1st Mvt.; Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della Rai/Celibidache]
The opening of Brahms' third symphony, with Celibidache conducting. So what was it with those two guys? I mean, not only were they good friends, but look at all they shared. And I don't mean Schumann's wife, either. If anything did go on between Clara and Johannes, I'm sure it wasn't until after Robert died.
No, but just look at this. Here are Schumann and Brahms. They're good friends. One of them lived 46 years, and the other lived 64 years. 46? 64? Huh? They both wrote four symphonies. The openings of their third symphonies, and we all know what a mystical No. 3 is, are incredibly similar.
And here's the kicker, the keys, that is the key notes of the Schumann symphonies are B-flat, C, E-flat and D.
[music: demonstration, the Schumann key notes on the keyboard]
Now the key notes of the Brahms symphonies are C, D, F and E,
[music: demonstration, the Brahms key notes on the keyboard]
which is an exact transposition of B-flat, C, E-flat, D. Not only that, but those notes
[music: demonstration, the same four notes on the keyboard]
are the first four notes of the finale of Mozart's Jupiter Symphony.
[music: demonstration, the Jupiter motif on the keyboard]
And if you assign numbers to the letters of Jupiter according to their position in the alphabet, the numbers add up to 99, nine nine, which in German means no no, and the name of the chambermaid who worked at various times for both Brahms and the Schumanns was Nanette. How about that, huh?
You think the old Broadway show No, No, Nanette was named that just because of the alliteration, just by accident? Hey, listen, nothing happens by accident, especially not hemiolas. Whether or not Schumann's Third Symphony influenced Brahms, the effect of both these openings is to start out with a broad feeling and then slip into a faster feeling when they hit the hemiola gear shift. Handel liked to do it the other way around.
He often bopped along in perky pairs of three, and then at the cadence he'd shift down to three groups of two, producing a sort of written-out retard.
[music excerpt: Handel, "Water Music, Alla Hornpipe"; Orpheus Chamber Orchestra]
Here again, by simply changing the grouping of 6 beats, you get the feeling of a fast 3 or a slow 3, twice as slow in fact. Let me count that out this time. 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3.
Okay, let's listen to the whole first section of this hornpipe from the Water Music by Handel. Four times in this little section, the composer shifts down to emphasize the cadence.
[music excerpt: Handel, "Water Music, Alla Hornpipe"; Orpheus Chamber Orchestra]
It goes on to a little trio there, but we don't have time for that. The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, with part of Handel's Water Music. Here are a couple of pieces that, after an introductory section in the second case, alternate between a 6-8 feeling and a 3-4 feeling in virtually every pair of measures. These two pieces sound as if they were written by compulsive hemioliacs.
[music: Le Jeune, "Revecy venir du printemps" (Madrigals and All that Jazz); Gregg Smith Singers]
[music: Bernstein, “West Side Story,” “America” (Bernstein: The Songbook); Chita Rivera/Marilyn Cooper/Reri Grist]
Compulsive hemioliacs were the Renaissance composer Claude Le Jeune and the Renaissance man Leonard Bernstein. Revecy venir du printemps was sung by the Gregg Smith Singers, and America from West Side Story was sung by Chita Rivera, Marilyn Cooper, Reri Grist, and Chorus conducted by Max Goberman. You know, I doubt if those lyrics in America would be written that way today.
Just think, the phrase, and the bullets flying, is supposed to refer to San Juan as opposed to New York. Times change, but some things stay the same, at least for the time being. Things like Peter Schickele and Schickele Mix from PRI, Public Radio International.
Today's show is called The Count is Three and Two. Always an exciting time in baseball and in music as well. Alternating between three groups of two and two groups of three. And in the music we've heard so far, the two groupings of the hemiola mostly have alternated. But they often waltz along the road of life hand in hand, as in this excerpt, in which the accompaniment is pretty consistently in two groups of three, umpapa, umpapa, one, two, three, one, two, three, whereas the melody, until the last few phrases, is pretty consistently in three groups of two.
I'll use this paper cup as a bongo here.
[sung: Schickele scats the melody, tapping a paper cup]
They go well together
[music excerpt: Strauss, “Wiener Blut,” Opus 354; Vienna State Opera Orchestra/Horenstein]
Part of the Wiener Blut Waltzes by Johann Strauss, Jr., played by Jascha Horenstein and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. Okay, here are two pieces that feature a lot of simultaneous hemiolandering. It's as if the melody and the accompaniment are waltzing to different drummers.
That was Josef Gingold playing Kreisler's Liebesleid and playing it beautifully. Charles Webb was on the other end of the hemiolas, the keyboard end. Before that, we heard the first movement of the String Quartet No. 4, Inter-Era Dance Suite, by a composer who shares even more with me than Schumann did with Brahms, including our names, Peter Schickele.
That was part of a live performance by the Audubon Quartet, and both the composer and I would like to thank them for permission to use it. Okay, here comes a suite that will keep you on your toes, not only because all three pieces are dance-oriented, but also because, rhythmically speaking, all hell breaks loose. You never know when the hemiolas are coming, except for repeats of course, and sometimes they shift up a gear, sometimes down, and sometimes they're tooling along or duking it out simultaneously.
I call this the Don't Count on Me Suite. I'll see you in about six and a half minutes.
[music: Praetorius, "Galliarde de Monsieur Wustron"; Ulsamer-Collegium/Ulsamer]
[music: Busch, "Waltz in Ragtime" (Sophisticated Innocence); Lincoln Mayorga]
The Don't Count on Me Suite began with the Galliarde de Monsieur Wustron by Praetorius, performed by the Ulsamer Collegium under the direction of Josef Ulsamer, from a highly recommended CD called Dance Music of the High Renaissance on Boston Skyline.
Then came the Santo from the Misa Flamenca by Paco Peña, a Nimbus release, and then one of my favorite piano works, the Waltz in Ragtime by Lou Busch, played by Lincoln Mayorga. That's from Town Hall Records. I don't always mention the labels, but some of these are not very well known.
Regular listeners may remember that I have more than once trotted out a very scratchy LP of honky-tonk music, including that waltz, played by Joe "Fingers" Carr. Well, I just found out from this CD that Carr was a pseudonym for Lou Busch, who wrote the piece. Years ago, I saw a little notice in the paper that Joe "Fingers" Carr was playing somewhere way out in the boondocks. I've always regretted that I didn't get up off my boogie-woogie bass to go and hear him.
Now he's gone, and I'm here, full of regret. I'm Peter Schickele. The show is Schickele Mix from PRI, Public Radio International.
The count is three and two. We're talking hemiolas here, rhythmic groupings of six notes into three times two or two times three. We were also talking about the late Joe "Fingers" Carr. But you know, no matter what you do, you're always going to have some regrets. But that doesn't mean you should get complacent. I certainly try not to. In fact, as a part of my unceasing effort to make Schickele Mix the very best show you can get at this time on this radio station, I recently sent out a questionnaire to a randomly selected group of listeners soliciting suggestions for ways...
Well, here, let me read you what went out. Got it right here. Dear random listener, we all know the saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But sometimes even the best machines could use a little tuning up. Would you please take a few seconds to rack your brain and see if you can come up with one or two slight suggestions for tiny adjustments that might make Schickele Mix even better? Don't worry if you can't think of anything. Yours, Peter Schickele, host.
Well, somewhat to my surprise, all three listeners responded with comments, and I'd like to share them with you. J.H. of Thief River Falls has three things to say. 1. You never play any music by Sigmund Hemmel. 2. Sometimes I think you're kidding the things you say. You should have some kind of a signal when you're kidding, like a light or something. 3. You don't play enough Mozart.
There have been shows more than once where you've only played three or four Mozart pieces.
I'm just going to go ahead here without answering them for now and read them. Next, P.V.D.K., who hails from Paoli, writes, No. 1, I can't get to sleep when your program is on. Play more soft music. No. 2, I've been listening to Schickele Mix for years, and you've never played a single piece by Sigmund Hemmel. And No. 3, my cat won't use his box when your show is on.
I don't know why, but I hope you can do something about it.
Okay, and finally, T.J.V. of Hawi on the Big Island says, he also has three points, 1. Practically everything you play is on CDs, and I don't have a CD player, so when I go to the record store to buy things you've played, I'm out of luck. 2. You seem to think that music is something to be enjoyed. If I want to enjoy, I'll eat a bowl of ice cream. 3. You consistently ignore the work of Sigmund Hemmel.
Okay, well, you know, what can I say? I was sort of curious about the fact that all three respondents mentioned Sigmund Hemmel, who I have to admit I've never heard of. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure he really exists. But I brought along the appropriate volume of the Grove's Music Dictionary here. And let's see if he's in here.
Okay, okay, here he is. I sit corrected. It says Hemmel, Sigmund, they don't even know when he was born, died probably at Tübingen end of 1564. German composer and singer. He is first encountered in 1544 as a tenor in the Stuttgart Hofkapelle of Duke Ulrich of Württemberg at a salary of 30 florins.
In 1551, Duke Christoph appointed him Hofkapellmeister at a salary of 50 florins. His predecessor had received 100. Well, I think that tells you right there why I haven't played his music.
Hey, wait a minute, look at this. This Hemmel comes right after hemiola in the dictionary here. Hemiola, from the Greek hemiolios, the whole and a half.
Well, what do you know? So I guess there's more than one derivation for the word hemiola. Well, I'll tell you what I don't like about Schickele Mix, and that's that the format of the show, of necessity, favors short pieces over longer ones. There's not much I can do about that without sacrificing information and those all-important insights. But we are a bit ahead of the game today, so let's hear the entire Wiener Blut Waltzes by Johann Strauss, Jr.
Boy, Vienna Blood Waltzes, it says here. Sounds weird in English, doesn't it? Opus 354. My father was a wonderful waltzer, and boy do I wish that my son's father were. A life of regrets, but one must smile through the tears. Take it away, Jascha.
[music: Strauss, “Wiener Blut,” Opus 354; Vienna State Opera Orchestra/Horenstein]
Wiener Blut by Johann Strauss, Jr., and that was Jascha Horenstein conducting the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. And you know, I feel badly, J.H. of Thief River Falls, that I haven't played a single Mozart piece on today's program. Well, except for this one.
[theme: Mozart, Symphony No. 24]
Mozart's 24th Symphony brings Schickele Mix to a close this week. Our program is made possible with funds provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and from this radio station and its members. Thank you, members. And not only that, our program is distributed by PRI, Public Radio International.
We'll tell you in a moment how you can get an official playlist of all the music on today's program with album numbers and everything. Just refer to the program number. This is program number 122. And this is Peter Schickele saying goodbye and reminding you that it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that certain je ne sais quoi. You're looking good. See you next week.
[theme: Mozart, Symphony No. 24]
If you'd like a copy of that playlist I mentioned, send a stamped self-addressed envelope to Schickele Mix. That's S-C-H-I-C-K-E-L-E, Schickele Mix. Care of Public Radio International, 100 North 6th Street, Suite 900A, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55403.