And it is time now on WFMT for Schickely Mix with Peter Schickely. All set, Peter?
Two for the show, three to get ready, and here's the theme.
Hello there, I'm Peter Schickely, and this is Schickely 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 Zell in 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,
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
one two three one two three one two three one two three one two three one
But then when it gets to what should have been the fourth measure the way I was counting it all of a sudden the ground shifts
All of a sudden there are bars that sound like they're in a fast three twice as fast in fact one two three one two three one two three one
Two three one two three one two three 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 three four time later on
But in the rest of the movement it often shifts back and forth between the broad three in the fast three feeling What's going on here is called hemiola
hemiola refers to the rhythmic relationship between three and two For instance take a six eight measure go ahead pick any one. They're all the same
the six eighth notes in a 6-8 measure are usually divided into two groups of three one two three four five six one 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.
Now it doesn't matter if the basic unit is eighth notes or quarter notes or sixteenth 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, shickly mix recordings, no expense is spared. We do things alphabetically around here. At Shakespeare.
Shickly 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 새�kale 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. 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3.
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3. three, one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three,
one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three...
The Recessional for Different Size Legs by Yoris Truly. 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 paola.
Then the first two syllables, hemi, indicate the duality, he-me, that's the other person and myself, the duality of the 3x2 and 2x3 construct.
Okay, let's go back to Schumann. You know that theme we were dealing with, dum-dum-bum-ba-dum-bum-ba-dum-dum-ba-dum? That's the first theme of the opening movement of Schumann's Third Symphony.
Now, listen to the first theme. 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, here's the Brahms.
The opening of Brahms' Third Symphony, with Celibatace 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 number three is. They're 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.
Now the key notes of the Brahms symphonies are C, D, F, and E.
Which is an exact transposition. That's right. Of B flat, C, E flat, D.
Not only that, but those notes are the first four notes of the finale of Mozart's Jupiter Symphony.
And if you assign numbers to the letters of Jupiter according to their position in the alphabet. The numbers add up to ninety-nine, 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. 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.
Here again, by simply changing the grouping of six beats you get the feeling of a fast three or a slow three twice as slow in fact. Lemme count that out this time…
One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. Un, two, three. One, two, three.
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, and 2, and 3, and 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.
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 a while, are played in the same order. The first piece is the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, 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.
The people in each room.
If there's a road, you can drive on. It's a free ride.
How you get all of them inside.
Immigrant goes to America. Many hellos in America.
Nobody knows in America.
Puerto Rico's in America.
A machine.
What have they got there to keep clean? I like the shores of America. Cupboard is yours in America. Water, water, water in America.
And you will shut up and get gone.
Everyone there will get big cheer. Everyone there would have moved here.
Our compulsive hemioliacs were the Renaissance composer Claude Lejeune
and the Renaissance man Leonard Bernstein. Reveci, Venir du Printemps was sung by the Greg Smith singers and America from West Side Story was sung by John.
Chita Rivera, Marilyn Cooper, Rary 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 Shickley and Shickley 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. 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.
They go well together.
Part of the Wiener Blut Waltzes by Johann Strauss Jr. Played by Jascha Horenstein in the Vienna State Opera Orchestra.
Okay, here are two pieces that feature a lot of simultaneous hemioleandering. It's as if the melody and the accompaniment are waltzing to different drummers.
The Count is Three and Two
orchestra lyrical
That was Joseph Gingold playing Chrysler's Liebeslied and playing it beautifully.
wonderfully. 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 Schickely. 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.
Sun low, sun low, sun low, sun low, sun low.
Thank you.
The Don't Count on Me Suite began with the Gaillard de Monsieur Vostron by Pretorius,
performed by the Ulzamer Collegium under the direction of Josef Ulzamer, 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 Bush,
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 Bush, 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 Shickley. The show is Shickley Mix from P.R.I.
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 Shickley 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 Shickley Mix even better? Don't worry if you can't think of anything. Yours, Peter Shickley, 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.
One, you never play any music by Zygmunt Hemel. Number two, 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.
Three, 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, PVDK, who hails from Paoli, writes, Number one, I can't get to sleep when your program is on. Play more soft music. Number two,
I've been listening to Shickley Mix for years and you've never played a single piece by Zygmunt Hemel. And number three, 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, TJV of Javi on the Big Island says, he also has three points.
One, 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. Two, you seem to think that music
is something to be enjoyed. If I want to enjoy, I'll eat a bowl of ice cream. Three, you consistently ignore the work of Zygmunt Hemel. Okay, well,
you know, what can I say? I was sort of curious about the fact that all three respondents mentioned Zygmunt Hemel, 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 Groves Music Dictionary here. And let's see if he's in here. Okay. Okay.
Here he is. I sit corrected. It says, Hemel, Zygmunt, 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, uh, Hemel comes right after hemiola in the dictionary here. Hemiola from the Greek hemiolios,
the whole and a half. Well, what do you know? I, uh, so I guess there's more than one derivation for the word hemiola. Well, I'll tell you what I don't like about Schickely 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 Vienna 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.
Wiener Blut by Johann Strauss, Jr. And that was Jascha Hornstein conducting the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. And you know, I feel badly,
J.A., H., of Thief River Falls that I haven't played a single Mozart piece on today's program. Well, except for this one.
Mozart's 24th Symphony brings Sickly 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 Sickly 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.
Thank you.
Okay, bye, me in America Everything's free in America For a small fee in America I, I, I I, I, I I, I, I
I, I, I
I'll bring a TV to San Juan If there's a current to turn on I'll get them a washing machine What have they got there to keep clean?
I like the shorts of America Comfort is yours in America Now run the door in America Walk the world, walk the world in America
When I will go back to San Juan When you will shut up and get gone Everyone there will get big cheer Everyone there would have moved in It's true