#solo viola

[lesser-known-composers]

Bartolomeo Campagnoli (1751-1827) : Caprice no. 1 for Solo Viola, from 41 Caprices, Op.22 (1815)

Dr. Kristina Giles, Viola

[sjwallin]

I just realized I never posted a couple short videos from the recording session in Rockport MA!

Here’s a bit from “Nevermore” movement 1: “The Raven” during rehearsal before we started recording.

[il-nero-virtuoso]

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Because I Could Not Stop For Death ( Published in 1890 )

By Poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me –   The Carriage held but just Ourselves –   And Immortality.

We slowly drove – He knew no haste And I had put away My labor and my leisure too, For His Civility –

We passed the School, where Children strove At Recess – in the Ring –   We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –   We passed the Setting Sun –

Or rather – He passed us – The Dews drew quivering and chill – For only Gossamer, my Gown – My Tippet – only Tulle –

We paused before a House that seemed A Swelling of the Ground – The Roof was scarcely visible – The Cornice – in the Ground –

Since then – ‘tis Centuries – and yet Feels shorter than the Day I first surmised the Horses’ Heads Were toward Eternity –

[musicainextenso]

While I know a good amount of works where the viola is a prominent instrument, I didn’t know of any for the viola alone. That’s most likely because any violin piece can be transposed for viola, so most of viola soloists are violin works. But the register of the viola, between the violin and the cello, feels warmer to me. It sounds closer to the human voice, so when the melodies play, they *sing*.

Vieuxtemps - Capriccio “Hommage à Paganini”

Even though capriccios are expected to be lively, the great violinist Paganini used them in the same way Chopin used the étude to elevate technical exercises to poetic statements. And while Vieuxtemps wrote this capriccio as a homage to Paganini’s set, he didn’t write it for the violin. And he wrote this almost like an elegy, a longing melody accompanied by gigantic chords throughout, and while there are a few virtuosic flourishes here and there, none are done for the sake of difficulty or showing off, they are [again, like Chopin did wrote] natural transitions that add more to the expression, rather than taking anything away.

Stay tuned this week for more music for the viola, the mysterious instrument, here on Musica in Extenso! - Nick Olinger

[sjwallin]

I just realized I never posted a couple short videos from the recording session in Rockport MA!

Here’s a bit from “Nevermore” movement 3: “The Tell-Tale Heart” during rehearsal before we started recording.

[sjwallin]

I’m just going and making up #terminology now…. 😂

I was fascinated to learn from my bestie that the multi-string #bariolage that #violinists find so common in #solo #repertoire doesn’t exist in #viola repertoire!!! Well, now at least one #violasolo has it—and we realized I should make an indication in the #music to describe what #technique I’m looking for at this spot. Always learning something!

[musicainextenso]

Hello, friends.  This may be the second post you see today, and do you know why?  Because I am a terrible person and missed my scheduled posting day. That day, of course, was Wednesday.  So for a moment, please pretend it is Wednesday. 

I love the viola, but I will admit that the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of it are the many viola jokes told to me by a cellist ex-boyfriend of mine. So many jokes. My favorite was one that I’ve seen in online joke collections, but which, in his hands, was an epic tale of misery that could go on for several minutes.  Here’s the short online version:

“A violist comes home late at night to discover fire trucks, police cars, and a smoking crater where his house used to be. The chief of police comes over to him and tells him, ‘While you were out, the conductor came to your house, killed your family, and burned it down.’ The violist replied, ‘You're kidding! The conductor came to my house?’”

Joking aside, the viola is a gorgeous instrument, and I’m pretty thrilled that we’re devoting a whole week to it.  Interestingly, the personalized new music playlist Apple creates for me every week happened to, this week, include this stunning solo piece by contemporary composer Atar Arad, played here by Melia Watras. 

More viola yet to come! - Melinda Beasi

[freyaviol]

New video of my solo piece Seagrass/Reed from a live performance at Marelle Audio!