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And behind these composers’ pieces of music, there are stories to be told. If music is a language, then each note is just another word in a composer’s epic tale.
Below are some of the stories behind the music of the Victoria Bach Festival, which were compiled by long-time festival performer and musician David Mead.
“Vermeer Portraits” by composer Simon Sargon:
Sargon was born in India, but became a U.S. citizens at the age of 13. He received a composition degree from the Juilliard School, and he has been director of music at Temple Emanu-El in Dallas for over 25 years.
His “Vermeer Portraits” were composed in 2002 and were inspired by the paintings of the 17th century Dutch artist Jan Vermeer. According to Sargon, each movement in the composition was written as a musical counterpart to Vermeer’s portraits. For example, in the movement for “The Guitar Player,” the piano is treated like a plucked instrument and for “The Soldier and the Laughing Girl” the music depicts the playful, flirtatious banter between the two characters.
“From My Life” by composer Bedrich Smetana:
Smetana’s string quartet “From My Life” is an autobiographical work that depicts different moments from his life, such as his first romance, his professional pride and the journey toward his eventual deafness.
According to a letter from Smetana to Srb-Debrnov, written in 1878, he wrote the quartet to give a tone picture of his life. The First Movement is based on his leaning toward art in his youth and the presage of his future deafness.
The Second Movement is about his love of dancing, the Third Movement is about his first love and the Fourth Movement is about his success being checked by the beginning of his deafness.
According to Mead, Smetana’s deafness was the result of undiagnosed and untreated syphilis.
Guiseppe Verdi’s “Messa da Requiem”:
“Messa da Requiem” was written by Verdi to honor the death of the Italian writer and poet Alessandro Manzoni. Manzoni wrote a novel, “I promessi sposi” (“The Betrothed Ones”) that deeply affected Verdi at the age of 16.
In awe of the man, Verdi eventually met Manzoni at the age of 54. When Manzoni died in 1873, Verdi decided to compose a Requiem Mass in his memory that was to be performed on the first anniversary of his death.
“Requiem” is in seven movements that correspond to the sections of musical liturgy for the Mass of the Dead.
Aprill Brandon is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6514 or abrandon@vicad.com.