Hope you have your box of tissues, everyone. Because this week, we're feeling melancholic as we explore some of the saddest pieces of music we know. It's a mournful show call "Woe Is Me!"
Drown your sorrows with our mournful playlist below:
- Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857–1919), Pagliacci: "Recitar! ... Vesti la giubba" – Pagliacci is often considered the consummate example of verismo, a late-nineteenth century style of opera that emphasized extreme realism. The characters in verismo are of lowly social position, in particular students, actors, and prostitutes, and they react to crises in an irrational and often violent manner. Leoncavallo went so far as to assert that his 1892 opera about a clown who murders his unfaithful wife in mid-performance was based on a real-life crime trial in his home town of Montalto, Italy. This claim is not necessarily untrue, but should also be taken with a grain of salt. Plots about low-lifes and violent revenge were very popular in the late-nineteenth century. In the opera's climactic moments, Canio, the clown, stabs Nedda, his real-life wife, and Silvio, her real-life lover, to death before crying out that the comedy is ended.
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- Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849), Étude Op. 10, No. 3 "Tristesse" – There is no doubt that Chopin's etudes are considered a monument of musical virtuosity. Brilliantly difficult and masterfully written, these twenty-seven etudes blurred the line between "academic exercise" and "concert showpiece." The third etude of the opus 10 collection however, stands in stark contrast to the other movements. It is not particularly difficult to play, and is marked "cantabile," meaning songlike and lyrical. Because of its character, the piece has been given various melancholic nicknames: Tristesse, Sadness, Farewell and l'Adieu, though Chopin himself never referred to the etude by anything but its collection number. That being said, it was a memorable work for Chopin. His biographer Adolph Gutmann later wrote that Chopin believed he had never in his life written another such beautiful melody. Chopin dedicated this piece and the rest of his Opus 10 collection to Franz Liszt, who would go on to write an even more difficult set of concert etudes.
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- Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868), Stabat Mater – Numerous composers have set the Medieval liturgical text Stabat Mater Dolorosa to music, including Bach, Vivaldi, Pergolesi and Haydn, to name a few. The hymn was likely composed in the mid-13th century during the height of the Cult of Mary, a sect of the catholic church that focused its worship on the veneration of Mary, mother of Christ. Stabat Mater Dolorosa depicts the suffering of Mary during Jesus' crucifixion and is traditionally performed by a chorus with soloists. We just listened to a setting by Gioachino Rossini, who composed the work while traveling through Spain with his friend Alejandro Aguado. A flurry of debate surrounded the piece when it was premiered publicly. Rossini had already gained many admirers for his operas, but his critics used the announcement of the premiere of Stabat Mater to attack Rossini for making money from sacred music.
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- Johannes Brahms (1833–1897), Ein Deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem): V. Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit (Now You Have Sorrow) – Requiems, being masses for the dead, are never really joyful affairs. And Brahms's Requiem certainly is filled with sorrow-but it can also be quite uplifting. The work likely had its inspiration in the death of Brahms' mother in 1865. He didn't set the traditional liturgical requiem, but rather he chose selections from the Bible that avoided the dogma of Christian religion. Brahms wanted the focus of his requiem to be on consolation for the living rather than redemption of the souls of the dead. In fact, one of the titles Brahms considered using for this work was "A Human Requiem," but settled on the more nationalistic A German Requiem. This selection is based on three passages from the Bible. It opens with a verse from the book of John saying "Now you have sorrow," but follows that up with Isaiah that says "I will comfort you."
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- John Dowland (1563–1626), Lachrimae – John Dowland's Lachrimae or Seaven Teares was published in London in 1604. It represents the fruits of a period spent in the service of the King of Denmark, who cultivated a cosmopolitan court of famous musicians and artists. The collection is famous for being the first collection of dance music not written in separate parts, but rather in a single songbook format. Lachrimae is drawn primarily from music Dowland had already composed while in Elizabethan England, where idea of "melancholy" was fashionable in the arts. These pieces included reworkings of works for solo lute that were presented in settings for larger ensemble, or consorts. This collection of dances was originally dedicated to Anne of Denmark, the sister of Danish King Christian IV and wife of James I, presumably for her hospitality during Dowland's stay at the Danish court.
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https://youtu.be/Mcfy3UmnyDY?t=1608
- Henryk Górecki (1933–2010), Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs): II. Lento e Largo – Tranquillissimo – A contemporary of Penderecki and Lutoslawski, Polish composer Henryk Gorecki was perhaps best known for his Symphony No. 3. While most symphonies usually contain a mixture of fast and slow sections, Gorecki's haunting and sorrowful work comprises three slow movements. The text for the 2nd movement comes from a prayer inscribed on the wall of a cell in the basement of the "Palace," the Gestapo Headquarters in Zakopane. Beneath the words is the signature of a young woman, and the words "18 years old, imprisoned since September 26, 1944." Although there are seemingly several references in this work to World War II, Gorecki refrained from labeling the work as a "war symphony," calling it instead "a normal Symphony of Sorrowful Songs." In the early 1990s, when this specific recording was released, it became a best-selling CD, selling over one million copies.
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- Thomas Tallis (c. 1505–1585), Lamentations of Jeremiah – Thomas Tallis's Lamentations of Jeremiah are based on the Old Testament Book of Lamentations, one of the most sorrowful books of the Bible. The book contains five poems that all lament the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar in the Sixth century B.C. For reasons unknown, the first letter of each line of the poems spell out the Hebrew alphabet. In both the Anglican and Catholic churches where Tallis worked, these lamentations have typically been associated with the end of Holy Week (also known the Triduum of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday). This is the most sorrowful time of the liturgical year, when Jesus's crucifixion is remembered. This music would have been part of the tenebrae services on those days, which are held after dark. The darkness of the church and the sorrow of the text make it one of the most somber religious experiences.
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- Billie Holiday, "Gloomy Sunday" – Billie Holiday's 1941 song "Gloomy Sunday" is one of the most depressing songs from the 20th century. It was written in 1933 by the Hungarian poet Rezso Seress, originally titled (in Hungarian) "The World Is Ending." The original was not about the tragic end of a love affair, but rather about war, with a prayer for humanity's sins. Another Hungarian poet Laszlo Javor wrote new lyrics to the song about lost love and suicide. These lyrics became more well-known, and became the basis of "Gloomy Sunday," as translated into English by lyricist Sam M. Lewis. "Gloomy Sunday" was so depressing that there were many (unsubstantiated) reports of people actually committing suicide after hearing the song. Even Seress, the song's original composer, committed suicide years later. On Billie Holiday's original release, "Gloomy Sunday" was even given the subtitle the "Hungarian Suicide Song."
