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Pastorale (poetry)
Pastorale refers to something of a pastoral nature in music, whether in form or in mood. In Baroque music, a pastorale is a movement of a melody in thirds over a drone bass, recalling the Christmas music of ''pifferari'', players of the traditional Italian bagpipe (zampogna) and reed pipe ( piffero). Pastorales are generally in 6/8 or 9/8 or 12/8 metre, at a moderate tempo. They resemble a slowed-down version of a tarantella, encompassing many of the same rhythms and melodic phrases. Common examples include the last movement of Corelli's ''Christmas Concerto'' (Op.6, No.8), the third movement of Vivaldi's ''Spring'' concerto from The Four Seasons, the '' Pifa'' movement of Handel's ''Messiah'', the first movements of Bach's ''Pastorale'' (BWV 590) for organ, and the ''Sinfonia'' that opens part II of his Christmas Oratorio as an introduction to the angelic announcement to the shepherds. Scarlatti wrote some examples in his keyboard sonatas, and many other composers in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Oratorio
The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of the major feast days of the Christmas period. It was written for the Christmas season of 1734 and incorporates music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a largely lost church cantata, BWV 248a. The date is confirmed in Bach's autograph manuscript. The next complete public performance was not until 17 December 1857 by the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin under Eduard Grell. The ''Christmas Oratorio'' is a particularly sophisticated example of parody music. The author of the text is unknown, although a likely collaborator was Christian Friedrich Henrici (Picander). The work belongs to a group of three oratorios written in 1734 and 1735 for major feasts, the other two works being the ''Asce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Britten Austin
Paul Britten Austin (5 April 1922 – 25 July 2005) was an English author, translator, broadcaster, administrator, and scholar of Swedish literature. He is known in particular for his translations of and books on the Swedish musician, singer and poet Carl Michael Bellman, including his prizewinning book ''The Life and Songs of Carl Michael Bellman''. He also translated books by many other Swedish authors. Alongside his work on Swedish literature, Austin spent 25 years assembling a trilogy of history books, ''1812: Napoleon's Invasion of Russia'', telling the story of Napoleon Bonaparte's failed campaign entirely through eyewitness accounts. Early life Paul Britten Austin was born in Dawlish, South Devon, England. His parents were the writers Frederick B.A. Britten Austin and Mildred King. He was educated at Winchester College. In 1947 he married Eileen Patricia Roberts, and had one son, Derek Austin, but the marriage was short lived. In 1951, he married the novelist Mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
