Music is usually broken down into melody, rhythm and harmony. But what about the very lowest notes in music, that can have an impact on all three? In this film Howard looks at the abiding fascination musicians and composers have had with the bass.
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This week's playlist is the first in a series of four documentaries fronted by Howard Goodall covering melody, rythmn, harmony, and bass. It's a good series of documentaries that covers the basics in a very approachable manner without being condescending. Recommended.
markfromireland
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For this, the first in a series of postings dealing with settings of the Mass by Bach and Beethoven that have been overshadowed by their better known Mass settings, I chosen Beethoven's Mass in C major. Beethoven's reputation is such that he's achieved an almost mythological status it's as though he's become the musical equivalent of a demi-god with the added spice of having experienced and overcome tragedy and suffering. His charisma, his strength, desperate struggle against the onset of deafness coupled with brilliance as a composer combine to make him an irresistible figure to innumerable students and lovers of music. Of Dutch origin with a grandfather who had been a choirmaster in Louvain and reputedly of noble birth (hence the van) Beethoven did what every other composer of his era did and courted the nobility. In the case of his Mass in C the spur to composition was a commission from Prince Nicholas II of Esterházy in honour of the name day of his wife Princess Maria. Sadly it didn't go well.
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This week's "Sunday Playlist" is another BBC documentary. This week's documentary which focuses on the stained glass found in medieval cathedrals complements last week's documentary about how those cathedrals were built. Enjoy :-).
markfromireland
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Just one video in this week's playlist but I doubt you'll feel stinted. I routinely use photographs of medieval churches and cathedrals to illustrate my postings and in my videos. If you've ever gone into a medieval cathedral looked up and wondered "how did they do that"? Then this fascinating and well-made BBC documentary is for you. Enjoy :-).
markfromireland
The great cathedrals were engineering marvels of the medieval world built with not much more than pulleys and ropes, chisels and hammers and set squares. Architectural historian Jon Cannon searches for answers on how these structures were built and the ambition that it took when looking at Glouchester, York, Norwich and Ely. ©BBC
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