Ave Maria - Lady of the Lake

So far I haven't featured any composition from operas, which are integral to classical music. But unfortunately, my own knowledge of operas is rather limited, and I don't have a great ear for it yet. The piece showcased today however, has been transposed for various instruments, my favorite being Liszt's version for the piano.

Contrary to common misconception that the piece was composed to accompany the traditional Roman Catholic prayer Ave Maria, Franz Schubert originally composed the song as one of seven set to the epic poem The Lady of the Lake. In the poem, a woman named Ellen Douglas is singing a prayer to Virgin Mary before Roderick Dhu goes into battle in rebellion against King James. The opening words of the song Ave Maria, combined with the subsequent popularity of the melody set to the traditional prayer caused this generalization.

This piece has also been featured in many movies and tv shows including: The Hangover III, The Intouchables, Glee, Psyche, 28 Days Later... the list goes on and on to a total of 210 titles on IMBD. 

Ave Maria (Op. 52, No. 6 - Ellen's Gesang III) - Composed by Franz Schubert

Performed by Mirusia Louwerse

And as mentioned earlier, my favorite instrumental version would be Franz Liszt's arrangement, performed below by Andre Hamelin

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

Today's Friday and to head off an exciting weekend, I want to share a piano solo piece by one of my favorite composers, Franz Liszt.

Liszt was a rock star of his time, immensely popular, and endured relatively little hardship compared to some of the other great composers. It has been said that when during his concerts, he would slowly take off his long white gloves, and ladies in the audience would swoon over how handsome the act was.

Of all of Liszt's compositions, the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 is undoubtedly the most famous. He wrote total of 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies, and No. 2 was such a fun piece that it's been popularized by pop culture.

See it featured in this award winning cartoon short of Tom and Jerry, winner of the 1946 Academy Awards for best Cartoon short.

Similar to the Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin in the previous post, a Rhapsody is a single movement piece that is free flowing and encompasses various different tempos and moods. Think of it as interpretive dance, where one minute it's calm and peaceful, and the next moment it's wild and crazy. You will definitely hear that in Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No.2, written in 1851. What's more unique about this particular piece is that there is a Cadenza ad libitum, where each performing artist chooses to add something special and unique into the piece. Kind of like in the middle of performing a song, the singer chooses to sing a melody from a different song or one they made up as a tribute to their performance. In the recording below, I've chosen pianist Marc Andre Hamelin's cadenza in the performance below.

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-Sharp Minor, composed by Franz Liszt

Performed by Marc Andre Hamelin