In all honesty, despite being a music student, I don't listen to music nearly as much as I probably should! However, lockdown has provided me with the opportunity to do more listening than I usually would and I've compiled some of my favourites together to make the list below.
Vocal Music
1. John Sheppard's Second Service
Sheppard was a composer who was active in the sixteenth century, working as the choir director at Magdalen College, Oxford and later worked in the Chapel Royal. His second service was long thought to be written in the 1550s during Elizabeth I's reign, however more recent evidence has suggested that Sheppard died in December 1558, so this service must have been written during the reign of Edward VI. It has been suggested that this piece influenced William Byrd when writing his Great Service.
2. Gounod's Romeo and Juliet
This nineteenth century tragic French opera tells Shakespeare's tale of star-crossed lovers. It is one of two operas by Gounod which remains in the repertory today. A particular highlight for me is Juliet's aria Je veux vivre, which has a waltz-like tune.
A picture from a performance of Gounod's Romeo and Juliet at the Met.
3. Mozart's Requiem
This was Mozart's final work and had to be finished off by his own pupils. This is one of my favourite pieces of classical music. You will probably find that you recognise a lot of the tunes, I know the Lachrymose has been used on TV and in adverts. My favourite movements are probably the Kyrie and Lachrymose.
4. Schubert's Gretchen an Spinnenrade
This is an example of a Lied, a German song, and in my opinion is one of the best Lied ever written. I can't quite explain why I like it so much, but it has beautiful melodic lines and narrates the story of a woman at the spinning wheel dreaming of her former love. It's also a great introduction to classical vocal music because it is short - only 3 or 4 minutes long!
Instrumental Music
In recent months I have begun to listen to a lot more vocal music and opera. But, in the effort to create a more balanced list, I have included some of my favourite instrumental music.
1. Robert Schumann's Second Symphony in C
Back in October last year I went to an all Schumann concert by the Cambridge Sinfonia. I wasn't sure how I felt about Schumann's music before attending and perhaps it doesn't help that he is mostly remembered today for his vocal music and song cycles. However, I found that I really enjoyed the entire concert (for the programme see here: http://sinfoniaofcambridge.org.uk/wordpress/index.php/sunday-13th-october-2019/), the symphony being a particular highlight. This work is definitely worth a listen.
2. George Antheil's A Jazz Symphony
I took a paper called Music in Jazz Age Paris during my second year at uni. The music focussed on was classical music and jazz from the c.1920s in Paris. I found this piece as it was on the recommended listening and I loved it! It's a really cool fusion of jazz and classical. I find it particularly interesting that Antheil chose the most "classical" and prestigious genre to incorporate jazz into.
3. Ignaz Moscheles's Piano Concerto in G minor
Moscheles was a nineteenth century piano virtuoso, composer and teacher (Check out my blog on him!). I particularly like his third piano concerto, the G minor. It's a cool early Romantic piano concerto which I believe deserves more attention than it has gotten, only being recorded in 2014.
4. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade
I first played this piece in my county youth orchestra when I was 15 and I've been in love with it ever since. I am a fan of the Russian romantic music generally, e.g. Mussorgsky's Night on a Bald Mountain and Pictures at an Exhibition. It is a piece of programme music, narrating part of the story of the 1001 Arabian Nights. There are recurring motifs which represent characters - there is one for the titular Scheherazade and the Sultan. It is a rather long piece, so if you only want to listen to part of it I would recommend movements one and three.
Just one final note to say that I hope everyone is doing okay during this pandemic and that this list might be a usual way of expanding your listening. All the pieces listed are available on YouTube and/or Spotify.
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