John Field

Mike Herrera
Prof. Granade

John Field:
Sonatas and Nocturnes

Today, John Field is known as the inventor of short lyric piano pieces titled “nocturnes,”

a term stilled used by composers today. In his own time, he was known for his artistry on piano

and for his large body of compositions. Most of his works were written for his own recitals, concerts, and chamber performances. Like Chopin, Field included a piano in every single one of his compositions; in fact, most of them were for solo piano. Field composed his pieces according to his style of playing, which was known to be calm and have brilliant smooth singing style. All of his sonatas have only two movements and none of them have a slow movement; In fact owing to, the way pianos played at that particular time. Pianos of that day could not sustain a tone very long, and that made it very hard to write slow works. By far, Field was known for is “nocturne,” the works that virtually created the genre of the small piano pieces. All of his nocturnes offered a single mood, emphasizing a melodic line in the style of bel canto. Field’s romantic side is truly brought out in his nocturnes.
Field’s “Nocturnes,” each have their own characteristics. The first “Nocturne” on the cd, “Sonatas of John Field Nocturnes No.3, No.7, and No.17” are Field’s Sonatas, Op.1 No. 1-4. is entitled “Nocturne no.3”. This is in a three four time and uses a lot of rebate. This one almost gave me the felling of a waltz. I not sure I could dance to it, but that feel was heard. The second nocturne was Moderato number seven. It starts off with two notes being played at an interval of a fourth, using an echo (were one sequence is played and then immediately repeated but at a softer dynamic). I could hear the colors Field was going for in this nocturne. I tried to paint an image of this work and pictured a sunset. This piece, to me, came off more visual and romantic than the first nocturne. The last nocturne, number seventeen, seemed more virtuosic than the other two. Not loud, but more notes. He uses more running lines and more of the right hand. All off it seemed to be all at the same dynamic.
Field’s four Sonatas are different from his nocturnes. The first sonata has two movements: “Allegro moderato” and “Rondo Allegretto”. The “Allegro” movement did not grab my attention; it is too repeative. However, Field’s smooth melodic writing is shown throughout this movement. Field’s second movement, “Rondo” was the opposite and- quickly caught my attention. It starts off happy and almost like a laugh. The bass notes outlining a major chord, with the articulation of a staccato, helps create this childlike laughter. This is the common theme throughout this movement.
Field’s second sonata, first movement, starts off with brilliance. At first, the movement never seems to get to loud. In fact it comes off very child like. I am not a piano player but it seems like this would show off a sensitive touch on the piano. Towards the end of the movement the music comes to a crescendo and right at the climax, there is a sudden break or silence. This created a nice dramatic pause. Field then comes in very soft with recurring theme. I enjoyed this part of the movement. His third sonata and his fourth sonata sounded to me a lot like the first two sonatas. Mid way through the third sonata I wanted to skip ahead to the nocturnes. All four are great to listen to, just not one right after another.
Overall, I liked Field’s sonatas and nocturnes. To me his works are like a fine wine –they. Takes an acquired taste. It is not in your face type playing, it is more based on how sensitive the musician can be at the piano. All of Field’s works seem to be this way. It takes great timing and sensitivity to the keys. Sometimes, Field would decrescendo into a particular note he is aiming for, and when that note is about to be played, a chord is played with it. That chord and the touch will make or break that line. I personally enjoyed Field’s nocturnes more than his sonatas. Each one has a character and is unique. His sonatas are great, but sound too much alike. Also everything seemed too happy. Do not get me wrong, I enjoy happy music. I am just wondering does this guy ever get mad or sad? I would recommend these works to anybody, but to be opened minded and to really listen to what Field is going for.

Prof. Grande
21, February 2008
Suite Espanola, no.1 and no.2
By
Isaac Albeniz

Isaac Manuel Francisco Albeniz y Pascual was born on May 29, 1860, in the town of Camprodon in the Catalonian province of Girona. In 1869, Albeniz composed his first piece entitled Marcha Military for piano. He quickly appointed a position in the city of Caceres by Excelentisimo Senor Vizconde del Bruch, a general’s twelve- year- old son. In July of 1879, Albeniz tied for first place in a piano competition in Brussels. In the summer of 1880, Albeniz set out to realize his dream of studying with Franz Liszt. He made his way to Budapest via Prague and Vienna, but Liszt was not in Budapest at that time. Albeniz wrote in his diary that he played for him on August 18, 1880, but this was pure fabrication. Why he fabricated this is uncertain, but some believe he wanted to justify his talent to his family. Overall, his lack of artistic success on his trip came to him as a great disappointment. He even contemplated taking his own life. In 1883, Albeniz moved back to Barcelona where he met and married Rosina Jordana Lagarriga – one of his students. By 1887, Albeniz was known for his compositions all over the world, the most popular being his Spanish style pieces including Suite Espanola.
Albeniz freely adopted the musical feel from Spanish folk music. He used its rhythmic and melodic elements in his compositions. He felt a special attraction towards flamenco, and exotic folk music of Andalusia. This was certainly an inspiration for the first movement ofSuite Espanola no.1no.2. No.1 has a total of eight movements all together. The first movement is titled “Granada, (Serenata)”, which means “feminine”, and was composed in1886. Albeniz does a fantastic job creating the image of a woman and her romantic qualities. One way he paints an of image a woman is by having the right hand repeat a sequence in the upper reaches of the piano that out lines the chords. While this sequence is occurring, he has the melody in the left hand of the piano. Another way he helps himself create this image is by having it in a 3/8 meter. This, in turn, with the chords being outlined in the right hand, gives us the painted image of a young woman dancing. The second section of the “Granada”, or the bridge, changes to a minor key with the melody moved up to the right hand. Later in the movement, Albeniz refers back to his opening theme, ending the piece in a circular fashion.
The second movement of no.1 is entitled “Cataluña”, is in a 6/8 meter, and is written in the key of G minor. This piece is also a dance and has more of a dramatic sound. The triplet is used very often throughout the entire piece as well as sixteenths. This definitely is a good representation of how he was influenced by Andalusia and Spanish folk music. The piece uses rhythmic style of Spanish folk music. Overall, the movement is very well written and stays at a fortissimo level. The third movement is entitled “Sevilla” (Sivillians). This movement was written for the purpose to describe the people of the city “Sevilla”. This movement comes off happy and proud, and at times, almost circus like. Towards the middle of the piece it has a romantic feel to it. I got the impression that the people of “Sevilla” are, fun, romantic, and a proud people. This movement was fun.
Movement six, entitled “Aragon” (Fantasia), was one of the better movements out of the eight. This movement is heroic and in a 3/4 meter. Albeniz creates excitement with his dynamic contrast throughout the piece. This movement requires a lot of energy throughout the entire piece. Also beat one is emphasized the most. Every thing seems to be aimed at this beat. The movement is in two bar phrases that ends with a recurring melody on beat one of the next measure. This movement was my favorite.
The first movement of No.2 is entitled “Zaragoza”, a city of northeast Spain on the Ebro River northeast of Madrid. This movement is a good representation of traditional Spanish folk music in the fact that it shows, not just the rhythmic qualities, but also the melodic features of Spanish folk music. I enjoyed this movement. The second and last movement of no.2, is virtuosic. The name of the movement is entitled “Sevilla”. Sevilla a city is Spain that is know for its bullfighting. Albeniz starts off this movement loud with heavy accents. I believe he is trying to capture the masculine qualities of bullfighting throughout the city.
Overall I enjoyed both movements of Suite Espanola. I personally preferred the first movement over the second movement. It had more of a romantic effect and kept my attention longer. I could defiantly hear and visualize the feminine qualities in the first movement. I thought Albeniz does a great job painting this image. Both movements are good representations of the Spanish sound. The odd meters give a dance- like quality and groove. I could see anyone slow dancing to that first movement. When I first heard it, I pictured myself at nice up- scale restaurant and a Spanish couple dancing. I enjoyed both pieces, and I would recommend them to anyone wanting to hear good Spanish music for the piano.
I believe Suite Espanola should be considered part of the canon. It is unique in the fact that it is the first of its kind to use the elements of rhythm and melody in Spanish folk music, and that each movement represents and person, place, or thing in Spanish culture. Most of all, I believe Albeniz does a magnificent job of creating what he is trying to describe in each of his movements. His personality is very much in his writing and he uses different odd meters throughout the Suite. For these reasons, Suite Espanola should be considered in the canon.