Love
February, Cupid’s favourite month of the year and we
all know why. The, for the most of us, dreaded Valentines
Day, the only day of year when its socially acceptable to
show as much LOVE as possible. Buying as many flowers,
chocolates and red hearts as you physically can, that’s
what it's all about right?
LOVE and the mysterious St Valentine. How did these two become associated
with this day in February? The history of Saint Valentine is slightly unclear but many
believe him to be a Roman Priest born around the year 226 AD. The emperor of
Rome at the time ‘Claudius the Cruel’ believed only in a strong and resilient army
however was having trouble recruiting fit, young men. He believed this was because
they were all too attached to their wives and families back home and he therefore
decided to ban marriage and engagements in Rome. It is believed that Saint
Valentines defied the wishes of Emperor Claudius and continued to marry couples in
secret all over Rome.
When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Emperor Claudius ordered that he was to
be put to death by execution. This was to be carried out on February 14th around the
year 270 AD. Valentine was arrested and taken to jail to await his death. Legend has
it that whilst in jail, he had fallen in love with the jailer’s daughter and on the day of
his execution (Feb 14th) left her a farewell note confessing his love and signed it
‘From Your Valentine’.
After his death, Valentine was named a Saint due to his services and dedication to
the church. And this is where legend has it, our so
well known Valentines Day originates. It all started
with LOVE.
And what better way to confess your love or
passion to someone through music. Back in times
gone by there were no heart shaped chocolates or
emojis to send to your loved one, you had to write
a letter or compose them a piece of music!
This tradition or rather inspiration stretches right the way back to the Renaissance era spanning roughly between the years of 1400-1600. Prior to this, in the Middle Ages saw the domination of the Catholic Church, which meant sacred music was the most prevalent. However the Renaissance era brought with it much more freedom and
more room for inspiration from the arts and the chief subject of most of the
Renaissance writing was love. So much so that around 1470, a French Nobleman
Jean De Montchenu commissioned ‘The Chansonnier Cordiforme’, a heart shaped
songbook containing 43 Renaissance songs of love and desire.
This inspiration and theme carried right the way through to the Baroque period and
well into the Classical period with composers like Beethoven and Schumann
composing pieces dedicated to their wives, where they confessed their passion
through melodies and harmonies.
Jumping forward to the 20th century, Gustav Mahler followed this trend. In 1901 he
started to write his 5th Symphony after being seriously ill. In the first two
movements, the music written was predominately sad and solemn, with Part 1 of
the first movement aptly being named the ‘Funeral March’. However a few months
later Mahler found the perfect end to his symphony. Around the time he was
composing the fourth movement, he met his future wife Alma Schindler. It is
believed that the ‘Adagietto’ is a love song written from Mahler to Alma as included
in the original conductor’s copy of the score, was a hand written poem. This
translates to:
‘How much I love you, you my sun,
I cannot tell you that with words.
I can only lament to you my longing
and my love, my bliss!’
Dedication right!
And of course now in the 21st century most of the music you hear on the radio is
based on love, heartache or relationship breakdowns. (Taylor Swift rings a bell!)
The same topic, the same theme, all these years later however now just rapped
rather then scored.
So just a thought to leave you with….as The Beatles so famously said ‘All You Need is
Love’… (Have a listen to Carpe Harmonia recording of this iconic song, found on our website or Facebook page)
I now invite you to sit down and have a listen to some, if not all, of the following pieces. They are all inspired by or written about love:
1. ‘Moonlight’ Piano Sonata No.14 – Beethoven
2. Piano Concerto No.20, Movement II ‘Romance’ – Mozart
3. ‘Perfect’ – Ed Sheeran (also Google The Piano Guys version, excellent)
4. ‘Adagietto’ Movement from Symphony No.5 - Mahler
5. ‘We Found Love’ – Calvin Harris and Rihanna
6. ‘Love Theme’ from Superman – John Williams
7. ‘Love is an Open Door’ - Disney’s Frozen Soundtrack
8. ‘Kreisleriana’ Op.16 – Schumann
9. ‘Just The Way You Are’ – Bruno Mars
10. Romeo and Juliet Op.64: Act 1 Balcony Scene, ‘Love Dance’ – Prokofiev
Written by E. Batchelor, Soprano
‘Music is life, that’s why our hearts have beats’
