Noble Simplicity and Calm Grandeur
According to the German art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-1768), there were two elements that came to epitomise Classical Greek sculpture: a “noble simplicity” and a “calm grandeur.” For Winckelmann, the greatest Greek sculpture, of plain white marble, depicted mythological heroes in the throes of great struggle. While taut muscles or violent gestures may suggest the torment of a struggling figure, their faces show their great strength, through the very simplicity and calmness of expression. As Wincklemann wrote: “Just as the depths of the sea always remain calm however much the surface may rage, so does the expression of the figures of the Greeks reveal a great and composed soul even in the midst of passion.” It is this contrast, it seems, between power and tenderness, that lends these sculptures their timeless beauty and sense of drama.
In music, similarly, these elements often play against one another. Composers use the contrast between grandeur and simplicity very frequently to create their most emotive and dramatic moments. Liszt was the master of stirring up furious tempests of sound, grand crescendi that lead inexorably towards, not a climax, but a point of repose, of utter simplicity—just when we expect the majesty of trumpets or the thunderstorms of Zeus, we get a single voice, alone in the wilderness, often with a pleading kind of expression. When pulled off effectively, it is an exceedingly dramatic process, that works through deliberately contrasting grandeur with simplicity.
The program my recital given at Christ Church, Claremont explores such contrasts, presenting works that, to me, suggest notions of simplicity and grandeur:
J.S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in C major (WTC 1), L.v. Beethoven: Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 13 "Pathétique", G.F. Handel: Keyboard Suite in G minor, F. Liszt: Sarabande and Chaconne from Handel’s Almira,
F. Liszt: Soirées de Vienne No.6, J. Field: Nocturne in A major, M. Clementi: Sonata in B minor, Op.40 No.2, J. Raff: La Fileuse Op.157 No.2, E. Grieg: Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, E. Grieg: An den Frühling, F. Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.11,
A huge thank you to all who attended and those supported the concert from afar.
Today busy packing for the six week study tour to Europe, flight leaves this afternoon!
