Edward Macdowell (1860-1908)
Piano Sonata No. 4, Op. 59 “Keltic” (1901)
Piano: Charles Fierro
Nonesuch Recording
Sonata No.4
1st movement: With great power and dignity
2nd movement: With naive tenderness
3rd movement: Very swift and fierce
The first movement depicts the mighty hero, Cuchullin, and his deeds; the second movement, the Ulster beauty, Deirdre; and the last movement, the downfall of Cuchullin. “” Margery Lowens, notes from the recording
Edward Hammerhands——all last week I was thinking of hammers: owing partly to a defiant nail on my bike-box with a special hunger for any stray fabric, and partly because of the first movement of this sonata ‘With great power and dignity’, but mostly with great power. My mind wandered off to other hammer motifs: the subtitle of one of Nietzsche’s books, for example, Twilight of the Idols (or, How To Philosophize with a Hammer). As if there was any other way to philosophize? Then there’s that truly diabolical ‘stop the hammering’ rant by MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell—hard to pay attention to sonata form with that cultural gem of a moment rattling around in your head. Like his first three sonatas, this last one by Macdowell—American composer whose short career vacillated between pianist and Conservatory director—was set to a theme, borrowing its programmatic material from the poetics of the Celtic legends of Cuchullin/Cuchulain.
Edward Macdowell
Once the hammering stops, the ensuing second movement (‘With naive tenderness) is easier on the imagination. It is carried on the piano with a characteristically American gait, something on the jazzier side of Chopin—or the more introverted side of the Ellington spectrum. The closing third movement (a scherzando has been omitted) is a more melodically oriented alternative to the first; as ‘Very swift and fierce’ would suggest, the stretch of music here is a syncopated romp that almost breaks out into rhythm. With this introduction to Macdowell, I’m not sure what tool box to put the composer in (there’s a hammer pun in there somewhere)—but a rewarding introduction nevertheless.
Elsewhere——I’m looking forward to this week, a couple of my recent writing projects will be seeing the light of day (waiting for something to get published is the same anticipation one has for an Amazon delivery, but in the opposite direction, which is worse). My first CBC article might make past the last editing hurdles this week, in it is my attempt to root for some of the Canadian companies who, defying the gravity of the shrinking funds and attention spans, are making independent opera possible. It really was a learning experience interviewing a number of these companies across the country, it felt good making the country feel small through the interconnectedness of this specific community. Likewise looking forward to my piece for Opera Canada, about all the ways the Met’s production of Porgy and Bess rubbed me wrong. The catch being that I saw this production over a year ago, and this is my third crack at writing about it—I’ll be keeping an ear out for feedback to see if the third time wasn’t a charm. Lastly, importantly, as chief editor of smART Magazine, I can’t wait until March 26th when our fourth issue is released. Really hopeful for this issue, we’ve added some really neat things, refining the aesthetic throughout. Putting it altogether requires just one more week of hammering.
Song of the Week: ‘Black Bark, Yellow Leaves’ — Zinnia
Mono Park, November 2020
Came to the city when the leaves were dying
A rock in my throat and we're always fighting
You've got a sadness bigger than we knew
I spin it into panic, how we ever gonna get through?
Sensational Sensations in Two Dot——Rachael Cardiello, the voice behind Zinnia, is the sort of artist a city’s musical ecosystem relies on. A root with branches that reach out. I first discovered her work via a coworker, and hours later was at one of her house shows that have been sorely missed since the pandemic began. At first I thought Sensations in Two Dot, her Zinnia debut, was a nod in the direction of the ’T.dot’ Toronto moniker, but is more accurately in the direction of the Two Dot community of her hometown Montana. Perhaps the two-timing entendre was intentional? Speaking of two-timing, and of branches that reach out: the album’s second life since it’s 2019 release has taken on another dimension of beauty. Each of the nine songs on it were used to set the basis of a 9-part dance series, activating local dancers. By coincidence, I had been thinking of ‘Black Bark, Yellow Leaves’ just a couple weeks prior to the release of its dance video: walking up one of Mono Park’s endless trail last November, and thinking of the ugly strain inherent in the beauty of contrasts, my wandering eye caught a small clearing that seemed to spell out the title of this song.
Throwback to: YR3, WEEK32 — YR2, WEEK32
Click here for the full 2020/2021 roster of selected recordings