East Meets West
For as long as travel and communication have made it possible for Western composers to come into contact with Eastern cultures, they have been trying to absorb and emulate the myriad musical styles, instruments and techniques developed by those civilisations. The results range from 'exotic' sounds painted in broad brush strokes, to much more precise evocations of Eastern techniques. Meanwhile, in the 20th century especially, Eastern composers who have studied Western classical techniques have created fascinating fusions of sounds originating from quite different sources.
Read more…- Vivaldi • Bajazet (Tamerlano) RV 703: Sinfonia • I. AllegroBajazet (Tamerlano) RV 703: Sinfonia
I. AllegroPaolo Faldi, Orchestra Barocca di BolognaJanuary 1999, Bologna, Parrocchiale della Beata Vergine del Carmine Monte Donato - Mozart • Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) KV 384 • OuvertureDie Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) KV 384
OuvertureIngrid Habermann (Soprano), Donna Ellen (Soprano), Piotr Beczała (Tenor), Oliver Ringelhahn (Tenor), Franz Kalchmair (Bass), Harald Pfeiffer (Speaker), Martin Sieghart
Bruckner Orchester Linz, Linz Landestheater Choir1996 - 1997, Linz, Brucknerhaus Linz, Grosser Saal - Hummel • Piano Trio in F major op. 22 • III. Rondo alla Turca. VivacePiano Trio in F major op. 22
III. Rondo alla Turca. VivaceGould Piano Trio
Lucy Gould (Violin), Alice Neary (Violoncello), Benjamin Frith (Piano)January 2013, Champs Hill Hall, West Sussex - Mozart • Sonata for Piano No. 11 in A major KV 331 • III. Alla Turca. AllegrettoSonata for Piano No. 11 in A major KV 331
III. Alla Turca. AllegrettoMitsuko Uchida (Piano)℗ 1984 - Beethoven • Die Ruinen von Athen (The Ruins of Athens) op. 113: Marcia alla turca • VivaceDie Ruinen von Athen (The Ruins of Athens) op. 113: Marcia alla turca
VivacePatrick Thomas, Queensland Symphony Orchestra℗ 2010 - Elgar • Arabian Serenade • The silver silence of the nightArabian Serenade
The silver silence of the nightChristopher Maltman (Baritone), Malcolm Martineau (Piano)April 1999, London, Southlands College, University of Roehampton - Balakirev • Islamey op. 18 (Arr. for Orchestra) • Allegro agitato – Tranquillo – Andantino espressivo – Allegro vivo – Presto furiosoIslamey op. 18 (Arr. for Orchestra)
Allegro agitato – Tranquillo – Andantino espressivo – Allegro vivo – Presto furiosoValery Gergiev, Mariinsky Orchestra℗ 2002 - Borodin • In the Steppes of Central Asia • Allegretto con motoIn the Steppes of Central Asia
Allegretto con motoVernon Handley, Hallé Orchestra℗ 1988 - Puccini • Turandot • Act II • 10. 'Tre enigmi m'hai proposto!' (Calaf, the Imperator, Chorus)Turandot
Act II • 10. 'Tre enigmi m'hai proposto!' (Calaf, the Imperator, Chorus)Birgit Nilsson (Soprano), Franco Corelli (Tenor), Renata Scotto (Soprano), Bonaldo Giaiotti (Bass), Guido Mazzini (Bass), Piero de Palma (Tenor), Giuseppe Morresi (Bass), Jeda Valtriani (Soprano), Ida Farina (Soprano), Angelo Mercuriali (Tenor), Francesco Molinari-Pradelli
Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Coro del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma℗ 1988 - Debussy • Estampes L 108 (100) • 1. Pagodes
- Ravel • Shéhérazade M 41 (1903) • 1. AsieShéhérazade M 41 (1903)
1. AsieAnne Sofie von Otter (Mezzo-soprano), Pierre Boulez
The Cleveland Orchestra℗ 2002 - Holst • Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda op. 26/3 H. 99 (1910) • 4. Hymn of the TravellersChoral Hymns from the Rig Veda op. 26/3 H. 99 (1910)
4. Hymn of the TravellersPurcell Singers
Osian Ellis (Harp)℗ 2001 - Cage • Sonatas and Interludes (1946-1948) • Sonata No. 5
- Shankar • Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra (1971) • III. Rāga AdanāConcerto for Sitar and Orchestra (1971)
III. Rāga AdanāRavi Shankar (Sitar), Terence Emery (Drums), André Previn
London Symphony Orchestra℗ 1998 - Takemitsu • Aki (Autumn) for Biwa, Shakuhachi and Orchestra (1973)Aki (Autumn) for Biwa, Shakuhachi and Orchestra (1973)Kinshi Tsuruta (Biwa), Katsuya Yokoyama (Shakuhachi)℗ 1977
- Yoshimatsu • 'White Landscapes' for Flute, Harp, Violoncello and String Orchestra op. 47a • I. Divination by Snow. Adagio'White Landscapes' for Flute, Harp, Violoncello and String Orchestra op. 47a
I. Divination by Snow. AdagioJohn Barrow (Flute), Kate Wilson (Harp), Jonathan Price (Violoncello), Sachio Fujioka
Manchester CamerataMay 1998, Manchester, New Broadcasting House, Manchester - Tavener • Dhyāna (2007)Dhyāna (2007)Nicola Benedetti (Violin), Andrew Litton
London Philharmonic Orchestra℗ 2007
The exchange of cultural ideas, transcending borders and beliefs, is a natural and wonderful process for any artist, enriching the scope of their own musical language. For Western composers, whole new worlds of melody, harmony and sonority have opened up as they have explored other cultures, often adding to their music a new sense of spirituality or sensuality.
This process is not without its problems, however: in the 21st century we are increasingly aware of the implications of "cultural appropriation" and the lack of respect that can suggest. Certainly, the Western world has been guilty of plundering the riches of anything regarded as "other", and has sometimes done so with a lack of care or attention to detail which today would be considered offensive. Generalised terms such as Turquerie, Chinoiserie and Orientalism suggest an absence of in-depth understanding of the wealth of cultures found under those umbrella terms. With greater travel and technology comes greater knowledge, and by the 20th century composers were exploring in more detail the instrumental sonorities and rhythmic and melodic devices used in an array of non-Western contexts.
Our playlist begins with a number of works which reflect the 18th-century trend for mimicking Turkish styles, a fashion which developed in response to the political machinations of the Ottoman Empire. Turkish culture, fermenting in the Ottoman melting pot where East meets West, represented all that was exotic – even vulgar – to parochial Western ears. The musical responses can be a little stereotypical in their depictions of Turkish style, but with an undeniable energy and raucousness that feels refreshing in the context of Baroque and Classical formality. Vivaldi's opera 'Bazajet' (a topic also chosen by Handel in his opera, 'Tamerlano') was about an Ottoman Sultan. Mozart famously drew upon Turkish culture in his opera, 'The Escape from the Seraglio', and in his 'Rondo alla Turca' – a type of piece also composed by Hummel. Beethoven, too, enjoyed the trend, using Turkish music in his Ninth Symphony and, heard here, in his incidental music to the play 'The Ruins of Athens'.
In the 19th century, horizons broadened. Arabic styles were emulated in music by the Russian Five (we hear from Borodin and Balakirev) and by the likes of Elgar. In the 20th century, Ravel (like Rimsky Korsakov before him) was inspired by the tale of Sheherazade and the Arabian Nights.
Javanese gamelan had an electrifying effect on Debussy when he first heard it at the Paris Exposition of 1889, and 'Pagodes' is just one of his musical responses to that unique sonority. Britten was similarly struck by Balinese gamelan, which is evoked in his ballet, 'The Prince of the Pagodas'. Britten was also inspired by Japanese 'noh' theatre when writing his chamber operas; we hear from two Japanese composers, Tōru Takemitsu (who felt empowered by John Cage’s adoption of Eastern styles to embrace his own Japanese roots) and contemporary composer Takashi Yoshimatsu. Chinese culture has had a wide-ranging impact on many of the composers featured on this playlist, and proved particularly inspirational to Puccini when he wrote 'Turandot', a story with Persian roots but set in ancient China, blending elements of Chinese musical styles with Puccini's own.
Indian culture captivated Holst, who set texts from the Sanskrit Rig Veda for female chorus. Messiaen, too, was deeply indebted to Indian rhythmic organisation, adopting it into his own 'additive rhythms' in many of his works, such as the Hindu rhythms used in 'Cantéyodjayâ'. The great sitar master Ravi Shankar composed numerous pieces which would bring the sitar into the Western concert hall, while John Cage was deeply influenced by the philosophy and music of numerous Eastern cultures; his Sonatas and Interludes were written after he was introduced to Indian philosophy. John Tavener also embraced an array of non-Western cultures; 'Dhyāna', dating from 2007, comes from the Sanskrit word for "meditation".