STARTING POINT

July 31, 2024

STARTING POINT

"Baroque music to me, it could very well be the starting point of which, even after all this time; a beautiful storm has not stop."

Hello again,

THE BAROQUE

Baroque music is the closest to my heart than any other style of music. The ingenuity and the complexity, made the baroque music one of the most interesting and beautiful to listen to. From simple keyboard works to big Opera productions, the Baroque period extends its influence to this day, it lasted from around 1600 to 1750. One of the longest periods of music so far in history.

A whole century and a half full of music, much of it, understandably, remains unexplored. I compare the baroque period to the oceans. They say scientist know more about the planets and the stars than they know about the vast concentration of salt water in our planet. I dare say, with this perspective, it is a fair comparison.

GRAUPNER

Christoph Graupner lived in this exciting time, born in January 13th 1683, he was a very prolific composer, celebrated for his passion and love for music; why not then, take advantage of his wonderful compositions and be inspire. One can learn a lot about the character of the composer by listening to their original works, even without over analyzing the music.

The piano part of this duet, was indeed, inspired by "Intrada", a piano piece by Graupner, taken from the book: Easy Classics to Moderns Vol 17, a book that brings so many good memories. The baroque section of the book has trigger the impulse of wanting to go back 300 years to the starting point_ and touch the genius, in this case, of C. Graupner.

COPIED, USED OR BORROWED

When I composed this duet, I wanted to create an honest sound, vivid and real, with an infuse of contemporary pop sounding chords and patterns, the result is a delicate and truly emotional piece that has become a favorite. The melody of Intrada made it fairly easy for me to decided the direction of my own composition.

Baroque composers, certainly, copied the melodies of other musicians, a common practice that did not have any legal repercussions, in fact, it is my understanding that composers felt a great honor if someone copied, used or borrowed melodies to be included in new works. Handle for his part, was well known for recycled his own works, to be included and be transformed into new music.

Pop contemporary artist had borrowed complete classical melody lines in their recordings, sometimes partially, sometimes just discreetly modified. Although, classical music is in the Public Domain, anyone can use the work without obtaining permission, however, no one can ever own it.

AN INVITATION

According to Graupner's biography, he lived without much concern for posterity, he was a man of such humility that he requested all his music to be destroyed after his death. He died in the year 1760, and all his work has been kept, unfortunately most of it is not among the most popular baroque music.

I invite you to listen to the music of this great Baroque composer, a vast number of his compositions are available; go ahead, be adventurous and listen to something_ that perhaps for you_ it is completely unknown, step out of your comfort zone; I assure you, the smile in your face would be impossible to avoid.

Thanks for reading!

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