cahn | Frederick the Great, discussion post 14

cahn

Check out the opera clips at Rheinsberg!

(both the real-life place, which

selenak found out hosts a festival for young opera singers! and the community

rheinsberg)

Also! our fandom has been producing lovely fic at a rapid clip (okay, well,

selenak has):

Sibling dysfunction: Promises to Keep and My Brother Narcissus

Sibling dysfunction PLUS sibling M/M love triangle: The moon flies face to face with me

VOLTAIRE! Between the hour and the age

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

selenak

Stop the presses, I've come across some more stuff I like: Abscheulicher...Komm Hoffnung", Leonore's big act 1 aria from Beethoven's Fidelio for MT for Silesia. We could post this as a reply to Fritz' Vasco da Gama aria. It does go from expressing disgust at the villain to being desperate to being steely resolute and having hope to accomplish her goal regardless, so it covers the right emotional beats, and we can move the Agrippina song to the 7 years war. Speaking of which, I would suggest the dance of the Knights by Prokoviev as an instrumental piece for the 7 Years War,and In the Hall of the Mountain King by Crieg from "Peer Gynt" for Fritz growing up from child to youth in the Prussia of FW. (It starts deceptively light hearted and then changes the signature theme to downright demonic.) (Also of course Fritz Lang used it in his movie M which is the first great sound movie set in Berlin, so.)

I think we now have enough to make a preliminary list and exclude what we don't want. Your judgment is called for! I can't do the neat graphics like Mildred, so:

Introduction - Wilhelmine's concerto

Wilhelmine and Fritz: "Brüderlein komm tanz mit mir" from Hänsel and Gretel

From childhood to adolescence with FW as dad: In the Hall of the Mountain King

Fritz/Katte: Don Carlos

FW in 1730: Oh wie will ich triumphieren! (Mozart, Entführung)

Fritz and the rising attraction of power (also Fritz and Eugene): Macbeth and Banquo duet from "Macbeth"

1740! Several:

Fritz/Silesia: Vasco da Gama's "Oh paradis!"

Ensemble/Prussians: "Guerra!" (from Aida)

MT: Leonore's aria from "Fidelio"

Peacetime/Fritz as patron and musician: BWv 1079 from Bach's "Das Musikalische Opfer"

(Optional, just that it amuses me: it did occur to me that Fritz putting Heinrich in the military and being on his case in the 1740s offers a great opportunity for Figaro's "Non piu andrai, farfallone amoroso" to Cherubino.)

Fritz/Fredersdorf: Du repos voici L'heure

The Divine Trio: Jaj Maman Bruderherz

Reconciled Fritz and Wilhelmine: "Ah! Perdona al primo Affeto!"

(BTW: for their argument, the Amonasro/Aida duet from "Aida" would be perfect - it has all the right emotional beats, from first harmony, then argument, then he explodes, then she submits and they're reconciled again, plus it's a fantastic baritone/soprano combination - but there's too much "padre" and "mi figlia" in it, lyrics-wise, and of course the rest of the lyrics don't fit at all, either, other than him accusing her of betraying him and the country mid argument.)

Voltaire/Fritz implosion: "Se vuol ballare signor contino", from Figaro

7 Years War:

MT: Agrippina aria

Fritz: Jago's Credo from "Othello"

The War: Dance of the Knights by Prokoviev

(Optional: this aria sung by Ezio from Verdi's "Attila" for Heinrich in the war.)

Fritz, the later years: Vesti la guiabba from "Pagliaci"

Fritz, grieving his dead: Solveig's Song, instrumental version or Solveig's Song, sung version by Edvard Crieg.

Conclusion and death: Bach, Thema Regium.

What do you think?

From:

mildred_of_midgard

I can't do the neat graphics like Mildred, so:

Yay, I unexpectedly have something to contribute! Let me know when the final playlist is ready to go up on

rheinsberg, and I'm happy to do the formatting and post it.

I'm a database administrator; I organize data into tables. It's what I do. Fritz versified compulsively, and I put data in tables!

From:

selenak

Thank you kindly! The list is mailed to you. I'm especially proud of the fact I found a good "Piu andrai" with English subtitles. Read them and tell me this is not what Fritz is thinking in My Brother Narcissus! :)

From:

mildred_of_midgard

Oooh, yes! That's perfect!

I will format the list and post it. :)

One leeeetle question, feel free to say no, but...I see we have a Wilhelmine composition (yay), but I don't see a Fritz composition. I know his aren't highly thought of, but especially for visitors to

rheinsberg who might not know 1) that he did compose, 2) that some performances of his compositions are available on YouTube, would it be worth adding a short piece of his, if a suitable one can be found?

From:

selenak

Okay, the problem here is that the only two positions you could switch are either Wilhelmine‘s piece right at the start, or the Bach, and I‘m not losing the Bach. Not just because good old JBS outclasses both of our siblings as a composer by miles but because his pieces are way more interesting to listen to.

Now, about those pieces by Fritz which are on YouTube: there are only two suitable ones in terms of sheer lenght, because the others are all 12 or 14 minutes minimum. Now, the shorter pieces are these:

https://youtu.be/qxAhrXosXp4

The Allegro from Flute Concerto in C Major . This is the most famous piece, actually - not least because it‘s a showcase for flutists - and if anyone knows anything by Fritz, it‘s this one. It‘s used on the audiobook of his and Wilhelmine‘s correspondance, for example. The reason why I didn‘t pick it or the next one, a bit from the Symphony in D:

https://youtu.be/GjNesTvOz84 Symphony in D

Is that they‘re both way too cheerful. Wilhelmine‘s bit is also celebratory but has some darker strains in it. The relentless cheeriness of both is also why we couldn‘t place one of them elsewhere in the list in addition to what we already have. Like I said, it could only otherwise replace the first Bach to show Fritz as musician and patron, and JBS trumps FvH here.

Bascially: we can start off the classical playlist with Fritz‘ flute showcase, but then Wilhelmine‘s bit has to go. I‘m good with that, if you want, and Fritz is of course the main character here. Cahn? Your opinion?

BTW, the comments under the various vids are mostly from modern (P)Russian Pete‘s. One in one of the longer ones calls Fritz a role model in almost every aspect of life. Really.

From:

mildred_of_midgard

With the caveat that I am the Jon Snow of music and know nothing, Sonata in E Minor for flute and b.c. is only very slightly longer than the Fritz/Katte piece(s), at 8:45, and is at least less relentlessly cheerful?

Though I like the idea of including both the siblings and would hate to lose Wilhelmine. Why can't we showcase both the siblings as composers? Or have Fritz as a bonus track at the end? I almost did that with the rap battle, put a "Hey, this doesn't really fit with the rest, but it's obligatory because it's about Fritz?" entry outside the table under "Bonus: [Explicitly Fritz piece that doesn't fit goes here]." We could have a "Btw, Fritz composed too, here's a sample" bonus track outside the main playlist.

Thoughts?

BTW, the comments under the various vids are mostly from modern (P)Russian Pete‘s. One in one of the longer ones calls Fritz a role model in almost every aspect of life. Really.

Remember when Fritz said the Russian soldiers were reading his poetry, and he commented wryly that it was probably only in Russia that he was taken for a good French poet? The only people listening to his music on YouTube are the people who are there for Fritz the Role Model, not for the music. Otherwise they'd be listening to Bach. :P

From:

selenak

True, that one is more sombre. But I love the idea of a bonus track. Most concerts do an encore, after all! In which case I‘d still pick the Allegro, the rap of the Rococo age. :)

From:

mildred_of_midgard

Bonus track it is! I'll adjust the other playlist to turn the rap battle into a matching bonus track, then.

From:

mildred_of_midgard

In the meantime, please check this version for errors or changes you wish to make. I will post when you approve:

ETA: Ugh, we're too deep in this thread; it's forcing a horizontal scroll. Reposting elsewhere.

Son of ETA: Table deleted and reposted here.

Edited Date: 2020-04-20 07:59 pm (UTC)

From:

cahn

I love it!! The entire playlist, but I especially love that Fidelio aria for MT :D (The thing about the Queen of the Night aria that always gets me is the part where she threatens to reject her daughter, and that aspect of it sort of eclipses everything else about the aria for me. It's a me thing :P ) And I like the Prokofiev and Grieg!

(Optional, just that it amuses me: it did occur to me that Fritz putting Heinrich in the military and being on his case in the 1740s offers a great opportunity for Figaro's "Non piu andrai, farfallone amoroso" to Cherubino.)

LOLOLOLOLOL that very much amuses me too :D

The Attila/Pagliacci/Solveig's Song are awesome too <3

I think we have a winning playlist here!

From:

selenak

Okay, then, before I compile the links and send them to Mildred to format properly,do you prefer Solveig's song instrumental or sung?

From:

cahn

Oh, sung definitely! <3

(I forgot to say, I also love about that link how she walks in after they've started playing, and some of the musicians are staring at her --sort of heightenes the mood.)