From Wikipedia:
"Wadia Sabra was born in Ain el Jdideh and died in Beirut. He married Miss Adèle Misk in 1921 but had no children. He's buried in the Evangelical Cemetery in Sodeco Beirut.
As a composer, his music is characterized as a blend of Western and Eastern musical languages, incorporating the strengths and charms of both traditions. He is best known today as the composer of the Lebanese National Anthem, popularly known as Kulluna lil Watan (words by Rashid Nakhle), which was officially adopted by the Lebanese Government through a presidential decree on 12 July 1927.
He's considered the founding father of classical music in Lebanon.
After studying at the American University of Beirut, he left for Paris in 1892, with a scholarship from the French Embassy to study at the Conservatoire de Paris. He stayed for 7 years where he studied with the musicologist Albert Lavignac. He took a job as the principal organist of the Evangelical Church of the Holy Spirit. He then returned to Beirut, where he founded, in 1910, the first School of Music (Dar ul Musica). Despite having a great interest in the study of Western disciplines, Wadia Sabra was, during his first stay in Paris, the initiator of a new style in oriental music, particularly Lebanese. His conspicuous taste for research made him return to Paris, where he worked with the Pleyel studios to develop a "new unit of measurement", the "universal range", which he was going to present to the specialists in music during a Congress planned in Beirut, when death came by surprise on April 11, 1952.
Sabra who was the founder-administrator of "Dar ul Musica" had the satisfaction of seeing this School become “National"on 31 October 1925, which, in 1929, also grew to became the "National Conservatory ", which he was called to direct. Not only does his legacy include a keyboard with quarter-tone intervals, but also an appreciated - and discussed - work on "Arab music, basis of Western art", as well as a certain number of various works, including the Lebanese National Anthem. The National School of Music has been endowed with a Monthly Review, a sort of permanent link between this Institution, its students, and the first music lovers of Lebanon.
Most of Sabra's music was considered lost, and only a few examples of his work remained in the performance repertoire; however, since 2016, all his works have been found and archived at the Centre du patrimoine musical libanais [fr] (CMPL).
Wadia Sabra was in ruins after spending all his money on his work; hence, after many unsuccessful requests of grants and retirement pension to the Lebanese government, his wife, Mrs. Adèle Misk, went to live with her nephew Dr. Robert Misk. Moreover, the atmosphere between Adèle and their adoptive daughter Miss Badiha Ashkar had arrived to a point of no return, she decided to hide all her husband's works in a big blue trunk, La Malle Bleue. They remained there until 2016, when the Misk family gave it to the CPML for safe keeping.
Thanks to these precious archives, Mrs Zeina Saleh Kayali was able to write his full biography in 2018 in the collection "Figures musicales du Liban [archive]". éditions Geuthner (ISBN 978-2-7053-4002-5)
"Wadia Sabra was born in Ain el Jdideh and died in Beirut. He married Miss Adèle Misk in 1921 but had no children. He's buried in the Evangelical Cemetery in Sodeco Beirut.
As a composer, his music is characterized as a blend of Western and Eastern musical languages, incorporating the strengths and charms of both traditions. He is best known today as the composer of the Lebanese National Anthem, popularly known as Kulluna lil Watan (words by Rashid Nakhle), which was officially adopted by the Lebanese Government through a presidential decree on 12 July 1927.
He's considered the founding father of classical music in Lebanon.
After studying at the American University of Beirut, he left for Paris in 1892, with a scholarship from the French Embassy to study at the Conservatoire de Paris. He stayed for 7 years where he studied with the musicologist Albert Lavignac. He took a job as the principal organist of the Evangelical Church of the Holy Spirit. He then returned to Beirut, where he founded, in 1910, the first School of Music (Dar ul Musica). Despite having a great interest in the study of Western disciplines, Wadia Sabra was, during his first stay in Paris, the initiator of a new style in oriental music, particularly Lebanese. His conspicuous taste for research made him return to Paris, where he worked with the Pleyel studios to develop a "new unit of measurement", the "universal range", which he was going to present to the specialists in music during a Congress planned in Beirut, when death came by surprise on April 11, 1952.
Sabra who was the founder-administrator of "Dar ul Musica" had the satisfaction of seeing this School become “National"on 31 October 1925, which, in 1929, also grew to became the "National Conservatory ", which he was called to direct. Not only does his legacy include a keyboard with quarter-tone intervals, but also an appreciated - and discussed - work on "Arab music, basis of Western art", as well as a certain number of various works, including the Lebanese National Anthem. The National School of Music has been endowed with a Monthly Review, a sort of permanent link between this Institution, its students, and the first music lovers of Lebanon.
Most of Sabra's music was considered lost, and only a few examples of his work remained in the performance repertoire; however, since 2016, all his works have been found and archived at the Centre du patrimoine musical libanais [fr] (CMPL).
Wadia Sabra was in ruins after spending all his money on his work; hence, after many unsuccessful requests of grants and retirement pension to the Lebanese government, his wife, Mrs. Adèle Misk, went to live with her nephew Dr. Robert Misk. Moreover, the atmosphere between Adèle and their adoptive daughter Miss Badiha Ashkar had arrived to a point of no return, she decided to hide all her husband's works in a big blue trunk, La Malle Bleue. They remained there until 2016, when the Misk family gave it to the CPML for safe keeping.
Thanks to these precious archives, Mrs Zeina Saleh Kayali was able to write his full biography in 2018 in the collection "Figures musicales du Liban [archive]". éditions Geuthner (ISBN 978-2-7053-4002-5)
"Based on his Bußlied, Tannhäuser became the subject of a legendary account. It makes Tannhäuser a knight and poet who found the Venusberg, the subterranean home of Venus, and spent a year there worshipping the goddess. After leaving the Venusberg, Tannhäuser is filled with remorse, and travels to Rome to ask Pope Urban IV (reigned 1261–1264) if it is possible to be absolved of his sins. Urban replies that forgiveness is impossible, as much as it would be for his papal staff to blossom. Three days after Tannhäuser's departure, Urban's staff bloomed with flowers; messengers are sent to retrieve the knight, but he has already returned to Venusberg, never to be seen again."
"The Venusberg legend has been interpreted in terms of a Christianised version of the well-known folk-tale type of a mortal visiting the Otherworld: A human being seduced by an elf or fairy experiences the delights of the enchanted realm but later the longing for his earthly home is overwhelming. His desire is granted, but he is not happy (often noting that many years have passed in the world during his absence) and in the end returns to fairy-land."
Some of the information in these pictures is technical, aimed at the musicians in this chat, and some is general.
The text I'm posting is a very interesting excerpt from "A Geometry of Music" by Dmitri Tymoczko. While this isn't specifically related to classical music or history, it is generally related to the perspective we have toward music and, therefore, our way of listening to all music.
It should be a quick read, just a few minutes, but it could change the way you see music, especially since it is so common to teach music as a type of language. An inadequate tl;dr -- "What is important is not that you understand the magic trick, but that you feel the force of the illusion"
The text I'm posting is a very interesting excerpt from "A Geometry of Music" by Dmitri Tymoczko. While this isn't specifically related to classical music or history, it is generally related to the perspective we have toward music and, therefore, our way of listening to all music.
It should be a quick read, just a few minutes, but it could change the way you see music, especially since it is so common to teach music as a type of language. An inadequate tl;dr -- "What is important is not that you understand the magic trick, but that you feel the force of the illusion"
Apologies for the picture quality, it's from my phone camera.
The formulas at the top are incredibly useful for the practicing composer or improviser. Try them out and see for yourself, it's like a cheat code!
The formulas at the top are incredibly useful for the practicing composer or improviser. Try them out and see for yourself, it's like a cheat code!
Henryk Wieniawski (b. Lublin d. Moscow 1835 - 1880)
"His mother was a pianist and she took her son, in spite of advice to the contrary, to enter the Paris Conservatoire in 1843. Her faith in his talent was rewarded when he won the first violin prize and graduated when he was still only 11, an unprecedented Achievement.
He played his first concert in Paris in January 1848 and in St. Petersburg in March. He returned to the Paris Conservatoire for further study in 1849 and again won the first prize in 1850. After this, with his brother as accompanist, he toured Russia in 1851-3 and visited London in 1859. In 1860 he was official violinist to the Czar, taught in St. Petersburg, played in a famous string quartet and toured the USA with Antonin Rubenstein in 1872.
From 1877 he began to suffer from a heart condition which killed him in 1880 at the age of 44. He was considered to be one of the greatest violinists of the 19th century; and added to his reputation by writing a masterful Violin Concerto in D minor in the Hungarian manner, still much played, a Legend for violin and orchestra, and numerous other highly regarded works of a virtuosic nature."
"His mother was a pianist and she took her son, in spite of advice to the contrary, to enter the Paris Conservatoire in 1843. Her faith in his talent was rewarded when he won the first violin prize and graduated when he was still only 11, an unprecedented Achievement.
He played his first concert in Paris in January 1848 and in St. Petersburg in March. He returned to the Paris Conservatoire for further study in 1849 and again won the first prize in 1850. After this, with his brother as accompanist, he toured Russia in 1851-3 and visited London in 1859. In 1860 he was official violinist to the Czar, taught in St. Petersburg, played in a famous string quartet and toured the USA with Antonin Rubenstein in 1872.
From 1877 he began to suffer from a heart condition which killed him in 1880 at the age of 44. He was considered to be one of the greatest violinists of the 19th century; and added to his reputation by writing a masterful Violin Concerto in D minor in the Hungarian manner, still much played, a Legend for violin and orchestra, and numerous other highly regarded works of a virtuosic nature."
When people think of classical music, they usually think of Bach or Mozart or Beethoven, but there were others making music before them and alongside them that don't get the same prestige. We categorize them as "folk" music or something like this, yet they inspire and are often directly responsible for many of the forms of classical music and the inspiration that drove the great composers, like Bartok. They will always be the essence that classical music built on, the songs of the people, the true spirit of a culture, the religious music and the secular "folk" music.