Do modern composers use folk melodies?

Subject: RE: Do modern composers use folk melodies?
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Jul 02 - 05:55 PM

Escamillo has mentioned two great South American composers who use folk themes; unfortunately they are no longer living.
The violinist Gidon Kremer and a group of musicians including Horacio Ferrer released Piazzolla's masterpiece "Maria de Buenos Aires," a tango operita, on 2cds in 1998 with the complete libretto. A set of discs issued by Milan -BMG covers many of his performances with his Quinteto. I play them frequently.

Recently, I Musici de Montreal recorded Ginastera's Concerto for Strings on the Chandos label. His Estancia Suite, based in part on folk melodies, is, or should be, well-known.

Subject: RE: Do modern composers use folk melodies?
From: GUEST,Nerd
Date: 01 Jul 02 - 01:54 PM

Michael Nyman's famous theme from The Piano was really the traditional Scottish melody to Gloomy Winter's Noo Awa'.

Subject: RE: Do modern composers use folk melodies?
From: GUEST,Jason Herchall
Date: 01 Jul 02 - 01:23 PM

Thanks everyone

Some interesting stuff for me to investigate

Jason

Subject: RE: Do modern composers use folk melodies?
From: English Jon
Date: 01 Jul 02 - 12:49 PM

James Macmillan.

EJ

Subject: RE: Do modern composers use folk melodies?
From: Haruo
Date: 01 Jul 02 - 01:16 AM

There's definitely some South/Southeast Asian folk music underlying (and leaching up into) Lou Harrison's La Koro Sutro, in my opinion. (RealAudio segment)

Liland
who thinks Lou's probably the greatest living Esperantic composer

Subject: RE: Do modern composers use folk melodies?
From: Escamillo
Date: 01 Jul 02 - 12:11 AM

Argentinean composer Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) (http://members.tripod.com/~ostinato/ginasbio.html), one of the most respected musicians in South America, many times brought the folk melodies to the symphonic arena. His famous "Malambo" is based on a typical dance of the Pampas. In my humble opinion, the charm of folk melodies and rythms is based just in the concept of "keep it simple". When you replace guitars and drums with a full orchestra repeating an "ostinato" of a simple melody, it becomes boring to say the least. And people who are musically educated may think that our highest inspiration on classical music is to put 100 master musicians to play a folk fragment in all possible volumes and variations of tonality and atonality.

Ginastera is also author of many non-folk masterworks which are extremely valuable but unfortunately less known. That seems to be the case for many authors: once they are known for a popular or folk-based composition, the rest of their work fades in the dark. And the world knows us by the irritating Malambo.

A completely different approach is that or Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) (www.piazzolla.org) who is considered a revolutionary musician who took the tango and not only raised it to the heights of the most modern academic music, but also created a whole new tendency which is being followed by modern composers. In some aspect, I would (cautiously) compare his role with that of George Gershwin. Take a look at his webpage, you will surely find many interesting facts about a musician who made the miracle of taking the spirit of folk (*) and creating a new world of music.

Un abrazo - Andrés

(*)Argentine tango is an urban product of native folk, afro-american rythms and European harmonies, but is generally considered among folk roots, being indeed a matter of discussion.

Subject: RE: Do modern composers use folk melodies?
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 30 Jun 02 - 11:20 PM

Tan Dun, a Chinese composer based in the United States, wove folk melodies of China into his "Symphony 1997; Heaven, Earth, Mankind." In his composition, he used the huge set of bronze bells ,excavated from the tomb (433 B. C.) of Marquis Yi, known as a bianzhong, a legacy from 24 centuries ago. The instrument has a range of five octaves, each bell capable of sounding two pitches. The bells are designed to perform a twelve-tone chromatic scale within each of its five octaves. Decorated with gold inlay, the bells are perfectly preserved (From notes to the cd). The set was moved to Hong Kong for the celebration of the return of Hong Kong to China, and are included prominently in the symphony. Yo-Yo Ma was the featured cellist in the work. The Chinese folksong "Jasmine Flower," used by Puccini in Turandot, appears in the section "Heaven."

I am sure that folk songs will continue to be used by composers.

Subject: RE: Do modern composers use folk melodies?
From: Benjamin
Date: 30 Jun 02 - 10:47 PM

Copland is a great suggestion. Also, American composer Robert Beaser has. He's done arrangements of several folk tunes for flute and classical guitar as well as a compostion based on Shenendoh.
Although they're not modern (at least not for the most part), you might want to look into nationalist composers. They are composers who were greatly influenced by the music around them, especially the folk tunes.

Subject: RE: Do modern composers use folk melodies?
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Jun 02 - 10:35 PM

Aaron Copeland certainly did.

Subject: RE: Do modern composers use folk melodies?
From: katlaughing
Date: 30 Jun 02 - 09:40 PM

I've posted a couple of times about him, too:

The American composer, Roy Harris, did a beautiful piano suite of trad. tunes, including "Black is the colour of my true love's hair" and if I remember right, "Streets of Laredo". My brother studied privately with him.

katlaughing

Subject: RE: Do modern composers use folk melodies?
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 30 Jun 02 - 08:56 PM

You might be interested in my post about Roy Harris, here.

Subject: RE: Do modern composers use folk melodies?
From: Aodh
Date: 30 Jun 02 - 07:12 PM

I may be wrong on this! but a few years ago someone used Orcadian and Zeetland folk music as the basis to an entire symphany I just can't remember who or what it was called.

Also I know of a Gaelic bard that sets folk songs to Mozart's arias and Verdi's duets.

Aodh

Subject: Do modern composers use folk melodies?
From: GUEST,Jason Herchall
Date: 30 Jun 02 - 07:01 PM

Lots of 'classiclal' composers based compositions on folk melodies.

More recently, Vaughan Williams made great use of them.

Has the practice died out? Or am I listening to the wrong music?

(And no, I don't want to know about 'Simple Minds' and 'She moves through the fair' or such like)

Jason