Schubert also
established song cycles, a group of songs created to stand individually but be performed in a
sequence as a unit. Die schöne Müllerin, Winterreise
and Schwanengesang are renowned examples of his
song cycle work, the later being his last, posthumous collection of songs. Song
cycles still exist today but arguably the most modern use of the genre is in
the concept album. Like Schubert’s song cycles these albums are designed by its
composers to be played in a specific order, often to tell a story. Whilst these
songs can be heard individually, and arguably thanks to the release of singles
they are heard on an individual basis more than classical works, this work is
best enjoyed as a whole. Albums such as The Wall by Pink Floyd and The Black
Parade by My Chemical Romance were even toured as a whole by the bands in
questions. When seeing My Chemical Romance on The Black Parade World Tour in 2007
they played two sets, one containing the complete album performed in order and
an encore of older songs. In principal the first set was no different to
Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin being performed in Viennna
in 1856. Except that first public performance from Julius Christian Stockhausen probably
didn’t include the marching band uniforms, confetti, cannons and pyrotechnics that My
Chemical Romance had.
Even though
the theatrics and presentation of music may have changed, most modern music shares
its themes with classical. Schubert, Puccini and Ravel all wrote
about love and trying to get to grips with life. The biggest selling songs of last
year, which came from the likes of Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and Ella Henderson all
share this theme. These modern day artists, especially Ed Sheeran, are famous
for putting across all their inner thoughts and emotions in songs. Arguably one
of the earliest examples of a musician doing this was Beethoven. Whilst Beethoven
made this connection using instrumental pieces and the element of Ed Sheeran’s
work that most connect with is his lyrics, they have both created music with fervour and
a desire to be true to themselves. Beethoven once said that “to play a wrong
note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable”. Ed Sheeran is
recently quoted as saying, “I can’t tell you the key to success, but the key to
failure is trying to please everyone”. Whilst these quotes are about two
different subjects, they show that the enthusiasm and honesty that made
classical composers popular with audiences are attributes that continue to be
seen in many modern artists.
Many
classical musicians have written compositions in the form of variations on a theme by
another composer. Beethoven, Hahn and Herzogenberg for example all created variations based
on work by Mozart. The modern day equivalent of this is arguably sampling, the
act of taking a section (or sample) of a piece of music and reusing it in a
different song. The modern influence and love of classical music can be seen in
the number of songs that sample classical pieces. To use Mozart as an example again, Massive Attack, David Bowie and Clean
Bandit have sampled his music in songs. There are countless other examples,
including many surprising connections including pop group S Club 7 reworking Fauré's Pavane and hip hop
artist Nas sampling Für Elise by Beeethoven.
The line between classical music and modern music is one that has always
intrigued me. There are many people that feel they should be separate and you
could of course argue that the similarities that Beethoven and Ed Sheeran have
in their approach to music isn’t necessarily a result of the later being
directly influenced by classical music but more a representation of the passion
you need to succeed. However in my opinion music is influenced by a number of
factors including culture and history. Classical music has had a big impact on
both of these and without it the musical landscape we have today would, in my
opinion, be drastically different.
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