S2.E109 Schumann Fantasy Pieces for Cello and Piano, Poulenc Sonata for Four Hands, Finzi Eclogue, Tchaikovsky September - book-ended with Bach Prelude and Fugue BWV 532.

Welcome back to Perfect Pitch with Nick Healy Hutchinson and his fresh approach to the world of classical music. Whether you're an expert or a beginner, old or young. Perfect Pitch has something for everyone.

I think I may have rather rashly committed to try and edit the text which now accompanies every episode. That was before I realized that I spend far too much time talking, and I don't have any staff on hand to help me. So I'm afraid the status quo must continue for the moment until I find a solution. I hope that the bulk of the script, combined with what I say, will be sufficiently decipherable for now. I've had some lovely feedback recently, which is the biggest motivator for me invading your ears every couple of weeks. And I'm most grateful for it. Please do continue to use the links underneath the episode for referring perfect picture to others and entering the competition which closes at the end of the year. I should remind you once more that it might be worth putting your name in again if you think you've already done it. Because quite a few were not registered in the early days. Making the disclaimer up front that I'm neither a music scholar nor a musicologist enables me to indulge in my hunches without them being in any way based on a fact. So here's one right now. I cannot find any evidence to suggest that Bach was more at home composing in the minor key than the major. But somehow that's how so much of his music comes across to me. I'd actually go a step further and suggest that even the pieces he wrote in the major key can themselves come over to me anyway. And I completely accept that this might be a totally bonkers reaction and sounding as if they are also in the minor. The prelude opens majestically and toddles along cheerfully enough. You may even find your head rocking from left to right until out of nowhere. This is a calamitous chord, which you really cannot miss. We will start today with a prelude and conclude with a few at the end. Which I'm happy to tell you now is a right royal jubilant flourish, wholly devoid of avoidance and emphatically major throughout. But he made it clear that violin or cello was an equally acceptable option. The three short pieces range from introspective, to lighthearted, to outright exuberant. The moods are easy enough to detect, and you do not need my interference as a steal here. It's all in the delightful and perfectly crafted music. Long lines with introspection and increasingly shorter energetic rhythms from both canoe and cello. It's all a matter of personal preference, of course. But the expression in the cello is surely closer to the human voice than any other instrument. Which is why these pieces seem the same from start to finish. Prelude, Augustine, and Finale. In the same way that I recently said how Delius has a language belongs to him alone, so it is of Poulanc. The difference with a French composer, though, is that he's much more happy to draw on influences of other composers, in this case mostly contemporary. The prelude, for example, is a full of sort of things that be like rhythms and dissonances. But the style of Poulang, which one might simplistically describe as playful, means that none of these dissonances have agree to the ear. So while these movements may have their inspiration from others, as a whole, they really could only have been written by Poulang. Katya and Marielle Lebec share the piano. A letter received by Poolank in 1928 refers to Gerald Finzi as a bloody fool. So it's fair to assume that the two did not have much in common. But I've got time for them both. Finse's music, as we've heard in the past, is much more nostalgic in the style. And like Warren Williams, I think it's much of its inspiration for the English countryside. He did not complete the Canada Concerto for which is a charming piece, was intended to be very low movement. It's a dreamy dialogue between Canada and Dream, which builds to a climax in the middle of the piece before reverting back to its overall piece of it. Which is a popular channel chatting in the countryside. And that I think it would really summon this out very nicely. It's really good at stuff. Today's episode seems to have a roller piano keyboard episode to it. That wasn't delivered. September, which is titled The Hunter is interpreted here by Vladimir Askenazi. And you have drifted it off with a Finzie. This will rouse you from your slumbers. But this fuque, as I suggested at the beginning, does not fall into that category. It's utterly thrilling. As it's played on the organ, it has three parts to it. Not just the left and the right hand, but the feet as well. And it is here where the whole thing is really brought to life. The hands are on their own to start with. Then the pedals creep in. First quietly answering the hands and then gradually developing their own rhythms. As it builds a pedal action, it's absolutely rhythmic. And it's quite a phenomenal human achievement to be reading three lines all at once, as well as going in different colours on the organ as it's being played. So it's extraordinary straight up. And it's a speedy conclusion. I don't like the lightness of touch until it all opens up like this. Don't let anybody ever tell you that can't put a smile on your face. I wouldn't mind betting it. But you'll rewind those last few minutes and listen to them again. Please don't forget those links. I know every podcaster makes the same request, but I don't have a huge team behind me. So your input is greatly valued as and I thank as always for listening. And please get in touch with any comments or requests. Your thoughts are always welcome. I'm prepared and go on your way rejoicing. Aren't we incredibly lucky to have this? I'll be back in a couple of weeks.