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Opus One: A Reader's Guide

Ryan Sylander

Spoiler-free Appendix

This appendix includes most of the the video links from the main Guide, with the descriptive text removed to avoid spoilers. This section is appropriate to refer to while reading the story for the first time. Note that some of the links here point to music that is only mentioned in passing in the story. There is a character list at the end of this page.

When you are finished with the story you may wish to check out the main part of the Guide, which has some background on the story and additional musical samples. It also has more details on how some of the sections of these pieces match up with specific moments in the story (not always possible here without including spoilers).

Disclaimer One: This document contains links to videos of performances of the music described in Opus One. These performances are by real people, while the story is about fictional characters. No similarity of these real performers with characters in the story is implied in anyway, except that they are playing the same piece of music. The point of these links is to allow you to hear some of the music; it is not to suggest that the performers in the video were the basis for a character or a scene, nor should the videos be used as a representation of the characters' attributes. The videos are freely available on the web, and my links to them are a one-way connection. Please respect this fact.

Disclaimer Two: Regarding making recommendations about musical recordings and artists, I want to state that I have no financial interest in any of the recommended items. This document is not a commercial.

Act I: Chapters 1 through 8

Chapter 1: Praeludium

-Praeludium is an alternative for Prelude, and is commonly used in Baroque music. Often it is a piece that starts out a work, so it's appropriate for the first chapter.

Chapter 2: Offertory

-Offertory is a text used in some settings of a mass or requiem.

Après un lecture du Dante, by Franz Liszt, from the Années de Pèlerinage suites, the seventh piece of Volume Two (Italy). Also informally known as the Dante Sonata.

M. Scalafiotti:

A. Brendel's version (not my favorite Liszt interpreter; he has some commentary at the beginning about the piece):

Chapter 3: Scherzo

-Scherzo is Italian for joke. It usually denotes a sprightly and sometimes lighthearted musical movement or piece.

The artwork in the museum is:

Chapter 4: Trio

-Trio is a piece for three instruments or voices, naturally. Sometimes it can come in the middle of a Scherzo (which was the previous chapter title).

Some non-classical selections in this chapter:

The song is from the brilliant album The Downward Spiral.

Jacques Loussier is a pianist who plays classical pieces in a jazz trio setting. His arrangements of Bach are really neat. Here are the videos of his version of J. S. Bach's Italian Concerto. I really love the second movement (start of the second video).

He's been at it for almost fifty years now, starting with a series of albums on Decca called Play Bach No. 1 through No. 5.

Chapter 5: Sonata

-A sonata is a classical musical structure, traditionally for solo instrument or small ensemble. Usually in three or four movements.

Suor Angelica, by G. Puccini. Here are three classic sopranos singing the aria Senza Mamma:

More scenes can be found using search.

Rigoletto, by Giuseppe Verdi.

Chapter 6: Intermezzo

-Intermezzo is a movement which goes between others, or also a character piece.

Utrus Horas by Orchestra Baobab (the Cuban background music). They're actually a Senegalese band, but it's a Cuban based rhythm, with some killer guitar work over it.

Their 1982 album Pirate's Choice is really nice.

Chapter 7: Theme and Variations

-Theme and Variations is a compositional structure. It consists of a single melody, which is then developed, usually by changing texture, rhythm, mode or instrumentation (for ensemble pieces).

Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 30, Opus 109. Here's a version of the complete sonata by R. Serkin. The third movement (theme and variations) starts at 1:55 of the second video.

Another version by D. Biran is here:

Henryk Gorecki's Symphony No. 3 (1976).

The most popular recording of this piece, by far, is the one with Zinman and Upshaw, easily found just about anywhere.

Chapter 8: Allegro

-Allegro means happy or cheerful in Italian. It can be used as an indication for music which is not happy, so generally it is taken to mean fast and lively.

Act II: Chapters 9 through 18

Chapter 9: Gigue

-A gigue is a dance movement from the baroque time, originating from the jig. Usually lively, and based on groups of three notes (usually).

Chapter 10: Courante

-Courante is another baroque dance movement. Generally a lively dance in triple meter, since it's French for "running."

Chapter 11: Andante

-Andante means 'going' or 'walking' in Italian, so in music it is used to indicate a moderate tempo: not too fast, not too slow.

Chapter 12: Sarabande

-Sarabande is another dance movement from the Baroque time. Also in triple meter and slower. Like a late summer afternoon by the lake.

Chapter 13: Quartet

-A quartet is a piece for four instruments or parts.

Depuis le Jour, from the third act of the opera Louise by Gustave Charpentier.

Chapter 14: Duets

-A duet is a piece for two instruments or parts.

Chapter 15: Mit inniger Empfindung

-This is German, meaning 'With deep feeling, ' or 'With heartfelt feeling.'

Violin Concerto, by J. Sibelius.

C. Ferras playing the violin, from 1965:

Here's another nice version by D. Oistrakh, from 1966:

Symphony No. 3 by Beethoven.

H. von Karajan conducts:

Chapter 16: Langsam

-Langsam is German for 'slow.'

Etude Opus Ten No. One, by F. Chopin.

Samples of the Serenade are in the next section.

Chapter 17: Serenade

-A piece written in someone's honor, usually in multiple movements.

There are six of the eight parts of Britten's Serenade available online at the time of writing.

Chapter 18: INTERMISSION

-A break, at last!

Act III: Chapters 19 through 27

Chapter 19: Mazurka

-A mazurka is a Polish folk dance in triple meter. Chopin wrote many for the piano.

Etude Opus 25 No. 10, by F. Chopin is based around octaves. On a piano, the two keys that form an octave are 6.5 inches / 16cm apart. Easiest played with thumb and pinky, but if you also use your ring finger on alternating notes, the top notes of a series of octaves can be played smoother than if you just use the pinky each time. (Think of it as walking on two legs, as opposed to hopping on one.)

There's a video of this etude from overhead which shows this technique. In the first section, the ring finger is mostly used for black keys, while the pinky is mostly used on the whites. Later, during the more lyrical part, it's more mixed in usage. There is a slight mismatch in audio and video, but still worth a look if you want to see the technical aspect I describe.

Chapter 20: Passacaglia

-A passacaglia is a slow piece which works with a repeated bass pattern or chord progression.

Chapter 21: Canon

-A canon is a piece with a melody that is repeated or echoed soon after the start of the melody, so that the repetitions sounds against each other.

Chapter 22: Traurig

-German for sad.

Chapter 23: Moderato

-The Italian musical indication for moderately paced.

Chapter 24: Ballet en Cinq Mouvements

-Ballet in Five Movements.

Prelude Opus 45, by F. Chopin.

Roanoke is a classic twin fiddle number.

Love the ending: "Boy, you can't beat that kind of music with a stick, now, I don't care what you say..." Many a classical violinist or bass player has tried to play bluegrass and failed (and vice versa, of course).

Chapter 25: Hymn

-A hymn is a song of praise.

Chapter 26: Rhapsody

-A rhapsody is a loosely structured piece which often gives the impression of being improvised.

Turandot, by G. Puccini. The most famous aria is Nessun Dorma, most famously sung by Pavarotti on the most famous Three Tenors album. Do a search on "pavarotti nessun dorma" and you'll find 623 videos on YouTube. Throw in other tenors, and it's more than a few results. I'm not going to sort through that to recommend one!

Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2.

The piece has also been used in two famous 1946 cartoons: Tom and Jerry, and a Bugs Bunny Episode.

They didn't mess around at MGM back then: unlike the Bugs video, the notes Tom is drawn as playing are actually right! Well, in the beginning part anyway...

Finally, the musical comedian V. Borge used the piece in one of his skits.

Chapter 27: Romanza

-A sentimental and tender piece of music.

Act IV: Chapters 28 through 35

Chapter 28: Interlude

-An interlude is a piece of music joining two larger sections.

Sonata for Horn in F and Piano by Paul Hindemith. At time of writing, no performances exist on YouTube. Even most of the CDs containing this piece that are for sale on Amazon don't have samples, but the one below does. A thirty second excerpt is pretty useless, but it can give you a flavor of the music, at least.

If you have access to iTunes, there are some versions on there, also with samples.

That's Invention number one. From the 'Related Videos' window you can listen to the others (fifteen in all).

Chapter 29: Rondo

-A rondo is a compositional form which involves repeated returns to the theme.

Chapter 30: Recitative and Aria

-A recitative is a section of an opera where the singer delivers the text in a somewhat loose fashion, and is often followed by an aria, which is a sung melody. The recitative can be spoken or sung, but generally avoids regular phrasing and rhythm (leaving that to the aria). Best to look at the example below, to understand!

Taken from W. A. Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte.

Elektra, an opera by R. Strauss.

There are a couple of videos of a production at the Met from 1994. H. Behrens in the lead role = Awesome.

Romeo and Juliet, a ballet by S. Prokofiev.

Neumeier's choreographic version is not online, being quite difficult to find even on tape or DVD. Among the best, and well represented on YouTube is the y2k version at La Scala with A. Ferri and A. Corella, using Sir K. MacMillan's choreography. Simply amazing dancing.

Ferri is also on an earlier version of the ballet from 1984, with Wayne Eagling as Romeo (excerpts are also on YouTube if you search 'eagling ferri romeo'). There's something to take from both, but I still come back to the 2000 version. She just got better with age.

Chapter 31: Lacrimosa

-The lacrimosa is part of the text for the Requiem. Text and translation available at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacrimosa_(Requiem)

Chapter 32: Schwer betont

-This is a section of Verklaerte Nacht, meaning 'heavily accented' in German.

Verklaerte Nacht (or Verklärte Nacht or Transfigured Night) is a piece by Arnold Schoenberg (or Schönberg) that exists in two forms. The original (from 1899) is for a string sextet (two violins, two violas, and two cellos), and later versions (1917 and 1943) were made for full string orchestra (including basses). The piece is based on a poem by R. Dehmel from 1896, which is about a woman who is pregnant with a stranger's child, and her confession about it to her new lover. He wishes for her to keep the child.

The other German indications in the scene are Sehr breit (very broad) and Sehr ruhig (very peaceful).

There are four complete versions of the piece on YT at time of writing. Only one is a version for orchestra, but it appears to be a camcorder recording and has mediocre sound quality. The best in terms of performance and sound quality, for me, is a sextet version. I'll offer both and you can explore.

First, the version of the piece played by an orchestra.

The Schwer betont section begins at 3:00, and ends at 5:10. The Sehr breit section starts at 5:10. Violin solo is at 6:57.

Here is a nice version played by string sextet, with the words of the poem scrolling on screen (for better or for worse... ):

Schwer betont at 2:02. Sehr breit at 4:09. Violin solo at 6:00.

Other versions:

In this excerpt, the music starts at Sehr breit. Violin solo is at 2:09. This video stops about five minutes before the end of the piece.

Chapter 33: 104' 33"

Details of this chapter title are found in part 4

Auf Ein Altes Bild, by Hugo Wolf. It means 'In an Old Picture' or 'In an Old Painting.'

Verborgenheit, by Hugo Wolf. It means 'Seclusion.' Selection on YouTube is also limited.

Das verlassene Maegdlein, by Hugo Wolf. It means 'The Abandoned Maiden.'

Morgen!, by Richard Strauss. It means "Tomorrow.' As opposed to the Wolf songs, which were written for voice and piano, Morgen! was written for voice and orchestra.

Etudes, by F. Chopin. Here are versions by M. Pollini:

The Britten Serenade was outlined in the section on Chapter 17. I repeat those links here for convenience:

Chapter 34: Nocturne

-A nocturne is an expressive piece that evokes the night.

Violin Sonata in G minor, by J. S. Bach.

The other three movements:

Largo from F. Chopin's Piano Sonata in B minor. Here are two versions:

Chapter 35: Finale — Langsam. Ruhevoll. Empfunden.

-This is the indication for the last movement of Mahler's Third Symphony. The German translates to 'Slow. Peaceful. Deeply felt.'

Second Partita, by J. S. Bach.

The fifth movement is the14 minute Chaconne, by N. Milstein, one of the great interpreters of this piece. Here is a live version of him playing it:

Violin Concerto, by P. I. Tchaikovsky.

A performance from 1980 by S. Marcovici:

Another brilliant interpretation, by D. Oistrakh:

Symphony No. 5, by D. Shostakovich.

Here's a complete version of the symphony, by M. Tilson-Thomas:

Symphony No. 3, by G. Mahler.

There's a superb version by C. Abbado, of which the last three movements are online. (I recommend listening through these videos if you have forty minutes: skipping to the last video to hear the ending will have less effect):

List of Characters

Note: WCM is the Wexford Conservatory of Music

Main Characters with Family:

Riccardo (Richard) Mazzini - Pianist, first year student at WCM
Angelina Mazzini - Richard's mother, part time office worker
Vittorio Mazzini - Richard's father, house painter
Maria Tedeschi - Vittorio's sister in Italy
Marco Tedeschi - Maria's husband, deceased

Sandra d'Arcy - Soprano, first year student at WCM
Yolande d'Arcy - Sandra's mother, farmer
Robert d'Arcy - Sandra's father, farmer

Emily Rathbourne - French horn player, first year student at WCM
Elizabeth Rathbourne - Emily's mother, violinist, deceased
Clark Rathbourne - Emily's father, conductor

Friends, Lovers, Mentors, and Enemies:

Jeremy (Jer) Ascher - Bass player, first year student at WCM, Richard's freshman year roommate

Jenna Bailey - Violist, second year student at WCM, Jer's girlfriend

Joel Brent - French horn player, fourth year student at Wexford, Emily's first serious boyfriend

Joey Butkus - Resident Hall Director at WCM

Allison Campbell - Visitor from Australia, biologist, flautist

Dr. Eugene Dobra - Music theory head at WCM

Mark Friedman - Cellist, fourth year student at WCM

Big Ed Frost - Bass player and shop owner in Sandra's home town

Kyle Gerigan - Sandra's childhood friend
Tim Gerigan - Kyle's father, farmer, and fiddle player

Jarrett Holmes - Record producer

Billy Jackson - Sandra's childhood friend and high school boyfriend

Dr. Carl Jensen - President of WCM

William Landman - Pianist, student of Mr. Schatten in New York, friend of Richard's

Audrey Mallet - Clark Rathbourne's assistant

Gary Menlos - Conducting teacher at WCM

Arlene Palmer - Pianist at Juilliard, and Richard's girlfriend in high school

Jeff Rafferty - Violinist, Masters student at Wexford

Mr. Schatten - Richard's piano teacher in high school
Marissa - his wife, cellist

Dave Stanley - Audio Recording head at WCM

Irina Tertychnaya - Richard's piano teacher at WCM
Harvey Mitchell - Irina's husband, artist
Viktoriya Tertychnaya - Irina's daughter, astrophysicist
Nadia Mitchell - Irina's daughter, student

Joanna Warner - Member of the board of trustees at WCM
Dr. Allan Wilcox - Her son, a theory teacher and pianist

Suzanne Wright - Violinist, fourth year student at WCM

Non-speaking or incidental characters:

Ms. Connelly - Music theory teacher at WCM

Sue Jones - Dr. Jensen's secretary

Maureen Kowalski - Richard's friend in high school

Jimmy Lemieux - Trumpet player at WCM

Bridget Madsen - Sandra's vocal teacher at Wexford

Tonia Rossi - Richard's lover in Italy

Mr. Smith - Arlene's teacher at Juilliard

Ralph Tyler - Emily's horn teacher at WCM

Lindsey Walker - William Landman's girlfriend

John Wiltshire - Head of the violin department at Wexford

Annabelle Young - Sandra's childhood friend

This version was edited by pcb, and last updated on October 7, 2008.

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