Imaginary

Fictional Narratives

• William Hjortsberg, Jubilee Hitchhiker: The Life and Times of Richard Brautigan (Counterpoint, 2012): about the author of Trout Fishing in America, “an ambitious perfectionist who knew what he wanted and labored as methodically at his image and book jackets as at his sentences.”

Poetry

Music: Composers, artists, and major works

Like many composers of his time, François Couperin (1668-1733) wrote cerebral music, for its time: pre-Enlightenment, pre-classical (Baroque) compositions with an emphasis on structure and form. “Each of the Livres includes numerous Suites of pieces, which Couperin called ordres. Like Bach’s well-known Suites and Partitas, these ordres comprised numerous short movements; unlike Bach’s works however, and unlike Couperin’s French predecessors, the pieces mostly have descriptive titles rather than generic dance assignations.” “. . . Couperin was a forward-looking composer whose own keyboard works reflect the developments in composing in France and the changing tastes of his audiences.” His intent was to perfect music by combining the French and Italian styles. Couperin’s Pièces de Clavecin illustrate this effort and are among his pre-eminent works. Olivier Baumont has recorded the complete Pièces de Clavecin. Angela Hewitt has recorded many of the works on piano. Other harpsichordists have issued recordings by livre:

• Premier livre de clavecin (Book 1) (1713) (approx. 180’): Excellent recordings are by Christophe Rousset, Davitt Moroney, Blandine Verlet, Blandine Verlet, Blandine Verlet, and Kenneth Gilbert;
• Deuxième livre de clavecin (Book 2) (1717) (approx. 180’): Excellent recordings are by Christophe Rousset, Blandine Verlet, Blandine Verlet, Blandine Verlet, and Davitt Moroney;
• Troisième livre de clavecin (Book 3) (1722) (approx. 210’): Excellent recordings are by Christophe Rousset, Blandine Verlet, Blandine Verlet, Blandine Verlet, Blandine Verlet, and Davitt Moroney;
• Quatrième livre de clavecin (Book 4) (1730) (approx. 140’): Excellent recordings are by Christophe Rousset, Blandine Verlet, and Davitt Moroney.

Also worth hearing is the the harpsichord music of François’ uncle Louis Couperin (recorded by Richard Egarr, Davitt Moroney, Massimo Berghella, and in various recordings by Blandine Verlet); harpsichord music of François’ cousin Armand-Louis Couperin; and the erudite violin sonatas of Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (recorded by Dana Maiben, and Lina Tur Bonet).

Other Baroque composers also created pieces for keyboard, which are similar in tone to the sets from both Couperins. Among many others, these include:

• Charles de Mars composed four suites of Pièces de clavecin (1735) (approx. 70’).
• Philippe-François Véras, Pièces de clavecin (1740) (approx. 73’) consists of four brief suites.
• Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer, Pièces de clavecin (1746) (approx. 66’) consists of fourteen brief keyboard pieces.

Claude Debussy, Douze Études, CD 143 (1915) (approx. 41-50’) (recordings): Debussy wrote: “I confess that I am pleased to have created a work which – false vanity aside – will occupy a special niche. In point of technique these Études will usefully prepare pianists for a better understanding of the fact that the portals of music can only be opened with formidable hands.” “His warning . . . that anyone attempting his Études must have ‘mains formidables’ may not have been free of a certain bravado, perhaps even of a spirit of revenge on the race of virtuosos with their glittering prizes.” Watch and listen to Uchida explain and play them.

Krystian Zimerman is a classical pianist known for meticulous preparation and attention to detail. Deutsche Gramophone promotes him thus: “Zimerman’s place among today’s greatest artists rests not least on the freshness and originality of his performances, always intensely personal and prepared in meticulous detail.” Various people have commented on it. “Zimerman has a very meticulous attitude to recording and many of his discs have won major prizes . . .” “Purity and clarity are hallmarks of Zimerman’s playing and there was an almost aristocratic composure to his phrasing and a velvet touch …Everything was meticulous, not …a quaver out of place.” “No detail escapes his meticulous approach.” Here is a link to his playlists. 

Ernest Ansermet was a conductor known for his “meticulous perfectionism” and detail-oriented conducting. “He was modest, upright, uncompromising, stubborn, opposed to the star system, and yet became one of the greatest conductors of his century. For many years Ansermet divided his time between music and mathematics . . .” Here is a link to his playlists.

Conductor André Cluytens’ “conducting style was characterized by his meticulous attention to detail, his ability to create a balanced and cohesive sound, and his deep understanding of the composer's intentions.” Here are links to his playlists.

Caprice cycles:

• Alfredo Carlo Piatti, 12 Capricci for Cello Solo, Op. 25 (1865) (approx. 41-44’)
• Earl Kim, 12 Caprices for Solo Violin (1980) (approx. 22-23’) 

With their meticulous attention to detail and musical color, the Latvian Radio Choir under Sigvards Kļava capture the idea of diligence, more than vigilance, in this recording of Aleksandr Grechaninov’s All-Night Vigil (Vsenoshchnoye bdeniye), Op. 59 (1912) (46’). The performance is also emotionally compelling. 

Friedrich Cerha was a contemporary composer whose music sounds like the angst and uncertainty of the twentieth century. Professional musicologists understand that his compositional skills go deeper than that. Of Cerha’s “Spiegel” (a mirror into life) cycle (1961) (approx. 85’), fellow composer Brian Ferneyhough writes: “As I first listened, I was immediately captivated by the meticulous detail of the configuration, captivated by it in accordance with the extent to which the cluster-like quality of the overall structure did not blot out, but rather sharpened and deepened this necessarily up-close impression. Even just inconnection with the title of the cycle, I thought of comparing it to the so-called ‘Claude Glass’, that mirror-like accessory made of black obsidian that was used by 19th-century painters.” 

Other compositions:

• Johann Sebastian Bach, Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book), BWV 599-644 (1708-1717) (approx. 70-79’) (list of recorded performances), was written as a tutorial for organ students.
• William Walton, String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor (1947) (approx. 26-27’)
• Grażyna Bacewicz, Piano Sonata No. 1 (1949) (approx. 18’)
• Raga Jait is a Hindustani classical raag for daytime (dawn to dusk) performance. Performances are by Hariprasad Chaurasia, Salamat Ali Khan and Hariprasad Chaurasia.
• Raga Purabi Kalyan is a North Indian raag composed by Nikhil Banerjee, and often called “the hundred-minute raga”. Performances are by Nikhil Banerjee in 1982, Nikhil Banerjee, Ravi Shankar in 1988 and Arti Ankalikar in 2002.

Music: songs and other short pieces

Visual Arts

• Ilya Repin, Portrait of the Physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1912)
• Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin, The Diligent Mother (1740)

Film and Stage