FriPod: Hey, Shorty!

Two weeks ago I listed the longest tracks on my iTunes. This week I am looking at the shortest tracks. But I've decided to modify things, as there are many recitatives at this end. This doesn't seem fair to me, as it is easy to make a short transition from one aria to the next. This goes for those little second movements in Baroque concerti as well, and the variations of a theme-n-variations. What is challenging is to compose a complete musical work that is very short. So I am only including those tracks that are complete works in themselves. This narrows the field greatly, as the first thirty-some tracks fit in these categories.

1. Contredanse No. 8 by Beethoven, performed by Michael Tilson Thomas and the Orchestra of St. Luke's. 25 seconds.

2. Contredanse No. 1, same composer and performers. 25 seconds.

3-5. Contredanse Nos. 4, 11, and 2; 27 seconds each.

6. Fiona Kicks Ass, by Harry Gregson-Williams & John Powell, from the Shrek soundtrack. 28 seconds. I don't feel bad about including this, as it is a complete musical idea.

7. Les Rendez-Vous De Chasse Qu Les Vendanges Interrompues Par Les Chasseurs - No. 15 Allegro, by Georg Joseph Vogler, performed by Darmstädter Hofkapelle and Wolfgang Seeliger. 28 seconds. This is some ballet music from the guy who you can blame for Roman Numeral analysis. Again, it is a complete musical idea.

8. "Mira, deh mira, Orfeo" from Monteverdi's Orfeo, performed by . 31 seconds.

As I'm looking at the list and narrowing it down, I've realized that the first truly complete work, something that isn't a movement or section of a larger piece, is "1,2,3" by Charles Ives, performed by Susan Graham. This is 35 seconds long, and way down on the list of shortest tracks. (The shortest track of all is 11 seconds.) It isn't too surprising that the shortest complete work will be a song, as it has a text to give it a sense of unity and closure.

In this vein, no. 2 is "Viva Ignacio! Viva!" by Gaspar Fernandes, performed by Ex Cathedra. Another song, or rather motet in this case. 38 seconds.

No. 3: Canon Du Carousel, by André Danican Philidor, performed by Nick Norton & Anthony Plog. 41 seconds. A trumpet duet with brass accompaniment. Our first instrumental work, it is a textbook canon.

No. 4: "Amor vittorioso" by Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi, performed by the King's Singers. 43 seconds.

No. 5: "Change of Time" from Bela Bartok's Mikrokosmos, performed by Jando. I don't think this is cheating, since the whole Mikrokosmos is not intended to be performed as a complete work. In the same way I wouldn't feel bad about listing a fugue from the Well-Tempered Klavier. 43 seconds.

I wonder what the average time would be if I grouped all multi-movement works as one track? Leaving everything separate the average is 4'43" (Cage was sooo close). And the philosophical question of the day: Can a musical work seem complete in less than ten seconds?

FriPod: Running music

This is a continuation of last week's challenge. Phil lists all of those who shuffled their MP3s brazenly in the open. He, and one of the challengees, point out the lack of classical tracks among all of us classical music bloggers. But my last week's list had 50% classical, 20% jazz, 20% pop/rock/folk, and 10% world music. So Operachic is not the only one that is classical heavy. And this week's list is even heavier in the classical realm. This list of twelve tracks are what I listened to while I was running this morning. It was shuffle mode, though occasionally I would skip a track that wasn't conducive to running or that was too soft to hear in the fitness room. In some ways this is a more boring list, with only three that are not of a classical vein (four if you don't think film music is classical). But this shows my interest in early music (2 pieces) , and actually has more 20th century music than the previous list. #3 is special, as I played that piece on my senior recital. And "Battle Royal" is a great chart to run to. Duelling lead trumpets get the blood stirring and the legs pounding.

1. Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme Suite, IV: Entrance And Dance Of The Tailors - Rudolf Kempe/Staatskapelle Dresden Richard Strauss - Orchestral Works (Disc 6)
2. Five Preludes: 5-Andantino - Martin Jones Dmitri Shostakovich
3. Légende - Wynton Marsalis George Enesco
4. Canzona Quintadecima Detta La Lievoratta Per Due Bassi - Girolamo Frescobaldi Virtuoso Solo Music For Cornetto
5. Canon Du Carousel - Nick Norton & Anthony Plog André Danican Philidor
6. Carmina Burana, Auf Dem Anger - 7. Floret Silva Nobilis - Arleen Augèr, John Van Kesteren, Jonathan Summer, Riccardo Muti; Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus Carl Orff
7. Symphony No.10 III. Purgatorio. Allegretto moderato Eliahu Inbal/Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt Mahler Symphonies 1-10 Das Lied von der Erde (CD 15)
8. Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Das irdische Leben Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 7 + Des Knaben Wunderhorn - 4 Lieder (Disc 2)
9. Battle Royal - Count Basie Orchestra, Duke Ellington And His Orchestra First Time! The Count Meets The Duke
10. So Far Away - Dire Straits Brothers In Arms
11. Foundations Of Stone - Howard Shore The Lord Of The Rings The Two Towers
12. Confrontation - Les Misérables Original Broadway Cast Les Misérables [Disc 1]