March 23, 20241 yr Spoiler The second movement is in a verse-chorus variations structure, and the melodic and harmonic elements remain faithful to the original theme, a hymn based on the improperia (also known as the reproaches in English), a set of antiphons usually used on Good Friday. The set was written as a monologue as if spoken by Christ, "My people, what have I done to you How have I offended you? Answer me!", and then with verses juxtaposing God's mercy against man's sin, for example, "I led you from slavery to freedom and drowned your captors in the sea, but you handed me over to your high priests.", "I opened the sea before you, but you opened my side with a spear." According to this English translation... https://tosingistopraytwice.wordpress.com/2020/03/28/improperia/ Quote My people, what have I done to thee? Or in what have I grieved thee? Answer me. Because I brought thee out of the land of Egypt; thou hast prepared a cross for thy Saviour. What more should I have done to thee, and have not done? I have planted thee for my most beautiful vineyard: and thou hast proved very bitter to me, for in my thirst thou givest me vinegar to drink ; and piercedst the side of thy Saviour with a spear. For thy sake I scourged Egypt with her firstborn; and thou hast delivered me up to be scourged I led thee out of Egypt, having drowned Pharaoh in the Red Sea; and thou hast delivered me up to the chief priests. I opened the sea before thee; and thou hast opened my side with a spear I went before thee in a pillar of cloud; and thou host brought me to the court of Pilate. I fed thee with manna in the desert; and thou hast beaten me with buffets and stripes. I gave thee wholesome water to drink out of the rock, and thou hast given me for my drink gall and vinegar. For thy sake I smote the king of Canaan; and thou hast smote my head with a cane. I gave thee a royal sceptre; and thou hast given me a crown of thorns. By great might I raised thee on high; and thou bast hanged me on the gibbet of the cross. O Holy Mighty One, have mercy on us. We adore thy cross, O Lord, and we praise and glorify thy holy resurrection, for by the wood of the cross the whole earth is filled with joy. May God have mercy on us and bless us; may his countenance shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us. Since it follows directly "attaca" from the first movement, I'm uploading both here. Spoiler hw sonata new fixed again wm 12.pdf The harmony Fr. Paul used was very touching for me, especially the sudden change from E-flat major to 1st inversion dominant 7th, which I kept the same here (in the middle of bars 23/55 marked with rfz in this movement), which sort of reminds me the juxtaposition I mentioned above. Otherwise this movement is just a faithful arrangement of the hymn with pianistic variations, even the trio section is mostly from the hymn. Edited March 24, 20241 yr by PCC added more context and musical insights
April 7, 20241 yr Yeah @PCC, First I enjoy this movement more than the first movement! The mood is really religious and serious here which I like very much. Also the theme is more concentrated here when it’s a theme and variation! My head gets much easier on this! I really like the F minor here when a pianist says it’s tragic but also serious and objective. I really like the canon in b.29. So antiphonal here imitating a real church singing, and your playing is doing the justice here. The b.50 variation really reminds me the second movement of Schubert’s D959. Really similar texture and sound here!! The variation in b.74 is a bit unmoving for me with the thick texture. I hope maybe the theme can be played by left hand here! I like the key changes afterwards after staying in F minor for long. For me if I write with this theme I will definitely use the inversion of it. I think it has great potential for adding the inversion! A retrograde is possible too. Thx for sharing! I will try to finish the last 2 movements. Henry
April 8, 20241 yr Author On 4/7/2024 at 10:18 PM, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said: The mood is really religious and serious here which I like very much. Also the theme is more concentrated here when it’s a theme and variation! My head gets much easier on this! I really like the F minor here when a pianist says it’s tragic but also serious and objective. Like I said, I take no credit at all for the original theme including the vocal line and the harmony, the whole thing is basically just a pianistic arrangement imo Glad you enjoyed the atmosphere of the music, it's a way for me to experience the Good Friday liturgy
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