Thread: Your opinion about this piece (Mertz's Elegie)?

As a guitarist, I think it's a masterpiece. Now I'd like to get your perspective, preferably from a non-guitarist's point of view, on Élégie by J. K. Mertz (1806-1856):



Beautiful? Typical romantic? Well developed? Too long? Engaging? Boring?

Premise 1: I only like fugues.
Premise 2: This is not a fugue.
Conclusion: This I do not like.

Originally Posted by HerlockSholmes

Premise 1: I only like fugues.
Premise 2: This is not a fugue.
Conclusion: This I do not like.

i used to be like you, my first crush was BWV 1000, for lute, which is also the fuga movement of the BWV 1001 violin sonata, and BWV 539 for organ as part of a prelude and fugue.

(sorry I'm just a guitarist I'd like to hear the point of view of a non-guitarist too.)

I worked on it last year (it was definitely not anywhere near concert-ready when I finished it haha I just had cut my nails anyway).
Well, I don't know what to think about this Elegy and Mertz's music.
The melodies of his Elegy are good. He also is able to make the guitar sound very well with a quite unusual virtuosity (definitely not the same as Giuliani's or whoever).

Now, I think this is a very disappointing work. Mainly because there is no counterpoint, no great harmonies, the form is very simple, there is no construction, the unity of the work is very weak.
Its melodies are so promising, and there are so many parts which sound so well on the guitar. But that's pretty much everything to my ears.
For me it sounds nice and shallow. I would call it an "Elegie de salon" haha. And it works for nearly all the works of Mertz. Nice music but it doesn't go further. I'm in awe of profound, dense, immortal and deep music. That's why I want to play mainly Takemitsu and Ohana this year ! (or try to..)


If I had one favourite, it'd be this one (:





Now I'd love to know what you love about this music. Could you explain it to me ?

Sorry if I seem rude, I'm quite clumsy with English language.

Try listening to this: a jazz pianist playing Bach.

Sorry, I put the wrong link in here - so forget it!!

I've listened to some Mertz, as I bought a Gabriel Bianco recording with some of his interpretations of them....but they haven't really clicked with me yet. That is not to say he is bad...Koshkin is another great guitar composer, but very little of his music 'clicks' with me either.

As far as newer composers, lately I quite like this piece:

Originally Posted by tdc

The above piece for me seemed a little too old-fashioned for my tastes maybe? Maybe that is not the right word for it... it didn't seem that adventurous and reminded me of something by Fernando Sor.

I am embarrassed to confess, I had Mertz confused with another more contemporary guitar composer...that is why I withdrew this inaccurate quote out of my above post. Mertz's music does not sound old fashioned for its time. (For the record I do like Sor's pieces, I just inaccurately assumed Mertz was writing in outdated styles).

edit - On further listening the Mertz piece to my ears still sounds too much like Sor though somehow...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Kaspar_Mertz

Originally Posted by Philip

As a guitarist, I think it's a masterpiece. Now I'd like to get your perspective, preferably from a non-guitarist's point of view, on Élégie by J. K. Mertz (1806-1856):



Beautiful? Typical romantic? Well developed? Too long? Engaging? Boring?

Wow.

I'm not a guitarist at all, but I just loved that piece.

It exploits the range of the guitar and is seamlessly written from start to finish. With guitar music I find that it is mostly painful to listen to on a computer - the resonances and subtlety of the guitar are easily lost especially if you don't like/play guitar like me.

It does sound very romantic - wistful, yearning and pining, with a climax in the middle of the piece. Mostly, listening to it ... expressed what cannot be said in words for me. Suffice to say, that's why I love it.