Diabolus in Musica: Singing with the Devil

“If Viotti is the father of modern violin playing, surely Tartini is its godfather.”

History is replete with figures who sold their souls to the Devil for favors. Just like Dr Faustus who exchanged his soul for a kiss from Helen of Troy (the face that launched ships, read war), Tartini allegedly dreamt that the Devil appeared to him and asked him to sell his soul in exchange of excellent violin playing classes and skills. At the end of their lessons Tartini handed the devil his violin to test Satan’s skill—the devil immediately began to play with such virtuosity (skill) that Tartini was left wordless, speechless, dumbfounded and tongue-tied. 

The Devil’s trill (Il Trillo del Diavolo) by Tartini Giuseppe is the greatest violin piece ever produced in Italy. Legend has it that it took more than Tartini to write it. That the Devil’s inspiration was central.

When the composer awoke he immediately wrote down the sonata, desperately trying to recapture every single note and stroke the Devil had played in the dream. Though successful with people, Tartini lamented that the piece was still far from what he had heard in his dream. What he had written was, in his own words: “so inferior to what I had heard, that if I could have subsisted on other means, I would have broken my violin and abandoned music forever.”

The standard Baroque violin sonata is usually in 4 movements: slow-fast-slow-fast. Tartini surprises us with a 3 movement sonata.  Rather than having a movement of predictable tempo, the violin oscillates between swiftly alternating slow and quick notes. Fans of word-painting have construed this to illustrate a conversation between a pleading, almost despairing Tartini; with a proud Devil who expertly and cleverly plays quick beautiful dazzlingly notes. No doubt a highly involving dialogue between the two characters. Tartini’s use of the words: “the Devil at the foot of the bed ” in the first of the fast sections, at the moment where Tartini calls upon the performer to execute the so-called “Devil’s Trill,” validates this legend. In performing the diabolically sweet Devil’s trill the violinist plays a trill with two fingers on one string while simultaneously executing arpeggios with the other two fingers on an adjacent string. (all violinists know that stopping is no joke)

-See Tartini to J.J. Lalande. Voyage d'un Francais en Italie (1765-6).

Whether the Devil truly visited Tartini we shall never tell, that we shall always enjoy the Devil’s Trill is a Hometruth Number 1... Perhaps Tartini’s dream wasn’t a dream after all!

A Night in Vienna

A NIGHT IN VIENNA

Attending an Italian Mission School is no good experience unless you are a music/arts/comp/foreign languages student; that way you are sure of having some small fun and freedom away from the strict catholic cultures. Personally I escaped to music. My highest moment was when Music took me to Vienna.

Austria’s Vienna is the undisputed cradle and capital of classical music. She has welcomed Mozart, Haydn, Mahler, Schubert, Schoenberg among other great music prodigies and geniuses. Vienna boasts of the best and most spectacular operas in the world. For the non-musicals operas are plays in music, they are our “conducting Jim Carreys, singing Mr Beans, chanting Chris Rocks,drumming Kevin Harts, humming Cosbys et al in a theatre…”

Interior view of The Vienna State Opera House 

While Kenya has a sweet, bold, decaying monument as Kenya National Theatre; Vienna has a grand, noble, charming architectural in its State Opera House where all glorious esoteric music lives on. By the way, Kenya National Theatre is undergoing a 1-year renovation at an estimated cost of 100 million :) ; Now compare this with the 10,000,000 US Dollars and  9 years spent refurbishing the Vienna State House Opera (Cry, the Beloved Country! How we cheaply invest in arts, timewise and moneywise)

View of The Vienna State Opera House from the outside

Front View of Kenya National Theatre

You have not visited Vienna until you have watched operas in their State Opera House. I remember my host actually joking that “In Kenya you tell wageni Hakuna Matata In Vienna Opera lovers cannot be choosers”. As a rule of thumb I hate formal wear more so suits and anything that you have to tuck in, but here was Vienna’s unwritten rule that Thou shalt not attend opera without a suit. (too bad suits await me when I start pressing ‘em as a lawyer, law school was a bad decision) Viennese customs dictate that a gentleman has to be in a suit, a white tie, and a black tail coat. Now, the white tie was no big deal, ages ago I had worn one, rather forced to one in a black corduroy suit at my grandpa’s golden jubilee. As if been in a tailcoat was no torture, Vienna’s sweet culture demand that you wear medals on your coat. Not those Rudisha’s-like Olympic medals but rather the school-like Best in … For the night, my host lent me a good-conduct medal for been the most-promising students leader!

Artist Impression of Pied Piper  of Hamelin leading the rats to the river

Feeling ridiculously and funnily dressed, I rode into the State Opera House. On entering the Opera House I was met with approving stares and smiles of Karibu Nyumbani; which unluckily added to my confusion and unease. Walking to my seat, in my tailcoat and white tie I felt like the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Only difference was, instead of rodents following me, eyes were following me. Instead of a pipe, I had a program for the evening and as always my Kung recorder. The unease I felt made me make an abrupt decision of killing my dream of becoming a pro music conductor- who wants to live sweating in uneasiness of suits, rather than enjoying the music?

As happy days go, my stay in Vienna saves for my brief affair with suits was one of my happiest times. Vienna, I shall come again, very soon but not to wear a white tie. I wouldn’t be writing on Vienna if I hadn’t enjoyed this assignment on the Vienna Convention on the law of Treaties, would I?

Interior View of the Kenya National Theatre

An interior view of the State Opera House when filled