The pioneer of European Romantic music Weber Weber 1786 ~ 1826

A wandering childhood

Strictly speaking, Weber and Mozart are still distant and pro-Wei! It turned out that Weber's cousin Constanze Weber was Mozart's wife. Weber's father, Franz Anton von Weber, was a music supervisor at an opera house and also conducted a church choir. Franz was a violist who loved music, and his romantic personality prompted him to wander around, and even after marriage, he did not change his wandering temperament, and even formed a traveling troupe of family members to play music or perform opera everywhere.

In 1784, he married his second wife, Genoveva von Brenner, and two years later gave birth to his first child, Karl Maria von Weber, and together with the children raised in the previous marriage, Weber was already the ninth child in the Franz family. Born in Eutin, northern Germany, Weber was born thin and small, and was crippled for life due to femoral artery disease. This pale, inconspicuous child was influenced by his father's keen travel, which forced him to follow the north-south journey, and thus learned a set of life-pleasing kung fu. Weber's childhood oscillated between the city and the countryside, between the forest and the fields, and saw the colorful scenery everywhere. Because of his father's love of music, Weber has been exposed to music since he was a child, performing everywhere with his father's troupe, and has long been accustomed to colorful stage life.

Weber's father was not only a music lover, he also wanted one of his children to be like Mozart, a good musician, so when Weber was 10 years old, he decided to temporarily stop traveling so that Weber could learn piano with the famous court musician Johann Peter Heuschkei. Although the course lasted only one year, Weber improved rapidly during this time, and his keen musical acumen allowed his father to discover his extraordinary potential.

But in the next few years, because his father could not change his wandering habits, Weber had to terminate the course and continue to travel and perform with his father. However, as long as they stay in a certain city temporarily, Weber will continue to study music there. So he studied piano and composition with Michael Haydn in Salzburg, the younger brother of Haydn, the father of the symphony, who admired Weber's musical talent and selflessly inspired the teenager musically. Under haydn's guidance, Weber continued to write piano music and operas, and his works and wonderful performances slowly established a reputation in various places.

Become a true musician

In 1803, Weber met the famous composer Father G.J. Vogler at the Vienna Society, and Fogler greatly appreciated Weber's competence and creative talent, and in addition to guiding his compositional skills, he also recommended him to be the conductor of the Orchestra of the Breslau State Theatre. Weber was only 18 years old at the time, and this job was undoubtedly the supreme affirmation of his ability, and it also made him really follow the path of a musician. However, when the young Weber led the older and more experienced members of the regiment, he was repeatedly questioned and ostracized, which made him feel discouraged when he debuted, and it is said that he once wanted to end his life with nitric acid. He resigned three years later to work as conductor of the orchestra in Karlsruhe, where webber, who was heavily used, had a great time.

Soon he became the secretary of the Duke of Ludwig, responsible for handling the Duke's letters and books, and during these four years he was encouraged by the court musician to complete the score of Turandot and the opera Sylvana. However, Weber, who was not deeply involved in the world, was often tempted in the court and developed a habit of extravagant debauchery, so he was in debt. He also fell in love with Teresa Brunetti, a clever theatre girl. Not only is Teresa a married woman, she is also a mother of 6 children! Weber is fascinated by Qin Lisha, he can't resist the burning love, but because of the abnormal love and into endless pain. In 1810, he decided to leave this place, to get rid of all the pain and misfortune, and to find an opportunity for a new beginning.

The peak of career and love

In 1813, at the age of 27, Weber became conductor of the Prague National Theatre, where he gave full play to the talents of a conductor, reorganized the theater and revived the original dying theater, and it was here that he again met the female singer Caroline Brandt and began a truly happy relationship. In 1817 Weber was promoted to permanent conductor of the Dresden Theater, and his rigorous style made the theater one of the best theaters in Germany. In this year, he began to compose the opera "Magic Catapult", a great opera that took 4 years to complete, which is not only Weber's masterpiece, but also the pioneer of German national opera.

Weber was an unruly man, but under the gentle call of his wife, he was able to restrain the prodigal son's temperament and settle down for the family. This beautiful marriage dates back to 1810, when Weber's opera Sivana was premiering in Frankfurt, an opera with a german twist that made listeners accustomed to Italian opera feel extremely cordial. At the end of the performance, there was a loud applause in the theater, and the audience enthusiastically asked the composer Weber to come to the stage to receive applause, but the shy Weber felt that he was both thin and crippled, and refused to take the stage. But the applause from the audience did not stop, they called out to Weber with more enthusiastic applause. At this time, Caroline, who played the heroine, walked up to Weber, gently took his hand, and went to the front of the stage with him to close the curtain, which was the beginning of their happiness.

At that time, Weber was trying to end his painful relationship with Teresa, and the innocent and kind Caroline came to him at the right time and pulled him out of the sea of suffering. At the end of 1817, Caroline and Weber married, at this time Weber's father has also died, Weber decided to change the past wandering habits, and caroline to run a sweet married life, which was a turning point in his life, after the uneasy soul was subdued by the family, his musical career and artistic achievements also pushed to the peak.

In 1823, Weber contracted tuberculosis, but at this time his career was in full swing, and he refused to listen to the advice of his doctors to rest well, but instead became more active and diligent in his music career. In 1826 he completed his last great work, Oberon, which was premiered in London, and although he was terminally ill, he insisted on conducting it himself, leading the orchestra to present the vitality of the work. After the performance of "Oberon", it was very popular with the audience and received countless honors, but Weber was also sick due to long-term fatigue. Weber knew that his time was running out, and his only wish was to return to his hometown to see his wife and children again, but this wish became Shui Yuan's regret, and he died in a foreign hotel on June 5, 1826.

Diligent creative spirit

Weber received piano training from his father as a child, and throughout his childhood he followed his father's troupe to the east, not only has he become accustomed to making a living on the stage, but the places they have traveled have brought him profound influences, such as local customs, local music and language, forests and countryside and so on. This kind of experience inspired Weber's hidden romantic factor, he not only had excellent creative talent in music, good at finding creative subjects, but also practiced a good writing, and published articles in music journals criticizing the musical phenomenon of the time. In addition to numerous critical articles, his work includes an unfinished autobiographical novel, The Career of a Musician, and Weber's passionate personality is also revealed in the literary field, which is still quite influential to this day.

Among Weber's teachers, Father Fogler was the most profoundly inspired, and influenced by the teacher's cheerful and artistic temperament, Weber decided to put romantic feelings into music, transforming the natural scenes he saw and vivid folk stories into opera. In 1817 Weber began to compose The Magic Catapult, and before that, he had also experienced a period of absurd and promiscuous life, but this year he entered the auditorium with Caroline, which turned into a real artistic career, and he wrote several excellent works in succession, page after page writing about his love of music. Unfortunately, this peak did not last long, and about 9 years later, Weber, who was not yet 40 years old, passed away.

A masterpiece of the world- magic catapult

What established Weber's place in the romantic music school was this Magic Catapult. The play for the opera was written by Friedrich Kind based on folk legends, and Weber, after receiving the outline of the play, began to devote himself to the creation of this fable story. The opera, which took four years to complete, was premiered at the Imperial Theatre in Berlin on 18 June 1821, and was a great event for the German art and literary circles, and many dignitaries, literary and musical masters came to listen to the evening, including the poet Heinrich Heine and the young Mendelssohn!

The plot of "Magic Catapult" describes that Max the Hunter and the daughter of the Lord of the Hunting Ground, Agat, were originally a couple who were about to get married, but according to tradition, Max had to win a shooting competition before he could marry Agat. Desperate for the shooting competition, Max accepts the temptation of another hunter, Kasbah, and agrees to make magic bullets in the cursed "Wolf Valley", Max thinks to himself: "With a hundred magic bullets, you can definitely become a sharpshooter!" "But making magic bombs is a deal with the devil and must come at the cost of the soul.

On the day of the match, of the 7 magic bullets obtained by Max, the first 6 successfully hit the target, but the 7th had to be shot according to the devil's instructions. The devil asked him to shoot a white dove parked in a tree, and this white pigeon turned out to be the embodiment of Agat! Unknowingly, Max aimed at the white pigeon and fired the last magic bullet! Fortunately, a monk gave Agat rose flowers to protect her from this disaster, while the bad guy Casbah was shot and killed, and his soul after death became the devil's trophy. Kasbah's conversation with the devil before his death debunked the deal. Max was immediately convicted, but fortunately the monk interceded for him at the right time, demanding that the lord of the hunting ground abolish this unreasonable premarital game and allow the lover to eventually become a dependent. Max was given a one-year probationary period during which he could show sincerity and repentance, and could marry Agat.

In the history of opera development, "The Magic Catapult" is regarded as the first national opera in Germany, and its birth has deeply influenced later generations of opera writers. Written in a German dialect and adapted in music in the form of folk songs, this revolutionary work guided the later German opera master Wagner in the form of folk songs, full of local folklore flavors and national consciousness.

Weber uses orchestral music to make various timbres with exquisite techniques, giving a romantic soundtrack to different scenes in the play: the sound of evil devils, the singing of lovers, the sounds of battle, mysterious vibrato, etc., vividly and vividly expressing the situation of each scene. The steep mountains, the secluded forests, the sincere heroic feelings, the mysterious moonlight and the evil power in the play have become the symbols of romanticism. In addition, the choice of genre of this opera, as well as the emphasis on the German singing form, are factors that give it absolute value.

The most famous song in this opera is Act 3, Scene 2, when Max won the magic bullet and wanted to go to the arena to participate in the shooting competition, the song "Hunter Chorus" sung by everyone, it is a light and majestic male voice four-part chorus, with three major phrases composed of a three-part genre, the hunters sing brave and courageous, coupled with the luxurious and strong accompaniment of orchestral music, wonderfully present a rich and magnificent vitality.

More great songs

In addition to his representative opera works, Weber also wrote many memorable pieces in instrumental music. Among the many instruments, Weber's favorite is the clarinet, he met a prominent clarinet player Baman during his trip to Munich, Baman's skills in playing the clarinet are very skilled, and the soft tone has conquered many people, even Mendelssohn has composed music for him.

Between 1811 and 1816, Weber completed several works on the clarinet, such as the famous Clarinet Quintet in B flat major. When Weber wrote this work, he was preparing to marry Caroline, but was opposed by the woman's parents, so the song faintly revealed his longing for Caroline. He sees the clarinet as a solo instrument in a concerto, freely allowing the clarinet to play a smooth and melodious melody, and exerting musical emotions to the extreme. There is also the Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, one of the most ornate masterpieces of the ancient and modern clarinet concertos and the most frequently performed pieces. Weber brought the lyrical style of romanticism to the fullest, brilliant colors and unique dynamic expression, and naturally showed the beautiful timbre of the clarinet.

In addition to instrumental works such as symphonies, overtures, concertos, violin and piano sonatas, Scottish dances, etc., webber himself was a pianist, so his piano compositions are unique and romantic. Among all the piano works, the famous work "Invitation to Dance" is still widely loved by the audience.

Written in July 1819, this piece was his birthday gift to Caroline, Weber once played while explaining the music for his wife: the melody was unfolded by the bass department, representing the gentleman to invite the noblewoman to dance, the melody of the high part played the response of the noblewoman, at first she seemed extremely shy, but the gentleman's eloquence and demeanor persuaded the lady, and the two of them slid hand in hand into the dance floor, dancing to the melody of the round dance. The brilliant music allows the two to spin, slide, and dance until the climax... At the end of the song, the gentleman solemnly bowed and thanked him, and the noble lady also responded, and then the two slowly withdrew from the dance floor, representing the end of the music.

The title "Invitation to Dance" was added by Weber himself, which is the first "title music" in the piano piece and a model of 19th-century round dance music. It is characterized by a bold melody and a rhapsody style, full of the chivalry of the Romantic period, and the piano technique is extremely gorgeous and dramatic, presenting an elegant artistic color. This piano solo was later adapted by the French composer Berlioz in 1841 and written as an orchestral piece in D major, and the adapted piece added to the ornate sense of the ball with orchestral music, which is more vivid and famous than the original.

German musical prophet

Weber's musical contributions not only ended in opera works, but also in orchestral music, piano music, and concertos. He was one of the best pianists of his time, and his slender fingers could play phrases that ordinary people could not play. He was a pioneer of the Romantic period, and the style of the music often showed the master's handwriting, with a strong self-color. For example, in "Magic Catapult", the scene of "Wolf Valley" is full of eerie atmosphere, depicting the temptation of evil forces to goodness, which shocks all listeners. Another example is the romantic enthusiasm and novel composition technique he showed in piano music, which has repeatedly created a new style for piano music.

In terms of orchestral arrangement, Weber also made many new attempts for the first time, such as the expansion of the traditional two French trumpets into four, and the use of trumpets, trombones and bass tubes to set off or combine; he also moved the original piano phrases into the orchestra, resulting in a colorful and brilliant effect. In the late Romantic period, orchestral music gradually developed towards a large form, emphasizing the creation of a majestic momentum, which was influenced by the orchestral method pioneered by Weber.

In addition to laying the foundation of independence for German opera, Weber also brought strong national feelings to his vocal compositions, which established him as a prophet of German music, which was also the mission of the Romantic musicians. In order to evoke the national consciousness of the great era, he composed many easy and emotional pieces, including choral songs, vocal music and folk music, etc., which could not help but bring the noble German spirit to the limit.

Weber's attitude to work has written an extraordinary contribution to his musical history. Born with a weak physique, he often takes a number of musical giants as his model, looking forward to opening up a new atmosphere. However, the weakness of the body made the brilliant musical career before it was too late to reach a new peak, and it fell. In the last days of his life, he still ran overseas for the music career, and the bad news of the death of a stranger spread to Germany, and the German people felt sad, they felt that Weber's music expressed his love for his hometown, and his soul should be protected by the motherland. After the travel of Wagner and others, just 18 years after Weber's death, he was finally able to return to his roots and rest in the land of the motherland forever.