Music and Art

Music and Art

Francesco Landini

Francesco Landini was born in 1335 in Italy. He is one of the significant artists in the history of his country. Landini died in 1397 in Florence. The musician was well recognized for his considerable skills in playing the rebec and the flute (Rijk, 2015). The musician experienced substantial problems during his growth. Smallpox was the most significant. It made him blind, but that could not prevent the artist from learning music, astrology, and philosophy. Landini achieved substantial popularity and fame in Italy and beyond. He won the award of the best artist at the poetical contest held at Venice in 1364 (Rijk, 2015). Landini’s art won the hearts of significant people in society such as Giovanni da Prato who said that the musician’s content was so unique and unique. Landini created many pieces of art, but the most popular was a song named ballata. Most of Landini’s songs were classified as spiritual or lauda spirituale. Petrarch was one of the Landini’s significant influencers. The two parties significantly supported each other in many ways. Landini’s rise to fame and popularity in Italy happened at a time when the country experienced the emergence of significant artists in various areas, including painting and literature (Rijk, 2015). Landini experienced significant challenges in his music career, but among them were the adverse effects of smallpox that hit him during childhood. Landini’s degree of innovation is immeasurable, but the artist was significantly creative because significant people in Italy’s art industry made some positive comments about it (Rijk, 2015). Among them is Giovanni da Prato who said that the musician’s contents and their effects had not been heard or felt before.

Johann Pachelbel

Johann Pachelbel is a significant musician in the history of Germany. He was born and baptized in 1653 in Nürnberg where he died in 1706.  Pachelbel’s discovered that he was talented in organist art, something that influenced him to seek some musical training at Altdorf and Regensburg (Stubblefield, 2019). He was well recognized for his at the St. Sebalduskirche in Nürnberg, something that gave him a chance to be appointed as an organist in 1695. Pachelbel’s impact in the German music industry was significant. He was once an organist teacher to Johann Christoph Bach, who then significantly helped Johann Sebastian Bach in his music career (Stubblefield, 2019). Pachelbel played many instruments but was well known for playing the keyboard. He contributed significantly to the organ genre of music. Most of Pachelbel’s art was influenced by significant musicians of the time, such as Johann Caspar Kerll and Jakob Froberger. His art had substantial characteristics of the music styles of his time that were characterized by the use of keyboards, hands, and feet to create tones (Stubblefield, 2019). Many significant people in German art praised Hexachordum Apollinis, which they said was the best of Pachelbel’s pieces of art. Johann Pachelbel experienced many challenges, among them the lack of adequate funds for his education and music career. He left University after barely a year but was lucky to get a scholarship (Stubblefield, 2019). The artist employed various strategies to solve the challenges presented by his financial difficulties. Most artists of his time used copper engraving to print their content, but that was so expensive to Pachelbel. However, that did not hinder him from achieving his dream of becoming a famous musician. He used personal journals and paper for that purpose.

William Billings

William Billings was born in 1746 in Boston. He died in 1800 in Boston. The musician is well known for the relatively primitive types of American music. Billings gained important musical skills through musical education at singing schools (McKay & Crawford, 2019). However, he gained most of his skills through self-training. Billings composed psalms, anthems, and hymns. The musician used many instruments, but was well recognized with the use of pitch pipe to tune his choruses. The artist experienced many challenges among them the lack of a leg and eye. Billings significantly contributed to the American folk culture. He also encouraged many people to further their training in the same genre (McKay & Crawford, 2019). Billings came from a significantly humble family, a factor that denied him the chance to get enough of the formal education. He did not attend any college. One of Billings’ most significant creativity is his decision to promote the relatively abandoned American culture as opposed to most artists of his time who developed the cosmopolitan British culture. That is also a significant factor that portrayed Billings’ resistance to the music genres of his time.

Arthur Sullivan

Arthur Sullivan is a significant music artist in the history of British art. He was born in 1842 in London and died in 1900. He is well known for his impact in promoting the English version of the form of operetta (Jacobs, 2018). At 14, the artist joined the Royal Academy of Music. Sullivan’s musical ability was significantly attractive, a factor that encouraged W. S. Gilbert to come together to develop the operetta. Reverend Thomas Helmore trained the musician. He was well known for his significant skills in the use of wind instrument. Sullivan’s pieces of art related to the work characteristic of his time when people loved the operetta (Jacobs, 2018). He was creative enough to introduce the English form of that genre. “Onward, Christian Soldiers” is one of Sullivan’s pieces of art that made him significantly famous. Sullivan experienced many challenges, among them his relatively persistent kidney problem that impacted his musical career.

Charles Griffes

Charles Griffes was an American musician. He was born in 184 in New York, United States and died in 1920 in New York. He studied how to use a piano in Germany. He later gained important skills in the use of the instrument (Riis). That was one of the factors that uniquely identified Griffes in the American Industry during his time. He had many role models among them his teacher Engelbert Humperdinck. The artist’s interest in his teacher was evidenced by many factors, among them Griffes’ decision to become a music teacher in the United States (Riis). The White Peacock is one of Griffes’ famous works that made him popular not only in the United States but in the world as well. He was well known for promoting the impressionist music. His works related to the music styles of his time where musicians focused more on developing the style introduced by Claude Debussy (Riis). Griffes was creative enough in the use of piano, something that made him stand out among the other pianists of his time. The musician experienced many challenges, among them empyema, which marked the end of his music career and life.

Danny Elfman

Danny Elfman is a significant American musician well known for many songs. He is not only a singer but a composer and songwriter as well. He was born in 1953 and is well known for his significant impact in the rock band Oingo Boingo (Powell, 2018). He did not attend a music school. One of Elfman’s significant challenges is the lack of musical training and lessons. Danny Elfman is well known for many hits, among them, Wanted, which made him significantly famous in the United States and the world (Powell, 2018). The musician’s creativity is evidenced by many factors, among them the creation of Oingo Boingo.

Ali Akbar Khan

Ali Akbar Khan is one of the significant musicians in the history of Indian music. He was born in Shibpur, India, 1922. He died in 2009 in the United States of America (Khan, 1997). He received most of his musical training from his father. Khan is well-known for playing the sarod. The musician has contributed significantly to the Hindustani musical traditions. Khan’s father was not only his teacher but also a role model (Khan, 1997). He worked toward becoming like the father or greater. Khan produced pieces of art that related to the many songs and other forms of literature that promoted Hindustan traditions. Khan experienced many challenges among them a kidney failure that significantly affected his music career and life.

References

Abramov-van Rijk, E. (2015). Who was Francesco Landini’s antagonist in his defense of Ockham?. Philomusica on-line, 14(1), 01-24. http://193.204.40.129/index.php/phi/article/viewFile/1754/1836

Jacobs, A. (2018). Arthur Sullivan: A Victorian Musician: A Victorian Musician. Routledge.

Khan, A. A. (1997). Nea National Heritage Fellowships. National Heritage Fellow. https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/fellows/ali-akbar-khan.

McKay, D. P., & Crawford, R. (2019). William Billings of Boston: Eighteenth-Century Composer (Vol. 5554). Princeton University Press.

Powell, A. S. (2018). A Composite Theory of Transformations and Narrativity for the Music of Danny Elfman in the Films of Tim Burton (Doctoral dissertation, University of Kansas). https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/handle/1808/27106/Powell_ku_0099D_15918_DATA_1.pdf?sequence=1

Riis, T. L. Griffes, Charles Tomlinson (1884-1920). http://www.glbtqarchive.com/arts/griffes_ct_A.pdf

Stubblefield, S. A. (2019). For What Purpose? Johann Pachelbel and Incidental Music Commissions: A Case Study of Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan. Choral Scholar, 8(1). https://www.ncco-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/TCS_v8n1_e-Stubblefield.pdf