A challenging piece by Henri Vieuxtemps makes more sense when juxtaposed with the writer’s own story of lost friendship.
by Chris Budd
Henri Vieuxtemps was a very skilled composer and was known for composing pieces with a lot of emotions. One piece in particular that I found to have a lot of expression is Capriccio in C minor op.55 “Hommage á Paganini.” [1]This piece is an homage to Vieuxtemps’s late friend, Niccolò Paganini. When listening to this song anyone who has lost someone close to them would understand each emotion that Vieuxtemps puts into the capriccio. He shows pain and sorrow, the frustration of losing someone close. All of these feeling he evokes reminds me of how I felt when I lost my friend.
In the beginning of the capriccio, it sounds sad and it feels cold. It is like the feeling of being alone. I skipped 5th grade, so I went from 4th grade straight into middle school without any friends. Walking through the halls I would hear people talking and laughing with each other, but I had no one to talk with. I would see smiles on people’s faces, but on mine, I had no expression. I just walked from class to class wishing the day would be over.
The capriccio shows the pain of wanting things to be over with a chord and a trill attached to the chord. In music, a trill is an ornament to a note. It elevates the note to make it stand out amongst the rest of the notes by alternating between two different pitches. The trill elevates the chord’s expression of pain, and it makes it seem like the pain is trying to break out to be seen. And then Vieuxtemps repeats the same sad line as in the beginning. Repeating just like the day. This line of notes is the same sad tune, but when we get to the final few notes, they are different and have a twist. It is the whirl of new things being added in. It is exciting and new. But it also became dark when it fell into the lower-pitched notes. It is like another burst of energy but this time it isn’t pain that is trying to burst through. As the song comes down another trill is played. This shows the end of despair by beginning the next section of the song Vieuxtemps labels as “dolce.” The despair is over and now this sweet melody plays.
Like the capriccio, my day repeated. Most days I felt like the beginning line of the song. But it changed one day in orchestra. I was the worst viola player in middle school. We had to test for chairs, and I was always last chair viola. I just never practiced until we started playing Christmas music. My favorite song we played was Frosty the Snowman. I started to practice, and I got better at the viola. When it was time to test for chairs again, I was excited to maybe have a chance at not being last. This was the first test where I had practiced the music, so whatever song our conductor would test us on I would be ready.
The “dolce” part of the capriccio reminds of the all the good times that I got to be with a really amazing person.
I couldn’t wait until I got to orchestra. I would finally… maybe… hopefully not be last chair. When I got to class our conductor told us what song we were going to be playing. It was Frosty the Snowman. My face lit up because I’m a literal god at Frosty the Snowman. That day I went from last chair to 2nd (out of 6). It was new. The cycle of the day repeating was finally over when I became 2nd chair. But like the capriccio, it was dark when all the excitement went away. For a moment it was a new fear. I didn’t know what I was doing most of the time. I was scared of messing up and I just wanted to go back to being unseen in the back row again. But I was forced to be 2nd chair and it was a new beginning. But because I stayed, I met my stand partner. She was one of the first people to show me kindness in middle school. She helped me not sound terrible by giving me tips and telling me what to play. I just copied whatever she was doing, and she carried me through every song. I eventually got good and enjoyed playing the viola a lot and wanted to stay in the front row instead of hiding in the back. Every day playing with her was felt like the sweet melody in the capriccio. I practiced more because if I kept improving, I would be able to keep 2nd chair and be with one of my only friends in middle school. I didn’t want to leave my spot now. I practiced hard to try to get to her skill level, but she was insane at the viola. No matter how much I practiced, she practiced more and was always more skilled than me. But that is what made me like her more. She challenged me to be the best I could be. I would always be so close to getting 1st chair from her, but we would always tie, or I would be a little behind her skill. It was like that from 6th grade to 8th grade.
The “dolce” part of the capriccio reminds of the all the good times that I got to be with a really amazing person. Every day was interesting. I was no longer in a loop feeling alone. But it ended. An aggressive turn ends the sweet melody in the capriccio and the sweet part of my middle school days ended with covid.
With covid, we were no longer together. It was so hard not seeing her every day. I missed her smile. Her laugh. Her insane ability to always be better than me. I missed being around her. I was alone again. Vieuxtemps shows this new loneliness by playing the same line of notes as the beginning, but with aggression and more volume. This time being alone isn’t sad, it’s anger. My friend got taken away. I was frustrated. In the capriccio the frustration builds by getting faster and louder. Then all of a sudden one note gets held. It is like a moment to finally breathe and let all of the frustration go. And when Vieutemps lets go of this note everything falls back down. The volume and the pace go back to normal, and we come back to the trill that started the first “dolce” part.
I was frustrated for a long time when covid first hit and when we were in quarantine, but what made me finally let go of that is holding on to the belief that I would see my friend again. So I looked forward to the next year where we would be back at school together and the sweet melody would play again.
The first day of school was finally here. After the longest summer break ever, I can finally see all my friends and see her again. The sweet melody was already playing before I got to school. I couldn’t wait to see her in orchestra. As the day went on it got closer and closer to orchestra class. I would see her smile again, hear her laugh, and be happy again. The bell rang for orchestra class to begin, and next to me was… no one. She wasn’t here. She was never by my side again.
The sweet melody played one last time and then went back to being aggressive. But this time when it got to the breath, where the note is held before it comes back down, it didn’t stop being aggressive. A chord is played and from there it builds and builds. It gets faster and faster. Vieuxtemps writes in 64th notes showing how fast this should be played. It shows that the frustration has turned into anger and so much pain. The music wants to breathe with short pauses, but it just keeps going.
I no longer had my stand partner. I could no longer be around her. I held on to that anger for a while and it kept building up. Every day there were moments when I wish she was by my side again. But I had to let go of that wish. I accepted that she was gone. In the end, Vieuxtemps slows things down and then one final chord is played. This chord is the same as the one that started the build-up of anger and sorrow. And now it is being let go.
[1] Cristian Cordero, a talented viola player, plays “Hommage á Paganini” (link to the Capriccio), and she brings out every emotion that Vieuxtemps puts into the Capriccio.
Header image: Violin by Alexander Huls on Flickr
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