Tchaikowsky -Fashion – FESCH.TV

FESCH.TV INFORMIERT:

Aloha,
Haute Couture (French for ‚high sewing‘
or dressmaking) is usually associated with
custom-fitted high-end designs. In the 17th
and 18th Centuries, in the courts of Louis
XIV, XV, and XVI the “let them eat cake”
crowd dressed in tailored clothes that were
specific for the wearer’s measurements and
body stance and personal tastes. Later, in
the mid-19th century, Charles Frederick
Worth dressed the wife of Napoleon III,
French Empress Eugenie.
In the time before ready-to-wear and
luxury ready-to-wear designers prided
themselves in creating evening gowns,
wedding dresses, and dresses “for the
ball”.
Now, I like the innovative and bold
illustrations and advertisements for what
folks are calling Haute Couture. One of
my favorite illustrators is Bil Donovan
www.bildonovanlimited.com/shop/fashion
(or www.bildonovanlimited.com)
Prints of his illustrations on Hahnemuhle
Fine Art Photo Rag Paper printed with
quality pigment based Epson Ultrachrome
Pro 10 ink start at only $150.
My 40 explorations of Donovan’s
illustrations are set here to Tchaikovsky’s
“Valse Sentimentale”, the last (6th) in
“6 Pieces, Opus 51” composed in 1882.
Da brada was prolific. Prolific indeed!!
The list of compositions from Opus 1
through Opus 80 is on line in Wikipedia
at “List of compositions by Pyotr Ilyich
Tchaikovsky.
Movements and number of bars of
the six parts of Opus 51 total about 30
minutes (a half hour).
Valse de salon
Allegro (A-flat major, 342 bars),
Polka peu dansante
Allegro moderato (B minor, 183),
Menuetto scherzoso
Moderato assai (E-flat major, 203)
Natha-Valse
Moderato (A major, 173 bars),
Romance
Andante cantabile (F major, 124),
and, finally, Valse sentimentale
Tempo di Valse (F minor, 201)
at 4:45.
In the time when Tchaikovsky was
composing Opus 51, it is recorded that
he felt restless, somewhat disoriented,
and unsure of his creative powers.
He led a nomadic existence, constantly
traveling, no home to call his own.
In the summer of 1882, he was
able to work in peace at a cottage
near Kamenka in Ukraine. His Six
Morceaux (short pieces) are dedicated
individual women. Valse sentimentale
(#6) was dedicated to Emma Genton
who lived in Nizy. Tchaikovsky stayed
regularly there at the family estate of
friend Nikolay Kondratyev. Emma
was the governess of the children of
Kondratyev and his wife Mariya.
The Valse Sentimentale here feels
sincere, open, tranquil, and truthful.
If Pyotr Ilyich was speaking, he seems
direct and nonchalant (maybe a little
impatient?).
It is hard for me to nail it down:
Is he calmer in the middle section?
Does calm=melancholy? Is he strong
or ambivalent? He’s introspective.
He’s nostalgic. No, his memories
are too vague. (Maybe clouded by
the passage of time.)
So, my adaptations of 40 paintings
by Bil Donovan are abstract. Some
are less defined. Are the splashes of
color direct or nonchalant and care-
less? I have taken out blacks. To be
calmer? Is the calm melancholy?
Am I strong or ambivalent? Intro-
spective and nostalgic and at age 80?
Are my vague memories clouded by
the passage of decades?
One thing’s for sure. Donovan’s
use of flowers feels Hawaiian. In
the lyrics of “Hawaiian Lullaby”
that our keiki sing by Peter Moon
and Hector Venegas:
“Where I live, there are rainbows…
and flowers full of colors and birds
filled with song…”
Mahalo, saint wayne