Balladeering
New music for 2024, in celebration of one of music's purest stylistic forms
We’re almost a month into 2024 (which has gone alarmingly quickly), and it’s high time we had some new music to discuss. That’s right…it’s New Music Time™️
I’m starting the year off with the first in a new series of pieces titled Ballades. Classical piano music fans will likely be well aware of Chopin’s magical set of Four Ballades; with the distinctive melodic theme of the first in G minor ringing in our ears.
It’s always a dangerous exercise to make reference to some of the great works of your heroes before going on to share your own work. I’ve started so I’ll finish. I am also a sucker for a classic slow and sultry ballad in a jazz idiom (see Bill Evans and Peace Piece for example), and it is with these influences and in this context - and a healthy dose of bashful hesitance - I share this new piece with you.
The ballad(e) developed as ‘a simple song of natural construction, usually in the narrative or descriptive form’,1 whilst incorporating ‘a fixed verse form consisting usually of three stanzas with recurrent rhymes, an envoi, and an identical refrain for each part’2. Often attributed to the Old French chanson settings of poetry and verse, in so doing displaying a distinctive, narrative and lyrical flow, the ballad(e) often has an overt sense of sentimentalism, coupled with an element of storytelling.
Writer Helen Lewis likens a Chopin ballade to a successful comedic routine: ‘Like [a] Chopin ballade, a good routine has light and shade, fast sections and longueurs’.3
As the Romantic era progressed, it is no surprise, then, a dextrous composer such as Chopin would come to adopt elements of this approach, alongside other related stylistic forms including his extensive Preludes and the beautiful Berceuse Op. 57.
As a side note, it is worth comparing the opening harmonic ostinato of the Berceuse next to Evans’ aforementioned Peace Piece to observe the similarity between the two.
As befits such a talented melodist of his era, there is perhaps a little more movement, rhythmicality and shifts in dynamics in Chopin’s Ballades than we might have expected (those Romantics did really love their expression), however, the sense of melodic, narrative focus remains strong and foundational.
In the Jazz world, I find a ballad is often a good, yet less-obvious way of spotting a true great of the genre. Typically, whilst it is often different from up-tempo flowing, elongated lines over changes, for me, it is the poise and confidence with which the greats are able to hold the listeners’ ear and attention with the song-like nature of a ballad, as if a captivating story was being spun and shared through song.
One of my favourite albums of all-time is Balladeering by the Danish guitarist Jakob Bro, which propelled him to greater renown outside of the Nordic Jazz scene. The recording features an all-star cast of greats including Bill Frisell, Paul Motian, Lee Konitz and Ben Street, and will always hold an important place in my heart, having seen it performed live at Copenhagen Jazz Festival in 2009. There is also a marvellous film of the recording process titled Weightless: A Recording Session With Jakob Bro if you’re able to find somewhere to watch it.
In fact, the concept of Balladeering is so foundational and intriguing to me that one of my self-compiled go-to playlists borrows the same name (here’s a link if you’d like to listen).
And so, to Ballade No. 1, the first in a series of pieces I will be releasing which attempt to use at least some of the stylistic tendencies of the form.
Ballade No. 1 loosely references the structural conventions of the poetic nature and influence on a musical ballad, with three related musical themes alluding to the idea of three stanzas, with an envoi4 to close.
I’ve tried to achieve a dream-like quality to the piece, with the initial sequential melodies offering a brief nod to lydian and dorian tonality. In 3/4, the first repetition is more sedate, whilst the B section saunters along with more movement, momentum and expression. From a harmonic perspective, a number of temporary modulations add to the sense of movement and uncertainty, with the tonal centre referencing Db lydian.
Head to my Bandcamp page to listen. It will be on general release across all streaming services on 2nd February, but I wanted to give a special opportunity to Bandcamp listeners and followers first, to say thank you for your support and loyalty via this platform.
The download on the main release page includes the sheet music as standard, although if you’d prefer to download just the track you can do that too. Either way, get 25% off with the following code: HNY2024
Alternatively, the sheet music is available on my store (and Music Notes too if you prefer that platform), with streaming available everywhere on Friday.
I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on this piece, and hope those of you who have the option and like to play through pieces get on well with it. Let me know if you have any questions.
With over a decade of experience in the music educational sector, I love going deeper into the music and helping others at any stage of ability or experience to enjoy music too. If you are someone who is interested in composition, arranging, interpretation and analysis, and would be interested in either a one-off or regular composition sessions with me - in person (in the wider Leeds area) or online - I’d be delighted to discuss it with you. Do send me an email to info@simeonwalker.co.uk and let’s continue the conversation.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy Ballade No. 1 and have a relaxing weekend.
https://dictionary.onmusic.org/terms/293-ballad
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ballade
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/04/jokes-comedy-coronavirus-covid19-audience/609541/
https://www.languagehumanities.org/what-is-an-envoi.htm
Beautiful, Simeon. Very haunting.