The title Common Folk is a double entendre: the movements not only take their names from early modern paintings of commoners, but also take their music from folk styles that were popular in the classical era. Since there is no written record of what the music of the common people sounded like, we can only infer by examining such paintings, which often depict musicians, and by studying evocations of folk music in the works of classical composers. This piece is my attempt at resurrecting the countless, unnamed folk musicians whose music has been lost to time.
“The Prodigal Son” is a 1536 painting by Jan Sanders van Hemessen that depicts a merry tavern scene with a bagpipe player, alongside the Prodigal Son of Christian parable. Like the rustic episodes of Beethoven’s “Pastoral” and Haydn’s “London” symphonies, the music of the first movement comprises a folksy melody with a droning bass. These two elements are played in different keys and tempos, as though by drunk musicians.
“The Laughing Fool,” probably painted by Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen around 1500, is a portrait of a character found throughout folk literature: the fool or jester. This movement takes the form of a scherzo and trio, a kind of musical joke. Originally a three-part form, Beethoven expanded it to five in his Fourth Symphony, and here I contribute a sixth section.
“Woman with a Lute” by Johannes Vermeer, circa 1662, shows a lutenist expectantly looking out her window as she tunes her instrument, possibly waiting for her beloved. A tender melody accompanied by gentle pizzicato—as in Haydn’s F Major “Serenade” for string quartet—evokes both her song and her longing.
“The Peasant Dance,” painted in 1567 by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, portrays a raucous outdoor party, with a jester looming in the background. This finale is in the style of a contredanse, or country dance, loosely inspired by the little-known contredanses of Mozart and Beethoven. Since a bagpipe player also appears in Bruegel’s painting, the piece concludes with a modified return to the music of the first movement.