About

The Rational Grapes is a humanistic website created by me, Lily, and my associate, Monica. Its main purpose is to challenge irrational behavior and encourage the pursuit of knowledge. Here, you will find information regarding philosophy and music especially, but also art and gardening. The site is called The Rational Grapes for no reason other than my value of rationality and affinity for grapes. Please feel free to comment on anything and add to the discussion.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Arrangement: Lacrimosa from Requiem in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Xaver Süssmayr

(L) Arranged for flutetunes.com using MuseScore. This is a full orchestra and SATB chorus work arranged for four flutes. Flute I exclusively follows the violin I part, flute II follows the soprano, flute III follows the alto/tenor, and flute IV follows the bass. At the instrumental section, flute II switches to the solo clarinet part, and flutes III and IV switch to the trombone part.

About: Mozart's 1791 Requiem is considered the last piece he ever composed, although portions of it were left unfinished. The Lacrimosa (or Lacrymosa) had only eight bars composed by the time of Mozart's death. The remainder of the work was composed by Franz Xaver Süssmayr in 1792. The work was written to commemorate the death of Count Franz von Walsegg's wife. The text of the Lacrimosa (which literally means tearful) was taken from the last two stanzas of the "Dies Irae," a Latin hymn used as the sequence for the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass. Lyrics in Latin and English are below:

Lacrimosa dies illa,
Qua resurget ex favilla,
Judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus:
Pie Jesu Domine,
Dona eis requiem. Amen.
Ah! that day of tears and mourning,
From the dust of earth returning
Man for judgement must prepare him,
Spare, O God, in mercy spare him.
Lord, all-pitying, Jesus blest,
Grant them Thine eternal rest. Amen.

First page, linked to PDF:

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Arrangement: Solo 1, Movement 2, from Trois Grands Solos by Friedrich Kuhlau

(L) This piece was not arranged, rather, "put together" for flutetunes.com using MuseScore. The reason for re-uploading it is because Flutetunes requested it for their database.

About: Friedrich Kuhlau was a Classical-Romantic composer, alive 1786-1832. Although he was born in Germany, he fled to Denmark in 1810 to escape being drafted into the Napoleonic Army. Many of his works are operatic, but he also composed for piano, flute, and other instruments. Kuhlau's style is very similar to Beethoven, and he actually knew him personally. The Trois Grands Solos were published in 1824, placing them on the border of the Classical and Romantic periods. It was composed for solo flute and optional piano accompaniment.

First page, linked to PDF:

Also, the piano part is linked HERE.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Composition: Klockorna by Lily

(L) Klockorna, by me. "Klockorna" is Swedish for bells. It was composed in Sweden, so that's why the name is in Swedish.

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Composition: Pool Party by Monica

(L) The audio visualizer is finished! Watch the first composition made using it below, called Pool Party, by Monica.