All Beautiful and Spendid Things: an interview with composer Barbara Arens
Whether it be a symphony or a 3-chord pop song, all compositions are birthed within chosen parameters. Composer Barbara Arens understands the creative power of self-imposed limits. As one of the leading composers of teaching pieces for one-handed, or small-handed pianists, she has found freedom in fewer options and in doing so, has provided accessible music to thousands of pianists.
Represented by Breitkopf & Härtel and Editions Musica Ferrum London (and many others), Arens’ compositions spring from a lifetime of teaching. A dedicated piano instructor, every one of Arens’ pieces were composed with specific students in mind. These works aren’t esoteric teaching pieces worked out at a safe distance from potential players; they’re individual responses to individual challenges, and are created in the laboratory of real-life teaching and playing.
In her latest collection, All Beautiful & Splendid Things: 12+1 Songs for Piano Solo on Poems by Women, Arens gives herself the challenge of exploring the connection between words and notes. Each melody was composed around the lines of poems, syllable for syllable. The resulting pieces are ones that celebrate both the poetry that inspired the music and the lyrical beauty of the piano. I’m honored that Arens agreed to chat with me about her musical life and her many compositions.
At what age did you begin music lessons, and why were you first drawn to the piano and the flute?
I began piano lessons when I was 5. No questions asked: my elder sisters and mother played piano; obviously I should, too! I heard incredibly much music as a child: my parents always had classical music on, my teen sisters were total Beatles fans... Actually, I wanted to play the cello as my second instrument, not the flute. But the cello was considered too ‘unlady-like’ in the ’60’s!
When did you being learning the harpsichord and organ, and what attracted you to these instruments?
It was wanting to play Bach which made playing the harpsichord and organ imperative to me. I absolutely adored the recordings of Bach’s organ music I was brought up on, and after attending an organ concert in the cathedral in Salzburg when I was 11, I proclaimed that I would become organist there “when I grew up”. (I actually did become second cathedral organist in Salzburg at 19.)
When did you choose to return to the piano, and why?
I had never totally stopped playing piano. But buying a lovely old Steinway grand really made me get out my Beethoven, Brahms, and Chopin again, with a new joy at being able to play real dynamics, not just subtle approximations to dynamics, as on the harpsichord.
When did you first being composing music, and what kinds of pieces did you first create?
As a player of figured bass (basso continuo) I was constantly playing music that wasn’t actually written—a great way to get into composing! I found myself writing fun little pieces for my pupils. But I really got into composing about twenty years ago, when I regularly played concerts with a cellist. We wanted some modern literature on our programs, but didn’t like having to pay large fees for playing Shostakovich, for example. I wrote boogies, tangos, rags and blues which went over really well with our audiences! Then I wrote competition pieces for my pupils and my own children, who all play various instruments.
You’ve carved out a career with Breitkopf & Härtel writing challenging niche-literature like piano music specifically for one hand, or for small hands. Why do you think you write so well within boundaries like these?
Having searched in vain for appropriate, engaging piano pieces for my 8 year old daughter when she broke her arm, I decided to write some one-hand pieces myself - and discovered how liberating it is, working within the narrow parameter of what what one hand can do! Maybe a good analogy would be that of a cook who is a bit overwhelmed by all the limitless possibilities of creating a new dish with all the ingredients of the world to choose from. But if the cook is limited to what’s in the pantry – she’ll focus on what’s there – with – possibly – brilliant results!
As a dedicated piano teacher, how much do your students influence your compositions?
Very, very much indeed! I almost always have a particular pupil in mind when writing a new piece. Would they enjoy it? Would the chords be too big? The runs too tricky? The rhythm ‘do able’? The biggest question, though: would they be able to express themselves with this piece?
Many of No Dead Guys’ readers are passionate adult pianists at all levels of experience. Which of your many pieces or collections would you recommend for them?
I wrote my 21 Amazingly Easy Pieces (Breitkopf & Härtel) with my adult students as ‘guinea pigs’. They enjoyed playing genuinely easy yet expressive pieces. Just a little more advanced is Semplice – 12 Piano Solos without titles (Amazon). Currently, a grade 4/5 adult pupil is having a ball with Rendezvous with Midnight – 12+1 Nocturnes for Teens (‘Moonbeams’ is on the ABRSM Grade 4 syllabus) and advanced adult pupil is enjoying The Magritte Collection – le chant de la violette and 7 other piano solos. (All of my pieces can be heard on my YouTube channel.)
What advice can you offer to adult students who struggle with physical limitations but have sophisticated musical taste?
We’re SO fortunate in having a vast repertoire of marvelous, expressive piano pieces to play—contemporary as well as classical, that I think one can stay very comfortably within one’s scope, but still find pieces which are entirely satisfying. If necessary, to find just the right piece, there are teachers, forums, and music shops where one could ask, YouTube to listen to…
Tell me about your latest project, All Beautiful & Splendid Things - 12+1 Songs for Piano on Poems by Women. How did you integrate poetry and music in this collection?
Ah – this collection was a joy to write! Going through ever so many poetry collections, discovering amazing poets, such as Sara Teasdale... then composing piano pieces which incorporate the poems—syllable for syllable, so that the texts can actually be sung! (though I prefer to just play the pieces while simultaneously reading the texts) This was a lovely experience, forcing me also to concentrate more on lyric lines and melody, and somewhat less on rhythm and harmony, which is more my usual style.
What inspired you to combine notes and poetry in this unique way?
J.R.R. Tolkein! I actually originally intended to put Tolkein’s poetry of ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ into music—but I was informed that the copyrights were simply not to be had. So I went a different direction and decided to take texts by women poets instead!
What advice can you give to young musicians who wish to launch careers as composers?
It’s basically impossible to ‘make a career’ as a full-time composer. ( Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin had to give piano lessons as well as compose!) You’d have to get into the film and commercial advertising industry, I believe. But there’s nothing to prevent you from being wonderfully creative! Write for instruments you know well; otherwise have an expert at hand to answer ALL your questions. I was brought up on VERY old-fashioned harmony courses – we literally used J.J.Fux’s harmonic exercises from his Gradus ad Parnassum from 1725 at the Mozarteum. And learning figured bass gave me a wonderful grounding in sound harmony! But I can imagine a more jazz- and rock-based harmonic training would be at least as useful for a contemporary composer…
Barbara Arens is an enthusiastic piano teacher. She began her studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg at the age of 13. After a concert career performing primarily as harpsichordist and organist, she now enjoys composing for her piano pupils as well as for other instrumentalists. She presently lives near Würzburg, Germany, after living in Beirut, Dallas, San Francisco, Singapore, Salzburg, London and Munich. Her works appear on the syllabuses of the ABRSM, Trinity College London, RIAM, RCM, LCM, AMEB, MTB, and more. Her publishers include Breitkopf & Härtel, Editions Musica Ferrum London, Amazon, Sheet Music Plus, Blackrock Music, & Trinity College London Press.