Europe

Abba | Hasta Mañana

“‘Hasta Mañana,’ an ABBA ballad released on their 1974 Waterloo album, never quite managed to reach the top of international charts, but is nonetheless included in most band compilations, including Greatest Hits and The Best Of ABBA,” (MusicTales). “The song was originally intended for the Eurovision Song Contest and was subsequently replaced by Waterloo featuring the lead vocals of both ABBA’s female singers Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad which followed the band’s promotion concept more closely.

‘Hasta Mañana’ is credited to the ABBA members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus as well as their manager Stig Anderson, who scribbled the final version of the lyrics. It is reported that a draft recording was handed over to Stig to compose the lyrics before he left on vacation in the Canary Islands, where he snatched that catchy phrase ‘hasta mañana’ (meaning ‘see you tomorrow’ in Spanish) while listening to a radio broadcast.”

The tune is a slice of the quartet’s slightly simpler sound from the period just before the full effect of their worldwide fame took hold. Starting in F major, the tune shifts via a late half-step key change to F# major (2:33). Many thanks to our frequent contributor Ziyad from the UAE for this submission — his 21st!

Felix Mendelssohn | Variations Serieuses, op. 54

“In 1841, at the height of his mastery, Mendelssohn wrote three variation cycles for piano in quick succession,” (Long + McQuade). “The first of them, the ‘Variations Serieuses’ Op. 54, should probably be regarded as his most important piano work. It formed part of an anthology of works by renowned composers of the time, proceeds from the sales of which were intended for the erection of a monument in Bonn” for Mendelsossohn’s German colleague, Beethoven.

“At that time there was something of a production line of so-called “Variations Brillantes” for piano; Mendelssohn gave his seventeen Variations in D minor op. 54 the title ‘Variations Serieuses’ to distance himself from these. The beautiful main theme has an earnest, poignant character that is sustained throughout all the transformations.”

Beginning in D minor, the tonality flips over to the relative F major after the completion of the first eight measures (0:20). Continuously shifting variations on the theme continue from that point.

Piranhahead feat. Carmen Rogers | The Beauty of Life

“Carmen Rodgers has graced a wide assortment of independent R&B recordings since the early 2000s,” (Qobuz.com). “Known for lively and soothing vocals and unreserved songwriting covering a broad spectrum of emotions, her solo work includes the albums Free (2004) and Stargazer (2015), and the EP release Hello Human, Vol. 1 (2021). For the majority of her career, she has been a close associate of the Foreign Exchange and that group’s Lorenzo ‘Zo!’ Ferguson.

Exemplars of progressive R&B and hip-hop, the Foreign Exchange use the neo-soul idiom as a mere jumping off point for an evolving sound that draws from sophisticated funk, quiet storm, deep house, broken beat, and much more. An early and prime example of the Internet facilitating collaboration, FE began in 2002 as a strictly online dialog between North Carolinian rapper/singer Phonte (of Little Brother) and Dutch producer Nicolay.” The two initially worked together from opposite sides of the Atlantic.

The Foreign Exchange, in collaboration with Reel People Music, compiled a 2017 collection of tracks, Hide & Seek, by various artists they’ve worked with in one capacity or another. A tune form the album, “The Beauty of Life,” features Rodgers and Detroit-based producers Piranhahead and Divinity. Infused with a latin-inspired groove, the track spends must of its time in F# minor. But at 3:54, the tonality smoothly moves half a step upward to G minor for the balance of the track.

Trijntje Ooterhuis | Joy To The World

Thanks to Steck for submitting this mod. His write-up is below:

Vocalist Trijntje Oosterhuis is a Dutch pop star. Her first fame came with the pop group Total Touch, which included her brother Tjeerd. She was a founding member of the Dutch supergroup Ladies of Soul, originally formed for a memorial concert for Whitney Houston, and which continues to put on an annual concert. In her solo career, she’s recorded several albums of Burt Bacharach compositions, with Bacharach playing on some tracks.

In case you were wondering how to pronounce her name, you can find that here.

“Joy to the World” is an English Christmas carol dating from 1719. (Editor’s note: Jeremiah the bullfrog is not part of this tune.) This recording is taken from her 2010 release of holiday songs “This Is The Season”.

Starting in B♭, there’s a modulation to B at 1:14. After a finger-picking guitar section by guitarist Leonardo Amuedo, there’s another half-step modulation at 1:58, and the choir takes us out.

Franz Liszt | Vallée d’Obermann

“Franz Liszt’s Vallée d’Obermann (‘Obermann’s Valley’) is a virtual tone poem for solo piano,” (The Listeners’ Club). The Hungarian composer “wrote this music in the 1830s at a time when he lived in Switzerland with the countess Marie d’Agoult, with whom he had eloped. The piece was later revised and published as part of the first of a collection of three suites titled Années de pèlerinage (‘Years of Pilgrimage’).

Vallée d’Obermann begins with a gloomy and desolate descending theme in the pianist’s left hand, accompanied by hollow triplets in the upper register. Chromaticism and wrenching dissonances evoke a sense of aimless wandering, exhaustion, and angst. These opening bars bring to mind Liszt’s description of Obermann as ‘the monochord of the relentless solitude of human pain.’ This initial motif forms the seed out which the entire piece develops, using the process of thematic transformation that we find throughout Liszt’s orchestral tone poems. Through this metamorphosis, Vallée d’Obermann briefly transcends the darkness of E minor and floats into the celestial sunshine of C major. In its final moments, the music surges upward to an exhilarating climax.”

“In a letter Liszt once confessed that, ‘My piano is the repository of all that stirred my nature in the impassioned days of my youth. I confided to it all my desires, my dreams, my sorrows. Its strings vibrated to my emotions, and its keys obeyed my every caprice.’” (Classic FM).

The transition from E minor (and transient departures from that key) to C major falls at the 4:48 point. The lighter mood is further accentuated at that point by a noticeably higher range and softer dynamic — for awhile, at least!

Paul Mauriat | Love is Blue

“Love is Blue,” originally composed by Andre Popp and Pierre Cour, started off its life as Luxembourg’s entry in the 1967 Eurovision Song Contest,” (Stereogum). Several versions charted over the years, “but the version of the song that really hit … was the one that French easy listening composer Paul Mauriat released the following year.”

MotD regular contributor JB calls Paul Mauriat’s “Love is Blue” (1968) “… a perfect encapsulation of the zeitgeist of the mid-60s. At the same time that the Rolling Stones were recording truly transgressive stuff like ‘Under My Thumb,’ there were still large and enthusiastic audiences for weekly variety shows like Lawrence Welk and The Grand Ole Opry. Mauriat’s arrangement manages to simultaneously include both a beautiful harpsichord melody and cheesy strings and horns.”

Starting in A minor, the tune’s progresses through two verses before reaching the chorus, which shifts to A major at 0:54 after a dynamic huge buildup previewing the major key at 0:51. The pattern continues from there.

Keven Eknes | Falls

“Keven Eknes is a Norwegian guitarist and composer based in Los Angeles, CA,” (artist website). “He is developing his first full-length instrumental album, Dark Canyon, created in collaboration with keyboardist and producer Alex Argento, following earlier solo releases.

… As a touring and session guitarist, Keven has performed and recorded with Jonathan Cain (Journey), Engelbert Humperdinck, Jesse McCartney, Leslie Odom Jr., among others. He was part of the house band for NBC’s American Song Contest, performing with artists including Michael Bolton, and has worked extensively with the Deadline Hollywood Orchestra on projects featuring artists and composers such as Mark Ronson, Diane Warren, Jaeil Jung, Brian Tyler, and Bear McCreary.”

Eknes’ 2014 track “Falls” is largely built in A minor. From the first bars, its lyrical melody soars above a peaceful 12/8 feel. A chorus arrives at 1:38 — initially in Bb major. But after a shift in the groove and a falling chromatic bass line, the section eventually ends on a sustained D major chord, fading to the 2:11 mark. Next is a soft-spoken dialogue among drums, bass, and guitar. At 3:04, the cycle repeats, with the guitar melody augmented and developed along the way. A blistering bridge in E minor hits at 4:13, shifting over to A major at 4:48. 5:20 brings a gentle restatement of the theme, starting in A minor but concluding in D major.

Ludwig van Beethoven | Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61

“Ideas for the Violin Concerto (1806) can be found in the same notebook that Ludwig van Beethoven was using for the Fifth Symphony,” (Nashville Symphony). “While the latter required several years to be hammered into being, he produced the concerto in a matter of months, in 1806. But Beethoven did keep his soloist, a friend named Franz Joseph Clement who had been a former prodigy, waiting until the very last minute; he completed the score barely in time for the premiere two days before Christmas.

Beethoven had written his piano concertos up to this time for himself as soloist, but here he tailored this piece to the musical personality of Clement, who was acclaimed for the delicacy and tender refinement of his style—aspects that Beethoven highlights throughout the piece. But for all the celebrity of the soloist, the work did not catch on right away. While not as outwardly radical as the Eroica, the Violin Concerto was path-breaking in its own way and may have disappointed concertgoers expecting a mere display piece. There are few documented performances over the next three decades or so, and the Violin Concerto had to wait for such advocates as Joseph Joachim.”

After beginning in D major, the orchestra shifts with a sudden burst of increased volume (1:02) to D minor. Many more shifts occur throughout, but this one takes place before the violin soloist’s part even begins. This frequently-programmed piece is quickly recognizable — even from this introductory section alone.

Damiano David | Born With a Broken Heart

“Damiano David’s … second solo single (is) ‘Born With a Broken Heart’ (2024). A soaring, synth-pop tinged offering, the new track follows ‘Silverlines’ – Damiano’s first release independent of the Eurovision-winning band (Måneskin),” (DIY Mag). “‘When I wrote this song I was getting out of a very dark place, I was feeling emotionless and I was afraid that I had lost my ability to feel things, either good or bad,’ the Italian star has shared. ‘This was happening while I was starting the most meaningful relationship of my life and the fear of not being capable or ready was big. I think the song was a way to make myself make sense of what I was feeling and look at it from a less scary prospective. I’m happy to say that today I don’t feel like this, but I think a lot of people can relate with the feeling of not being good enough.”

The track hit top 100 status in several dozen countries, but climbed to the top 5 in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, Japan, Poland, and Spain. Built primarily in B major, the tune shifts up a whole step to C# major at 2:39 after a post-bridge grand pause.

B+B Project | Cheremshyna

“B+B Project” is a Ukrainian ensemble named for its instrumentation (button accordion and bandura, an instrument which combines qualities of the zither and the lute). “The bandura is a traditional Ukrainian instrument … the B+B Project is bringing back the popularity of this fine instrument!” (EthnoCloud). “The group was created (in) 2015. They play a diverse repertoire: original songs, cover versions, rock, classical music, dubstep, Ukrainian music, and many others … The collective has toured extensively in Ukraine and around the world.” The B&B Project is now one of the most famous instrumental groups in Ukraine.

The group released “Cheremshyna” in 2022. After beginning in A minor, there’s a shift up a full step to B minor at 1:53. At 2:27, the tune returns to the original key.