PROGRAM
NOTES
23 January 2009 Concert
Claude
Debussy (1862-1918)
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun is Debussy’s erotic, shimmering interpretation of
Stephane Mallarmé’s 1876 poem L’Après-midi d’une Faune, itself inspired
by a François Boucher painting. Debussy originally intended to write a work in
three parts--Prélude, Interlude, and Paraphrase finale--but
abandoned this approach and instead expanded the prelude. Mallarmé’s poem
describes the slow, sensuous seduction of two nymphs by an opportunistic faun
(a minor Roman god, half man, half goat). The composer uses music to paint a
voluptuous scene with flute, woodwinds, harp, and strings, layering textures
with notes rather than pigments or words. Los Angeles Times music critic
Herbert Glass summed up the effect of this seminal work as a modern “revolution
in sound and form.” At its première in Paris on December 22, 1894, the stunned
and delighted audience demanded an immediate encore.
Toni
Empringham
Gustav
Mahler (1860-1911)
Mahler’s willingness to use
personal experiences and emotions as a focus for his compositions emerges in
this cycle of four songs, for which he himself wrote the lyrics. The
inspiration in this case was the unhappy conclusion of an intense, unreturned
love for the singer Johanne Richter when Mahler was only 23. As he wrote to a
friend, “All the songs are dedicated to her. She does not know . . . . The
songs are planned to suggest a wayfarer who has met with adversity setting out
into the world and wandering on in solitude.” Like Debussy, Mahler uses the
flute, woodwinds, and harp in addition to the soloist’s voice to convey
the emotions of love. Unlike Debussy’s melodies, however, these beautiful songs
are tinged with sadness and despair. The aesthetic pleasures of nature present
a stark contrast to the unhappy regrets of the speaker.
The first song begins, “When my sweetheart is married,
I will have my day of mourning,” and concludes, “Spring is over” as he thinks
of his sorrow before falling asleep at night. The second song describes the
speaker walking across a field early that morning, noting the beauty of the
flowers, the birdcalls, and the sunshine, but ending with the thought that his
own happiness cannot bloom. “I have a red-hot knife in my breast,” the third
song announces dramatically. “It cuts so deeply into every joy and delight.” The
wish for death that ends this lyric extends into the final song: The “two blue
eyes of [his] darling” have consigned him to “eternal sorrow and grief.” He
finds rest at last under a linden tree that covers him with its snow-white
blossoms, clearly a metaphor for oblivion.
T.E.
1.
Wenn mein
Schatz Hochzeit macht (On my love's wedding day)
The first song tells of the lad's grief at
being rejected: In my darkened room I shall weep for my beloved. Blue flowers
do not wither: Sweet bird, sing of the lovely world: But now, no singing, and
flowering is at an end. I go to bed with my sorrow.
2.
Ging heut'
Morgen übers Feld (Through the field I made my way)
In the second song we find the lad setting
off across the dewy meadow, talking to the birds and falling in love with his
pastoral world: The merry finch spoke to me - "Good morning, isn't it a
fine bright world; how I love the world" The bluebells say good morning
with their bells - Ding-dong: I love the world! Heigh-ho! The whole world
sparkles in the sunshine, everything, both sound and colour. Flowers and birds
both large and small. Good day! Hi, isn't it a lovely world? Now perhaps my joy
will return. But no; for me nothing can ever bloom again.
3.
Ich hab' ein
glühend messer (There is a glowing dagger)
In the third song the lad sings of a
red-hot dagger piercing his breast: into his very soul and cutting into his
every joy. A dagger which is never calm, never still, neither by day nor night.
When asleep, when awake and looking up, he sees two blue eyes. O woe! The
golden corn which brushes past him as he walks through the fields reminds him
of her golden hair. And Oh! Oh! Her silvery laughter! I could lie on my bier
and never open my eyes again.
4.
Die zwei blauen
Augen (Your sweet eyes)
In the fourth and final song, the lad's
memory of those two blue eyes makes him wander from the home that is so dear to
him, so full of grief and sorrow is he. He goes out into the night and crosses
the gloomy heath, finding rest under a linden tree. On awakening he finds the
tree has showered its white blossom over him, and he feels all is well again.
Life will be good again! Love and sorrow, and world and dream!
Grigore
Nica
A fanfare is like a prelude or
an opening, a flourish, usually to be played by brass instruments. Throughout
the centuries, many composers have written fanfares for different ensembles,
from very simple--one trumpet, or two instruments, in solemn character--to a
large ensemble with wind instruments and percussion. My Fanfare is
written for all the winds, brass, and a few percussion instruments (timpani,
snare drum, and bass drum) in tempo “Festivo.” The music is in contemporary
style, very chromatic, with dissonant tones, imitations in canon, and dialogues
between winds and brass. The percussion instruments contribute by adding color
and more tension.
I wrote this short piece in 2004 and reviewed it one
year later. I have the privilege to listen tonight to its performance by the
Beach Cities Symphony Orchestra ensemble.
Grigore
Nica (See his bio at the bottom of
these program notes)
César Franck (1822-1890)
César Franck was a child
prodigy who toured his native Belgium as a pianist at the age of 13. At 15 he entered
the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied for five years. On leaving the
Conservatoire, he concentrated on composition and settled in Paris. In 1853 he
became choirmaster, and in 1858 organist, of the church of Sainte-Clotilde His
outstanding ability as an improviser attracted listeners including Franz Liszt,
who said Franck’s skill was equal to that of Bach. Franck was professor of
organ at the Conservatoire from 1872 until his death, and although he did not
officially teach composition there, his organ seminars served as the de facto
training ground for an entire generation of France’s composer luminaries.
Throughout these years, the general public ignored his compositions. However,
his pupils adored him and, led by Vincent d'Indy, organized a concert of his
works, including the Symphony in D Minor, in January of 1887. Critics
(including the composer’s wife) as usual panned it. One insisted the work could
not be regarded as a symphony because Franck had used an English horn in it!
Even the usually generous Charles Gounod is said to have declared the Symphony
in D minor to be “the affirmation of incompetence pushed to dogmatic lengths.”
Be it professional jealousy (Gounod’s symphonies were of little significance)
or candid honesty that motivated Gounod, history has affirmed the contrary.
The opening movement is
launched by a three-note questioning motive in the low strings. This question
generates a lengthy slow introduction, brooding but expectant. The questioning
idea then erupts into a bold Allegro, but Franck immediately short
circuits that and reprises the slow introduction in a higher key. After this,
the Allegro finally takes off and soon introduces us to the second of
the symphony's motive themes: an optimistic tune around the note A,
introduced fortissimo by the full orchestra. Franck then recapitulates
the slow introduction, its original brooding mood now transformed into a blaze
of brass. A short but powerful coda decisively changes the question into a
ringing affirmation in D major.
The contrasting second movement is all French subtlety
and delicate scoring, a combination of slow movement and scherzo. Harp and
plucked strings outline the theme. Then the English horn sings it in full: a
grave and melancholy melody with an old-fashioned modal flavor. The movement is
punctuated by two trios and a lively section that is reminiscent of a scherzo.
The finale opens boldly with an exultant tune that
sounds oddly familiar due to the cyclical nature of the symphony. Later in the
movement, when the first movement's optimistic second theme returns, it too
proves to be related. Reminiscences of earlier music keep reappearing, led by
the second movement's grave dance. The closing coda repeats the opening
motives, now elevated by the harp. But it is the finale's own exultant theme
that finally sweeps aside the cyclical nostalgia with a joyous
conclusion.
Bill
Malcolm
Grigore Nica was born in
Mr. Nica is
a member of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers), and
MTAC (Music Teachers Association of California). A prolific composer, Mr. Nica
has written concertos, concertinos, cantatas, symphonic poems, chamber music,
songs, choir music, and one symphony. His award-winning compositions have been
performed in
Mr. Nica
lives in
Adapted from http://www.muphiepsilon.org/PSWdistconfMusicalProgramNotes.htm
This page last modified on
January 22, 2009.