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Symphony No.3, Sinfonia sacra
Andrzej Panufnik
(1914-1991)
Composed 1963
The Sinfonia sacra written by Andrzej Panufnik
in 1963 is, as the composer himself asserted, “an expression of my
religious and patriotic feelings.” Even upon an initial hearing of
this dramatic work, it will be self-evident that the composer’s
feelings were deep and his ability to express them superb. The work
was devised as a means to commemorate Poland’s 1,000 years of
statehood and Christianity, which was widely celebrated in 1966.
Even the United States Postal Service issued a stamp to honor the
event. The reason for all this attention had much to do with
embarrassing the repressive Communist regime then in power. A
popular celebration of Polish culture by an individual of Panufnik’s
stature only heaped more international scorn on one of the Iron
Curtain’s most repressive dictatorships.
Andrzej Panufnik, the son of a well-known
violin maker, began composing at the age of nine. He studied music
at the Warsaw Conservatory (1932-1936), conducting at the Vienna
Academy of Music with Felix Weingartner (1937-38)and traveled to
Paris and London in 1938 and 1939. With his fellow composer Witold
Lutoslawski (1913-1994), Panufnik formed a piano duo, arranging many
works in the common literature for piano four-hands. The duo
performed during the war years at charity concerts, sanctioned and
otherwise, throughout Warsaw. These skillful arrangements were also
burned in the fire storm.
After the war, Panufnik served first as the
conductor of the Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra and then director of
the Warsaw Philharmonic. He was widely regarded as the most
important Polish conductor-composer of his time and as such received
invitations to leave Communist-run Poland and travel abroad. He
conducted the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic
Orchestra, and many other professional ensembles. In 1950 he was
appointed vice-president of the UNESCO International Music Council.
The Stalinist-imposed constraints on creative
artists in Poland and Panufnik’s international prestige abroad
contributed to his decision to remain in London, where he had
traveled on official business in 1953. He was soon named the head of
the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and helped to build that
ensemble into one of England’s finest. In 1959, he resigned from
this position to commit himself entirely to composing.
As a result of his defection, his works were not
performed in Poland from 1953 to 1976. His name did not appear in
dictionaries, press reviews, books or any other publications. In
1987, Panufnik published “Composing Myself”—his autobiography, which
chronicles not only his artistic triumphs but his emotional distress
at losing his Polish identity.
In 1991, however, he was granted a prize from the
Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for his contributions to Polish
culture and after a 36-year absence, returned to Poland at the
invitation of the Warsaw Autumn Festival. The program he presented
included 11 of his pieces, three of them performed under his baton
(Symphony No.10, Harmony, and Violin Concerto). In 1991, Queen
Elizabeth honored him with knighthood.
The Sinfonia sacra (Sacred Symphony) is
constructed in two parts. The first, Three Visions, is subdivided
into an antiphonal fanfare for four trumpets; a religious quote from
the Bogurodzica—a 10th century chant, the oldest in the Polish
language performed by the strings; and a battery of percussion
instruments signalling Poland’s military role in protecting itself
and the rest of Western Europe from invaders. The second part, Hymn,
slowly builds its intensity and then climaxes into a fully stated
Bogurodzica. The heraldic trumpets and percussion return to bring
the work to its dramatic conclusion.
Joseph Truskot
Sinfonia from I
Capuleti e i Montecchi*
Oh! Quant volte
from I Capuleti e i Montecchi*
Vincenzo Bellini
(1801-1835)
In 1830, Italian composer
Vincenzo Bellini composed I Capuleti e
I Montecchi (The Capulets and the
Montagues). Instead of calling its opening an "Overture," Bellini
harkened back to an earlier time, and used the term "Sinfonia" which
once indicated an all orchestral segment placed at the onset of a
large Baroque choral work. Bellini’s
Sinfonia is an expression of early
romantic vigor. This work is rarely performed on symphonic programs
despite its admirable, stand-alone qualities. Bellini’s opera is set
in Verona and is a retelling of the famous Romeo and Juliet love
tragedy. However, Bellini didn’t use Shakespeare’s version. Instead,
he used two earlier versions (as did Shakespeare): a novella., "Giulietta
e Romeo" by Matteo Bandello, and a play of the same name by Luigi
Sceola. These versions themselves can be traced back to even earlier
star-crossed lover stories. This opera, therefore, only has five
characters and doesn’t contain Shakespeare’s embellishments—i.e., no
nurse, no friar, no Mercurio.
Vincenzo Bellini was born into a musical family
in Catania, Sicily in 1801. A child prodigy, he studied piano with
his father. (Some stories about his youth claim he could sing
complicated arias at eighteen months.) In 1819, he enrolled at the
Naples Conservatory and, in 1825, received a commission from the
Conservatory to compose an opera,
Adelson e Salvini. Additional
commissions came quickly. I pirata
for Milan’s Teatro alla Scala (1827) gave this young composer
international prominence. His characteristic compositional qualities
included intensely passionate arias with long melodic lines sung
above arpeggio notes in the harp or basses. Bellini advanced the
dramatic potential of opera seria
with his four masterpieces: La
sonnambula (1831),
Norma (1831),
I puritani
(1835), and this opera, I Capuleti e i
Montecchi (1830).
While in Paris, Bellini met and befriended
Frederic Chopin who shared his romantic approach to music, his love
of writers and literature, and their ultimately fatal disease,
tuberculosis. Bellini’s end was sudden. He died, outside of Paris, a
few weeks short of his 35th
birthday.
The Sinfonia
opens with a dramatic drum roll and trumpet call, followed by
melodies presented by flutes, horns, and ultimately the full
orchestra. Through a series of deft transitions, the melodies of the
great arias and ensemble pieces contained within the opera are
presented. Prominent passages are afforded the principal flute and
horn. The Sinfonia
is a true curtain raiser in the grand, early 19th
century style, catching the audience’s attention and providing
musical snippets of what’s to come.
Juliet’s aria, "Oh! Quante volte," takes place on the balcony of her
home and is the equivalent of Shakespeare’s famous balcony scene
which begins, "Romeo, Romeo, Wherefore art thou, Romeo." It opens
with a beautiful passage for flute and harp which, with the addition
of soft strings, accompany the soprano throughout.
Oh! quante volte,
Oh! How much time,
Oh! quante ti chiedo
Oh! How often I beg you!
Al ciel piangendo
The sky weeps
Con quale ardor t'attendo,
with such passion, I await you
E inganno il mio desir!
And delude my desires!
Raggio del tuo sembiante
Your sunny looks
Parmi il brillar del giorno:
To me brighten the day
L'aura che spira intorno
The breeze that whirls around
Mi sembra un tuo respir.
Reminds me of your breath.
Although the music is wonderful, the complete
opera isn’t presented as frequently as
Norma or I
puritani. This could be, in part,
because Romeo is what’s called a "trouser role." Bellini had
available to him some of the greatest mezzo-sopranos who ever lived
and he assigned to them this part. Even in today’s era of fantastic
special effects, there aren’t many opera divas who can be made to
look like an impetuous teenage boy.
Intermezzo from
Manon Lescaut
Giacomo Puccini (1858 -
1924)
Manon Lescaut was Giacomo Puccini’s first
great success and there is much in it to assure its continued
popularity. The story is derived from the famous romance novel by Abbé
Prévost. Act I is set in a public square in Amiens in the 18th century.
Des Grieux arrives at a busy tavern full of his friends and takes a
seat. A carriage pulls up and Manon, her brother Lescaut, and an
acquaintance, Géronte, step out. Des Grieux and Manon meet and chat. She
tells him that she is being sent to a convent against her will. Her
brother calls her into the tavern, but she says to him that she will
return. A friend of des Grieux learns that the lecherous Géronte has
plans to abduct Manon. Des Grieux and Manon meet, profess their mutual
love, and elope.
Act II is set in a sumptuous apartment in Paris. Manon, having tired
of her humble life with des Grieux, has set herself up with Géronte. She
asks her brother Lescaut about des Grieux and is told that he is
drinking and gambling heavily, trying to win enough money to woo her
back. Manon is now bored with Géronte who enters with his cronies and
some musicians. Manon retires to her rooms. Des Grieux enters and
reproaches her for being so faithless. Being together again causes them
to abandon all care and profess eternal love. Géronte discovers them and
expresses his disgust. Manon laughs at him and he departs. Des Grieux
urges her to come away with him immediately. Lescaut, her brother,
arrives and convinces des Grieux to go away quickly. He informs Manon
that Géronte has turned her in to the police who are on their way to
arrest her as a degenerate. Her brother urges her to leave at once, but
she stops at her vanity uncertain as to whether she can live without all
her pretty things. She scoops up some of her favorite jewelry and hides.
Géronte and the police enter. They find her. Géronte laughs at her as
she drops the beautiful items she was clutching and is led off to
prison.
Prior to Act III, the orchestra plays this quieting and exquisite
Intermezzo, compiled from several soft melodies in the drama. It
serves to change the character of the entire opera from the passionate
love and selfishness found in Acts I and II to the punishment and
remorse of Act III and IV. The scene takes place on the wharf at Le
Havre. Manon is in line with other women being deported as
"undesirables" to a life of servitude in Louisiana. Des Grieux and
Lescaut attempt to bribe a guard but are foiled. Finally, in an
impassioned aria, Des Grieux convinces the captain to take him on board
as well. Act IV is a twenty-minute leibestod set on a barren
plain. Des Grieux and Manon have run away from their guards. For days,
they have searched desperately for food and shelter but find none. Manon
is too weak to go on and dies in his arms.
Quando me'n vo from
La bohème
Giacomo Puccini (1858 -
1924)
Puccini’s La boh me is a
remarkable opera in many ways. First, it features ordinary people
living ordinary lives—struggling artists housed in cheap rooms in
Paris in the 1830's. Second, it doesn’t have much plot and holds
together mostly from the strength of the characters and the
impression each scene creates. Third, its melodies are among the
most memorable ever composed. And lastly, its attractive qualities
continue to capture new audiences. It has never left the stages of
the world’s opera houses since its introduction at the Teatro Reggio
in Turin on February 1, 1896 under the baton of a 29-year-old
Italian conductor named Arturo Toscanini!
Act I takes place in an attic apartment lived in by Rodolfo, a poet;
Marcello, a painter; Colline, a philosopher; and Schaunard, a
musician. There’s no heat and little food. The landlord arrives and
demands the overdue rent. They toast him with a round of drinks,
encourage him to join them at the café, and depart (sans paying the
rent). Rodolfo stays behind to work on an article he’s writing. He
answers a knock at the door. Mimi, a neighbor, enters asking for a
light for her candle. They share a beautiful moment together (and
three terrific arias), eventually profess their love for each other,
and go off to meet his friends in the Café Momus.
The second act takes place in the Café in the Latin Quarter of
Paris. Musetta, Marcello’s former lover, arrives on the arm of
Alcindoro. She sings the famous waltz, Quando me'n vo, heard
at these concerts, which describes her in the most flattering terms.
Rodolfo and Mimi join in the casual gathering and add their voices
to the general merriment. Alcindoro is sent on an errand for Musetta.
While he is away, Marcello and Musetta, former lovers, make up. All
depart, leaving Alcindoro with the shoes she sent him to buy and the
bill for everyone’s drinks.
Quando me’n vo soletta per la via,
When I walk all alone in the street
La gente sosta e mira
People stop and stare at me
E la bellezza mia tutta ricerca in me
And look for my whole beauty
Da capo a pie'...
From head to feet
Ed assaporo allor la bramosia
And then I taste the slight yearning
Sottil, che da gli occhi traspira
which transpires from their eyes
E dai palesi vezzi intender sa
and which is able to perceive from
manifest charms
Alle occulte belt .
to most hidden beauties.
Cos l'effluvio del des o tutta m'aggira,
So the scent of desire surrounds me,
Felice mi fa!
it makes me happy!
E tu che sai, che memori
And you, who knows and remembers me,
e ti struggi
Who longs for me,
Da me tanto rifuggi?
Why do you shrink from me?
So ben:
I know it very well:
le angoscie tue non le vuoi dir,
you don't want to express your anguish,
Ma ti senti morir!
but you feel you're dying!
A gate to the city of Paris on bleak wintry day is the setting for
the third act. Mimi enters shivering with cold. She finds Marcello
who has given up art for sign painting. Mimi tells him she is tired
of Rodolfo’s insane jealousy and his constant bickering. Musetta
comes out of the tavern with Rodolfo. Mimi hides. Musetta starts
arguing with Marcello. Rodolfo complains about Mimi. Mimi coughs.
Rodolfo discovers her and is again smitten with love.
Act Four takes place back in the attic. Rodolfo and Marcello are
back living together having broken off with their mistresses.
Colline and Schaunard arrive with some food. The four start clowning
around. Musetta arrives with sad news. Mimi, who is with her
outside, is desperately ill. They rush out and bring Mimi in. With
great care, they make her lie down on the sofa. Again the lovers are
in each other’s arms and past quarrels are forgotten. The friends
all want to help Mimi and each one agrees to sell a personal
belonging to get money to help her. The lovers are together again.
Rodolfo goes to close the curtains, thinking Mimi is asleep. The
friends return to see that she has died. Heartbroken, Rodolfo cries
out her name and the opera ends.
Joseph Truskot
Prelude to Act I from
La traviata
Ah fors lui . . . sempre libere
from La traviata
Giuseppe Verdi
(1813-1901)
In 1848, Alexander Dumas, Jr. published
"The Lady of the Camellias" and it caused a sensation across Europe. Its
main character, Marguerite Gautier, was based on a true life person,
Rose Alphonsine Plessis. She was a peasant girl from the village of
Nonant west of Paris who ran away from home at the age of fifteen to
escape an abusive father. She used her natural intelligence and
attractive looks to gain a place in society. She was said to possess a
natural dignity as well as sensuous nature, happily accepting all that
was given to her and destroying no one. She eventually married the
Vicomte de Perrégaux in London but soon contracted and died of
tuberculosis in 1847 at the age of twenty-three.
The book was so popular, Dumas rearranged it into a stage play, which
has been presented in hundreds of productions and films starring many of
the world’s most prominent actresses. It was often retitled, "Camille."
Dumas’ stage play was enormously popular. Giuseppe Verdi certainly
learned of it while in Paris making arrangements for his opera, I
vespri Siciliani. Verdi had just completed Rigoletto and
Il trovatore and sought a departure from grand historic dramas. He
wrote in a letter that he sought something "simple, moving, and
passionate." His great librettist Francesco Piave presented him with an
idea based on "Le dame aux Camélias." The heroine was renamed
Violetta Valery and La traviata was born. The opera was premiered
at Teatro La Fenice in Venice only six years after Alphonsine had died.
The Prelude to Act I of La traviata, is a fine example of
Verdi’s genius. It begins in hushed tones, full of pathos and
acquiescence. Then, Verdi introduces a theme not heard until the final
act when Violetta lies dying (Addio del passado). It is the
melody that Violetta sings when she knows it’s too late for help. A
remarkably uplifting counter-melody (a second melody played concurrently
with the main melody) offers hope. In this elegant Prelude, Verdi
presents the melody to which Violetta sings "Ah, della traviata sorridi
al desio; a lei, deh, perdona; tu accoglila, o Dio!" (Ah, smile upon the
woman who has strayed; forgive her, oh God. Grant she may come to thee!)
This is a musical quote of the only time in the entire opera the word "traviata"
appears. In so doing, Verdi provides musically, in the Prelude, the
opera’s title.
Prior to La traviata, most operas dealt with mythological
characters or historic personages, long dead. La traviata was set
in Paris at the time of its composition. At its premiere, the singers
wore costumes similar to the clothes the audience was wearing. It was a
dramatic departure from the past, quickly accepted by opera goers and
foreshadowing an entire movement in Italian opera called "verismo."
These characters were ones you could have met on the street. Their
struggles dealt with the common emotional woes many people had to face.
Violetta Valery is a courtesan, a woman kept in luxury by her
admirer, the Baron Douphol. In Act I, Violetta is giving a party in her
home which is a cause of great celebration. She is introduced to Alfredo
Germont, who eventually admits to her that he has loved her since he
first saw her. As dawn breaks and the guests depart, Violetta sings the
great aria heard on this program, "Ah fors’e lui . . . sempre libre."
It’s a tour de force for all sopranos.
Ah, fors'e lui che
I'anima
Ah, perhaps he is the one
solinga ne' tumulti
whom my soul.
godea sovente pingere
lonely in the tumult, loved
de' suoi colori occulti!
to imagine in in secrecy!
Lui che modesto e vigile
Watchful though I never knew it
all’egre soglie ascese,
he came here while I lay sick
e nuova febbre accese,
awakening a new fever,
destandomi all'amor.
the fever of love,
A quell'amor ch'é palpito
of love which is the very breath
del'universo intero,
of the universe itself -
misterioso, altero,
Mysterious and noble,
popoloso deserto
crowded desert
croce e delizia al cor!
both cross and ecstasy of the heart.
Follie! follie! Delirio vane e questo!
Folly! All is folly! This is mad delirium!
Povera donna, sola,
A poor woman, alone,
abbandonata in questo
lost in this
che appellano Parigi.
which is known to men as Paris.
Che spero or piu?
What can I hope for?
Che far degg'io? Gioire,
What should I do? Revel
di volutta ne' vortici perir.
in the whirlpool of earthly pleasures.
Gioir, gioir!
Revel in joy! Ah!
Sempre libera degg'io
Forever free, I must pass
folleggiare di gioia in gioia,
madly from joy to joy.
vo' che scorra il viver mio
My life's course shall be
pei sentieri del piacer.
forever in the paths of pleasure.
Nasca il giorno, o il giorno muoia,
Whether it be dawn or dusk,
sempre lieta ne' ritrovi,
I must always live. Ah!
a diletti sempre nuovi
Gaily in the world's gay places,
dee volare il mio pensier.
ever seeking newer joys.
The center section of La traviata
accounts the love between Alfredo and Violetta, the intrusion of
Alfredo’s father and his forcing Violetta to break off the
relationship. Violetta goes back to the Baron Douphol. Alfredo
challenges the Baron to a duel and wounds him. Eventually, Giorgio
Germont explains all, but it is too late. Alfredo and Violetta meet
again in the final act before Violetta dies. In contrast to the high
emotions expressed in the death chamber, Verdi composed celebratory
choruses sung by Carnival revelers out on the street. It serves to
heighten the sense that, in spite of tragedy, life goes on. Remember
the counter-melody of the Prelude?At the time Verdi composed La traviata, he
was living openly with the soprano Giuseppina Strepponi whom he
would not marry her until 1859. The father of Verdi’s first wife
(she and her two sons had all died of disease within a three-year
span) and one of his earliest patrons adamantly opposed this
unsanctified liaison. They were all living in the small town of
Busetto. The similarity between the troubles in his own life and
those of the characters in La traviata would not have been
lost on such a keen observer as Giuseppe Verdi. Joseph Truskot
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