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For more information, please call the Symphony at 831-624-8511
or 800-698-1138.
These copyrighted program notes are available for the edification of all
concert attendees. If not otherwise noted, they are extracted from
"Notes on Music" by Dr. Louise Cuyler (1906-1998). No use is permitted
without the written consent of the Monterey Symphony, PO Box 3965,
Carmel, CA 93921. Please click on the MONTH to retrieve program notes,
now in an easier-to-print format.
March 2008
Monterey Symphony Program Notes Concert Five
March 15, 2008 (3 pm Final Rehearsal & 8 pm Concert) - Sherwood Hall,
Salinas
March 16 (3 pm) & March 17, 2008(8 pm) - Sunset Theater, Carmel
Max Bragado-Darman, conductor
Angel Romero, guitar
Appalachian Spring
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Composed
(1943-1944)
Aaron Copland was the best known of
that pioneer group of "Americanist" composers who brought so much
vitality to music in our country during the decades between the
Great Wars. Copland wrote music of every sort for the cinema and the
ballet as well as compositions for "serious" concert performance. In
his own words, he sought to compose works "that would immediately be
recognized as American in character." In order to achieve this he
often turned to jazz and American folk song for inspiration.
Late in the 1930s, Copland felt an urge to reach a larger public, in
order to achieve which, he tried to infuse his music with what he
called "imposed simplicity." Appalachian Spring belongs to the end
of this period. Its inspiration was a poem of the same title by Hart
Crane, and the commission for the work, a ballet, came from that
great and generous patron of the American composer, Elizabeth
Sprague Coolidge. It was premiered at the Library of Congress by
Martha Graham and her Company on October 30, 1944. The original
musical score called for a chamber orchestra of thirteen
instruments, but the composer later arranged it as a symphonic suite
which is the version heard in these concerts. The composer furnished
the following synoptic notes for the first performance by the New
York Philharmonic- Symphony Orchestra.
1. Very slowly: Introduction of the characters one by one in a
suffused light.
2. Fast: Sudden burst of unison strings in A Major arpeggios starts
the section. A sentiment both elated and religious gives the keynote
to this scene.
3. Moderate: Duo for the Bride and Her Intended - scene of
tenderness and passion.
4. Quite fast: The Revivalist and his flock. Folksy feelings -
suggestions of square dances and country fiddlers.
5. Still faster: Solo dance of the Bride - Presentiment of
motherhood. Extremes of joy and fear and wonder.
6. Very Slowly: Transition scene to music reminiscent of the
introduction.
7. Calm and flowing: Scenes of daily activity for the Bride and her
Farmer-husband. (In this section the Shaker song "Simple Gifts" is
announced by the solo clarinet, then extended in five variations.)
8. Moderate: Coda. The Bride takes her place among her neighbors.
At the end, the couple are left "quiet and strong in their new
house." Muted strings intone a hushed, prayer-like passage.
Louise Cuyler
Concierto de Aranjuez
Joaquin Rodrigo
(1901 - 1999)
Composed: 1939-40
One of the curiosities of Western music is that so many of the
"Spanish" compositions written during the last two centuries have
been written by non-Spaniards. We think, for example of the Russian
Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio espagnol, or works by the two Frenchmen
Bizet and Lalo, Carmen and Symphonie espagnol.
Rodrigo, with his Concierto de Aranjuez, seems to have
reversed that trend, for that composition, written in 1939-40, has
established an enormous vogue for both the guitar and all Spanish
music. This Concierto was written in the midst of the
prevalence of 12-tone music and cacophony; but, it was also just in
time to have the advantage of the restoration of the guitar as a
serious solo instrument by the great Spanish guitarist Andres
Segovia.
Joaquin Rodrigo was not himself a guitarist. In fact, he is quoted
as observing that he "couldn't play four notes in a row" on the
instrument. His serious training in composition was in Paris where
he was a student of Paul Dukas, of Sorcerer's Apprentice fame. Most
of the major French composers have shown a flair for the orchestra
and this gift has definitely rubbed off on Rodrigo. His concerto for
guitar is not only indigenous to that instrument ?? it is also
splendidly orchestrated, especially the second movement. A few
remarks on each of the three movements follow.
1. Allegro con spirito
Rodrigo dispenses with the orchestral prelude which was customary in
many earlier concertos. Instead he launches the guitar in a kinetic
two-measure chordal figure that is present during much of this first
movement. It is comprised of a measure of the rhythm dash dot dash
juxtaposed to a measure of three even beats. This uses the
combination of alternating 2 and 3 rhythms which is characteristic
of much Spanish music. This guitar figure is supported by the
lightest of backgrounds in the orchestra. Soon the string choir
picks up the 2/3 rhythmic figure. A lilting, very Spanish air is
added presently by oboes and clarinets. The movement grows in
intensity, passing through very colorful modulations. The close
tapers off to the same guitar chords with which it commenced. We
might recall that Ravel's smashingly successful Bolero was written
just ten years before Rodrigo's Concierto. There are many affinities
between the two works.
2. Adagio
As this enchanting movement unfolds, it emerges as the essence of
what is called the concerted style: a continuous dialogue, even
disputation, between various orchestral instruments and the solo
guitar. The melodic phrase on which the entire movement is based is
stated first by the English horn (alto oboe) accompanied by chords
in the guitar. This phrase is set into motion at the very outset by
a type of ornament called a mordent which gives special stress to
the first melodic note; this mordent will be heard often as the
"dialogue" continues and is an easily identified element. The
dialogue becomes ever more contentious as the phrases grow shorter
and draw closer together. Their climax is a brilliant cadenza for
the guitar, followed by a recall of the opening phrase in full
orchestra. This recedes gradually to the dynamic marking pppp (as
softly as possible).
3. Allegro gentile
This vigorous finale exploits continuously the 2/3 rhythmic
relationship introduced in the first movement. It is brilliantly
orchestrated, showing Rodrigo to be a fine student of his French
teachers.
Louise Cuyler
Sinfonietta*
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
"I was born in Paris on 7 January 1899.”
Francis Poulenc once related to a friend, “I studied piano under Viñes
and composition almost solely through books because I was fearful of
being influenced by a teacher. I read a lot of music and greatly
pondered musical aesthetics. My four favorite composers, my only
masters, are Bach, Mozart, Satie and Stravinsky. I don't like Beethoven
at all. I loathe Wagner. In general, I am very eclectic, but while
acknowledging that influence is a necessary thing, I hate those artists
who dwell in the wake of the masters. Now, a crucial point. I am not a
Cubist musician, even less a Futurist and, of course, not an
Impressionist. I am a musician without a label."
Indeed, French composer Francis Poulenc was born in Paris. His father
was a devout Catholic from the center of France and his mother, Jenny
Royer, a descendent of a long line of Parisian artisans. She was a
person who preferred to make up her own mind, rather than have someone
tell her what she should think. The dichotomy of the household
philosophies must have been rather contentious at times, but was
genuinely loving. Jenny Royer was also a talented pianist and was
Francis’ first teacher. At the age of 14, Poulenc heard the great
virtouso pianist Eduard Risler perform Chabrier’s Idyll and that was the
pivotal moment at which he decided to become a composer. By the time
1917 arrived, Poulenc had lost his mother then his father. In 1918, he
was called to National Service to defend France but continued to
composer at every opportunity.
Poulenc’s early work certainly had the attention of serious music lovers
because in 1920 Paris’ most famous music critic, Henri Collet, included
Poulenc in a group of young composers he labeled “Les Six,” a reference
to “The Five” great Russian composers (Cui, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov,
Borodin, and Balakirev) who had created a “Russian” national music. In
addition to Poulenc, this prestigious group of young French composers
included Georges Auric (1899–1983), Louis Durey (1888–1979), Arthur
Honegger (1882–1955), Darius Milhaud (1892–1974), and Germaine
Tailleferre (1892–1983).
Many of Poulenc’s compositions were chamber music pieces or intended for
relatively small (for the time) ensembles. In the 1930's after the
tragic death of a close friend in a car accident, however, Francis
Poulenc rediscovered Catholicism and dedicated himself to the creation
of several larger religious works. The two best know are his Gloria
(1962) and his great opera, The Dialogue of the Carmelites (1957). His
output for orchestral forces are limited to the ballet scores (Aubade,
Les biches), a Concerto for Two Pianos, a Harpsichord Concerto, and this
Sinfonietta.
The Sinfonietta or “Little Symphony” was completed in 1948 as a
commission from the BBC and the Royal Philharmonic. Poulenc was a slow
and careful composer who often threatened to miss deadlines. The
Sinfonietta was composed in time for its premiere. Its name is
misleading. The music it contains is substantive, based on sketches
Poulenc had made for a string quartet. It contains four movements. The
first, Allegro con fuoco, has an infectious two-note (Up-Down) figure
heard at the opening, a softer middle section, and a return of the
two-note figure. The second movement, Molto vivace, is the darkest
movement with an internal development of its themes. The third movement,
Andante cantabile, is a glorious song one might hear while walking down
a country lane on a sunny afternoon. Listen for the beautiful horn solo.
The Finale gives the biggest nod to the 20th century, yet the entire
piece is an homage to the cleverness of Mozart and the exuberance of
Haydn.
Joseph Truskot
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