Program Notes
Symphony of Psalms
Igor Stravinsky
Born June 17, 1882
in Lomonosov, Russia
Died April 6, 1971
in New
York,
USA
In 1930, Igor Stravinsky was commissioned to
write a new piece in celebration of Boston Symphony Orchestra’s 50th
anniversary. Given full liberty in the form of the composition and the forces
needed for its performance, he decided to use a choral and an instrumental
ensemble, with the two entities performing, in his own words, “on an equal
footing." Using the text from the Vulgate Psalms 38, 39 and 150, he
created "an organic whole without conforming to various models adopted by
custom, but still retaining the periodic order by which the symphony is
distinguished from the suite,” naming it Symphony
of Psalms. He completed the orchestration in September 1930 and inscribed
on the score that "this Symphony, composed to the glory of GOD, is
dedicated to the Boston Symphony Orchestra on the occasion of the fiftieth
anniversary of its existence." The first performance of the Symphony of Psalms was originally
planned for Boston, with
Serge Koussevitzky conducting; however, due to the illness of the conductor,
the concert had to be postponed, resulting in the premiere taking place instead
in Brussels on December 13, 1930 with the Societe Philharmonique de Bruxelles, Ernest Ansermet,
conducting. A week later, on December 19, Koussevitzky conducted the American
premiere with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Harvard Glee Club, and the
Radcliffe Choral Society in Boston. The first recording of the work was made by
Stravinsky himself at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris on
February 17 and 18, 1931, featuring the Orchestre des
Concerts Straram and the Alexis Vlassay
Choir. The composer originally intended to employ boys for its soprano and alto
sections in the choir but, at the premiere, as well as subsequent performances
conducted by him, these parts were sung by women.
Of all Stravinsky's works, the Symphony
of Psalms is perhaps the most completely integrated. Unlike many pieces
composed for chorus and orchestra, Stravinsky said that “it is not a symphony
in which I have included Psalms to be sung. On the contrary, it is the singing
of the Psalms that I am symphonizing.”
Like many other works by Stravinsky, including the Rite of Spring and
Petrushka, the Symphony of Psalms is based on the octatonic scale. The work has
three movements, each one devoted to one of the three hortatory virtues
described by St. Paul in the Holy
Scriptures. The first movement represents LOVE, the
second movement represents HOPE, and the third FAITH. The first movement is
based upon the text from Psalm 39, verses 13 and 14. Its opening flowing ostinato sections
and surprising E minor chords provide an introduction for the choir, which
opens with “Hear my prayer, O Lord.” Stravinsky emphasizes the church-like
quality of the piece even before the chorus's entrance
by using church modes. The piano plays a dorian
scale in measures 12 and 13, followed by the phrygian
mode. The choir’s entrance provides the second motif, emphasizing the octatonic scale. Stravinsky skillfully creates the ritual
feel of the piece, while accentuating the text in a most dramatic manner. The
movement ends in a G major chord that evokes the Baroque feel through the usage
of the Picardy third.
This effect, combined with the composer’s initial desire to use boys for its
soprano and alto sections, suggests Stravinsky’s intention to set the piece in
an archaic manner, using not only ancient texts but ancient musical influences
as well.
The second movement of the
Symphony
of Psalms is a double fugue and uses the text from Psalm 40, verses 2, 3,
and 4. The first nine measures of the second movement show the first two
entrances of the first fugal theme. The soprano and alto parts join from
measures 29, showing the first two entrances of the second fugal theme. The
music emphasizes the text, which, in contrast to the prayerful first movement,
has characteristics of lamentations: “I waited patiently for the Lord: and He
inclined unto me, and heard my calling…” In the original manuscript, Stravinsky
pasted a drawing of the crucifix in his sketchbook and wrote "Adveniat regnum tuum" (“Thy
kingdom come”).
The third movement, Allegro symphonique, is based upon the text of Psalm 150, “Laudate Dominum” (“Praise the
Lord”). The text is joyous; therefore, this movement is more uplifting. First,
Stravinsky sets the text to a slow tempo, followed by faster, more forceful
sections.
The orchestra that accompanies the choir calls for 4 flutes and a
piccolo, 4 oboes, English horn, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 5 trumpets,
3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, harp, 2 pianos, cellos and basses.
* * *
Carmina Burana
Carl Orff
Born July 10, 1895
in Munich, Germany
Died March 29, 1982
in Munich, Germany
O Fortune, like the moon you are changeable. These are the opening lines of
Carmina Burana, a scenic cantata and masterpiece by Carl Orff that has become one of the most loved choral works of
our time.
Found in 1803 in the Bavarian monastery of Benediktbeuern (Germany),
Carmina Burana or Burana Codex is a manuscript collection
of 228 poems dated as early as the 13th century, written in Latin,
medieval German and French. When Carl Orff came into possession of the
collection, he was immediately fascinated by the texts: “On opening it, I
immediately found on the front page, the long famous picture of ‘Fortune with
her wheel’ and under it the lines: O
Fortuna, velut luna statu variabilis.
Picture and words seized hold of me.” His initial fascination grew as he
continued to work on the score. Orff wrote to Schott, his publisher: “Destroy
everything I have written to date… with Carmina
Burana, my complete works will begin!” When the work premiered in Frankfurt
on June 8, 1937 it indeed
created a sensation, and it continues to create a stir with each performance to
this day.
Orff composed Carmina
Burana in 1936, using 24 poems, most of them written in Latin. He initially
intended to stage the cantata, and the composition was envisioned as a scenic
piece for a large chorus and orchestra. The full title of the work is Carmina Burana: Cantiones profanae cantoribus et choris cantandae comitantibus instrumentis atque imaginibus magicis (Songs of
Beuern: Secular songs for singers and choruses to be
sung together with instruments and magic images). It is the first of Orff’s
three scenic cantatas, which beside Carmina
Burana also include Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite,
creating a musical triptych.
Carmina Burana is
scored for vocal soloists (soprano, tenor and a baritone), a large choir (including
a chamber choir and a children’s choir), as well as a large orchestra
consisting of strings, large percussion section, 3 flutes (including piccolos),
3 oboes (one doubling English horn), 3 clarinets (including bass clarinet), 2
bassoons, a contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, a tuba, 2
pianos and a celesta. Percussion is featured prominently throughout the work,
and consists of 8 timpani, 2 snare drums, bass drum, triangle, antique cymbals,
crash cymbals, suspended cymbals, ratchet, castanets, sleigh bells, tam-tam,
tambourine, tubular bells, 3 bells, 3 glockenspiels and xylophone.
The structure of the composition is based on the idea of
turning a wheel of fortune – the drawing which was found on the first page of
the Burana Codex. The character, like
the wheel, changes within each musical scene (sometimes even within a single
movement). There are five major sections: Fortuna
Imperatrix Mundi (Fortuna, Empress of the World), Primo
vere (Spring), In Taberna (In the
Tavern), Cour d'amours (Court of Love), and Blanziflor et Helena (Blanchefleur
and Helen [of Troy]). The movements within each of the
scenes are connected, as the composer indicated by attacca markings. The composition
starts and finishes with a powerful chorus O
Fortuna, which, just like a wheel of fortune completes the circle by coming
back to its initial turning point.
The first part is titled “In Spring” and “In the Meadow”,
the second “In the Tavern” and the third “The Court of Love.” All sections are
framed by the “Fortuna” chorus. The first scene shows us the power of the fates
through ostinato
figures, which like a turning wheel, are in constant motion. Thus, “In Spring,”
weaves a metaphor for new beginnings, describing rebirth.
“In the Meadow,” an orchestral dance, leads the villagers to
a natural setting: an open air festival gathers the villagers as they celebrate
the year. Orff is able to recreate the world of the festival and its gaiety
with the strings using banjo-like strumming as the villagers enter into a merry
waltz. The courting song introduces the seductive tone to the middle section,
and while it once again gives way to the waltz, the song introduces a somber
moment as a woman asks after her lover. The village men respond: “He has ridden
away,” and the women laments, “Alas, who will love me now?” Orff does not let
the lamentation end the scene, and the metaphor for rebirth is developed to its
full extent as the chorus enters, singing of hope for a better life: “If all
the world were mine from the sea to the Rhine, I would do without it, if the
Queen of England would lie in my arms. Hey!”
A baritone solo opens the “In the Tavern” scene. Unlike the
first two scenes which celebrate life in nature, this scene turns to the more
“earthy” desires: an ironic lament of the roasted swan echoes the previous
gentle, sincere lament of losing a beloved. The chorus now sings of the effects
of sinful pleasures such as gambling, ending in a loud shout as the gambler is
stripped of his shirt.
“The Court of Love” opens with the children’s chorus,
leading to the tender soprano solo where she declares her devotion to her
lover. The soprano and baritone together follow, leading the chorus in another
celebration, preparing the listener for the final movement, dulcissime (sweetest one), a
beautiful yet powerful hymn to Blanchefleur and Helen
of Troy, the most beautiful women known to the ancient world. Finally, the
theme song “O Fortuna” closes the work, turning the wheel back to its starting
point, depicting a world where the luck can quickly change, changing our lives
for ever.
Notes by Predrag Gosta
