UMS Concert Program, May 18, 19, 20, 21 1932: The Thirty-ninth Annual May Festival Of Michigan -- Earl V. Moore

Season: 1931-1932
Concert: SIXTEENTH
Complete Series: 2029
Hill Auditorium Ann Arbor, Michigan

1932
GoKTA LjUNGliKKG
Bij.niami.no Gioi.i Tenor
ix Chaui.ks Thomas Baritone
[OFFICIAL]
Thirty-Ninth Annual
MAY FESTIVALS
University of Michigan
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY
EARL V. MOORE, A.M., Mus.D., Musical Director
Board of Directors
CHARLES A. SINK, A.B., M.Ed., LL.D. ----- President
ALEXANDER G. RUTHVEN, Ph.D., LL.D. -------Vice-President
DURAND W. SPRINGER, B.S., A.M. Secretary
LEVI D. WINES, C.E. - Treasurer
OSCAR A. EBERBACH, A.B. ------Assistant Secretary-Treasurer
JUNIUS E. BEAL, A.B.
HARLEY A. HAYNES, M.D.
JAMES INGLIS
ARNOLD H. GOSS
HORACE G. PRETTYMAN, A.B.
SHIRLEY W. SMITH, A.M.
ALBERT A. STANLEY, A.M., Mus.D.
THE UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY is organized under an Act of the State of Michigan providing for the incorporation of "Associations not for pecuniary profit." Its purpose is "to cultivate the public taste for music." All fees are placed at the lowest possible point compatible with sound business principles, the financial side serving but as a means to an educational and artistic end, a fact duly recognized by the Treasury Department of the United States by exempting from war-tax admissions to concerts given under its auspices.
Page Two
Concerts and Soloists
I. WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 18, 8:15 O'CLOCK "THE CREATION," Haydn
Ruth RodgErs, Soprano Chase BaromEo, Bass
Frederick Jagel, Tenor Gitta Gradova, Pianist
Palmer Christian, Organist
Chicago Symphony Orchestra University Choral Union
Frederick Stock and Earl V. Moore, Conductors
II. THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 19, 8:15 O'CLOCK
"SYMPHONIE DE PSAUMES," Stravinsky
"A CHORAL FANTASIA," Holst
Goeta LjungbErg, Soprano
University Choral Union Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Frederick Stock, Earl V. Moore, and Gustav Holst, Conductors
III. FRIDAY AFTERNOON, MAY 20, 2:30 O'CLOCK
Mina Hager, Contralto
Orchestral Accompaniment Children's Festival Chorus
Eric DeLamarter and Juva Higbee, Conductors
IV. FRIDAY EVENING, MAY 20, 8:15 O'CLOCK
BEniamino Gigli, Tenor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Frederick Stock, Conductor
V. SATURDAY AFTERNOON, MAY 21, 2:30 O'CLOCK
John Charles Thomas, Baritone
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Frederick Stock, Conductor
VI. SATURDAY EVENING, MAY 21, 8:00 O'CLOCK "LEGEND OF KITESH," Rimsky-Korsakoff
Juliette LippE, Soprano Frederick Jagel, Tenor
MarjoriE McClung, Soprano Emmett Leib, Tenor
Mina HagEr, Contralto Nelson Eddy, Baritone
Chase BaromEo, Bass Palmer Christian, Organist
Chicago Symphony Orchestra University Choral Union
Earl V. Moore, Conductor
Page Three
CHORAL UNION S E R I E S -1 9 3 1 1 9 3 2
Notices and Acknowledgments
All concerts will begin on time (Eastern Standard Time).
Trumpet calls from the stage will be sounded three minutes before the resumption of the program after the Intermission.
Our patrons are invited to inspect the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments in the Foyer of the First Balcony and the adjoining room.
To study the evolution, it is only necessary to view the cases in their numerical order and remember that in the wall cases the evolution runs from right to left and from top to the bottom, while the standard cases should always be approached on the left-hand side. Descriptive Lists are attached to each case.
The Musical Director of the Festival desires to express his great obligation to Miss Juva Higbee, Supervisor of Music in the Ann Arbor Public Schools, for her valuable service as Conductor of the Children's Concert; and to the several members of her staff, for their efficient preparatory work, and to the teachers in the various schools from which the children have been drawn, for their co-operation.
The writer of the analyses hereby expresses his deep obligation to Dr. A. A. Stanley and Mr. Felix Borowski, whose scholarly analyses, given in the Program Books of the preceding May Festivals and of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, respectively, are authoritative contributions to contemporary criticism and have been drawn upon for some of the analyses in this book; and to Glenn McGeoch and Hunter Johnson for the preparation of critical material for several of the numbers on the program.
Third Annual Exhibition of Sculpture.--Sponsored by the Division of Fine Arts of the University of Michigan. Display of creative studies by Professor Avard Fairbanks and students, from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily in University Hall.
Page Four
CHORAL UNION SERIES--1931-193 2
FIFTY-THIRD SEASON ELEVENTH CONCERT
COMPLETE SERIES 2024
First May Festival Concert
WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY' 18, 8:15 O'CLOCK
SOLOISTS
Ruth Rodgers, Soprano Chase Baromeo, Bass
Frederick Jagel, Tenor Gitta Gradova, Pianist
Palmer Christian, Organist
Chicago Symphony Orchestra University Choral Union
Frederick Stock and Earl V. Moore, Conductors
PROGRAM
"THE CREATION" '. Haydn
An Oratorio for Soli, Chorus, Orchestra, and Organ
Cast of Characters
} Chase Baromeo riel } Ruth Rodgers
Uriel Frederick Jagel
FIRST PART
Introduction.--Representation of Chaos
Recit. (Raphael) In the beginning
Chorus And the Spirit of God
Recit. (Uriel) And God saw the light
Air (Uriel) Now vanish
Chorus Despairing, cursing rage
Recit. (Raphael) And God made Solo (Gabriel)
and Chorus The marv'lous work
Recit. (Raphael) And God said, Let the
zvaters under the heaven
Air (Raphael) Rolling in foaming billows
Recit. (Gabriel) And God said, Let the earth
Air (Gabriel) With verdure clad
Recit. (Uriel) And God said
Recit. (Uriel) In splendour bright
Cho. with Trio The heavens are telling
SECOND PART
Recit. (Gabriel) And God said, Let the waters bring forth
Air (Gabriel) On mighty pens
Recit. (Raphael) And God created great whales
Recit. (Raphael) And the angels struck their immortal harps
Terzetto (Gabriel,
Raphael, Uriel) Most beautiful appear
Trio and Cho. The Lord is great
Recit. (Raphael) And God said, Let the earth
bring forth Recit. (Raphael) Straight opening her fertile
womb
Air (Raphael) Now heanfn in fullest glory
Recit. (Uriel) And God created man
Air (Uriel) In native worth
Recit. (Raphael) And God saw every thing Chorus Achieved is the glorious
work
Intermission
CONCERTO FOR PIANOFORTE, NO. 2, C Minor, Opus 18 Rachmaninoff
Moderato; Adagio Sostenuto; Allegro scherzando Gitta Gradova
Page Five
CHORAL UNION S E R I E S -1 9 3 1 1 9 3 2
FIFTY-THIRD SEASON ' TWELFTH CONCERT
COMPLETE SERIES 2025
Second May Festival Concert
THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 19, 8:15 O'CLOCK
SOLOISTS
Goeta Ljungberg, Soprano Maud OkkelbERG, Piano
Mabel Rhead, Piano Palmer Christian, Organ
Chicago Symphony Orchestra University Choral Union
Frederick Stock, Earl V. Moore, and Gustav Holst (Guest), Conductors
PROGRAM
OVERTURE, "Carnaval" Glasounoff
ARIA, "Suicidio" from "La Gioconda" Ponchielli
Goeta Ljungberg
"SYMPHONIE DE PSAUMES" Strawinsky
University Choral Union
ARIA, "Du bist der Lenz" from "Die Walkure" Wagner
Miss Ljungberg
FUGUE A LA GIGUE .Bach-Hoist
BALLET from the opera, "The Perfect Fool" Hoist
Conducted by Gustav Holst
Intermission
"A CHORAL FANTASIA" (first performance in America) Hoist
Incidental Solo by Helen Van Loon, Soprano
University Choral Union
Conducted by Mr. Holst
ARIA, "Liebestod" from "Tristan and Isolde" Wagner
Miss Ljungberg
HUNGARIAN DANCES Brahms-Dvorak
Page Six
CHORAL UNION S E R I E S -1 9 3 1 1 9 3 2
FIFTY-THIRD SEASON THIRTEENTH CONCERT
COMPLETE SERIES 2026
Third May Festival Concert
FRIDAY AFTERNOON, MAY 20, 2:30 O'CLOCK
SOLOISTS
Mina Hager, Contralto Joseph Brinkman, Pianist
M. MiscHAKOfl, Violinist E. LiEGL, Flute
Children's Festival Chorus Orchestral Accompaniment
Eric DeLamarter and Juva HigbEE, Conductors
PROGRAM
CONCERTO NO. 5, in D Major Bach
For Solo Piano, Violin, Flute, and Orchestra
SELECTIONS FROM OPERAS Gilbert and Sullivan
"The Magnet and the Churn" from "Patience"
"Carefully on Tip-toe Stealing" from "Pinafore"
"Tit-Willow" from "The Mikado"
"When Foeman Bares His Steel" from "The Pirates of Penzance"
Children Festival Chorus
ARIA, "Salve Regina" Pergolesi-Stock
Mina Hager
SUITE, "Children's Games" Bizet
"WATER COLORS" Carpenter
"On a Screen"; "The Odalisque"; "To a Young Gentleman"
Miss Hager
CANTATA, "The Spider and the Fly" Protheroe
Children's Festival Chorus
Page Seven
CHORAL UNION S E R I E S -1 9 3 1 1 9 3 2
FIFTY-THIRD SEASON FOURTEENTH CONCERT
COMPLETE SERIES 2027
Fourth May Festival Concert
FRIDAY EVENING, MAY 20, 8:15 O'CLOCK
SOLOIST
Beniamino Gigli, Tenor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Frederick Stock, Conductor
PROGRAM
SYMPHONY IN G MINOR (Kochel 183) Mozari
Allegro con brio; Andante; Menuetto and Trio; Allegro
ARIA, "M'Appari" from "Martha" Flotow
Beniamino Gigli
SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN C MINOR ("The Divine Poem"), Opus 43 Scriabine
Lento, C Minor ("Prologue"); Allegro, C Minor ("Strife") ; Lento, E Major ("Sensuous Pleasures") ; Allegro, C Major ("Divine Activity")
ARIA, "Un di' all' azzuro spazio" from "Andrea Chenier" Giordano
Mr. Gigli
Intermission SYMPHONIC POEM, "The Sirens" Gltire
ARIA, "O Paradiso" from "L'Africana" Meyerbeer
Mr. Gigli
EMPEROR WALTZES Strauss
Page Eight
CHORAL UNION SERIES--1931-193 2
FIFTY-THIRD SEASON FIFTEENTH CONCERT
COMPLETE SERIES 2028
Fifth May Festival Concert
SATURDAY AFTERNOON, MAY 21, 2:30 O'CLOCK
SOLOIST
John Charles Thomas, Baritone
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Frederick Stock, Coiiductor
PROGRAM
"WALLENSTEIN'S CAMP" d'Indy
SYMPHONY NO. 2, in B Flat d'Indy
Extremement lent--Tres vif; Moderement lent; Modere;
Lent--Vif
Intermission
ARIA, "Di Provenza" from "La Traviata" Verdi
John Charles Thomas
ROMANZA from Suite, Opus 19 Dohn&nyi
ARIA, "Vision Fugitive," from "Herodiade" Massenet
Mr. Thomas
Page Nine
CHORAL UNION SERIES--1931-1932
FIFTY-THIRD SEASON SIXTEENTH CONCERT
COMPLETE SERIES 2029
Sixth May Festival Concert
SATURDAY EVENING, MAY 21, 8:00 O'CLOCK
SOLOISTS
Juliette LippE, Soprano Frederick Jagel, Tenor
Marjorie McClung, Soprano Emmett Leib, Tenor
Mina HagEr, Contralto Nelson Eddy, Baritone
Chase Baromeo, Bass Palmer Christian, Organist
Chicago Symphony Orchestra University Choral Union
Earl V. Moore, Conductor
PROGRAM
"THE LEGEND OF THE INVISIBLE CITY OF KITESH AND THE
MAIDEN FEVRONIA" (Concert Version) Rimsky-Korsakoff
An Opera in Four Acts and Six Scenes English Text by Lila Pargment First Performance in America
Cast of Characters
King Jury Chase Baromeo
Prince Vsevolod, His son Frederick Jagel
Fevronia Juliette Lippe
Gregory Koutierma Frederick Jagel
Feodor Poyarok Nelson Eddy
A Youth Mina Hager
First Rich Nobleman Emmett Leib
Second Rich Nobleman Chase Baromeo
A Bear Leader Emmett Leib
Bedyai ) I" Chase Baromeo
Burundai } Tartar Chefs j Nelson Eddy
Sirin Marjorie McClung
Alkonost Mina Hager
Huntsmen, Warriors, Townsfolk, Tartars, and Angels University Choral Union
ACT I In the Forests of the Volga
ACT II In the Square at Kitesh Minor
ACT III
Scene I. In Kitesh Major Scene II. On the Shore of Lake Jar (omitted at this performance)
ACT IV
Scene I. In the Forest of Kerjenez Scene II. In the Invisible City of Kitesh
Page Ten
DESCRIPTIVE PROGRAMS
BY
EARL V. MOORE
COPYRIGHT
By the University Musical Society 1932
FIRST CONCERT
Wednesday Evening, May 18
THE CREATION Haydn
An Oratorio for Soli, Chorus, Orchestra, and Organ.
Joseph Haydn was born March 31, 1732, s
at Rohrau; died May 31, 1809, at Vienna.
The year 1932 is important for two things. It marks the bicentennial of the birth of a great German musician, Franz Joseph Haydn, and the centennial of the death of a great German poet, Johann Wolfgang Goethe. To mention these names together is propitious, for they represent valuable contrasts and embody diverse tendencies of their age. Goethe was sixty years of age when Haydn died (1809), and he witnessed and took an active part in the changes in the world of art that were the result of drastic political and social upheavals. Haydn played no part, nor reflected in his art that period of deep unrest that resulted in the literary and philosophical insurrection, of which Goethe in Germany, and Rousseau in France, were representative. Rousseau and the "Sturm und Drang" period in Germany announced that an old civilization had broken up, and that a new one was about to appear. Swift progression was seething all over Europe. The bombshells of Napoleon's army could be heard by Haydn as he lay dying near Vienna. He mitigated his servants' fears by confidently saying, "There can no evil come where Haydn is," and calling upon all his strength he seated himself at his piano and played his Austrian hymn, "God Save the Emperor," through three times. A few days later he was dead, and with him disappeared the even tenor and calm serenity of existence so beautifully symbolized by his own life, and so confidently expressed in his music. Beethoven had already sounded a new note in the Eroica Symphony, and had expressed in music the same spirit that had brought the armies of Napoleon into existence, dethroned kings, swept away the landmarks of an old society. But Haydn, living with his memories, and gathering the few last laurels that were thrown at his feet, heard only the faintest echoes of that great work which tore at the very roots of musical expression, and rent the whole fabric of musical forms. With Haydn died the classical tradition in music.
Page Thirteen
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
Music was late in responding to the violent note of revolt against tradi­tion, for the sake of emotion, chiefly because music in the eighteenth century was in a transitional state of technical development, and was attempting to gain articulation and freedom through the cultivation of forms and designs that were unique to it. The opposition between Romantic and Classic prin­ciples in the second half of the eighteenth century, for this reason, was not as clearly defined in music as in literature. Haydn represents a new era in music. He frees it from its subservience to the other arts. In Greek times music was subservient to the drama and the dance; in the Middle Ages it was the handmaiden of the Church; in the Renaissance it was chained to words, and depended upon them for its meaning. Haydn realized the unique powers of music as music for its sake, and not for the sake of adorning or expressing a thought or sentiment. He was the first to achieve a glorification of the natural music which exists in the hearts of the people, by elevating its essential healthy and vigorous qualities into the realm of high art.
In The Creation Haydn re-echoes one dominant note of his age, the universal shout for "nature." "Lyric art can never be good where there is no intention to imitate nature," said Diderot. In France Diderot, d'Alem-bert, and others championed free thought in social, political, artistic, and moral questions. The final effectual influence was Rousseau's new phi­losophy which demanded a "return to nature." In Germany the protest of the eighteenth century was two-fold. On the one hand it was negative, against established authority; on the other hand, positive in favor of nature.
Goethe, Kant, Herder, the criticisms of Lessing, the return of enthusiasm for Shakespeare, the mania for Ossian literature and northern mythology, the revival of ballad literature, all expressed one universal cry for nature. For the young writers in Germany, nature meant volcanoes and moonlight; to be insurgent, sentimental, explosive, and lachrymose. For Haydn, nature meant the combination of the greatest variety into a perfect unity, and as in nature, the giving to every part its individuality and separate life. Haydn's is the music of one who loves the earth, and is sensitive to every impression. He loses himself in its sights and sounds, gives himself up to the sensations and simple feelings they awaken. But unlike Lear, he makes no attempt to impose his moods upon nature. He is never introspective, and his music is never subjective. He does not, in the Ossianic phrase, indulge in the "luxury of grief." He is firmly in accord with the typical eighteenth century idea that "Life is a comedy to the man who thinks, but a tragedy to the man who feels." He catches the harmony, the charm, the joy of nature.
Page Fourteen
FIRST CONCERT
We enjoy him as we do an easy conversation or a morning walk. His beauty is abstract and obvious. There are those who believe there is more in the beauty of nature than can be perceived immediately; that nature is more than merely refreshing. For them, Beethoven has written. Haydn's one theme is the charm, the worth, and beauty of reality at the moment. His music does not attempt to express the passionate, striving soul, but rather the calm soul that finds joy and satisfaction in what it knows it already possesses. He describes passion; he does not feel it.
Haydn was the very man to compose the music for The Creation. His profound piety, his childlike spirit, the excessive joy he felt in living enabled him to tell the story of the Creation in music, with the same noble simplicity and direct utterance that we find in the words of the Scripture. When someone found fault with the gay tones of his sacred compositions, he replied, "I cannot help it. I give forth what is in me. When I think of the Divine Being, my heart is so full of joy that the notes fly off as from a spindle, and as I have a cheerful heart, He will pardon me if I serve Him cheerfully. I know that God has bestowed talent on me, and I thank Him for it. I think I have done my duty and have been of use to my generation by my works." After he had spent two years writing The Creation, he remarked, "I spend a long time upon it because I intend it to last a long time."
The Creation was begun in 1795. The idea of writing an oratorio was suggested by Salomon during Haydn's second visit to England. The pub­lisher offered Haydn a poem for music which had been prepared by Lidley from Milton's Paradise Lost before the death of Handel, but not used by him. Haydn took it to Vienna, where it was trans­lated by von Swieten, with some alterations. Von Swieten was an en­thusiast about the imitative powers of music, and in translating the libretto from English to German, he remodeled it to suit a taste in literature then prevalent, for idyllic pictures of the harmonies of nature. Haydn caught the significance of every part of the text, and it enabled him to give to oratorio an entirely new interpretation. In his music every thought takes on a grace of form; there is wholeness in the half religious, half descriptive impression, lucidity in the details, neatness and elegance, perfect ease and clearness in the exposition of his ideas. All who enjoy clear writing, who rejoice to see expression achieved within the limits of graceful certainty, can feel comfortable with Haydn. This transparent clarity makes Haydn a particular favorite of the French, who always refer to him as "that great man." He is always consistent, if not greatly original. His materials are
Page Fifteen
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
used with strict economy; his perception is shrewd and businesslike. Fancy Beethoven going to see Dr. Herschel's great telescope, looking through it at the stars and then writing in his diary--"It is forty feet long and five feet in diameter!" Beethoven might have recorded something about the heavens!
The Creation contains three parts. In the beginning is described the emerging of order from chaos, the struggling of the elements to disengage themselves, now rising a little and then falling back into confusion until finally the flutes and more soaring instruments escape into the. air, the darker sounds precipitated, everything resolving into concord. For Haydn, who "thought in sonates" and for whom all musical ideas were born crystallized in symmetrical shape, chaos consisted in a negation of order and traditional regularity. In place of the rounded phrases and balanced periods which usually express his thoughts in clear terms, he uses here incomplete phrases by which he arouses a feeling of uncertainty and suspense. Then follows the creation of light, the separation of the firmament of land and sea, the springing up of vegetation and the setting of the sun, moon, and stars. Part One ends with the magnificent chorus "The Heavens Are Telling the Glory of God." The miraculous effect achieved by the chord of C major suddenly struck by all the voices and instruments together on "Let there be light" caused Mme. de Stael who heard The Creation in Vienna to remark that Haydn "used his wit to the abuse of his talent." To represent light by loudness does seem strange, but Haydn was not trying to represent light, but the surprise produced by its sudden appearance. What greater shock could there be than the admission of light into total darkness
The second part contains the creation of animated nature, animals, and lastly man, and ends with the chorus "Achieved Is the Glorious Work."
In the third part, Adam and Eve are in Paradise admiring the beautiful world about them, praising the Creator. The work ends with the rapturous fugue "Sing the Lord, Ye Voices all, Magnify His Name through all Creation."
With naive directness Haydn attempts throughout to picture all the phenomena in the world--the blast, the thunder, soft rain, beating hail, flaky snow, foaming billows contrasted with "softly purling stream," "on mighty pens, uplifted, soars the eagle and cleaves the air." We hear the song of the birds, the mounting eagle, the lark, the cooing of the doves, the roar of the lion, the song of the nightingale. All this seems treason against the true spirit of the art of music, but it is all so exquisitely executed that we can excuse the too literal imitation that is often attempted.
Page Sixteen
Earl V. Moore Musical Director
Frkderick Stock Orchestral Conductor
GUSTAV HOI.ST
Guest Conductor
Chari.es A. Sink President
FIRST CONCERT
In The Creation Haydn restores to us the glory of the commonplace, he refreshes our wearied spirits with his placid and even vivacity. Perhaps the splendors of expression to which masters of modern orchestral music have accustomed us, have caused us to forget with what admirable simplicity of means "Papa Haydn" has achieved so difficult a task. Let us not bring too much modern criticism into our examination of The Creation, but rejoice with him in the beauty of the world. Let us continue to see in his works the sincerity, honesty, healthy and cheerful vigor that is there, and "a new created world" will rise from the "despair and cursing" of our daily lives.
The account of the last performance of The Creation in his presence is truly affecting and forms a beautiful farewell to the sphere of his long labors. All Vienna was assembled in the theater; the old man was brought into the door in a chair, with a flourish of trumpet, then he was met by the Princess Esterhazy and other distinguished persons and conducted to his seat amidst all the beauty, nobility, and refinement of the place. A physician remarked that he seemed too much exposed to the cold; instantly the richest shawls left the shoulders of their fair wearers to wrap up the old man. He was too much affected by the performance to remain through the whole, and was carried from the room, bowing to the orchestra with tears of gratitude in his eyes, amid the plaudits of the whole assembly.
THE CREATION
Characters Represented
Gabriei, 1 , ,
gvE - Soprano ------Ruth Rodgers
Uriel Tenor Frederick Jagel
Raphael
, r -----Bass -------Chase Baromeo
Adam I
Chorus ------------University Choral Union
FIRST PART
Introduction earth was without form, and void;
representation op chaos and darkness was upon the face
Recitative. Raphael of the deepIn the beginning God created the Chorus
heaven and the earth; and the And the Spirit of God moved upon the
Page Seventeen
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Recitative. Uriel
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Air. Uriel
Now vanish before the holy beams
The gloomy shade of ancient night;
The first of days appears.
Now chaos ends, and order fair pre­vails.
Affrighted fly hell's spirits black in throngs:
Down they sink in the deep abyss
To endless night.
Chorus
Despairing, cursing rage attends their
rapid fall. A new-created world springs up at
God's command.
Recitative. Raphael
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
Now furious storms tempestuous rage,
Like chaff, by the winds impelled are the clouds,
By sudden fire the sky is inflamed,
And awful thunders are rolling on high.
Now from the floods in steam ascend reviving showers of rain,
The dreary, wasteful hail, the light and flaky snow.
Page Eighteen
Soi,o. Gabriel
The marv'lous work behold amaz'd The glorious hierarchy of heaven; And to th' ethereal vaults resound The praise of God, and of the second day.
Chorus
And to th' ethereal vaults resound The praise of God, and of the second day.
Recitative. Raphael And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gath­ering of waters called He Seas: and God saw that it was good.
Air. Raphael
Rolling in foaming billows, Uplifted, roars the boisterous sea. Mountains and rocks now emerge, Their tops among the clouds ascend. Through th' open plains, outstretching
wide,
In serpent error rivers flow. Softly purling, glides on Through silent vales the limpid brook.
Recitative. Gabriel
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
Air. Gabriel
With verdure clad the fields appear, Delightful to the ravish'd sense;
FIRST CONCERT
By flowers sweet and gay Enhanced is the charming sight. Here fragrant herbs their odours shed; Here shoots the healing plant. With copious fruit th' expanded boughs
are hung;
In leafy arches twine the shady groves; O'er lofty hills majestic forests wave.
Recitative. Uriel
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven, to divide the day from the night, and to give light upon the earth; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years. He made the stars also.
Recitative. Uriel
In splendour bright is rising now the
sun, And darts his rays; a joyful, happy
spouse,
A giant proud and glad To run his measur'd course. With softer beams, and milder light, Steps on the silver moon through silent
night;
The space immense of th' azure sky A countless host of radiant orbs adorns.
And the sons of God announced the
fourth day In song divine, proclaiming thus His
power;
Chorus The heavens are telling the glory of
God,
The wonder of His work displays the firmament;
Two. Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael To day that is coming speaks it the
day, The night that is gone to following
night.
Chorus The heavens are telling the glory of
God, The wonder of His work displays the
firmament.
Trio
In all the lands resounds the word, Never unperceived, ever understood.
Chorus The heavens are telling the glory of
God, The wonder of His work displays the
firmament.
SECOND PART
Recitative. Gabriel And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving crea­ture that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
Air. Gabriel On mighty pens uplifted soars
The eagle aloft, and cleaves the air In swiftest flight, to the blazing sun. His welcome bids to morn the merry
lark, And cooing calls the tender dove his
mate.
From ev'ry bush and grove resound The nightingale's delightful notes;
Page Nineteen
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
No grief affected yet her breast, Nor to a mournful tale were tun'd Her soft, enchanting lays.
Recitative. Raphael
And God created great whales, and
every living creature that moveth;
and God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful all, and multiply, Ye winged tribes, be multiplied, And sing on every tree; Multiply, ye finny tribes, And fill each wat'ry deep; Be fruitful, grow, and multiply, And in your God and Lord rejoice.
Recitative. Raphael And the angels struck their immortal harps, and the wonders of the fifth day sung.
Terzetto Gabriel Most beautiful appear, with verdure
young adorn'd, The gently sloping hills; their narrow,
sinuous veins Distil, in crystal drops, the fountain
fresh and bright.
Uriel
In lofty circles play, and hover, in the
air, The cheerful host of birds; and as they
flying whirl, Their glitt'ring plumes are dy'd as
rainbows by the sun.
Raphael
See flashing through the deep in
thronging swarms The fish a thousand ways around.
Page Twenty
Upheaved from the deep, th' immense
Leviathan
Sports on the foaming wave. Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael How many are Thy works, O God! Who may their number tell
Trio and Chorus
The Lord is great, and great His might,
His glory lasts for ever and for ever­more.
Recitative. Raphael And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth, after his kind.
Recitative. Raphael Straight opening her fertile womb, The earth obey'd the word, And teem'd creatures numberless, In perfect forms, and fully grown. Cheerful, roaring, stands the tawny
lion. With sudden leap The flexible tiger appears. The nimble
stag Bears up his branching head. With
flying mane, And fiery look, impatient neighs the
noble steed. The cattle, in herds, already seek their
food
On fields and meadows green. And o'er the ground, as plants, are
spread
The fleecy, meek, and bleating flocks. Unnumber'd as the sands, in swarms
arose
FIRST CONCERT
The host of insects. In long dimension Creeps, with sinuous trace, the worm.
Air. Raphael
Now heaven in fullest glory shone;
Earth smil'd in all her rich attire;
The room of air with fowl is filled;
The water swell'd by shoals of fish;
By heavy beasts the ground is trod:
But all the work was not complete;
There wanted yet that wondrous being,
That, grateful, should God's power ad­mire,
With heart and voice His goodness praise.
Recitative. Uriel And God created Man in His own
image, in the image of God created
He him; male and female created
He them. He breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life, and Man became a living
soul.
Air. Uriel
In native worth and honour clad, With beauty, courage, strength, adorn'd,
Erect, with front serene, he stands A man, the lord and king of nature all. His large and arched brow sublime Of wisdom deep declares the seat; And in his eyes with brightness shines The soul, the breath and image of his
God.
With fondness leans upon his breast The partner for him form'd, A woman, fair and graceful spouse. Her softly smiling, virgin looks, Of flow'ry spring the mirror, Bespeak him love, and joy, and bliss.
Recitative. Raphael And God saw every thing that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And the heavenly choir, in song divine, thus closed the sixth day:
Chorus
Achieved is the glorious work; Our song let be the praise of God. Glory to His name for ever. He sole on high exalted reigns.
Hallelujah.
CONCERTO FOR PIANOFORTE, NO. 2, C Minor, Opus 18 -------------Rachmaninoff
Moderato; Adagio Sostenuto; Allegro scherzando.
Gitta Gradova (
Sergei Vassilievich Rachmaninoff was born April 2, 1873, at Novgorod.
The vivid contrast between the limpid, crystalline and well ordered music of the end of the eighteenth century and the intensely emotional and darkly colored music of Russia of the late nineteenth century is not a mere coinci­dence on this program. The opportunity to sense and evaluate the success
Page Twenty-One
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
which has attended the efforts of composers of entirely different races, environments and aesthetic ideals as they have sought to express the spirit of their times, has been provided deliberately. The person and personality of the composer of this concerto are well known to patrons of these concerts, Mr. Rachmaninoff having appeared in recitals of pianoforte music on numer­ous occasions. His manner, his bearing, his countenance, his interpretations intensify qualities in his music: deep felt emotion, richly imaginative ex­pression, logical though not restricted use of the materials of music, and a truly "prophetic and heroic" concept of the possibilities of music as a medium of expression of those feelings and moods that lie outside of the realm of the sister arts.
The concerto on tonight's program was first performed at a concert of the Philharmonic Society in Moscow, October 14, 1901, with the composer as soloist. Later, the distinguished pianist and teacher, Alexander Siloti, Rachmaninoff's cousin, made the concerto known to a larger musical public, and today there is scarcely a pianist of note who does not have it in his repertoire. It was this concerto that gained for the composer in 1904 the Glinka prize of five hundred roubles, founded by the publisher Belaieff.
Page Twenty-Two
SECOND CONCERT
Thursday Evening, May 19
OVERTURE, "Carnaval," Opus 45 ------Glazounoff
Alexander Glazounoff was born August 10, 1865, at Leningrad.
Glazounoff is an important figure in the musical literature and life of Russia. Born the son of a bookdealer and publisher in Leningrad in the days of the Czars, his talents in music brought him into contact as a youth with the stimulating personalities of the then developing Russian School: Balakireff and Rimsky-Korsakoff, and the publisher Belaieff. At the age of sixteen he had sketched a symphony and brought it for criticism to his teacher, Rimsky-Korsakoff; it was completed, and Balakireff brought it to a public performance. The fame of the young composer soon spread. Borodin brought him to the attention of Liszt, who arranged a performance of the symphony at Weimar. In the years that followed, his craftsmanship developed and his creative faculties increased along sane and logical lines.
He became a member of the faculty of the Leningrad Conservatory in 1900 as Professor of Composition and Score Reading, and in 1905 he succeeded Rimsky-Korsakoff as Director. In 1929 he made a tour of this country and conducted many of the major symphony orchestras in programs of his own music. More recently, Glazounoff was removed from the position as Director of the Leningrad Conservatory by the Soviet Govern­ment. He now resides in Paris.
ARIA, "Suicidio" from "La Gioconda" -----Ponchielli
GOETA LjUNGBERG
Amilcare Ponchielli was born at Paderno, Cremona, September 1, 1834; died at Milan, January 10, 1886.
The scene (Act IV) is a ruined castle on a small island in the Adriatic, from which the brilliantly illumined square of St. Mark and the lagoons of Venice are visible. A lighted lantern, a crucifix on the wall, a table on which are a flask of poison and a dagger: these furnish the "atmosphere" for the morbid thoughts of Gioconda, who, willing to sacrifice her own
Page Twenty-Three
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
love for Enzo, has come here to assist in his escape with the courtly Laura. Her mood is a reflection of her passionate but hopeless love. As she ap­proaches the table and takes up the flask of poison she sings:
Yes, suicide! Lost is my mother, love lies a-dying,
The sole resource now left me. Conquered by jealousy's terrible fever,
Stern fate forever of hope has bereft me, I sink exhausted; sink down forever.
I the last accents of destiny hear, Night draws the end now; if Heav'n Bear my last cross, prove kind,
Know the end draweth near. Ere long, in the grave repose I may Bright is the day, the hours gaily flying. find.
"SYMPHONIE DE PSAUMES" ------Strauinsky
For Chorus and Orchestra. University Choral Union
Igor Strawinsky was born June 5, 1882, at Orianienbaum, Russia.
From his early youth, Igor Strawinsky was surrounded with music and musicians. His father, a bass singer, was an important member of the Maryinsky Theater in St. Petersburg (Leningrad) and created the bass roles in many of the operas of Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakoff, etc., that are now the backbone of the Russian repertoire. In spite of this rich heritage of musical opportunity within the family circle, he was destined by his parents for the profession of law. His acquaintance with Borodin, Moussorgsky, and a later chance-meeting with Rimsky-Korsakoff which resulted in the latter's accepting Strawinsky as a pupil, were influences too strong on the side of music; the aspirations of the family for a distinguished career in law were overcome, and music gained one of the leaders in twentieth century composi­tion.
A comparison of the Kitesh of Rimsky-Korsakoff and the Symphonic de Psaumes would scarcely indicate the relationship of teacher to pupil. It has been noted that although "Strawinsky did not see things in art quite as Rimsky-Korsakoff saw them, he made good use of his opportunities with one of the foremost representatives of orchestral composition in the world." Although a single hearing of one of Strawinsky's works may seem to furnish evidence to the contrary, he did learn to appreciate, in his contacts with his teacher, the importance of a knowledge of the traditions of the past, an understanding of the necessities of art expression in general, and a thorough command of the materials at his disposal before he was able to depart on his own path of high adventure in musical exploration of new and uncharted regions of aesthetic experience.His experiments--for such we may designate
Page Twenty-Four
SECOND CONCERT
them, as each new major work brings forward a new approach to the problem --are not the mere spectacular evidence of a desire to be "new" for the sake of novelty, or to shock for the personal pleasure of observing his listeners writhing in aural agony.
The date of composition of Symphonie de Psaumes, 1930, found on the title page of the autograph score, which is in the Library of Symphony Hall, Boston, makes this composition the youngest in the family of musical works assembled for these programs. The text of this choral symphony was drawn by the composer from the Psalms (Vulgate) as follows: First movement, Psalm XXXVIII, 13, and 14; second movement, XXXIX, 2, 3, and 4; third movement, CL entire. The composer directs that the "three parts of the symphony are to be played without pause." The score contains the following dedication (the original text is in French):
This symphony, composed for the Glory of God, is dedicated to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, upon the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of its existence.
The score and parts were engraved and published in 1931 by "Edition Russe de Musique," Paris. Through the courteous and sympathetic interest of Dr. Sergei Koussevitsky, Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the material was made available for this performance.
The first performance of this work, curiously, took place in Brussels one week prior to its American premiere in Boston at the pair of concerts, December 19-20, 1930. The conductor for the American performance was Dr. Koussevitsky; the chorus was drawn from the Cecelia Society; and the orchestra was the Boston Symphony. The work has been performed during the current season by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra.
Strawinsky calls for an unusual orchestra (five flutes, four oboes, English horn, three bassoons, contrabassoon, five trumpets, three trombones, tuba, percussion, harp, two pianos, cellos, and basses), and also directs that the soprano and alto parts in this most difficult score be sung by children. (Is that an implied compliment or a reproach on the musicianship of our young people) No doubt the choice of orchestral instruments is dictated by a desire to achieve a new color scheme, that will have some of the emotional qualities that we imagine must have been characteristic of the musical in­struments mentioned in the Bible and used in the music festivals of King David's time.
It is to be expected that according to the traditional standards of musical beauty, the listener will find small consolation in Symphonic de Psaumes.
Page Twenty-Vive
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
But progress in art does not consist in pleasing repetitions of a well-under­stood formula. Honegger's King David represented a break with the conven­tional in the forms of oratorio; it left its mark of truth to a new concept of expression upon all who heard it. Out of a large number of compositions in this form by contemporary composers, this work by Strawinsky seems to represent most adequately present-day trends, both in subject matter for the larger sacred forms, and in manner of treatment of materials. Choral music exhibits the influence of the advances made in instrumental music in this generation, as, in Bach's day and earlier, music for instruments was influenced materially by what had been found effective for voices.
In the Symphonie de Psaumes we do not see Strawinsky imitating some older composer; he is "composing in his own right, in his own manner." To be sure, the texture of the music is more contrapuntal than harmonic-emblematic of the eighteenth century conception as evidenced in the B Minor Mass of Bach. However, the likeness stops there. Whereas Bach worked in specific keys and tonalities, and developed themes and motives, Strawinsky eschews tonalities individually and uses them collectively and simultaneously. At the same time, one of the characteristic features of Russian music finds expression in this composition: the repetition, almost to the point of mo­notony, of a short, easily comprehended figure. Tchaikovsky is guilty of this, likewise Rimsky-KorsakofF, and others, the main difference between their use of the device and Strawinsky's is that they avoid monotony by harmonic variation, but Strawinsky "drives his idea home" by sledge-hammer blows of increasing intensity. For example: the figure in the oboes when the altos begin Bxaudi orationem meam" in the first movement; it continues in other parts later, with increasing severity (perhaps annoyance), and without regard for harmonic agreement with other figures or melodies.
The sharp harmonic and tonal clashes that make up the texture of the work arise not out of a striving for dissonance, per se, but out of a condition of contrapuntal and harmonic flow, in which certain figures "proceed with the strictest logic according to the laws of their own being," resulting in new combinations which may be compared to the "changing forms in a kaleido­scope." Polytonality is inevitable under such conditions.
In Parts One and Three the material creates its own form as it proceeds, yet in spite of apparent formlessness there is organic unity and coherence of thought. In Part Two the form of a double fugue is employed. The sub­ject of the first exposition is announced by the flute and answered by the oboe, the entire exposition being set forth in these colors; the angular charPerformed at the Thirty-Seventh Festival, May 15, 1930. Page Twenty-Six
SECOND CONCERT
acter of the theme yields complicated and intricate tonal textures. The second exposition is undertaken by the voices and carried out in strict classic manner, while the themes of the first exposition are continued, uncompromisingly, by the instruments. The third section has the most varied moods. The choral portions voice an ever increasing paean of praise and exultation, interrupted frequently by the instruments in rhythmic patterns of primitive irregularity. The work closes quietly in the same mood with which the third movement began.
An an aid to the listener, the following analysis appeared in the Boston Evening Transcript on the day previous to the performance of the work at Symphony Hall:
The symphony begins with drab-colored arpeggio figures punctuated by sharp E Minor chords. Altos begin the words of prayer with the simplest motive that could have been devised for them, the minor second, while figures from the introduction serve as accompaniment. This most sombre music continues until Quoniam advena, when a somewhat more expansive theme enters in the cellos and basses. The music continues its almost stark, forbidding mood. There is high emphasis on Remitte mihi. The movement ends with a modal cadence.
II
The second movement is fugal--a strict exposition of an angular, chromatic sub­ject. The voices enter with an entirely new subject, broader than the instrumental sub­ject, but accompanied by it later. An interlude on the orchestral subject occurs between gressus meos and et immisit. With these words the thought enters upon a new phrase. The first movement had been penitence and prayer. The first half of the second, pa­tiently waiting while God's mercies are revealed. Now, "He hath put a new song into our mouths." The chorus takes the words broadly, in full, though somewhat archaic, sonorities, while the orchestra continues with the further development of its own theme, as announced at the first of the movement.
Ill
Broadly speaking, the last movement is an ascent through the various stages of praise. After a dignified beginning, an orchestral prelude introduces rhythms sug­gestive of gaiety. With the orchestra continuing thus, the chorus mounts higher and higher with music of praise. Occasionally the voices join in the orchestral rhythms; oftenest they maintain their broad flow of tone. There is a second and still more lively interlude before Laudote Bum in tympano et choro. After a magnificent climax of praise the movement ends quietly with the motive of the Alleluia and Laudate, with which it began.
The text in Latin (in which the work will be sung) and English is ap­pended:
Page Twenty-Seven
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
Latin (Vulgate)
I
Exaudi orationem meam, Domine, et deprecationem meam. Auribus percipe lacrimas meas, ne sileas
Quoniam advana ego sum apud te et peregrinus, sicud omnes patris mei. Remitte mihi, ut refregerer Prius quam abeam et amplius non ero.
II
Expectans expectavi dominum; et intendit mihi, et exaudivit preces meas. Eduxit me da lace mi seriae, et de latofae cis, et statuit super petram pedes meos, et
direxit gressus meos.
Et immisit in os meum canticum novum, carmen Deo nostro, videbunt multi, et timabunt, et sperabunt in Domino.
Ill
Laudate Dominum
Laudate Dominum in snactis Ejus; laudate Eum in firmamen to virtutis Ejus. Laudate Eum secundum miltitudinem magnitudinis Ejus. Laudate Eum in sono tubae: laudate Eum in timpano et choro. Laudate Eum in cordis et organo.
Laudate Eum in cymbalis bene sonantibus, laudate Eum in cymbalis jubilationibus. Laudate Eum Omnis omnis spiritus laudat Dominum, Laudate, Dominum.
English (King James)
I
Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; Hold not thy peace at my tears: For I am a stranger with Thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
0 spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence and be no more.
II
1 waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the mire clay, and set my feet
upon a rock, and established my goings. And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God; many shall see
it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.
Ill
Praise ye the Lord.
Praise the Lord in his sanctuary; praise Him in the firmament of His power. Praise Him for His mighty acts: praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet: praise Him with the psaltery and harp. Praise Him with the timbrel and dance: praise Him with stringed instruments and
organs
Praise Him upon loud cymbals: praise Him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord, Praise ye the Lord.
The three movements are thus seen to be a clear ascent from humble prayer to exultant praise.
Page Twenty-Eight
SECOND CONCERT
ARIA, "Du bist der Lenz" from "Die Walkiire ----Wagner
Miss Ljungberg
Richard Wagner was born May 22, 1813, at Leipzig; died February 13, 1883, at Venice.
Siegmund, a warrior in flight, takes refuge one stormy evening in the house of Hunding, one of his enemies, whose wife, Sieglinda, arouses his interest and love. Hunding is bound by the laws of hospitality not to harm his guest till the morrow. Siegmund, alone in the great room of the house, built 'round the trunk of an ash tree, meditates upon his heritage; the rays of the fire on the hearth light up a sword buried to the hilt in the ash tree; he reflects upon this good omen and upon the beauty of Sieglinda, who now enters by a side door, robed in white. She promises to guide him "to a goodly weapon, a glorious prize to gain." The door at the back opens wide, revealing a lovely spring night, the full moon shines in on the pair of lovers. Siegmund first sings a passionate song of love, to which Sieglinda answers:
Thou art the Spring,
for thee have I sighed 'neath the frost-fettered winter's frown.
Tow'rd thee leapt my heart
with heavenly thrill when thy radiant glance on me rested.-Foreign seemed all until now, friendless I and forsaken; I counted strange and unknown each and all that came near.
But thee, now, I
thoroughly knew;
when these eyes fell on thee
wert thou mine own one.
What my heart long had held,
what was hid,
clear as the day
dawned on my eyes,
the dulcet refrain
fell on my ear,
when in winter's frosty wildness a friend first awaited me.
FUGUE A LA GIGUE - Bach-Hoist
BALLET, from the opera, "The Perfect Fool" Hoist
Conducted by Mr. Holst
Gustav Hoist was born September 21, 1874, at Cheltenham, England.
In the present generation, English composers seem to be regaining a leadership in music that was unquestionably theirs in the late sixteenth cen­tury, and was relinquished by them in the centuries intervening to other European nations. Hoist, Vaughan Williams, Goosens, Holbrooke, Bax and others are creating works in the larger forms that command the serious con­sideration of those who are watching the signs of progress in the art of music.
Mr. Hoist's list of compositions includes works in practically all forms and in all categories: symphony, chamber music, oratorio, opera, and conPage Twenty-Nine
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
certo, not to mention the many arrangements he has made of folk song litera­ture for chorus or orchestra. Bach's Fugue a la Gigue, so named from the character of the theme, has long been a favorite with concert organists. In spite of the limitations of the fugue form, Bach has been able to express a joy of living and spontaneous exuberance that is as infectious today as in the days when it was first performed.
The Perfect Fool is a one-act opera which received its first performance at Covent Garden, May 14, 1923, while the composer was in Ann Arbor to conduct the first American performance of his Hymn of Jesus (for double chorus, orchestra and organ) at the Thirtieth May Festival. The music of the ballet is continuous, and consists of: Invocation; Dance of the Spirits of Earth; Dance of the Spirits of Water; Dance of the Spirits of Fire. The opening "Invocation" is heard before each of the dances, which are so clearly contrasted that no explanation or description is necessary.
"A CHORAL FANTASIA," Opus 51 ------Hoist
For Soprano Solo, Chorus, Organ, Strings, Brass, and Percussion.
First American Performance. Conducted by the Composer.
It is of especial significance that the first American performance of A Choral Fantasia should take place under the agis of the University of Michigan and the University Musical Society. The late Poet Laureate of England, Dr. Robert Bridges (from whose poems the composer has drawn his text) and Mrs. Bridges at the invitation of the late President Burton came to Ann Arbor for the academic year of 1923-1924, during which period Dr. Bridges held the Fellowship in Creative Art. Mr. Hoist was guest conductor at the Thirtieth May Festival and came to the United States at that time to conduct the first American performance of his choral work, The Hymn of Jesus, at that Festival.
The score of A Choral Fantasia carries this inscription: "In Homage, Robert Bridges," and this note: "The order of the stanzas in this setting differs from that in which they were written by Robert Bridges in his Ode to Music, written for the Bicentenary Commemoration of Henry Purcell, from which they have been taken, by permission of Mrs. Bridges and the Clarendon Press."
The work was first performed at the Leeds Festival in 1930, the com­poser conducting. Mr. Hoist has supplied the following brief analysis of the score:
Page Thirty
SECOND CONCERT
After a short introduction, a soprano sings the opening words "Man born of desire," etc. This is followed by a long solo for organ, founded on the principal melody of the work. After this the basses sing a second melody to the words, "Rejoice ye dead." At the conclusion of this middle section, the material of the introduction is repeated; the men's voices now sing the opening "Man born of desire." The choral movement that follows is founded on the principal melody, originally heard as the organ solo, and now sung to the refrain beginning, "Then he hideth his face!" The work ends with the soprano soloist singing the second melody, "Rejoice, ye dead!"
The unfettered treatment of the rhythmic implications of the text is one of the outstanding features of Mr. Hoist's writing for voices. The restraints which classic practice has placed upon the symmetry of phrases, and the balanced rhythms underlying the melodies are not worshiped by the composer as fetishes. He has sought out the inner meaning, the natural accents, and the rhetorical rise and fall of the line of intensity, and created a musical expression which is at one with the text. The result, of course, is an apparent novelty of rhythmic patterns--54, 74, and 84 with groupings of 3-3-2, etc.--which, upon closer study, reveal themselves as necessary to a truthful melodic counterpart to the verbal phrase. Extremely interesting are the sections in which the several voices combine these free rhythmical patterns into a texture of harmonic sounds that, to the untrained ear, are mere dissonance, but to the listener who observes the flow of the voices are an exemplification of a new attitude toward combinations of tone lines, in which the individuality of each line is maintained and the resulting "tonal fabric" is as inevitable under these conditions as the clear-cut, crystalline harmonic and melodic effects in The Creation were inevitable under the art forms of the late eighteenth century.
The nobility of the conception inherent in the poem, the restrained emo­tional moods, the levels of high serenity, the sustained quality of homage are reflected in the colors of instruments used to intensify the beauties of the text and music. Note the use of the sustained grandeur of the organ, the purity of the strings, the nobility of the brass, the somber impressiveness of the drums, and the human quality of the voices. All of these color elements are woven into a score that, despite an absence of subject matter which requires treatment in a traditional manner, for sheer sincerity and honesty of expression, for deep-felt respect and homage, bulks large in the literature of choral music.
The work is scored for organ, the usual strings, three trumpets in C, two tenor trombones, one bass trombone, tuba, timpani and percussion. No flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, etc., are employed. The composer's eclec­ticism in the make-up of the instrumental portion of this score is in line
Page Thirty-One
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
with modern practice. In King David, Honegger used specific groups of instruments for specific solos or choruses; in Symphonic Psalms, Stravinsky has omitted certain instruments from his orchestral pallet in order to create peculiar tonal effects; in A Dirge for Two Veterans (produced at the Thirtieth Festival), Hoist used only brass and drums to accompany the male chorus. This severity in orchestration is not new; it was the usual practice in the days of Bach and Handel. The "kaleidoscopic" style of orchestration is a product of the middle and late nineteenth century, and reached its apogee in the style developed by Strauss, whose scores glitter and dazzle with rapid change of orchestral color. It is an interesting com­mentary on present-day trends to discover prominent composers of various racial backgrounds searching for new expressions in fresh treatments of artistic principles that were thought to have belonged only to past generations. Ars longa, mors brevis.
Man born of desire
Cometh out of the night,
A wandering spark of fire,
A lonely word of eternal thought
Echoing in chance and forgot.
Rejoice, ye dead, where'er your spirits
dwell, Rejoice that yet on earth your fame is
bright, And that your names, remember'd day
and night, Live on the lips of those who love you
well. 'Tis ye that conquer'd have the powers
of Hell Each with the special grace of your
delight; Ye are the world's creators, and by
might Alone of Heavenly love ye did excel.
Now ye are starry names Behind the sun ye climb To light the glooms of Time With deathless flames.
Man born of desire
Cometh out of the night,
A wandering spark of fire,
A lonely word of eternal thought
Echoing in chance and forgot.
He seeth the sun, He calleth the stars by name, He saluteth the flowers.-Wonders of land and sea, The mountain towers Of ice and air He seeth, and calleth them fair:
Then he hideth his face;-Whence he came to pass away Where all is forgot, Unmade--lost for aye With the things that are not.
He striveth to know, To unravel the Mind That veileth in horror: He wills to adore. In wisdom he walketh And loveth his kind; His labouring breath Would keep evermore:
Then he hideth his face;Page Thirty-Two
Ruth Rodgers Soprano
Ekic DkLamakter Assistant Conductor
Juva HigbEG Children's Conductur
Frederick Jag el Tenor
SECOND CONCERT
Whence he came to pass away Where all is forgot, Unmade--lost for aye With the things that are not.
He dreameth of beauty, He seeks to create Fairer and fairer To vanquish his Fate; No hindrance he-No curse will brook, He maketh a law No ill shall be:
Then he hideth his face;Whence he came to pass away
Where all is forgot,
Unmade--lost for aye
With the things that are not.
Rejoice, ye dead, where'er your spirits
dwell, Rejoice that yet on earth your fame is
bright, And that your names, remember'd day
and night, Live on the lips of those who love you
well.
Robert Bridges
ARIA, "Liebestod" from "Tristan and Isolde" ----Wagner
Miss Ljungberg
The action of the third act, of which the "Liebestod" forms the conclud­ing scene, is as follows: The lover of Isolde lies on a couch beneath a lime tree, Kurvenal anxiously bending over the half-unconscious form of the master, in whom the flame of life burns dimly. The mournful notes of a shepherd's pipe are heard, and at the sound Tristan awakens to conscious­ness. Kurvenal, eagerly welcoming the signs of life in his master, explains the presence of Tristan and of himself in Brittany; explains, too, that even as he speaks, Isolde is hastening to the side of her wounded lover. Tristan feverishly watches the sea. There is no sail in sight, and he urges Kurvenal to ascend the watch tower, the better to scan the horizon for the ship. The joyful sounds of the shepherd's pipe are heard. Kurvenal starts to his feet; the tune is a signal that the herdsman has sighted the sail of Isolde's boat. In feverish excitement Tristan tosses upon his couch, and finally, unable to bear suspense a moment longer, he springs to the ground to meet Isolde. As he reels forward he tears the bandage from his wound, and the blood streams out upon the earth. Isolde's voice is heard crying, "Tristan! Tristan! Beloved!" and, as she hastens in, Tristan falls into her arms, and dies. Recovering, she fondles her dead lover, and sings this song of death. As she sings the last note she falls on his body and expires. The text in transla­tion is as follows:
Mild and softly he is smiling; how his eyelids sweetly open! See, oh comrades!
See you not how he beameth ever brighter, steeped in starlight borne above
Page Thirty-Three
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
See you not how his heart with lion zest, calmly and happy,
beats in his breast
From his lips in heav'nly rest sweetest breath he softly sends; Harken, friends! Hear and feel ye not!
Is it I alone am hearing strains so tender and endearing Passion swelling, all things telling. Gently bounding, from him
sounding, in me pushes, upward rushes, trumpet tone that
round me gushes
Brighter growing, o'er me flowing, are these breezes airy pillows Are they balmy beauteous billows How they rise and gleam and glisten! Shall I breathe them Shall I listen Shall I sip them, dive within them, to my panting breathing with
them In the breezes around, in the harmony sound, in the world's
driving whirlwind be drown'd, and sinking, be drinking, in
a kiss, highest bliss!
(English version by H. and F. Corder)
HUNGARIAN DANCES --------Brahms
Johannes Brahms was born May 7, 1833, at Hamburg; died April 3, 1897, at Vienna.
The first two books of Hungarian Dances by Brahms which appeared in 1869, for piano duet, exceeded in popularity that of any other work by the master. The source of the inspiration for these pieces can be traced to the composer's association with the Hungarian violinist, Remenyi. They made a concert tour together in 1853 and in the periods of preparation for this tour, Brahms came to feel the fascination of this form of Hungarian music. The thematic materials are not Brahm's own creation, but are derived from the music of Magyar composers then living. Brahms ar­ranged three of this set for orchestra. A second set of dances, in two books as before, appeared in 1880, written for piano duet, as were the preceding dances. Dvorak made an arrangement for orchestra of the dances in the fourth book, 17-21, which is used on this occasion. The thematic material for this set of dances was derived mainly from folk tunes.
Page Thirty-four
THIRD CONCERT
Friday Afternoon, May 20
CONCERTO NO. 5, in D Major -------Bach
For Piano, Violin, and Flute Solos and Strings.
Johann Sebastian Bach was born March 21, 1685, at Eisenach; died July 28, 1750, at Leipzig.
This composition is the fifth in the group known as the Brandenberg Concertos. They were written while the master was at Coethen, probably in March, 1721. The Markgraf of Brandenberg was an enthusiastic sup­porter of music, and had made a collection of concertos by foremost living composers. It was but natural that he should invite his friend Bach to contribute to this library of music which was being provided for his own band of musicians to play. In all, six concertos were composed by Bach and sent to the Markgraf. They represent Bach's first attempts in the field of instrumental music on a "symphonic" scale. The term "symphonic" is used here in the most restricted sense, as symphonic music as we know it today had not come into being in 1721.
The characteristics of early instrumental music may be observed in these concertos. The instruments play passages that are merely parts in a poly­phonic whole, rather than melodies or figures--as in later music--that are inherent in the idiom of expression of the individual instrument. Bach treats his instruments melodically, without much differentiation as to tone color or dynamics. Each of the six concertos calls for a different group of instru­ments. The first (F Major) is for strings, three oboes, two horns, a bassoon, and a harpsichord (piano). The second (F Major) requires solo violin, flute, oboe, trumpet, and strings. The third (G Major), in two movements, is written for three violins, three violas, three violoncellos, and bass. The fourth (G Major) is for solo violin, two flutes, and strings. The require­ments of the fifth (D Major) are set forth above. The sixth (B flat) is written for two violas, two "viole da gamba," violoncello, and harpsichord (piano).
In the concerto on this afternoon's program, the first movement (Allegro molto moderato, D Major, 44 time) unites the three solo instruments in concerted passages
Page Thirty-Vive
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
accompanied by the strings. There is a conspicuous cadenza for harpsichord (piano) near the conclusion. The second movement (Affettnoso, B Minor, 44 time) is for the solo instruments alone. The arrangement of the piano part used on this occasion was made by Mr. Harold Bauer. In the original score, a single line exists for each hand. Mr. Bauer has amplified it, filled out the harmonies, and made the part much more characteristic of the modern pianoforte with its greater sonorities and wider range of dynamics. The third movement {Allegro, D Major, 24 time) is in a style similar to the first movement, though the thematic material is entirely fresh and new.
SELECTIONS FROM OPERAS ----Gilbert and Sullivan a) "The Magnet and the Churn," from "Patience" 6) "Carefully on Tip-Toe Stealing," from "Pinafore"
"Tit-Willow," from "The Mikado"
"When the Foeman Bares His Steel," from "The Pirates of
Penzance"
Children's Festival Chorus
Sir Arthur Sullivan was born May 13, 1842, at London; died November 22, 1900, at London.
It is undeniable that fame came to one of England's best known com­posers, not because of his contributions to the literature of orchestral, choral, or chamber music in a serious vein, important though these compositions were, but because of his association with the librettist, W. S. Gilbert, and the resulting succession of operettas which have made of these two men household favorites. With Gilbert and Sullivan and the musical pieces com­posed for the Savoy Theatre in London, and subsequently produced in almost every city of any size in the English-speaking world, the art form of operetta took on new meaning. The English critic, Forsyth, remarks that "on the aesthetic side we owe Sullivan a lasting debt for his recognition of the fact that it was not only necessary to set his text to music which was pleasing in itself, but to invent melodies in such close alliance with the words that the two things become (to the audience) indistinguishable." If we "make the punishment fit the crime" we do so in Sullivan's melody and rhythm; "and so do all his cousins and his aunts" is not merely, a series of words, for Sullivan's tune has lifted the phrase into a realm that belongs to all people for all time.
The infectious charm of the librettist's humor and the composer's abun­dant melodic inspiration is amply indicated in the excerpts from four operas to be sung by the Children's Festival Chorus this afternoon. That the music is as fresh and appealing today as in the year it was written will be observed by the expressions on the faces of the youthful singers and the spirit with
Page Thirty-Six
THIRD CONCERT
which they enter into the performance. Young people are not deceived by mannerisms or gestures in art; they recognize truth and beauty, and respond wholeheartedly to its appeal. Gilbert and Sullivan created characters, scenes, plots, and music that set aside the passage of time, and that enable all to renew again their youth.
a) "The Magnet and the Churn," from "Patience"
"Patience, or Bunthorne's Bride" was produced at the Opera Comique, London, April 23, 1881. The opera was a satire on the craze for aestheticism which was being fostered by Oscar Wilde and Was sweeping the English-speaking world in the eighties. It ran for 408 performances. The two male characters were supposed to satirize a "fleshly" poet (probably a caricature of Wilde) and an "idyllic" poet (intended to be a representation of Swin­burne). It is the latter character who sings the fable of the magnet and the churn. The text is as follows:
A magnet hung in a hard-ware shop,
And all around was a loving crop
Of scissors and needles, nails and knives,
Offering love for all their lives;
But for iron the magnet felt no whim,
Tho' he charmed iron, it charmed not him,
From needles and nails and knives he'd turn
For he'd set his love on a Silver Churn!
A Silver Churn! A Silver Churn!
His most aesthetic, very magnetic
Fancy took this turn
"If I can wheedle a knife or a needle,
Why not a Silver Churn"
His most aesthetic, very magnetic
Fancy took this turn
"If I can wheedle a knife or a needle,
Why not a Silver Churn"
And Iron and Steel express'd surprise, The needles open'd their well-drill'd eyes The pen-knives felt "shut up," no doubt, The scissors declar'd themselves "cut out," The kettles they boiled with rage, 'tis said, While ev'ry nail went off its head, And hither and thither began to roam, Till a hammer came up and drove them home. It drove them home It drove them home; While this magnetic, peripatetic Lover he lived to learn,
Page Thirty-Seven
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
By no endeavour can magnet ever Attract a Silver Churn! While this magnetic, peripatetic Lover he lived to learn, By no endeavour can magnet ever Attract a Silver Churn!
b) "Carefully on Tip-Toe Stealing," from "Pinafore"
Who would gainsay the popularity of "H. M. S. Pinafore; or The Lass that Loved a Sailor" It dates from the years 1877-1878. Although it was not an instantaneous success at the Opera Comique, where it was first pro­duced, when it crossed the Atlantic it set new records in the United States. In his biography of Sullivan, Arthur Lawrence wrote: "It was not an un­common thing for one individual to have seen the piece, say, a dozen times; church choirs added it to their repertoire; thousands of sturdy Puritans who had never been inside a theater before went to see one or more of the per­formances. . . For the season it was found hardly worth while to run anything else in opposition to it, and the spectacle was presented of every theater and concert company of importance in the big cities producing the same piece!"
The chorus, "Carefully on Tip-Toe Stealing," is drawn from the second act:
Carefully on tip-toe stealing,
Breathing gently as we may,
Ev'ry step with cautious feeling,
We will softly creep away.
Goodness me! why, what was that
Silent be, it was the cat!
It was, it was the cat!
They're right;
It was the cat!
Pull ashore in fashion steady;
Hymen will defray the fare,
For a clergyman is ready
To unite the happy pair.
Goodness me! why, what was that
Silent be, again the cat!
It was again the cat!
They're right;
It was the cat!
Ev'ry step with cautious feeling,
We will softly creep away,
Ev'ry step with cautious feeling,
We will steal away.
Page Thirty-Eight
THIRD CONCERT
c) "Tit-Willow," from "The Mikado"
It is said that the first suggestion for the operetta, "The Mikado, or The Town of Titipu" came to Gilbert from a Japanese sword that hung on the wall in his library. The libretto was carefully considered, revised, and re­written, and full advantage of the effect of oriental characters, scenery, and costumes was utilized. The musical score is equally well constructed. Great skill is shown in handling the chorus, the ensembles; in writing delightful melodies and rhythms that may be manipulated in the most correct contra­puntal fashion; in coloring the music in the orchestra in a manner so deft and sensitive as to give a Japanese effect without the use of strictly oriental materials. This work achieved a success fully equal to that of "Pinafore," and is always a favorite in Gilbert and Sullivan revivals either by a pro­fessional or an amateur company.
Ko Ko, the Lord High Executioner, sings the song, "Tit-Willow," in the second act. The text is:
On a tree by a river a little tom-tit Sang "Willow, tit-willow, tit-willow!" And I said to him, "Dicky-bird, why do you sit" Singing "Willow, tit-willow, tit-willow" "Is it weakness of intellect birdie" I cried, "Or a rather tough worm in your little inside" With a shake of his poor little head he replied, "Oh willow, tit-willow, tit-willow!"
He slapp'd at his chest as he sat on the bough,
Singing "Willow, tit-willow, tit-willow!"
And a cold perspiration bespangled his brow,
"Oh willow, tit-willow, tit-willow!"
He sobb'd and he sigh'd, and a gurgle he gave,
Then he threw himself into the billowy wave,
And an echo arose from the suicide's grave,
"Oh willow, tit-willow, tit-willow!" =..
Now I feel just as sure as I'm sure that my name
Isn't Willow, tit-willow, tit-willow,
That 'twas blighted affection that made him exclaim,
"Oh willow, tit-willow, tit-willow!"
And if you remain callous and obdurate, I
Shall perish as he did, and you will know why,
Tho' I probably shall not exclaim as I die,
"Oh willow, tit-willow, tit-willow 1"
Page Thirty-Nine
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
d) "When the Foeman Bares his Steel," from "The Pirates of Penzance"
While Sullivan was in America in 1879 to make arrangements for per­formances of his works, and the payment of proper royalties for them, he wrote most of the score of "The Pirates of Penzance." It was produced in England in 1880.
The police sergeant sings, in the second act, "When Foeman Bares his Steel." The text is appended:
When the foeman bares his steel,
Tarantara, tarantara,
We uncomfortable feel!
Tarantara, tarantara.
And we find the wisest thing
Is to slap our chests and sing
Tarantara! Tarantara! For when threaten'd with emeutes And your heart is in your boots There is nothing brings it round Like the trumpet's martial sound, Tarantara, tarantara, ra, ra, ra, ra.
ARIA, "Salve Regina" -------Pergolesi-Stock
Miss Hager
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was born January 4, 1710, at Jesu, Italy; died March 16, 1736, at Pozzuoli.
Called by the Italians "the Raphael of Music," this gifted young composer was one of the greatest geniuses of his time. Though he was only twenty-six years old at the time of his death, he had left an indelible impress on nearly all forms of composition: opera, church music, oratorio, and in­strumental music. His opera buffa, La Servo, Padrona, written for only two characters, but marvelously conceived from the point of view of charac­terization by the music, was taken up not only in Italy but in France as well as a model for opera buffa and opera comique. His Stabat Mater written for soprano and contralto expresses an anguish of soul that belies his youth.
The text, "Salve Regina," is that of the antiphon sung in Catholic churches at vespers from Trinity to Advent. Pergolesi left five different settings of these words. The one used this afternoon is an arrangement for contralto and orchestra made by Mr. Stock from a sketch found by Mr. Hugo Kortschak in the collection of Pergolesi's works in the New York Public Library.
The air is in three divisions, respectively beginning with the words: "Salve Regina," "Eia Ergo Advocata Nostra," and "Et Jesum Benedictus." The translation of the Latin is as follows:
Hail, holy queen, mother of mercy; hail our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourn­ing and weeping in this vale of tears.
Page Forty
THIRD CONCERT
Turn thee most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us. And after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Save us, Queen Mother of sorrows, our Life and our hope, save us;
Pray for us, look on us miserable offenders.
Show to us the blessed Jesus, Fruit of thy womb, for our salvation.
SUITE, "Children's Games," Opus 12 - Bizet
Georges Bizet was born at Paris, October 25, 1838; died at Bougival, June 3, 1875.
March ("Trumpeter and Drummer")--Allegretto moderate
Cradle Song ("The Doll")--Andantino quasi Andante.
Impromptu ("The Top")--Allegro vivo.
Duet ("Little Husband, Little Wife")--Andantino.
Galop ("The Ball")--Presto.
This work, illustrating as it does episodes in child life, calls to mind the fact that many of the classical and modern writers have not considered it beneath their dignity to appeal to youthful imaginations. Haydn in his "Kinder Sinfonie," Schumann in his "Jugend Album," Mendelssohn in his "Kinder-scenen," made this appeal, while Humperdinck found inspiration for his greatest work in a children's classic. The composition on this afternoon's program has found a place in the repertoire of the great symphonic organiza­tions largely because it happily illustrates a peculiar daintiness and naivete characteristic of the treatment of the orchestra by French composers.
"WATER COLORS" - Carpenter
"On a Screen"; "The Odalisque"; "To a Young Gentleman" Miss Hager
John Alden Carpenter was born Feb­ruary 28, 1876, at Park Ridge, Illinois.
Since 1912, when a set of eight songs were published, Mr. Carpenter has continuously produced works in both vocal and instrumental forms, which have brought him conspicuously and favorably to the attention not only of his fellow countrymen, but to the musical cognoscenti across the Atlantic. Having graduated from Harvard University in 1897, where he had been a pupil of Professor Paine, he immediately entered his father's business in Chicago--railroad and vessel supplies--and in 1909 became vice-president of the company. Mr. Carpenter's training for his avocation began
, Page Forty-One
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
under his mother, who had been a pupil in singing of Marchesi and of William Shakespeare of London. Later on, in addition to receiving piano­forte instruction, he studied composition with Bernhard Ziehn (Chicago), and for a short period with Sir Edward Elgar.
Perhaps Mr. Carpenter's Gitanjali, a set of six songs with texts by Rabindranath Tagore, has had the widest dissemination of all his works to date. Many of his songs have justly been included in "American groups" in the programs of leading concert artists.
In the orchestral field, his suite, Adventures in a Perambulator, and his Krasy Kat, a Jazz Pantomime, have been most conspicuous successes. For piano and orchestra he has written a charming Concertino, which is not as diminutive in content or proportions as the title would imply.
The texts of Water Colors were taken from "National Odes of China" collected by Confucius (551-479 B.C.). The English translations are as fol­lows:
"On a Screen"
A tortoise I see on a lotus-flower resting, A bird 'mid the reeds and the rushes, is nesting, A light skiff, propelled by some boatman's fair daughter, Whose song dies away o'er the fast flowing water.
Li-Po (A.D. 705-762)
"The Odalisque" A gaily dressed damsel steps forth from her bower,
Bewailing the fate that forbids her to roam, In the courtyard she counts the buds on each flower, While a dragon-fly flutters and sits on her comb.
Yii-Hsi (A.D. 772-842)
"Highwaymen"
The rainy mist sweeps gently o'er the village by the stream, And from the leafy forest glades the brigand daggers gleam; And yet, there is no need to fear, or step from out their way, For more than half the world consists of bigger rogues than they!
Li-She (Sigh IX AD.)
"To a Young Gentleman"
Don't come in, sir, please!
Don't break my willow-trees! Not that that would very much grieve me,
But, alack-a-day,
What would my parents say
And love you as I may, I cannot bear to think what that would be.
Page Forty-Two
THIRD CONCERT
Don't cross my wall, sir, please!
Don't spoil my mulberry-trees! Not that that would very much grieve me,
But, alack-a-day,
What would my brothers say
And love you as I may, I cannot bear to think what that would be.
Then keep outside, sir, please! Don't spoil my sandal-trees! Not that that would very much grieve me, But, alack-a-day, What the world would say! And love you as I may, I cannot bear to think what that would be.
CANTATA, "The Spider and the Fly" -----Protheroe
Children's Festival Chorus
Daniel Protheroe was born November 24, 1866, at Ystradgynlais, Wales.
Mr. Protheroe's early musical education was obtained at Swansea Normal College, Swansea, Wales. After coming to America he taught and con­ducted at Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. More re­cently his home has been in Chicago, where as a teacher, composer, and director of choral organizations he has won distinction.
The Spider and the Fur
(A Fable)
"Will you walk into my parlor" said the spider to the fly; " 'Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy. The way into my parlor is up a winding stair, And I have many pretty things to show when you are there." "O no, no," said the little fly, "to ask me is in vain, For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again."
"I'm sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;
Will you rest upon my little bed" said the spider to the fly.
"There are pretty curtains drawn around, the sheets are fine and thin
And if you like to rest a while, I'll snugly tuck you in."
"O no, no," said the little fly, "for I've often heard it said,
They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed."
Said the cunning spider to the fly, "Dear friend, what shall I do,
To prove the warm affection I've always felt for you
I have within my pantry good store of all that's nice;
I'm sure you're very welcome; will you please to take a slice"
Page Forty-Three
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
"O no, no," said the little fly, "kind sir, that cannot be; I've heard what's in your pantry, and I do not wish to see."
"Sweet creature! said the spider, "you're witty and you're wise, How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes! I have a little looking-glass upon my parlor shelf, If you'll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself." "I thank you, gentle sir," she said, "for what you're pleased to say, And bidding you good-morning now, I'll call another day."
The spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
For well he knew the silly fly would soon be back again:
So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready to dine upon the fly.
Then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing,
"Come hither, hither, pretty fly, with the pearl and silver wing:
Your robes are green and purple, there's a crest upon your head;
Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead."
Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little fly,
Hearing his wily flattering words, came slowly flitting by.
With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew,
Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue;
Thinking only of her crested head--poor foolish thing!
At last,
Up jumped the cunning spider, and fiercely held her fast, He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den, Within his little parlor; but she ne'er came out again!
And now dear little children, who may this story read, To idle, silly, flattering words, I pray you ne'er give heed; Unto an evil counselor close heart, and ear, and eye, And take a lesson from this tale of the Spider and the Fly.
Mary Howitt (1799-1888)
Page Forty-Four
FOURTH CONCERT
Friday Evening, May 20
SYMPHONY IN G MINOR (Kochel 183) ----Mozart Allegro con brio; Andante; Menuetto and Trio; Allegro
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born January 17, 1756, at Salzburg; died December 5, 1791, at Vienna.
This is not the Symphony in G Minor that is familiar to the concert-going public or to those who increase their acquaintance with symphonic music by means of records or disks. That symphony is designated in the Kochel catalog as No. 550, and was written in 1788 in the same few months during which Mozart gave to the world the Jupiter and B Flat symphonies. The present symphony belongs to an earlier style, and was sketched at Salzburg in 1773. In it we recognize the characteristics of the evolving "symphonic style" which was the especial contribution of Haydn and Mozart to the literature of music.
Mozart created forty-one symphonies, and of that group only two are written in minor keys: Kochel Nos. 183 and 550. In both instances, as already stated, the key of G minor was selected. Mozart's predisposition for the major tonalities is therefore apparent. The symphony on tonight's program is straightforward in form, and direct in melodic and harmonic outline, yet there is a grace and tenderness to the slow movement and a brilliancy to the first and last movements that reflects the spirit of Austrian courtly elegance of the late eighteenth century. It will be observed from the dispositions of the limited list of orchestral instruments that the con­ception of an instrumental body with a stable family of instrumental colors, properly balanced, had not yet crystallized. Flutes, clarinets, trumpets, trom­bones, timpani, etc., are missing, and somewhat in the style of the Bach Concerto played this afternoon, each movement has its own color scheme of instruments.
The first, third, and fourth movements call for two oboes, two horns in B flat, two horns in G, and strings; the second movement uses muted strings, two oboes, two bassoons and two horns in E flat. What a difference from the orchestral pallet from which Scriabine and Gliere paint their tone
Page Forty-Five
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
pictures! Yet the question may be raised: Is the greatness of an art work to be measured entirely by the complexity and multiplicity of means and materials employed Is not a simple, naive, direct statement often as forceful and appealing as a passionate or thunderous pronouncement The com­parison may be made in this evening's program.
ARIA, "M'Appari" from "Martha" ------Flotow
Mr. Gigu
Friederich von Flotow was born April 27, 1812, at Teutendorf; died, January 24, 1883, at Darmstadt.
Educated with a view to diplomatic service, Flotow left Germany for Paris in 1827 at a time when opera comique was the dominant type. He studied and composed operas for the theaters of that city until his natural instinct for the stage, his grace of melodic invention, and his keen sense of the values of rhythm and piquant orchestration were so developed as to gain a hearing for his operas in London, Hamburg, Vienna, etc. His best known works are Stradella and Martha. The aria on tonight's program displays Flotow's genius for a tone line of great simplicity and chaste beauty, but with little emotional depth or richness of harmonic background. It is sung in the third act by Lionel as an expression of his hopeless love for Lady Harriet whom he knows only as Martha.
Ah! so pure, Ah! so bright,
Burst her beauty on my sight.
O! so mild, so divine,
She beguil'd this heart of mine;
'Reft of aim, ere she came.
Dark the future seem'd to loom,
'Till her clear brilliant sphere
New with light dispell'd the gloom.
Woe! she fled, quickly sped all my joy
in fleeting gleams; As I wake, hopes forsake Robbing me of god-like dreams. Ah! so pure, Ah! so bright Burst her beauty on my sight. O! so mild, so divine, She beguil'd this heart of mine. Martha, Martha! thou hast taken every
bliss away with thee Canst thou leave me thus forsaken
Come and share thy boon with me Share! share thy boon with me! Yea, with me.
Like a dream bright and fair,
Chasing ev'ry thought of care,
Those sweet hours pass'd with thee,
Made the world all joy for me.
But alas, thou art gone,
And that dream of bliss is o'er
Ah, I hear now the tone,
Of thy gentle voice no more;
Oh! return happy hours fraught with
Hope, with Hope so bright Come again, come again, sunny days of
pure delight, of pure delight Like a dream bright and fair, chasing
every thought of care, Those sweet hours pass'd with thee,
Page Forty-Six
FOURTH CONCERT
Made the world all joy for me. Fleeting vision cloth'd in brightness,
wherefore thus, so soon depart; O'er my pathway shed thy lightness once
again,
And glad my heart Once again and glad my heart, yes, glad
my heart.
How so fair, stood she there Filling my heart with ecstasy;
And her smile did beguile
While her eye shone radiantly;
Then my heart with a start
Saw the future glowing bright,
But again, in deep pain
Beats it, while around deep night
Disappear'd as she rear'd,
And with her fled my repose.
Hateful life, hopeless strife,
Wish that death would end my woes.
SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN C MINOR ("The Divine Poem")
Opus 43-----------Scriabine
Lento, C Minor ("Prologue"); Allegro, C Minor ("Strife"); Lento, E Major ("Sensuous Pleasures") ; Allegro, C Major ("Divine Activity")
Alexander Nicholaewitch Scriabine was born January 10, 1872, at Moscow; died April 14, 1915, at Leningrad.
It has become a commonplace of music history that whenever a composer of profound originality appears, he is invariably made the object of bitter and unthinking ridicule, usually by those who should be the first to recognize his genius. Scriabine was no exception. To the end of his life, and indeed beyond, he was maligned by ignorant and fatuous conservatives, chiefly from the ranks of professional critics and musicians who had little knowledge of, or sympathy with, his aims and tendencies. Especially striking is the fact that Scriabine's works were, in general, favorably received in important centers outside of Russia before the latter placed its stamp of approval on what is probably its most original music. It was only after Scriabine's death that his countrymen realized the fact that they had disgracefully neglected one of their very greatest composers, and accorded him proper recognition in a series of concerts devoted exclusively to his compositions.
Of aristocratic and musical lineage, Scriabine early commenced his studies at the Moscow Conservatory, coming under the tutelage of Safonoff in piano and Taneieff in composition. Being of an extremely sensitive and refined nature, he was much influenced by the great Polish tone poet, Chopin. But his true individuality rapidly asserted itself, and it soon became evident to his teachers and fellow students that they were witnessing the development of a most unusual talent. He was never content, in his original compositions, to do things in the customary academic manner. Rather, from the very beginning, did he appear to be striving toward a new and strange expression of certain fundamental ideals which all composers have shared in common.
Page Forty-Seven
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
His life, although comparatively brief, was one of intense creative activity. No more idealistic composer ever lived. Like Beethoven he was deeply influenced by nature, probably more so than any other composer since the Master of Bonn. He was passionately fond of flowers and clouds and the blazing glory of the morning sun, and these aspects of nature are reflected in the overwhelming joy of much of his music. Moonlight, the shadows of evening, and the gray moods of winter seem not to have attracted Scriabine greatly. The darker moods of nature found better expression in the music of Debussy and the other Western Impressionists.
In order fully to understand the nature of Scriabine's music, it is neces­sary to know something of certain philosophical ideas which he held to be the basis of his works. For him, art was a veritable religion, a means of uttering eternal truths about life and death and human destiny. Much has been made of Scriabine's theosophical leanings and their influence upon his music. He was by nature a pantheist and a mystic, and it was only natural that he should be attracted to the main concepts of theosophy. Not that he was so naive as to believe that he could elucidate through the medium of music certain ideas about the Ultimate Mystery. Rather was he striving to arrive at that state of creative ecstasy which the mystic describes as perfect union with the divine. In other words his ideal was not a purely musical one in the ordinary sense of the term, nor, on the other hand, a programmatic one. He had the deepest respect for the "classical" concepts of form. Ifvery page of his music is eloquent witness to that. He was not in the least influenced by the rather elementary programmatic ideas of Strauss and the other musical realists. His ideal was the realization in music of certain "soul-states."
Like Wagner, Scriabine desired to unite the arts in arriving at an ultimate expression of the ideal. However, his aim was not the perfect drama but the perfect rite. According to his biographer, A. E. Hull, he reaches, in Prometheus, his last great orchestral work, "the furthest point of his ecstasy in creative energy--a point which was to have been carried astoundingly further by his proposed Mystery, in which sounds, colors, odors, and move­ment were to be united in expressing one fundamental religious idea." This proposed mystery was to have been enacted in India, with only the "initiated" taking part.
Scriabine's harmonic innovations have not been surpassed by any other composer. For a long time they constituted a formidable barrier against a general understanding of his music. Many of his chords were, for the first decade of the twentieth century, extremely dissonant and complex. In his
Page Forty-Eight
Mina Hagkr Contralto
Nlil.SON EllIlY
Baritone
Palmer Christian Organist
GlTTA GrADOVA
Pianist
FOURTH CONCERT
middle and later works he abandoned the time-worn concepts of tonality, melody, and harmony, and entered new, unexplored tonal regions. In doing this he was undoubtedly responding to an inner necessity. His "mystic" harmonies often consisted of a synthesis of several of the simple chord structures of earlier music into a single harmony. It is probably safe to assert that Scriabine has had a larger share in the forming of the new musical language of the twentieth century than any other composer since Wagner, not even excepting Schonberg. With the passing of time and repeated hearing of his works, his strange new harmonic language has become a part of our general musical heritage, opening up to us hitherto undreamed of worlds of beauty.
The Divine Poem was written in the summer of 1903, in the midst of the happiest and most fruitful period of Scriabine's life. This work, one of the most deeply spiritual in all music, has been described as expressing the liberation of the human spirit, and is a veritable hymn of joy. It is characterized by the loftiest flights of the musical imagination. To quote from A. E. Hull: "As a sheer effort of the imagination, the Symphony is an immense achievement; the themes are magnificent; the handling of coun­terpoint and form is masterly in the extreme; the harmony wonderfully coloured, always of a rich sonority in soft passages as well as in loud. The cohesion, combination, development, and even, one might say, the birth of the themes (the way they gradually emerge) is most noteworthy."
The following analysis is taken from A. E. Hull's famous biography of Scriabine: The first three bars of the short but magnificent Prologue, Lento, give the three "leading motives" of the Symphony: "Divine Grandeur," "The Summons to Man," and the "Fear to approach, suggestive of Flight," (free translation of the composer's indi­cations in the score). The first one of these follows:
Page Forty-Nine
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
The Allegro ("Strife") is marked "Mysterious, Tragic." The first subject is given to the violins, and is sixteen bars in length. No. I.
Then comes the first suggestion of divinity in a theme which becomes more and more confident as we proceed. But the upward aspiring curves become more feeble and attenuated as they fall down to the second subject proper:
Fl. and Oboe.
Now we are in an even more unworldly atmosphere--romantique, legendaire. A tri­umphal passage of majestic harmony brings in the return of the Divine theme with great power.
This completes the exposition and is followed by a lengthy development and a full recapitulation section. There is a coda of wild, precipitant flight, and the Divine theme returns in blazing splendor with a significant counter subject. A short bridge leads straight into the Lento ("Voluptes"). No. 4.
A chromatic episode succeeds this, crossed by a new crashing motive, which gives way in turn to a restfulpassage completely diatonic with limpid arpeggios. Voluptuous and passionate phrases follow, continually increasing in power, until we reach the motive of Divine Aspiration, wildly crossed by a crashing motive which leads into the last movement Allegro ("Divine Activity"). The opening subject is comprised of the two little motives, one taken from the Prologue, the other from the theme of "Joyful Soaring." It is marked "with radiant joy":
A short entry of the bridge-subject of the first movement appears, calming down into a new melodj'--the second subject proper of this movement:
Page fifty
FOURTH CONCERT
This, the so-called ego theme, symbolizes the translation of human personality into celestial regions. A sweet limpid melody then enters, after which the ego melody ex­pands, reaching a climax. The subjects are all fully treated again in the recapitulation, and the work is consummated with one of the finest perorations in the whole range of music.
ARIA, "Un di all' azzurro spazio" from "Andrea Chenier" Giordano
Mr. Gigu
Umberto Giordano was born August 27, 1863, at Foggia, Italy.
The action of this story takes place in Paris during the French Revolution. Andrea Chenier, a poet, patriot, and dreamer, who was born in Constanti­nople, came to Paris for his education. He took sides in the Revolution, being a believer in liberty and a hater of monarchs; he was arrested, im­prisoned, and finally guillotined on July 25, 1794. The opera plot arranged from these historical facts by Luigi Illica draws more from the imagination of the librettist than from the known incidents of Chenier's life. The first act takes place in the hall of the castle of Coigny where preparations for a ball are in progress. Among the guests who arrive is Chenier, who is asked to improvise on a theme of love by the coquette Madeline. He sings the air, Un di all' azzurro spazio, in which he criticizes sharply the aristocracy and speaks of the pride of the rich and its effect upon the poor. The text is as follows:
Un di all' azzurro spazio guardai profondo, a ei prati colmi di viole, pioveva l'oro il sole, e folgorava d'oro il mondo; parea la Terra un immane tesor, e a lei serviva di scrigno, il firmamanto.
Su dalla terra a la mia fronte veniva una carezza viva, un bacio.
Gridai, vinto d'amor: T'amo, tu che mi baci, divinamente bella, o patria mia!
E voli pien d'amore pregar! Varcai d'una chiesa la soglia; la un prete ne le nicchie dei santi e de la Vergine, accumulava doni, e al sordo orecchio un tremulo vegliardo invano chiedeva pane e invan stendea la mano!
Varcai degli abituri l'uscio; un uom vi calunniava bestemiando il suolo che l'erario a pena sazia e contro a Dio scagliava e contro a li uomini le lagrime dei figli.
In cotanta miseria la patrizia prole che fa Sol l'occhio vostro esprime umanamente qui un guardo de pieta, ond'io guardato ho a voi si come a un angelo. E dissi: Ecco la bellezza della vita! Ma, poi a le vostre parole un novello dolor m'ha colto in pieno petto.
O giovenetta balla, d'un poeta non disprezzate il detto: Undite! Non conoscete amor, divino dono, non lo schernir del mondo anima e vita e 1' Amor!
Page Fifty-One
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
SYMPHONIC POEM, "The Sirens," Opus 33 ----Gliere Reinhold Moritzovitch Gliere was born January 11, 1875, at Kieff, Russia.
The youthful education in music of our composer was obtained at the Moscow Conservatory, which he entered in 1894 as a pupil of Hrjimalz in violin, and of Taneieff and Ippolitoff-Ivanoff in musical theory. At the Conservatory he was the best student in the composition class, attested by his winning the gold medal. After the completion of his formal studies at Moscow, he lived in Berlin for some time. Just before the outbreak of the war he accepted the directorship of the Conservatory of the Imperial Musical Society at Kieff; under his direction it became an important insti­tution. At the present time, Gliere is a teacher of composition at the Moscow Conservatory.
The Sirens was performed for the first time in what was then St. Petersburg, in April, 1912. It bears the hall mark of twentieth century creation, although the subject material is drawn from Greek mythology. The form of the symphonic poem, which implies a modicum of "program," had been developed in the nineteenth century by Liszt, Saint-Saens, Strauss, and others to such a high point of freedom from the restraints of the classic and romantic schools, that Gliere had but to appropriate the principles of his predecessors, and clothe them in a tonal investiture all his own. Both in Europe and America this tone poem has met with widespread recognition of its right to a high place in symphonic music.
As a part of the score, the composer has embodied this prefatory note:
The Sirens were mythical beings who lived in the fancy of the ancient Greeks on an enchanted isle in the midst of the sea. By their magic song they lured those who sailed within their neighborhood. Oblivious of their surroundings and powerless to withstand the fatal song, the sailors steered their ship to the island of the terrible Sirens, where it was dashed to pieces on the hidden rocks.
The subtitles of the divisions of the work are: The Sea. The Isle op the Sirens. Approach of the Vessel. The Song of the Sirens. The Shipwreck. The tone poem is played, however, without pause.
As in all programmatic music, the individual listener's imagination may be indulged; the very absence of "classic form" makes for a more free inter­play of poetic moods, suggested by the character of the themes, their orches­tral "dress," and whatever of the "story" the listener may wish to appropriate at the moment. Gliere has successfully achieved a description of the sea with its mystery, its power, its cross currents, and its terrific fury. The very irregularity of the phrases and cross rhythms intensifies the variety of wave motion of a wind-blown sea. The seductive influences of the Sirens
Page Fifty-Two
FOURTH CONCERT
are clearly expressed in tone, if one has any creative imagination to add to the musical picture; likewise, the great climax will suggest the wreck of the ship. There is no banal attempt at photographic or journalistic description; the composer has sought rather to re-create in the most vague and subtle of temporal and tonal media the moods he felt as the program unfolded itself to him.
ARIA, "O Paradiso" from "L'Africana" ----Meyerbeer
Mr. Gigli
Giacomo Meyerbeer was born September 5, 1791, at Berlin; died May 2, 1864, at Paris.
The aria is taken from the last of the master's dramatic works, The African, text by Scribe, which was produced at Paris, April 28, 1865. The story deals with the period and experiences of Vasco di Gama, the explorer, and hence is quasi-historical in appeal. This aria occurs in Act IV, in the temple of Brahma, whither Vasco has been conducted (in operatic style) to await his execution. The beauty of the Indian landscape about him inspires him to voice his admiration in "O Paradiso," the text of which, in translation, is as follows:
thou smiling land, garden wide and fair,
bid thee all hail, all hai!!
O Paradise to earth descended, heaven blue most wonderful
In song how to my heart my own thou seemest.
O thou most fair land
All my heart is thine own, most beloved, thou, my native land.
To us how fruitful are thy meadows,
To us this Eden is restored
Rich are thy treasures,
Oh, wonderful, Ah! yes
All hail to thee, All hail to thee
O fairest land, O fairest land, thou art my own at last,
O country fair, Yes, thou art mine, at last, thou art.
Yet what say they to die to die
My life to end in all my triumph,
To leave behind no trace, no remembrance that my name may be honored!
You cannot wish for this: no!
Unto the shore ye guide my footsteps
Sails are gleaming bright on the sea,
But give me leave to say in dying
That I have paid the vow I made,
And that Europe is my dear country,
Page Fifty-Three
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
Known at last as conqueror.
Yes, Vasco hath given his life
The price of undying renown,
Now, guide me hither unto the ship,
And mercy have on me, on me.
Ah, have pity, spare my honor,
Ah, have mercy soldiers upon me,
Though from me my life is taken,
Yet for me remaineth glory;
Ah, yet all the torments of fury united are for me far less cruel,
Ah, must I then lose than life far more precious,
Must lose together, must lose glory and immortal life
Have pity, spare my honor,
Ah! ye soldiers, I pray!
Ah well! it must be; as a Christian I die!
O heaven! bear my spirit above, Ah! I go.
"EMPEROR WALTZES," Opus 437 ------Strauss
Johann Strauss was born October 25, 182S, at Vienna; died June 3, 1899, at Vienna.
The mention of the names of Johann Strauss, father and son, inevitably calls to mind the lilt of waltzes that have made Vienna known outside the realm of serious music. The popularity of the two Strausses was not con­fined to the Austrian capital. At the time of Johann Junior's birth, his father had a dance orchestra of his own, winning more than local applause. As the son became of school age, his father's orchestra was making extended tours. The career of the younger Strauss, in spite of objections of his father, was launched with a performance of the waltz Sinnegedichte at Donmayer's Casino in 1844. This waltz made so great a triumph that it had to be repeated six times the same evening. From that time on his career was a series of successes. In 1872 he came to America to participate in the International Peace Jubilee at Boston.
The Emperor Waltzes was dedicated to Franz Josef, ruler of the Austrian Empire. It was written in the eighties, and is one of more than five hundred pieces composed by this master of dance melody and rhythm. It is in C Major, and after an introduction in march tempo, the waltz themes follow in succession.
Page fifty-four
FIFTH CONCERT
Saturday Afternoon, May 21
WALLENSTEIN'S CAMP, Opus 12, Part I ----d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy was born March 27, 1851, at Paris; died there December 2, 1931.
To future generations our age will probably be known as one of un­paralleled confusion. This is due to the fact that we have been unable to keep abreast with the exceptional increase of our material and external resources. Our mental habits and moral outlook we inherited from a bland and imperturbable generation, only to find ourselves plunged, suddenly, into a maelstrom of intense activity and distraction.
The real intellectual and spiritual quality that sustained the great stream of music that flowed from Bach, through Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms, exhausted itself in Germany and ended in stagnation or self-conscious sen­sationalism. America remained immature, uncertain, Russia was still a bit barbaric, and Italy would hear nothing but opera. It is in France, however, with her racial feeling for lucidity, that we find at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, a truly vital contemporary music, and an attempt to bring an intelligent order into the pervading confusion. It is to the high creative intelligence of Cesar Franck and his pupils and disciples that we must give the credit for bringing renewed vitality and energy into instrumental music.
Vincent d'Indy was until the year of his death (1931) a dominant figure in this group. His versatility and many-sided personality gave to this group a stamp of authority and dignity. D'Indy was not only a composer of outstanding talent and originality, but he was also a lucid writer, having written authoritatively on the life of Cesar Franck, published essays on Beethoven's predecessors, a history of musical composition, and many debates and lectures. M. d'Indy was not a man hedged in by the boundaries of his art; his mind was well fertilized and open. His real distinction, however, lies in his moral and almost religious qualities.
Page Fifty-Five
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
"An artist must have at least faith; faith in God and faith in his art; for it is faith that disposes him to learn, and by learning to raise himself higher and higher on the ladder of being, up to his God, which is God."
"An artist should practice hope; for he can expect nothing from the present; he knows that his mission is to serve, and to give his work for the life and teaching of the generations that shall come after him."
These quotations are taken from d'Indy's inaugural speech, and from his lectures to his composition class, and they reflect the high seriousness of his outlook in spite of the contemporaneous currents that attempted to draw the creative artist into a maelstrom of disorder and ruination.
D'Indy did not disdain the time he lived in, but he was always a little remote from it. He deplored, at times, the present; was surprised that it should be his own, but he pursued his work with faith, and a high respect for what the past had accomplished. This respect for tradition, united with a keen intellectual enthusiasm for all that was new and vital, made d'Indy at once a traditionalist and modernist. His feeling for works of the past helped him to temper the excesses of his contemporaries, and his knowledge of modern means of expression enabled him to infuse Pro­methean fire into worn-out forms.
D'Indy is essentially a French artist. M. Romain Rolland pays a fine tribute to the unifying power of d'Indy's mind. He says: "Clearness is the mark of M. d'Indy's intelligence. There are no shadows about him. For him to examine, to arrange, to classify, to combine, is a necessity. No one is more French in spirit. This love for clearness is the ruling factor of d'Indy's artistic nature, but his nature is far from being a simple one. Through a wide musical education, a constant desire to learn, it has been enriched by many elements, different, almost contradictory--not to be submerged by this richness of opposing elements requires a great force of passion or of will, which eliminates or chooses and transforms. M. d'Indy eliminates almost nothing; he organizes. There are in his music the qualities of a general; the knowledge of the end, the patient will to attain it, the perfect acquaintance with the means, the spirit of order, and the mastery over his work and over himself. Despite the variety of the materials he employs, the whole is always clear."
The selection with which this program opens has its proper place as the first movement (or first "part," more correctly) of an orchestral "trilogy," Wallenstein, founded on Schiller's drama of the same name. The subject of this tragedy, Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius, Count Von Wallenstein (Wald-stein), the famous general of the Thirty Years' War, was born in 1583,
Page Fifty-Six
FIFTH CONCERT
and assassinated in 1634. In the Encyclopedia Britannica he is described as "tall, thin and pale, with reddish hair and eyes of remarkable brilliancy. He was of a proud and imperious temper, and was seldom seen to laugh. Few generals have surpassed him in the power of quickly organizing great masses of men and of inspiring them with confidence and enthusiasm; and as a statesman he was distinguished for the boldness of his conceptions and the liberality of his sentiments. All his good qualities were, however, marred by a furious lust for power, in the gratification of which, he allowed no scruples to stand in his way."
D'Indy's "Trilogy" follows the general plan of Schiller's play, being divided into three parts as follows: I. Wallenstein's Camp. II. Max and Thekla (Les Piccolomini, being a revision of an earlier overture of that name--one of the first of d'Indy's works to be performed in public). III. Wallenstein's Death. The "Trilogy" was given completely for the first time at the Concert Lamoureux on February 26, 1888.
Wallenstein's Camp forms the subject of one of Smetana's symphonic poems, and the German composer Joseph Rheinberger has written a sym­phony based on Schiller's drama, also entitled Wallenstein's Camp. In this work one part is devoted wholly to Wallenstein himself. D'Indy, on the other hand, carries his hero all through the different parts of his composition, bringing him into special prominence now and again as the occasion requires --his aim being, evidently, the musical translation of the general substance of the drama, rather than the delineation of individual characters.
The selection now played (in G major, allegro giusto and 3-4 time) was designed obviously as a description of the camp, teeming with wags and jesters--a motley throng bent upon such amusement as their surroundings afford, and turning everything into a careless joke. The movement is built upon the general plan of a scherzo.
SYMPHONY NO. 2, B Flat, Opus 57 -----d'Indy
ExTREMEMENT LENT--TRES VIP; MoDEREMENT LENT; MODERE;
IyENT VlF
The Symphony in B flat was composed in 1902-03, and was produced for the first time at a Lamoureux concert, Paris, February 28, 1904. When the B flat Symphony was played at Boston in 1905, and conducted by the composer, Mr. Philip Hale, the erudite editor of the program books of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, provided some interesting biographical infor­mation concerning the composer--information given partly by Mr. d'Indy himself, and partly drawn from H. Imbert's Profits de Musiciens.
Page Fifty-Seven
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
Mr. d'Indy's family wished him to be a lawyer, and so against his wish he studied for that object, but at the same time he studied music. He studied piano with Diemer and harmony with Lavignac (1862-65). During the Franco-Prussian war he served as a volunteer in the One Hundred and Fifth regiment, and took an active part in the defense of Paris, notably in the battle of Montretout. After the war he gave up definitely any idea of the law to be, against the wishes of his family, a professional musician.
His father, a man of large income, was fond of music, and played the violin not too disagreeably. Vincent's mother died soon after his birth, and, as his father married again, the boy was brought up by his grandmother, Mme. Theodore d'Indy, an excellent musician who taught him the rudiments of the art. Thanks to her, he lived for many years apart from the madding world and vexing social diversions. It was she who led him in his early years to the study of the great masters. Vincent had an uncle, Saint-Auge Wilfred d'Indy, an amateur composer, who was popular in Parisian parlors and halls, in which his romances, chamber-music, and "operas de salon" were performed. Through him, Vincent first became acquainted with Berlioz and his treatise on instru­mentation.
D'Indy entered the orchestra of the Association Artistique des Concerts du Chatelet, conducted by Colonne, as kettle-drummer, then as chorus-master, where he remained for five years. In 1872 he was introduced by his friend, Henri Duparc, to Cesar Franck, who was professor of the organ at the conservatory. D'Indy entered his class, and in 1875 took a first accessit, but left the conservatory, for he saw, to use his own words, that the musical instruction there, so far as composition was concerned, was not given in a serious manner. He then became a private pupil of Franck, with whom he studied thoroughly counterpoint, fugue, and composition.
He was one of the founders of the Societe Nationale de Musique, a society that has been of the utmost service to music in France, by reviving interest in symphonic and chamber works. After the death of Franck (1890), d'Indy was made president of the Society. In 1893 he was asked by the government to be one of a committee to reform the Paris Conservatory, and he prepared a plan of reorganization which raised such a tempest among the professors of that institution that they plotted together and obtained the disbandment of the committee. In 1895 he was offered, on the death of Guiraud, the position of professor of composition at the conservatory; he declined the offer for he wished to be wholly free. But in 1896 he founded with Charles Bardes and Alexandre Guilmant a music school, the Schola Cantorum, of which he was a director and professor of composition.
D'Indy was always a lover of nature. His family came originally from Verdieux in Ardeche, a department formerly a portion of the province Languedoc. The mountains of the Cevennes are often naked, barren, for­bidding. D'Indy had long been in the habit of spending his vacations in this picturesque country. He also delighted in the Tyrol, the Engadine, the Black Forest. He listened intently to what Millet called the "cry of the earth." In a letter written from Vernoux in 1887 he said, "At this moment I see the snowy summits of the Alps, the nearer mountains, the
Page Fifty-Eight
FIFTH CONCERT
plain of the Rhone, the pine woods that I know so well, and the green rich harvest which has not yet been gathered. It is a true pleasure to be here after the labors and the vexations of the winter. What they call at Paris the "artistic world" seems afar off and a trifling thing. Here is a true repose, here one feels at the true source of all art." His love of nature is seen in Poeme des Montagnes, a suite for piano (1881); La Forct Bnchantee, symphonic ballad (1878) ; the symphony for orchestra and piano on A Mountain Air (1886) ; Fantaisie for oboe and orchestra on some folk tunes (1888); Tableau de Voyage, pieces for piano (1889); and chamber music by him suggests the austerity of mountain scenery.
Mr. Felix Borowski prepared the following analysis of the symphony for the program book of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and it is included here for those who wish to follow the structural development of materials:
I. The main movement is preceded by an Introduction {extrhnement lent, B flat major, 4-2 time) in which two ideas of importance are unfolded. These are employed throughout the entire work. The first is announced at once by the harps, violoncellos, and double-basses thus:
No. 1.
Immediately succeeding the motive just quoted there appears another in the wood­wind:
No. 2.
After thirteen measures have been devoted to this introductory matter the main move­ment (tres vif, B flat major, 3-4 time) follows, its subject announced by the horn. A few measures of this theme are quoted:
No. 3.
After other instruments and other combinations of instruments have taken up this subject, there follows a transitional passage (based upon No. 3) but consisting of a jerky figure first heard ff in the wood-wind. Much development is given to this. The
Page Fifty-Nine
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
wind and stringed instruments take this up alternately, but soon the first motive (No. 1) is heard in the basses, the transitional theme continuing above it. Following a ritcnuto the time changes to 3-2 (un peu plus modere) and the second motive (No. 2) is sung by the first violins. The original tempo is resumed and snatches of the second motive (No. 2) are heard in the first violins and later there is the development of No. 3 and of the transitional figure. No. 2 is worked over, and No. 1 is heard in the basses, with the violins playing tremolo. The harps enter, and No. 1 is given to the trumpet. There is a gradual broadening of tone and following a glissando in the harps, the opening theme of the movement (No. 3) is heard in the horns, bassoons, and bass clarinet. This having been developed at some length the transitional passage reappears. The first motive (No. 1) is called out by the horns (tremolo in the strings). No. 2 is then given to the oboe, and eventually in the full orchestral forte. This leads to a final and animated section in which the transitional figure is employed.
II. Moderement lent, D flat major, 6-4 time. The movement opens with sug­gestions of the second motive (No. 2) in the bass clarinet, and, following it, in the strings. At the sixth measure the English horn, clarinet, and violas announce the main theme as follows :
No. 4.
This theme, already suggested in the first movement, leads to a new section (plus anime, 3-2 time), a dotted figure being set forth by the harps over piszicati in the strings. Soon the oboe enters with the following subject drawn from the first motive of the work (No. 1).
No. 5.
The clarinet and, later, other instruments take up this subject, and the first violins and violas play a theme derived from material in the first movement. The dotted figure returns in the first violins, answered by the wood-wind, and the first theme of the movement (No. 4) is later given to the clarinet, the dotted figure working beneath it in the violins. This material is developed, and the dotted figure makes itself heard eventually in the brass, but the movement closes tranquilly with its first theme (No. 4) sung softly by the clarinet.
III. (Modere, D minor, 2-4 time). The movement opens at once with a theme played tres simplement by a solo viola, accompanied by the remaining violas and violon­cellos. This is worked out, and is interrupted by the stopped notes of the horns bringing
Page Sixty
FIFTH CONCERT
forward a reminiscence of the first motive of the work (No. 1). The time becomes more animated, and a new section (tres anime, 3-4 time) appears with a triplet figure in the first violins. Over this there is heard at the fourth measure a bold theme for the wood-wind. Soon there appears a dotted subject in the wood-wind and harps, which is drawn from the second movement (No. 5). Following this a small trumpet plays the bold theme (just alluded to) but calmly. There is a sudden fortissimo, and the opening theme of the movement is brought forward, now in quick tempo, by the flutes (harp harmonics accompanying). There are suggestions of other subject matter in the movement, but these give way to another section (trcs anime, mais sans hate, A major, 3-4 time) in which the bold theme is heard in the brass, with chords set against it in the remaining instruments. The opening subject returns (tres vif) in quick tempo. The movement gradually becomes slower, and finally the opening theme is given out in the original tempo by the clarinet. For six measures at the end, the quick tempo comes back.
IV. (Lent, B flat major, 4-4 time). The opening division of this movement is introductory. In it is heard thematic material which has been employed in earlier sections of the work. The main body of the movement is made up of fugal treatment of the following theme which, announced by the violoncellos and double-basses, is drawn from the first two motives of the work (see Nos. 1 and 2). The first phrase is quoted:
No. 6.
At the close of this fugal development, there enters a new section (asses vite, B flat major, 5-4 time) which begins with a triplet figure in the violas. The subject proper appears eight bars later in the oboe as follows:
No. 7.
There is much development of this and other material. A new subject is brought forward by the wood-wind and violas. The dotted figure which had formed an im­portant feature of the second movement, now reappears in the wood-wind and harps against triplets alternately in the first and second violins. A subject is given out by the two flutes, and together with development of this there is set forth a working out of previous material--the first motive (No. 1) occasionally making itself heard. There is brought forward, too, the theme of the third movement. There is further develop­ment of the two motives of the work, and toward the close the second motive (No. 2) is called out by the wind instruments and harps as a chorale, its bass founded on the first
Page Sixty-One
OFFICIAL PROGRAM
motive (No. 2). But it is with the second motive that the symphony is brought to a conclusion.
ARIA, "Di Provenza" from "La Traviata" Verdi
John Charges Thomas
Giuseppe Verdi was born October 9, 1813, at Roncole, Italy; died, January 17, 1901, at Milan.
The plot of La Traviata is drawn from the well known novel by Dumas, Camille. The recitative and aria on this afternoon's program occur in the first scene of Act II, which is laid in a country house near Paris. Germont has followed his son to Paris to entreat him to leave Violetta and return with him to his home in Provence. The text, in translation, is as follows:
Recitative :
My son, take comfort!
Ah, cease from weeping, return unto thy father, his pride and his
solace! Aria:
Hath thy home in fair Provence from thy heart then passed away
Doth no memory entrance of thy childhood's happy days
Toil and sorrow hast thou borne since thou'st left its flow'ry strand, come and rest thy heart forlorn,
In thy sunny native land.
Heav'n calls thee home, Heav'n speaks thro' me and calls thee home.
We have waited thy return! Shall thy gentle sister mourn,
Shall thy sire in vain implore
All forgot shall be our tears if thou wilt be our own, Â