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Notes on the Program by Glen Bauer, Ph.D.
Professor of Music, Webster University
Czech Suite, Op. 39
Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)
Unlike some 19th century composers who specialized in one genre of music,
such as piano music or opera, Dvořák wrote symphonies, symphonic poems,
concertos, chamber works, piano music, songs, operas, and religious music. Today
he is perhaps best remembered for his symphonies, particularly the last three, the
Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth ("From the New World"). Following the path of the
Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, Dvořák blended elements from the folk music
heritage of his native Bohemia with the operatic and symphonic conventions of
Germany, creating music that transcends both traditions. This 'nationalism' was an
important development during the late 19th century as composers from many
countries, including Russia, Norway, and the Czech lands (now the Czech Republic)
among others, strove to break free from the dominating traditions of German, Italian
and French music.
During the late 1870s, Dvořák's music attracted the interest of Johannes Brahms,
who convinced his publisher to promote one of Dvořák's recent compositions, the
Slavonic Dances. The success of these pieces and other works brought Dvořák's
music to the attention of audiences throughout Europe, and his international career
was launched. Though grateful for the recognition his work received in other
countries, Dvořák never lost sight of his Czech roots.
As in most suites, each movement the this Czech Suite has the character of a
dance. The opening Praludium: Pastorale is a gentle introduction to the folk-like
atmosphere of the work. Drone tones similar to those of bagpipes are heard. Like
many nationalist composers, Dvořák was very adept at making music that seems
plain and simple convey a noble quality. The Polka emphasizes rhythmic elements in
the strings that alternate between playful and soulful, but always with grace and
charm. The Sousedská is a Bohemian pair dance that is rather slow in three quarter
time, with a pronounced dotted rhythm, and a swaying quality. The Romanza, as one
might expect, is more lyrical, and features a trio among the flutes, the oboes and an
English horn, against a background of lush strings. The final Furiant is a more rapid
and fiery dance. Dvořák finally lets the orchestra loose in a lively conclusion that is
more complex, polyphonic, and dramatic.
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)
Ralph Vaughan Williams studied music at the Royal College of Music and also
at Cambridge University, where he received his doctorate in 1901. He was musical
editor of the new version of The English Hymnal from 1904–1906, and was an active
member of the English Folk Music Society. By 1919, when Vaughan Williams
became a professor of composition at the Royal College of Music in London, he had
already composed his first two symphonies and his Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas
Tallis, which remains one of his most popular works.
The English Hymnal that Vaughan Williams edited includes nine hymns by the
Tudor composer Thomas Tallis (c.1505–1585), originally from the English Psalter
of 1567. Tallis was an organist and composer who served the English court as
“Gentleman of the Royal Chapel” for many years. In The New Grove Dictionary of
Music and Musicians Tallis is described as:
a humble, unassuming man, who avoided religious controversy, and
who was undoubtedly deeply respected, both by the four monarchs
for whom he worked and by many generations of church musicians.
When Vaughan Williams received a commission from the Three Choirs Festival for
an orchestral work to be performed in the fall of 1910 in Gloucester Cathedral , he
turned to a hymn by Tallis, “Why fumeth in sight, the Gentile spite, in fury raging
stout?” for his inspiration. One of the more striking aspects of this hymn is that it is
written in Phrygian mode, a scale form sometimes called one of the old ‘church
modes,’ that has a distinctly different sound from the major or minor scales.
The Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis is scored for double string orchestra
and solo string quartet. Following a quiet introduction during which portions of the
theme are stated, the complete theme is presented by the violas, cellos, and second
violins. Fragments of the theme are then used for a series of variations in which
Vaughan Williams exploits the antiphonal possibilities of the three sections of the
ensemble, which he indicated should be placed separately if possible.
Symphony no. 6 in F Major, “Pastoral,” Op. 68
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
I. Awakening of cheerful feelings on arriving in the country
Allegro ma non troppo
II. Scene by the brook
Andante molto moto
III. Jolly gathering of the country folk
Allegro
IV. Thunderstorm
Allegro
V. Shepherd’s song. Glad, thankful feelings after the storm.
Allegretto
Beethoven completed his Sixth Symphony in 1808, though the earliest sketches
for the work date from 1803, the year of his Third Symphony, “Eroica.” The first
performance of the Sixth was on December 22, 1808, when Beethoven conducted a
marathon concert that also included the first performances of his Fifth Symphony,
the Fourth Piano Concerto, and the Choral Fantasia, among other works.
The title of the Sixth Symphony was originally “Pastoral Symphony or
recollection of country life, more an expression of feeling than a painting.” The
overtly programmatic aspects of this work set it apart from his other compositions.
Yet Beethoven was clearly cautious about the programmatic titles he provided for
each movement. With his sketches for the work, Beethoven wrote comments like
“leave the listeners to work out the situations for themselves,” “all painting will lose
[its effect] in instrumental music if pushed too far” and “Sinfonia pastorella – those
who possess no more than an idea of country life can still imagine for themselves,
without many headings, what the composer [intended].”
The programmatic content of the music is ambiguous, for the most part,
suggesting moods rather than specific pictures. However, there are three major
exceptions: at the end of the second movement we hear direct tone-painting in his
imitation of bird song (the nightingale, quail, and cuckoo, as he noted in the score);
the fourth movement is a thunderstorm; and the last movement begins with a
“shepherd’s song.” This last example takes on special significance in light of
Beethoven’s famous “Heiligenstadt Testament,” written in 1803, in which he
revealed the emotional distress caused by his hearing loss, and wrote: “…what
humiliation for me when someone standing next to me hear a flute in the distance
and I heard nothing, or someone heard a shepherd singing and again I heard
nothing."
Later nineteenth-century composers – especially Berlioz, Liszt, and Wagner –
considered the programmatic element of the Sixth Symphony, and Beethoven’s
introduction of voices in his Ninth Symphony, as the foundations of their
programmatic and operatic compositions.
Like the Fifth Symphony, the Sixth is a work conceived as a cyclic whole, as a
long continuous deliberation in which the movements are linked dramatically and
thematically. The Fifth Symphony includes an unconventional transition between the
third and fourth movements, so that they are played without pause. In the Sixth
Symphony, Beethoven continued his expansion of symphonic form by writing five
movements instead of the conventional four, and by including transitions between
each of the last three movements.
Among the many remarkable aspects of Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony is his
use of the orchestra, particularly the woodwinds (in the Scene by the brook), the
timpani (in the Thunderstorm) and the trombones (in both the Thunderstorm and in
the hymn-like Glad, thankful feelings after the storm). Each of his symphonies seems
to create a world of sound that is distinctive, and the Sixth is no exception.