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French Romance February 7, 2015- Program Notes Program Notes by Lauren MacKenzie Nicole Lizée (1973-): Arcadiac One of a new breed of innovative musical composers, Nicole Lizée was born in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan. Her intriguing compositions are influenced by her passion for Hitchcock, early MTV videos and electronic pop music. Composed in 2005, Arcadiac fuses the sounds of 1970s and 80s arcade games with the Orchestra, and is often accompanied by a backdrop of video games on screen. Debussy (1862-1918): Nocturnes, “Fetes” French-born Claude Debussy studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, and was considered one of the most influential composers of the early 20th century for his use of discordant harmonies and lack of traditional musical structure. His work was heavily influenced by literature and visual art and Nocturnes was motivated by a series of impressionist paintings by Whistler. In “Fetes”, he attempts to arouse emotion in his listener through his fusion of unusual harmonies and rhythm. Délibes (1836-1891): Suite No. 1 from Coppélia Leo Délibes, composer of ballets and operas, was born in Saint-Germain-duVal, France. In Coppélia, he was the first to combine folk dancing and comedy with ballet. From a feisty Mazurka to a gentle Waltz, Délibes generated a new style of ballet that continues to the present day. Coppélia was first performed in 1870 at the Paris Opera. Coppélia tells the story of eccentric inventor Dr. Coppelius and his obsession with his beautiful mechanical doll. In true Frankenstein style, he tries to bring her to life. His plans however, are thwarted by Franz, who becomes infatuated with Coppélia and Swanhilda, Franz’s fiancée, who takes matters into her own hands. Debussy (1862-1918): Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune As mentioned above, Debussy was influenced by literature and in particular, poetry. His composition Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune was inspired by Mallarme’s poem “Afternoon of a Faun” and his imaginative use of words that to Debussy, almost had a musical quality to them. The words of the poem are those of a faun- a lazy and pleasure loving half-goat, half man creature that frequently makes an appearance in Classical mythology. Prélude emphasizes Debussy’s unique compositional style and his disregard for accepted musical standards, and much of the music in the piece has an improvisational quality; free and sensual. It premiered in December 1894 in Paris. Stravinsky (1882-1971): Suite from The Firebird (1919) As a young, unknown composer, Igor Stravinsky created The Firebird when invited by Ballets Russes’ founder, Sergei Diaghilev, to create a ballet for the Paris season. It was first performed on 25th June 1910, and was a spectacular success. The hero of this story, Prince Ivan, falls for a beautiful princess and enlists the help of The Firebird, to win the fight against the evil magician Kashchei and break his spell. Throughout the ballet Stravinsky creates atmosphere through his bold amalgam of chromatic scales and folk songs, which became known as trademarks of the composer. Although originally written for a large orchestra, Stravinsky later wrote three shorter suites. The 1919 version is the most well-known of the three. The music continually quotes two Russian folk songs. The first is a lyrical tune for the princess; the second, a majestic hymn that closes the piece.