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MUSIC NOTES
CHINA’S NATIONAL CENTRE
FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS ORCHESTRA
25 March
Yi Zhang, conductor
Siqing Lü, violin
BACH
Chaconne in D minor, BWV 1004
Composed: 1717-1720
Length: c. 13 mins
• Bach wasn’t universally recognised as a great composer until the beginning
of the 19th century when Felix Mendelssohn championed his works, and
later, by Pablo Casals, who was the first cellist to record his cello suites.
• A chaconne (ciaccona in the Italian form, which Bach used) is a set of
continuous variations over a repeating harmonic pattern. Yehudi Menuhin
called it “the greatest structure for solo violin that exists”
• The German musicologist Helga Thoene has a theory that the chaconne is in
fact a tombeau, a memorial piece for Bach’s first wife, Maria Barbara, who
died unexpectedly in 1720.
• The structure of the chaconne is highly formalised, based entirely on the
harmonic progression introduced in the opening four bars. Subsequently, each
four bars produce a new variation on the initial theme.
• There are over 50 variations in the complete piece, with most of them written
in D minor
• At exactly half way through the work, Bach transitions into the key of D major
– a transcendental moment when the heavens seem to open for us, reflecting
Bach’s intensely spiritual commitment to God. A rare moment of profound
spirituality, unique to this ‘holy’ composition.
• Bach’s Chaconne, infused with the philosophical understanding of the great
arranger Busoni, takes us on a journey through the deepest emotions and
spirituality, from extreme sadness to euphoric joy.
• The Chaconne has inspired reworking by later musicians in a multitude of
transcriptions and arrangements, and has prompted extravagant ideas about
the inner nature of its mysteries.
MUSIC NOTES
HE ZHANHAO & CHEN GANG
Composed: 1958
Length: c. 25 mins
The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto
• Written when He Zhanhao and Chen Gang were students at the Shanghai
Conservatory
• The concerto is a synthesis of Eastern and Western traditions, although the
melodies and overall style are adapted from traditional Chinese Opera. T
• he solo violin is used with a technique that recalls the playing technique of
Erhu, the Chinese two-string fiddle.
• It is a one-movement programmatic concerto, with three sections that
correspond to the three phases of the story – 'Falling in Love’, ‘Refusing to
Marry’ and ‘Metamorphosis’.
• The narrative, derived from Chinese folklore, tells the story of the lovers
Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. The two had been studying together, with
Zhu Yingtai disguised as a boy, her identity unknown to her friend Liang
Shanbo. Their period of study together and friendship is a happy one, which
comes to an end when Zhu Yingtai is compelled to return home. The couple
part at a pavilion, 18 miles from the city. This forms the exposition of a
tripartite sonata-form movement.
• The central section sees the formal development: Zhu Yingtai now defies her
father, who has arranged a marriage for her. Liang Shanbo decides to visit
Zhu Yingtai and only now finds out that she is a girl and about to be
married. There is a tender duet between violin and cello, when Liang Shanbo
realises the nature of his affection for his former companion. Liang Shanbo
dies, the victim of despair, and Zhu Yingtai, on the way to her wedding,
stops at her lover’s tomb and leaps into it. The tomb bursts open and at the
sound of the gong the music reaches a climax.
• The final section of the concerto is the recapitulation: The love theme
reappears and Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai emerge from the tomb as a
pair of butterflies, flying together, never more to be parted.
MUSIC NOTES
PROKOFIEV
Composed: 1935
Length: c. 45 minutes
Romeo and Juliet Suite
• Prokofiev composed the score for the Leningrad Theatre of Opera and Ballet
• The work became known through concert performances of suites that
Prokofiev arranged well before the first staging in Russia by the Kirov Ballet
• He conjures every circumstance, character and mood with impressive
economy of means, without ever resorting to inflated emotionalism.
• The musical pictorialism is endlessly intriguing, the musical footprints
clearly recognisable.
• The Story:
– Montagues and Capulets. An angry dissonance suggests the eventual
tragedy. The arrogance of the feuding families is pictured in the long
striding steps of the string theme and the horns' haughty counter-theme.
A contrasting middle section, which is Juliet's first dance with Paris, her
parents' choice of a suitor for her, has the colorful shadings of harp,
triangle, tambourine, snare drums, and glissando violas accompanying
the sinuous flutes.
– The Young Juliet. One of Prokofiev's most miraculous musical portraits,
this episode skitters and cajoles warmly, exudes exuberant naiveté, and
intimates the recognition in the teen-aged heroine of the blossoming of
mature emotions.
– Minuet. Early in the ballroom scene, this music, alternately regal and
animated, defines the hosts and their arriving guests.
– Masks. Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio, disguised, appear outside the
Capulets' (Juliet's) house as guests arrive for a ball. The exuberant music
reflects the spirited antics of the three friends.
– Romeo and Juliet [The Balcony Scene]. For what is probably the bestknown scene in all of Shakespeare, Prokofiev conjures a magical mood
of silvery midnight. The music rises to a level of impassioned ardor, but
always remains luminous, exalted. The mind's eye is led to an idealized
vision of the two young lovers.
– Morning Dance. In a scene very near the beginning of the ballet, a loud
chord is a bridge from quietness to the extreme vigors of the street come
alive for the Morning Dance. This is Prokofiev at his most vital and
MUSIC NOTES
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rousing, and then in a middle section, vibrant with the clever whirling
together of themes.
Romeo at the Fountain. This music precedes the Morning Dance,
occurring as the curtain rises on the opening street scene. The theme of
Romeo's love is heard first, and the brief sequence ends with a phrase
from the Balcony Scene.
Death of Tybalt. Romeo avenges his friend Mercutio, who has just met
death at the hand of Tybalt. This is the wedding day of Romeo and Juliet,
and Romeo, at first reluctant to engage in battle, now slays the murderer
of Mercutio. The dueling music swirls, careens and lunges dizzily;
Tybalt's death agonies are intensified by fifteen throbbing timpani and
woodwind punctuations. The fallen Tybalt's body is borne away as a
searing theme intones the present tragedy and the larger one to come.
Aubade. This is the waking dance for the morning of Juliet's intended
wedding. Over a continuously bustling string accompaniment,
woodwinds suggest sprightly anticipation, contrasted with a more
ominous thematic interjection from the brass.
Romeo at Juliet's Grave. The love theme points up Romeo's grief with
great intensity. At the very end, a contrabassoon speaks as from the
depths of the tomb, but is silenced by soft shimmering strings above
which a piccolo intones a single high note while cellos and bass clarinet
throb as in deep sorrow.
Death of Juliet. This is the Adagio that ends the ballet, when Juliet
awakens to find Romeo dead beside her and decides to follow him.
Prokofiev depicts the full measure of the tragedy here with a swelling
summation of vast poignancy, including an emotionally intense reference
to the music of The Young Juliet. It ends quietly, ebbing away like
Juliet's life.
END