Concert Notes
Ballet for Martha (Appalachian Spring)
-- Aaron Copland
Born November 14, 1900, in Brooklyn, New York
Died December 2, 1990, in North Tarrytown, New York
Described by Leonard Bernstein as the “Dean of American Music,” Aaron Copland delighted in his role as its elder statesman in the later years of his life. Perhaps this is due to the seventy years he was involved in various musical endeavors. Before launching his compositional career with his resounding Organ Symphony in a 1925 New York concert, he had studied at the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau in Paris since 1921. Among the distinguished faculty, noted pedagogue Nadia Boulanger’s reputation stood above all others, teaching generations of American composers from Copland to Philip Glass. Barely in his twenties, Copland’s reputation rested as a renegade among composers, using harmonies that were often dissonant and abrasive.
In the late 1930s, the composer began to face the reality of shrinking audiences at orchestral concerts. He knew there must be a way to draw people back into the concert hall and to energize orchestral music. Copland’s new “simple” style, which often quoted folk music, used an approachable musical language in an effort to remedy the problem. He often incorporated jazz-inspired rhythms and elements of popular music to express his ideas, while drawing listeners closer to his music.
Having composed several works for the stage and screen in the 1930s, among them his captivating scores for the film versions of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, and Wilder’s Our Town, Copland became well established in those circles. In 1939 Copland composed the incidental music for Irwin Shaw’s Quiet City. Four years later in 1943, he was in Hollywood writing the music for his fourth film, The North Star – an irresistible piece of wartime propaganda with a stellar cast and a screenplay by Lillian Hellman, created to build a sense of trust among the American people for our Soviet allies – when Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge contacted him with a commission for a new ballet for the renowned dancer-choreographer Martha Graham. Copland agreed to compose what would be his fourth ballet.
Once Coolidge, Copland, and Graham agreed on the terms, all that remained to be determined was the subject. In time, the two collaborators settled on the story, as told by a program note in the published score.
“…a pioneer celebration in spring around a newly-build farmhouse in the Pennsylvania hills in the early part of the last century. The bride-to-be and the young farmer-husband enact the emotions, joyful and apprehensive, their new domestic partnership invites. An older neighbor suggests now and then the rocky confidence of experience. A revivalist and his followers remind the new householders of the strange and terrible aspects of human fate. At the end the couple [is] left quiet and strong in their new house.”
Beginning work on the score while still in Hollywood, Copland continued during a subsequent vacation in Mexico. He finished the work the following summer during a teaching stint at Harvard University. Copland was aware of the small stage and pit in the Coolidge Auditorium at Washington’s Library of Congress. Because of these limitations, the work was scored for a compact chamber ensemble of just thirteen instruments. The version most often performed today is the suite that Copland arranged a few months later to be played by full orchestra. For this version, the composer removed just one ten-minute block of music from a single location in the score, resulting in a sense of continuity seldom found in such suites.
Despite the rural atmosphere often attributed to this music, Copland used only one pre-existing melody – the familiar “Simple Gifts,” heard near the end of the ballet 
. Perhaps most interesting of all is that the title of the work did not come about until the day before the performance. Martha Graham stumbled across the exhortation “O Appalachian Spring!” in Hart Crane’s epic poem “The Bridge,” and it seemed to fit perfectly. The official title of the score remains “Ballet for Martha.” Copland wrote,
"I have been amused that people so often have come up to me to say, ‘When I listen to that ballet of yours, I can just feel spring and see the Appalachians,’ But when I wrote the music, I had no idea what Martha was going to call it! Even after people learn that I didn’t know the ballet title when I wrote the music, they still tell me they see the Appalachians and feel spring. Well, I’m willing if they are!"
©2011 Orpheus Music Prose & Craig Doolin
www.orpheusnotes.com
Carmina Burana
– Carl Orff
Born July 10, 1895, in Munich, Germany
Died March 29, 1982, in Munich, Germany
This work was first performed on June 8, 1937, in Frankfurt, Germany. It is scored for a very large orchestra consisting of two piccolos, three flutes, three oboes, English horn, E-flat clarinet, three clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, percussion, timpani, celesta, two pianos, and strings, along with a large chorus, a chorus of children, and soprano, tenor, and baritone soloists.
German composer Carl Orff, although known today for just one work, was both a prolific and creative composer, and a pioneer in the field of music education. His pedagogical collection entitled Orff-Schulwerk consists of numerous compositions for small percussion instruments – drums, rattles, and pitched mallet keyboards – comprising a comprehensive school music program based on musical performance, improvisation, and physical movement. Since its introduction in 1930, Orff-Schulwerk has proven to be far more effective than the standard sing-song approach so common in American public schools. Among Orff’s compositions for the concert hall are theatre pieces, operas, choral works, and orchestral compositions.
Although Orff’s 1936 Carmina Burana stands alone as an effective piece, he later designated it as part of a trilogy of similar works, entitled Trionfi, for solo singers, chorus, and orchestra. The other two pieces are the 1943 two-part Catulli Carmina, setting the graphically erotic verse of the Roman poet Catullus, and his 1951 Trionfo di Afrodite, which uses ancient poetry to describe marital union. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians carefully describes Trionfi as an “exploration of divine and worldly love.” These three magnificent and visionary pieces are each modern interpretations of ancient texts, but are not Neoclassical. There is no borrowing of melodies from earlier music, and the focus is not on Classical and Baroque styles, but on characteristics from the Medieval and Renaissance. Strangely, the sentiments and desires expressed in these writings find resonance in the lives and loves of modern men and women.
For Carmina Burana, Orff and his collaborator Karl Huber chose excerpts from a collection of poems found in the Abbey of Benediktbueren, which were written by monks to express their longing for the forbidden pleasures of sex and drunkenness, their appreciation of nature, and a decidedly non-religious reverence for the power of fate. Orff designated the work as “secular songs for singers and choruses accompanied by instruments and magical images.” Many performances include dancers, scenery, and other theatrical trappings, and Orff used some of these, but his title likely refers to a simple slideshow of evocative images – perhaps of monastic and secular art dealing with ancient subjects. Regardless of practice or intention, it remains certain that Carl Orff created something completely fresh and new by delving back into history and repackaging old wine in new bottles.
The work is in five parts – a prelude entitled “Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi” (Fortune, Empress of the World), followed by sections devoted to springtime , the tavern , and “the court of love ,” with a reprise of the prelude at the end of the piece. Set for soprano, tenor, and baritone soloists, mixed chorus, chorus of children, and an orchestra of curious instrumentation, the work consists of newly-composed music that evokes a primitive world in its use of ostinato patterns, simple scalar melodies, and modal harmonies. On several occasions, actions or sentiments in the text are reflected in the orchestra – for example, the spinning of the Wheel of Fortune reflected in the ostinato patterns of the opening chorus , and the brilliant effect of a horse’s hoofbeats fading into the distance in the chorus “Floret silva .” Likewise, the vocal soloists are pushed to the limits of their ranges, as in the baritone falsetto pyrotechnics of “Ego sum abbas ,” and the soprano’s glorious melisma in “Dulcissime .” The tenor soloist, in his highest range, depicts a swan roasting on a spit as he sees the gnashing of teeth approaching him, representing the all-too-real horrors of earthly life .
Perhaps famed conductor Leopold Stokowski described this unusual composer most vividly in his oft-quoted statement on the occasion of the 1954 American premiere of the work:
“I believe that Orff’s genius – combining as it does so magnificently all the resources of traditional occidental music with vigorous new conceptions of lyricism, romantic intensity, gigantic architectonics, rhythmic audacity, an extraordinarily personal blending of pagan and modern feeling, and the mature simplicity achieved only by a master – will be regognized by future generations as a major departure in the development of the art of music.”
Despite Stokowski’s lavish praise, it is important to remember the historical fact that Carmina Burana is arguably the most important musical composition to come from Nazi Germany. Only in recent years has the degree to which Orff was sympathetic to Nazi views begun to come to light. Karl Huber, Orff’s collaborator on the libretto for Carmina Burana, was one of the founders of the White Rose organization that opposed Hitler’s rule. In 1943 he was arrested, tortured, and executed. Orff refused to make any statement to help his friend, then three years later, when being questioned for denazification, falsely claimed to have co-founded White Rose. Although his actions could have been strictly for self-preservation, Orff provides us with exactly the same dilemma as does Wagner. Despite the inevitable pedestal upon which composers eventually reside, it is important to understand their human flaws and weaknesses. Regardless of how despicable Orff’s deeds were, he remains a unique and important voice with much to say to modern audiences.
©2011 Orpheus Music Prose & Craig Doolin
www.orpheusnotes.com
CARMINA BURANA
(SONGS OF BENEDICTBUREN)
Cantiones profanae
Cantoribus et choris cantandae
comitantibus instrumentis atque imaginibus magicis
(Secular Songs for singers and choruses accompanied by instruments and magical images)
| 1. O Fortuna! (CHORUS) O Fortuna, velut luna statu variabilis, semper crescis aut decrescis; vita detestabilis nunc obdurat et tunc curat ludo mentis aciem, egestatem, potestatem dissolvit ut glaciem Sors immanis Sors salutis In Fortune solio Fortune rota volvitur: |
1. O Fortune! (CHORUS) O Fortune, Like the moon You are changeable, Always waxing And waning; Detestable life That now oppresses And then comforts us At its whim, Poverty And power Melt like ice. Fate, savage Fate is against me I used to sit high Fortune whirls around; |
3. Veris leta facies Flore fusus gremio Cytharizat cantico Rerum tanta novitas Ama me fideliter! (CHORUS) Ecce gratum et optatum ver reducit gaudia; purpuratum floret pratum, Sol serenat omnia. Iam iam cedant tristia! Estas redit, nunc recedit Hyemis sevitia. Iam liquescit Gloriantur |
3. The smiling face of spring (SMALL CHORUS) The smiling face of spring Is given to the world, Winter’s harshness Flees defeated; Enrobed in many colors, Flora reigns, The forest flatters her With songs of praise. Lying in Flora’s lap Harp-like sings (BARITONE SOLO) The sun tempers everything, Pure and gentle, The world reveals April’s fresh face, The soul of man Rushes to love, And the joyful are governed By the youthful god. This great renewal Love me faithfully! (CHORUS) Behold the pleasant And awaited Spring brings back happiness, Purple flowers Fill the fields, The sun brightens everything. Already sadness is ended! Summer returns, Now the ferocity Of winter retreats. Now melts They boast |
UF DEM ANGER (ON THE MEADOW)
| 6. Tanz (ORCHESTRA) 7. Floret silva nobilis (CHORUS) Floret silva nobilis, floribus et foliis. Ubi est antiquus meus amicus? hinc equitavit. Eia, quis me amabit? Floret silva undique, (SOPRANOS AND CHORUS) Chramer, gip die varwe mir, diu min wengel roete, damit ich die jungen man an ir dank der minnenliebe noete. Seht mich an, jungen man! Lat mich iu gevallen. Minnet, tugentliche man, Wol dir Werlt, daz du bist (CHORUS) Swaz hie gat umbe daz sint alles megede, die wellent an man alle disen sumer gan! Chume, chume, geselle min, Swaz hie gat umbe, |
6. Dance (ORCHESTRA) 7. The noble woods are blooming (CHORUS) The noble woods are blooming With flowers and leaves. The woods are blooming all over, (SOPRANOS AND CHORUS) Clerk, give me rouge To make my cheeks red, Good men love Hail, world, (CHORUS) Those who go round and round Are all maidens Who want to have a man Come, come, my love, Who want to have a man 10. If the world were all mine From the sea to the Rhine, |
II. IN TABERNA (IN THE TAVERN)
| 11. Estuans interius (BARITONE SOLO) Estuans interius ira vehementi in amaritudine loquor mee menti: factus de materia, cinis elementi similis sum folio de quo ludunt venti. Cum sit enim proprium Feror ego veluti Mihi cordis gravitas 12. Cignus ustus cantat Miser, miser! Girat, regirat garcifer; Miser, miser! Nunc in scutella iaceo, Miser, miser! (BARITONE SOLO AND MALE CHORUS) Ego sum abbas Cucaniensis et consilium meum est cum bibulis, et in secta Decii voluntas mea est, et qui mane me quesierit in taberna, post vesperam nudus egredietur, et sic denudatus veste clamabit: Wafna, wafna! quid fecisti sors turpissima? Nostre vite gaudia abstulisti omnia! 14. In taberna quando sumus (MALE CHORUS) In taberna quando sumus, non curamus quid sit humus, sed ad ludum properamus, cui semper insudamus. Quid agatur in taberna, ubi nummus est pincerna, hoc est opus ut queratur si quid loquar, audiatur. Quidam ludunt,quidam bibunt Primo pro nummata vini, Octies pro fratribus perversis, Bibit hera, bibit herus, Bibit pauper et egrotus, Parum sexcente nummate durant, |
11. Boiling inside (BARITONE SOLO) Boiling inside With violent rage, If it is the way I am carried along Heaviness of heart I travel the broad path 12. The roast swan sings Poor, poor! The servant turns me on the spit; Poor, poor! Now I lie on the platter, Poor, poor! (BARITONE SOLO AND MALE CHORUS) I am the abbot of Cockaigne And my congregation are drinkers, And my sect is that of Decius, And whoever finds me in the tavern In the morning will leave naked after Vespers, And, stripped of his garments, will cry out: Wafna, wafna! (MALE CHORUS) When we are in the tavern We do not worry how we will return to dust, Some gamble, some drink First for the wine merchant Eight times for the errant brothers, The mistress drinks, the master drinks, The poor man and the sick man drink, Six hundred coins |
| 15. Amor volat unique (SOPRANO SOLO AND CHILDRENS CHORUS) Amor volat undique; captus est libidine. Iuvenes, iuvencule coniunguntur merito. Siqua sine socio, (BARITONE SOLO) Dies nox et omnia michi sunt contraria, virginum colloquia, me fay planszer, oy suvenz suspirer, plu me fay temer. O sodales, ludite, Tua pulchra facies, (SOPRANO SOLO) Stetit puella rufa tunica; Si quis eam tetigit, tunica crepuit. Statit puella, (BARITONE SOLO AND CHORUS) Circa mea pectora multa sunt suspiria de tua pulchritudine, que me ledunt misere. Mandaliet, Mandaliet, Tui lucent oculi Mandaliet, Mandaliet, Vellet deus, vellent dii, Mandaliet, Mandaliet, (BARITONE SOLO AND SMALL MALE CHORUS) Si puer cum puellula moraretur in cellula, felix coniunctio. Amore suscrescente, pariter e medio avulso procul tedio, fit ludus ineffabilis membris, lacertis, labiis. 20. Veni, veni, venias! (DOUBLE CHORUS) Veni, veni, venias, ne me mori facias, hyrca, hyrce, nazaza, trillirivos Pulchra tibi facies, Rosa rubicundior, (SOPRANO SOLO) In trutina mentis dubia fluctuant contraria lascivus amor et pudicitia. Sed eligo quod video, collum iugo prebeo; ad iugum tamen suave transeo. 22. Tempus est iocundum (SOPRANO AND BARITONE SOLOS, CHILDRENS CHORUS) Tempus est iocundum, o virgines, modo con gaudete vos iuvenes. O, O, totus floreo, Mea me confortat O, O, totus floreo, Tempore brumali O, O, totus floreo, Mea mecum ludit O, O, totus floreo, Veni, domicella, O, O, totus floreo, |
15. Love flies everywhere (SOPRANO SOLO AND CHILDRENS CHORUS) Love flies everywhere; Seized by desire. The girl without a lover (BARITONE SOLO) Day, night and everything Are against me, O friends, entertain yourselves, Your beautiful face (SOPRANO SOLO) A girl stood In a red tunic; A girl stood (BARITONE SOLO AND CHORUS) In my heart Are many sighs For your beauty, Which cause me pain. Mandaliet, mandaliet, Your eyes shine Mandaliet, mandaliet, May God grant, may all the gods grant Mandaliet, mandaliet, (BARITONE SOLO AND SMALL MALE CHORUS) If a boy and a young girl Dally in a little room, Their coupling is happy. Love rises up Between them And restraint is driven away, An indescribable game begins With their limbs, arms, and lips. 20. Come, come, come (DOUBLE CHORUS) Come, come, come Do not make me die, Your beautiful face, Redder than the rose, (SOPRANO SOLO) Weighed in the balance Of my wavering feelings Are lascivious love and chastity. (SOPRANO AND BARITONE SOLOS, CHILDRENS CHORUS) This is the delightful time O maidens, O, O, I am blossoming all over, I am consoled by O, O, I am blossoming all over, In the winter, O, O, I am blossoming all over, My virginity O, O, I am blossoming all over, Come, my mistress, O, O, I am blossoming all over, (SOPRANO SOLO) Sweetest one, I give myself to you completely! |
| 24. Ave formosissima (CHORUS) Ave formosissima, gemma pretiosa, ave decus virginum, virgo gloriosa, ave mundi luminar ave mundi rosa, Blanziflor et Helena, Venus generosa! |
24. Hail, most beautiful one (CHORUS) Hail, most beautiful one, Precious jewel, Hail, pride among virgins, Glorious virgin, Hail, light of the world, Hail, rose of the world, Blanziflor and Helen, Noble Venus! |
| 25. O Fortuna! (CHORUS) O Fortuna, velut luna statu variabilis, semper crescis aut decrescis; vita detestabilis nunc obdurat et tunc curat ludo mentis aciem, egestatem, potestatem dissolvit ut glaciem Sors immanis Sors salutis |
25. O Fortune (CHORUS) O Fortune, Like the moon You are changeable, Always waxing And waning; Detestable life That now oppresses And then comforts us At its whim, Poverty And power Melt like ice. Fate, savage Fate is against me |