An Enchanted "Evening" - From the Sublime to the Fantastic
October 9th, 2005
Program Notes
Brook Green Suite, H.190
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
I. Prelude
II. Air
III. Dance
Written In: 1933
First Performed: Brook Green, London - St. Paul Girl's School
Brook Green Suite for strings was
written in 1933 for Holst's students in the junior
orchestra of the St Paul's Girls' School in Brook Green, London and given it's first
informal performance in March of 1934 by the school orchestra. It was the last
concert Holst attended before his death in May of that year. He desired to write a
piece that was easy enough for his students to perform, but at a bit higher level of
writing than that available to them from other sources at the time. The name may
come from the Brook, running closely to the school, or perhaps because that's where
he was married to his wife, Isobel, in 1901.
The first movement, (Prelude) is based on the descending C major scale, and
presents quite a challenge in the repeated playing of such a musical basic. The "Air"
sounds very much as if it was based on one of the many popular English folk songs
of the time, but most likely it was not; Holst had become so entrenched in English
folk song during his time that many of his melodies were very similar to them. The
"Dance" is based on a melody heard by Holst while he was traveling in Sicily. The
original score contained a "Gavotte," but this movement was taken out after the first
performance.
Scored for: strings. [1[opt] 1[opt] 1[opt] 0-str]
Élégie ("Elegy"), Op. 24
Gabriel Urbain Fauré (1845-1924)
Molto Adagio
Last SEKSO Performance: March 4th, 1990
Written In: 1880
Originally Written For: Cello and Piano
T he Élégie, Op. 24 by
Gabriel Fauré is a deeply moving and haunting poem, and
might have been written as a lament for lost love. In 1872, Fauré, a serious young
musician of twenty-seven, was introduced to a musical family, the Viardots, and fell
in love with the daughter, Marianne. For five years he paid court to her, and at the
end of that time she accepted him, only to break off the engagement a few months
later. It was not until another six years had passed that Fauré had sufficiently recovered
from the blow to console himself in marriage with Marie Fremiet - a worthy
woman for whom he probably felt respect and affection rather than passion; and in
the very year of his marriage he wrote this sorrowful Élégie. On the other hand the
piece might be a memorial for a friend since it bears a dedication to Jules Loeb, one
of France's leading cellists of the time.
Scored for: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4
horns and strings. [2222-4000-str]
Wilfredo Pasamba is
a recipient of one of the most illustrious international
competitions. He was the top prize winner of the 1996 Jennings
Butterfield Young Artists Competition, 1995 Reno Chamber Orchestra
Competition, 1994 Juilliard Cello Concerto Competition and a semifinalist
in the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
In the United States, Pasamba has been hailed by the New York Times
for his audacity and brilliance. Since then, he has done solo recitals
at Merkin Concert Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art and Cornell
University, including a concert debut at the Weill Recital Hall in
Carnegie Hall. He received full scholarships to attend the Tanglewood
Music Center, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Bowdoin Summer
Music Festival, Ithaca Violoncello Institute and most recently a conducting
fellowship grantee to the Conductors Institute of South Carolina. Wilfredo
has performed in cello masterclasses of Colin Carr, Bonnie Hampton, Aldo
Parisot, Bion Tsang, Lawrence Lesser, Michael Grebanier, Carter Brey as well
as orchestral conducting with Donald Portnoy.
In past seasons, Mr. Pasamba has appeared with the Reno Chamber Orchestra,
Juilliard Symphony Orchestra, Syracuse Camerata, Philippine Philharmonic
Orchestra, and Manila Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with
conductors such as Basilio Manalo, Michael Palmer, Pierro Gamba, Ruggero
Barbierri, Vahe Kochayan among others. As an active chamber musician, he
has collaborated with artist members of the Beaux Arts Trio, Argenta Trio,
Orion and Ying String Quartets. He was the cellist and founder of the Battig
Piano Trio, which has embarked on its first European concert tour in 2001.
Wilfredo Pasamba received his degrees from the Moscow State Conservatory,
Ithaca College and the highly esteemed Juilliard School, trained by
master cellists Natalia Shakhovskaya, Carter Enyeart, Einar Holm and Fred
Sherry. He was an Assistant Professor of Music and Chairman of the String
Department of St. Scholastica's College School of Music, Senior Lecturer
and Conductor of UP Chamber Orchestra at the University of the Philippines
College of Music and Associate Conductor of the Manila Symphony
Orchestra. Presently he is taking post graduate studies in Cello Performance
at the University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory of Music and a faculty
member of the Pittsburg State University School of Music.
Mr. Pasamba performs on a cello made in 2001 by Bronek Cison from
the William Harris Lee Workshop in Chicago.
Rakastava, Op. 14 (The Lover)
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
The Lover
The Path of the Beloved
Good Evening...Farewell
Arranged In: 1911 for string orchestra
Originally for: Unaccompanied male chorus (1894)
The first version of
"Rakastava" Op.14, "The Lover", dates from 1893. Sibelius
submitted this work as his entry to the competition held by the choir of the University
of Helsinki for a work for men's choir, and won the second prize. He had just
finished the tone poem "Kullervo" based on the Nordic epic "Kalevala". Sibelius
turned anew to the Nordic mythology in "Rakastava", which contains three chants
from the Finnish national epic "Kanteletar". Towards the end of the 19th century,
Sibelius occupied himself intensely with the Nordic poems; they took on a primordial
importance for his work and left their lasting mark on his compositions. He saw
in the national traditions of the North the substance and source of inspiration for
his work, and succeeded in transposing them into music with contemporary means.
For performance-practical reasons, Sibelius arranged the work for men's choir and
string orchestra in 1894 and for mixed choir a cappella in 1898. Finally in 1911, he
revised the composition and set it definitely for string orchestra, triangle and kettledrums.
Whereas the first three versions were performed solely within the Finnish
borders, the fourth version attained international significance.
The final version was brought to paper 17 years after the first transcription of the
seminal idea, thus after a long maturative process. Contrary to the other versions
with their various scorings, this arrangement is the only one to omit the text: the
choir is no longer necessary; the work is scored only for instruments. The immediate
and direct relation of the music to a certain extra-musical subject is replaced
by a programme, which is expressed solely in the title and in the headings of the
movements. Although this renders a concrete interpretation somewhat more
difficult, it provides greater compositional freedom and allows the emotional and
expressive possibilities to unfold with a greater suggestive power, suited ideally to
the evocative theme "The Lover".
The original composition of "Rakastava" being considerably earlier than this last
version, one is only indirectly aware of Sibelius's acquaintance with impressionistic
music, which he made during the first two decades of the 20th century and
which he integrated into his compositional style, thereby enriching it.
However, the omission of the text represents an essential alteration, which must
be seen in relation to the development of Sibelius's style. The thematic substance
of the Nordic mythology is spiritualized and no longer contained directly in the
work. It is treated in a more subtle manner and interwoven sensitively into the
compositional texture.
The first movement, "The Lover", which in a way suggests the mood of the work
and discloses its emotional content, is based on a central theme and its free development.
The second movement, "The Path of the Beloved", contrasts to the previous
movement by its faster tempo and by a regular motion throughout, out of which
emerge various thematic and melodic elements. Finally, the three-part form of the
third movement, "Good Evening...Farewell", represents a synthesis of the slow,
expressive character and the fast, agitated aspect. The work is closed by a Lento, in
which motivic figures from the previous melodic material suddenly blaze forth.
-- Publisher's notes.
Scored for: strings.
Sorcerer's Apprentice (L'Apprenti sorcier)
Paul Abraham Dukas (1865-1935)
Assez Lent - Vif
Last SEKSO Performance: February 18th, 1996
Written In: 1897
First Performed: 1897, Paris, Orchestra of the
Société Nationale de Musique, Dukas cond.
Based On: "Der Zauberlehring", by Goethe
The story of the sorcerer's
apprentice was told in ancient Egypt nineteen centuries
ago. Retold in Greek by the Syrian satirist Lucianos of Samosata and told yet again
as a German ballad by Goethe, which inspired Dukas' piece. Today's audiences are
likely to be familiar with the tale because of Walt Disney's Fantasia which features
Mickey Mouse as the mischievous apprentice. The tale relates the story of a
sorcerer's apprentice who, in his master's absence, invokes the magic formula which
starts the broom fetching water; however, he cannot remember the mystical words
which will stop the broom. In a panic he splits the broom with an axe and now, to
his horror, there are two brooms, both bringing water, then more. Soon the house
is aflood. At this point the Sorcerer arrives, rescues the frightened apprentice, stops
the brooms and restores order.
In the manuscript score, Dukas identifies three principal themes. The first, the mysterious
opening bars of the introduction with the hocus-pocus of the violins and the
rising phrase of the woodwinds are the magic spell. This latter tune played by the
solo clarinet, oboe and flute later becomes the main theme representing the brooms
carrying the water. A sudden flurry of scampering woodwinds represents the apprentice.
The third theme, a fanfare of muted trumpets and horns, Dukas calls the Evocation.
"This summons, when it reappears magnified in the postlude, expresses
the idea of mastery, bringing back the calm tempo of the introduction."
Scored for: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons,
contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 cornets, 3 trombones, timpani, glockenspiel,
bass drum, cymbals, triangle, harp and strings. [3[1.2.pic] 2 3[1.2.bcl] 4[1.2.3.cbn (or sarr)]-4430-tmp+4-hp-str]
