Program Notes

ERROLLYN WALLEN

born: April 10, 1958 in Belize

Mighty River (2007)

premiere: February 24, 2007 in London

Mighty River, an orchestral work by British composer Errollyn Wallen, was commissioned by the Rector and PPC of Holy Trinity Clapham Common and the Reverend John Wates. The work premiered at London’s Holy Trinity Church as part of a concert commemorating the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act passed by British Parliament on 25 March 1807. The wife of Rev. John Wates is a direct descendant of William Wilberforce (17591833), a politician, and member of the Abolitionists movement whose efforts led to the repeal of the Slave Trade Act. The Abolitionists often met at Holy Trinity Church. As Wallen observed: “I knew this was not going to be a normal concert, it would really be a gathering of people together, to remember this historic event — a historical occasion for reflection.”

Wallen’s love for waterways inspired her to view the rivers’ inexorable flow as a metaphor for “the relentlessness of the pursuit of freedom...It is an innate human instinct to be free, just as it is a law of nature that the river should rush headlong to the sea. That is the concept behind Mighty River.” Wallen dedicated Mighty River to her great-great-great-great-great-greatgrandmother: “Though I never knew her, I am driven on by her courage in the face of dreadful odds and am inspired by her example not merely to survive, but to thrive.”

Mighty River opens with the horn’s invocation of “Amazing Grace.” That beloved hymn returns throughout the work, alongside quotations of various other spirituals. Repeated motifs portray the irrepressible energy of the flowing river, and yearning for freedom. All of these elements are embodied in a work notable for its glowing and transparent orchestration.

SAMUEL BARBER

born: March 9, 1910 in West Chester, Pennsylvania died: January 23, 1981 in New York City

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra

Opus 14 (1940, rev. 1948)

premiere: February 7, 1941 in Philadelphia

The Concerto for Violin and Orchestra was the first major commission for Samuel Barber. Samuel Fels, a wealthy American businessman who served on the board of trustees of Barber’s alma mater, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, offered the commission in the spring of 1939. Fels intended the Concerto to serve as a vehicle for his protégé, the young Odessa-born violinist Iso Briselli.

Artistic disagreements arose between Barber and Briselli. And so, Iso Briselli did not perform the premiere of the Barber Violin Concerto. That honor went to the renowned American violinist Albert Spalding. On February 7, 1941, Spalding, accompanied by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, gave the first performance at the Academy of Music. Barber was dissatisfied with what he viewed as “an unsatisfactory climax in the (second movement) and some muddy orchestration in the finale.” In 1948, Barber penned revisions to the Concerto, which, in the composer’s view, made the work “much improved.” The final version was published in 1949. The soaring lyricism of the opening movements, coupled with the virtuoso fireworks of the finale, have made the Barber Violin Concerto one of his most popular works, for violinists and audiences alike.

American violinist and composer Albert Spalding (1888-1953), who premiered Barber’s Violin Concerto.

The Concerto’s opening movement (Allegro) features two principal themes, the first lengthy and flowing, the second having a decidedly Scottish flavor. The lyrical slow-tempo movement (Andante) includes a more agitated central sequence. The finale (Presto in moto perpetuo) is a virtuoso tour-de-force for the soloist.

ROBERT SCHUMANN

born: June 8, 1810 in Zwickau, Germany died: July 29, 1856 in Endenich, Germany

Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major

Opus 97, “Rhenish” (1850)

premiere: February 6, 1851 in Düsseldorf, Germany

On September 2, 1850, Robert Schumann, his wife Clara, and their children traveled to the city of Düsseldorf, where the composer assumed the post of Music Director. Later that month, Robert and Clara enjoyed a scenic boat trip down the great Rhine River and journeyed to the massive Cologne Cathedral, where they witnessed Archbishop von Geissel’s installation as Cardinal. These incidents, as well as earlier visits by Schumann to the Rhineland, provided the inspiration for his “Rhenish” Symphony.

The “Rhenish” Symphony was written in the midst of one of Schumann’s legendary periods of intense creativity. Between the remarkably brief span of October 10 and 24, 1850, Schumann composed his beautiful Cello Concerto. The “Rhenish” — known as the Third Symphony, but actually the last of his four symphonies in order of composition — occupied Schumann between November 2 and December 9 of the same year. Schumann conducted the highly successful premiere, which took place in Düsseldorf’s Geisler Hall at the sixth Allgemeine Musikverein concert.

Schumann had offered previous musical tributes to his beloved Rhineland and the Cologne Cathedral — perhaps most notably in his adaptation of Heinrich Heine’s brief poem, “Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome,” part of the composer’s 1840 song-cycle Dichterliebe (Poet’s Love). Schumann’s majestic setting of the following lines anticipates the grandeur of the “Rhenish” Symphony, particularly the work’s fourth movement:

In the Rhine, in the sacred river,

the waves reflect the great Cathedral

of the great, sacred Cologne.

German poet Heinrich Heine (1797-1856), whose work was a great inspiration to Schumann

Schumann wrote to his publisher, Simrock, that the “Rhenish” Symphony “perhaps mirrors here and there something of Rhenish life.” However, Schumann ultimately chose to delete any specific Rhenish allusions in the score, such as the composer’s original “Morning on the Rhine” title for the second movement. Schumann explained: “One should not show his heart to the people, for the general impression of a work of art is more effective. Then the listener will at least not set up any absurd connections in his mind.”

Of course, our knowledge of the history of this great symphony does afford us a glance into the composer’s thoughts. But that insight in no way diminishes the splendor of the “Rhenish,” perhaps Schumann’s finest Symphony. It is a work abounding with vigor, beauty, and melodic inspiration. Like any extraordinary composition that contains programmatic elements, the “Rhenish” Symphony impresses because of its musical worth. The “Rhenish” Symphony is also a work that exerted a profound influence upon a number of composers, including Schumann’s admirer and protégé, Johannes Brahms.

The “Rhenish” Symphony is in five (rather than the traditional four) movements. The first (Lebhaft) begins in grand style, with the full orchestra announcing the exuberant principal subject. The second movement (Scherzo. Sehr mässig), originally titled “Morning on the Rhine,” is based upon the ländler, a rustic dance in 3/4 meter. A subdued and elegant slow-tempo movement (Nicht schnell) follows. Schumann’s original subtitle for the fourth movement (Feierlich) was “in the style of an accompaniment to a solemn ceremony.” While that description was later deleted, it seems clear the music was inspired by the great Cathedral of Cologne and Archbishop von Geissel’s investiture there as Cardinal, witnessed by Robert and Clara. The finale (Lebhaft) returns to the joyous mood of the Symphony’s opening movement. A triumphant restatement of music from the previous movement leads to the “Rhenish” Symphony’s thrilling final bars.

Cologne Cathedral, which was still unfinished when Schumann visited in the 1850s.