Program Notes

GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL

born: February 23, 1685 in Halle, Germany died: April 14, 1759 in London, England

Organ Concerto in F Major, hwv 295

“The Cuckoo and the Nightingale” (1739)

premiere: April 4, 1739 in London, England

Handel completed his F-Major Organ Concerto, HWV 295, on April 2, 1739. Two days later, Handel himself was the soloist in the Concerto’s premiere. The performance took place during an intermission between acts of Israel in Egypt. Handel’s oratorio was also receiving its premiere at the April 4, 1739 concert at the King’s Theater in the Haymarket in London. The Concerto is in four movements, alternating measured and quick tempos (Larghetto; Allegro; Larghetto; Allegro). The lively second movement, featuring motifs that evoke the sounds of bird calls, inspired the Concerto’s nickname, “The Cuckoo and the Nightingale.”

Organist Paul Jacobs

FELIX MENDELSSOHN

born: February 3, 1809 in Hamburg, Germany died: November 4, 1847 in Leipzig, Germany

Symphony No. 5 in D Major, Opus 107

“Reformation” (1830)

premiere: November 15, 1832 in Berlin, Germany

Mendelssohn composed his Symphony in D Major between September 1829 and April 1830. He intended the work for the 300th anniversary of the 1530 Augsburg Confession, a document that set forth the basic tenets of the Protestant faith, thereby inaugurating the great Reformation.

The political turmoil in Europe that culminated in the July Revolution led to the cancellation of the planned celebrations of the Augsburg Confession. French conductor FrançoisAntoine Habeneck agreed to premiere Mendelssohn’s new symphony with his Paris Conservatoire Orchestra — but, during the first rehearsal, the musicians objected to the work so strenuously that the premiere was cancelled.

The premiere finally took place in November 1832, under the composer’s direction, at the Singakadamie in Berlin. At that time, the new work was referred to as a “Symphony in Celebration of a Church Revolution”. Later, the Symphony became known as the “Reformation.”

The “Reformation” Symphony is in four movements. The first begins with a slow-tempo introduction (Andante) that twice culminates in the strings’ radiant presentation of the ascending “Dresden Amen.” This leads to the principal, dramatic Allegro con fuoco, in which the “Amen” makes yet another appearance. The charm of the ensuing Allegro vivace stands in stark contrast to the storm and stress of its predecessor. The brief third movement (Andante) is in the character of a song without words. The final movement ensues without pause. It opens with the woodwinds’ invocation of “Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott” (“A Mighty Fortress is our God”), a chorale attributed to Martin Luther. The melody grows in majestic splendor. The ensuing Allegro vivace also features the Luther melody. A final, majestic statement of the chorale provides the stirring conclusion.

CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS

born: October 9, 1835 in Paris, France died: December 16, 1921 in Algiers, Algeria

Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Opus 78

“Organ Symphony” (1886)

premiere: May 19, 1886 in London, England

Camille Saint-Saëns composed his Third Symphony at the request of the Philharmonic Society of London. Saint-Saëns had been contemplating a new symphony for some time. A few months after the 1885 commission, the composer informed the Philharmonic that the work was:

...well under way. It will be terrifying, I warn you...This imp of a symphony has gone up a half-tone; it didn’t want to stay in B minor and it is now in C minor. It will be a treat for me to conduct it. Will it be a treat, though, for the people who hear it? That is the question. It’s you who asked for it. I wash my hands of the whole thing.

The premiere of the Third Symphony took place in London’s St. James’s Hall on May 19, 1886. The evening was a great personal triumph for Saint-Saëns. The composer led the Philharmonic Society of London in his new Symphony, and was also the soloist in his Fourth Piano Concerto. The London audience’s response to the Symphony was generally positive. After the concert, Saint-Saëns was given an audience with the Prince of Wales, later crowned King Edward VII. The January 9, 1887 Paris premiere, again conducted by Saint-Saëns, was yet another success. After the performance, as Saint-Saëns descended the podium, composer Charles Gounod proclaimed: “There goes the French Beethoven!”

The Saint-Saëns Third Symphony, with its stunning orchestration and ingenious thematic manipulation, is one of the most important French symphonies of the second half of the nineteenth century. Saint-Saëns did not compose another symphony during the final thirty-five years of his life. As he remarked: “I have given all that I have to give...What I have done I shall never do again.”

The Third Symphony comprises two principal sections, each with two parts. Part I begins with a brief slowtempo introduction (Adagio), leading to the principal Allegro moderato, and a restless string figure that will appear in various guises throughout the Symphony. In the slow-tempo portion of Part I (Poco adagio), the organ accompanies the violins, violas and cellos, as they play the affecting principal melody.

The opening portion of Part II (Allegro moderato), serving the function of the traditional scherzo, opens with a dialogue between the strings and thundering timpani. A quicksilver Presto episode introduces, according to the composer, “a fantastic spirit.” The final portion of the Organ Symphony (Maestoso; Allegro) brings the work to a grand conclusion.

Camille Saint-Saëns