Program Notes: Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring

STRAVINSKY’S THE RITE OF SPRING

PETER OUNDJIAN, conductor

AUGUSTIN HADELICH, violin

COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS, DUAIN WOLFE, director

Friday, May 26, 2023 at 7:30pm

Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 7:30pm

Sunday, May 28, 2023 at 1:00pm

Boettcher Concert Hall

WILLIAM HILL Renaissance for Chorus and Orchestra

World Premiere

BRAHMS Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77

I. Allegro non troppo

II. Adagio

III. Allegro griocoso; ma non troppo vivace

FIRST TIME TO THE SYMPHONY? SEE PAGE 7 OF THIS PROGRAM FOR FAQ’S TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE GREAT!

Saturday’S ConCert iS dediCated to the Colorado Symphony Guild

STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring

Part I. Adoration of the Earth

Introduction

The Augurs of Spring –

Dances of the Young

Ritual of Abduction

Spring Rounds

Ritual of the Rival Tribes

Procession of the Sage

The Sage

Dance of the Earth

Part II. The Sacrifice

Introduction

Mystic Circle of the Young Girls

Glorification of the Chosen One

Evocation of the Ancestors

Ritual Action of the Ancestors

Sacrificial Dance (The Chosen One)

CONCERT RUN TIME IS APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR AND 41 MINUTES WITH A 20 MINUTE INTERMISSION

CLASSICS BIOGRAPHIES

PETER OUNDJIAN, conductor

Recognized as a masterful and dynamic presence in the conducting world, Peter Oundjian has developed a multi-faceted portfolio as a conductor, violinist, professor and artistic advisor. He has been celebrated for his musicality, an eye towards collaboration, innovative programming, leadership and training with students and an engaging personality. Strengthening his ties to Colorado, Oundjian is now Principal Conductor of the Colorado Symphony in addition to Music Director of the Colorado Music Festival, which successfully pivoted to a virtual format during the pandemic summers of 2020 and 2021.

Now carrying the title Conductor Emeritus, Oundjian’s fourteen-year tenure as Music Director of the Toronto Symphony served as a major creative force for the city of Toronto and was marked by a reimagining of the TSO’s programming, international stature, audience development, touring and a number of outstanding recordings, garnering a Grammy nomination in 2018 and a Juno award for Vaughan Williams’ Orchestral Works in 2019. He led the orchestra on several international tours to Europe and the USA, conducting the first performance by a North American orchestra at Reykjavik’s Harpa Hall in 2014.

From 2012-2018, Oundjian served as Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra during which time he implemented the kind of collaborative programming that has become a staple of his directorship. Oundjian led the RSNO on several international tours, including North America, China, and a European festival tour with performances at the Bregenz Festival, the Dresden Festival as well as in Innsbruck, Bergamo, Ljubljana, and others. His final appearance with the orchestra as their Music Director was at the 2018 BBC Proms where he conducted Britten’s epic War Requiem.

Highlights of past seasons include appearances with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Iceland Symphony, the Detroit, Atlanta, Saint Louis, Baltimore, Dallas, Seattle, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. With the onset of world-wide concert cancellations, support for students at Yale and Juilliard became a priority. In 2022/2023 season Oundjian will conduct the opening weekend of Atlanta Symphony, followed by return engagements with Baltimore, Indianapolis, Dallas, Colorado and Toronto symphonies, as well as a visit to New World Symphony.

Oundjian has been a visiting professor at Yale University’s School of Music since 1981, and in 2013 was awarded the school’s Sanford Medal for Distinguished Service to Music. A dedicated educator, Oundjian regularly conducts the Yale, Juilliard, Curtis and New World symphony orchestras.

An outstanding violinist, Oundjian spent fourteen years as the first violinist for the renowned Tokyo String Quartet before he turned his energy towards conducting.

PHOTO: DALE WILCOX

CLASSICS BIOGRAPHIES

AUGUSTIN HADELICH, violin

Augustin Hadelich is one of the great violinists of our time. Known for his phenomenal technique, insightful and persuasive interpretations and ravishing tone, he tours extensively around the world. He has performed with all the major American orchestras as well as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Concertgebouworkest, Orchestre National de France, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, and many others.

Augustin Hadelich’s engagements in the 2022/23 season include concerts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Toronto. He performs with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Wiener Symphoniker, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, São Paulo Symphony and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. As this season’s Artist-in-Residence of the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Augustin Hadelich began the season by joining the orchestra on a summer festival tour to London, Hamburg, Amsterdam and Bonn, in addition to other festival appearances in Aspen, Lucerne and Salzburg. He returns to the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in Hamburg as its Associate Artist, and performs on tour with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. In June 2023, he will join the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra on a concert tour to South Korea.

Augustin Hadelich is the winner of a 2016 GRAMMY Award – “Best Classical Instrumental Solo” – for his recording of Dutilleux’s Violin Concerto, L’Arbre des songes, with the Seattle Symphony and Ludovic Morlot (Seattle Symphony MEDIA). A Warner Classics Artist, his most recent release is “Recuerdos”, a Spain-themed album featuring works by Sarasate, Tarrega, Prokofiev and Britten with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln and Cristian Măcelaru. Writing about his GRAMMY-nominated 2021 release of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas, the Süddeutsche Zeitung, one of Germany’s most prestigious newspapers, boldly stated: “Augustin Hadelich is one of the most exciting violinists in the world. This album is a total success.” Other albums for Warner Classics include Paganini’s 24 Caprices (2018); the Brahms and Ligeti violin concertos with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra under Miguel Harth-Bedoya (2019); and the GRAMMY-nominated “Bohemian Tales”, which includes the Dvořák Violin Concerto with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks conducted by Jakub Hrůša (2020).

Augustin Hadelich, now an American and German citizen, was born in Italy, to German parents. He studied with Joel Smirnoff at New York’s Juilliard School. Hadelich made a significant career leap in 2006 when he won the International Violin Competition in Indianapolis. Other distinctions include an Avery Fisher Career Grant (2009); a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship in the UK (2011); an honorary doctorate from the University of Exeter in the UK (2017); and being voted “Instrumentalist of the Year” by the influential magazine “Musical America” (2018).

Augustin Hadelich is on the violin faculty of the Yale School of Music at Yale University. He plays violin from 1744 by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, known as "Leduc, ex Szeryng", on loan from the Tarisio Trust.

CLASSICS BIOGRAPHIES

WILLIAM HILL, composer

William Hill has been acclaimed internationally as a composer, soloist, artist, and conductor. Currently he is in his 43rd year as Principal Timpanist and Composer with the Colorado Symphony. He also holds the position of Music Director with the Evergreen Chamber Orchestra. Hill retired in June 2020 after a distinguished career teaching composition at The University of Denver. He has served as a composer with the National Music Festival, Moravian Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Grand Teton Music Festival, and Evergreen Chamber Orchestra. He has performed as Principal Timpanist with the Honolulu, Omaha, and Colorado Symphonies, the Colorado and Grand Teton Music Festivals, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Mr. Hill has performed across the US and in numerous European countries and China. His compositions are performed and recorded by orchestras, chamber, and jazz groups nationally and internationally. Hill’s works range from symphonies, to experimental and improvisational pieces, to works combining acoustic instruments with synthesizers and other electronics.

Hill’s Three Wings for Orchestra with Soprano (featuring Nadya Hill) opened the 2018 Colorado Symphony Season. The Raven for orchestra, chorus and electronic chorus was premiered by the Colorado Symphony in 2015 and was nominated for the Pulitzer and Grawemeyer Awards. Hill’s Symphony #3, was also nominated for the Pulitzer. Passages for Orchestra, Electronics and Soprano, with electronics by Colin Hill was recorded with Hill conducting the Colorado Symphony, and Nadya Hill soprano, in 2022, and will become a video for display at Denver International Airport. Three Tangos and From Silence and Isolation were premiered by the Evergreen Chamber Orchestra in 2021 and 2022.

The Grand Rapids Symphony opened its 2010 Season with Hill’s Aurora Borealis and the first concert of their MusicNow Series featured his Ancient Rituals, The Journey of Ra and Full Moon at Giza with Nadya Hill soprano and violin. Hill’s Percussion Concerto was premiered by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in 2006 with the composer as soloist. The Moravian Philharmonic of the Czech Republic recorded four of his compositions in 2006. Hill’s Jazz/Latin/Fusion and World Music groups have released numerous CDs and DVDs.

Hill won the Percussive Arts Society International Composition Contest, and numerous other prizes. He has been a soloist with many orchestras and his first CD Rhythms of Innocence featured him on over 75 percussion instruments, recorders, wood flutes, didjeridoo, and piano. William Hill holds the Bachelor of Music with High Distinction (1977) and Performer’s Certificate from Indiana University, and the Master of Music (4.0 GPA 1980) from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

William Hill is married to violinist Natalie Schmitz Hill and their two children, Nadya, and Colin are both excellent professional musicians. Nadya’s husband Michael Hoffman is also a well known tenor and teacher. The Hill’s love to enjoy Colorado’s wonderful outdoors hiking, skiing and kayaking. An avid mountaineer, Hill has climbed and skied from the summit of more than 60 of Colorado’s highest peaks.

CLASSICS BIOGRAPHIES

DUAIN WOLFE, founder and director, Colorado Symphony Chorus

Three-time Grammy winner for Best Choral Performance, Best Classical Recording, and Best Opera Performance, Duain Wolfe is Founder and Director of the Colorado Symphony Chorus.

This year marks Wolfe’s 39th season with the Colorado Symphony Chorus. The Chorus has been featured at the Aspen Music Festival for nearly three decades. Wolfe recently retired as Director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus after 28 years. He has collaborated with Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Muti, and Sir George Solti on numerous recordings including Wagner’s Die Meistersinger, which won the 1998 Grammy® for Best Opera Recording. Wolfe’s extensive musical accomplishments have resulted in numerous awards, including the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of Denver, the Bonfils Stanton Award in the Arts and Humanities, the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in an Artistic Discipline, and the Michael Korn Award for the Development of the Professional Choral Art. Wolfe is Founder of the Colorado Children’s Chorale, from which he retired in 1999 after 25 years. For 20 years, Wolfe also worked with the Central City Opera Festival as chorus director and conductor, founding and directing the company’s young artist residence program, as well as its education and outreach programs. Wolfe’s other accomplishments include directing and preparing choruses for Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, the Bravo! Vail Festival, the Berkshire Choral Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Grand Teton Music Festival. He has worked with Pinchas Zuckerman and Alexander Shelly as Chorus Director for the Canadian National Arts Centre Orchestra for the past 20 years.

CLASSICS BIOGRAPHIES

COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS

The 2022/23 Colorado Symphony concert season marks the 39th season of the Colorado Symphony Chorus. Founded in 1984 by Duain Wolfe at the request of Gaetano Delogu, then the Music Director of the Symphony, the chorus has grown into a nationally respected ensemble. This outstanding chorus of volunteers joins the Colorado Symphony for numerous performances each year, to repeated critical acclaim.

The Chorus has performed at noted music festivals in the Rocky Mountain region, including the Colorado Music Festival, the Grand Teton Music Festival, and the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, where it has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony, under conductors Alan Gilbert, Hans Graf, Jaap van Zweden, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Fabio Luisi. For over twenty five years, the Chorus was featured at the world-renowned Aspen Music Festival, performing many great masterworks under the baton of conductors Lawrence Foster, James Levine, Murry Sidlin, Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman, and Robert Spano.

Among the eight recordings the Colorado Symphony Chorus has made is a NAXOS release of Roy Harris’s Symphony No. 4. The Chorus is also featured on a Hyperion release of the Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem and Stephen Hough’s Missa Mirabilis. Most recently, the Colorado Symphony and Chorus released a world-premiere recording of William Hill’s The Raven. In 2009, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the chorus, Duain Wolfe conducted the chorus on a three-country, two-week concert tour of Europe, presenting the Verdi Requiem in Budapest, Vienna, Litomysl and Prague; in 2016 the chorus returned to Europe for concerts in Paris, Strasbourg and Munich featuring the Fauré Requiem. In the summer of 2022, the Chorus toured Austria, performing to great acclaim in Vienna, Graz and Salzburg.

CLASSICS BIOGRAPHIES

COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS

Duain Wolfe, Founding Director and Conductor

Mary Louise Burke, Principal Associate Director and Conductor

Taylor Martin, Associate Director and Conductor

Jared Joseph, Conducting Intern

Hsiao-Ling Lin and ShaoChun Tsai Schneider, pianists

Eric Israelson, Chorus Manager/Librarian

Barbara Porter, Associate Chorus Manager

SOPRANO 1

Ascani, Lori

Atchison, René

Blum, Jude

Bowen, Alex

Brauchli, Margot

Caruthers, Candace

Causey, Denelda

Coberly, Ruth

Coberly, Sarah

Collins, Elizabeth

Collums, Angie

Cote, Kerry

Dakkouri, Claudia

Dobreff, Mary

Eck, Emily

Emerich, Kate

Ewert, Gracie

Galante, Leontine

Gaskill, Andria

Gile, Jenifer

Gill, Lori

Graber, Susan

Headrick, Alaina

Hittle, Erin

Irigoyen, Alicia

Jones, Kaitlyn

Jorden, Cameron

Kermgard, Lindsey

Kinnischtzke, Meghan

Kraft, Lisa

Kushnir, Marina

Lang, Leanne

Look, Cathy

Machusko, Rebecca

Montigne, Erin

Moraskie, Wendy

Nyholm, Christine

O'Nan, Jeannette

Peterson, Jodie

Pflug, Kim

Porter, Barbara

Rae, Donneve

Ropa, Lori

Sladovnik, Roberta

Tate, Judy

Timme, Sydney

Von Roedern, Susan

Walker, Marcia

Wall, Alison

Wise, Rebecca

Woodrow, Sandy

Wuertz, Karen

Zisler, Joan

ALTO

Adams, Priscilla

Arthur, Liz

Berganza, Brenda

Braud, Charlotte

Chatfield, Cass

Clauson, Clair

Conrad, Jayne

Cox, Martha

Darone, Janie

Dutcher, Valerie

Fairchild, Raleigh

Frey, Susie

Friedman, Anna

Gayley, Sharon

Golden, Daniela

Groom, Gabriella

Guittar, Pat

Haller, Emily

Haxton, Sheri

Hoopes, Kaia

Hoskins, Hansi

Jackson, Brandy

Janasko, Ellen

Kaminske, Christine

Kim, Annette

LeBaron, Andrea

Levy, Juliet

London, Carole

Long, Tinsley

Maltzahn, Joanna

McWaters, Susan

Nordenholz, Kristen

Owens, Sheri

Parsons, Jill

Rudolph, Kathi

Scarselli, Elizabeth

Stevenson, Melanie

Thaler, Deanna

Thayer, Mary

Tiggelaar, Clara

Trubetskoy, Kimberly

Virtue, Pat

York, Beth

TENOR

Babcock, Gary

Bowman, Ryan

Carlson, James

Davies, Dusty

Dinkel, Jack

Fuehrer, Roger

Gale, John

Gordon, Frank

Guittar, Forrest

Hodel, David

Ibrahim, Sami

Johnson, Trey

Kolm, Kenneth

Milligan, Tom

Moraskie, Richard

Muesing, Garvis

Myers, Lucas

Nicholas, Timothy

Rangel, Miguel

Rehberg, Dallas

Richardson, Tyler

Roach, Eugene

Ruth, Ronald

Seamans, Andrew

Sims, Jerry

Stohlmann, Phillip

Thompson, Hannis

Zimmerman, Kenneth

BASS

Adams, John

Friedlander, Robert

Glauner. Dave

Gray, Matthew

Grossman, Chris

Griffin, Tim

Hesse, Douglas

Highbaugh, David

Hume, /Donald

Hunt, Leonard

Israelson, Eric

Jackson, Terry

Jirak, Thomas

Jones, John

Johnson, Matthew

Joseph, Jared

Lingenfelter, Paul

Mehta, Nalin

Molberg, Matthew

Morrison, Greg

Nuccio, Gene

Phillips, John

Pilcher, Ben

Potter, Tom

Quarles, Kenneth

Richards, Joshua

Scoville, Adam

Skillings, Russell

Smedberg, Matthew

Struthers, David

Swanson, Wil

Virtue, Tom

CLASSICS PROGRAM NOTES

WILLIAM HILL (born in 1954) Renaissance for Chorus and Orchestra

William Hill was born on January 31, 1954 in Burlington, North Carolina. He composed Renaissance in the fall of 2022 on commission from the Colorado Symphony. The work receives its World Premiere at these concerts. The score calls for piccolo, three flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, celesta, harp, piano and strings. Duration is about 13 minutes.

William Hill has been acclaimed internationally as a composer, soloist, artist and conductor. Currently, he is in his 43rd year as Principal Timpanist and Composer with the Colorado Symphony and also serves as Music Director of the Evergreen Chamber Orchestra. Hill retired in June 2020 after a distinguished career teaching composition at The University of Denver. In addition to his position with the Colorado Symphony, Hill has performed across the United States and in Europe and China, and served as Principal Timpanist with the Honolulu and Omaha Symphonies, Colorado and Grand Teton Music Festivals, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He has been a soloist with many orchestras, and his first CD, Rhythms of Innocence, features him on over 75 percussion instruments, recorders, wood flutes, didjeridoo and piano. In 2006, he was soloist with the Colorado Symphony in the premiere of his own Percussion Concerto.

Hill’s compositions, ranging from symphonies and chamber works, to experimental and improvisational pieces, to works combining acoustic instruments with synthesizers and other electronics, have been performed and recorded nationally and internationally. Three Wings for Orchestra with Soprano (featuring Nadya Hill) opened the 2018 Colorado Symphony season. The Raven for Orchestra and Chorus was commissioned by the Colorado Symphony in 2015, recorded on the Naxos label, and nominated for both a Pulitzer Prize and a Grawemeyer Award, the two most prestigious distinctions in American concert music. Symphony No. 3 was premiered by the Colorado Symphony in 2012 and also nominated for both a Pulitzer Prize and a Grawemeyer Award. Passages for Orchestra, Electronics and Soprano, with electronics by Colin Hill, was recorded in 2022 with the composer conducting the Colorado Symphony and soprano Nadya Hill, and will become a video for display at Denver International Airport. Three Tangos and From Silence and Isolation were premiered by the Evergreen Chamber Orchestra in 2021 and 2022. William Hill’s newest works include the Symphony No. 4 in Classical Style, premiered in October 2022 with the composer conducting the Evergreen Chamber Orchestra; Concerto for Viola, Strings, Harp and Percussion, which debuts in June 2023; and Renaissance for Chorus and Orchestra, premiered by the Colorado Symphony and Chorus in May 2023. The Moravian Philharmonic of the Czech Republic recorded four of Hill’s compositions in 2006, and his Jazz/ Latin/Fusion and World Music groups have released numerous CDs and DVDs. In addition to his Pulitzer and Grawemeyer nominations, Hill won the Percussive Arts Society International Composition Contest and numerous other prizes.

William Hill holds the Bachelor of Music with High Distinction (1977) and Performer’s Certificate from Indiana University, and Master of Music (1980) from the Cleveland Institute of Music. He is married to violinist Natalie Schmitz Hill, and their two children, Nadya and Colin, are both professional musicians.

CLASSICS PROGRAM NOTES

William Hill wrote, “Renaissance, completed in December 2023, was commissioned by the Colorado Symphony, Peter Oundjian, Principal Conductor, for the Fortieth Anniversary of the Colorado Symphony Chorus in honor of Duain Wolfe, its Music Director and Founder."

“The words and music of Renaissance use language that covers a time span from almost one thousand years ago to the present. Having studied a bit of the writing of [German abbess, visionary, prophet, poet and composer] Hildegard von Bingen, I’m always struck by the contemporary relevance and wisdom of her words and music, even though she lived 1098-1179. Her thoughts have many parallels with the humanity in the works of Shakespeare, and with the ideals of responsibility to our communities and the earth put forth by Native Americans and Australian First People."

“Renaissance begins with a short, quiet orchestral Allelujah, which quickly moves into a rather dark and violent Dies Irae [‘Day of Wrath,’ i.e, Judgement Day, from the Requiem Mass for the Dead]. The orchestra and chorus parts are demanding with upward glissandos, dissonant intervals, odd-meter-driven rhythms, and edgy harmonic language. The words Dies irae are followed by a listing of many of the ways we humans have failed to reach our potential as brothers and sisters, and as stewards of our planet. The final Dies irae morphs into the chorus speaking in incoherent gibberish. This reflects my reading of Greta Thunberg’s thoughts on how politicians talk about protecting the planet, yet seem incapable of actually doing much about it."

“In my own thoughts, I find a close relationship between the seemingly different ideas of sadness and beauty. The Lacrimosa (weeping/tears) here attempts to utilize this combination of emotions with lyrical writing for the chorus and orchestra as the words evoke sadness for the abuses of the earth, and the lack of empathy for people who are oppressed and in unfortunate circumstances. Shakespeare’s words about the gift of mercy close this section with a hint of hope, followed by a gentle Allelujah."

“The following sections of Renaissance explore some of my favorite beautifully descriptive words of Hildegarde. Her melodic writing is truly timeless and lends itself to a variety of harmonic and rhythmic structures covering musical styles from her era to the present. Hildegarde’s philosophy of appreciation for nature, the interconnectivity of all people with each other and the earth, and the divine wisdom of immortal souls speaks to me in ways I can only describe in music."

“A short reiteration of the Dies irae and Lacrimosa remind us that we can turn away from the violence, rampant greed, exploitation of people and resources, and all that prevents a harmonious existence. This Dies irae is three measures of 6/4 meter followed by three bars of 6/8: 666, and 666. The book of Revelations associates this number with the Beast or the Devil. Are these evils an inherent part of us, an existential threat, or can they be overcome by empathy, kindness and love? I leave it to listeners to interpret this as they please. The title Renaissance, the ideals of Hildegarde, and the remaining sections of this music provide my hopeful answer."

“Quietly dissonant and eerily beautiful ostinatos usher in words that present the dichotomy of winter’s low sun beams, stark silhouettes and icy cold, with its inherent beauty and calm. This mystic time of year, with nature’s pace slowed, evokes a wonderful sense of peace and rest, as well as the promise of the spring to come. What could follow this but a light and lively little Renaissance song about the renewal of the earth and her inhabitants as winter bursts into spring."

“Words from Native American philosophy are followed by a thought provoking statement from an Australian First People’s proverb. The penultimate words are my own and express my hope that through introspection, compassion, altruism, and love we can all strive for a better more peaceful world."

“The final words are sung unaccompanied, Dona nobis pacem — Grant Us Peace.”

Renaissance

Text compiled by William Hill from influences of the Requiem Mass, William Shakespeare, Hildegard von Bingen, Native American Wisdom, and Australian First People Proverbs

Allelujah (orchestra)

Dies Irae [“Day of Wrath,” i.e., Judgement Day, from the Requiem Mass for the Dead]

Violence Hatred Prejudice

Conquest Greed Revenge

War is glorified and life devalued

Dies Irae

Nature exploited and depleted

Climate catastrophe

Dies Irae (Gibberish)

Lacrimosa [“tears”]

The earth cries bitter tears for the abuse of Nature’s gifts

Weep for the meek, and the oppressed Lament and grieve that we have forgotten that mercy blesses the giver and the receiver in equal measure, just as the gentle rain nurtures all of nature

CLASSICS PROGRAM NOTES

Allelujah

Lift up your eyes to the sun, the moon, and the stars Walk with the green earth

All of Nature is for us to enjoy and to be in sync with its ebb, and flow Love abounds from the depths of the oceans to beyond the stars

Divinity is like a wheel, a circle that can neither be understood, nor separated, nor begun, nor ended Words are merely empty shells until music breathes life into them, and harmony is in the spirit of immortal souls It floats like a feather on the breath of God

The wisdom of the cosmos has three wings, the first floats above to lift us up, the second is below to connect us to the earth, and the third envelopes everything to forge humanity and nature as one

Dies irae

Lacrimosa

In winter the stark silhouettes of trees invite low angle sun beams to pass through Long shadows create ice crystals on the creeks and ground Shades of brown, gray, and blue, the ever changing feel of the air as it kisses our faces, all create the mystic ambience as the earth is at peace, at rest

The creek still gurgles beneath the ice, and the plants stay connected in an intricate network of roots and mycelium

As Spring evokes a verdant renewal Nature shows the continuum of life ….. Nature invites us to witness this miraculous renaissance Spring renewal ….. verdant renaissance ….. peaceful renaissance

Woman Child of the Earth speaks quietly with unwavering spirit and walks softly leaving no trail

CLASSICS PROGRAM NOTES

We are all just visitors, passing through this time, this place, our purpose is to grow, to learn, to love ….. and then we return home

Dona nobis pacem [“Grant Us Peace”]

Just as winter prepares the earth for spring, sometimes darkness allows us to see with clarity, And in the stillness and quiet, we find what was thought to be lost And in silence we hear our inner song and find our way

Dona nobis pacem

JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)

Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77

Johannes Brahms was born May 7, 1833 in Hamburg, and died April 3, 1897 in Vienna. He composed his Violin Concerto during the summer and fall of 1878 in the Austrian resort village of Pörtschach. Joseph Joachim was the soloist in the work’s premiere, on New Year’s Day 1879 with the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig; Brahms conducted. The score calls for woodwinds in pairs, four horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings. Duration is about 38 minutes. The orchestra last performed this piece October 3-5, 2014. Andrew Litton conducted and Gil Shaham played violin.

“The healthy and ruddy colors of his skin indicated a love of nature and a habit of being in the open air in all kinds of weather; his thick straight hair of brownish color came nearly down to his shoulders. His clothes and boots were not of exactly the latest pattern, nor did they fit particularly well, but his linen was spotless.... [There was a] kindliness in his eyes ... with now and then a roguish twinkle in them which corresponded to a quality in his nature which would perhaps be best described as good-natured sarcasm.” So wrote Sir George Henschel, the singer and conductor who became the first Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, of his friend Johannes Brahms at the time of the composition of his Violin Concerto, when Brahms, at 45, was coming into the full efflorescence of his talent and fame. The twenty-year gestation of the First Symphony had finally ended in 1876, and the Second Symphony came easily only a year later. He was occupied with many songs and important chamber works during the mid-1870s, and the two greatest of his concertos, the B-flat for piano and the D major for violin, were both conceived in 1878 after the delicious experience of his first trip to Italy in April. That summer, he returned to the idyllic Austrian village of Pörtschach (site of the composition of the Second Symphony the previous year), where he composed the Violin Concerto for his old friend and musical ally, Joseph Joachim.

CLASSICS PROGRAM NOTES

The first movement is constructed in Classical concerto form, with an orchestral introduction presenting much of the movement’s main thematic material before the entry of the soloist. The violin’s initial entry is anxious in mood and serves to heighten the serene majesty of the main theme when it is sung by the soloist upon its reappearance. A limpid, waltz-like melody serves as the second theme. The vigorous dotted-rhythm figure returns to close the exposition, with the development continuing the agitated mood of this closing theme. The recapitulation begins on a heroic wave of sound. The soloist’s cadenza serves as the bridge to the coda, which closes this masterful movement with a series of dignified cadential figures. The rapturous Adagio is based on a theme that the German composer Max Bruch said was derived from a Bohemian folk song. After the violin’s entry, the soloist is seldom confined to the exact notes of the theme, but rather weaves a rich embroidery around their melodic shape. The central section of the movement is cast in darker hues. The finale is an invigorating dance of Gypsy character in rondo form, with a scintillating tune in double stops as the recurring theme.

IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882-1971)

The Rite of Spring, Pictures of Pagan Russia, Ballet in Two Parts

Igor Stravinsky was born on June 17, 1882 in Oranienbaum, near St. Petersburg, and died April 6, 1971 in New York City. He composed The Rite of Spring in 1911-1913. The ballet’s premiere was given by Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris on May 29, 1913. The score calls for two piccolos, three flutes, alto flute, four oboes, two English horns, E-flat clarinet, three B-flat clarinets, two bass clarinets, four bassoons, two contrabassoons, eight horns, trumpet in D, four trumpets, bass trumpet, three trombones, two tubas, timpani, percussion and strings. Duration is about 33 minutes. The orchestra last performed this piece February 16-18, 2018, conducted by Brett Mitchell.

Stravinsky’s conception for the epochal The Rite of Spring came to him as he was finishing

The Firebird in 1910. He had a vision of “a solemn pagan rite; wise elders, seated in a circle, watching a young girl dance herself to death. They were sacrificing her to propitiate the god of spring.” Stravinsky knew that his friend Nicholas Roerich, an archeologist and an authority on the ancient Slavs, would be interested in his idea. Stravinsky also shared the vision with Serge Diaghilev, impresario of the Ballet Russe, the company that had commissioned The Firebird. All three men were excited by the possibilities of the project — Diaghilev promised a production and encouraged Stravinsky to begin work immediately. Having just nearly exhausted himself with the rigors of completing and staging The Firebird, however, Stravinsky decided to compose a Konzertstück for piano and orchestra as relaxation before undertaking his pagan ballet. This little “concert piece,” however, grew into the ballet Petrushka, and he could not return to The Rite until the summer of 1911.

“What I was trying to convey in The Rite,” said Stravinsky, “was the surge of spring, the magnificent upsurge of nature reborn.” Inspired by childhood memories of the coming of spring to Russia (“which seemed to begin in an hour and was like the whole earth cracking,”

CLASSICS PROGRAM NOTES

he remembered), he worked with Roerich to devise a libretto that would, in Roerich’s words, “present a number of scenes of earthly joy and celestial triumph as understood by the ancient Slavs.” Stravinsky labored feverishly on the score through the winter of 1911-1912, and Diaghilev scheduled the premiere for May 1913. The performance created a sensation (and a near-riot), and the Rite’s position in the repertory was soon secured.

The following précis of the stage action is excerpted from The Victor Book of Ballet by Robert Lawrence: “The plot deals with archaic Russian tribes and their worship of the gods of the harvest and fertility. These primitive peoples assemble for their yearly ceremonies, play their traditional games, and finally select a virgin to be sacrificed to the gods of Spring so that the crops and tribes may flourish. There is a prelude in which the composer evokes the primitive past. Insistent, barbaric rhythms are heard, shifting accent with almost every bar. The first rites of Spring are being celebrated, and a group of adolescents appears. They dance until other members of the tribe enter. Then the full round of ceremonies gets under way: a mock abduction, games of the rival tribes, the procession of the Sage, and the thunderous dance of the Earth. The curtain falls, and there is a soft interlude representing the pagan night. Soon the tribal meeting place is seen again. It is dark and the adolescents circle mysteriously in preparation for the choice of the virgin to be sacrificed to the gods. Their dance is interrupted, and one of the girls is marked for the tribal offering. The others begin a wild orgy glorifying the Chosen One and — in a barbaric ritual — call on the shades of their ancestors. Finally the supreme moment of the ceremony arrives: the ordeal of the Chosen One. It is the maiden’s duty to dance until she perishes from exhaustion. Throughout the dance, the music gathers power until it ends with a crash as the Maiden dies.”

©2023 Dr. Richard E. Rodda