Ravel's Spain

27 APR 2024

NEW ALBUM RELEASE

A long-forgotten masterpiece in its first modern recording, using a new edition by Hans Graf, realising the Requiem's original 1798 version. The Requiem received its Asian premiere in a performance by the Singapore Symphony in Apr 2023. Available 19 Apr 2024

RAVEL’S SPAIN RAPSODIE ESPAGNOLE

Sat, 27 Apr 2024

Esplanade Concert Hall

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Hans Graf Music Director

Jade Tan mezzo-soprano1/Concepción

Bo Skovhus baritone2/Ramiro

Kangyoon Shine Lee tenor/Gonzalve

Anthony Robin Schneider bass/Don Iñigo Gomez

Jonathan Charles Tay tenor/Torquemada

Boon Hua Lien Assistant to Hans Graf

Gabriel Chan Lighting Designer

Shane Thio Répétiteur

Mirabel Neo Stage Manager

Leong Shan Yi Deputy Stage Manager

Shridar Mani surtitles

Laurence Biard French coach

RAVEL

L’Heure espagnole (“The Spanish Hour”) SSO Premiere

Intermission

Rapsodie espagnole

Chanson espagnole1 (orch. Hans Graf) SSO Premiere

Vocalise en forme de habanera1 (orch. Hoérée) SSO Premiere

Don Quichotte à Dulcinée2 SSO Premiere

Boléro

Since its founding in 1979, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) has been Singapore’s flagship orchestra, touching lives through classical music and providing the heartbeat of the cultural scene with its 44-week calendar of events.

In addition to its subscription series concerts, the orchestra is well-loved for its outdoor and community appearances, and its significant role educating the young people of Singapore through its school programmes. The SSO has also earned an international reputation for its orchestral virtuosity, having garnered sterling reviews for its overseas tours and many successful recordings. In 2021, the SSO clinched third place in the prestigious Orchestra of the Year Award by Gramophone. In 2022, BBC Music Magazine named the SSO as one of the 21 best orchestras in the world.

In July 2022, the SSO appointed renowned Austrian conductor Hans Graf as its Music Director, the third in the orchestra’s history after Lan Shui (1997–2019) and Choo Hoey (1979–1996). Prior to this, Hans Graf served as Chief Conductor from 2020.

The orchestra performs over 60 concerts a year, and its versatile repertoire spans all-time favourites and orchestral masterpieces to exciting cutting-edge premieres. Bridging the musical traditions of East and West, Singaporean and Asian musicians and composers are regularly showcased in the concert season. The SSO makes its performing home at the 1,800-seat state-of-theart Esplanade Concert Hall. More intimate works, as well as outreach and community performances take place at the 673-seat Victoria Concert Hall, the Home of the SSO.

Beyond Singapore, the SSO has performed in Europe, Asia and the United States. In May 2016 the SSO was invited to perform at the Dresden Music Festival and the Prague Spring International Music Festival. This successful fivecity tour of Germany and Prague also included the SSO’s second performance at the Berlin Philharmonie. In 2014, the SSO’s debut at the 120th BBC Proms in London received praise in major UK newspapers The Guardian and The Telegraph. The SSO has also performed in China on multiple occasions.

The SSO has released more than 50 recordings, with over 30 on the BIS label. Recent critically acclaimed albums include Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights (Chandos) and Scriabin - Poems of Ecstasy and Fire (BIS). Following the Four Seasons album on Pentatone, a complete Mozart Violin Concerto cycle with Chloe Chua and Hans Graf will be released in 2024. The SSO also leads the revival and recording of significant works such as Kozłowski’s Requiem, Ogerman’s Symbiosis (after Bill Evans) and violin concertos by Robert Russell Bennett and Vernon Duke.

The SSO has collaborated with such great artists as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Joe Hisaishi, Neeme Järvi, Okko Kamu, Hannu Lintu, Andrew Litton, Lorin Maazel, Martha Argerich, Ray Chen, Diana Damrau, Stephen Hough, Janine Jansen, Leonidas Kavakos, Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Shaham and Krystian Zimerman.

The SSO is part of the Singapore Symphony Group, which also manages the Singapore Symphony Choruses, and the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, as well as the VCHpresents chamber music series, the Singapore International Piano Festival and the biennial National Piano & Violin Competition.

Our Story

The Group’s vision is to be a leading arts organisation that engages, inspires and reflects Singapore through musical excellence. Our mission is to create memorable shared experiences with music. Through the SSO and its affiliated performing groups, we spread the love for music, nurture talent and enrich our diverse communities.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

HANS GRAF

Music Director

Armed with a spirit of musical curiosity and discovery, creative programming and his commanding presence on stage, Austrian conductor Hans Graf has raised orchestras to new heights while winning audiences young and old alike. With Hans Graf, “a brave new world of music-making under inspired direction” (The Straits Times) began at the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, as Chief Conductor in the 2020/21 season, and Music Director since the 2022/23 season.

Graf was formerly Music Director of the Houston Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Basque National Orchestra and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg. He is a frequent guest with major orchestras worldwide including the orchestras of Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Vienna, Leipzig Gewandhaus, DSO Berlin, Dresden, Royal Concertgebouw, Oslo, Hallé, London, Royal Philharmonic, Budapest Festival, St Petersburg, Russian National, Melbourne, Sydney, Seoul, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the Bavarian, Danish and Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestras. Graf has led operas in the Vienna State Opera, Munich, Berlin, Paris,

Strasbourg, Rome and Zurich. In 2014 he was awarded the Österreichischer Musiktheaterpreis for Strauss’s Die Feuersnot at the famed Vienna Volksoper, where he returned in 2021 to lead Rosenkavalier.

Hans Graf’s extensive discography includes all symphonies of Mozart and Schubert, the complete orchestral works of Dutilleux, and the world-premiere recording of Zemlinsky’s Es war einmal. Graf’s recording of Berg’s Wozzeck with the Houston Symphony won the GRAMMY and ECHO Klassik awards for best opera recording. With the Singapore Symphony, Graf has recorded the music of Paul von Klenau, Józef Kozłowski’s Requiem, an upcoming Mozart Violin Concerto cycle with Chloe Chua, and Stravinsky Concertos with violinist He Ziyu and pianist Alexei Volodin.

Hans Graf (b. 1949) is Professor Emeritus for Orchestral Conducting at the Universität Mozarteum, Salzburg. For his services to music, he was awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre de la Légion d'Honneur by the French government, and the Grand Decoration of Honour of the Republic of Austria.

JADE TAN SHI YU

mezzo-soprano/Concepción

A mezzo-soprano who sings with “nuance” and with “great ability in portraying emotion and meaning” (The Straits Times), Jade Tan Shi Yu was the Grand-prize winner of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music’s Concerto Competition 2016 and Best Singaporean Artist and Third-Prize Winner in the Singapore Lyric Opera’s ASEAN Vocal Competition 2016. She was honoured with the title of President’s Young Performer of Singapore in 2016.

Jade Tan graduated from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music as Valedictorian with First Class Honours and recently completed a Master’s Degree in Voice and Operatic Performance at the Hannover Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien, Germany. She was a recipient of the Tan Kah Kee Foundation Scholarship. She made her operatic debut as Dorabella from Mozart’s Così fan tutte in the Hannover Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien, Germany and has since performed the roles of Giannetta in the Singapore Lyric Opera’s production of L’Elisir d’amore (2017) and Zora in Serbian-born Ana Sokolovic’s Svadba (2018) and Waltraute in the Orchestra of the Music Maker’s production of Die Walküre (2020).

BO SKOVHUS

baritone/Ramiro

Bo Skovhus studied at the Aarhus Music Institute, the Royal Opera Academy in Copenhagen and in New York. Important engagements in his career were Reimann’s Lear at the Paris Opera and at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Beckmesser in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Paris Opera and at the Wagner Festival in Budapest, Titus in Bérénice by Michael Jarrell at the Paris Opera conducted by Philippe Jordan as well as Mandryka in Arabella in Dresden and at the Vienna State Opera. He also sang the title role in Wozzeck at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein and Dr. Schön in Lulu at the Vienna State Opera, followed by Šiškov in From the House of the Dead at the Bavarian State Opera, JeanCharles in The Raft of the Medusa (Werner Henze) in Amsterdam, the title roles in Karl V. (Ernst Krenek) at the Bavarian State Opera, and Eugene Onegin at the Hamburg State Opera.

He appeared as Ryuji in Henze’s Das Verratene Meer at the Vienna State Opera, as Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus) at the Hamburg State Opera, as Jaroslav Prus (Věc Makropulos) at the Berlin State Opera, as title role in Wozzeck (concert performances)

in Boston, at Carnegie Hall and at the Verbier Festival, as Vater (Bluthaus) at the Cuvilliés-Theater in Munich, as Plato Kusmitsch Kovalev (Die Nase) at the Semperoper Dresden and as Dr. Schön (Lulu) at the Theater an der Wien and in Bruxelles.

In addition to opera performances, Bo Skovhus devotes himself to recital and concert singing with great personal commitment.

The artist was awarded the titles “Österreichischer Kammersänger” and “Bayerischer Kammersänger”.

badix.ch/main/bari-b/bo_skovhus/

© ROLAND UNGER

KANGYOON SHINE LEE tenor/Gonzalve

The tenor Kangyoon Shine Lee was born in Seoul, Korea and studied singing in Seoul and Berlin. He is a winner of several singing competitions and has received numerous scholarships. During his studies, he performed the roles of Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Ernesto (Don Pasquale), and Nemorino (L'elisir d'amore).

His projects in recent seasons included the roles of Don Luigino and Zefirino in Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims at Semperoper Dresden, Verdi’s La Traviata and Shostakovich’s The Nose at Komische Oper Berlin, Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle at the Berlin

Cathedral, Neocles in Rossini’s Le siège de Corinthe at Theater Erfurt, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni at Staatstheater Darmstadt, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte at the Immling Festival, and the Opera Gala of Young Stars at the Carinthian Summer Festival in Villach.

In addition, Lee was selected by Daniel Barenboim as a soloist for a concert performance of Rossini’s La scala di seta in Prenzlau, and was awarded for his interpretation of the role of Dorvil by the magazine Das Orchester.

In 2021, Kangyoon Shine Lee won the Belvedere Competition, earning him a contract with Deutsche Oper Berlin. He made his house debut there as Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia in December 2022 and was subsequently re-invited for Korngold’s Das Wunder der Heliane and Il barbiere di Siviglia in the same season.

Projects in the 23/24 season include his return to Deutsche Oper Berlin for the revivals of Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims and Benedikt von Peter’s staged production of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, as well as Lera Auerbach’s 6th Symphony at the Dresden Philharmonie.

© KANGSHINE ENTERTAINMENT

ANTHONY ROBIN SCHNEIDER

bass/Don Iñigo Gomez

Bass Anthony Robin Schneider begins the 23/24 season with his debut at Dutch National Opera for a new Christof Loy production of Lohengrin (Heinrich) conducted by Lorenzo Viotti. Other highlights of the season include his debut at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden for a new production of Elektra (Pfleger des Orest) and a return to Tirol Festspiel Erl for Das Rheingold (Fafner), Die Walküre (Hunding), and Siegfried (Fafner). On the concert stage, he will debut with the Singapore Symphony in L'Heure espagnole (Don Iñigo Gomez) and Staatsorchester Braunschweig for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

Last season, he returned to Oper Frankfurt for the new Barrie Kosky production of Hercules (title role), a new production of Die Zauberflöte (Zweiter geharnischter Mann), the revival of Der ferne Klang (Der Wirt), and Tirol Festspiel Erl for a new production of Siegfried (Fafner). On the concert stage, he returned to The Cleveland Orchestra for the Mozart Requiem conducted by Franz Welser-Möst.

Recent engagements included a return to Houston Grand Opera for Die Zauberflöte (Sarastro) and Tirol Festspiel Erl for Die

Walküre (Hunding). Other performances at Oper Frankfurt include Iolanta (Ibn-Hakia), Salome (Erster Soldat), Christmas Eve (Panas), Fedora (Cirillo), Lohengrin (Heinrich der Vogler), Le nozze di Figaro (Dr. Bartolo), Le vin herbé (Le Duc Hoël), Siegfried (Fafner), Don Carlo (Grand Inquisitor), Rigoletto (Sparafucile), Don Giovanni (Commendatore), and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (Administrator/Sergeant).

Additional engagements included a return to the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 conducted by Edo de Waart.

A trilingual speaker (German, French and English), Anthony is a citizen of Austria and New Zealand.

JONATHAN CHARLES TAY tenor/Torquemada

Singaporean tenor Jonathan Charles Tay is one of the leading opera singers to emerge from his home country in this generation. He is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, New York City, and attained his Master of Music in Northwestern University, Chicago, IL. Jonathan is also co-founder and co-artistic director of Singaporean Opera Company, The Opera People (TOP).

Tay’s more recent performance highlights include Eisenstein in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus and Don José in Bizet’s Carmen with Singapore Lyric Opera and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasie with Singapore Symphony

Orchestra. With TOP, Jonathan performed Der Zwerg in The Dwarf by Alexander Zemlinksy and Jaquino in Beethoven’s Fidelio, Mozart’s masterpiece Idomeneo in Singapore’s first ever opera film and Oronte in Handel’s Alcina. This season he also sings Elvino in their brand new production of La Sonnambula. Other recent appearances include Rodolfo in La Bohème with Musician’s Initiative and Bertrando in Rossini’s L'inganno felice with Lirica Arts. Jonathan’s recent concert highlights include Before Life and After with Singapore International Festival of Arts, as well as Britten’s Serenade for Tenor and Horn with Orchestra of the Music Makers.

Other credits include performances with Singapore Chinese Orchestra, L’arietta Productions, Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra, NUS Symphony Orchestra, Richard Wagner Association (SG), The Arts Place, New Opera Singapore and Opera Viva. Jonathan’s performances have garnered praise from OPERA magazine as “excellent and very lyrical”.

BOON HUA LIEN

Assistant to Hans Graf

Boon Hua Lien is the Artistic Director of Wayfarer Sinfonietta and newly appointed Guest Conductor of the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra. Previously, he has served as Assistant Conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice and Assistant Conductor to the Richard Strauss Festival 2018 in GarmischPartenkirchen. A prizewinner at several international conducting competitions, he was selected for the 2019/20 Peter Eötvös Foundation Mentoring Program, where he received mentorship from renowned conductors and composers to further hone his craft.

Lien’s recent seasons have been marked by exceptional performances and debuts, including Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Pannon Philharmonic, Bangkok Metropolitan Orchestra, and leading the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in a celebratory concert for Esplanade’s 20th anniversary. His engagements extend to notable orchestras and festivals, including the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, Polish Baltic Philharmonic, Kraków Philharmonic, Singapore International Festival of Arts, Thailand International Composition Festival, IntAct Festival, Gdańsk

Music Festival, and International Mozartiana Festival. A rising opera conductor, he has led productions with Singapore Lyric Opera, Kuala Lumpur City Opera, The Opera People and Lirica Arts.

Lien holds conducting and performance degrees from Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music and Eastman School of Music, where he was awarded the Walter Hagen Conducting Prize. Currently based in Singapore, he is on the conducting faculty at his alma mater, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, and leads its contemporary music ensemble, OpusNovus, where he continues to share his passion for music with the next generation of musicians.

© HROTKO BALINT

GABRIEL CHAN

Lighting Designer

Recipient of the Singapore National Arts Council Overseas Bursary, Gabriel graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with First Class Honours in Lighting Design. He was also awarded the Strand Lighting Scholarship, funding his training at the Metropolitan Opera, New York (’09 Winter Opera Season). He was conferred the Young Artist Award in 2019 for his artistic excellence and contribution to Singapore’s performing arts scene. A chameleon of a designer, Gabriel is well versed in lighting for the theatre, dance, music concerts, sporting and live national broadcast events.

Music lighting design credits include Pipa Virtuoso, Wu Man, in Borderlands (SIFA 2016), Eight, Stories from an Island City, Mind the Music, Heirlooms and Forefathers (The Teng Ensemble), SCO 25th Anniversary Virtuoso Series I, II, III (Singapore Chinese Orchestra), The Origins Cipher, Nine Songs, Soul Journey Ten Years, (Siong Leng Musical Association), the South East Asian Tour of Sound of Wisdom – Heal and Sound of Peace (IMMPAC) and prolific Taiwanese

singer A-Lin’s A Link with Passengers World Tour in Singapore.

Signature theatre designs include Angel Island (SIFA 2023), The Almighty Sometimes, Constellations, Shakespeare in the Park: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2023), Julius Caesar, Romeo & Juliet, The Tempest, The LKY Musical (Singapore Repertory Theatre), A Dream Under the Southern Bough: Existence (SIFA 2021), Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, Sometime Moon, The Crab Flower Club 2022 (Toy Factory Productions), Every Brilliant Thing (The Fingers Players) and First Fleet (Nine Years Theatre).

Gabriel also goes by the moniker Linesmith (www.linesmith.net) authorised directly by Vectorworks Headquarters based in Washington for conducting training of the Vectorworks software, the leading drafting solution for Entertainment and Performing Arts technical design.

SHANE THIO Répétiteur

Shane Thio, a celebrated Singaporean pianist and Royal Academy of Music alum, has won numerous awards including the Tankard Lieder Competition’s Accompanist Award. A recipient of the 1992 National Arts Young Artist Award, he advanced his studies at the Royal College of Music.

Collaborating with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, he is also the artistic director and founder of The Sing Song Club. His illustrious career spans performances with various orchestras and choirs, specialising in accompanying international violinists and contemporary music.

The Orchestra

HANS GRAF Music Director

RODOLFO BARRÁEZ Associate Conductor

CHOO HOEY Conductor Emeritus

LAN SHUI Conductor Laureate

EUDENICE PALARUAN Choral Director

WONG LAI FOON Choirmaster

ELLISSA SAYAMPANATHAN Assistant Choral Conductor

FIRST VIOLIN

(Position vacant) Concertmaster, GK Goh Chair

Kong Zhao Hui1 Associate Concertmaster

Chan Yoong-Han2 Fixed Chair

Cao Can*

Chen Da Wei

Duan Yu Ling

Foo Say Ming

Jin Li

Kong Xianlong

Cindy Lee

Karen Tan

William Tan

Wei Zhe

Ye Lin*

Zhang Si Jing

SECOND VIOLIN

Michael Loh Associate Principal

Nikolai Koval*

Sayuri Kuru

Hai-Won Kwok

Margit Saur

Shao Tao Tao

Tseng Chieh-An

Wu Man Yun*

Xu Jueyi*

Yeo Teow Meng

Yin Shu Zhan*

Zhao Tian

VIOLA

Manchin Zhang Principal, Tan Jiew Cheng Chair

Guan Qi Associate Principal

Gu Bing Jie* Fixed Chair

Marietta Ku

Luo Biao

Julia Park

Shui Bing

Janice Tsai

Dandan Wang

Yang Shi Li

CELLO

Ng Pei-Sian Principal, The HEAD Foundation Chair

Yu Jing Associate Principal

Guo Hao Fixed Chair

Chan Wei Shing

Christopher Mui

Jamshid Saydikarimov

Song Woon Teng

Wang Yan

Wu Dai Dai

Zhao Yu Er

DOUBLE BASS

Yang Zheng Yi Associate Principal

Karen Yeo Fixed Chair

Olga Alexandrova

Jacek Mirucki

Guennadi Mouzyka

Wang Xu

FLUTE

Jin Ta Principal, Stephen Riady Chair

Evgueni Brokmiller Associate Principal

Roberto Alvarez

Miao Shanshan

PICCOLO

Roberto Alvarez Assistant Principal

OBOE

Rachel Walker Principal

Pan Yun Associate Principal

Carolyn Hollier

Elaine Yeo

COR ANGLAIS

Elaine Yeo Associate Principal

CLARINET

Ma Yue Principal

Li Xin Associate Principal

Liu Yoko

Tang Xiao Ping

BASS CLARINET

Tang Xiao Ping Assistant Principal

BASSOON

Marcelo Padilla^ Principal

Liu Chang Associate Principal

Christoph Wichert

Zhao Ying Xue

CONTRABASSOON

Zhao Ying Xue Assistant Principal

HORN

Austin Larson Principal

Gao Jian Associate Principal

Jamie Hersch Associate Principal

Marc-Antoine Robillard Associate Principal

Bryan Chong^

Hoang Van Hoc

TRUMPET

Jon Paul Dante Principal

David Smith Associate Principal

Lau Wen Rong

Nuttakamon Supattranont

TROMBONE

Allen Meek Principal

Damian Patti Associate Principal

Samuel Armstrong

BASS TROMBONE

Wang Wei Assistant Principal

TUBA

Tomoki Natsume Principal

TIMPANI

Christian Schiøler Principal

Mario Choo

PERCUSSION

Jonathan Fox Principal

Mark Suter Associate Principal

Mario Choo

Lim Meng Keh HARP

Gulnara Mashurova Principal

With deep appreciation to the Rin Collection for their generous loan of string instruments. Musician on temporary contract

Kong Zhao Hui performs on a J.B. Guadagnini of Milan, c. 1750, donated by the National Arts Council, Singapore, with the support of Far East Organization and Lee Foundation.

Chan Yoong-Han performs on a David Tecchler, Fecit Roma An. D. 1700, courtesy of Mr G K Goh.

Musicians listed alphabetically by family name rotate their seats on a per programme basis.

Guest Musicians

FIRST VIOLIN

Markus Gundermann Guest Concertmaster

SECOND VIOLIN

Ikuko Takahashi

DOUBLE BASS

Hans Olov Davidsson Guest Principal

FLUTE

Wang Tong

BASS00N

Guo Siping Guest Principal

PERCUSSION

Lee Yu Ru

Michael Tan

HARP

Charmaine Teo

CELESTA

Nicholas Loh

SOPRANO SAXOPHONE

Samuel Phua

TENOR SAXOPHONE

Jeffrey Gao

The Poetry of Song

25 May 2024

Sat, 7.30pm | Vic tor ia Concer t Hall

Singapor e Sy mphony Childr en's Choir

Wong L ai Foon Choir mas ter

Ellissa Sayampanathan Assistant Choral Conductor

Highlights:

Ernani Aguiar Salmo 150

Edvard Grieg Ave Maris Stella (arr. Julio Domínguez)

György Orbán Gloria from Mass No. 6

Kelly Tang The Wind

Sergei Rachmaninoff Spring Waters (arr. Elena Sharkova)

Tickets from $20

There’s a saying that French people write the best Spanish music – one only has to think of Bizet’s opera Carmen (1875), Chabrier’s charming orchestral work España (1883), Lalo’s violin concerto Symphonie espagnole (1874) or the Spanish dances from Massenet’s opera Le Cid to know that there’s more than a grain of truth in that statement. The works on this evening’s programme follow in that same vein, and were all composed by the French composer Maurice Ravel, who was born in the Basque town of Ciboure a few miles from the Spanish border. Spanish composer Manuel de Falla praised the authenticity of Spanishness in Ravel’s music:

“It surprises one by its (genuinely) Spanish character. In absolute agreement with my own intentions... [Ravel’s] hispanization is not achieved merely by drawing upon popular or folk sources but rather through the free use of the modal rhythms and melodies and ornamental figures of our popular music, none of which has altered in any way the natural style of the composer. ”

- Manuel de Falla

Sketches of the cast for the 1911 premiere of L'Heure espagnole by Paul-Charles Delaroche

Ravel’s Swiss father inspired in his son a love for things precise and mechanical. He would let Ravel tinker with his inventions and also take his young sons on tours of factories, where they admired the machinery: this carried over into Ravel’s impeccable music. These two childhood influences would come together in Ravel’s first full-scale operatic work, a one-act comic opera L’Heure espagnole (“The Spanish Hour”) of 1907–1908, from Franc-Nohain’s play of the same name.

Set in Torquemada’s clock shop in Toledo, the shrewd protagonist is Concepción, his wife, who is stuck in a loveless marriage to her dutifully preoccupied craftsman of a husband. On one typical day, he goes out to repair the town clocks, and she takes the chance to rendezvous with the self-absorbed poet Gonzalve. And then things go wrong, as unexpected visitors to the shop get in her way. The first is the unsuspecting Ramiro, the buff muleteer who waits in the shop for Torquemada to return to repair his watch. The other is the arrogant banker Don Iñigo, who hopes to conquer Concepción for himself.

What follows is a comedy of ups and downs, misplacements and misdirections, as Concepción tries to find a way to be alone in secret with Gonzalve (who is more interested in spouting poetry), while Don Iñigo attempts to do the same with Concepción – all involving hiding in grandfather clocks moved from shop to bedroom (and back) by the strong-armed but oblivious muleteer. By this time, the exasperated Concepción has noticed and become impressed with the manly strength of Ramiro…

19 May 1911, Paris L’Heure

With comic timing, Torquemada returns to find two “customers”, Iñigo and Gonzalve, each stuck inside a clock. Overwhelmed by their deep ‘interest’ in the clocks, he persuades them to purchase them. When Ramiro and Concepcion return after their own little private moment, all five join in the finale to celebrate the whimsical ‘moral’ of the story: in the spirit of Boccaccio, “In the pursuit of love, there comes a moment when the muleteer gets his turn.”

The music of L’Heure espagnole is infused with the dances of Spain: the habanera, the malagueña, and the jota, and begins with the ticking of multiple clocks in a shop – metronomes. Ravel uses instruments of the orchestra for special effects in the score, but underneath the farcical moments lies beautiful and expressive music that effortlessly gives us the impression of spoken language. It is a most brilliant opera buffa at the level of Verdi’s Falstaff or Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi.

Instrumentation

2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, 3 cloche, glockenspiel, xylophone, whip, snare drum, cymbals, spring, sleigh bells, ratchet, tambourine, triangle, bass drum, tam-tam, castanets, 2 harps, celesta, strings

World Premiere

Libretto will be projected in surtitles on stage.

While Ravel took two years to finish his first opera (L’Heure espagnole, which he started in 1907), he took only 30 days to complete his first published piece written for symphony orchestra in the same year, the four-movement Rapsodie espagnole, offering us sketches of the sights, sounds, colours and sensations of the land.

Prélude à la nuit was described by Ravel himself as “voluptuously drowsy and ecstatic”, and evokes the languour of a lazy, warm Andalucian evening. This orchestral prelude opens with an ostinato, comprising a repeated 4-note descending motif played delicately by the violas and violins, while other instruments play various small motifs, like passing clouds or sights. This leads to two very remarkable “cadenzas” for bassoons and clarinets.

The plucking of the basses start off the Malagueña, a rhythmically sharp fandango originating from the Andalusian province. The main theme is a triple-meter folk dance that builds to an explosive climax; the dance is suddenly suspended for a plaintive, exotic arabesque by the English Horn (listen again for the 4-note motif!) before it evaporates with a small flourish.

Adapted from a piece for two pianos written in 1895, Ravel inscribed the line Au pays parfumé que le soleil caresse (“In the fragrant land that the sun caresses”) on the manuscripts of the sultry Habanera. Over a sustained bass pedal point and peppered with minor-second dissonances in the accompaniment and triplet-spiced themes, Ravel noted that this Habanera “contained the germ of several elements that were to predominate in my later works”, one of

which is the Vocalise en forme de habanera also featured in this concert.

The Rapsodie concludes with all the sparkle and revelry of a Feria (“festival”), complete with castanets. Ravel biographer Rollo H. Myers best sums it up:

“A luminous, scintillating tableau of Iberian exuberance, and one of the most forthright and uninhibited pages in the whole of Ravel’s oeuvre, the Feria brings the Rapsodie to an end in a blaze of color and sound as brilliant as anything to be found in the whole repertory of twentieth-century orchestra.”

Instrumentation

2 flutes, 2 piccolos, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, snare drum, triangle, tambourine, tam-tam, xylophone, castanets, 2 harps, celesta, strings

World Premiere

15 Mar 1908, Paris

First performed by SSO

21 Oct 1995

Chanson espagnole (1910) (orch. Hans Graf, SSO Premiere)

In 1909, Ravel came across a folksong harmonisation competition sponsored by the Maison du Lied of Moscow. For the competition, the melodies of the folksongs were provided, and Ravel tried his hand at writing accompaniments to seven of the tunes. The Chanson espagnole is one of the four prize-winning works that Ravel wrote. After the competition in 1910, he then took these four and published them as a set of Chants Populaires

The original song is in the Galician language that stems from a region in the northwest of Spain, and is similar to Portuguese. Ravel keeps the piano part in the lower ranges, with arpeggiated chords to mimic the strumming of a Spanish guitar. The same effect is intended in Hans Graf’s own orchestration played tonight, using violas, cellos, basses (all pizzicato) and harp.

Adios, meu homiño, adios, Ja qui te marchas pr'a guerra: Non t'olvides d'aprendina

Quiche qued' a can'a terra.

La la la la ...

Castellanos de Castilla, Tratade ben os gallegos. Cando van, van como rosas, Cando ven, ven como negros.

La la la la ...

Farewell, my husband, farewell, Now that you are marching off to war: Don't forget to keep in touch

With those who are holding down the fort at home. La la la la...

Castillans of Castille, Treat the Galicians well. When they go, they go fresh like roses, When they come back, they come back scarred and black. La la la la... Instrumentation soprano, harp, strings

World Premiere 1910

Vocalise en forme de habanera (1907) (orch. Hoérée, 1930) SSO Premiere

A smaller-scale work that came out of the Spanish-inspired 1907 was Vocalise en forme de habanera, written as a vocaliseétude for voice and piano. The vocal part combines long, sustained melodies with colourful embellishments, trills and flourishes accompanied by the piano in the style of a lazy, laid-back habanera. The version heard in this concert was orchestrated by the Belgian composer and musicologist Arthur Hoérée in 1930.

Instrumentation mezzo-soprano, 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, trumpet, triangle, gong, tambourine, harp, strings

World Premiere

22 Feb 1919, Paris

Don Quichotte à Dulcinée (1933) SSO Premiere

Chanson romanesque

Chanson épique

Chanson à boire

In June 1932, Ravel received a commission by Austrian film director G.W. Pabst for a film about Don Quixote, the Spanish knight and his adventures starring the eminent Russian bass, Fyodor Chaliapin. The contract had requested for a serenade, a heroic song, and a comic song; as well as one additional piece, but with his ailing health, Ravel did not manage to complete the works in time and the job fell to Jacques Ibert instead.

Ravel was able to complete three of the four songs, portraying Don Quixote as a lover, holy warrior, and drunkard. This was the last music he was able to write down before his death in 1937. In Chanson romanesque, set in the form of a Spanish guajira (a Spanish dance with alternating bars of 6/8 and 3/4), Don Quixote proclaims his love and dedication to his princess Dulcinea.

The Chanson épique is written in the style of the Basque zortzico in 5/4 time, with the modal, chordal accompaniment as if a church organ supporting Don Quixote as he sings a prayer to St Michael for blessings and protection. In the final Chanson à boire, Don Quixote defends the happiness that drinking is bringing into his life. Here Ravel uses the cross-rhythms of the jota and manages to make the music sound like it is staggering back and forth, like a slightly pompous, drunken knight.

Instrumentation baritone, 2 flutes, 2 oboes (1 doubling on cor anglais), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, trumpet, vibraphone, castanets, harp, strings

World Premiere

1 Dec 1934, Paris

Chanson romanesque

Si vous me disiez que la terre

À tant tourner vous offensa, Je lui dépêcherais Pança: Vous la verriez fixe et se taire.

Si vous me disiez que l'ennui

Vous vient du ciel trop fleuri d'astres, Déchirant les divins cadastres, Je faucherais d'un coup la nuit.

Si vous me disiez que l'espace

Ainsi vidé ne vous plaît point, Chevalier dieu, la lance au poing. J'étoilerais le vent qui passe.

Mais si vous disiez que mon sang

Est plus à moi qu'à vous, ma Dame, Je blêmirais dessous le blâme

Et je mourrais, vous bénissant.

Ô Dulcinée.

Chanson épique

Bon Saint Michel qui me donnez loisir

De voir ma Dame et de l'entendre, Bon Saint Michel qui me daignez choisir Pour lui complaire et la défendre,

Bon Saint Michel veuillez descendre

Avec Saint Georges sur l'autel De la Madone au bleu mantel.

D'un rayon du ciel bénissez ma lame

Et son égale en pureté

Et son égale en piété

Comme en pudeur et chasteté: Ma Dame.

(Ô grands Saint Georges et Saint Michel)

L'ange qui veille sur ma veille,

Ma douce Dame si pareille

À Vous, Madone au bleu mantel!

Amen.

Romantic Song

Were you to tell that the earth

Offended you with so much turning, I'd send Panza to deal with it: You'd see it still and silenced.

Were you to tell me that you are bored

By a sky too studded with starsTearing the divine order apart, I'd scythe the night with a single blow.

Were you to tell me that space itself, Thus emptied, was not to your tasteAs a god-like knight, with lance in hand, I'd sow the fleeting wind with stars.

But were you to tell me that my blood

Is more mine, my Lady, than your own, I'd pale at the admonishment

And, blessing you, would die.

O Dulcinea.

Epic Song

Good Saint Michael who gives me leave

To behold and hear my Lady,

Good Saint Michael who deigns to elect me

To please her and defend her,

Good Saint Michael, descend, I pray, With Saint George onto the altar

Of the Madonna robed in blue.

With a heavenly beam bless my blade

And its equal in purity

And its equal in piety

As in modesty and chastity: My Lady.

(O great Saint George and great Saint Michael)

Bless the angel watching over my vigil, My sweet Lady, so like unto Thee, O Madonna robed in blue!

Amen.

Chanson à boire

Foin du bâtard, illustre Dame, Qui pour me perdre à vos doux yeux

Dit que l'amour et le vin vieux

Mettent en deuil mon cœur, mon âme!

Je bois

À la joie!

La joie est le seul but Où je vais droit ... lorsque j'ai bu!

Foin du jaloux, brune maîtresse, Qui geint, qui pleure et fait serment

D'être toujours ce pâle amant

Qui met de l'eau dans son ivresse!

Je bois

À la joie!

La joie est le seul but Où je vais droit ...Lorsque j'ai bu!

Drinking Song

A curse on the bastard, illustrious Lady, Who to discredit me in your sweet eyes,

Says that love and old wine

Are saddening my heart and soul!

I drink

To joy!

Joy is the only goal

To which I go straight... when I'm... drunk!

A curse on the jealous wretch, O dusky mistress, Who whines and weeps and vows

Always to be this lily-livered lover

Who dilutes his drunkenness!

I drink

To joy!

Joy is the only goal

To which I go straight... when I'm... drunk!

While holidaying in Saint-Jean-de-Luz in 1928, Ravel was about to go for a swim when he called a friend over to the piano and, playing the melody with one finger, asked: “Don’t you think that has an insistent quality? I’m going to try to repeat it a number of times without any development, gradually increasing the orchestra as best I can.”

Ravel had long toyed with the idea of building a work from a single theme, growing it simply through harmonic and instrumental ingenuity. Combining this idea with his lifelong fascination with Spanish rhythms, the result of this experiment was Boléro, written for a large orchestra based on the slow Spanish dance in triple meter.

The music opens with a single, solo snare drum tapping out the rhythm (that he will have to play for the entire 15-minute duration), accompanied by the pizzicato from the lower strings. The flute introduces the main tune. Unwinding like a charmed snake, the melody is laid out in two sections, and passes on to other solo instruments first, and then larger sections as the music grows. Through all its repetitions, while the melody remains the same, the instrumental colours, textures and intensity changes, until it bursts forth triumphantly in E major for eight bars, before swerving into C major for an exhilarating crash-down of a conclusion.

Perhaps the most remarkable and radical thing is how the music seems to grow despite the complete absence of thematic development, something unheard of in Western classical music up till that point.

Boléro was commissioned by the dancer, Ida Rubinstein. It was given its first performance at the Paris Opéra on November 20, 1928. While the audience clapped, cheered and stamped their feet in approval, a woman was heard screaming: “Au fou, au fou!” (“The madman! The madman!”). When Ravel was told of this, he reportedly replied: “That lady… she understood.”

Ravel said to Arthur Honegger: “I’ve written only one masterpiece – Boléro Unfortunately, there’s no music in it.”

Programme notes by Natalie Ng

Instrumentation

2 flutes (1 doubling 2nd piccolo), 1st piccolo, 2 oboes (1 doubling oboe d’amour), cor anglais, 2 clarinets (1 doubling E-flat clarinet), bass clarinet, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, piccolo trumpet, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, snare drums, tam-tam, 2 harps, celesta, strings

World Premiere

20 Nov 1928, Paris

First performed by SSO

11 Jan 1985

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SMETANA AND DVOŘÁK

17 May 2024, 7.30pm

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19 May 2024, 7.30pm

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THE CROW AND THE DOVE

15 Jun 2024, 5pm

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The vision of the Singapore Symphony Group is to be a leading arts organisation that engages, inspires and reflects Singapore through musical excellence. Our mission is to create memorable shared experiences with music. Through the SSO and its affiliated performing groups, we spread the love for music, nurture talent and enrich our diverse communities. The Singapore Symphony Orchestra is a charity and not-for-profit organisation. You can support us by donating at www.sso.org.sg/donate

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