Oberlin Wind Ensemble
Warner Concert Hall
October 1, 2009, 8:00 pm
Concert No. 15
Timothy Weiss, conductor
Deux Fanfares du Martyre de Saint-Sébastien
Claude Debussy
(1862–1918)
Valerie Sly, Brandon Henley, Kathryn Hatch, Ellen Hurley,
William Eisenberg, Matthew McLaughlin, horn
Raymond Bazz, Melanie Mazanec, Oscar Thorp, Patrick Rogan, trumpet
Berk Schneider, Katherine Robertstad, William Holt, trombone
John Geisler, tuba Christian Smith, timpani
Sextuor Mystique
Heitor Villa-Lobos
(1887–1959)
Julianne Bruce, flute David Barford, oboe Raymond Kelly, saxophone
Kevin Dee, guitar Derek Zinky, piano Xiao Du, harp
Octet for Wind Instruments
Sinfonia
Tema con Variazioni
Finale
Igor Stravinsky
(1882–1971)
Jonathan Figueroa, flute Eric Anderson, clarinet
Drew Pattison, Julia Bair, bassoon
Raymond Bazz, Melanie Mazanec, trumpet
Jacqueline O’Kelly, William Holt, trombone
Intermission
Folgore’s Months
I.
February
II. August
III. May
IV. December
David Liptak
(b. 1949)
Annie Gordon, Gina Gulyas, Laura Smith, flute
David Barford, Eliana Schenk, oboe Jessica Woolf, english horn
Eric Anderson, Robert Palacios, Dustin Chung, clarinet
Jane Sandberg, bass clarinet Josh Wang, Liz Bennett, bassoon
Sean Gordon, contra bassoon Katie Gluck, David Doberne, saxophone
Brandon Henley, Kathryn Hatch, Valerie Sly, Ellen Hurley, horn
Oscar Thorp, Melanie Mazanec, trumpet
Jacqueline O’Kelly, Katherine Robertstad, trombone John Geisler, tuba
Christian Smith, timpani Matthew Moench, Zach Mathes, Sean Dowgray, percussion
Janie Cowan, bass
Konzertmusik für Blasorchester, Op. 41
Paul Hindemith
I.
Konzertante Ouvertüre
(1895–1963)
II. Sechs Variationen über das Lied “Prinz Eugen, der edle Ritter”
III. Marsch
Helen Park, flute Eliana Schenk, oboe Dustin Chung, eb clarinet
Eric Anderson, Jane Sandberg, Robert Palacios, clarinet
Raymond Kelly, David Doberne, saxophone
Valerie Sly, Kathryn Hatch, Brandon Henley, Ellen Hurley, horn
Donnie McEwan, Raymond Bazz, Patrick Rogan, Oscar Thorp, trumpet
Berk Schneider, Jacqueline O’Kelly, William Holt, trombone
Matthew Richardson, euphonium John Geisler, Jonathan Seiberlich, tuba
Matthew Moench, Zach Mathes, Sean Dowgray, percussion
Michael Roest, ensemble librarian & manager
Donnie McEwan, ensemble manager
Please silence all cell phones and refrain from the use of video cameras
unless prior arrangements have been made with the conductor.
The use of flash cameras is prohibited. Thank you.
Program Notes
Fanfares from Le Martyre de Saint-Sébastien (1911)
by Claude Debussy (Saint-Germain-en-Laye, nr. Paris, 1862 - Paris, 1918)
One of Debussy’s most curious works is his incidental music to the highly eroticized
Christian mystery play, Le Martyre de Saint-Sébastien, written in French by the Italian
symbolist playwright Gabriele D’Annunzio. In this play, the martyr St. Sebastian,
known from many famous Renaissance paintings from having his body shot through
with arrows, becomes identified at once with Adonis, the Greek embodiment of male
beauty, and with Christ, the Christian embodiment of suffering followed by glory.
Originally conceived as a spectacle starring Ida Rubinstein in the role of Sebastian,
combining dance, mime and recitation, Le Martyre is rarely staged today. Its music, an
exquisite score from Debussy’s mature period, is now heard with increasing frequency
in the concert hall, after many years of neglect.
The Fanfares that open tonight’s concert open the third of the play’s five acts, ‟Le
Concile des faux dieux” (‟The Council of the false gods”), in which the Roman
Emperor Diocletian tries to tempt Sebastian with riches--in vain, of course. The
solemn introduction, for brass and timpani alone, sets the stage in a somber and solemn
manner.
Sextuor mystique (1917)
by Heitor Villa-Lobos (Rio de Janeiro, 1887 - Rio de Janeiro, 1959)
In his short book on Villa-Lobos (Oxford Studies of Composers), Simon Wright claims
that it was in the present sextet that the composer ‟first attempted to emulate the
characteristic timbres of the choros.” The choros, of course, is a popular genre of urban
music in Brazil with which Villa-Lobos was involved as a performer from his early
youth. A choros band typically included flute, clarinet, saxophone and guitar, besides
other instruments, and their music was characterized by Wright as ‟rhapsodic,
improvisational, sometimes dissonant, and at others lyrical and sentimental.” VillaLobos later went on to compose no fewer than 14 works explicitly titled Choros, but
the style influenced many more of his works as well.
In the present composition, the typical choros instruments are joined by harp and
celesta to add a touch of French impressionism. (In 1917, Darius Milhaud was living
in Rio as a personal secretary to the famous poet Paul Claudel then serving as French
Ambassador; Villa-Lobos made friends with Milhaud, who introduced him to new
French music.)
Traditional Brazilian street music and European-influenced modernism merge
seamlessly in Villa-Lobos’s sextet. The sinuous lines of the wind instruments, based
on Brazilian motives, lend themselves well to innovative harmonies and polymeters.
The improvisational quality of the choros freed Villa-Lobos from the constraints of
conventional A-B-A-type forms; in fact, no such forms are discernible in the piece,
which is in essence a totally unpredictable sequence of contrasting episodes, fascinating
in their textural variety and melodic richness. Particularly noteworthy is the long
lyrical duet for oboe and harp, almost a separate piece within the piece -- followed by a
quick dance for the entire ensemble, providing an effective conclusion.
Octet for wind instruments (1923)
by Igor Stravinsky (Oranienbaum, nr. St. Petersburg, 1882 – New York, 1971)
My Octet is a musical object….It began with a dream, in which I saw myself
in a small room surrounded by a small group of instrumentalists….playing
bassoons, trombones, trumpets, a flute, and a clarinet.
What are we to make of this curious “dream object” that stands at the beginning of
Stravinsky’s so-called “neo-Classical” period, a work that has been the subject of some
serious debates about musical aesthetics yet is, in essence, quite funny? Stravinsky
used this piece for his debuts both as a conductor (his baton technique was still not
secure enough to take on a full orchestra) and as a writer: in a famous essay that begins
with the statement quoted above, he put forward his ideas about “objective music” and
the need for the performer to be a mere “executant” and not to seek to “interpret” the
music. The Octet also marks the first time Stravinsky returned to such classical
devices as sonata, variation, and rondo form—but without such Romantic accretions as
contrasting characters or dramatic climaxes. The objectivity is emphasized in the pithy
melodic lines and the somewhat disjointed instrumental writing. It is as though
Stravinsky had asked the players to play and the listeners to listen with a poker face,
betraying no emotions of any kind; yet it seems that he then proceeded to tweak their
noses with some unexpected turn of phrase.
Stravinsky conducted the first performance of his Octet on October 18, 1923, at
the Paris Opéra. The work is in three movements: an opening “Sinfonia” with a short
introduction, “Tema con variazioni,” and “Finale.” In all three, Stravinsky made ample
use of contrapuntal procedures, asymmetrical rhythms, and Baroque and Classical
allusions. But he also included—and this is where the nose tweaking occurs—echoes
of popular music of the time, from ragtime to cabaret song. The whole piece is a
unique mixture of styles, both high- and low-brow, and the fun lies, to a great extent, in
the fact that these allusions are not supposed to be “played up” by the “executants.”
Take the “theme” of the second movement, for example. It is a lyrical singing melody,
first introduced by the flute and the clarinet. But the offbeat staccato notes of the
accompaniment immediately place the melody between quotation marks, as it were.
The ambivalence between lyricism and devices counteracting it provides the movement
with its main momentum.
Aaron Copland, who was present at the Paris premiere of Stravinsky’s Octet,
wrote about the work in his 1941 book Our New Music:
The present writer…can attest to the general feeling of mystification that
followed the initial hearing. Here was Stravinsky, having created a neoprimitive
style all his own, based on native Russian sources—a style that everyone agreed
was the most original in modern music—now suddenly, without any seeming
explanation, making an about-face and presenting a piece to the public that bore
no conceivable resemblance to the individual style with which he had hitherto
been identified. Everyone was asking why Stravinsky should have exchanged
his Russian heritage for what looked very much like a mess of eighteenthcentury mannerisms. The whole thing seemed like a bad joke that left an
unpleasant aftereffect and gained Stravinsky the unanimous disapproval of the
press. No one could possibly have foreseen, first, that Stravinsky was to persist
in this new manner of his or, second, that the Octet was destined to influence
composers all over the world in bringing the latent objectivity of modern music
to full consciousness by frankly adopting the ideals, forms, and textures of the
pre-Romantic era.
~Peter Laki
Folgore’s Months (2008)
by David Liptak (b. 1949)
The four song settings of Folgore’s Months use as text a collection of 14th-century
Italian sonnets in English translation. The author is Folgore da San Gimignano, and the
sonnets were written for monthly gatherings of the famous “brigata spendericcia, or
Spendthrift’s Club, which flourished in the faded tan Tuscan city (San Gimignano)
either between 1260 and 1275, or circa 1280.” There are 12 sonnets, one for each
month, and both an introductory and concluding sonnet. Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s 1861
translation includes the following note about the introductory sonnet, Addressed to a
Fellowship of Sienese Nobles:
This fellowship or club (Brigata), so highly approved and encouraged by our
Folgore, is the same to which, and to some of its members by name, scornful allusion is
made by Dante (Inferno, chapter 29, line 30), where he speaks of the hare-brained
character of the Sienese. …(concerning the Brigata:) A dozen extravagant youths of
Siena had put together by equal contributions 216,000 florins to spend in pleasuring;
they were reduced in about a twelve-month to the extremes of poverty. It was their
practice to give mutual entertainments twice a-month; at each of which, three tables
having been sumptuously covered, they would feast at one, wash their hands on
another, and throw the last out the window.
Rossetti’s translation is the most well known, and three of the sonnets, August,
September, and December, were set as songs by Charles Ives. I know of two other
English translations, by Richard Aldington in 1945 and by Thomas Caldecot Chubb in
1960 (the source of the quote about the brigata spendericcia). My interest in the
sonnets was sparked by receiving John Thow’s translation of December as a Christmas
greeting a few years ago. John was both a literary person and one who was enamored
by all things Italian, and his sending the translation with the comment “They sure knew
how to party back then.” was completely in character.
I chose the sonnets, which do not appear in calendar order for reasons of musical
contrast and balance, to represent the four seasons of the year. February is the hunt,
August is the easy days of warm Tuscan sun, May is the joust, and December is the
feast.
Folgore’s Months is dedicated to Mark Scatterday. The work is written for the
extraordinary musicianship and voice of soprano Tony Arnold. Finally, the 4th song,
December, is dedicated in memory of John Thow, the American composer who died in
2007 at age 57.
~David Liptak
Texts and Translations
Sonetti dei “Mesi” by Folgore da San Gimignano (14th century)
English translation by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Thow
February
Di febbraio
In February I give you gallant sport
Of harts and hinds and great wild boars; and all
Your company good foresters and tall,
With buskins strong, with jerkins close and short;
E di febbraio vi dono bella caccia
di cervi, cavrioli e di cinghiari,
corte gonnelle con grossi calzari,
e compagnia che vi diletti e piaccia;
And in your leashes, hounds of brave report;
And from your purses, plenteous money-fall,
In very spleen of misers’ starveling gall,
Who at your generous customs snarl and snort.
can da guinzagli e segugi da traccia,
e le borse fornite di danari,
ad onta degli scarse e degli avari,
o chi di questo vi dà briga e
‘mpaccia;
At dusk wend homeward, ye and all your folk
All laden from the wilds, to your carouse,
With merriment and songs accompanied:
e la sera tornar co’ vostri fanti
carcati della molta salvaggina,
avendo gioia ed allegrezza e canti;
And so draw wine and let the kitchen smoke;
And so be till the first watch glorious;
Then sound sleep to you till the day be wide’
far trar del vino e fumar la cucina
e fin al primo sonno star razzanti;
e poi posar infin’ alla mattina.
(Folgore/Rossetti)
August
D’agosto
For August, be your dwelling thirty towers
Within an Alpine valley mountainous,
Where never the sea-wind may vex your house,
But clear life separate, like a star, be yours.
D’agosto si vi do trenta castella
in una valle d’alpe montnina,
che non vi possa vento di marina,
per istar sani e chiari come stella;
There horses shall wait saddled at all hours,
That ye may mount at morning or at eve:
On each hand either ridge ye shall perceive,
A mile apart, which soon a good beast scours.
e palafreni da montare in sella,
e cavalcar la sera e la mattina;
e l’una terra all’altra sia vicina,
ch’un miglio sia la vostra
giornatella,
So alway, drawing homewards, ye shall tread
Your valley parted by a rivulet
Which day and night shall flow
sedate and smooth.
tornando tuttavia verso casa;
e per la valle corra una fiumania,
che vada notte e dí traente e rasa;
There all through noon ye may possess the shade,
And there your open purses shall entreat
The best of Tuscan cheer to feed your youth.
e star nel fresco tutta meriggiana;
la vostra borsa sempre a bocca pasa
per la miglior vivanda di Toscana.
(Folgore/Rossetti)
May
Di maggio
I give you horses for your games in May,
And all of them well trained unto the course,
Each docile, swift, erect, a goodly horse;
With armour on their chests, and bells at play
Di maggio sí vi do molti cavagli,
e tutti quanti sieno affrenatori,
portanti tutti, dritti corritori;
pettorali e tentiere di sonagli,
Between their brows, and pennons fair and gay;
Fine nets, and housings meet for warriors,
Emblazoned with the shields ye claim for yours,
Gules, argent, or, all dizzy at noonday.
bandiere e coverte a molti intagli
e di zendadi di tutti colori;
le targe a modo degli armeggiatori;
vïuole e rosa e fior, ch’ogn’uom
v’abbagli;
e rompere e fiaccar bigordi e lance,
e piover da finestre e da
And spears shall split, and fruit go flying up
In merry counterchange for wreaths that drop
balconi
From balconies and casements far above;
And tender damsels with young men and youths;
Shall kiss together on the cheeks and mouths;
And every day be glad with joyful love.
in giú ghirlande ed in su melerance;
e pulzellette e giovani garzoni
baciarsi nella bocca e nelle guance;
d’amore e di goder vi si ragioni.
(Folgore/Rossetti)
December
Di dicembre
For December I bring you a town on the plain
With rooms lit by large fireplaces
Warm, with fine carpets and elegant game boards
E di dicembre una città in piano:
sale terrene e grandissimi fuochi,
tappeti tesi, tavolieri e giuochi,
torticci accesi e star co’ dadimin
mano;
The host is a tipsy Catalan
Who serves up the most delicious roast pig
Tasty bites for everyone
And there are drinks from a tankard as big as a
cathedral
e l’oste inebrïato e catelano,
e porci morti e finissimi cuochi;
e morselli ciascun, bèa e manuchi;
le botti sien maggior che San
Galgano
You will be well dressed in elegant clothes
Making light of those misfortunes
Now banished from your (eyes).
E siate ben vestiti e foderati
di guarnacche, tabarri e di mantelli
e di cappucci fini e smisurati;
And make your game of abject vagabond
Abandoned miserable reprobate
Misers; don’t let them have a chance with you.
e beffe far de’ tristi cattivelli,
de’ miseri dolenti sciagurati
avari: non vogliate usar can elli.
(Folgore/Thow)
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Early Italian Poets (1861)
John Thow, personal correspondence
Folgore’s Months was commissioned by a consortium of wind ensembles led by Mark
Scatterday, Music Director of the Eastman Wind Ensemble. The participating
conductors and organizations are:
Mark Scatterday, Eastman School of Music
Gary M. Ciepluch, Case Western Reserve University
Robert W. Rumbelow, Columbus State University
Steven K. Steele, Illinois State University
Frank Wickes, Louisiana State University
Tim Weiss, Oberlin College
Craig Kirchhoff, University of Minnesota
Thomas Duffy, Yale University
Konzertmusik für Blasorchester (‟Concert Music for Wind Orchestra”), Op. 41 (1926)
by Paul Hindemith (Hanau, nr. Frankfurt, 1895 - Frankfurt, 1963)
Paul Hindemith was a passionate believer in Gebrauchsmusik -- music destined for
practical use, not originating in any theoretical concepts involving harmonic systems or
other abstractions, but rather focused on the physical activity of playing. It goes
without saying that such an approach did not mean that there was anything conservative
about the compositional aspects of the music--quite to the contrary. Konzertmusik für
Blasorchester was written for the then-new but already prestigious contemporary-music
festival in Donaueschingen, which still exists today. Hindemith was evidently thinking
of wind bands that had been very popular in Germany, playing marches and other
lighter fare (but also operatic medleys and other arrangements). He wanted to write
wind-band music with a modern ‟twist,” utilizing the traditional frameworks but filling
out those frameworks in ways that were surprising indeed.
Konzertmusik opens with an overture that moves from a ‟Maestoso” introduction
to a lively fast section, complete with elaborate counterpoint and virtuoso solos for
(among others) flute, clarinet, trumpet and trombone. Then follows a set of six
variations on the well-known German folksong ‟Prinz Eugen, der edle Ritter” (‟Prince
Eugene, the Noble Knight”). The song tells how Eugene of Savoy, the leader of the
Austrian army, captured the city of Belgrade from the Turks in 1717. It has some
interesting metric ambiguities in the original, and Hindemith exploited them in his
variations. Following a well-established tradition, the composer introduced contrasting
characters (playful, dark, majestic, march-like), ending with a sparkling fugato. As a
third movement, Hindemith wrote a tongue-in-cheek march with a delicate trio section,
scored for six woodwind instruments.
~Peter Laki