Your intergalactic evening begins with Claude Debussy’s beautiful symphonic triptych for orchestra, Nocturnes. Reflecting Debussy’s affinity for the pictorial works of artist James McNeill Whistler, Nocturnes explores in music what Whistler portrayed in his paintings. Whistler’s art fascinated Debussy, especially those which carried the title “Nocturne”. These were colorful atmospheric and shadowy works in blue and gray, blue and silver, grey and gold, and black and gold. The main focus is on the color and the melding of one color into the other, not on an image itself. The “suggestion” of an image is present rather than a blatant object. It was this style that Debussy was after in his Nocturnes, where the melody is enveloped in continuous movement and harmonic permutations.
Patrons can enjoy the Pre-Concert Talks with Bob Buckalew at 7:10 p.m. Also, the Austin Planetarium will be showcasing the latest interactive software on the mezzanine level before the performance and during intermission.
Claude-Achille Debussy
b. 22 August 1862, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. d. 25 March 1918, Paris, France.
Nocturnes. Premiered December 1900 in Paris, first two movements only; Sirènes was not heard until 1901 in a complete performance of the entire work.
A symphonic triptych for orchestra, Debussy’s Nocturnes is a work in three movements: Nuages, Fêtes, and Sirènes, which contains a chorus of sixteen female voices. Debussy asks the listener to think of the title in only a “general and decorative sense,” rather than a simple depiction of the nocturnal. His aim was towards a variety of impressions of the twilight atmospheres and the sounds and nuances of nighttime presented by an orchestral examination of light as well as the study of the color gray.
Reflecting Debussy’s affinity for the pictorial works of artist James McNeill Whistler, Nocturnes explores in music what Whistler portrayed in his paintings. Whistler’s art fascinated Debussy, especially those which carried the title “Nocturne.” These were colorful atmospheric and shadowy works in blue and gray, blue and silver, grey and gold, and black and gold. The main focus is on the color and the melding of one color into the other, not on an image itself. The “suggestion” of an image is present rather than a blatant object. It was this style that Debussy was after in his Nocturnes, where the melody is enveloped in continuous movement and harmonic permutations.
Nuages proffers the movement of clouds, seamlessly moving across the sky, floating in and out of shape and form. Debussy uses the lack of tonality, harmonic rhythm and the absence of key structure to portray their transformations. He also focuses on the timbre and color of various instrumental voices. In Nuages we hear high, icy cold strings, haunting entrances of the English horn, static sustained pedal tones (ostinato) from the deep voices in the orchestra, and coloristic entrances of solo flute, harp, violin, viola and cello. What Debussy does not give us is a melody or a memorable “tune” in this impressionistic movement.
Nuages simply evaporates and Debussy pulls the audience back from a dream-state with Fêtes. As you would guess from the title, Festivals is energized and vibrant, opening with a burst of light, punctuated by an exciting rhythmic pulse. A procession with a fanfare in the trumpet and pizzicato strings gets entangled with the festivities. The party continues with the mixture of the two as the rhythm persists until the end.
Sirènes, which is not always performed with Nocturnes due to the requirement of chorus, is sparse in orchestration and delicate in nature. It depicts the sea’s ebb and flow and its continuous rhythmic motion. Envision waves in the moonlight as you hear the wordless women’s chorus in the distance, the voices of sirens as they laugh and pass by.
Extraordinarily original, Nocturnes established the success of Debussy as a composer. At a time when all of the arts in France were experiencing change, Debussy grabbed onto the fashion: less structure and more freedom, less fact and more feeling, doing away with limitations of tonality and embracing creative imagination. Nocturnes is often considered an impressionistic work because its fragmentary motives and flashes of tone color seem to mirror an impressionist artist’s technique. The piece is vague and hazy (like the brush strokes in a painting) because of its harmonies and blend of orchestral color. With it, Debussy became a role model for other early 20th century composers.
Gustavus (Theodore von) Holst
b. 21 September 1874 in Cheltenham, Gloucester, England; d. 25 May 1934 in London, England.
The Planets, Suite for Large Orchestra, Op. 32. The first performance of the complete suite took place in London under the direction of Albert Coates on 15 November 1920, over a decade before Pluto was discovered. (Earth is not included)
The Planets, well known as a popular orchestral showpiece, is the only opus that brought Holst worldwide attention, even though he did not consider the piece one of his finest. A suite of seven movements, each is a unique portrait of the planets’ astrological association, not necessarily their physical characteristics. Startlingly original with intrinsic beauty, the elemental concepts explored throughout this piece range from the astrological significance of each planet, mythology and mysticism (both Christian and pagan), occult and Eastern philosophies, raw nature, primitive man and the inscrutable forces that govern him.
Mars, the most powerful in the set, delivers staggering hammer blows throughout the unrelenting march in 5/4 time, symbolizing gathering troops and mounting tension. Usually thought to be composed as a reflection of World War I, the movement was actually completed before the 1914 outbreak. Ominous and menacing Mars, however, is based on war. A note of triumph, nearing joyfulness, is sounded in the tenor tuba and trumpet fanfare. Uneasy strings and winds weave a creeping, suspenseful melody; the horns bring dynamic and tense lines, churning to a hair-raising climax.
Sweetly luminescent Venus is an exact opposite of the aggressive Mars and has an unmistakable air of remote calm. This tender and tranquil lullaby is created by flutes and solo horn and supported by eerie strings. The solo cello lends a moment of grounding with a change of key and mood. At the entrance of celesta, rhythmic movement ensues, but soon slows. A repeated passage is heard over again until the music seems to float into the atmosphere.
The sparsely orchestrated Mercury is a nimble scherzo. Atmospheric, the bell-like celesta is joined by a pair of harps that supply ethereal touches of color. A lone violin brings suspenseful lines and the invigorated orchestra answers with dynamic flourishes. Everything is flickering and fleeting and impressionistically insubstantial. The shortest movement of the suite, it is said to represent a fleet-footed, happy messenger.
The centerpiece of the work, Jupiter, is a boisterous Bacchanalian dance that contains a noble hymn. A celebration introduced by the brass is passed throughout the orchestra followed by a kind of swaggering march. The rhythmic pattern in the woodwinds returns and culminates in an ominous fanfare with an underlying feeling of urgency. The most well known and popular of all the movements, Jupiter has an overall air of grand importance highlighted by the key of C major.
Saturn’s lugubrious and majestic flutes, bass flute and harps toll a knell for the passing of youth. This was the composer’s personal favorite and is by far the most original. The pain of Holst’s severe neuritis is symbolized by the jerky, labored, grinding chords in the famous opening passage. An overall theme of pain, despair, and inevitability is present until the unusual character switch at the coda. Muted winds and brass slowly build to a thundering crescendo of dizzying intensity.
Uranus opens with a gaudy and brash brass section. This movement invokes a technique from the organ not yet heard in orchestral works – a great glissando from the lowest octave to the highest. A brief foray into a humorous, merry tune soon diverts back to its original character. Noble horns play a pompous theme, the percussion adds dynamic accents, and the churning melody builds with an industrious tension.
Neptune springs from the cloudy domains of Debussy’s Nocturnes, but possesses an even wispier, more transparent orchestral sonority. The wordless female chorus enters in the distance and becomes more present until all that is heard is the undulation from chord to chord. This entire movement seems like it could very well be a call from the distant planet itself. It is a beautiful pianissimo piece, eerie and unsettling. A wonderful finale for this grand suite, Neptune leaves the listener yearning for more, yet in a definite state of unrest. An isolated indiscriminate woodwind melody slowly builds with mystery and loneliness, swirling with stifling pressure.
The Planets displays a composer very much in touch with his musical contemporaries, with obvious ideas borrowed from Schoenberg, Stravinsky, and Debussy. Holst never wrote another piece like it again, disappointing an eager public hungry for more. In fact, after writing the piece, Holst swore off his belief in astrology. How ironic that the work that made his name famous throughout the world brought him the least joy in the end.
© Jeanne Rogers
May 20, 2012
