Concerto No - Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Concerto No - Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Concerts of Thursday, March 20, and Friday, March 21, 2014, at 8:00p.
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Robert Spano, conductor
Jessica Rivera, soprano
Stuart Skelton, tenor
Mark Grey (b. 1967)
Ātash Sorushān (Fire Angels), for Soprano, Tenor and Orchestra (2013)
Overture
Scene I: Invocation
Scene II: Voyage
Scene III: Transformation/Aria
Scene IV: Restoration
Jessica River, soprano
Stuart Skelton, tenor
World Premiere, Commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Robert
Spano, Music Director
Intermission
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Symphony No. 4 in G Major (1900)
I. Bedächtig. Nicht eilen (Deliberate. Unhurried)
II. In gemächlicher Bewegung. Ohne Hast (In measured tempo. Unhurried)
III. Ruhevoll (Calm)
IV. Sehr behaglich (At ease)
Jessica Rivera, soprano
English surtitles by Ken Meltzer
Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer
Ātash Sorushān (Fire Angels), for Soprano, Tenor and Orchestra (2013)
Mark Grey was born in Evanston, Illinois, on January 1, 1967. These are the world
premiere performances of Fire Angels, for Soprano, Tenor and Orchestra. Fire
Angels is scored for soprano and tenor solo, piccolo, flute, two oboes, English horn,
clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, contrabassoon, four horns, trumpet in D, two
trumpets in C, two trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, chimes, vibraphone,
claves, glockenspiel, xylophone, ratchet, castanets, triangle, high temple block, large
tam-tam, snare drum, medium and low congas, bass drum, harp, celeste and strings.
Approximate performance time is forty-two minutes.
These are the first ASO Classical Subscription Performances.
Ātash Sorushān (Fire Angels) is a collaboration between composer Mark Grey and writer
Niloufar Talebi.
The music of American composer Mark Grey has been performed in such venues as the
Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, Barbican Centre in
London, Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, Philharmonie
Hall in Warsaw, UNESCO Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Symphony Hall in
Phoenix, Royce Hall in Los Angeles, as well as at the Ravinia, Cabrillo, OtherMinds,
Perth International, and Spoleto festivals. He is currently writing an evening-length
opera FRANKENSTEIN for The National Opera of Belgium La Monnaie, Brussels, to
premiere in June 2016, which also includes worldwide co-producers.
On January 27, 2011, Principal Guest Conductor Donald Runnicles and the Atlanta
Symphony Orchestra performed the world premiere of Mr. Grey’s fanfare, Ahsha. The
fanfare was commissioned as part of the celebration of the tenth anniversaries of Robert
Spano’s tenure as Music Director, the Artistic Partnership between Maestro Spano and
Maestro Runnicles, and the Atlanta School of Composers.
As a sound designer, Mark Grey has collaborated with such artists as John Adams, Steve
Reich, Philip Glass, Kronos Quartet and made history as the first sound designer for The
New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall (On the Transmigration of Souls, 2002)
and The Metropolitan Opera (Doctor Atomic, 2008; Nixon in China, 2011, Death of
Klinghoffer, 2014).
London-born author Niloufar Talebi has earned international acclaim as a writer, awardwinning translator, and multidisciplinary artist. Her works include an anthology of
poetry in translation entitled Belonging: New Poetry by Iranians Around the World
(North Atlantic Books, 2008); a DVD of poetry videos, Midnight Approaches (2006); and
theater works Four Springs (2004), ICARUS/RISE (2007), and The Persian Rite of Spring
(2010). Ms. Talebi wrote the libretto of Epiphany, a requiem created with composer
Paola Prestini and visual artist Ali Hossaini, which premieres at the BAM Next Wave
Festival in 2015. She is currently at work on an opera libretto inspired by the life and
work of the iconic Iranian poet, Ahmad Shamlou, which won her a San Francisco Arts
Commission award. Ms. Talebi is currently a Resident Artist with the American Lyric
Theater.
Ātash Sorushān (Fire Angels) originated as a composition for soprano, piano and
chamber orchestra, commissioned by Carnegie Hall and Cal Performances, and through
Meet the Composer’s Commissioning Music/USA program, to commemorate the 10th
anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The premiere took place at Zankel
Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York, on March 29, 2011, with soprano Jessica Rivera, pianist
Molly Morkoski and Ensemble Meme, conducted by Donato Cabrera.
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Robert Spano commissioned a
new, orchestral version of Fire Angels. In the original chamber version, the soprano solo
embodies both Mana and Ahsha. In the orchestral version, the role of Mana remains with
the soprano, while a tenor sings Ahsha’s music. The orchestral version adds an opening
Overture, and omits the electronic soundscapes of the original. Mr. Grey dedicated the
work to Robert Spano.
This work is sung in three languages – English, Persian and Avestan.
The Story of Ātash Sorushān
The “Fire Angels” of Niloufar Talebi’s libretto are Mana and Ahsha—the Fire Angels of
Life and Truth. While both characters are creations of Ms. Talebi, each has a profound
connection to Iran’s Zoroastrian tradition. The power of fire is a leitmotif that runs
throughout the Zoroastrian faith. “Mana” is the Persian word for all-encompassing
divine life. “Ahsha” is a term for truth/existence in the ancient Iranian language,
Avestan.
Ahsha and Mana’s horrific initial encounter, and their resulting love, is a reminder not
only of the events of September 11, 2001, but of that singular tragedy’s transformative
potential. Niloufar Talebi’s libretto and Mark Grey’s music also invoke the tradition of
such epic operatic love stories as Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde (1865) and
Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot (1926).
After the orchestral Overture, Scene 1: Invocation, introduces us to the characters of
Mana and Ahsha. Both revel in their otherworldly powers. Ahsha departs in search of
Mana.
In Scene 2: Voyage, Ahsha, riding on “the blasting wings of Phoenix,” hurtles toward
Mana. She describes their apocalyptic encounter:
We are a roaring hurricane
Falling to our knees
A vortex of sound and flesh
In the bright blue morning
Now, Ahsha and Mana no longer view each other as rivals (Scene 3:
Transformation/Aria), but rather, as lovers:
From these ashes
Together we beat
A new ardent heart
And we burn
Luminous with
Love’s fire.
In the final Scene (Restoration) Mana and Ahsha celebrate the restoration of the world.
The finale includes a portion of the Avestan “Hymns to the Earth” and, in the closing
measures, a verse by the Iranian poet Sohrab Sepehri (1928-1980):
Our work is not to discover
The secret of the rose
Our work is perhaps
To run after the song of truth
In the distance between the lotus
And the Century.
(English translation from the Persian by Niloufar Talebi)
Symphony No. 4 in G Major (1900)
Gustav Mahler was born in Kaliště, Bohemia, on July 7, 1860, and died in Vienna,
Austria, on May 18, 1911. The first performance of the Symphony No. 4 took place
in Munich, Germany, on November 25, 1901, with Margarethe Michalek, soprano,
and the composer conducting the Kaim Orchestra. The Symphony No. 4 is scored
for soprano solo, two piccolos, four flutes, three oboes, English horn, E-flat clarinet,
three clarinets, bass clarinet, three bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three
trumpets, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, orchestra bells, sleigh bells, suspended
cymbal, triangle, tam-tam, harp and strings. Approximate performance time is
fifty-seven minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performances: March 16, 1954, Sally Cramer,
Soprano, Henry Sopkin, Conductor.
Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: Heidi Grant Murphy,
Soprano, January 23, 26 and 27, 2008, Roberto Abbado, Conductor.
ASO Recording: Telarc-80499, Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano, Yoel Levi,
conducting.
“A manner more furious than friendly”
Gustav Mahler completed his Fourth Symphony in the summer of 1900. The premiere
took place in Munich on November 25, 1901, with the composer leading the Kaim
Orchestra. Before the opening performance, several members of the orchestra
approached Mahler and confessed “they hadn’t been able to make head or tail of the work
but would do their best to change their minds the following day.”
The audience and critics demonstrated a like sense of confusion. Everyone seemed to
anticipate that Mahler’s Fourth would, in the spirit of his Second and Third Symphonies,
be an epic, dramatic piece. They were decidedly taken aback by the apparent naïveté and
simplicity of Mahler’s new score. Boos mingled with—and sometimes overwhelmed—
demonstrations of support for Mahler’s latest Symphony. At the conclusion of the
performance, Mahler took his bows “in a manner more furious than friendly.”
Nevertheless, the Fourth Symphony, with its abundant lyricism and relative brevity,
quickly proved to be among the most accessible and popular of Mahler’s Symphonies.
Today, each of Mahler’s Symphonies has received its due, both in concert performances
and recordings. Still, the genial lyricism and grace the Fourth, sometimes called
Mahler’s “Pastorale” Symphony, continue to accord the work a favored status. Further,
close analysis reveals that beneath the seemingly naïve exterior of the Fourth Symphony
is an extraordinarily intricate, sophisticated and unified work.
Mahler on his Fourth Symphony
The following are some of Mahler’s comments regarding the nature and meaning of his
Fourth Symphony:
What I had in mind here was unbelievably difficult to do. Imagine the
uniform blue of the skies, which is more difficult to paint than all
changing and contrasting shades. This is the fundamental mood of the
whole. Only sometimes it darkens and becomes ghostly, gruesome. But
heaven itself is not so darkened, it shines on in an eternal blue. Only to us
it suddenly seems gruesome, just as on the most beautiful day in the
woods, flooded with light, we are often gripped by panic and fear. The
Scherzo (second movement) is mystical, confused and eerie so that your
hair will stand on end. But in the following Adagio you will soon see that
things were not so bad—everything is resolved.
In the final movement (“The Heavenly Life”), although already belonging
to this higher world, the child explains how everything is meant to be.
Musical Analysis
I. Bedächtig. Nicht eilen (Deliberate. Not hurried)—The Symphony opens with a
charming introductory passage for flutes, clarinets and sleigh bells. Following this
introduction, the first violins sing the grazioso initial theme, containing a dotted-rhythm
figure that is repeated by the lower strings (both the “sleigh bell” passage and dotted
rhythm will play crucial roles in the final movement). A flurry of activity leads to the
second principal theme, a broad, serene melody, played by the cellos. The third principal
theme begins as a puckish duet for oboe and bassoon. A reprise of the “sleigh bell”
introduction and a varied statement of the initial theme conclude the exposition.
The sleigh bell figure returns once again to initiate the development of the principal
thematic material. Over a pizzicato bass figure, the flutes play a unison statement of a
melody that incorporates the dotted rhythms of the opening theme, thereby anticipating
the finale’s principal melody. The tension builds, leading to a trumpet passage Mahler
referred to as “the little summons”—music that would also serve to open his Fifth
Symphony (1902). The development moves to a ppp conclusion. After a brief pause, the
violins launch the recapitulation with a varied restatement of the initial theme. The coda
seems to portend a quiet resolution, but instead, concludes with the ensemble’s joyful
statement.
II. In gemächlicher Bewegung. Ohne Hast. (In leisurely motion. Without haste)—Bruno
Walter, the great German conductor and Mahler disciple, once described the second
movement scherzo in the following manner: “The second movement might be called
Freund Hein spielt zum Tanz auf (‘Friend Death is striking up the Dance’). Death fiddles
rather strangely; his playing sends us up to heaven.” Mahler himself referred to this
movement as a “Dance of Death.” To portray the eerie sound of Death’s fiddle, Mahler
directs that the concertmaster tune his violin one whole tone higher.
The solo horn launches the scherzo, confronting a chirping response by the oboes and
bassoon that recalls the work’s “sleigh bell” opening. The solo violin soon makes its
macabre entrance. A more genial trio section, in the style of a charming Viennese
ländler (a folkdance in triple meter), prominently features the winds. The scherzo and
trio sections return, the latter again offering hints of the work’s closing movement. A
final presentation of the scherzo section is capped by the oboes’ reprise of the chirping
passage and a descending figure in the winds.
III. Ruhevoll (Peaceful)—According to Mahler’s friend, Natalie Bauer-Lechner, the
composer referred to this movement as: “‘The Smiling of St. Ursula’ and said that at the
time he had a childhood image of his mother’s face in mind, recalling how she had
laughed through grieving and had smiled through tears, for she had suffered unendingly
yet had always lovingly resolved and forgiven everything.” Bruno Walter recounted that
Mahler characterized St. Ursula’s smile “like the ones on monuments of old knights or
prelates (seen when walking through old churches), with their hands folded over their
chests and the faint, peaceful smile of the departed who has found calm bliss.”
The slow movement features a set of variations on two themes. The cellos introduce a
flowing, espressivo melody. The oboe launches the presentation of the mournful second
theme. A final series of variations on the opening theme closes in the most restrained and
serene fashion. Suddenly, the orchestra erupts with a resplendent passage that looks
forward to the Symphony’s finale. Tranquility returns in the ethereal final measures.
IV. Sehr behaglich (Very comfortably)—Mahler described the finale as “the top of the
Symphony’s pyramidal structure.” The previous movements all contain premonitions of
the finale that is based upon Mahler’s setting of a poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
(The Youth’s Magic Horn). In the score, Mahler specifies that the text “be sung with
childlike, cheerful expression; entirely without parody!”
The finale opens with a brief orchestral introduction, followed by the entrance of the
soprano, both featuring the omnipresent dotted rhythm. The “sleigh bell” motif from the
Symphony’s opening movement serves as an orchestral interlude after the poem’s
second, forth, and seventh stanzas. The Symphony concludes with a brief, tranquil,
orchestral postlude.
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Das himmlische Leben
The Youth’s Magic Horn: The Heavenly Life
Wir geniessen die himmlischen Freuden,
D’rum tun wir das Irdische meiden.
Kein weltlich’ Getümmel
Hört man nicht im Himmel!
Lebt alles in sanftester Ruh’!
We enjoy the heavenly pleasures,
And therefore shun Earthly things.
No worldly turmoil
Is heard in Heaven!
Everything lives in sweetest peace!
Wir führen ein englisches Leben!
Sind dennoch ganz lustig daneben!
Wir tanzen und springen,
Wir hüpfen und singen!
Sanct Peter im Himmel sieht zu!
We live the life of angels!
Yet we are very merry!
We dance and leap,
We hop and sing!
Saint Peter in Heaven looks on!
Johannes das Lämmlein auslasset,
Der Metzger Herodes d’rauf passet!
Wir führen ein geduldig’s,
Unschuldig’s, geduldig’s,
Ein liebliches Lämmlein zu Tod!
Saint John lets his little lamb go,
It is delivered to the butcher, Herod!
We lead a patient,
Innocent, patient,
Dear little lamb to its death!
Sanct Lucas den Ochsen tät schlachten
Ohn’ einig’s Bedenken und Achten,
Der Wein kost’ kein Heller
Im himmlischen Keller;
Die Englein, die backen das Brot.
Saint Luke slaughters the oxen
Without a moment’s thought or care,
Wine does not cost a penny
In Heaven’s cellar;
The angels bake the bread.
Gut’ Kräuter von allerhand Arten,
Die wachsen im himmlischen Garten!
Gut’ Spargel, Fisolen
Und was wir nur wollen!
Ganze Schüsseln voll sind uns bereit!
Good vegetables of every kind,
Grow in Heaven’s garden!
Good asparagus, beans
And whatever we want!
Big platters are prepared for us!
Gut Äpfel, gut’ Birn’ und gut’ Trauben!
Die Gärtner, die alles erlauben!
Willst Rehbock, willst Hasen,
Auf offener Strassen
Sie laufen herbei!
Good apples, good pears and good grapes!
The gardeners offer them all!
If you want roebuck, if you want rabbit,
They run in the streets
Running right by!
Sollt’ ein Fasttag etwa kommen,
Alle Fische gleich mit Freuden angeschwommen!
Dort läuft schon Sanct Peter
Mit Netz und mit Köder
Zum himmlischen Weiher hinein.
Sanct Martha die Köchin muss sein!
When a fast-day comes,
All the fish gladly swim along!
There hurries St. Peter
With his net and bait
To the heavenly pond.
Saint Martha must be the cook!
Kein’ Musik ist ja nicht auf Erden,
Die uns’rer verglichen kann werden.
Elf tausend Jungfrauen
Zu tanzen sich trauen!
Sanct Ursula selbst dazu lacht!
No music on earth,
Can be compared with ours.
Eleven thousand maidens
Are busily dancing!
Even Saint Ursula laughs!
Cäcilia mit ihren Verwandten
Sind treffliche Hofmusikanten!
Die englischen Stimmen
Ermuntern die Sinnen!
Dass alles für Freuden erwacht.
Cecilia and her relatives
Are excellent court musicians!
The voices of angels
Brighten our spirits!
And everything awakens in joy.