Quincy Symphony Orchestra

April 20, 2008
 
PROGRAM NOTES

Compiled by Dr. Lavern Wagner

Majestic River  …………………………………………………… Jeremy Beck (b. 1960)
    Jeremy Beck has shared some thoughts on his composition Majestic River.  “My early formative years as a musician took place in Quincy, with some of those playing in the cello section of the Quincy Symphony Orchestra itself.  So when I was asked last spring to compose a new work for the QSO in celebration of its 60th anniversary season, I was thrilled to have the opportunity.   Even before I imagined any musical ideas, I knew that I wanted the composition to be both celebratory and reflective—these two characteristics then ended up informing the shape of the work as a whole.  Once I had that sense of the piece in front of me, I was off and running.  As for the title, it appeared rather late in the creative process; it was only after much of the score was composed that I realized the music’s dual characteristics also suggested imagery of Quincy’s beneficent and powerful neighbor (the Mississippi River).”      
    Beginning in the Quincy Public School music program, Beck was a cellist at Quincy Senior High.  He obtained degrees from the Yale School of Music, Duke University, and the Mannes College of Music, studying with Lukas Foss, Jacob Druckman, Stephen Jaffe, and David Loeb.  Besides a composer, Dr. Beck is a practicing attorney, having earned his J.D. from the University of Louisville. 
    Majestic River is in one movement with three sections, an ABA format.  The first A section has the tempo marking Allegro con spirito.  The middle B section is quietly entitled Adagio pensiero.  The third section, relating again to A, abruptly returns to Allegro con spirito.  Throughout there are numerous meter changes, giving a fluidity to the entire composition, recalling the Majestic River, the Mississippi, as it glides along, even occasionally turbulent. 
    The principal thematic idea is introduced immediately at the opening of the composition.  It may be characterized as majestic--aptly reflecting the title, and celebratory--as the composer avers.  As this first theme is repeated by the trumpet, it rises in pitch.  It is then picked up by the strings, but is still a brass-conceived musical idea, and dominates the first A section.  The opening of the Adagio B section presents a tender theme in the strings—reflective of the composer’s thoughts; it is answered by the horns.  But this section belongs especially to the strings as they mount higher and higher, reaching a notable climax.  The woodwinds also have their say as the music presents again the opening material of the B section.  The returning A section is now punctuated with accented chords, and as the close of the composition approaches there are brilliant falling scale passages in the strings, leading to a thunderous close.

Te Deum  ……………………………………………….…  Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
    Anton Bruckner is usually characterized as a simple, peasant-type man, perhaps even naïve.  He was profoundly religious and up to 1863 wrote only religious music.  But after he heard Richard Wagner’s Tannhauser in that year, he considered a new musical path.  In 1865 he was in Munich for the premiere of Tristan und Isolde, and then became a devoted follower of Wagner’s musical style.  It is said that after the premiere of Parsifal in 1883 he knelt and kissed Wagner’s hand.  Following this epiphany, many of Wagner’s stylistic mannerisms appeared in Bruckner’s symphonies and in late works of his career.       
    The composition of his Te Deum occupied Bruckner intermittently from 1881 to 1883.  It is set for four soloists, four-voice choir, and large orchestra.  For many years it was the most widely performed of Bruckner’s choral works.   It is composed in five movements.  The opening movement, “Te Deum laudamus,” uses up 19 stanzas of text, with no repetitions.  The second movement, “Te ergo quaesumus,” and the third movement, “Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis,” use only one line of text each with many repetitions.  The fourth movement, “Salvum fac populum tuum,” especially after the increase in tempo to Allegro at the words “Per singulos dies benedicimus te,” again uses much text, being set in chordal style.  The final movement, ”In te, Domine, speravi,” has only one line of text, but introduces a double fugue which eventually leads to a glorious finale, again in chordal style.
    Although the origin of the Te Deum is traditionally given as occurring at the baptism of Saint Augustine by Saint Ambrose in 387, many scholars now assign its genesis to Nicetas, Bishop of Remesiana, late 4th – early 5th centuries. The hymn follows the outline of the Apostles Creed, mixing a poetic vision of heaven with a declaration of faith.  God is named immediately, followed by all those who praise and venerate him, from the heavenly creatures, to those Christian faithful already in heaven, to the Church spread throughout the world.  The hymn returns to the Apostles Creed outline, naming Christ and recalling his birth, suffering, and glorification.  Praises from the Church in general and the singers in particular are presented, asking for mercy on past sins, protection from future sin, and eventual unification with the elect.

Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68  ….………………...  Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
     Brahms completed his Symphony No. 1 at age 43 in 1876, only after long years of compositional preparation as he wrote works for large orchestra, but not actual symphonies. These preparatory works, masterpieces in themselves, include the Piano Concerto in D-minor, 1854-58, and the Variations on a Theme by Haydn, 1873.  Brahms was fixated on the monumental nine symphonies of Beethoven, and wanted to be sure his own symphony would stand comparison with these earlier masterpieces.  Brahms was correct in his thinking, as his First Symphony has been called the “Tenth Symphony,” referring to it as a worthy successor to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
    Brahms did not start composing at the beginning of his First Symphony and write continuously to the end.  He wrote the Allegro of the first movement as early as 1862.  Only later did he write the first movement introduction.  It is interesting to note that at the opening of the first movement every instrument begins on the pitch C, in its own high or low register.    The second theme of the Allegro is closely related in style to the first, with only a short three-note phrase ending in the basses to distinguish it.  The development displays masterly and complicated manipulation of the musical material. Each snippet of melody in the first theme of the Allegro is used again and again as building blocks throughout the development.   The recapitulation goes over the entire substance of the exposition, and a subdued presentation of the introduction concludes the movement.
    The second movement—Andante sostenuto—is in E-major, a key far removed from the C-minor of the first movement.  The first theme is presented by the violins and is continued in a contemplative manner by the oboe.  Toward the end of the movement the violin presents the oboe melody in a climactically exalted manner.
    The third movement is more of an intermezzo than the usual scherzo.  The second half of the principal theme is an inversion of the first half.  A new theme in 6/8 meter provides contrast in the middle of the movement.
    The final movement opens with an Adagio which portends the importance of what is about to occur.  This happens when the strings in their lower register announce the famous melody of the symphony, immediately repeated by the woodwinds.  Its relation to Beethoven’s melody in the last movement of his Ninth Symphony is apparent. Note that the French horn later inserts a short melody which bears a striking resemblance to that of Westminster chimes, heard even today on many clocks.  After such a masterful stroke, Brahms can only ride on to an imposing conclusion to the symphony.