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JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833 - 1897)
Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny) Op. 54
Brahms composed this and several other shorter choral pieces with similar themes soon after completing the German Requiem. The poem is by Friedrich Hölderlin and falls into two parts, the first describing the blissful, untroubled existence of the (?Olympian) gods, whereas the second shows the restless and doom-laden existence of men. Whether for musical or philosophical reasons Brahms felt that a simple bipartite form was not satisfactory and it took him three years to complete the work. At one time he thought of repeating the whole first choral section but finally settled for letting the orchestra return to the serene music of the start. Some kind of consolation, the indifference of the gods to the fate of mortals? Or just a satisfactory musical form? The work lasts about 15 minutes.
Ihr wandelt droben im Licht
Auf weichem Boden, selige Genien!
Glänzende Götterlüfte
Rühren Euch leicht,
Wie die Finger der Künstlerin
Heilige Saiten
Schicksallos, wie der schlafende
Säugling, atmen die Himmlischen.
Keusch bewahrt
In bescheidener Knospe
Blühet ewig
Ihnen der Geist.
Und die seligen Augen
Blicken in stiller,
Ewiger Klarheit.
Doch uns ist gegeben,
Auf keiner Stätte zu ruhn;
Es schwinden, es fallen
Die leidenden Menschen
Blindlings von einer
Stunde zur andern,
Wie Wasser von Klippe
Zu Klippe geworfen,
Jahrlang ins Ungewisse hinab.
Translation:
You stroll up there in the light
Through pleasant pastures, blessed spirits!
The shining winds of God
Play softly round you,
Like the fingers of a harpist
Stirring the heavenly strings.
Untroubled by fate,
Like a sleeping babe,
The heavenly ones breathe easily.
Pure and protected
In modest buds
The spirits bloom eternally
And their blessed eyes
Gaze forever
At the peaceful light.
But we are given no resting place:
Suffering mankind
Faints and falls,
Stumbling blindly
From one hour to another,
Like water cascading
From rock to rock,
Year after year
Until we descend into darkness.
ANTONIN DVORAK ( 1841 - 1904)
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B minor Op. 104
Allegro - Adagio ma non troppo - Finale: Allegro moderato
Dvorak started writing this concerto in 1895 towards the end of his time in America, after he had completed his last symphony, the ‘New World’. He said that he had never considered the cello a satisfactory solo instrument but was bullied into writing it by the cellist Hanus Wihan. He seems to have surprised himself by the enthusiasm he found for it once he got started.
The big problem in writing for cello and orchestra is getting the balance right so that the cello is not drowned. Dvorak achieves this in a variety of ways. (We hope we shall achieve it tonight.) There are comparatively few occasions when the full orchestra is let loose and the soloist often works with groups of woodwind instruments. The main body of strings is used with great restraint, the violins getting more rest than usual and the lower strings often playing pizzicato.
The first movement is vigorous and symphonic in style. The second, in G major, gives full rein to the lyrical qualities of the instrument. The finale is a rondo with a march-like main theme. In a lengthy coda there are reminiscences of the first two movements.
On seeing the score Brahms is reported to have said, “Why on earth didn’t I know one could write a cello concerto like this? If I had only known I would have written one long ago.”
BEDRICH SMETANA (1824 - 1884)
“The Bartered Bride” - two choruses from Act 1 and Furiant
In an age when nationalist feelings were growing throughout Europe Smetana established himself as the musical voice of the Czech people, although he had been brought up as a German-speaker and only learnt Czech properly as an adult. In particular his eight operas written for the newly-established professional opera in Prague, of which he became principal conductor, provided a canon of Czech opera for the first time and though he did not use actual folk melodies his personal style struck a chord with Czech people.
Most famous was his comic opera ’The Bartered Bride’. The setting is a Czech village and in the opening chorus the inhabitants are in festive mood. The polka closes the first act and the furiant, a traditional dance, occurs in the second. The opera was first performed in 1866 and Dvorak was probably playing viola in the orchestra.
Opening Chorus:
Come rejoice and let’s be merry,
Grant us health and time to enjoy ourselves.
Marry at your pleasure and then
You’ll repent it at your leisure!
Wife goes mad at home with her lot,
Husband hides behind his pint pot.
Hey ho, hey ho!
Scales fall from our eyes,
Romance drops its disguise.
Children screaming, tongue a-wagging,
Nagging, nagging….
Come rejoice and let’s be merry,
Grant us health and time to enjoy ourselves.
This is what we counsel:
Come and take your pleasure while you can!
Polka – Act I finale:
Take your partner, take your place now,
Come and dance the merry polka.
Now’s the time to come and dance,
Now’s the time to take your chance.
Here we come to try our charms,
Dancing in each other’s arms.
Hear the band its magic weaving,
Each to each we all are cleaving
While we’re dancing.
Sharing in this magic ball,
Playing, dancing, all for all.
ANTONIN DVORAK (1841 - 1904)
Hymnus: “Heirs of the White Mountain” Op. 30
In 1619 the Czechs attempted to throw off the dominance of Austria by electing a Protestant German Prince as their king. His reign was short-lived and ended by the Battle of the White Mountain the following year. Thereafter Bohemia was firmly under Austrian rule. Politically the Czechs could not express their independence but it found a strong outlet in artistic fields. This patriotic cantata written in 1872 proved to be Dvorak’s first big public success and opened the way to getting his operas performed. The first part of the Hymnus seeks to comfort the sorrowing Motherland while the second more vigorous section is a call to protect and praise her. The Hymnus lasts about 17 minutes.
Incidentally, the Prince Frederick whom the Czechs elected was married to our King
James I’s daughter Elizabeth, the ‘Winter Queen’, and was the father of Prince Rupert who led Charles I’s army in the Civil War.
As springs anoint the ground beneath the alder,
So, Mother, thou must bend ever a-weeping:
Thy teardrops flow on banks in shadow sleeping,
A mournful vigil like a willow keeping.
Thy head is heavy and thy heart is broken,
Thou suff’rest sorely, yet the rabble mocks thee,
Thy painful wounds through centuries engraven.
Oh thou our Mother, recognise thy children!
Thy head shall find repose from ills so cruel,
To share its weight our hearts to thee we proffer,
With deepest love this haven we would offer,
Embracing thee as gold that clasps a jewel.
E’en in a hovel in a shabby garment
Kind words of comfort heal the soul that’s weary;
The time is coming when it will call loudly:
“Oh Mother, let us protect thy head so sacred!”
Let’s make our hearts our mother’s living shelter,
By her we’ll stand till death doth take us from her.
When she has all and of our blood we give her,
Then that dear heart knows poverty no longer.
What use this glorious world if she is wanting?
For she alone unlocks all of its treasure.
We’d love her still should vultures swoop to tear us,
As nation never loved its country before.
Kneel, brothers kneel, with ardour sing her praises,
Our trembling hands shall loyally salute her;
And may we know her glory, even briefly.
One fatherland, and only one dear Mother!
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Lionel Handy has established himself as one of the most versatile cellists of his generation, successfully combining a solo career with chamber music, teaching and orchestral playing which has taken him on tours all over the world. He was a scholarship student at the Royal Academy of Music, where he won all the prizes for cello and chamber music, including the prestigious Moir Carnegie Recital Diploma prize and Principal’s prize. He was awarded the National Muriel Taylor Competition from Jacqueline du Pré and, with several important scholarship awards, he was able to continue his studies with Pierre Fournier in Geneva, and also Janos Starker in Canada. This was a particularly influential phase in his artistic development, inspired by the honesty and integrity of Fournier’s interpretations.