Booking details for the concert are here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nThis is going to be rather special- music as fairy tale for grown ups, child-like-ness as the path the wisdom, nature as both threat and salvation, food as both comfort and torment. Don’t miss it!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
About Today\u2019s Concert- Thoughts from the Conductor<\/h1>\nThe Orchestra<\/h2>\n
As a name, \u201cThe Society for Private Musical Performances\u201d may not roll off the tongue, but it is surely easier to say for most of us than the German original \u201cVerein f\u00fcr musikalische Privatauff\u00fchrungen\u201d. The Society was founded by the composer Arnold Schoenberg with the intention of making carefully rehearsed and comprehensible performances of newly composed music available to genuinely interested members of the musical public. In the three years between February 1919 and 5 December 1921 (when the Verein had to cease its activities due to Austrian hyperinflation), the organisation gave 353 performances of 154 works in 117 concerts that involved a total of 79 individuals and pre-existing ensembles. Devoted to fostering new discussion of emerging works, the Society did not welcome critics, and audience members had to join the Society in order to attend.<\/p>\n
Works performed on the Society’s concerts reflected a huge range of the best of late 19th<\/sup> and early 20th<\/sup> Century works, but nothing by Schoenberg himself. Orchestral works were played in arrangements for small ensembles like the one you will hear tonight. Schoenberg himself made many of these arrangements, including the whimsical arrangement of the Strauss Emperor Waltz which opens our concert tonight, and he oversaw the work of other composers and arrangers including Erwin Stein, who arranged the Fourth Symphony of Mahler for a Society concert in 1921.<\/p>\nThere was no standard instrumentation for these concerts, but most of the arrangements that have come down to us from the Society are for some combination of solo strings, a few solo winds, piano and harmonium. This sort of salon orchestra was often augmented by the liberal use of percussion, which can greatly enhance the range of colour the ensemble can produce.<\/p>\n
For much of the 20th<\/sup> Century, the arrangements of the Society were largely forgotten. In an affluent age, there seemed to be little need for arrangements of Mahler symphonies and songs for 10-15 players. However, in the last twenty years or so, these arrangements have seen a real resurgence, and have become recognised as being artistically interesting in their own right. From a listener\u2019s point of view, they offer a more intimate view of the music, one that perhaps allows the creativity and artistry of the individual performances to shine through. I\u2019ve conducted and recorded a number of the arrangements from the Society and have become thoroughly seduced by their unique sound world. I hope those of you new to this kind of ensemble leave tonight suitably enchanted.<\/p>\nThe Songs<\/h2>\n
Having decided to programme Erwin Stein\u2019s orchestration of Mahler\u2019s 4th<\/sup> Symphony on this concert, I had to give careful thought to what else should be on the programme. Because of their sheer scale, the question of what, if anything, should be on the same concert as a Mahler symphony is not always an easy one to answer. The Fourth is the shortest and slightest of Mahler\u2019s eleven symphonies, but it is still nearly an hour long. In past, I\u2019ve coupled it with everything from a Haydn symphony to the Grieg Piano Concerto, but since we were doing Stein\u2019s reduced orchestration of the Mahler, it seemed silly to programme something for vastly different forces on the first half of the concert. The choice of Schoenberg\u2019s affectionate arrangement of the Emperor Waltz was an easy one- the Fourth is in many ways one of Mahler\u2019s most explicitly Viennese works.<\/p>\nHowever, not that many arrangements of the Society for Private Musical Performances survive, which made my programming options limited until it occurred to me that if the arrangements didn\u2019t exist to do the repertoire we wanted to do, we could simply make new orchestrations for the same forces as the Stein Mahler Four. Once I had steeled myself to the challenge of making the arrangements you hear tonight, anything was possible.<\/p>\n
In the 55 minutes of Mahler\u2019s Fourth Symphony, our wonderful soprano, April Fredrick, only sings for about five minutes, so it seemed obvious that the first half of tonight\u2019s concert should include a selection of songs whose themes resonate with those of the symphony.<\/p>\n
Mahler\u2019s Fourth Symphony is primarily a meditation on nature and childhood. It explores, in very profound and sophisticated ways, the complexity of a child\u2019s view of the natural world, with its mixture of threat and wonder.<\/p>\n
Humperdinck\u2019s great children\u2019s opera, Hansel und Gretel<\/strong>, a quasi-Wagnerian setting of the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale, tells the story of two children in peril. The opera was composed in 1891-2. Richard Strauss conducted the first production in 1893, Gustav Mahler the second production in Hamburg in 1894. The adventures of Hansel and Gretel balance moments of deprivation and hardship with wonder, moments of horror with hope. The two selections I have adapted come from Act II, Scene 2. Having become lost in the forest, Hansel tries to find the way back, but he cannot. As the forest darkens, Hansel and Gretel become scared, and think they see something coming closer. Hansel calls out, “Who’s there?” and a chorus of echoes calls back, “He’s there!” Gretel calls, “Is someone there?” and the echoes reply, “There!” Hansel tries to comfort Gretel, but as a little man walks out of the forest, she screams. In the first section you hear tonight, the Sandman (sung by a soprano), who has just walked out of the forest, tells the children that he loves them dearly, and that he has come to put them to sleep. He puts grains of sand into their eyes, and as he leaves they can barely keep their eyes open. Gretel reminds Hansel to say their evening prayer, and after they pray, they fall asleep on the forest floor. My arrangement of this scene is essentially a reduction- wherever possible, I have kept true to Humperdinck\u2019s original, with flute parts on the flute and string parts on the strings, and the harmonium standing in heroically for absent bassoons and horns. In the Evening Blessings, April changes roles from Sandman to Gretel, and our wonderful principal clarinet, Alison Lambert, takes on the role of Hansel.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\n\n\nDer kleine Sandmann bin ich – st!
\nUnd gar nichts Arges sinn ich – st!
\nEuch Kleinen lieb ich innig – st!
\n<\/span>Bin euch gesinnt gar minnig – st!<\/span>Aus diesem Sack zwei K\u00f6rnelein
\nEuch M\u00fcden in die cugelein;
\nDie fallen dann von selber zu,
\nDamit ihr schlaft in sanfter Ruh.
\nUnd seid ihr fein geschlafen ein,
\nDann wachen auf die Sterne,
\nUnd nieder steigen EngeleinAus hoher Himmelsferne
\nUnd bringen hold Tr\u00e4ume!
\n<\/span>Drum tr\u00e4ume, Kindchen, tr\u00e4ume!
\n<\/span>Drum traume, Kindchen, traume!<\/span>(Verschwindet. Volllge Dunkelheit.) .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n HANSEL” (sclilaftrunken) .
\nSandmann war da !<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n GRETEL Sandmann war da !
\nLass uns den Abendsegen beten !<\/span><\/p>\nAbends, will ich schlafen gehn,
\nvierzehn Engel um mich stehn:
\n<\/span>zwei zu meinen H\u00e4upten,
\nzwei zu meinen F\u00fc\u00dfen,
\nzwei zu meiner Rechten,
\nzwei zu meiner Linken,
\nzwei die mich decken,
\nzwei, die mich wecken,
\n<\/span>zwei, die mich weisen
\nzu Himmels Paradeisen!<\/span><\/td>\n | I shut the children’s peepers, sh !
\nand guard the little sleepers, sh !
\nfor dearly do I love them, sh !
\nand gladly watch above them, sh!
\n<\/span>And with my little bag of sand,
\nBy every child’s bedside I stand ;
\n<\/span>then little tired eyelids close,
\nand little limbs have sweet repose.
\nAnd if they’re good and quickly go to
\n<\/span>sleep, then from the starry sphere above
\n<\/span>the angels come with peace and love,
\nand send the children happy dreams,
\n<\/span>while watch they keep !<\/span>Then slumber, children, slumber,
\nfor happy dreams are sent you
\n<\/span>through the hours you sleep.<\/span> <\/p>\nHANSEL (half asleep).
\nSandman was there !<\/p>\n <\/p>\n GRETEL Sandman was there
\nLet us first say our evening prayer.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n BOTH:<\/p>\n When at night I go to sleep,
\nfourteen angels watch do keep :
\ntwo my head are guarding,
\n<\/span>two my feet are guiding,
\n<\/span>two are on my right hand,
\ntwo are on my left hand,
\n<\/span>two who warmly cover,
\n<\/span>two who o’er me hover,
\n<\/span>two to whom ’tis given
\nto guide my steps to Heaven.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n <\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/FullSizeRender-63-420x609.jpg\") Both Mahler\u2019s 100-minute Third symphony and his Fourth, heard tonight, grew out of the musical material in The Heavenly Life, the short, beautiful song which forms the final movement of the Fourth Symphony, \u201cDas himmlische Leben<\/em>\u201d or \u201cThe Heavenly Life.\u201d In the first half of this concert, we hear his song \u201cThe Earthly Life<\/strong>\u201d (\u201cDas irdische Leben<\/em><\/strong>\u201d), which forms a sort of bleak mirror to the song that will end this concert. Where \u201cThe Heavenly Life\u201d tells us of a world of eternal peace and plenty, “The Earthly LifeT speaks of a world of terror and hunger. As with the Humperdinck, I have essentially stuck as closely as possible to Mahler\u2019s own orchestration of the song, which is a model of clarity and economy. Although he is known for his use of vast forces, Mahler’s natural textural m\u00e9tier is chamber music-like clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMutter, ach Mutter, es hungert mich!
\nGieb mir Brot, sonst sterbe ich!\u201c
\n\u201eWarte nur! Warte nur, mein liebes Kind!
\n<\/span>Morgen wollen wir ernten geschwind!\u201c<\/span>Und als das Korn geerntet war,
\nrief das Kind noch immerdar:
\n\u201eMutter, ach Mutter, es hungert mich!
\nGieb mir Brot, sonst sterbe ich!\u201c
\n<\/span>\u201eWarte nur! Warte nur, mein liebes Kind!
\n<\/span>Morgen wollen wir dreschen geschwind!\u201cUnd als das Korn gedroschen war,
\nrief das Kind noch immerdar:
\n\u201eMutter, ach Mutter, es hungert mich!
\nGieb mir Brot, sonst sterbe ich!\u201c
\n\u201eWarte nur! Warte nur, mein liebes Kind!
\nMorgen wollen wir backen geschwind!\u201c<\/span>Und als das Brot gebacken war,
\nlag das Kind auf der Totenbahr\u2019!<\/td>\n | \u2018Mother, oh mother, I\u2019m hungry!
\nGive me some bread or I shall die!\u2019
\n\u2018Just wait! Just wait, my dear child!
\nTomorrow we shall hurry to harvest!\u2019<\/span>And when the grain was harvested,
\nthe child still cried out:
\n\u2018Mother, oh mother, I\u2019m hungry!
\nGive me some bread or I shall die!\u2019
\n<\/span>\u2018Just wait! Just wait, my dear child!
\nTomorrow we shall hurry and go threshing!\u2019And when the grain was threshed,
\nthe child still cried out:
\n\u2018Mother, oh mother, I\u2019m hungry!
\nGive me some bread or I shall die!\u2019
\n<\/span>\u2018Just wait! Just wait, my dear child!
\nTomorrow we shall hurry and bake!\u2019<\/span><\/p>\nAnd when the bread was baked,
\nthe child lay on the funeral bier!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n <\/p>\n Franz Schubert was, and always will be, the greatest exponent of the art song in human history. His output in song is without match in breadth, beauty, originality and importance. His songs were to be a huge influence on the creative development of Gustav Mahler. Mahler\u2019s first masterpiece, the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen,<\/em> or Songs of a Wayfarer, are hugely Schubertian in both their musical language and their subject matter. \u201cDie Forelle<\/strong>\u201d (\u201cThe Trout\u201d) <\/strong>is one of Schubert\u2019s simplest and most popular songs, composed in 1817, when Schubert was just 20, to words by Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart. The song later formed the basis of a set of variations which gave Schubert\u2019s 1819 work for violin, viola, cello, double bass and piano, its name: the Trout Quintet. The song\u2019s three verses tell the story of a child observing a fisherman at work, and her outrage when the fisherman muddies the water, driving the trout from the safety of the rocks onto the waiting hook. The fourth stanza, which Schubert didn\u2019t set, makes clear that the song is, in part, a parable of innocence lost and a cautionary tale for young girls:<\/p>\nYou who tarry by the golden spring
\nOf secure youth,
\nThink still of the trout:
\nIf you see danger, hurry by!
\nMost of you err only from lack
\nOf cleverness. Girls, see
\nSeducers with their tackle!
\nOr else, too late, you’ll bleed<\/p>\n Heard in its context tonight, I think the song speaks again to the child\u2019s view of our complex relationship with food and comfort, and the cost of that food and comfort. One couldn\u2019t blame the father of the starving child in The Earthly Life for muddying the waters in order to feed his family. The child is outraged for the trout, but only because she clearly doesn\u2019t know the pain of hunger.<\/p>\n \n\n\nIn einem B\u00e4chlein helle,
\nDa schoss in froher Eil\u2019
\nDie launische Forelle
\nVorueber wie ein Pfeil.
\nIch stand an dem Gestade
\nUnd sah in s\u00fcsser Ruh\u2019
\nDes muntern Fishleins Bade
\nIm klaren B\u00e4chlein zu.Ein Fischer mit der Rute
\nWohl an dem Ufer stand,
\nUnd sah\u2019s mit kaltem Blute
\nWie sich das Fischlein wand.
\nSo lang dem Wasser helle
\nSo dacht\u2019 ich, nicht gebricht,
\nSo f\u00e4ngt er die Forelle
\nMit seiner Angel nicht.Doch endlich ward dem Diebe
\nDie Zeit<\/a>\u00a0zu lang.
\nEr macht das B\u00e4chlein t\u00fcckisch tr\u00fcbe,
\nUnd eh\u2019 ich es gedacht
\nSo zuckte seine Rute
\nDas Fischlein zappelt dran,
\nUnd ich mit regem Blute
\nSah die Betrog\u2019ne an.<\/td>\n | In a clear little brook,
\nThere darted, about in happy haste,
\nThe moody trout
\nDashing everywhere like an arrow.
\nI stood on the bank
\nAnd watched, in sweet peace,
\nThe fish\u2019s bath
\nIn the clear little brook.A fisherman with his gear
\nCame to stand on the bank
\nAnd watched with cold blood
\nAs the little fish weaved here and there.
\nBut as long as the water remains clear,
\nI thought, no worry,
\nHe\u2019ll never catch the trout
\nWith his hook.But finally, for the thief,
\nTime seemed to pass too slowly.
\nHe made the little brook murky,
\nAnd before I thought it could be,
\nSo his line twitched.
\nThere thrashed the fish,
\nAnd I, with raging blood,
\nGazed on the betrayed one. <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n <\/p>\n Schubert\u2019s setting of The Trout is a compact masterpiece, barely more than a minute long. Given the sonic possibilities of expanding the accompaniment from piano to miniature orchestra, I decided to be more interventionist in arranging and expanding Schubert\u2019s song. I have combined the three verses of the song with several, but not all, of the variations in the Trout Quintet. I\u2019ve chosen to alternate strophes of the song with variations from the quintet that I thought suited the mood of the lyrics. In addition to knitting together the song and the quintet, I\u2019ve had to transpose the song from its original key (D-flat major) to the key of the variations (D major) and I\u2019ve performed a bit of harmonic surgery on the variations to make sure the new work flows in a logical way. The most drastic change, which will probably upset the purists and go unnoticed by everyone else, is that I have changed the key of lovely cello variation from B-flat major to D major. Unlike the Humperdinck and the Mahler, there was no orchestral original to work from here, so I\u2019ve orchestrated the piano accompaniment of the song and gently expanded the instrumentation of the Quintet as needed.<\/p>\n Finally we come to another combination of song and variations by Schubert, both known as \u201cDer Tod und das M\u00e4dchen<\/em>\u201d or \u201cDeath and the Maiden.\u201d The song is based on a poem by Matthias Claudius and was written in 1817, the same year as \u201cThe Trout.\u201d It has only two verses- one in which the Maiden pleads with Death to pass her by, and one in which Death assures her that he is a friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDas M\u00e4dchen:
\nVor\u00fcber! Ach, vor\u00fcber!
\nGeh, wilder Knochenmann!
\nIch bin noch jung! Geh, lieber,
\nUnd r\u00fchre mich nicht an.
\nUnd r\u00fchre mich nicht an.<\/em><\/em>Der Tod:
\nGib deine Hand, du sch\u00f6n und zart Gebild!
\nBin Freund, und komme nicht, zu strafen.
\nSei gutes Muts! ich bin nicht wild,
\nSollst sanft in meinen Armen schlafen!<\/td>\nThe Maiden<\/em>:
\nPass me by! Oh, pass me by!
\nGo, fierce man of bones!
\nI am still young! Go, rather,
\nAnd do not touch me.
\nAnd do not touch me.Death<\/em>:
\nGive me your hand, you beautiful and tender form!
\nI am a friend, and come not to punish.
\nBe of good cheer! I am not fierce,
\nSoftly shall you sleep in my arms!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n <\/p>\n In 1824, Schubert used the song (in particular, the introduction of the song), as the basis of a set of variations which would become the slow movement of his String Quartet in D minor, one of his greatest chamber music works. Mahler\u2019s love for the Quartet was enormous- it was one of two string quartets (the other was Beethoven\u2019s \u201cSerioso\u201d Quartet) that Mahler orchestrated for performance by the full strings of the Vienna Philharmonic. This arrangement, like the others for flute (doubling alto flute), oboe (doubling cor anglais), clarinet (doubling bass clarinet), percussion, harmonium, piano and solo strings, starts with an exact lifting of the beginning of the slow movement of the Death and the Maiden Quartet, but wanders pretty far from the soundworld of Schubert\u2019s two originals.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not uncommon these days for one to hear a performance of the Lied, Death and the Maiden as a prelude to a performance of the complete quintet. I\u2019ve chosen a different approach. As I alluded to above, the entirety of Mahler\u2019s Fourth Symphony can be viewed as a development of the ideas in the song that concludes it. Rather than weave together song and variations of Death and the Maiden as I have with The Trout, I\u2019ve orchestrated the entire slow movement of the string quartet except for the last bar, then orchestrated the song to come at the end. Structurally, it\u2019s not all that different than the Mahler symphony- we hear the basis of everything at the end instead of at the beginning.<\/p>\n Death tells the Maiden to \u201cBe of good cheer!\u201d Does he speak the truth? Schubert’s tender coda is a hopeful clue that consolation awaits her.<\/p>\n | | | |
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![\"\"](\"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/10Feb-Poster-A3-v1-420x591.jpg\")
I’m conducting an incredibly cool programme next week with my friends in the English Symphony Orchestra<\/a> on the 10th of February in Worcester’s lovely Huntingdon Hall. We’re doing Erwin Stein’s magical chamber version of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with the magnificent soprano April Fredrick. Here are my programme notes about the works on the first half of the concert- Schoenberg’s chamber version of the Emperor Waltz and and my own orchestrations\/arrangements of four songs\/arias.<\/p>\n