CARMINA BURANA
any Greek myth . It is the story of the water fairy Melusine , who falls in love with a human man . She pledges herself to him but with one condition : that he leave her be on every Saturday . Fearing infidelity , he breaks his promise , discovering that one day a week , his wife is half woman , half serpent . And so , through betrayal , he loses her anyway .
Like many of us during the holiday season , Felix sent his gift late – two months late . Fanny took to it immediately ; he had shared his musical ideas with her for years . And in a letter likely written across 27 – 28 of February , she wrote ,
“ I ’ ve mastered your Schöne Melusine rather well now and am enjoying it thoroughly . The piece splashes around quite splendidly and you ’ ve given the waves a graceful variety … it ’ s really quite a different situation from when we used to sit together at home and you would show me a totally new musical idea without telling me its purpose … But those lovely times are of course a thing of the past . Thus , after several months , I receive a sheet of paper in which I rejoice first over your handwriting and the date of your birthday , but then comes the tedious process of working through the new score before I can derive any enjoyment from it … But now I ’ m also experiencing this with Melusine . I ’ m so far along that I ’ m discovering many things in the musical details that I like very much . I ’ m postponing mention of a few things I don ’ t like because I don ’ t feel like meting out criticism today .”
Mendelssohn draws upon sonata form , but loosely : there ’ s the gentle waves evoked in the main theme ; torrential uncertainty contrasting with an elegant secondary theme in the exposition . These themes interact and enhance each other , particularly in the development section , each one a signifier : for Melusine ’ s aquatic home ; the doubts that plague her husband , and the consequence of his actions . But the conclusion suggests a difference in the original tale : the overture ends quietly , hopefully . Maybe in Mendelssohn ’ s retelling , Melusine gets her happy ending after all .
Instrumentation Two flutes , two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons , two horns , two trumpets , timpani , and strings .
Missy Mazzoli
Born October 27 , 1980 in Lansdale , PA Resides in Brooklyn , NY
SINFONIA ( FOR ORBITING SPHERES ) [ 2013 ]
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to whirl a hurdy-gurdy into the depths of space ? Or what a solar system would sound like in symphonic form ? Missy Mazzoli has . The result : Sinfonia ( for Orbiting Spheres ), commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2013 and revised in 2021 . As Mazzoli shared in a composer ’ s profile with the Minnesota Symphony , this work “ came out of an idea I had to write a piece in the shape of a solar system . At first I had no idea what that meant , I just felt that it was a satisfying form . After a lot of sketching I ended up writing a piece consisting of small loops within larger loops , like rotations within a larger orbit .”
The result is minimalist swirls , tight interlocking motives , and rich orchestral color ; a work that engages with the Baroque-era sinfonia ( think intimate symphony ), pastoral and programmatic music , and our centuries-long excitement over space .
Sinfonia beings with a sustained chord in the strings , slowly becoming more organized with slides and stepwise motion . Brass , solo oboe , percussion , synth , and harmonica punctuate the texture with repetitive motives , growing in prominence to create spin and circularity . The texture becomes more melodically driven : a motive first introduced by a solo oboe returns , accompanied by an increase in dynamics and repetitive motives across the ensemble . Moving through these ebbs and flows , Mazzoli takes us on a journey through space . Past the dust of nebulas ; into a black hole ; spinning along with the gas giants and a blue , green , and brown rock . Towards a boundary so far it might as well be endless ; closer and closer to that invisible point of infinity .
Instrumentation Two flutes , two oboes , two clarinets , three bassoons , three horns , three trumpets three trombones , one tuba , two percussion , one keyboard , opera gong , boombox , spring coil , lion ' s roar , snare drum , vibraphone , melodica , suspended cymbal , glockenspiel , marimba , piano , synthesizer , and strings .
Carl Orff
Born July 10 , 1895 in Munich , Germany Died March 29 , 1982 in Munich , Germany
CARMINA BURANA [ 1935 – 36 ]
“ Everything I have written to date , and which you have , unfortunately , printed ,” Carl Orff wrote to his publisher , “ can be destroyed . With Carmina Burana , my collected works begin .” Sounds a bit extreme , but not unusual ; if there is a constant across the artistic disciplines , it is the predominance of brutal self-criticism . Ironically , it is Orff ’ s Carmina Burana that became his musical stamp , his ticket into the canon . Composed across 1935 and 1936 ; premiered in 1937 , it was a popular and critical success in Nazi Germany , and would remain so after the fall of the Third Reich , the establishment of East and West Germany , crossing borders , oceans , and contexts for decades to come .
Because even if you don ’ t know Carmina Burana , you have likely heard it . “ O Fortuna ,” which opens and closes this cantata , has become its own sonic calling card , frequently used in commercials and films to evoke triumph and transcendent accomplishment . The movement is a reference to the Wheel of Fortune imagery in Orff ’ s copy of the original Carmina Burana : a collection of songs from the 13th century that celebrated hedonism and sensuality .
Orff composed original music for 24 songs , weaving together consonance and tonal idiosyncrasy . He divided those songs into the following sections : “ Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi ” ( Fortune , Empress of the World ); “ Primo vere ” ( In Spring ); “ Uf dem anger ” ( In the Meadow ); “ In Taberna ” ( In the Tavern ); “ Cour d ’ amours ” ( Court of Love ); “ Blanziflor et Helena ” ( Blancheflour and Helen ); and “ Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi .” The songs feature a mix of Latin , Middle High German , and Franco-Provençal , written by traveling clerics , goliards , who refused to reject the world for spiritual salvation . What they have left us is not only material used in the creation of a wildly popular classical work . They have also left a reminder that life — creativity , expression , and religious devotion — were just as complexly intertwined then as they are today .
Instrumentation Two flutes , two piccolos , two clarinets , one English horn , three bassoons , four horns , three trumpets , three trombones , one tuba , one timpani , glockenspiel , tam-tam , xilofone , castagnetta , raganella ( ratchet ), sonagli ( sleigh bells ) triangolo , cymbali antichi ( piatti piccoli ), piatti ( suspended and crash ) campane , campane tubolare , tamburo basco , casse chiare , casse grande , celeste , piano , and strings .
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