RAVEL’ S BOLÉRO, DEBUSSY & SAINT-SAËNS
Abigail Kent, Principal Harp urgency, almost as though a calm day at sea was interrupted by a storm.
Modal melodies and dark harmonies are pervasive in the rather unusual second movement, which is highly episodic and full of unpredictable shifts between different musical ideas. Saint-Saëns describes the first piano theme in this movement as a Nubian love song that he heard boatmen sing as he sailed on the Nile, although contemporary scholars question whether this is an accurate description of the melody’ s origins. Near the end of the movement, Saint-Saëns creates aural depictions of frogs and crickets, further transporting us into the sound world of his time in Egypt. The sea voyage continues in the third movement, with low rumbles in the piano representing the ship’ s propellers. Perhaps the joyous nature of this movement captures the composer’ s enthusiasm for experiencing new parts of the world. throughout his life. He was a renowned pianist, church organist, and conductor, and he authored numerous books, articles, plays, and poetry collections. Additionally, he took great interest in studying astronomy, linguistics, and archaeology, which inspired him to travel extensively. Eager to explore ancient sites and escape cold Parisian winters, Saint- Saëns often traveled to the Canary Islands and Northern Africa to compose for the winter months. On one such visit to Egypt in early 1896, he penned his fifth and final Piano Concerto, which was later nicknamed“ The Egyptian Concerto.”
Written in just three weeks while he stayed in Cairo, Saint-Saëns composed the Fifth Piano Concerto for his Jubilee Concert, which was scheduled shortly after his return to Paris. The concert was a celebration of the 50th anniversary of his debut piano recital, which he had presented at age 11, at the Salle Pleyel concert hall. Audiences were very enthusiastic about the work at its May 1896 premiere, and Saint-Saëns continued to play the concerto until well past his 80th birthday.
Saint-Saëns described the Fifth Piano Concerto as representing a sea voyage, and there are certainly subtle references to the Javanese, Spanish, and Middle Eastern musical traditions he surely encountered in his travels. The first movement opens gently with cascading melodies in the piano and strings that are punctuated by distinctive horn calls. The music builds in passionate intensity, with rapid scales and driving rhythms creating a sense of
Instrumentation: Two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, tam tam, and strings.
Claude Debussy
Born: August 22, 1862, in Saint- Germain-en-Laye, France Died: March 25, 1918, in Paris, France
“ IBÉRIA,” NO. 2 FROM IMAGES [ 1905 – 1912 ]
A number of 19th and 20th century French composers, including Claude Debussy, were captivated by the distinctive musical traditions of the Iberian Peninsula. Although he did not spend any significant time in Spain or Portugal, Debussy’ s Ibéria was lauded by the esteemed Spanish composer Manuel de Falla as successfully capturing“ echoes from the villages … the intoxicating spell of Andalusian nights, [ and ] the festive gaiety of a people dancing to the joyous strains of a banda of guitars and bandurrias.” Indeed, each of Ibéria’ s three vibrant movements masterfully
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