BEETHOVEN’ S NINTH: NEW YEAR’ S CELEBRATION
PROGRAM NOTES By A. Kori Hill
Valerie Coleman
Born September 3, 1970 in Louisville, Kentucky Resides in New York City, New York
UMOJA: ANTHEM OF UNITY [ C. 2001, 2019 ]
Instrumentation: Two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, trombone, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, ride cymbal, bass drum, snare drum, temple blocks, xylophone, suspended cymbal, vibraphone, cymbals( pair), tambourine, glockenspiel, marimba, harp, piano, and strings.
Coleman’ s Umoja began as a Kwanzaa singalong song for women’ s choir. Composed in 2001, its name is Swahili for“ unity,” and is the first day of the winter holiday. Coleman has arranged this composition many times, most famously for wind quintet as the founding member of Imani Winds. In 2019, she returned to the work again, this time as a commission for the Philadelphia Orchestra. This version features an atmospheric introduction, a solo violin the only one with any melodic material. As the texture grows, the main theme— the anthem— begins to emerge, but it is subdued, almost hesitant. The middle section is prickly and skewed, but not at the expense of gorgeous lines in the strings, virtuosic counterpoint in the woodwinds and brass, and warm rhythmic punctuations from the percussion. And then, the whole melody blossoms from a solo horn layered with violas, growing in confidence and instrumental power. It has fought its way to the surface, moving through the orchestra in a deft call and response.
Coleman describes the moments of dissonance as the“ clash of injustices, racism, and hate,” with the anthem’ s return“ a gentle reminder of kindness and humanity.” Umoja speaks to the function of music as not only a mode of artistic expression; it is a method for preservation and communication: of history, our present experience, and hope for the future.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Born December 17, 1770 in Bonn, Germany Died March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria
ELEGIAC SONG, OP. 118 [ 1814 ]
Instrumentation: String orchestra, and SATB chorus.
Beethoven’ s Elegiac Song holds an archival mystery. There is some disagreement on the origins of the text. It most likely comes from stanzas of Johann Haus’ poem“ Bey der Kinde von Jacobi’ s Tod.” Or the text may have been written by the commissioner of the work, Beethoven’ s long-term patron Baron Johann Baptiste Pasqualati von Osterberg.
But we do know for certain why Beethoven wrote it: Johann commissioned the song as a memorial for his late wife, Eleanore, on the third anniversary of her death. Beethoven completed the work while a resident of Pasqualati House, the stately apartment complex owned by the Baron.
Though Beethoven is not typically seen as a vocal composer, he wrote extensively for choir, chamber groups with voice, voice and piano, and settings of folk songs. Elegiac Song is of the second category, written for four voices( SATB) and string quartet. Beethoven’ s use of partsong texture, similar in execution to a chorale, allows for the voices to dominate and drive the melodic line, supported and layered by the strings. Even the modulations from E major to C minor to A major and back to E are so subtle that even the moments of dissonance feel faint and distant.
Stylistically, Elegiac Song sounds tame, perhaps stale, to what we expect from Beethoven. But it must be remembered that he wasn’ t writing it for himself. The result is a stately, noble, intimate portrayal of a life lost and never forgotten.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Born December 17, 1770 in Bonn, Germany Died March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria
SYMPHONY NO. 9 IN D MINOR, OP. 125,“ CHORAL”
Instrumentation: Two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, triangle, cymbal, bass drum, strings, and SATB chorus, in addition to the vocal soloists.
What is there to say about this symphony? So popular that the final theme has taken on a life of its own, defining the symphony as an anthem for universal brotherhood. What to say about a piece that is better known as the apex of creative genius than a composition by a man who worried his style was no longer in vogue?
Well, let’ s start with that. When Beethoven was commissioned in 1822 by the London Philharmonic Society, he turned to musical ideas he had written down several years prior. Since writing a symphony was nothing new, he decided to give himself a challenge: write a symphony that also called for four vocals and an eightyplus chorus.
This idea may have had cultural roots: Italian opera was all the rage in Vienna. So much so, that Beethoven thought Berlin would be a better spot to premiere his symphony. The Viennese may not be eager to hear anything that wasn’ t Rossini. But thanks to his supporters( and logistical finagling by Theater am Kärntnertor manager Louis Antoine Duport), Beethoven’ s Ninth Symphony was premiered in Vienna at the Kärntnertor on May 7, 1824.
Initially, response was mixed. Some were thrilled by the symphony’ s uniqueness; others thought Beethoven’ s deafness had harmed the quality of his craft. And yet thanks to more than a century of discourse and programming, the Ninth is now known as a masterwork. And yet placing this piece on a pedestal does Beethoven a disservice. It doesn’ t make listening very dynamic if you go in already accepting that something is good. How may we listen to the Ninth without the weight of its cultural and symbolic significance? Is such a thing even possible? Should such a thing be possible?
The Ninth is divided into four movements; but then the conventionality starts to break down. First, there’ s a massive chorus and four soloists on stage, though we won’ t hear from them until the final movement. Second, after the stately, serious I. Allegro ma non troppo, we don’ t get
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