{ program notes
The opening chorus,“ O Fortuna,” epitomizes Orff’ s techniques. After that electric opening, the chorus delivers the text forcefully in unison. As in most of the songs, a constant rhythmic ostinato pattern in the orchestra propels the music forward. Later, harsh blows from the bass drum and the gong accelerate the drive.
The section celebrating the coming of“ Spring” provides strong contrast with delicate, luminous vocal and instrumental timbres. In“ The Merry Face of Spring,” the tremor of high-woodwind birds introduces a simple unison melody for chorus over the heavy swinging of two chords. Its archaic-sounding melody, built on a pentatonic( five-note) scale, suggests the music the medieval poets might have actually used. An orchestral round dance for the scene on the green plays rhythmic games with constantly changing meters— four beats, three beats, two beats— à la Stravinsky, who was an important influence on Orff.“ Floret silva nobilis” is an infectious,
folksong-inspired chorus; listen here for the musical depiction of the lover riding away in the tenors and timpani.
Only men are allowed“ In the Tavern.” This raucous, ribald section features the male chorus and baritone soloist as an inebriated, blasphemous priest. The
The“ Court of Love” ends in a grandly sonorous choral hymn to the“ glorious virgin,” but here she is not the Virgin Mary, but rather Venus.
most striking song here is“ Olim lacus colueram”(“ Lament of the Roasted Swan”). Singing in a squealing high register or falsetto, the tenor is the hapless swan,“ now black and roasting fiercely.”
The voices of women and children dominate“ The Court of Love,” in which courtly odes grow quite explicit.
Here the radiant tones of the soprano soloist are introduced. Her warm lower range is exploited in the exquisite“ In trutina,” while at the very top of her range she abandons herself totally to passion(“ Dulcissime”).
The“ Court of Love” ends in a grandly sonorous choral hymn to the“ glorious virgin,” but here she is not the Virgin Mary, but rather Venus, the goddess of physical love. Its drumbeats propel us back to the opening“ O Fortuna” chorus. Fortune’ s wheel has made a complete revolution, and our medieval adventure ends where it began with a lusty thump of timpani.
Instrumentation: Three flutes including piccolos, three oboes including English horn, three clarinets including E-flat and bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, and strings.
Notes by Janet E. Bedell, Copyright © 2016
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More than 90 paintings and drawings explore Henri Matisse’ s enduring influence on the artwork of Richard Diebenkorn.
This exhibition is co-organized by The Baltimore Museum of Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Major support for Matisse / Diebenkorn has been provided by The Henry Luce Foundation and Terra Foundation for American Art. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. The Baltimore presentation of the exhibition is made possible by Ellen W. P. Wasserman, Jeanette C. and Stanley H. Kimmel, Tony and Lynn Deering, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Corporate sponsorship is provided by Bank of America and Education Partner Transamerica.
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Right: Henri Matisse. The Yellow Dress, 1929-31. The Baltimore Museum of Art. © 2016 Succession H. Matisse / ARS, NY Left: Richard Diebenkorn. Seated Figure with Hat. 1967. National Gallery of Art, Washington. © 2016 The Richard Diebenkorn Foundation
September – November 2016 | Overture 27