Symphony Preview, February 27 and 28, 2016: Incident report

The phrase "incidental music" seems to imply something of secondary importance. But in reality, music written to accompany a non-musical play is often essential and not infrequently outlives the play for which it was written. Productions of Ibsen's "Peer Gynt," for example, are vanishingly rare, but Grieg's incidental music has become justly famous.

Gabriel Fauré in 1895
en.wikipedia.org

Which brings us to the first set of pieces on the St. Louis Symphony's all-Shakespeare program this weekend. The second of four regular season concerts dedicated to the work of the Bard of Avon, this one opens with the SLSO premiere of music written by Gabriel Fauré for an Odéon Theatre production of "Shylock," a verse adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" by the playwright and poet Edmond Haraucourt. The play, which (its title notwithstanding) emphasized the romantic subplot over Shylock's tragedy and quickly dropped from sight. Fauré's music has fared little better.

And that's a shame, because there is some very appealing stuff here. The "Entr'acte" that accompanies the entrance of Portia's suitors, for example, has real nobility, as does the "Epithalame" wedding night music, although in the latter piece it’s the kind of gracious nobility that you hear in (for example) the middle section of Holst's "Jupiter" movement from "The Planets." The soaring violin line in the "Nocturne" that accompanies a moonlit love scene in Portia's garden is, in the words of Jean-Michel Nectoux (in "Gabriel Fauré: A Musical Life"), "one of Fauré's most moving inspirations." And the concluding "Final" (marked "allegretto vivo") brings everything to a cheerful conclusion with a reunion of all the lovers—which tells you how far Haraucourt had deviated from Shakespeare.

Fauré's music may have languished in obscurity at least in part because of the poor performances it got at the Odéon. "Shylock," writes Mr. Nectoux, "received its first performance at the Odéon on 17 December 1889 and was played fifty-six times altogether. The critics praised the beauty of the décor, directly inspired by the palaces of Venice, but for the most part passed over Fauré's music in silence. He conducted the orchestra himself, but had his forebodings: 'For the first three performances,’ he wrote to Elisabeth Greffulhe, 'I'll have a reasonable little theatre orchestra. But from the fourth night onwards the Odéon's economic cutbacks begin to take effect: several of the good players are being dropped and instead they're hiring all the useless, feeble, and superannuated hacks they can scrape together from the Luxembourg quarter. I can see there's a bumpy ride ahead!'"

I think we can safely say that there will be no such issues this weekend.

Taking up the rest of the concert will be the complete incidental music Mendelssohn composed for Shakespeare's comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream." In this case, both the play and some of the music written for it have retained their popularity over the centuries, with Mendelssohn's "Overture," "Scherzo," "Nocturne," and (of course!) the "Wedding March" firmly ensconced in classical music's roster of Greatest Hits.

Portrait of Mendelssohn by
James Warren Childe
(1778–1862), 1839
en.wikipedia.org

"One of the major miracles of Mendelssohn's life," wrote British broadcaster and music critic John Amis for the English Decca recording of the complete "Dream" music in 1969 (issued here in the states on the London lablel), "was his composition at the age of seventeen of the Overture...one of the minor miracles of his life was that he was able to pick up the threads sixteen years later to write the rest of the incidental music... The Overture, opus 21, was composed in 1826 out of sheer enthusiasm, with no particular performance in mind; the Incidental music, opus 61, was commissioned by King Frederick William IV for a production of the play at Potsdam in 1843."

It helps that, at 17, Mendelssohn was already such an accomplished composer that there’s little audible difference between the Overture and the rest of the music.

When hearing a work as familiar as the "Overture," it’s easy to become complacent and lose track of what a very well-crafted piece of music it is. As Paul Schiavo reminds us in his program notes, the "Overture" presents us with a nearly perfect distillation of the major elements of Shakespeare’s play. Within less than twelve minutes Puck and company scamper through the twilight, the four mismatched lovers swoon, the Duke rides to the hunt, Peter Quince and the Mechanicals dance, and the magically altered Bottom brays. The "Scherzo" and "Nocturne" are also vividly evocative of, respectively, the opening scene of Shakespeare’s Act II (which introduces Puck and the other fairies) and the enchanted sleep of the lovers in Act IV.

Hearing all fourteen of the pieces Mendelssohn wrote for the play, though, gives you a real appreciation of just how closely the music and text are integrated. If you're familiar with the script, you can easily visualize the scenes as you hear the score. And even if you're not, Mr. Schiavo has provided a detailed description of how it all fits together. Or you can read the whole thing on line.

One of my favorite bits is the setting for two sopranos and four-part women's chorus of the song "You spotted snakes," which the fairies sing to lull the queen Titania to sleep in Act II, scene 2:

You spotted snakes with double tongue,
Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen;
Newts and blind-worms, do no wrong,
Come not near our fairy queen.
Philomel, with melody
Sing in our sweet lullaby;
Lulla, lulla, lullaby, lulla, lulla, lullaby:
Never harm,
Nor spell nor charm,
Come our lovely lady nigh;
So, good night, with lullaby.
Weaving spiders, come not here;
Hence, you long-legg'd spinners, hence!
Beetles black, approach not near;
Worm nor snail, do no offence.
Philomel, with melody, & c.

The theme for "Philomel with melody..." is, as Mr. Amis noted, "surely one of the most captivating tunes ever written." Captivating tunes abound here, in fact. If you've never heard the complete score, I think you'll find this a happy journey of discovery.

The Essentials: Hans Graf conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus along with soloists Laurel Dantas, soprano; Debby Lennon, mezzo-soprano; DeWayne Trainer, tenor; and actress Maureen Thomas Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. February 27 and 28. The program is part of the Symphony's four-week Shakespeare Festival. Performances take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Symphony Review, January 22, 2016: A fine romance

Percussionist William James

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This weekend was a busy one for David Robertson and the St. Louis Symphony, with regular subscription concerts Friday morning and Saturday night and tonight and a Whitaker Foundation-sponsored "Music You Know" concert Friday night.

Initiated in the fall of 2014, the "Music You Know" mini-series (three concerts per season) features classical "greatest hits": relatively short works, most of which are likely to be familiar to regulars at Powell Hall. As was the case with the previous program in the series, there was also a local premiere—"Girlfriends Medley" by percussion virtuoso Bob Becker—but for the most part the music was tried and true.

Things got off to a galvanizing start with the overture to Smetana's 1865 comic opera "The Bartered Bride." Mr. Robertson adopted a tempo for the opening fugal section that might have been risky for a less disciplined string section, but Concertmaster David Halen and his forces came through with flying colors. Hearing them rip through those scurrying figures with such precision was a dose of sheer musical adrenaline.

The four selections from the incidental music Gabriel Fauré wrote for a 1900 production of Maeterlinck’s elusive and once-popular drama "Pelléas and Mélisande" that followed made for a nice lyrical contrast. The "Prélude" swelled with understated passion. The swirling strings of the "Entr'acte" (depicting Mélisande at her spinning wheel) cast an ethereal spell. The famous "Sicilienne" was a model of elegance, and Mélisande's death scene was profound in its tragic resignation.

The performance featured some fine solo work from (among others), Principal Flute Mark Sparks and Principal Harp Allegra Lilly, along with some fine playing by the double reeds and clarinet.

Bob Becker

The first half came to a big close with a spectacular display of xylophone virtuosity by Principal Percussionist William James in the "Girlfriends Medley." Originally written for percussion ensemble but re-scored here for xylophone and strings, the work is a ragtime-style mashup of three vaudeville-era songs that all have women's names in their titles—"My Little Margie," "Dinah," and one I'm embarrassed to say I didn't recognize. Mr. James's performance was a stunning mix of technical flash and musical elegance. If Fred Astaire had played the xylophone, it would have sounded like this. Mr. James got a well-deserved standing ovation.

The second half of the concert opened with the familiar "Wedding March" from Mendelssohn's "Midsummer Night's Dream" incidental music, a complete performance of which is on the SLSO bill next month, followed by the most weighty entry of the evening: the fourth movement "Adagietto" for harp and strings from the work that takes up most of the other concert program this weekend, Mahler's "Symphony No. 5."

As Mr. Robertson reminded us in his prefatory remarks, the movement is generally seen as the composer's musical love letter to his wife Alma and a profound musical statement of the sentiment that the world is a better place for the presence of one's love. But because nothing with Mahler is ever simple, there's also the suggestion, here and there, that love, like everything else human, is mortal and must pass.

The beauty and tragedy of this music was wonderfully conveyed by the orchestra's performance. Mr. Robertson let the music breathe, in accordance with the composer's sehr langsam ("very slowly"), but never allowed it become static (as I've heard happen with some performances). This was real "lump in the throat" material and completely captivating.

The evening came to a jolly conclusion with the second of two suites from Manuel de Falla's ballet "El sombrero de tres picos" ("The Three-Cornered Hat"). Mr. Robertson held the performance up as an example of why he loves to conduct this orchestra, and it was easy to hear why. It was a vibrant, exciting reading and a welcome opportunity for the percussion section to strut their stuff. The English horn solo in the final "Jota" had a nice bite as well. It was a welcome antidote to the cold and wind outside.

As Mr. Robertson pointed out in his remarks from the stage, last night's concert took place on the same date and same day of the week when, seventeen years ago, he made his debut with the SLSO. As if that weren't reason enough to celebrate the date, the soloist for that concert was pianist Orli Shaham, who would later become his wife. It's nice that we all got to help him observe the event with such an exemplary evening of music making.

The St. Louis Symphony begins a West Coast tour this coming week, so their next local appearance won't be until February 5 and 6, when violinist Anthony Marwood will conduct an evening of chamber music by Bach, Dvorák, and Peteris Vasks. For more information: stlsymphony.org.