Stream: RSNO - Dvorak Symphony No8
This concert provides an excitingly varied programme, with two works by composers of African American heritage and two works by Dvorak. Aberdeen-born Richard Thompson has written jazz, classical works and opera. Tonight’s World Premiere performance of the suite from his 2012 chamber opera, ‘The Mask and the Mirror’, is about the love affair between African American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) and novelist Alice Ruth Moore (1875-1932). Dunbar, during his short life, was an influential figure among black communities in the UK as well as in America. (Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was inspired by their 1898 meeting in London to set some of his poems). Thompson wrote the suite for orchestra, two female voices and a tenor, but, given COVID requirements, has rewritten it for this performance using violins to replace the women’s parts, and a cello to represent Dunbar’s voice.
The earlier part of the first movement is a conversation between the violins and the solo cello, with some short questioning phrases, and eventually a more impassioned extended cello “reply” accompanied by woodwind, and then the whole orchestra with brief bursts on the drum. A meditative section for winds starts the second movement before the cello begins a plaintive theme. This short ‘aria’ sounds lovely on the cello, which is soon joined by a solo violin – this scene is between Dunbar and his mother. Using a larger orchestra than in the opera, Thompson says that he enjoyed the opportunities to develop interesting textures. Towards the end, the winds, especially solo flute and clarinet, take over in a theme whose questioning tone perhaps echoes the suite’s opening.
Making her RSNO debut tonight is Finnish conductor Anna Maria Helsing, In this concert with two unfamiliar works, it’s refreshing to hear her say how she and the orchestra tackled pieces which were new to all of them. Sharon Roffman, Leader of the RSNO, stepped up to the soloist’s role after the original soloist was unable to travel. She is excited to be playing Florence Price’s last work, her Violin Concerto No 2, written shortly before her death in 1953, and discovered in a pile of unperformed pieces only when her house was demolished a few years ago. Born in Arkansas in 1887, her middle-class upbringing was relatively unaffected by prejudice (her dentist father had both black and white patients) but later as “Jim Crow” legislation took effect in the south, she and her young family fled north to Chicago. Her difficult marriage and, as she said, the twin burdens of being a woman and an African American affected her career prospects. She struggled for much of her life to have her music played professionally, only achieving recognition in the last 20 years of her life.
The single movement concerto has a large orchestra with some unusual instruments. After the bombastic opening with brass and timpani, there’s a brief flourish for celeste and percussion before the entrance of the solo violin for a lengthy melody, initially unaccompanied, but later with the other strings, and, briefly, the trombone section. Price kept up her income by writing settings of spirituals, and there’s a suggestion of that style in the next sonorous theme, which Roffman starts before being joined, chorale fashion, by trumpets. The music slows and is replaced by a brisk martial theme. Swift changes between contrasting tempos and orchestral textures are a feature of the work, with much virtuosity required by Roffman, although on a second hearing the lyrical quality of the solo part strikes me more forcibly. The work’s melodic and harmonic quality seem to owe more to European symphonic composers, like Dvorak, than to the 20th century US works which have jazz and blues influences. Flautist Katherine Bryan and Adrian Wilson on oboe enjoy their frequent interjections, and harp and celeste also feature. There are three percussionists, so there’s an unusual variety of instrumental effects. In the last section, Roffman is required, as the programme note puts it, to “run rings around” a hymn-like melody for strings and clarinet, before a final fortissimo by the whole orchestra.
The concerto is sandwiched by the two Dvorak pieces. Roffman in her introduction to the Romance for Violin says that “weirdly” the music reminds her of the Batman theme. She illustrates this on the piano, showing how it moves from a minor to a major chord. She suggests that there’s a tension between darkness and light, with the last page of music oscillating between the two. Her challenge to the audience is to see which wins.
So there are contrasts too in this violin piece, but here each theme is more sustained, and developed before we move to the next idea. Mostly the piece is in triple time, a gentle waltz, with soaring solo violin, sometimes accompanied by pizzicato strings. Did I have an answer to Roffman’s challenge? Certainly before the end I noticed that a “darker” phrase in the violin was answered by a “brighter” reply from one of the wind instruments. We’ll count it as a draw…
Dvorak’s Symphony No 8, though less well-known than the ‘New World’, is just as melodic. Both Helsing and cor anglais Principal, Henry Adam admit that they like it for its great tunes. Though lacking the percussion required in the Price Concerto, the full force of the orchestra is let rip in the first movement, Allegro con brio, after its more sombre opening on cello and lower winds. There are many quieter moments too, such as another legato section for cellos and brass. Flute and piccolo birdcalls feature too, providing a pastoral tone. Eventually rhythmic martial music dominates as the movement gallops toward the end.
The second movement is marked ‘Adagio’ and begins with repeated alternating phrases in the higher and lower woodwinds. A second theme on a descending scale starts on the double basses, but its development is interrupted by repeated birdsong, followed by threatening drumbeats and rumblings in the lower strings. A majestic conclusion doesn’t dispel a sense of foreboding. The third movement, allegretto grazioso, is a lilting waltz, with a clear rhythm, becoming more like a ballroom waltz when the fuller orchestration of the melody provides a stronger pulse A trumpet fanfare heralds the final movement, then the cellos lay out a measured theme, becoming faster and more swirling as it is taken up by the rest of the orchestra, becoming a raucous dance, with a foot-stomping beat. A contrasting slower theme for strings and woodwind dominates, until the music suddenly accelerates to a dramatic conclusion.
Helsing has formed a good partnership with the RSNO, and says she’s enjoyed working with them. “They laugh at my jokes!” Nearing the end of the RSNO season of works recorded in the later part of 2020, the orchestra should be satisfied with what they’ve accomplished: highlighting new work by lesser-known composers, as well as playing established favourites, they’ve brought thrilling orchestral sounds into our homes, while piloting a relaxed style of presentation with commentary from visiting performers and members of the orchestra.
The concert is available online for a small fee, and much more about tonight’s performance can be found in the excellent online programme. For a wonderful introduction to Florence Price’s life and music, Donald Macleod’s Composer of the Week broadcasts, from March 2020, with specially recorded performances of previously unknown works, was replayed recently and is available for over a year on BBC Sounds.
Available to stream on the RSNO website until 14th March 2021.
