STRAVINSKY ISABELLE FAUST DOMINIQUE HORWITZ COPPOLA – ZAFRA – FRIEDRICH – VAN RIJEN – DE BOEVÉ – CURFS Élégie - Duo Concertant ALEXANDER MELNIKOV STRAVINSKY ISABELLE FAUST DOMINIQUE HORWITZ COPPOLA – ZAFRA – FRIEDRICH – VAN RIJEN – DE BOEVÉ – CURFS Élégie - Duo Concertant ALEXANDER MELNIKOV STRAVINSKY ISABELLE FAUST DOMINIQUE HORWITZ COPPOLA – ZAFRA – FRIEDRICH – VAN RIJEN – DE BOEVÉ – CURFS Élégie - Duo Concertant ALEXANDER MELNIKOV STRAVINSKY ISABELLE FAUST DOMINIQUE HORWITZ COPPOLA – ZAFRA – FRIEDRICH – VAN RIJEN – DE BOEVÉ – CURFS Élégie - Duo Concertant ALEXANDER MELNIKOV The Soldier’s Tale
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STRAVINSKYISABELLE FAUSTDOMINIQUE HORWITZ
COPPOLA – ZAFRA – FRIEDRICH – VAN RIJEN – DE BOEVÉ – CURFSÉlégie - Duo ConcertantALEXANDER MELNIKOV
STRAVINSKYISABELLE FAUSTDOMINIQUE HORWITZ
COPPOLA – ZAFRA – FRIEDRICH – VAN RIJEN – DE BOEVÉ – CURFSÉlégie - Duo ConcertantALEXANDER MELNIKOV
STRAVINSKYISABELLE FAUSTDOMINIQUE HORWITZ
COPPOLA – ZAFRA – FRIEDRICH – VAN RIJEN – DE BOEVÉ – CURFSÉlégie - Duo ConcertantALEXANDER MELNIKOV
STRAVINSKYISABELLE FAUSTDOMINIQUE HORWITZ
COPPOLA – ZAFRA – FRIEDRICH – VAN RIJEN – DE BOEVÉ – CURFSÉlégie - Duo ConcertantALEXANDER MELNIKOV
The Soldier’s Tale (Histoiredusoldat) toberead,playedanddanced,intwoparts WordsbyCHARLESFERDINANDRAMUZ(1918) EnglishversionbyMichaelFlandersandKittyBlack PartI 7 | MarchingSong 1’45
An unsparing lessonWhenIsabelleFausttoldmeaboutherprojecttorecordTheSoldier’sTalewithinstrumentsdatingfromtheperiodwhentheworkwaswritten,Iwasimmediatelyhooked.Notbecausefidelitytotheoriginalissoveryclosetomyheart,butbecauseIknewthatthemusicwouldsoundmoreabrasivethanweareusedtowhenitisplayedbymoderninstruments.Andsoitshould,becauseStravinskyreallyisamusicalradicalandissometimesimplacablewithusaslisteners.
The narrative leads us into a universe where anything is possible, where values canseeminglyberedefined–asiftherewerenotomorrowtoholdusaccountable.Theinsightthatemergesfromthisisassimpleasitismerciless:weshouldhaveknownbetter.Hereistheplotinanutshell.Withoutanyneeddoso,asoldiersellshissoultotheDevil.Whenherealiseshismistake,hefightswitheverymeansathisdisposaltogobackonthedeal.Thegamethatdevelopsfromthisis,musicallyandtheatrically,ascolourfulasasetofplayingcards.SometimestheDevilgainstheupperhand,sometimestheSoldier.Intheend,toournotverygreatsurprise,thehumanbeingloses.
The Devil’s violinDuringthelastfewyearsbeforethestartoftheFirstWorldWar,Stravinskyandhisfamily,afterspendingthesummerinRussia,hadbeeninthehabitofresidinginSwitzerlandfortheautumnandwinter.Theoutbreakofhostilitiesforcedthem to settle there from July 1914 until 1920.Through the Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet, whose acquaintanceStravinskyhadrecentlymade,hemettheVaudoiswriterCharlesFerdinandRamuz.Thetwomenfirstworkedin1915-16 on a ‘burlesque’ story, Renard, whose libretto, fashioned by Stravinsky from Afanasyev’s collection of folk tales,wasadaptedbyRamuz.Inearly1918,itwasonceagainAfanasyev’stalesthatinspiredStravinskyandRamuztowriteHistoire du soldat (TheSoldier’sTale),notablyone(no.154)thatrelatestheadventuresofadeserterfromthearmyandtheDevilwhotakeshissoulinexchangeforhisviolin,aneminentlyFaustiantheme.ThechoiceofsubjectwasnotunconnectedtothenewsfromRussia.AfterplacinghighhopesontheRussianRevolutionofFebruary1917,StravinskywasdeeplyaffectedbytheturnofeventsinOctoberwhichmarkedtheadventoftheBolsheviks.Deprivedofmaterialresources,hedidallhecouldtoremedythesituationandconceivedtheideaofatravellingproductionwithactors,dancers and a small ensemble of seven instruments, as it were a ‘theatre of poverty’, to quote Pierre Boulez’s aptdescription.RamuztransposedthesettingtotheVaudoisregion,‘betweenDengesandDenezy’,andlaterrelated:
Thefirstmusicalsequencespunctuatethesuccessivescenes,butfromtheLittleConcert,whichprecedesthehealingofthePrincess,theyfollowoneanothermoreclosely.Theinstrumentalforces(violinanddoublebass,clarinetandbassoon, cornet and trombone, and percussion consisting of bass drum, field drum (tambour), two side drums,tambourine,cymbalsandtriangle)arehighlyunusual.AlthoughStravinskyclaimedmuchlatertohavebeeninfluencedby jazz, the instrumental scoring seems more reminiscent of the bands of klezmer musicians (violin, double bass,clarinet and percussion, sometimes with trumpet and/or trombone) that he heard in Russia when spending hissummersinUstilug,wheretherewasalargeJewishcommunity.HehadalsobeenfascinatedbyagroupofHungarianmusiciansperforminginacabaretinGenevawithAladárRáczatthecimbalom.HencewefindatraceofthisGypsysonority inthepredominantanddramaticrolethattheviolinplays inTheSoldier’sTale.Thetessituraemployed isconcentratedinthelowregister:beneathitssometimesalmostawkwardsurfaceimitatinga‘squeakyfiddle’,thepartis fearsomelydifficultwith itsmanydoublestops,bariolagesandopen-stringcrossings.Thewidecompassof theclarinet,aninstrumentofwhichStravinskywasespeciallyfond,helpstoenrichandreinforcethemediumregisteroftheensemble.
Fromthisuniquegroupinwhichtheinstruments‘dialoguewitheachother inthemostunexpectedway’,asAndréSchaeffnerputit,Stravinskydrawsoneverystyle:afolkcharacterwiththeMarchingSong,intowhichheintroducesoffbeataccents;thefashionabledancesoftheperiod(tango,waltzandragtime)thatthePrincessperforms,orthepasodoble,whichhehaddiscoveredinJune1916duringhistriptoSpainwithDiaghilev’sBalletsRusses,inTheRoyalMarch; the ‘learned style’ in The Great Chorale and The Little Chorale; a style close to the works of Bartók in TheLittleConcert.OnlythePastoraleisdeeplyStravinskianinessence:inthissectionwithoutpercussion,hesucceedsincreatinganatmosphereofpurepoetryanddream.Nevertheless,allStravinsky’sborrowingsherearefarfrombeingsimplepastiches.Forexample,hemetamorphosestheTangointoapieceforviolinaccompaniedbypercussionandthenclarinet,graduallydistortingthehighlycharacteristicrhythmofthedance.HeusesasimilardeviceinRagtime:thisstartsasagenrepieceandturnsintosomethingthathasnothingincommonwiththedanceitself,beforetheinitialthemereturnsalmostinnocently.TheWaltz,whichisreminiscentoftheoneinPetrouchka,isalsoafineexampleofparody:theshrillsoundoftheviolin,thefalseoroffbeatbasslines.InTheGreatChorale,StravinskyusestraditionalLutheranmelodiesthathesprinkleswithstrangeharmonies.Finally,inthelastsequence,theTriumphalMarchoftheDevil,heironicallycombinesTheLittleConcert,thankstowhichtheSoldierregainedhisfreedom,andtheTango,withwhichhewonthePrincess’sheart.Thus,whilecreatingaworkwithadeceptivelypopularandparodicappearance,Stravinskysucceeds,throughthegeniusofhismusicallanguage,inproducingmusicofextraordinaryrhythmicandsonicrichness.Frequentlyplayedasaconcertsuite,itwastoinfluenceawholegenerationofmusicians,fromArnoldSchoenbergtoKurtWeillbywayofGeorgesAuricandFrancisPoulenc.
Itwasnotuntiltheearly1930sthatStravinskyconsideredcomposingaworkforviolinandpiano.AsheadmittedinChroniquesdemavie,‘thecombinedsoundofpianoandbowedstrings’hadlittleappealforhim.HisencounterwiththeviolinistSamuelDushkin(1891-1976)wastoinspirehimtowritefortheseforcesand‘toextendthedisseminationof [his] works by means of chamber concerts’. He claimed he had been stimulated to write the Duo concertant,composedbetween27December1931and15 July1932,byreadingabookonPetrarch(Payot:1932)byhis friendCharles-AlbertCingria.ButinaninterviewgivenduringatourwithDushkinin1933,heexplainedthathewasalsoinfluencedbyVirgil’sGeorgics.Whateverthetruthmaybe,hisintentionwastoconceive‘alyricalcomposition,aworkofmusicalversification’(Chroniquesdemavie).Hecontinues:‘ItwasmyenthusiasmforthebucolicpoetsofantiquityandthelearnedartistryoftheirtechniquethatdeterminedthespiritandformofmyDuoconcertant.’TheparadoxicallyentitledCantilène(forthereisnothingtrulysonglikeaboutthismovement)openswithaseriesofarpeggiosontheviolinbeforegivingwaytoadouble-stoppedtextureofpowerful intensity,whilethepiano,aftertremolopassagesreminiscentofcimbalomwriting,unfoldsaninexorablecontinuumofsemiquavers.ÉglogueIbeginswithabagpipe-likeepisodeontheopenstrings,withthepianoimitatingthedrone,andthenmovesintoastaccatosecondpartindoublestops,highlyrhythmicandfeaturingnumerouschangesofmetre,thestyleofwhichrecallstheRagtimefromHistoiredusoldat.InÉglogueII,whichiswritteninthecantabilestyleofAriaIIfromtheViolinConcertoandconstitutesthesuite’sslowmovement,theviolinandpianolinesdoubleeachotherandintertwineinsubtleandmovingfashion.Theimperturbable6/16rhythmoftheGigueistwiceinterrupted,firstbyapassagewhosestyleevokesthePasdedeuxofApollonmusagète,thenbyanotherinwhichathemeemergesonthepianoaccompaniedbytheviolin.TheDuoendswiththeDithyrambe,amovementofprofoundintensitywithornamentationatonceever-presentyetextremelysober.Havingassertedthat‘Lyricismcannotexistwithoutrules,anditisessentialthattheyshouldbestrictones’,StravinskysucceededbrilliantlyindemonstratinghisabilitytoconjuresuchlyricismfromtheveryrigourwithwhichheconceivedthesuccessivemovementsoftheDuoconcertant.
TheÉlégieforunaccompaniedviolaorviolinwascomposedin1944forGermainPrévost,inmemoryofAlphonseOnnou,founder of the Quatuor Pro Arte.1The piece, marked to be played with mute from beginning to end, begins with anintroductionpresentingathemewithaccompaniment,whichthenleadsintoatexturethatcreatestheillusionofatwo-partfugue.Attheclimax,thesubjectofthefugueisansweredbyitsinversionatabar’sdistance.Stravinskymakesitclearinthescorethatthefingeringsarenotintendedtofacilitateperformance,butonlytounderlinethecounterpoint.
Wies de Boevé – Double bassDoublebassbyMartinusMathiasFichtl,Vienna,c.1748
I just love how gut strings allow me such a vast range of articulation possibilities: from extreme crispness in theSoldier´sMarchtoroundandwarmpizzicatitoprovideacosylayeronwhichthesoldiercancomfortablysittoplayhisAirsbythestream.
Jörgen van Rijen – TromboneTrombonebyA.Courtois,Paris,before1927