Symphony No.1 in A flat major - Edward Elgar
922 بار بازدید -
6 سال پیش
-
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Richard Hickox.
I - Andante. Nobilmente e semplice - Allegro - Poco meno mosso - Poco più mosso - Tempo I - Poco animato - Grandioso (Tempo I) - Meno mosso - Poco più mosso - Tempo I - Poco meno mosso: 0:01
II - Allegro molto - (attacca): 19:27
III - Adagio - Molto espressivo e sostenuto: 26:44
IV - Lento - Allegro - Grandioso (poco largamente): 39:40
Elgar's Symphony No.1 was composed between June 1907 and September 1908. It was premiered on December 3 of 1908, performed by the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Hans Richter. The work was very-well received and was performed more than a hundred times the first year, being considered by many as the first great English symphony. Elgar, who for ten years was unsure to write a symphony, was then considered as the most important composer of the period in England.
Elgar’s only public statement about the meaning of his symphony was that “There is no program beyond a wide experience of human life with a great charity (love) and a massive hope in the future,”. He also told one friend that it was "a reflex or picture or elucidation" of his life and to another he confided "I am really alone in this music". The symphony is hugely ambitious in scale and scope, with a complexity that was quite new for Elgar at the time, despite the vast choral canvasses he had already achieved. Musically, the work’s style was influenced by Wagner, constructed of a web of interrelated themes and motives.
The first movement is structured in an expansive sonata form. It begins with a slow introduction, with a noble and solemn theme that is quietly introduced by violas and wood before taken by full orchestra. This theme will reappear through the whole work. The main allegro opens with a passionate and nervous main theme on strings and woods, passing to the horns. It is contrasted by a lyrical and tender second theme, constructed over three motives on multiple instruments. The main theme is brought back and is answered by a menacing brass motive. The calm reappearance of the noble opening theme leads us to the extensive development section, which veers between the intensely dramatic and the deeply lyrical, culminating in a central climax. The noble theme on cello and horn leads us to the recapitulation of the main themes. The main theme is repeated, answered again by the ominous brass motive. The opening theme reappears once more at the end of the movement, at first only played by the last desks of the string section amid fragmentary reminiscences of other themes. A slow coda ends with a quiet reminiscence of the fateful motif.
The second movement is a scherzo structured as a sonata-rondo. It opens with an agitated and rushed main theme on strings, which is the reversed version of the noble opening theme. It is followed by an imperious and sinister march as a second theme, reminiscent of Elgar's own Pomp and Circumstance marches. The trio section features a lyrical theme of pastoral nature on the woodwinds. The scherzo is then continued, before the trio material reappears in form of a development, to which the scherzo material is soon added. The music gradually calms down, with hints of the noble theme, leading us directly into the adagio.
The third movement is very free in form. It begins with a deeply lyrical main theme on strings, derived from the main theme of the scherzo (which was the reversed version of the opening noble theme). It is unfolded in a contemplative manner, lacking any dramatic or yearning outburst. Several other ideas and motives are introduced, which impulse a flowing and seamless development. Violins introduce a second melodic theme, which hardly brings contrast but compliments the main one as it romantically unfolds and reaches an expressive climax. The main theme is recapitulated in the central part, followed by the series of motives. In the extensive coda, a new lyrical theme is introduced by strings, recalling the famous "Nimrod" variation from the Enigma Variations. It is actually, once again, a cunning reworking of the first movement’s opening theme. The movement ends with great serenity.
[Musical analysis continued in the comments section]
Picture: "The Seeds and Fruits of English Poetry" (1845-53) by the British painter Ford Madox Brown.
Musical analysis partially written by myself. Sources: https://tinyurl.com/28xoyhd9 and https://tinyurl.com/2cyrmmpr
To check the score: https://tinyurl.com/24qrarmk
I - Andante. Nobilmente e semplice - Allegro - Poco meno mosso - Poco più mosso - Tempo I - Poco animato - Grandioso (Tempo I) - Meno mosso - Poco più mosso - Tempo I - Poco meno mosso: 0:01
II - Allegro molto - (attacca): 19:27
III - Adagio - Molto espressivo e sostenuto: 26:44
IV - Lento - Allegro - Grandioso (poco largamente): 39:40
Elgar's Symphony No.1 was composed between June 1907 and September 1908. It was premiered on December 3 of 1908, performed by the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Hans Richter. The work was very-well received and was performed more than a hundred times the first year, being considered by many as the first great English symphony. Elgar, who for ten years was unsure to write a symphony, was then considered as the most important composer of the period in England.
Elgar’s only public statement about the meaning of his symphony was that “There is no program beyond a wide experience of human life with a great charity (love) and a massive hope in the future,”. He also told one friend that it was "a reflex or picture or elucidation" of his life and to another he confided "I am really alone in this music". The symphony is hugely ambitious in scale and scope, with a complexity that was quite new for Elgar at the time, despite the vast choral canvasses he had already achieved. Musically, the work’s style was influenced by Wagner, constructed of a web of interrelated themes and motives.
The first movement is structured in an expansive sonata form. It begins with a slow introduction, with a noble and solemn theme that is quietly introduced by violas and wood before taken by full orchestra. This theme will reappear through the whole work. The main allegro opens with a passionate and nervous main theme on strings and woods, passing to the horns. It is contrasted by a lyrical and tender second theme, constructed over three motives on multiple instruments. The main theme is brought back and is answered by a menacing brass motive. The calm reappearance of the noble opening theme leads us to the extensive development section, which veers between the intensely dramatic and the deeply lyrical, culminating in a central climax. The noble theme on cello and horn leads us to the recapitulation of the main themes. The main theme is repeated, answered again by the ominous brass motive. The opening theme reappears once more at the end of the movement, at first only played by the last desks of the string section amid fragmentary reminiscences of other themes. A slow coda ends with a quiet reminiscence of the fateful motif.
The second movement is a scherzo structured as a sonata-rondo. It opens with an agitated and rushed main theme on strings, which is the reversed version of the noble opening theme. It is followed by an imperious and sinister march as a second theme, reminiscent of Elgar's own Pomp and Circumstance marches. The trio section features a lyrical theme of pastoral nature on the woodwinds. The scherzo is then continued, before the trio material reappears in form of a development, to which the scherzo material is soon added. The music gradually calms down, with hints of the noble theme, leading us directly into the adagio.
The third movement is very free in form. It begins with a deeply lyrical main theme on strings, derived from the main theme of the scherzo (which was the reversed version of the opening noble theme). It is unfolded in a contemplative manner, lacking any dramatic or yearning outburst. Several other ideas and motives are introduced, which impulse a flowing and seamless development. Violins introduce a second melodic theme, which hardly brings contrast but compliments the main one as it romantically unfolds and reaches an expressive climax. The main theme is recapitulated in the central part, followed by the series of motives. In the extensive coda, a new lyrical theme is introduced by strings, recalling the famous "Nimrod" variation from the Enigma Variations. It is actually, once again, a cunning reworking of the first movement’s opening theme. The movement ends with great serenity.
[Musical analysis continued in the comments section]
Picture: "The Seeds and Fruits of English Poetry" (1845-53) by the British painter Ford Madox Brown.
Musical analysis partially written by myself. Sources: https://tinyurl.com/28xoyhd9 and https://tinyurl.com/2cyrmmpr
To check the score: https://tinyurl.com/24qrarmk
6 سال پیش
در تاریخ 1397/10/22 منتشر شده
است.
922
بـار بازدید شده