Manuel de Falla (1876 - 1946)
Ritual Fire Dance (1915)
 The
cultural history of Spain is as rich as any country of Europe, especially in literature (including the first "novel")
and the fine arts. Despite the rich tradition of flamenco, however, any use of Spanish textures and themes
in a concert hall was, until the end of the 19th century, almost always from the pen of a non-Spaniard. Three
composers changed all that: Albeniz, Granados and, a little later, de Falla. As if to make up for the
lost years, their music is intensely nationalistic, evoking all of the mystery and ethnic diversity of this great
country. Whereas Albeniz, the virtuoso pianist, wrote nearly all his work for piano, highlighting in particular
the regional characteristics of Spain, de Falla concentrated on dramatic works for the stage, full of that fiery
temperament with which we associate the people of Spain. As a result, his works are generally much better
known than those of his two immediate predecessors. The Ritual Fire Dance is perhaps his best known piece
of all.
Manuel de Falla was born 1876 in Cádiz, the southern port from which so many explorations set sail, including
those of Columbus. Not surprisingly he was most strongly influenced by the music and culture of Andalusia,
and also the gypsies, as exemplified in Bizet's Carmen. The de Falla family was quite well off during
Manuel's early years and he was able to take music lessons, mainly in composition. A setback in fortunes,
however, forced the family to move to Madrid in 1900. The new location was probably ideal and he was obliged
to practice his art to support the family. In 1907 he moved to Paris, which for many years had been the
place to be for budding composers. There he got to know both Debussy and Ravel. Not unnaturally, de
Falla returned to Madrid on the outbreak of WWI. In 1919, he settled in the great Moorish city of Granada,
where he stayed until the turmoil of the Civil War of 1936-9 proved too much for him. In 1939 he accepted
an invitation to Argentina, where he remained until his death in 1946.
The Ritual Fire Dance is from the ballet score El Amor Brujo (supernatural love), the first of de Falla's
two ballets. Completed in 1915, the original version, scored for just 10 instruments, was performed for the
first time in Madrid. The music is influenced by the folk-songs of Andalusia, especially the cante jondo.
The full orchestra version was scored in 1916, and continues to be a popular concert item. Carmela, a beautiful
gypsy, is haunted by the ghost of her dead lover, which threatens her hopes of finding happiness with Carmelo.
She and the other gypsies form a "magic circle" and on the stroke of midnight they begin the ritual fire
dance in a vain effort to drive the spirit away.
Sergei Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943)
Symphonic Dances, Op. 45 (1940)
Non allegro -- Andante con moto (Tempo di Valse) -- Lento assai, Allegro Vivace
 Rachmaninov
was one of the greatest pianists of all time, and the last, and most romantic, of the Russian romantics.
His life spanned two totally different worlds, for he was born into the rigid class structure of Czarist Russia
and died in the everything-goes craziness of Hollywood. Like de Falla, he was born to a well-to-do family
whose fortunes rapidly dwindled. His most important musical education took place in Moscow where he met the
leading composers of the day, including Tchaikovsky. In addition to his well-known performance and composition
talents, he also developed a considerable conducting ability which later enabled him to become the conductor of
the Bolshoi. After some notable successes in small-scale works, he published his first symphony in
1895. The premiere was conducted by Glazounov, who apparently was drunk during the performance. It
was not a success, throwing the composer into a long depression. This failure rankled for a long time, until
he exorcised that particular ghost by reprising one of the themes, to great effect, in the first movement of his
last work, the Symphonic Dances.
In 1909 he made his first American tour as a pianist, for which he wrote the third Piano Concerto. He left Russia
with his family for Stockholm soon after the October Revolution, eventually arriving in New York in late 1918.
The next 25 years involved much travel between Europe and the U.S., including many exhausting concert tours.
He died at home in Beverly Hills after being diagnosed with cancer just two months earlier.
He found it difficult to concentrate on more than one of his three careers at a time and, although he was by
no means ever a prolific composer, during his latter years his output vanished almost entirely. In 1940 he
wrote what he clearly intended as his final work, the Symphonic Dances. It proved to be not only his swan-song,
but perhaps his best composition of all. Like his other most popular pieces, it is full of the sumptuous harmonies
that were his trade mark and help to make his music so popular today. The dance form which shapes this piece
is certainly not the typical balletic style of dance, but its rhythmic intensity is undeniably compelling, especially
the opening of the piece. The use of alto saxophone which sets the mood so perfectly, especially in the lyrical
middle section of the first movement, is unusual though not unknown in music of the era. Hear, for
example Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. In fact, the orchestration is unusually (for Rachmaninov) rich
in instrumentation, including harp, piano, bells and large percussion section.
The second movement is a lilting and mysterious waltz in 6/8 time, as opposed to the traditional 3/4 and is
so wonderfully "French" that it's hard to believe that it was not written by a Frenchman! To what
extent he had in mind Ravel's La Valse, written twenty years earlier, is hard to know but there are certainly
similarities. In any case, it is truly a masterpiece, and can easily stand any comparison.
The final movement has a distinctly Spanish flavor, as well as a long and clear use of the dies irae
theme (Day of Wrath from the Catholic requiem mass), a favorite of Rachmaninov's and many other composers, and
familiar to anyone who knows the Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique. It is the most complex of the three
movements, and does not readily yield its secrets on first hearing. After the doom of the dies irae,
where maybe this time the composer was actually looking ahead to his own death, he brings in an uplifting Russian
Orthodox chant ("Blessed be the Lord"), as if to symbolize the ultimate victory of life over death [he
was not a particularly religious man, but these kinds of references are not uncommon from elderly composers].
What is certain is that he inscribed "I thank Thee, Lord" at the end of the manuscript.
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Danse sacrée et danse profane for Harp and Strings (1904)
 Claude
Debussy's legacy to the musical world is immense. Not only did he leave a body of both piano solo and also
orchestral music which includes many present-day favorites, such as La Mer, but he created a style of music
which was seminal. The three other compositions in this program all trace some direct or indirect lineage
to Debussy. In this sense, his contribution paralleled that of Monet in the world of art. Both were
leaders in their own Impressionist styles.
It was due primarily to Debussy's dedication and perseverance that he succeeded at all. His family was
poor and unable to provide a comfortable background for his studies. His career at the Conservatory in Paris
was more frequently marked by second prizes than firsts. But he became the acknowledged leader of his generation,
a result purely of their respect for his abilities. From then on his influence and recognition steadily increased.
Two works really solidified his standing: his opera Pelléas et Mélisande (1902) and La
Mer (1905). Thus he was already in his forties before the public at large really became aware of him.
The two danses date from that most successful and influential period.
The piece came about as the result of a commission from the Pleyel company, which had developed a "chromatic"
harp and desired a piece which could demonstrate its abilities. Although harps for solo performance and accompanying
the voice are very ancient, the type of harp that could be used in orchestral music was not developed until the
early 19th century. In order for an instrument to play in a modern orchestra, it must generally be capable
of playing all (or at least most) of the notes in the appropriate key. The "pedal" harp, the type
used for almost two centuries now, has a set of seven pedals each of which controls all of the strings of
a particular note (for example the one on the left controls all the Cs, the next the Ds, and so on). Each
pedal can take one of three positions: flat, natural and sharp. In this way, the harp can be tuned, almost
instantaneously, to any diatonic mode. The chromatic harp solved the problem by having one string for each
pitch (like a piano), thus alleviating the need for pedals. Despite, the excellence of the danses, the
design was not a success and today, orchestral harps are always of the pedal type.
The Danses comprise two short movements joined as one. The two dances are influenced by Spanish
music, which Debussy loved even before his friendship with de Falla. The slow and ritualistic Danse sacrée
(sacred) may have been inspired by a short piano piece by the Portuguese composer, Francisco de Lacerda, who was
friendly with Debussy. The Danse profane (secular, rather than profane) is a lively and lilting waltz,
mostly in the key of D, but with chromatic alterations and a great deal of modulation to show off the chromatic
possibilities of the instrument.
Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990)
Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story"
 Bernstein
was born in Lawrence, but he was brought up totally Bostonian. His father, a Russian immigrant whose first job
was cleaning fish in New York, worked his way up to become an independent beauty salon owner in Boston. He
acquired the exclusive New England franchise for the permanent wave machine and ended up an affluent man with houses
in Newton and Sharon. Lenny's introduction to music came relatively late. At age 10, he first touched
a piano. At 13, his father came home with two tickets for Rachmaninov (not Rachmaninov's music – the man
himself!). Lenny was hooked. Determined not to follow in his father's footsteps, Lenny studied composition
at Harvard, where he first met his life-long friend Aaron Copland (also the son of Russian immigrants and who was
to die in 1990). It is well-known that Bernstein got his big "break" at age 25 when Bruno Walter,
who was to conduct the New York Philharmonic was "good enough to get ill at just the right moment".
Bernstein was asked to step in. The fact that it was a radio broadcast just added to the significance of
the event. He never looked back.
Bernstein's career was a mix of conducting, teaching and composition, though like Rachmaninov before him, he
allowed composition to suffer from the time-pressures of the others. Hence the "Romeo" project
took 8 and one half years from inception to premiere, although he did work on many other works during that time,
notably Wonderful Town and Candide.
The first seed of the idea was presented to Bernstein in 1949. It took some time before the setting became
inter-gang rivalries in New York and the title became West Side Story. Stephen Sondheim was engaged
to write the lyrics. For many different reasons, it was not performed until Aug. 1957. Incredibly (although
not unusually for great music), the reviews were mixed. The number of performances in the first run was creditable
but not outstanding (about 750). In fairness, it was so different from what the Broadway-musical audiences
were used to. It was part opera, part ballet and only a little like a typical musical. Added to that,
the characters were people that theater audiences preferred not to think about. Remember, this was pre-Beatles,
even! Then suddenly, with a tour, a second New York run and a production in London, West Side Story
established itself in the hearts of people everywhere.
Although the music cannot speak with the same intensity of emotion as with voices, the Symphonic Dances
capture the essence of the music for a concert performance. As the title suggests, it is the excitement of
the dance aspects, rather than the lyric aspects, which are highlighted.
- Prolog: the bitter rivalry between the Jets and Sharks;
- Somewhere: as in the song, dreaming of a better place for love and friendship;
- Scherzo;
- Mambo: dancing rivalry in the school gym;
- Cha-cha: the two loves meet;
- Cool: the Jets anticipate a fight;
- Rumble: the fight, with fatal results;
- Finale: tragedy.
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