Nico Muhly (b. 1981)
Two Motets by William Byrd
Composed in 2007
Notes by the Composer: William Byrd’s music has always fascinated me both as a composer and as an erstwhile choirboy; on the page it looks like so little, but then in its realisation, an enormous emotional landscape unfolds.
When Nick Collon asked if I might try to orchestrate a few motets for Aurora, I jumped at the chance. There is a moment in Byrd’s Miserere mei, Deus where the key suddenly shifts into an unexpected major, and the rhythmic footprint slows down. I aimed for an outrageous, but quiet, amplification of this moment that fascinated me as a treble; here, it is punctuated by registral extremes in the piano: gamelan gongs in the left hand and toy piano in the right.
The second piece I arranged is Bow thine ear, O Lord, which is said to be one of Byrd’s most personal expressions of faith and the turmoil surrounding it. It has in it one of the high-water marks of the choral tradition, namely Byrd’s setting of the phrase “Sion is wasted and brought low,” which he sets twice in two different octaves, and it is scandalously lush even when performed by the most austere of choirs. Here, it’s brass, marimba, and ghostly strings, a texture that expands into the celesta and woodwinds intoning the word “Jerusalem.” I should point out that these are very liberal arrangements of the originals; occasionally, I have rendered the effect of one alto holding onto a note too long, a wayward tenor, a day-dreaming treble.
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor
Composed in 1868
In just 17 days, Saint-Saëns composed his Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, racing against the clock to meet a tight deadline. Conductor and pianist Anton Rubinstein, eager to collaborate, had only a brief stay in Paris. With little time to refine or rehearse, Saint-Saëns completed the piece quickly to make their collaboration possible.
Unlike traditional form, the piece starts slow and builds in tempo as the movement progresses. The first movement features the pianist performing a long cadenza (improvisational solo moment, not unlike someone scatting in jazz), then the orchestra enters playing a theme from Saint-Saëns’ pupil Fauré. It repeats in a louder motif again giving the pianist a long cadenza. The second movement fills in where the first movement would have traditionally been penned as an up-tempo scherzo. This movement can be compared with a movement and drive like his composition Carnival of the Animals.
The third movement picks up from the second movement in a very fast saltarella (a very quick Italian dance, usually faster than a tarantella). Both the orchestra and soloist move along a breakneck speed until they finally meld together in a whirlwind of sonorous splendor.
Although not widely known for his piano playing, like colleagues Franz Liszt or Robert Schumann, it was Saint-Saëns piano playing that was the impetus of this composition and was described by Hector Berlioz as “an absolutely shattering master pianist.”
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 7 in A Major
Composed in 1811-1812
While Beethoven’s first two symphonies were highly influenced by his mentor, Franz Joseph Haydn, they contain hints of his unique and eventual trademark style. Beginning with his third symphony, Beethoven utilizes “program music,” one of his many innovative contributions to developing romantic music. Program music is a term for compositions that tell stories, paint pictures, or describe human emotions. Though Symphony No. 7 does not have a “program” per se, it is a very energizing work, known for its many dance-like rhythms.
A year after it was composed, the seventh symphony premiered in Vienna at a benefit concert for soldiers who had been wounded in the Battle of Hanau in Germany. (The battle of Hanau was fought on October 30–31, 1813, between French and Austro-Bavarian forces.)
Beethoven conducted the first performance, and many talented and famous instrumentalists were among those in the orchestra. The second movement of the symphony, Allegretto, was enjoyed so thoroughly by the audience that the orchestra played it a second time. This movement is the best-known movement from Symphony No. 7 and has been used in movies including X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995) and Immortal Beloved (1994).
Richard Wagner, speaking of the rhythmic dance-like movements in Symphony No. 7, called it the “Apotheosis of the Dance.” The second movement’s foundational ostinato consists of a one-quarter note followed by two eighth notes and two more quarter notes. Not to be forgotten, the first and third movements each hold memorable qualities within themselves: the first is memorable for its vivacious dance-like cadences and the third for its application of poetry to music in that the trio is based on an Austrian hymn. Of the seventh symphony, Beethoven himself said, “[It is] one of my best works.”
