Chapel Hill PhilharmoniaHill Hall — University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

7:30 p.m. Sunday, February 18, 2013

Donald L. Oehler, Music Director

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

Water Music - Suite in D major

PreludeMenuet I; Menuet IIRigaudon I; Rigaudon IIMenuet I; Menuet IIGigue I; Gigue IIBourréeLentementAlla Hornpipe

Intermission

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) Deep River, from 24 Negro Melodies, Op. 59

Arranged by W. A. Foster, edited for Cello Quartet by Klaus Bjerre

Chapel Hill Philarmonia Cello Section

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

La Mer (The Sea - three symphonic sketches for orchestra)

From dawn to noon on the sea - very slow - animate little by littlePlay of the waves - allegro (with a very versatile rhythm) - animatedDialogue of the wind and the sea - animated and tumultuous

RISING SWELLS

And the wheel of the water Go ‘round and around

And the wheel of the water go ‘round, ―JohnForster&TomChapin

Rising Swells,today’sChapelHillPhilharmoniaprogram,harmonizeswith“WaterinOurWorld,”thecampus-widethemeofourhostinstitution,UNC-ChapelHill,fortheacademicyears2012-13and2013-14.Globalissuesofsustainabilityandpublichealthdonotpreoccupymostmusiciansorcomposers.Evenso,thefourthclassicalelement(amongearth,air,fireandwater),constitutingnearly60percentoftheadulthumanbodyandmorethan70percentofourplanet’ssurface,hascapturedtheartisticimaginationfromtimeimmemorial.

“Water, like religion and ideology, has the power to move millions of people. Since the very birth of human civilization, people have moved to settle close to it. People move when there is too little of it.

People move when there is too much of it. People journey down it. People write, sing and dance about it. People fight over it. And all people, everywhere and every day, need it.”

―MikhailGorbachev

TheRiverThames, London’s aorta, carries thegreat city’s populationand commerce. It also servesasanaqueousplatformforceremoniesofpompandpower.Inthepastyearalone,giantinterlockedringslaunchedonabargefromLondonBridgeiconizedthehostcityoftheOlympicGames,andoveramillionspectatorscrowdedtheriver’sbankstocheera1,000-vesselflotillastretchingmorethan7milesintheThamesDiamondJubileePageantcelebratingthereignofQueenElizabethII.

AlmostthreecenturiesearlierKingGeorgeIhostedboatinggalasontheThamestoentertainnoblecourtiersandtothrillshore-boundsubjectswithglimpsesofmajesty.Thedisplaywasbothauralandvisual.Gunfiresalutesandmusicresoundingoverthewateraugmentedthesightoftheornatelygildedroyalbargefilledwithsumptuouslyclad“PersonsofQuality”,andthekinghimselfenthronedunderanembroideredcanopy.Inthesummerof1717,

tocompeteforpopularfavorwithhissonthePrinceofWales,GeorgeIinvestedinjustsuchasocialspectacle.At8p.m.onJuly17,heandadistinguishedentourageembarked from Whitehall and, assisted by the tide’sflowandebb,madearound-trip toChelsea, returningaftermidnight.Abargebearingmorethan50musiciansfloatedbehindHisRoyalMajesty’s,serenadingthepartywith music composed and arranged for the occasionbyGeorge Frideric Handel. The program comprisedmore than 20 movements for combinations of winds,brassandstrings,withthecomposerprobablyleadingthe festivities from thekeyboard–althoughacademicpedantsdebatewhetheraharpsichordwascarriedonthebarge.HandeleventuallypublishedthecollectionasthreesuitescalledtheWater Music.Afullperformanceclockedinatabout1hour.Theworkreportedlypleased

Handel(left)andKingGeorgeIboatingontheThames.ByEdouardJeanConradHamman(1819-1888)

thekingsomuchthathecommandedHandelandhismusicianstoplayitinfullasecondtimeontheoutboundtrip,andoncemoreonthereturntoWhitehall.Royalmusiciansapparentlywereneitherunionizednoreligibleforovertimepay.

Sweet Thames, run softly, till I end my song.The river bears no empty bottles, sandwich papers,Silk handkerchiefs, cardboard boxes, cigarette ends

Or other testimony of summer nights. The nymphs are departed. ―T.S.Eliot

HandelwasborninHalle,Germany,andthussharedhismothertongue with George I, the first Hanoverian king of Great Britain.Handel’sfather,abarberinaducalcourt,wantedGeorgeFriderictobecomeanattorneyand,despitehisson’sobvioustalent,forbadethedistractionofmusicalinstruction.Theyoungsterresortedtopracticingharpsichordon thesly in theattic.Hesoon foundhisownpath toupwardmobility.LikehiscontemporaryJohannSebastianBach(alsoborn in Germany in 1685), Handel became a proficient keyboardperformerandforatimesupportedhimselfasachurchorganist.ButinsharpdistinctiontoBachhefoundatruecalling in Italianopera.At age 18Handelmoved toHamburg and joined the orchestra ofGermany’ssolecommercialoperacompany.Therehisfirstoperasreachedthestage.

Handelwasaneffectiveself-promoterandentrepreneur.AprincefromtheMedicifamilyencouragedhimtojourneytoItalywhereheenlisted patrons to support his increasingly proficient composition.He found a particularly useful contact in theGermanPrinceErnstAugust,whorecommendedHandeltohiselderbrotherGeorgeLouisof Hanover, one of the seven Prince-Electors of the Holy RomanEmpire.In1710HandelbecameKapellmeister(musicdirector)attheelectoralcourt. In1714theElectorgothisown“promotion”;as theclosest livingProtestant relativeofGreatBritain’sQueenAnne,heinheritedherthroneandbecameKingGeorgeI.

Handel preceded his employer to England by several years,possiblysenttheretoscopeouttheculturalscene.ItalianoperawasemergingasLondon’shotnewtrend,withcastrati(malesopranos)idolized like modern rock stars. Handel’s Rinaldi, premiered inFebruary1711, scoredamajor hit as the first Italianoperawrittenforhisnewhomecity.Thecomposer’sstar roseandhe remaineda fixture in London, takingBritish citizenship in 1729 and residingthereuntilhisdeathin1759.Althoughhereceivedagenerousannualretainer fromthecrown,Handelenjoyedremarkable independenceandcommercialsuccessforacomposerofhisday.WhentheRoyal

GeorgeFridericHandelmarblestatuebyLouisFrancoisRoubiliac,1738

Drawn by the Fame of these imbower’d retreats,

Orpheus is come from the Elysian Seats;Lost to th’admiring world three thousand

years,Beneath lov’d Handel’s form he re-appears.

Sweetly this miracle attracts the eye:But hark! for o’er the lyre his fingers fly.

JohnLockman,London Magazine, May,1738

AcademyofMusicoperacompanywasfoundedin1719,HandelservedasitsMasteroftheorchestra.Inadditiontocomposingmorethan40operas,hehiredsingersandsearchedoutlibretti.Bythelate1730sherankedasGreatBritain’sleadingcomposer,andwasaccordedtherarehonorofhavinghisstatueplacedinVauxhallGardens.

Whenoperafelloutoffavor,HandeladroitlychangedcoursetofocusonEnglish-languageOratorios,elaborateconcertworks for voicewith orchestra, often on a sacred theme.By far his best-knownwork in this genre isThe Messiah(1741).Awealthybachelor,Handelprovedanextremelygenerousphilanthropist.AmongnumerouscharitieshesupportedwasLondon’sFoundlingHospital.Hedonatedanorgantothehospital’sChapel,directedannualbenefitperformancesofMessiahonitsbehalfthatraisedover$1millioninmodernequivalents,andinhiswillbequeathedascoreandsetofpartssothatthistraditioncouldcontinueafterhisdemise.

Legendholds that thepracticeof standing for theMessiah’s Hallelujah Chorus beganwithKingGeorge II,theheirtoHandel’sfirstroyalpatron.Muchlikeanoft-repeatedclaimthatHandelcomposedtheWater MusicasapeaceofferingtoGeorgeIbecausehehadoverstayeda leavefromthecourt, thisstoryseemstohavelittlehistoricalbasis.However,Handel’smusiccontinuestostandforitself.Tonight’sofferingfromthePhilharmoniaistheshortestandmostbrilliantofthe3suitesfromtheWater Music,setinthekeyofDmajor.ItopenswithastatelyPrelude,followedbyaseriesofdancemovementsinBaroquestyle,butmarkedbyfargreaterenergythanthetypicallystaidnumbersdesignedfortheelaboratelycostumedeliteatformalroyalballs.Theorchestration,withachoirofFrenchhornssetagainstasetoftrumpets,andwindscontrastingwithstrings,seemsideallyconceivedforthework’sal frescoorigins;onecanimaginesoundsechoingoverthebreadthoftheThames.Thepenultimatemovementisslow(Lentement),almostmelancholic,andprovidesadramaticfoilfortheWater Music’ssignaturedance,aboisteroussailor’shornpipe.ForallhisloyaltytotheHouseofHanover,perhapsHandel’sspiritalignedmorecloselywiththe“common”populaceonshorethanthenobilityontheroyalbarge.

Life in us is like the water in a river ―HenryDavidThoreau

Riversinmusiccanbesymbolicaswellasliteral.LikemanysongsfromtheeraofAfricanslaveryinAmerica,“Deep River” hasstrongcurrentsrunningbeneathitssurface.

Deep river -- my home is over Jordan,Deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground.

Don’t you want to go to that Gospel feast,That promised land where all is peace.

Deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground.

Thesongsknownas“spirituals”featured“hauntingmelodies,richwithemotion,anddeeplymoving.Theyweresongsofhopeandanticipation.Somefolkscalledthemthesorrowsongs.”(CraigvonBuseck)Theirwordsmightbeunderstoodonmultiple levels. “DeepRiver”alludes to redemptionafteraslave’sbitter life. Italsoconveysyearningforhome,Africa,separatedbythegreatbodyofwateroverwhichslaver’sshipshadcarriedtheirwretchedcargo.AndperhapsitcarriesacodedmessageaboutescapeviatheUndergroundRailroad,inwhichperilousrivercrossingscouldmarkthedividebetweenbondageordeathandfreedom–recallElizaleapingwithbloodiedfeetacrosscakesoffloatingicetotraversetheOhioRiverinHarrietBeecherStowe’sUncle Tom’s Cabin.

SpiritualsbegantomigratefromslavecabinstotheconcertstagewithinafewyearsaftertheEmancipationProclamation, the13thAmendment,and theendof theCivilWar. In1871African-Americanstudents fromFisk

University inNashville,Tennesseebegn to touras theJubileeSingers to raisemoney for theirnewly foundedinstitution.Theysangspiritualsandcollectedthemforpublication.“DeepRiver”firstappearedinprintinThe Story of the Jubilee Singers: With Their SongsbyJ.B.T.Marsh(1875).However,thesongreceivedscantnoticeuntil1905whentheAfro-BritishcomposerSamuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)includeditinhiscollectionTwenty-Four Negro Melodies Transcribed for the Piano.Thesecomprised“fantasiesonthetunesratherthanstraightforwardharmonizations.”(musichistorianWayneD.Shirley)Coleridge-Taylorfound“DeepRiver”“themostbeautifulandtouchingmelodyofthewholeseries.”HemodifiedtheFiskversion,subtlyalteringitsharmonicprogressiontogiveShirleytheimpressionof“abitofBrahmswanderingintothetune.”TheAmericanviolinistMaudePowellmadethefirstknownrecordingof“DeepRiver”in1911,playingatranscriptionbasedonColeridge-Taylor’s.

Thepublicationofaversionof“DeepRiver”forvoiceandpianobythesingerandcomposerHenryT.Burleighin1916launched it into prominenceas anart songand legitimizedperformances of spirituals by “serious” concert artists.BurleighhadbeenastudentattheNationalConservatoryofMusicinNewYorkin1892when,withgreatfanfare,AntoninDvořák accepted the directorship of that school. Workingas Dvořák’s assistant, Burleigh introduced him to African-Americanmusic,likelyinfluencingtheNew World Symphony andthe“American” String Quartet, andcertainlycontributingtotheCzechcomposer’ssuggestionthatinAmericaa“trulynational music might be derived from the Negro melodiesor Indianchants.”Dvořákrespondedwithspecialwarmthtospirituals, opining that “the so-called plantation songs areindeedthemoststrikingandappealingmelodiesthathaveyetbeenfoundonthissideofthewater.”Burleigh’stranscriptionof “DeepRiver” impressedmany singers in the sameway;withinayear itbecamea runawaysuccess,astaple in therepertoireofbothblackandwhiteconcertvocalists.Amongartistswhoembracedthesong,thecontraltoMarianAndersonandbass-baritonePaulRobesonstandoutforvocalpowerandemotionaldepth.

The cello section of the Philharmonia performs “Deep River”tonight,ledbymembersoftheCHPCelloQuartet,DorothyWright,Dick Clark, Jim Dietz, and Rosalind Goodwin, who have beenplaying and performing together for about a year. Its membersreport,“Wehavealotoffunanddon’ttakeourselvestooseriously.”

TheperformanceisdedicatedtothememoryofProfessorRichardLuby, who died on January 29 at the age of 68.A professor ofviolinandchambermusicatUNCsince1979,Prof.Lubyhadtaughthundreds,perhaps thousands,ofstudentsand touchedcountlessothers through his music. His many friends in the Philharmoniahonorhismemoryandoffercondolencestohisfamily.

MarianAndersonperforminginfrontoftheLincolnMemorial,April9,1935,aftertheDaughtersoftheAmericanRevolutiondeniedheruseofConstitutionHall,leadingFirstLadyEleanorRoosevelttoresign

fromtheDAR

RichardLuby(1944-2013)

Music is the expression of the movement of the waters, the play of curves described by changing breezes

―ClaudeDebussy

Themusicworldcelebratedthe150thanniversaryofClaude Debussy’s birthinAugust,1862.Yet,asnotedbyNew York TimescriticAnthonyTommasini,theeventdrewsurprisinglylittleattention.WastheFrenchcomposer’s

status as a revolutionary pioneeroverblown, his work confined toaneasilylabeledpigeonhole?“Ah,Debussy the great Impressionist!Forpaintingthereis[Claude]Mon-et. For music, Debussy. La Mer, howgorgeous...”Andwhatexactlyshouldwemakeofhisbest-knownwork?Isitindeedmerelyasuper-ficialmusicalreplicaoftheripplingwater in Monet’s La Grenouil-lère (1869), or, more exactly, ofKatsushika Hokusai’s Mount Fuji Seen Below a Wave at Kanagawa, whichDebussychoseto illustrateLa Mer’s score? No, avers Tom-masini, “...by any measure, De-bussywasoneofthemostradicalcomposersinmusichistory.”Ifso,howdid he imbue this innovativespiritintohissymphonicportraitofthesea?

ThespringsthatfedLa Mer canbetracedtoDebussy’schildhood.HespenthappysummersonthebeachesatCannesandyearslaterwrotetohismusicpublisher,“YouperhapsdonotknowthatIwasdestinedforthefinelifeofasailorandthatitwasonlybychancethatIwasledawayfromit.ButIstillhaveagreatpassionforthesea.”MusicologistMichaelSteinbergaddsthat“noonewhoknowsDebussy’smusicneedbetoldthatwhathelovedparticularlywasitsunpredictability,itsever-changingnature.”

Discoveredasaprodigiousmusicaltalent,DebussymissedoutonanauticallifeinfavoroftrainingattheParisConservatorybeginningatage10.Inhis lateteenshejoinedthehouseholdofNadezhdavonMeck,formanyyearsthehiddenpatronessofPiotrIlyichTchaikovsky,aspianoteachertoherchildrenandacompanionfortripsthatbroughthim intocontactwith thedistinctivenationalismofRussiancomposers.Further travelsbroadenedDebussy’soutlookevenmore.HewonthePrix de Rome in1884andspenttwoyearsinItaly.HereturnedtoParisbutmadepilgrimmagestoBayreuth,Germany,whereheabsorbedelementsofRichardWagner’snewharmoniclanguagewithout imitating thatmegalomaniac’s bombast.Another significant influencewas hearing JavanesegamalanmusicattheExposition Universelle,theWorld’sFairheldinParisin1889.InParis,too,hesawthelatestincontemporarypaintingandsculpture.Moreover,asamemberofLes Mardistes,anintellectualcirclethatmet

Hokusai’sMount Fuji Seen Below a Wave at Kanagawa

weeklyundertheleadershipofpoetStéphaneMallarméandincludedsuchwritersasPaulVerlaine,PaulValéry,RainerMariaRilkeandW.B.Yeats,hewasneartheheartoftheliterarySymbolistmovementwhichsought“tocap-tureabsolutetruthsviaindirectmeans,resultinginaverymetaphoricalandsuggestivemannerofwriting,whereimagesandobjectswereendowedsymbolicmeaning.”(http://unequivocalhorizon.wordpress.com)

WiththeorchestralworkPrelude to the Afternoon of a Faun(1892),derivedfromaMallarmépoem,andtheoperaPelléas et Mélisande(composed1893-98),Debussyarguablylaunched20thcenturymusic.Whethertermed“Impressionism”,“Symbolism”,or“Debussyism”,theseworksshatteredacceptedconceptionsoftonalityandcap-turedsubtle,nuancedshiftsincharacterandemotion,“blendedseamlesslysothatthetransitionsareasfluidandundetectableaspossible.” (ShengdarTsai)Whilediscomfiting traditionalists, theprofoundbeautyofDebussy’scompositionalsobroughtaccolades,includingrecognitionasaChevalieroftheLegionofHonor.

In1903,exactlyacenturyafterLudwigvanBeethoven’scolossal3rdSymphonymarkedthetransitioninmusicfromtheClassicaleratoanewsubjectiveRomanticism,DebussybegantosketchLa Mer,andcompletedit in1905.Theworkmarkshisclosestapproachtoasymphony,althoughheavoidedthattitlewiththeapproximation“threesymphonicsketchesfororchestra.”Thesemovementsbeardescriptivenames.Yetthetitlesshouldinnowaybeconstruedasprogrammatic.AsDebussybiographerOsarThompsonnotes,theartist’sgoalwasto“sug-gestratherthantodepict;tomirrornottheobjectbuttheemotionalreactiontotheobject;tointerpretafugitiveimpressionratherthantoseizeuponandfixthepermanentreality.”

MichaelSteinbergeloquentlycapturestheeffectofthecomposer’smasteryoforchestralcolorandtonalambi-guityintheopeningmovement“Fromdawntonoononthesea”:“Aswegraduallylearntodiscernobjectsinneardarkness,sowelearntohearmotioninthestillnessofDebussy’sdawn.Thematicfragmentsdetachthemselvesfromthesurroundingtextureuntilatlastaclearsenseofmotion,ofrhythmicpattern,isestablished.Debussyismostevocativeinthewonderfulthemeforcellos,itspatternofswellandretreatechoedsubtlyinthetimpaniandhorns.Itevenlookslikeawaveonthepage,”resemblingthedetailofHokusai’spaintingthatappearedonthescore’scover.

Asitsnameimplies,the“Playofthewaves”isallfrothandflow,awateryfantasygameifnotquiteaScherzo(“joke”).ToThompsonitofferup“strangevisionsandeerievoices,amirageofsightandequallyamirageofsound.Onthesea’svaststageispresentedtrance-likephantasmagoriasoevanescentandfugitivethatitleavesbehindonlythevaguenessofadream.”

Thefinalmovementevokestheseainatotallydifferentmoodasthetempestuous“Dialogofthewindandthesea”mayportrayDebussy’semotionalreactiontoanactualpowerfulstorm.AsKeithSpencerecountstheepisode,Debussywas roundingadangerousheadland inasmallopenboat,when “Therewasacloudburstoverhead,andinthemidstoffreezingraintheboatdancedupanddown‘likeaporpoise’.Debussywasthoroughlyenjoyinghimself,buttheboatmangotfuriousandaccusedhimofriskingalltheirlivesforthesakeof‘sensations fortes’.TowhichDebussyreplied:‘ThereisonepowerfulsensationIhaveneverexperienced,thesensationofdanger!Itisnotunpleasant.Youarealive!’‘Whatifyoudie?’,askedthepracticalboatman.‘Betterlikethisthanfrompneumo-niaorcancer’,answeredDebussy.”Themovementendswithtriumphantchords,asthecomposersurvivedthisliteralstorm,aswellastheemotionalbatteringdeliveredbycriticsofhiscomplexpersonalrelations.Ironically,thismusicalpathbreaker’sdaysindeedweretoendwithcancerin1918.ButDebussy’slegacypersistsstronglyintoournewcentury.

―MarkE.Furth,PhD