Spectral Aesthetics and ecological listening in the music of Helena Tulve

This chapter analyzes Estonian composer Helena Tulve's unique timbral process in four works: Sula (1999); L'Équinoxe de l'âme for soprano, triple harp or kannel, and string quartet (2008); Arboles lloran por luvia for voices and nyckelharpa (2006); and I am a River for chamber choir (2009). L'Équinoxe de l'âme (The Equinox of the Soul) is based on a text by the Persian mystic and philosopher Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi on the mythical Persian firebird Simurgh. Rather than portraying dissolving as in the orchestral work ice—Sula means to thaw or melt—the timbral transformations of Équinoxe evoke sparks bursting into flame, as well as a philosophical rumination on existence. The remaining vocal works similarly treat their texts with a programmatic flair that blurs the line between the materiality of the sound and its contemplative mood. Tulve's compositional approach can be considered post-spectral in its influences and attention to timbral detail. However, she is also motivated by ecological concerns, and counts herself among a small group of contemporary Estonian composers devoted to expressing this philosophy through music. Her influences meld in a music that prioritizes “slowness”: a sustained focus on spectral detail that reflects the composer's deep-rooted ecological concerns. The chapter thus draws on ideas from ecological theory, timbral analysis, and speculative aesthetics to show how Tulve's compositions express form through timbre and its expression in space, and reflect an ecological aesthetic of listening.

Serenade in D Major for Orchestra

Ethel Smyth's first orchestral work, the Serenade in D Major for Orchestra, was composed in 1889 (and possibly early 1890) and was premiered at a Crystal Palace concert on 26 April 1890. The work was received well by the audience and garnered positive notices in the press. This critical edition is based on a photocopy of the autograph manuscript, now in the Royal College of Music Library, with reference also to a fair copy of the score, now in the British Library. The extensive critical notes document the changes made by the composer, as well as editorial and performance suggestions made by both the composer and August Manns, who conducted the premiere performance. The present whereabouts of Ethel Smyth's autograph score for her Serenade in D Major are unknown. The facsimile supplement presents a photocopy of the score that was made, according to the label on the cover, in August 1993, and which is now in the Royal College of Music Library. The introduction to this edition includes a biographical sketch of August Manns, conductor of the premiere performance.

Influences of Classical Indian Music in Albert Roussel’s Evocations

"An important figure of early 20th century music, the French composer Albert Roussel was deeply influenced by his encounter with India, which led to the composition of several orientalist works. The present paper aims to disclose the influences of classical Indian music in the orchestral work Evocations. Despite the Impressionist sound of the musical discourse, a careful analysis reveals the incorporation of several scalar structures in which Hindu rāgas can be recognized. Roussel goes beyond the musical representation of India: his goal is not the creation of a musical work with powerful oriental sound, but the evocation of the impact this encounter had on his creation. Situated at the crossroad of several stylistic orientations, Roussel incorporates Impressionist, Neo-classical and Post-romantic influences in rigorously devised structures, aiming to create an unusual and novel sound. Keywords: Albert Roussel, orientalism, Impressionism, India, rāga "

M.P. Mussorgsky. St. John’s Eve on Bald Mountain: Texts and Contexts. Article One

This article is devoted to the most stylistically original and artistically significant orchestral work by M.P. Mussorgsky, St. John’s Eve on Bald Mountain. The subject matters of the article are an examination of the background and history of this artwork’s creation, review of its creative sources, attribution of an autograph, and textological characterization of marginal marks in the score, while the goal is to form a new perspective of the research based on the deciphering of many intricate, complex and even mysterious circumstances associated with this orchestral opus. Particular attention is paid to the appearance of two author’s editions of the artwork; moreover the second of them arose as a result of harsh criticism of M.A. Balakirev, who insisted on a radical adaptation of the score. The autograph of the second author’s version has been preserved, while the first author’s version can only be reconstructed hypothetically.

Analiza kompozicijskega stavka Alojza Srebotnjaka v orkestralni skladbi Slovenica / Analysis of Compositional Tehniques of Alojz Srebotnjak in the Orchestral Work Slovenica

The following article presents a detailed analysis of compositional techniques in the orchestral work Slovenica for Brass, Percussion and Strings (1976) by Alojz Srebotnjak. It discusses the composer‘s intertwinment of folklore elements with the sonority of compositional processes in the 20th century. Throughout all three sentences Srebotnjak uses multiple linking compositional elements that he complexly intertwines on different levels of musical texture. The structure is also tightly connected to the concept of constructing different musical textures, melodical patterns, orchestral and dinamic constrasts, and harmonic systems.

Independence

This chapter focuses on Barber’s earliest involvement of the performer in the creative process of a composition, in this case the Cello Sonata, premiered by Orlando Cole. The two would meet regularly, with Cole offering suggestions for improvements to the music. This fresh new take in composing music was instantly recognized by friends and audience alike. The founder of the Curtis Institute, Mary Bok, made further efforts in advancing Barber’s and also Gian Carlo Menotti’s careers by conducting auditions with music publishers. This resulted in publications of Barber’s work by G. Schirmer, as well as national radio performances where he was recognized as a pianist, composer, and singer. The chapter also describes Barber’s second large orchestral work, Music for a Scene from Shelley. He also wrote incidental music for a play by Mary Kennedy, One Day of Spring, presented at the Annie Russell Theater in Winter Park, Florida.

Song Cycles

Back in America, Barber happily focused on composing songs. Drawn to Rainer Maria Rilke’s French poems, he created five songs, Mélodies passagères. When asked, he said that he composed in French because he had fallen in love with Paris. He sang excerpts of the cycle to his friend, composer Francis Poulenc, who confirmed the accuracy of the prosody and admired the songs so much he premiered them in Paris with Pierre Bernac in 1952, which Barber attended as he was there for a meeting of the International Music Council. In 1952, Barber received a commission from the Ballet Society to orchestrate some piano duets he had composed, inspired by his childhood trips to the Palm Court in New York’s Plaza Hotel. Completed in Ireland, the ballet, Souvenirs, included a waltz, schottische, tango, pas de deux, and two-step; it was choreographed and performed by Balanchine, who danced with Nora Kaye, Jerome Robbins, and Tanaquil LeClercq. His love affair with Irish poetry also blossomed during this time, inspiring his most famous song cycle, Hermit Songs, settings of ten poems by Irish monks inscribed on the corners of manuscripts. The cycle was premiered in the Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress by Leontyne Price, with Barber at the piano. This chapter concludes with discussion of Barber’s one-movement orchestral work, Adventure, a television collaboration between CBS and the Museum of Natural History, which is scored for a mixture of recognizable Western instruments and non-Western instruments.

Ivan Brkljačić: Love!: Saxophone concerto

The text examines Ivan Brkljačić's most recent orchestral work entitled: Love!-Saxophone Concerto, composed in 2018 as commissioned by the Belgrade Philharmonic. Love! was chosen as a universal theme, but also as the moving force behind the composer's personal and creative life. The composition corresponds to the stylistic expression that is characteristic of Brkljačić. His contemporary musical language is complemented by his own quotes and unequivocal references to popular, primarily rock music, but also to pop, jazz, and other genres that have formed his artistic persona. This work will remain chronicled as the first performed concert for saxophone and symphony orchestra in the history of Serbian music.

Farewell Symphonies

A discussion of three of Carter’s final works: The American Sublime, his last song cycle (to poetry of Wallace Stevens), Instances, his last orchestral work, and Epigrams, his last chamber work. These works would not be performed until after his death, and thus never were fully polished, but they sum up his musical aesthetic. Particularly in returning to Stevens for a second vocal cycle, Carter affirmed his affiliation with a poet who celebrated the metaphysical aspects of everyday existence.

‘THE BRIGHT PLACES OF LIFE AS CLEARLY AS THE DARK’: THE MUSIC OF LINDA BUCKLEY

Linda Buckley is one of the leading figures in the thriving Irish new music scene, a composer whose work draws together many different elements, from spectralism, to ambient electronica, to minimalism and Irish traditional music. This article uses five works created in the last decade as lenses through which to examine a creative practice in which these apparently disparate elements have become increasingly integrated. From the 2008 string trio, Fiol, to the orchestral work Chiyo (2011), to Torann for large ensemble and electronics (2015), and finally to two works with string quartet, ó íochtar mara (2015) and Haza (2016), these works represent stages within the evolution of a highly distinctive musical language.