Ravinia 2019, Issue 5, Week 10

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–91) “Alleluia” from Exsultate, jubilate , K. 158a/165 Sacred composition was not an official duty of Mozart’s appointment as Konzertmeister at the Salzburg court; nevertheless, he produced a small, but significant, body of choral and instru- mental works for liturgical use. Opera commis- sions or a large court appointment remained his overall career goal, as his extended “grand tours” throughout Europe demonstrated. No piece represents Mozart’s early mastery of the Classical sacred style more fully than Exsultate, jubilate , K. 158a/165. This motet for solo sopra- no conformed in general terms to the standard structure described by Johann Joachim Quantz: “In Italy the name [motet] is applied at present time to a sacred Latin solo cantata that consists of two arias and two recitatives that closes with an Alleluia and is sung by one of the best singers during the Mass after the Credo.” Exsultate, jubilate also reflects its composer’s in- volvement in opera, a stylistic source evidently permitted in the sacred Latin motet, as suggest- ed by Quantz (“in general the introduction of more liveliness is permitted in the church music of the Catholics than that of the Protestants”) and a logical choice considering the work’s dedi- catee—the soprano castrato Venanzio Rauzzini. Mozart met Rauzzini in Milan, where the singer appeared as exiled Roman senator Cecilio in the December 26, 1772, premiere of the 16-year-old composer’s opera Lucio Silla . Mozart and Rauzzini had very little time to com- pose and rehearse the motet before the sched- uled service at Milan’s Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Abate on January 17, 1773. Mozart saved time by drawing on existing Latin text by an anon- ymous author, written sometime before 1753. His multi-section motet showcased Rauzzini’s incredible virtuosity and wide emotional range. RICHARD STRAUSS (1864–1949) Four songs Strauss was not only a fine conductor and com- poser but also a wonderful accompanist and in- terpreter of the whole German Lied repertoire. The German musicologist Alfred Orel, who turned pages for Strauss during a recital with Elisabeth Schumann, remembered the natural sensitivity and lyricism in his playing. “When I opened the music of the first song Strauss said softly to me, ‘You mustn’t look at the notes, for I play it quite differently.’ And now I was able to savor an art of accompaniment at first hand such as I have never again experienced in the 30 years or so that have since passed. Such freedom and yet at the same time the highest precision in following the singer, whilst also guiding her interpretation, such support and then again the subtlest understanding of where she needed help, whether in allowing time for breathing, whether to avoid forcing her to exaggerate her own breath control, in short, such complete uni- ty between singer and accompanist was proba- bly never equaled.” Strauss’s closest collaborator, and the singer who unquestionably inspired more songs than any other, was his wife Pauline. In 1887, Strauss met and fell in love with the lovely Wagnerian soprano Pauline de Ahna. Two years later, she joined the opera company in Weimar, where Strauss conducted. Richard became her teach- er and mentor, and on September 10, 1894, they were married. Strauss presented the Four Songs, op. 27, as a wedding gift. Heimliche Auf- forderung , a setting of lyrics by the Scottish-born German poet and anarchist John Henry Mackay, was the only song of the four not orchestrated by Strauss at a later date. Strauss composed the Eight Songs, op. 10, in 1883 on texts from Letzte Blätter (Last Leaves) by the Innsbruck poet and jurist Hermann von Gilm zu Rosenegg (1812–64). The completed set was ded- icated to Heinrich Vogl, principal tenor at the Munich Court Opera. Like a shadowy thief, Die Nacht (The Night) slowly plunders all the earth’s beauty and richness; the lovers draw closer to- gether so night cannot steal one of them away. Strauss concluded his volume with Allerseel- en (All Souls’ Day), a melancholy reflection on springtime love and autumn remembrance, sym- bolized by the fragrant flowers of life and death. Expressionist poetry by Richard Dehmel (1863– 1920) dominated Strauss’s song compositions around the turn of the 20th century. Four of the five pieces in op. 39 use Dehmel’s verses. Strauss dedicated the published collection to Fritz Sieg- er. Dehmel found little value in these settings, but particularly singled out Befreit for criticism. In Die Musik , Dehmel complained that the com- poser misunderstood the text, which he intend- ed as a man speaking to his dying wife. Strauss’s classic setting addresses a more generalized freedom for suffering lovers. SERGE RACHMANINOFF (1873–1943) Four songs Rachmaninoff ’s seven song collections, written between 1890 and 1916, are intimately connect- ed with the Russian homeland and her people. Most of the prominent Russian poets, both Romantic and symbolist alike, supplied texts, although Rachmaninoff was not averse to using Russian translations of German and French po- etry. Rachmaninoff completely abandoned the piano and voice medium after leaving Russia permanently in the wake of the 1917 Revolution. Rachmaninoff poured his most personal musi- cal expression into the 80-plus songs. Melodies tend toward simple, uncomplicated lyricism, at times bordering on a declamatory style for the sake of clear text projection. Accompaniments span the gamut of pianism, from straightfor- ward chordal patterns to astounding arpeggios and scales. Listening to Rachmaninoff ’s songs, one is always aware of his legendary virtuosity as pianist, but also of his self-effacing, deferential personality. The Six Songs, op. 4, resulted from Rachmani- noff ’s first contract with the music publisher Karl Alexandrovich Gutheil. The first three songs originated during his conservatory years, including his youthful lyric masterpiece V mol- chan’i nochi taynoy (In the Silence of the Se- cret Night; 1890). The composer dedicated the fourth song, Ne poy, krasavitsa, pri mne (Sing Not to Me, Beautiful Maiden; 1893), to his future wife, Natalya Satina. Rachmaninoff culminated his early phase of vo- cal composition with the Twelve Songs, op. 14 (1896). Texts come from the works of various poets, and the composer dedicated each song to a different individual. The penultimate song, Vesenniye vody (Spring Waters), depicts icy springtime streams with an evocative piano accompaniment. Rachmaninoff dedicated this song to his first piano teacher, Anna Ornatskaya. Hoping to take Natalya on a memorable wed- ding and honeymoon, Rachmaninoff composed the Twelve Songs, op. 21, in April 1902 as a quick source of income. Serge and Natalya married on April 29 and soon left for their honeymoon in Switzerland with songs in hand. The sev- enth song, Zdes’ khorosho (How Fair This Spot), based on a text by the poet and children’s au- thor Glafira Adol’fovna Galina (pseudonym of Countess Glafira Mamoshina), describes a sol- itary, divine communion with nature—and the singer’s beloved. PABLO LUNA (1879–1942) “De España vengo” from El niño judio Spanish composer Pablo Luna received a clas- sical music education growing up in Alhama de Aragón. After completing studies at the Richard Strauss with his wife Pauline de Ahna and son Franz RAVINIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 5 – AUGUST 11, 2019 98