Notesontheprogram by James M
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04-24 Davis_Layout 1 4/9/14 9:16 AM Page 25 NOTESONTHEPROGRAM BY JAMES M. KELLER, PROGRAM ANNOTATOR The Leni and Peter May Chair The Discovery of Heaven Julian Anderson ulian Anderson studied with John Lam- figure prominently in his catalogue. From Jbert, Alexander Goehr, and Tristan Murail 1996 to 2001 he was composer-in-residence (not to mention short stints with Olivier with Sinfonia 21 in London; from 2000 to Messiaen and György Ligeti), and gained no- 2005 he was composer-in-association with tice when he won the 1992 Royal Philhar- the City of Birmingham Symphony Orches - monic Society Prize for Young Composers. tra; in 2002 he was appointed artistic direc - Early in his career he became fascinated by tor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s the musical implications of mathematics and “Music of Today” incentive; from 2005 to acoustics — and consequently with the 2007 he was a young composer fellow with works of Iannis Xenakis and the develop- The Cleveland Orchestra; and since 2010 he ments of the French spectralists — as well as has served as composer-in-residence with by folk music of Eastern Europe and points be- the London Philharmonic Orchestra. This yond. Many of his early compositions were season he also began a three-year tenure as modeled explicitly after avant-garde composers he admired or specific musical procedures; and although he ended up withdrawing most of IN SHORT them, they served him greatly in building up a wide-ranging technique as a composer. Born: April 6, 1967, in London In recent years Anderson’s output has in- Resides: in London cluded choral compositions commissioned by the BBC Proms and by the Southbank Cen- Work composed: 2011, on commission from tre; the latter works were premiered at the the London Philharmonic Orchestra (with kind opening of the refurbished Royal Festival Hall support from the Boltini Trust and the Britten- in 2007. He has collaborated with the chore- Pears Foundation) and the New York Philhar- ographer Mark Baldwin on three works, with monic; dedicated to composer Jonathan Harvey the most recent, The Comedy of Change, un- veiled in 2009 to mark the 150th anniversary World premiere: March 24, 2012, at the Royal of the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Festival Hall, London, by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ryan Wigglesworth, conductor Origin of Species. His first opera, Thebans, about the fate of Oedipus and his daughter New York Philharmonic premiere: these Antigone, receives its first performances at the performances, which mark the work’s U.S. English National Opera this May and June. Premiere Given Anderson’s many orchestral residen- cies, it is no surprise that orchestral works also Estimated duration: ca. 15 minutes APRIL 2014 | 25 04-24 Davis_Layout 1 4/9/14 9:16 AM Page 26 composer-in-residence at Wigmore Hall in in 2010. That work considered the realms of London. Anderson has also taught on the fac - evolution and dance through the dichotomies ulties of the Royal College of Music (where of Same/Different, Past/Future, and Con - he was head of the composition department ceal/Reveal — for example, how similarities from 1999 to 2004), Harvard University, and become differences in biological evolution, or the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, how camouflage and display strike a necessary where he currently serves as professor of balance in the natural world. Dichotomies composition and composer-in-residence. also inform The Discovery of Heaven: the first New York Philharmonic audiences previ - movement, An Echo from Heaven, evokes a ously encountered Anderson’s music when musical world made up of very short notes Alan Gilbert conducted The Comedy of Change and very long ones, with little to moderate in in a CONTACT! new-music series concert between, and the third movement, Hymns, The Work at a Glance Julian Anderson offers this description of The Discovery of Heaven : Part 1: An Echo from Heaven. This music comprises mainly very short or very long notes, with little between these two extremes. The flutes predominate, often playing breathy or gliding sounds inspired by Japanese flute technique. Repeated, glisteningly high chords on wind, strings, harmonics and sometimes bells evoke the sound of the Japanese sho mouth organ, with its multiple octaves. Various harmonic areas are explored, with a sudden confrontation between three of them near the end. The texture thins drastically at the conclusion. Part 2: In the Street might evoke the sensations experienced whilst walking a busy street in a modern me - tropolis — perhaps Paris or Amsterdam — passing by buskers, shoppers, pamphleteers, poets, dancers, protesters, etc., all vying for one’s attention. The melodic lines, polyphonies, harmonies, sounds, and rhythms range from delicate to refined to the most raucous, with shifts between these often happening without warning. At first rather fragmentary, the musical atmosphere cumulatively becomes shrill and near chaotic, with strong rhythmic figures evoking a street party or perhaps a protest. This music topples over into: Part 3: Hymns. The orchestra plays two musics: very broad, lyrical, hymn-like sustained melodies on the brass and strings; and a wide variety of dense or unpitched accents and noises — debris from the previous movement, perhaps — centered around percussion, which spreads to other instruments playing in un - orthodox ways. A violent struggle ensues: the noises try at all costs to stop the melodic lines. The more the melodies are attacked, the more they expand, blossoming into two, then three or four parts, as they accel - erate. Eventually a wild unison melody based on the opening of the first move - ment spins at top speed across the en - tire range of the orchestra. The slow coda offers a fresh perspective: previ - ous ideas combine with new harmo- nies and figures. But any resolution is avoided, and the work ends uncertainly. Part 2 evokes, “the sensation of a busy street … passing by buskers … poets, dancers… all vying for one’s attention,” perhaps as in this Paris street scene. 26 | NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC 04-24 Davis_Layout 1 4/9/14 9:16 AM Page 27 brings two entirely disparate musical disposi - tuba, timpani (doubling large tambourine), tions into the same space. orchestra bells, crotales, marimba, snare drum, suspended cymbals, whip, string drum Instrumentation: three flutes (one doubling (a.k.a. lion’s roar), vibraphone, wood chimes, alto flute and one doubling piccolo), three dustbin, tumba (a large conga drum), tam - oboes (one doubling English horn), three bourine, sleigh bells, Chinese opera gong, clarinets (one doubling E-flat clarinet and one tam-tams, tubular bells, hyoshi (Japanese doubling bass clarinet), three bassoons (one clappers), sizzle cymbals, claves, tom-tom, doubling contrabassoon), four horns, three bass drum, kit bass drum, triangles, two trumpets (two doubling flugelhorns and one anvils, miniature wood blocks, antique cym - doubling trumpet in D), three trombones, bals, harp, piano, and strings. Sources and Inspirations Anderson has offered this explanation as background for his new piece: The Discovery of Heaven is a work in three movements of which Parts 2 and 3 are played without a break. The two starting points were the novel of the same name by the Dutch writer Harry Mulisch (1927–2010); and the an - cient Japanese court music known as gagaku — in particular one of the best-known pieces in gagaku repertoire, called Etenraku , which literally means “music coming from heaven.” Harry Mulisch’s novel is a wild, almost out of control epic of a book. What attracted me to it was the vast scope of its narrative, its ability to move suddenly from a panoramic view of time to quite specific real events, some from recent history. Meanwhile, elements from gagaku influenced my textures and harmonies — especially the glis - tening sound of high, clustered chords in doubled multiple octaves on the sho mouth organ, which floats above most gagaku pieces like an image of heaven. These things influenced my piece but my music is not in any way programmatic, nor is it an attempt to imitate gagaku. It must stand on its The 1992 novel The Discovery of Heaven own terms. APRIL 2014 | 27.