Concerto Drammatico
for violoncello and orchestra
in three continuous movements
I Scena Moderato molto
II Danza vigorosa Allegro vivace
III Scena ultima Lento molto e fluido -
Adagio cantabile e sostenuto molto
In structure the work extends the normal concerto procedure
by means of episodes for solo cello, unaccompanied or with light accompaniment,
which alternate with episodes for the full orchestral tutti, in
which the soloist has no part. The drammatico of the title lies
in the soloist’s interaction, and contrast, with the orchestra. It is
a constantly varied relationship. At the exposition one follows the
other naturally, as the orchestra pick up the opening melody of the
cello theme; at first with solo clarinet (1,12), then with full orchestra
(1,14).
When the soloist is directly juxtaposed to the
orchestral tutti, the contrast is starkly compelling;
I
The three movements are played without a break,
and each movement derives from the same material, which emphasises
the unity of the work as a whole. Each episode introduces a variation
of pace, instrumental texture or tonality. The first movement is
structured in eleven such episodes:
| 1 |
1-13 |
Solo cello A |
| 2 |
14-25 |
Orchestra repeat of A |
| 3 |
26-43 |
Solo cello B, with vibraphone, harp, celesta (pp
impressionistic) |
| 4 |
44-60
|
Orchestra B abrupt con fuoco
|
| 5 |
61-77 |
Solo cello C, with light accompaniment (triple stop) |
|
6
|
78-94 |
Orchestra alternating with solo cello, light
accompaniment, in 2-bar sequences. New rhythmic figure at 81 developed
from A.
|
|
7
|
95-105 |
Solo cello and orchestra, 3-bar sequences; rhythmic
ostinato increases to f |
|
8
|
106-135 |
Orchestra ff, appassionato molto,broadening
into climax. |
| 9 |
136-152 |
Solo cello cadenza, with light accompanimen (up to
145) |
| 10 |
153-1 |
64Solo cello, with vibraphone, harp, celesta
(pp impressionistic) |
| 11 |
165-173 |
Solo cello and orchestra bridge to II
|
The main theme of the whole work; A, is introduced by
the solo cello with quiet intensity, and a certain freedom, in a sequence
of 2-bar motifs, spelling out the tonal inflections. Over three bars it
rises to the tonal centre (C sharp), then gradually falls over a range
of three octaves to the lowest C sharp (bar 10). The underlying sonority
is coloured by the tonal ambivalence between E and E sharp, spelt out
in bar 10 and 12, and recurring throughout the concerto.
After the orchestra’s varied repeat of A, the 3rd
episode introduces an impressionistic texture ,
with vibraphone, harp, celesta, violins pp tremolando,
and a triplet rhythm. The orchestral answer to this erupts abruptly
and with great violence (bar 44), after which the fifth episode
reverts to the solo cello, marked with triple stopping a light accompaniment,
and a metre juxtaposing 4/4 with 7/8. Episodes 6 and 7 form the
development section, the 2-bar sequences of episode 6 setting up
a question and answer between the orchestra and the soloist, and
introducing a new rhythm, derived from A, at bar 81 .This soon develops
into a rhythmic motif in the course of the 7th episode, which not
only dominates the orchestral tutti which follows (appassionato
molto) but also defines the phrases of the cadenza, quoting
as it does the main features of the theme. This is brought to a
close by the 10th episode, which repeats the texture and tonality
of the 3rd; but instead of leading to
the abrupt con fuoco of the 4th
episode, the movement is now brought to a close with articulated
chords from the woodwind and brass, leading, accelerarado,
into the Allegro vivace.
II
The second movement, scherzando, grows homogeneously
from the first.. The strongly accented rhythmic ostinato on which
it is based, once established at the opening by the snare drum, cannot
be halted, as the alternating metres 4/4 and 7/8, 2/4 and 3/8, pass
imperceptibly from soloist to orchestra and back again. Just as the
main theme of I rose over two bars, fell over eight, so in this scherzo
the main rhythmic theme climbs over two bars, increases to f, then gradually
falls over twelve bars, reducing to p at the lowest note D (bar 17).
The scherzo is symmetrically divided into two
halves, separated by a Trio (Lento fluido). For the
reprise after the Trio the main theme is varied with the addition of
a triplet rhythm, spiccato, and martellato interjections from
the orchestral strings. Each half is supported by two orchestral statements
of the main theme (esuberante), like two massive pillars. On
each occasion it is the second statement which carries the greater structural
importance. With the 7th episode it brings to a close the first half
of the scherzo, with a climactic, vibrant stroke of the tamtam; with
the 14th episode it brings to a close the entire movement, with rhythmic
antiphony between timpani and brass, and a massive statement of the
Trio theme for the entire orchestra over trombone chords ff
| 1 |
1-16 |
Rhythmic prelude (snare drum) Solo cello A |
| 2 |
17-38 |
Orchestra alternating with solo cello B Detaché
motif (29) |
| 3 |
39-59 |
Orchestra A esuberante |
| 4 |
60-71 |
Solo cello C short, variant phrases |
| 5 |
72-85 |
Orchestra B Detaché motif alternating with
solo cello |
| 6 |
86-96 |
Solo cello A light accompaniment |
| 7 |
97-131 |
Orchestra A climax tamtam (111) bridge |
| 8 |
132-147 |
Trio Lento fluido solo cello, light accompaniment,
sequential phrases |
| 9 |
148-167 |
Solo cello reprise of A |
| 10 |
168-189 |
Orchestra reprise of B, alternating with. solo cello.
Detaché motif (180) |
| 11 |
190-211 |
Orchestra reprise of A esuberante rhythmic
postlude (side drum without snares) |
| 12 |
212-223 |
Solo cello reprise of C, short variant phrase |
| 13 |
224-239 |
Orchestra reprise of B,alternating with solo cello.
detaché motif |
| 14 |
240-266 |
Orchestra A climax cymbal, unison from 1 against brass
chords |
| 15 |
267-282 |
Solo cello from opening of I |
The solo cello, like an echo in the 15th episode, reduces
the tension as it heralds the third movement, a sustained, Mahlerian Adagio.
III
After the extrovert dynamism of the scherzo the intense
impressionism of the Adagio. The theme is carefully prepared by a long
solo introduction, Lento molto, whose last two bars are identical to the
concluding bars of the scherzo. The purpose of the introduction is to
reduce the rhythmic energy of the scherzo to the sustained lyricism of
the Adagio by means of melodic material which is heard again at
the climax (bar 140).
The intervals of the introductory material are spelt
out in two sections, each consisting of two hexachords; the first, ascending,
lightly scored against a characteristic chord for four horns; the second
descending, solo.
After the introduction, the first statement of the Adagio
chorale theme, with explicit C sharp tonality, and the characteristic
E/E sharp inflection, is given out by the solo cello and lower strings,
repeated by the orchestra. The ensuing episodes for solo cello arise
homogeneously from the main theme; the 4th is sequential, varied melodic
moti1~ with tremolando strings and light woodwind; the 6th is
impressionistic, with cello harmonics. These solo episodes alternate
with three orchestral tutti episodes. The 3rd and the 5th are
repeats of the preceding solo passages; the 7th builds up, over the
melody in cellos and basses, to a climax (bar 140), con veemenza
tremenda, when the unison strings, fff tremolando, give
out the theme of the introduction, against the ostinato scherzo
rhythm in the snare drum, the first movement theme in the woodwind,
the Adagio chords in the brass. Only when the resonance has reduced
to a whispered tremolando ppp does the solo cello, summoned by
a horn call, begin the long, elegiac theme of the final apotheosis,
over a pedal C sharp, con amore e tenereza.
| 1 |
1-48 |
Introduction, part accompanied, part solo |
| 2 |
49-56 |
Solo cello Chorale theme A |
| 3 |
57-72 |
Orchestra repeat of A, double statement (57-62, 63-72) |
|
4
|
73-98 |
Solo cello B
|
| 5 |
99-108 |
Orchestra free repeat of B
|
| 6 |
108-120
|
Solo cello, celesta,glockenspiel, violins tremolando
|
|
7
|
120-172 |
Orchestra development (bar 140), reduction of
pace and dynamics (159)
|
| 8 |
172-end |
C sharp pedal, concluding solo cello
|
The first and third movements, Scena and Scena
ultima, were composed in their original form in 1962, the same year
as Sinfonia contra timore. They were re-written and extended
in 1998, when the additional movement, Danza vigorosa, was composed;
not as a finale -- the composer considered
that nothing could follow the conclusive finality of the Adagio -
but as a brilliant scherzando second movement. The intervening
years had seen several works for solo stringed instruments, such as
the solo violin sonatas, the solo cello sonata, and two Romanzas,
for which Whettam found an inspiring interpreter in the young Austrian
cellist Martin Rummel. One of the strongest features of these solo works
is an intense lyricism, in an idiom of extended tonality, with melodic
motifs worked into long phrases. Such small-scale solo pieces, in which
the melody is free, the harmony implied, proved to be the genesis of
large-scale orchestral works.
The creative impulse behind this concerto is Whettam’s
exploitation of the cello’s expressive range. The instrument combines
many contrasting characteristics: great power, yet coupled with the gentleness
of a quiet, lyrical instrument: the high, middle and low melodic registers,
each with its own quality; in this respect it is unique, and really combines
several instruments in one; many different methods of note-articulation;
a sustained cantabile quality at all
dynamic levels, with both natural notes and harmonics, coupled
with an aptitude for rhythmic definition and attack. Passages for solo
cello occur at defining moments in each movement of this concerto -characteristic
melodic writing in which the tonal inflection of intervals colours the
overall sonority without supporting harmony.
The world première of Concerto Drammatico was
given in America on 30 September 2000, at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The
Sinfonia da Camera was conducted by Ian Hobson, the soloist was
Martin Rummel.
Sinfonia contra timore
in three continuous movements
I Lento - Allegro
molto
II Adagio
III Allegro deciso
I
Sinfonia contra timore, Symphony against
fear, is in three continuous movements, with tonal centres respectively
of 0 flat, C and F sharp. The opening movement begins with a slow,
intensely dramatic introduction, which pre-dates the rest of the
symphony by nine years. It is marked Lento and its individual
elements are later revealed as thematic germs. Semitonal clashes
on the violins create an eerie, unsettling atmosphere and establish
-the symphony’s prevailing mood of conflict
and unrest. Unison horns and trumpets feature strongly. The opening
section of the introduction is repeated up a tone, the intensity
correspondingly increased. In a dramatic gesture, four unison
trumpets herald the arrival of the Allegro molto -
con energia incisa. This main section of the first
movement is a lively and trenchant dance in triple metre, driving
on unabated until trumpets and trombones instigate a final climax
which peaks with a hair-raising downward glissando for
horns, trumpets and harp, twice repeated. The music then seems
to disintegrate, and a soft timpani roll leads into the ensuing
Adagio.
II
The second movement is essentially an outer slow movement
surrounding a central scherzo-like section. A long unaccompanied melody,
eerie and desolate, emerges from the entire violin section, and is repeated
canonically with cellos and basses. An ensuing misterioso is
characterised by repeated chords which occur sometimes in melodic parallel
seconds, reminiscent of the violins’ crunching dissonances in the symphony’s
introduction, and sometimes harmonically, preparing for the following
subito con moto.
This central scherzo builds in intensity until the timpani
play solo, pitted against the full weight of rhythmic chords from the
rest of the orchestra. Eventually the strings’ Adagio theme returns
in canon from the full orchestra, set against a percussionist’s ostinato
solo, which does not quite coincide with the Adagio theme.
The percussion is written as though in a bar of eleven quavers against
the orchestra’s twelve. So these two elements gradually diverge, and then
re-approach each other, meeting together after eleven bars marked by a
gigantic clash from three pairs of cymbals (bar 119).
The Adagio is resumed, the atmosphere muted and
calm. A further canon on the main theme, with the lower line inverted,
is heard over a resonant, bell-like note intoned by harp, piano, timpani,
tamtam and bass drum. As though in a palindrome, the symphony’s introduction
is recalled but with the notes in reverse order - the
solo clarinet rising instead of falling - until
after a massive crescendo the finale breaks through.
III
A brief introduction - Alla
breve and Allegro deciso - opens
the third movement, being a variation of one of the first movement’s dance
themes, and leads into the main tempo, Allegro molto. Increasing
intensity ultimately necessitates a halt, and a solo flute appears, Andante
desolato, over semitonal chords in the strings, again reminding us
of the portentous violins in the symphony’s introduction. Eventually the
musical drive is re-established, and in the closing pages, molto staccato
e molto accentato, thematic fragments seem to be pitched about
in the eye of a relentless rhythmic storm. A short break in the momentum
signals a last defiant timpani-led declaration.
For Whettam the writing of symphonies has always been
the pinnacle of artistic achievement. His first examples in the genre
date from the 1950s, but the Sinfonia contra timore of 1962 is
the composer's earliest acknowledged symphony. Since then he has completed
five further symphonies, of which only two were commissioned from him.
It is clear that Graham Whettam’s symphonism is inherent rather than supplied
to order.
The title Sin fonia contra timore, Symphony against
fear, refers to the background of public anxiety about global nuclear
war against which the work was written. The public mood of the early 1960s
was focussed on war; the effects of war, the possible prevention of war.
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, of which Bertrand Russell was the
best-known advocate, was at the height of its influence, its message greatly
reinforced by the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, when the world was on
the brink of nuclear devastation. The popular concern of that time was
further enhanced by the fact that the fiftieth anniversary of the outbreak
of the First World War would occur in 1964.
In the event, the prevalent mood of pessimism and anxiety
acted as the creative inspiration for many leading composers, who interpreted,
warned, prophesied about war through their music. As a result 1962 was
something of an annus mirabilis in British music. At least five
composers wrote their most distinctive works in that year, all on the
theme of war. Three of them were commissioned by the newly rebuilt Coventry
Cathedral for its festival of that year: Tippett’s King Priam, Britten’s
War Requiem, Bliss’s The Beatitudes. Two were uncommissioned,
and so faced problems of performance: Wilfred Joseplis’ Requiem -
written in memory of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, the only
such work by a British composer - and Graham
Whettam’s Sinfonia contra timore.
Whettam began to fashion his piece into its present symphonic
form in 1961. In that same year the 89-year-old Bertrand Russell was imprisoned
for inciting the public to civil disobedience, and addressing a demonstration
in Trafalgar Square. Consequently Whettam wrote to Earl Russell offering
the new work’s dedication in the following terms: To Bertrand Russell
and all other people who suffer imprisonment or other injustice for the
expression of their beliefs, or the convenience of politicians and bureaucracies.
The symphony was completed on 7 May 1962, and the world
première was arranged for 7 March 1964, with Sir Charles Groves
conducting the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra at Liverpool’s Philharmonic
Hall. Having had all the details of the work’s first performance confirmed,
the composer was then informed that it had been withdrawn, and another
symphony substituted. The orchestra’s chairman, one Alderman Livermore,
had ordered the cancellation in exception to the work’s dedication, apparently
fearful that the nonagenarian Earl Russell might turn the concert into
a political demonstration. A further development happened soon afterwards,
when the BBC proscribed the symphony’s inclusion in its national programmes.
So, ironically, a symphonic work dedicated to freedom of speech and belief
was blocked from public presentation.
In the event the symphony’s performance was delayed for
less than a year, and on 25 February 1965 the City of Birmingham Symphony
Orchestra, conducted by Hugo Rignold, gave the world premiere. The work
was received enthusiastically by a capacity audience which included Bertrand
and Lady Russell.
Further performances followed. An excellent performance
was recorded by the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra under Günter
Blumhagen in the autumn of 1975. Conductor and composer first met at
the recording studio. During the five days of rehearsals and recording
at Leipzig - an extremely generous twenty
hours in all - Blumhagen asked whether the
composer might have a work for his Philharmonic Orchestra at Jena. This
led to the commissioning of Whettam’s Sinfonia Drammatica in
1978.
The supreme confidence with which the orchestra is handled,
and the authoritative voice with which ideas are expressed, bespeak
an individualist of rare integrity. Whettam is no serialist, though the
tide of serialism was running at the flood in the 1960s; nor has he ever
been a composer in the "English traditibn". There are no traces
in the Sinfonia contra timore of Elgarian nobilmente, Waltonian
jocularity, or the pastoralism of Vaughan Williams. However a touch of
Holstian mysticism occasionally breaks through (I, 141-150). Whettam’s
love of the big, bold statement, and his use of instruments in unison,
would appear to ally him with the symphonies of Malcolm Arnold and Robert
Simpson; yet, unlike them, Whettam is no Sibelian. Panufnik, Lutoslawski
and Shostakovich are closer to him in spirit; and he shares with Bartók
and Stravinsky an acute rhythmic sense.
One of the most striking features of the symphony is
the importance of the percussion section. Stemming from the example
of Bartók, Whettam’s percussive writing has developed its own
momentum. There is a continuous 56-bar side drum roIl, pp (1, 201-257),
and the percussion ostinato in the middle of the second movement
requires several instruments played by a single player, set against
the whole orchestra. Perhaps pride of place must be given to the timpanist
who, throughout the final thirty bars has to play rapidly across five
drums with a rare degree of virtuosity.
Contributors
Paul Conway, Francis Routh
Günter Blumhagen (1930-1996) belonged to
the generation of musicians who, in the years after 1945, rebuilt the
shattered musical life in Germany. After gaining early experience in
the opera houses of Dresden and Mecklenburg, he was Musical Director
of the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra 1967-82. In 1975 he was invited to
conduct a performance ‘of Whettam’s Sinfonia contra timore by
the widely-acclaimed Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra.
This orchestra is now known by the title of MDR (Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk)
Sinfonieorchester
After study at the Royal Academy in London, and at
Cambridge and Yale Universities, Ian Hobson was the winner of
the 1981 Leeds International Piano Competition, His career as a pianist
has included, as well as concertos and recitals, over thirty recordings,
and service on juries, such as the Van Cliburn quadrennial Piano Competition.
He is increasingly in demand as a conductor, frequently directing
the performance of piano concertos from the keyboard. He Is Professor
of Music at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where in
1984 he founded the Sinfonia da Camera, of which he is also the
Music Director. This orchestra has established itself over sixteen years
with an annual concert series at the Krannert Centre for the Performlng
Arts, and with tours, recordings and broadcasts. The world premiere
of Whettam’s Concerto Drammatico took place at the opening
concert of the 2000-2001 season, and required the forces of a chamber
orchestra to be much augmented.
The Austrian cellist Martin Rummel graduated
from the Linz Bruckner Academy in 1991, and the Cologne Musikhochschule
in 1997. His teachers were Maria Kliegel and William Pleeth. His repertory
is wide, and composers with whom he has worked include Alfred Schnittke,
Sofia Gubaidulina, Helmut Rogl and Graham Whettam. This première
recording of Whettams concerto is issued, in association with ME-WE
Meisterklang GmbH, also on CDM 931, which includes other Whettam cello
works performed by Rummel, Ballade Hébraique and Romanza.
Full scores of Concerto Drammatico and Sinfonia
contra timore are published by Meriden Music,
The Studio Born, Silverwood House, Woolaston,
Gloucestershire GL15 6PJ, UK tel (01594)
529026 fax (01594) 529027
The photograph of Graham Whettam with Bertrand Russell,
was taken at the première of Sinfonia contra timore, Birmingham,
February 1965.
The full list of works recorded in the British Musical
Heritage is available from Redcliffe Recordings tel/fax 0208995
1223
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