TO LENNY! TO LENNY! (FOR NEW YORK)                                                John Williams (b. 1932)                                                                        

                                                                                                                                    4 minutes (1988)

A DOUBLE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION. The current season, beginning in 2018, has marked world-wide celebrations of the 100^th anniversary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein. This concert is part of these festivities and it opens with a tribute by composer John Williams which was part of the 70^th birthday gala for Bernstein at the Tanglewood Festival. The title of this short piece has been revised several times, the most descriptive of which is Variations on Themes of Leonard Bernstein, the most recognizable of which are “New York, New York” from On the Town and “America” from West Side Story.

“GLITTER AND BE GAY” FROM CANDIDE                                   Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

                                                                                                                                      5 minutes (1956)

A COLORATURA DELIGHT. Leonard Bernstein’sCandide is among his most popular and enduring compositions, with at least seven distinct versions detailed on the official Bernstein website. Much of the music is consistent across all versions, but the words have included a minimum of six different authors. The overture to Candide is a staple of the concert repertoire (it is included on the ESO’s CD), and it gives prominence to this aria, a favorite showpiece for coloratura sopranos. Cunegonde, the “heroine,” laments her loss of innocence and virtue but decides to take pleasure in her glittering diamonds and sapphires — “If I’m not pure, at least my jewels are!”

CHICHESTER PSALMS                                                                     Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)                                                  

                                                                                                                                   18 minutes (1965)                                                                           

BERNSTEIN’S MOST ENDURING CONCERT WORK. Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms was written on a commission by the Chichester Cathedral for their 1965 Choir Festival. The Very Reverend Walter Hussey, Dean of Chichester Cathedral, corresponded with Bernstein about the Festival and mentioned Psalm 2 in particular; he also suggested “I think many of us would be very delighted if here was a hint of West Side Story about the music.” Because the Cathedral’s space for an orchestra was limited, the orchestra consists of strings, three trumpets and three trombones, timpani with a large group of percussion instruments and two harps.

Bernstein’s score specifies that the composition should be sung in Hebrew, and he obtained the full cooperation of the Rev. Hussey in the preparation of the Church of England choirs. Bernstein spent much of his compositional time experimenting with 12 tone music but “after six months I threw it all away. It just wasn’t my music; it wasn’t honest. The end result was the Chichester Psalms which is the most accessible, B-Flat majorish tonal piece I’ve ever written.” The Oxford Companion of Western Music refers to the Psalms’ “popularity that, it is safe to say, no other classical composition of the decade ever approached.”

I. Psalms 108 and 100 (complete) The opening, asingle verse of Psalm 108, presents a somewhat dissonant theme which will recur at the beginning and end of the third movement. It is succeeded quickly by an energetic and percussive setting of “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands.”

II. Psalms 23 (complete) and 2 The most famous of all the psalms — “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” — is sung by the boy soloist to the accompaniment of the harp. A contrasting central section “Why do the nations rage” (four verses from Psalm 2) uses music cut from the opening of West Side Story. Psalm 23 returns but is underlain by recalls of Psalm 2.

III. Psalms 131 (complete) and 133 An orchestral introduction recalls the dissonant theme from the first movement, but the entry of the chorus brings the return of major key melody and the emotional climax of the work. A single verse from Psalm 133 “Behold how good and how pleasant is for brethren to dwell together in unity” resolves the dissonant opening into consonant unity.

CARMINA BURANA                                                                                           Carl Orff (1895–1982)                  

                                                                                                                                    60 minutes (1937)     

A CHORAL BLOCKBUSTER.  The title refers to a collection of medieval texts from the region south of Munich, Germany first published in 1847. The Munich composer Carl Orff set 24 of these songs in 1935–36 for large chorus, children’s chorus, three vocal soloists, and large orchestra. The musical style is deliberately “primitive” using ostinato rhythms, simple melodies and harmonies, and extensive percussion (including two pianos). The combination of simplicity with immediately memorable tunes has resulted in what critic Michael Steinberg has called “one of the few box office certainties in twentieth-century music.”                                                                          

FORTUNA IMPERATRIX MUNDI. The opening “O Fortuna” chorus, representing the turning of the wheel of fortune, has attained iconic status through its media usage. Its circular nature is emphasized by its exact repetition as the final number of the score.                                                     

I. PRIMO VERE/UF DEM ANGER. In Springtime/On the Green represents a lightening of themood with a number of catchy tunes, primarily for the chorus and orchestra. There are no breaks between the individual numbers in this or in the other sections headed by a Roman numeral.

II. IN TABERNA. In the Tavern is a collection of male drinking songs. No. 12, the song of the roasted swan, is the only solo for the tenor and is renowned for its difficulty.

III. COUR D’AMOURS. The Court of Love marks the appearances of the solo soprano and thechildren’s chorus. “In Trutina” (No. 21) is the soprano highlight of the score, while “Veni, veni, venias” (No. 20) with its piano and percussion scoring displays the influence of Stravinsky’s Les Noces on Orff.

BLANZIFLOR ET HELENA. This hymn of praise for full chorus leads directly into the restatement of “O Fortuna.”

FORTUNA IMPERATRIX MUNDI.