THURSDAY, JULY 1 AT 7 P.M. (PT)
PART OF LACO SUMMERFEST
DEBUSSY Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun (arr. Paolo Fradiani)
KiMani BRIDGES The Flower
Manuel DE FALLA El amor brujo (original 1915 version)
There is much to celebrate about the voices featured on this program. This is quite literal in the case of Suzanna Guzmán, mezzo soprano, who will be joining us as the soloist in an early twentieth-century work by native Spaniard, Manuel de Falla. It is also a great opportunity to celebrate the emerging compositional voice of an up-and-coming composer named Kimani Bridges. Bridges was a member of the 2019-2020 class of the Luna Composition Lab. This program was founded in 2016 by 2018 GRAMMY Award-nominee Missy Mazzoli and 2019 Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid along with Kaufman Music Center. The purpose of Luna Lab is to address “the gender imbalance in the field of classical music by providing [mentorship to] aspiring female-identifying, non-binary and gender non-conforming composers.” LACO is committed to positive change and inclusivity at all levels, allowing us to appreciate the music we already love and mentor exciting new voices.
The first work chosen for this program was El amor brujo by Manuel de Falla, whose family hailed from Catalonia on his mother’s side and Valencia on his father’s. He came to music early in life, studying with many teachers including his mother. As a teenager, he was particularly influenced by the music of Edvard Grieg, whose music celebrated the his Norwegian heritage. De Falla was part of a generation that encouraged composers to find their authentic voices by understanding the folk traditions of their native homelands. De Falla’s compositional voice often drew upon the musical culture of Spain from an insider’s perspective, not as an outsider charmed by “exoticism.” In carefully learning about and listening to the diverse music of Spain and its various subcultures, de Falla captured the passion and rhythm of a rich musical tapestry, bringing the true flavor of these traditions to a world audience.
El amor brujo, or Love, the Magician, was originally commissioned in 1914-5 as a gypsy piece (gitanería) by Pastora Imperio, who was herself a famous gypsy dancer. To internalize the music, de Falla listened to Imperio and her mother, Rosario la Mejorana, sing gypsy songs and tell stories. De Falla was also inspired by the poetry of Gregorio Martinez Sierra (also commissioned by Imperio). De Falla also relied on his own careful study of the cante jondo (lierally, “deep song”), a flamenco folk song from the region of Andalusia. De Falla thoroughly absorbed and metabolized these influences, producing a work that evoked the spirit of this tradition without outright quoting existing tunes. In its original incarnation, El amor brujo was written for chamber orchestra, actors, and voice. Although the authenticity of the work was celebrated by some, its premiere was disappointing. In 1916, de Falla revisited the work, cutting it down dramatically, but re-orchestrating it for chamber orchestra. In this version, the actors are gone, but the singer remains—a mezzo soprano—who sings three songs. [It is this version we will hear tonight, with native Angelino, Susana Guzmán, as the soloist.] There is also a “ballet-pantomímico” version of El amor brujo that de Falla completed in 1924 and a 1925 piano suite that sets four movements from the ballet. The scenario in all incarnations centers around Candelas, a gypsy girl who is in love with Carmello. Their union is not peaceful, however, as Candelas is haunted by the spirit of her dead husband. De Falla creates a dramatic space where music is part of both the haunting and the resolution of this love story. The composer’s deep respect and openness allowed him to capture the authentic quality of this Spanish musical tradition with rhythmic vivacity, dancing energy, and a fiery spirit.
KiMani Bridges is a promising young composer who has already won awards with her music. As a member of the Luna Lab, she received mentoring from Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and Ellen Reid. Reid is also a member of the LACO family as a creative advisor and Composer in Residence. Bridges received the 2020 Schirmer Prize for Luna Composition Lab while she was a senior at duPont Manual Magnet High School/Youth Performing Arts School in Louisville, Kentucky. She Is now attending the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Bloomington. Bridges, who is also a flautist, composed the work featured this evening, The Flower, for flute, violin, viola, and percussion, including timpani, marimba, bass drum, and cymbals. The concept of the piece, according to Bridges, is “the life of a flower starting with the seed being carried and planted into the ground, to the growth and eventual storm, and finally concluding with the bloom and the death of the flower.” To achieve these events in the flower’s life cycle, Bridges created contrasting colors for the different movements. The piece uses a few extended techniques such as clapping, foot stomping, and snapping, which add interest and energy to the movements. It is an impressive work that shows a sensitivity to both instrumental tone color and the organic exploration of musical ideas—quite fitting for a work inspired by the life of a flower.
In the 1890s, just as Manuel de Falla was hearing the work of Grieg and committing himself to nurturing his own national language, Claude Debussy was enjoying the Belle Époque in Paris. He had experienced the music of Wagner at the end of the 1880s, and was deeply impressed by what he heard, although other influences would steer his style to a somewhat different path. The Paris Exposition of 1889 was particularly important as it brought the Javanese gamelan and other new sounds into Debussy’s consciousness. He would move forward exploring orchestral colors and unique sound materials like different scales and chords that lived outside of the traditional harmonies taught in schools.
It often holds that Debussy and “Impressionism” are mentioned in the same breath, although 1894’s Prélude à L’Après-midi d’un faune (Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun) owes more to Symbolism than Impressionism. He began working on it at the tail end of 1894, having spent most of the year composing parts of the opera, Pelléas et Méllisande. Debussy was inspired to interrupt work on the opera by Stéphane Mallarmé’s symbolist poem, L’Après-midi d’un faune. The poem dreamily speaks from the point of view of an amorous Faun about his desires and experiences. In the single movement of this symphonic poem, Debussy did not attempt to depict a specific narrative, striving instead to create a colorful illustration of the Faun and his milieu. Fellow composer Paul Dukas described Debussy’s evocative translation of Mallarmé’s work as “symbols of symbols.” Mallarmé was initially concerned that Debussy was attempting to recreate his poem with instrumental music, though he was reportedly thoroughly charmed and moved once he heard the work.
Like the Faun, Debussy’s chief concern in this work seems to be the ephemeral pleasure of the present moment, with all of its attendant beauties. Debussy does not impose formal constraints on the piece, although there is an internal logic to the presentation. Such planning and organization are not apprehended by the listener, however. We are simply invited to enter this sound world and enjoy it. Although the colors of the orchestra are stunningly rendered, certain voices rise up to present sinuous soloistic lines, among them scintillant harp and oboe. But it is the flute that is most associated with this work, as it is the first instrument we hear, presenting the main theme. Other themes exist as well, teasing new sonorities, combining for interesting tone colors, appearing in different time signatures—providing a perceived temporal fluidity—and changing moods quickly and playfully. Like El amor brujo, Debussy’s music for L’Après-midi d’un faune would become the basis of a ballet, in this case, most famously, a scandalous 1912 modern dance piece choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky. In it, the situations described in Mallarmé’s poem take on a more definite shape than in Debussy’s music, which leaves things vague and dreamy, barely discernible in the glittering landscape.
–Christine Lee Gengaro, Ph.D.
