(program)
CBC Radio-Canada Recording // Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) // Symphony No.6 in F (The Pastoral)
The Toronto Symphony, conducted by Karel Ancerl. Recorded in Massey Hall, Toronto, January 19, 1972
Pastoral
1. Allegro ma non troppo — The awakening of happy feelings on arrival in the country
2. Andante molto mosso — Scene by a brook
3. Allegro — Thunderstorm
4. Allegretto: Shepherd’s song; happy thankful feelings after the storm
And the trees grow high in New York state
And they shine like gold in Autumn
Never had the blues from whence I came
But in New York state I caught 'em
“” Talk To Me of Mendocino, Kate and Anna McGarrigle
There was an early orchestra which was disbanded, because of difficulties encountered during World War 1. In 1923, however, several musicians got together and formed the New Symphony Orchestra, under the leadership of Luigi von Kunitz, a distinguished Viennese violinist who had come to Toronto as Head of the Violin department of the Canadian Academy of Music. “”notes from the recording
not exactly the spring we had in mind, but spring nevertheless. the Funk & Wagnals recording of beethoven’s Pastoral has for the last six years been for me the unofficial start of the season; way before i cared anything for the genre, or could make a distinction between absolute and programme music—and thought the rest of beethoven’s works would be as explicitly programmatic as this. it is an ode to spring, to nature and to long walks therein: the image of late-beethoven—house-ridden and obstinate—gets in the way of the much more active beethoven, a nature-addict and a prolific stroller.
Most of the musicians were employed full time in theatres, and to solve this problem it was decided to present twilight concerts starting at 5:15p.m. and finishing at 6:30, so musicians could go to their theatre engagements. After many rehearsals during 1922, the New Symphony Orchestra presented its first “Twilight Concert” in Massey Hall — on Monday, April 23rd, at 5:15p.m. “”notes from the recording
there’s a great video that matches the bird sounds (nightingale via flute, quail by oboe, cuckoo on clarinet) mimicked throughout the Pastotral’s second movement—part of the dense thicket one wades through on this artificial nature walk. such gimmicks stand out a little more this year, in light of our current situation; an inversion of an old saying is perhaps appropriate: If Muhammad can’t go to the mountain, then the mountain should come to Muhammad. so if our current situation is keeping us at a distance from nature, then bringing nature indoors through the art inspired by it is the next best thing.
‘Spring: The Interior of an Artist’s Atelier’ — Leon Wyczółkowski, 1933
In 1924 they were given the charter to become the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. On April 7th, 1931, the first evening concert was given with Dr. von Kunitz conducting the first half, and Sir Ernest MacMillan, a guest conductor, conducting the second half. Von Kunitz died at the beginning of the 1931-32 season and was succeeded by Earnest MacMillan. “”notes from the recording
one of the best examples of bringing nature in that i’ve found in the last year since beethoven’s Pastoral is a book also titled Pastoral by andré alexis, a toronto-based writer. set in a fictional southern ontario town, it situates the grandeur of the natural scenery painted of its name-sake symphony amidst the gossip and melodrama animating small town life. at least that’s the superficial summary of the book, below the surface, the work strikes up an ambitious contest between nature and the divine:
At seminary, Christopher had struggled because he had not known if the voice he’d heard belonged to God or Satan. Following Barrow Day, a new thought occurred to him. What if it had been neither God nor Satan? What if it had been the land itself that had called him? What if it had been Cumberland -- the hills, the trees, the stony fields - that spoke? If so, could one serve both God and the land? Were they indistinguishable or were they, rather, two jealous masters, only one of whom could be devoutly followed? “” andré alexis, Pastoral
the book is as well a“homage to Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony”; although the symphony itself is only merely grazed, it is nevertheless an intensely musical book:
And then, in an instant, time was up. The tall door opened, the beginning of the Allegretto from Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony began, and Elizabeth walked down the aisle of the church. The church was full. There seemed not a space left on a pew. The faces of the people before her were indistinct. “” andré alexis, Pastoral
a book inspired by music, that was in turned inspired by nature, is almost destined to reverberate. a highly recommended read—and now would be the time to start the first chapter, which is titled ‘April’.
In a way this album is a memento of this important milestone in the orchestra’s history, and a record of the musical state to which the orchestra evolved during half a century. In the orchestra were two members, as it happens, in the string sections, who were there at the very beginning fifty years before. One of them, Isidor Dubinsky, violinist, had perfect, unbroken service for fifty years.“”notes from the recording
now, as has always been the case: take refuge in and engage with the local artworks, artists, and art-institutions that are struggling during this period—indeed, it is a period, and how well we do while it lasts will be the result of an indelible mix or hope and pragmatism.
(song of the week: Talk To Me of Mendocino — Kate and Anna McGarrigle)
norah jones covered this song, and i had the misfortune of hearing that cover before the original by the mcgarrigle sisters (kate is rufus wainwright’s mother, fyi). jones’s rendition is so much more robust and warm, but the original comes from a small and dingy place that makes it feel almost like a different song—you barely can see the ‘sun coming up over the redwoods.’
And it's on to Southbend, Indiana
Flat out on the western plain
Rise up over the Rockies and down on into California
Out to where but the rocks remain
it was around late march last year that i heard the original, then at the beginning of april stumbled upon the gruesome story of the murder-suicide involving a family of eight. the headlines usually ran “lesbian mothers killed their…” as if the lesbian part had anything to do with anything. even with our modern over-stimulated sensibilities, there are still occasionally stories that momentarily knock the sense out of you. those poor children…those poor children, i kept muttering over and over. i’ve not been able to hear this song since, without a bit of wince. “Let the sun rise over the redwoods, I will rise with it till I rise no more.”—what a way to describe the end. i can’t think of anything akin to music in it’s capacity as a solvent for pain, a poultice for the incomprehensible.
Throwback to: Year 2, Week35
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