NEC Instrumental Graduate Student Conductors: Plog, Mahler, Fauré

Anthony Plog | Music for Brass Octet

Allegro vivace
Very slowly
Theme and variations

Program note

Written in 1987, Plog’s Music for Brass Octet is now a staple of the brass repertoire. Recalling the antiphonal music of Giovanni Gabrielli, Plog divides four trumpets and four trombones into two separate choirs of two trumpets and two trombones. Each of the three movements highlights a unique characteristic of the brass instruments’ sound and capabilities.
        The first movement emphasizes rhythmic precision. It is in ternary form and the trumpets of choir I introduce the A theme while the choir II trumpets play the B theme. As theme B develops in the trombones of both choirs, trumpets recall motifs of theme A until it returns in its entirety in both choirs at the conclusion of the movement.
        The second movement blends the timbres of the two choirs with unisons, dissonances, and colorful chords, evoking the sound of an organ. Like the preceding movement, it is in ternary form, providing structural cohesion for both performers and listeners. A lyrical theme A is introduced by the first trumpet of choir II, answered by the second trumpet, and then carried between the instrument groups within their respective choirs. This thematic grouping according to instruments contrasts with the first and third movements where choirs respond antiphonally.
        The third movement is a theme and variations based on a characteristic brass fanfare introduced by choir II. Variation I is passed between the instrument groups of each choir until they play in unison before variation II. Here, four trombones carry this triple meter variation while the trumpets layer the fanfare above them. Variation III transitions back to duple meter and utilizes a compositional technique called hocket where a complete melody is pieced together in a musical game of “catch” where notes are tossed between two or more instruments. Variation IV recalls the rhythms of theme I in the first movement and again groups the instruments according to their separate choirs. The work concludes with a flourish in the trumpets to a final triumphant C major chord with an added D for color.  
– Rachel Brake

Personnel

Gustav Mahler | from Symphony No. 4

ed. for soprano and chamber orchestra by Klaus Simon

I. Bedächtig, nicht eilen
IV. Sehr behaglich

Zhengying Yan, soprano

Personnel

Violin
David Carreon
Yeji Lim

Viola
Dylan Cohen

Cello
Isaac Pagano-Toub

Bass
Dennis McIntyre

Flute
Yechan Min

Oboe
Corinne Foley

Bassoon
Abigail Heyrich

Percussion
Ross Jarrell
Rohan Zakharia

Keyboard
Lingbo Ma, harmonium
Boyuan Chen, piano

Gabriel Fauré | Suite from Pelléas et Mélisande, op. 80

Prélude
Fileuse
Sicilienne
Mort de Mélisande

Program note

Fauré composed his Pelléas et MélisandeSuite in 1898 as incidental music to Maurice Maeterlinck’s play Pelléas et Mélisande. The project was directed by English actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell who originally asked Claude Debussy to repurpose music from the first edition of the opera he composed in 1895 based on the same play. After years of little compositional progress, Debussy finally refused Campbell’s offer and she then turned to Fauré.
        Now with less than two months before the first scheduled performance, Fauré worked with his former student, Charles Koechlin, who efficiently orchestrated his drafts.  Each movement is in cyclic form where themes are introduced and return throughout the piece in separate movements. This effective use of motifs like the voice of Mélisande illustrated by the flute provides symmetry to the work without being overly repetitive.
        The first movement serves as a prelude to Act I with a slow introduction in the strings. As the winds gradually join, the anguish of forbidden love is portrayed by dynamic swells and fluid tempo changes. The strings return to the beginning phrase at the end of the section as if recalling a distant memory.
       The second movement begins with triplets in the violins, creating an image of Mélisande at her spinning wheel. A duet between the oboe and bassoon carries her thoughts while she works when suddenly the tone darkens as violas and second violins carry the triplets. The funeral motif from the fourth movement is played by the clarinet and horn in a low register, foreshadowing the death of Mélisande. The first violins assume the triplets again and the movement concludes with a sustained and serene G major chord in the upper winds.
        The third movement is a sicilienne, a triple meter dance characterized by the dotted eighth and sixteenth note rhythm first presented in the flute and later carried by the violins and upper woodwinds. In the middle of the dance, Pelléas’ voice enters in the solo cello and a conversation takes place between flute, clarinet, cello, and horn solos. The section then comes full circle, ending how it began as the flute completes the melody one last time.
       The fourth and final movement portrays the death of Mélisande. The upper woodwinds that once represented the young woman’s innocence now play a rhythmic heartbeat in their lower tessituras. A lyrical line of mourning people around Mélisande’s death bed is played by the violins. As more instruments join, the mourning continues among the heartbeat motif. The dynamic grows and tempo quickens as if Mélisande might resume a normal pulse when suddenly, hope fades. The heartbeat stops and the mourners’ motif is all that remains as the flute softly carries Mélisande’s spirit heavenward.                                              
– Rachel Brake

Personnel

Violin 1
Ravani Loushy Kay
David Carreon
Yeji Lim
Isabella Sun
Audrey Weizer

Violin 2
Sofia Skoldberg
Ava Kenney
Minkyung Kang
HyoJeong Hwang

Viola
Man To Kwong
Ru-Yao Van der Ploeg
John Turner

Cello
Jonathan Fuller
Isaac Pagano-Toub
Eric Schindler

Bass
Luke Tsuchiya
Lawrence Hall

Flute
Anna Ridenour
Sadie Goodman

Oboe
Kelley Osterberg
Kian Hirayama

Clarinet
Evan Chu
Adlemi A. Zambrano

Bassoon
Evan Judson
Zoe Beck

French horn
Elijah Barclift
Mattias Bengtsson
Xiaoran Xu

Trumpet
Matthew Dao
Justin Park

Timpani
Doyeon Kim

Harp
Jingtong Zhang

Personnel

Violin 1
David Carreon +
Ravani Loushy Kay
Yeji Lim
Isabella Sun
Audrey Weizer

Violin 2
Yeji Lim +
Sofia Skoldberg
Ava Kenney
Minkyung Kang
HyoJeong Hwang

Viola
Dylan Cohen +
Man To Kwong
Ru-Yao Van der Ploeg
John Turner

Cello
Isaac Pagano-Toub +
Jonathan Fuller
Eric Schindler

Bass
Dennis McIntyre +
Luke Tsuchiya
Lawrence Hall

Flute
Sadie Goodman
Yechan Min ‡
Anna Ridenour §

Oboe
Corinne Foley ‡
Kian Hirayama
Kelley Osterberg §

Clarinet
Evan Chu ‡
Adlemi A. Zambrano

Bassoon
Zoe Beck
Abigail Heyrich ‡
Evan Judson §

French horn
Elijah Barclift §
Mattias Bengtsson
Mauricio Martinez ‡
Xiaoran Xu

Trumpet
Ko Te Chen
Matthew Dao *§
Justin Park
Alexandra Richmond

Trombone
Becca Bertekap *
Devin Drinan

Bass Trombone
David Paligora *+
Shin Tanaka

Timpani
Doyeon Kim

Percussion
Ross Jarrell ‡
Rohan Zakharia

Harp
Jingtong Zhang

Harmonium
Lingbo Ma

Piano
Boyuan Chen

Principal players
* Plog
‡ Mahler
+ Mahler strings
§ Fauré