How did I come to pick this piece?
When I posted Camille Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, the “Organ Symphony,” on my list of Top 100 Classical Music Favorites (see #37, HERE), I also posted a list of “organ symphonies” and “symphonies for organ and orchestra,” HERE. I was surprised how many there were. I suspect I’ve heard only one of them in my life – the one by Saint-Saëns – so I thought I’d pick one at random to listen to this week. I chose Copland’s work because (a) I tend to like Copland’s music and (b) I had no idea he had written a symphony for organ and orchestra. This piece is, indeed, a symphony “for organ and orchestra” and not an “organ symphony” because the organ is not presented as a solo instrument with the orchestra accompanying it during a featured work. Instead, the organ is just another instrument in the orchestra for this symphony. How did I like it? Well…it was okay. While Copland is credited with capturing American landscapes in his music, that is not necessarily the case with this Symphony for Organ and Orchestra. While the sound is recognizably Copland-esque, the piece does not evoke a particular abstract of Americana. Instead, it is more about movement and perpetual motion than it is about evocative phrases and melodies. Written in 1924, this symphony is important in that it is Copland’s first fully realized orchestral work. The symphony has three movements: a quiet, contemplative prelude; a faster, steady scherzo (with a hint of the Blues), and a finale that really has two sections: a slower, mournful lento section to start, followed by a bolder, more persistent allegro part at the end. As I stated above, though, the entire piece has more of a focus on movement than melody. There is rarely a beat missed when some instrument isn’t playing a note to move the work forward. It’s unrelenting, like a clock tick-tick-ticking (or at times even like a faucet drip-drip-dripping). Whether a section of the work is more tranquil and contemplative or more fervent and bold, the forward motion is always present. True, there is an occasional swell in dynamics or perhaps even a brief pause, but soon the perpetual motion persists. In the final movement there is a repeated motif with different instrumentation with a grace note and a slide into the main note that penetrates the forward motion of the piece with a jolt here and there, almost as if the forward flow has become unsure or unsteady. However, with the help of a beating timpani and some bold brass, though, the motion regains its confidence. Exultant chords on the organ take the final steps of the symphony’s advance. Overall the piece is not one of Copland’s more memorable works; however, it is interesting to hear the foundation for what was to become the Copland sound.
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A New Hope:As the header above says, each week I will listen to a piece of classical music that I've never heard before, and then I will report out what I thought about it. Archives
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