Two World Premieres

New Zealand Listener, Volume 37, Issue 935, 12 July 1957, Page 16

Two World Premieres

NORMAN

SMITH

writing |}

from New York, reports on a notable concert of contemporary choral works.

ONE of the important events of the musical season in this city took place recently: a concert of contemporary choral music that included world premiéres of two major works, as well as first New York performances of two others. Aside from what the music itself had to say, it was a notable event because up to a relatively short time ago such a concert (containing so much new music of stature) could hardly have been presented. That is to say, the relative dearth of new choral works that was particularly evident during the 1930s is broken, and composers are again giving major attention to music for massed voices. The concert in question was presented by one of America’s most distinguished choral groups, the Schola Cantorum of New York, under its permanent director, Hugh Ross. The pfogramme consisted of "Eternitie," by Jan Meyerowitz, "Coro di Morti" ("Chorus of the Dead"), by Goffredo Petrassi, "The Stranger," by Herbert Fromm, three of the six "Canciones de Primavera" (Songs of Spring), by Domingo Santa Cruz, and "Inscriptions at the City of Brass," by Jacob Avshalomov. It was distinctly a "big" programme, aside from the newness of four of the numbers, and ranged in scope and character from the lyric, ethereal Santa Cruz songs for a capella chorus to the macabre "Chorus of the Dead" and the crashing Avshalomov cantata. Of the six "Songs of Spring" for which Santa Cruz wrote words as well as music, Ross selected numbers one, four and five. Only the first of these is written in the presence of the rejoicing of spring-the other two look forward to spring, but are themselves still in the griv of winter. The a capella songs gave the chorus an excellent opportunity to demonstrate its famous purity of tone, and ability to project nuances. Domingo Santa Cruz, Chile’s leading composer, wrote. the "Songs of Spring" in 1950. This was their first performance in New York. Avshalomov’s "Inscriptions at the City of Brass." which was given its world premiére perfornrance, is based on a story begun by Scheherazade on

= J the 339th of the Thousand and One Nights. The cantata, scored for mixed chorus and orchestra, includes one speaking part: a female narrator, personifying Scheherazade, who tells the story. The orchestra was augmented by a number of rather exotic percussion instruments, as well as banjos and guitars. On the other hand, the upper strings were not used, as the composer wished to avoid a singing element in competition with the chorus. The "Inscriptions" has been criticised for using a speaking voice, which some found disturbing in connection with the orchestral accompaniment, and for seeking to imitate oriental music. I felt the narrator was an_ effective device, although the speaker’s use of a micfophone and loudspeakers gave her voice an artificial quality. As for the latter charge, it seems to me that the composer sought merely to suggest, rather than to imitate, oriental modes, just as, for example, Ravel’s "Jeux d’Eau" merely suggests the sound of a gamelan. Incidentally, Avshalomoy really knows oriental music at first hand, having been born in Tsingtao, China, in 1919. He settled in the United States in 1937, and is at present conductor of the Portland (Oregon) Junior Symphony. The other world premiere was Herbert Fromm’s dramatic cantata The Stranger. Scored for three male soloists, mixed chorus, and orchestra, it is based on a pafable by Benjamin Franklin which warns against over-zealousness and self-righteousness. The cantata proved to be a powerful and moving work, without unusual problems for either performers or audience. The composer was born in Germany, where he received his musical education. He came to the United States in 1937. Perhaps the most effective work of the evening was "Coro di Morti," heard for the first time in New York. Its (continued on next page) .

(continued from previous page) fanciful text, by the great Italian lyric poet Giacomo Leopardi, discusses the nature of existence after death, and the music is appropriate to such a subject. Petrassi calls his work a "Dramatic Macrigal." It is scored for male chorus, accompanied by three pianos, brass, contrabasses and percussion-a combination from which the composer, and Hugh Ross, elicited appropriately eerie music, Petrassi, a native of Rome, was composer in residence at the Berkshire music centre, in Massachusetts, last year, The concert began with the brief and exhilarating "Eternitie" for chorus and orchestra, by Jan Meyerowitz, The text is by Robert Herrick, the English cavalier poet of the 17th century. Meyerowitz, born in Germany in 1913, came to the United States in 1946. As may be seen from these brief descriptions, this programme covered a great deal of musical background. But regardless of any other considerations, the important thing about it was its presentation of music that was fresh, new and of our time. This is, I think, particularly significant in choral music, where the great works of the past, both sacred and secular, make up a greater proportion of the literature than do classical works in symphonic music. Hugh Ross, Music Director of the Schola Cantorum since 1927, has a theory to account for what he calls the "reflorescence" of choral music. It is due, he believes, to the fact that our modern musical idiom has become stabilised. This is important for composers of choral music who, because of the nature of their medium, cannot experiment as readily as can composers of instrumental music. Therefore, says Ross, brilliant choral music is being produced now because composers "have developed a style in which all of the earlier work has been absorbed into the main stream of musical history." It is an interesting theory, and Ross’s long and close association with choral music gives it additional importance. But whatever the reason, the Schola Cantorum’s memorable concert demonstrated that great choral music is indeed being composed in our day.