Jessie Montgomery: Starburst

In the field of astronomy, a starburst is the sudden formation of vast quantities of stars. The rate and volume of creation is so high that it alters the structure of the entire galaxy. Composer Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981) evokes this flurry of energy in Starburst, a short one-movement work for string orchestra. She creates a multidimensional soundscape by mixing explosive, syncopated phrases with fleet-footed runs and undulations to capture what she calls the “imagery of rapidly shifting colors.” Starburst was commissioned in 2012 by The Sphinx Organization, a Detroit-based nonprofit dedicated to increasing the representation of Black and Latinx artists in classical music. The organization’s groundbreaking chamber orchestra, The Sphinx Virtuosi, inspired the imagery of the piece and gave the work’s premiere.

When Hungarian composer Béla Bartók (1881–1945) was in his twenties, he became absorbed by the folk music of his homeland. With the help of his friend and fellow composer Zoltán Kodály, he traveled throughout Hungary and neighboring countries collecting and systematically cataloguing thousands of folk songs. From that point on, all of Bartók’s compositional output became influenced by this native music, either quoting folk melodies directly or incorporating characteristic elements such as modes and irregular rhythms.

Romanian Folk Dances, originally composed for piano in 1915 and orchestrated by the composer two years later, is a set of six brief vignettes based on Transylvanian folk tunes that would have been played on the fiddle or shepherd’s pipe. Although brief, the six dances all differ greatly in affect. First, we hear the pompous stomping of “Stick Dance,” followed by the flirtatious “Sash Dance.” “In One Spot” then evokes a Middle Eastern flute played over a drone. The slow “Dance from Bucsum,” also called “Horn Dance,” gives us a moment of respite before the vigorous dances of the final two movements.

Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959) once said, “The map of Brazil was my harmony textbook.” Largely self-taught, Villa-Lobos absorbed the diverse cultural heritage of his homeland and blended it with European modernism. Around the same time that Béla Bartók was traveling Eastern Europe collecting folk music, Villa-Lobos was undertaking his own ethnomusicological excursions in northeastern Brazil. “I study the history, the country, the speech, the customs, the background of the people,” he said. “I have always done this. It is from these sources, spiritual as well as practical, that I have drawn my art.”

Composed between 1930 and 1945, Bachianas Brasileiras is a suite of nine pieces that pay tribute to one of Villa-Lobos’ favorite composers, Johann Sebastian Bach. Though there are no direct quotations of Bach’s music in Bachianas Brasileiras, Villa-Lobos presents German baroque techniques and forms through the lens of Brazilian folk idioms. The last in the set, No. 9, takes the shape of a baroque prelude and fugue. In the slow, mystical prelude, the theme of the subsequent fugue is introduced in long note values over a pedal tone. Lush harmonies swirl and build anticipation for the fugue to come. In the fugue, the cellos induce the subject in the jaunty time signature of 11/8. In true baroque fashion, Villa-Lobos continues to develop the theme and places it in dialogue with a secondary motive in the violins before reintroducing the fugue subject in full, gradually adding layer upon layer before ending in a resounding unison.

Delights and Dances by Michael Abels (b. 1962) is another commission courtesy of the Sphinx Organization. Written in 2007 to commemorate the organization’s tenth anniversary, Delights and Dances is scored for a solo string quartet and string orchestra. When Abels was studying at the University of California, he explored his African-American roots by studying gospel music and African drumming alongside the traditional classical curriculum. As a result, his music often presents elements of blues, jazz, gospel, and bluegrass within classical frameworks. Delights and Dances is no different. Abels calls the piece “a kind of diptych of American musical genres, one regarded as ‘black’ and the other ‘white.’”

The slow introduction begins with a rhythmically free cadenza in the solo cello. The solo viola then answers the cello’s questioning ascending motif, and the two play a rapturous duet. After the two solo violins enter, the tension mounts, eventually giving way to a bluesy section. Here, the soloists take turns playing improvisatory-sounding riffs over the orchestra’s syncopated pizzicato accompaniment. Though in a decidedly bluesy hue, this section remains upbeat. The subsequent bluegrassy section recalls a boisterous hoedown. Again, the soloists show off their virtuosity with increasingly dazzling declamations.

A composer integral to the contemporary music scene in Chicago, Augusta Read Thomas (b. 1964) is a professor of composition at the University of Chicago and founder/director of the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition. Of Paradise and Light (2010) is a string transcription of a work Read Thomas composed for girls’ chorus in 2008, which sets the poem “Kiss Me” by e e cummings. Similar in mood and conception to Barber’s Adagio for Strings, Of Paradise and Light is meditative work that Read Thomas says evokes “a sliver of paradise and light [that] came down to shine upon a garden of colorful flowers.”

Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg wrote many songs based on poems by fellow countryman Asmund Olavsson Vinje. Vinje, in addition to writing poetry, worked as a journalist and travel writer. His treks through the Norwegian countryside helped to engender a spirit of nationalism. In his poem “Last Spring,” a dying man relishes the sweetness of springtime.

Antonín Dvořák was in a happy period of his life when he wrote Serenade for Strings in 1875. Dvořák’s career was starting to take off, and he was gaining increased recognition outside of his Czech homeland. Earlier that year, he had won a grant for needy artists from a commission in Vienna, of which Johannes Brahms was a part. This stipend allowed Dvořák to compose without fear of leaving him and his young family impoverished. Consequently, 1875 was a prolific year for Dvořák, resulting in his Fifth Symphony, the first volume of Moravian Dances, several chamber works, and the Serenade for Strings. Dvořák wrote the Serenade at a blistering pace, completing it in just twelve days. However, it would not see public performance for over a year. Though a violist from the Vienna Philharmonic attempted to add the Serenade to the orchestra’s repertoire, the ensemble deemed Dvořák too obscure. However, the successful Prague premiere in December 1876 and subsequent performances in Czech cities continued to boost the composer’s visibility at home and abroad.

The happiness and stability of this time in his life shine through in this sunny work. Despite its accessibility, Serenade for Strings demonstrates Dvořák’s increasing sophistication and refinement as a composer with its use of modulations and dynamic shifts within a concise package. Apart from the finale, the movements are loosely cast in A-B-A song form, adding to the work’s approachability. Dvořák’s melodic gift is on immediate display in the opening Moderato, with a blithe cantabile theme presented over pulsing violas. The following Tempo di Valse features a swirling minor-key waltz, whereas the Scherzo is lively and frenetic, interspersed with more lyrical trio sections. The Larghetto acts as a wistful buffer between the vigorous Scherzo and the Finale, which evokes a rustic Bohemian village dance. Dvořák brings the work full circle by quoting the opening theme of the Moderato before closing with a presto coda.

Program notes by Katherine Buzard