Updated
on
August 23, 2017 |
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| A violin arpeggio, quietly supported by flutes,
like the soft rustle of leaves in the forest, opens Hans Rott's
early - and, until the CD era, unexplored - symphony. A solo
trumpet softly calls across this inchoate landscape, its broad,
lyrical theme incorporating fanfarelike elements; a consoling
horn answers. Above the firm, organlike support of descending
basses, the orchestral sonority builds inexorably in layers
to a tutti climax, subsiding smoothly for the second
subject, a liquid, undulating woodwind chorale. |
| A trombone, mysteriously intoning the opening
motif, launches the development; clarinets and bassoons take
up the motif as a "toy march," in which guise it launches an
orchestral fugato. The second subject unexpectedly
reappears as a quiet brass chorale, with the horn leading
into a sparse,
enigmatic passage. The crisp string pizzicatos that take up
the motif serve ingeniously in turn as accompaniment for
a trumpet,
restating the first theme. Faster triplet motion screws up
the tension as the climax builds in earnest, culminating
in the
main theme's return as a proud tutti anthem. Rott neatly
rounds things off by incorporating the apparently forgotten
second subject into the coda. |
| A gentle A major chord, for full orchestra without
percussion, introduces the Sehr langsam. The principal
theme, a string chorale in ¾ time, begins quietly and reverently,
growing more yearning and ardent as the winds gradually reinforce
the sonority in an organlike manner, until, almost without our
realizing it, the chorale appears in tutti. In what sounds
like a simple codetta to this theme, about five minutes into
the movement, unexpectedly unstable harmonies lead to another,
more turbulent tutti. A series of brief episodes - a
searching horn chorale; unsettled, pulsing clarinets; a syncopated
string motif elaborated in fugato - leads to a powerful,
hammering climax. High string tremolos and sustained winds tentatively
maintain a diminished seventh chord over the tympani and pizzicato
basses' repeated F sharp-B - where are we going? To a surprise:
a soft "new" chorale in 4/4 time - for full winds, although
the casual ear only hears brass - concludes the movement with
a measure of peace and acceptance. |
| The ensuing Scherzo takes us into unexpected
domains. A peremptory fanfare hurtles into the hearty, rustic
principal theme, answered by smoother waltzlike phrases in the
strings. A misty, evocative violin waltz, with clarinets pulsing
quietly beneath, leads to the rather brief "official" Trio,
introduced by solo violin. The trumpets reintroduce the Scherzo
theme as if for a standard recap, but in D flat instead of the
expected C major; it undergoes some quick chromatic morphs and
culminates in a strongly marked passage for full orchestra (Mit
aller Kraft). After another brief reminiscence, a ghostly
waltz ensues, with pizzicato strings providing the barest supporting
texture for the solo violin. Subsequent passages imaginatively
juxtapose various bits of the main theme in counterpoint; the
basses launch a fugue ("Wild"), building by rising pitch
levels to a not-quite-tutti sonority. At last, a surprisingly
chipper theme played by low horns over firm-footed basses leads
to a rousing, almost breakneck conclusion. |
| Mysterious pizzicato basses introduce the structurally
elusive Finale. After a reminiscence of motifs from earlier
movements à la Beethoven's Ninth, the oboe intones a plaintive
theme, elaborated in fugato by the other woodwinds, building
to a grandiose climax as fanfares peal on bronzen horns. Shortly,
the strings sing a broad, surging melody over a pulsing accompaniment;
the heavy brass in turn intone a chorale, pianopianissimo,
over string tremolos. This entire series of episodes in fact
constitutes an extended introduction for the movement's principal
business, an affirmative string theme over sturdy, striding
basses, repeated proudly in tutti. In the following Etwas
belebter passage, odd brass punctuations interrupt the strings'
vigorous figurations, soon taking over ominously, ushering in
a blazing tutti chorale, with strings and horns in rapid
fanfare-like counterpoint. After a heavily underlined "half-cadence"
in B, the low horns, propelled by chugging basses, launch a
fugue on the striding theme, which, interrupted by brief martial
outbursts, carries most of the rest of the movement. Liquid,
undulating horn chords offer a respite before the final series
of perorations; the coda, incorporating the first movement's
cadential motif, brings us full circle. |
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Part 2
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