Program Notes - Wind Symphony September 13

March Militaire Française is the finale movement of a four-movement symphonic poem, Suite Algérienne,Opus 60, that was inspired by Saint-Saëns’s trips to Algeria, then a French colony on the continent of Africa. Although no authentic Algerian music exists in this piece, Saint-Saëns used melodic tendencies of the native Algerian culture.

Of its four movements, three are decidedly oriental in coloring. The fourth, the Military March, is by contrast quite French; it was intended to emphasize the contrast found at Algiers between the native and the French settlements. In a note on the score the composer emphasized the fact that he not only felt joyful at seeing French soldiers, but he was conscious of the security he enjoyed under their protection. 

Composed in 2011, Grace Before Sleep was inspired by a poem of thanks written by Sara Teasdale. A quiet opening builds into a gorgeous, resounding climax before coming to a more reflective, thankful close. This wind setting, arranged in 2013 by J. Eric Wilson, Director of Bands at Baylor University, draws upon the warm sonorities of the concert band to reflect LaBarr’s musical intent and Teasdale’s poetic sentiments.

How can our minds and bodies be 
Grateful enough that we have spent 
Here in this generous room, we three, 
This evening of content? 
Each, one of us has walked through storm 
And fled the wolves along the road; 
But here the hearth is wide and warm, 
And for this shelter and this light 
Accept, O Lord, our thanks tonight.

Though one of the great organ classics, the Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor was first composed for the double-manual harpsichord. Despite the fact that the key of C minor is constantly present throughout all 20 variations and much of the fugue, Bach maintains a freshness in each variation which distinguishes it from the next. Albert Schweitzer advised that "Each of the twenty sections ... must have its own characteristic tone color (but) ... no color must be sharply differentiated from its predecessor or its successor." 

Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor is considered by historians and critics to be one of Bach’s greatest keyboard compositions. Composer Robert Schumann once described the variations in the Passacaglia as “intertwined so ingeniously that one can never cease to be amazed.” 

The work opens with a stately eight-bar theme followed by the 20 variations and an overwhelming tutti. The double fugue is built on the first part of the passacaglia theme in combination with a countertheme in eighth notes. The work closes with a massive climax of suspended harmonies and full instrumental sonority. 

The work has been orchestrated numerous times, including by composer Ottorino Respighi and conductor Leopold Stokowski. Stokowski’s 1922 orchestration of the Passacaglia and Fugue for the Philadelphia Orchestra is arguably the most famous transcription of the work and the version that this arrangement for winds is based.

The Enigma Variations were written for orchestra in 1899 and bore the dedication “To My Friends Pictured Within.” The theme and fourteen variations catapulted Elgar to international acclaim. The story is told of how Elgar, returning home after a long day of giving violin lessons, sat down to unwind at the piano and tinkered by improvising. His wife commented on one of the melodies that emerged, and out of that exchange was born the concept of fashioning the original melody ... as it might be played by some of their friends in their own style. In all, fourteen people and a dog are featured in the Variations. 

As only initials or nicknames were given to the variations, the work remained an enigma of its own for many years to all but the subjects and Elgar’s own circle of friends. 

The theme is notable for its use of a falling seventh (an Elgarian fingerprint) and for the fact that each phrase in the opening and closing sections begins on the second beat of the bar. Variation I is a portrait of the composer’s wife, Alice. W.M. Baker, the subject of Variation IV, “a country squire, gentleman, and scholar,” is parodied by Elgar for his habit of regimenting guests at country parties. Richard P. Arnold (Variation V) was the son of Matthew Arnold and played the piano “in a self-taught manner, evading difficulties but suggesting in a mysterious way the real feeling.” George Robertson Sinclair (Variation XI), organist of Hereford Cathedral, is depicted by an episode on the banks of the Wye, when his bulldog, Dan, fell down a steep bank into the river and found his way up again. The “Nimrod” of Variation IX was Elgar’s great friend and publisher A.J. Jaeger (the name means “hunter” in German). The variation “is the record of a long summer evening talk, when my friend discoursed eloquently on the slow movements of Beethoven.” The initials E.D.U., which head Variation X1V (Finale), are a paraphrase of “Edoo,” Alice Elgar’s pet name for her husband. 

Enigma Variations was first performed at St. James’s Hall, London, on June 19, 1899, conducted by Hans Richter. Critics were at first irritated by the layer of mystification, but most praised the substance, structure, and orchestration of the work. Elgar revised the final variation, adding 100 new bars and an organ part; the new version, the one usually played today, was premiered at the Worcester Three Choirs Festival on September 13, 1899, with Elgar himself conducting. Enigma Variations has been popular ever since.