So, what is a Symphony? Really.

In my last post, I talked about different uses of the word symphony but what do we mean when we talk about a Symphony?

The history of the symphony began as an overture to operas back in the days of Monteverdi and Cavalli in the 1600's. Gradually, over the next century the symphony started to gain more structure. As an overture, it took on a fast-slow-fast form that eventually split into separate movements.

By the time Haydn and Mozart got their hands on the form it was an established four movement form. The first movement is fast and in sonata form. The second is slow a

nd more free. The third is a dance in three, later to be called a scherzo and the final movement is again fast. What Haydn and Mozart were able to do was to transform the symphony into a major art form.

From here through to modern day, the symphony has attracted the most major composer and have been the chosen form form their "magnum opuses." After Mozart, very few composers wrote more than 10 symphonies. Beethoven broke ground with many of his symphonies, most notably, the 9th, the "Choral Symphony." Berlioz wrote his famous Symphonie Fantastique, Mahler his Eighth Symphony dubbed the "Symphony of a Thousand" and Shostakovich's epic Seventh Symphony "Leningrad."

As is the case with most forms and musical traditions, the 20th century opened the doors to great experimentation and influence from other musical realms. The term symphony, in contemporary composer's hands tends to be used to indicate a major musical work that stems from the grand symphonic tradition but can stray some distance from the tight definition it once had.

PSWE will be presenting two symphonies in November: one in it's entirety and one "constructed." The Persichetti Symphony No. 6 - Symphony for Band. Although Persichetti had a very distinct melodic and harmonic language he had a clear formal influence from the classical symp

hony. The work is in four movements. After a slow introduction the first movement is predominantly quick, lively and rhythmic. The second movement is slow and expressive and is given the expression marking "doloroso" (sorrowful.) The third is a dance in 6/8 time. Although it is not written in the traditional 3/4 time that many Classical symphonies were, the three feel is very present in this movement. The final movement is a lively rondo form that ends big and bold.

The "constructed" symphony that PSWE will perform takes movements from four different symphonies to give the listener a sense of what four different composers do with the symphonic form. We will open with the first movement of Johan de Meij's Symphony No. 1 - Lord of the Rings. This is a symphony that pre-dates the Lord of the Rings movies and should not be confused with the score to that trilogy by Canadian composer, Howard Shore. The first movement of de Meij's symphony is entitled Gandalf and is bold and majestic and includes reference to Gandalf's incredibly fast horse, Shadofax. The piece is tonal and his heavily influenced by the

work of the great Romantic composers. Our second movement comes from Frank Ticheli's Second Symphony that was written in 2oo3 for legendary conductor Jim Croft upon his retirement. The second movement is a slow and deeply expressive work entitled Dreams Under a New Moon. Our third movement is actually the second movement of Ralph Vaughan William's Eighth Symphony. Vaughan Williams played with the formal structure of a symphony a bit in his Eighth and switched the slow and scherzo movements. His Scherzo alla Marcia is written exclusively for the wind section of the orchestra with strings being employed in the other three movements. We will finish our symphony with a transcription of the great Finale from the Fourth Symphony of Charles Ives. Full of humour and partial quotes of popular songs of his day that will be immediately recognizable to the listener but always with a twist, this is an exciting and fun way to end our exploration of the symphonic form.

Please be sure to purchase tickets on line at Evergreen Cultural Centre for the our presentation of Symphonic Winds on November 14th. Or join us at Kay Meek Centre for the same programme on the 21st of November. As always, I encourage any questions, comments or feedback through the use of the comment button below.