The Sixth Symphony by Louis Spohr isn’t one of my favorites, but it’s fascinating to write about. It’s known as the “Historical” Symphony, and it presents an overview of musical styles from the Baroque to Spohr’s era. The movements are:
In 1806 Louis Spohr married Dorette Scheidler, an excellent harpist. The two of them often performed together, with Louis on violin. Their marriage led to his developing a thorough understanding of the concert harp. Mozart’s concerto for flute and harp is delightful, but he treats the harp like a naked piano. Many other composers have used the harp mostly to add its shimmering color to the orchestra. Spohr makes free use of scales, chords, and arpeggios, while avoiding clichéd usages of the instrument. Spohr’s works for harp, alone or with a few other parts, are among the most important for the instrument. They include five sonatas for violin and harp, listed in the order of composition which Clive Brown’s biography gives:
They were all relatively early works, but he kept the last three just for performance with Dorette for years before publishing them, resulting in their high opus numbers.
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Sonata-like pieces for miscellaneous small ensembles were popular in the Classical and early Romantic periods. They might be called serenades, divertimenti, or cassations. Sometimes they were named for the number of instruments; Spohr did this with his Septet and Octet. The Opus 32 Octet, composed in 1814, has an unusual instrumentation even for this catch-all category: a clarinet, two horns, a violin, two violas, a cello, and a bass. The clarinet, horns, and violin get most of the leading lines, leaving the lower strings to provide solid support throughout. Spohr was a top-rank violinist, and he may have intended the violin part for himself; it’s full of fireworks.
The slow, brief introduction presents an important motif in the first measure, the eighth notes E-G-C (down a sixth, up a fourth). The intervals change, but the shape is consistent. Shortly we hear a dotted rhythm, up and down a half step. These two bits provide most of the material for the Allegro, which goes from E minor to E major. The down-up motif is the basis for the first theme, tossed around from one instrument to another. The dotted motif impatiently makes an appearance in the first theme, but it’s the secondary theme where it establishes ownership. The violinist gets to show off in sixteenth-note passages all through the movement. The music is written in 3/2 time, but it’s easy to hear it as 3/4 initially and get confused. It’s three moderate beats to the bar, not three fast ones.
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Louis Spohr, like Beethoven, wrote nine symphonies. (Actually, he wrote a tenth but was dissatisfied with it and withdrew it; it’s heard occasionally.) As with Beethoven, his Fifth is a stormy work in C minor. It’s my favorite of his symphonies.
Is this symphony really in C minor? The first movement begins and ends in C major, and the symphony ends in that key. The slow introduction presents a lyrical theme that doesn’t suggest any storms at first. This is what I’ll call the “peace” theme, conveying a message of calm against a sea of troubles. In the seventeenth measure, staccato triplets intrude, the mode becomes minor, and the tempo accelerates. At the start of the Allegro, the key signature becomes C minor, and the conflict is fully underway. The first theme is full of tension; the second is in E-flat major but is very hesitant.
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This is the second in what I can now call a series of blog posts on works by Louis Spohr.
Die letzten Dinge (The Last Judgment) deals with a big topic, but it’s a small-scale oratorio. It takes a little over an hour to perform, and it isn’t very difficult. Choral societies might find it a good addition to their repertoire. There are no solo numbers or fancy vocal passages; what’s needed is four vocalists who can blend well with each other and the chorus. The text is based on the Book of Revelation, so we’re in for a wild ride. The work is oriented more toward drama than deep religious feeling.
The work is listed as WoO 61, even though it was published during his lifetime. It was a huge success at its first performance in 1826 and later in England.
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Louis Spohr is among my favorite obscure composers, and I wish I could make his music better known. One way to do this might be to write analyses of some of his works. It’s possible that someday a musical organization will look for information on a Spohr piece and come across my posts. In case it happens, I’ll make this article available under a Creative Commons BY-NC license. That says you can use it however you want — for instance, in program notes — provided you give me credit by name and aren’t making money off it. (If you are making money, that’s fine, but I expect a cut. Talk to me. Handouts in a concert run by a non-profit organization are non-commercial for this purpose, even if admission is charged.)
I’m no musicologist, just a music lover. Take this article accordingly.
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Another “off-topic” post, this one about a wonderful concert I attended while I was in Germany. It was at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg on May 5. That’s a significant date, just two days short of the 200th anniversary of the first performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
The two pieces were Schoenberg’s A Survivor from Warsaw and the Ninth. Alan Gilbert conducted the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and the Runfunkchor Berlin. Soloists were Susanna Phillips (soprano), Gerhild Romberger (alto), Maximilian Schmitt (tenor), and Michael Nagy (baritone).
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The other day while driving, I heard a familiar-sounding piano sonata on WCRB. It was one I’d heard before, in fact one I was familiar with. I could accurately anticipate the music, which was obviously Mozart’s, in some spots. But I couldn’t place the damn thing! When I reached my destination, I stayed in the parking lot and kept the radio on to the end. The announcer said only that it was Mozart’s “Piano Sonata No. 2.” This wasn’t very helpful, since there are different numberings in different editions.
The numbering of musical works is tricky in general. For many composers, there are generally accepted numbers, but Mozart’s sonatas aren’t the only case where there’s confusion. Schubert’s symphonies are usually numbered 1 to 9, even though No. 7 is just a sketch. The “Unfinished” is No.8 and the “Great C major” the 9th in this scheme. Some lists, though, have just eight symphonies. They make the “Unfinished” the seventh and the C major symphony the eighth, or vice versa.
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What’s a concert review doing in this blog on writing? Well, it’s increasingly become a blog on whatever I think people will enjoy reading about, so why not? I’ve blogged about accompanying silent movies, and incidental music for a play isn’t that far removed.
Symphony Hall in Boston has been the site of a lot of great experiences for me. Some are faded in my memory. It’s likely that there’s one which, if you could remind me of it, would make me say, “Of course! Nothing could top that!” Right now, though, I can’t name one that was more breathtaking than last night’s presentation of Peer Gynt.
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The next silent movie which I’ll accompany on Twitch will be the 1926 Son of the Sheik on February 14, “Valentino’s Day,” at 8 PM Eastern US time. Following an old tradition, I’ll precede it with a short, Young Mr. Jazz, starring Harold Lloyd. If all goes well, I’ll have some new equipment to improve the sound.
Son of the Sheik was Rudolf Valentino’s last movie. He died shortly after its first, limited public showings. It was based on a novel that had no connection to his earlier movie, The Sheik, but was retrofitted to be a sequel. Valentino plays two title roles. He’s the Sheik as well as his son Ahmed. They sometimes appear in the same shot thanks to double photography.
Spoilers ahead.