Cantata Profana
Encyclopedia
Cantata Profana Sz. 94, is a choral work for tenor
, baritone
, choir
and orchestra
by the Hungarian
composer Béla Bartók
. It was written in 1930 and first performed on BBC Radio
on 25 May 1934 by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Aylmer Buesst
.
The Hungarian
text is based on a Romania
n colinda (a type of Christmas carol
) about a father who teaches his nine sons the art of hunting. One day they cross a haunted bridge deep in the forest and are turned into nine stags. Their father arrives and aims his bow at them but when he learns that they are in fact his sons he begs them to return home. The stags reply that this is no longer possible since their antlers would not fit through the door; their new life is in the forest. The critic Paul Griffiths
believes Bartók was attracted to the story because it shows "the accordance of dignity and rightness to a natural as opposed to a civilised state: the implicit elevation of the peasant above the townsman..." (Griffiths p.140).
Bartók's musical style in Cantata Profana was influenced by Bach
's Passions, though as the title of the work suggests it is more pagan than Christian. The great technical difficulties the piece presents mean it has had few performances.
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
, baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
, choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
and orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
by the Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
composer Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
. It was written in 1930 and first performed on BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
on 25 May 1934 by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
conducted by Aylmer Buesst
Aylmer Buesst
Aylmer Buesst was an Australian conductor, teacher and scholar, who spent his career in the United Kingdom. He was mainly associated with opera and vocal music...
.
The Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
text is based on a Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n colinda (a type of Christmas carol
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
) about a father who teaches his nine sons the art of hunting. One day they cross a haunted bridge deep in the forest and are turned into nine stags. Their father arrives and aims his bow at them but when he learns that they are in fact his sons he begs them to return home. The stags reply that this is no longer possible since their antlers would not fit through the door; their new life is in the forest. The critic Paul Griffiths
Paul Griffiths (writer)
Paul Griffiths is a British music critic, novelist and librettist. He is particularly noted for his writings on modern classical music and for having written the libretti for two 20th century operas, Tan Dun's Marco Polo and Elliott Carter's What Next?.-Biography and career:Paul Griffiths was...
believes Bartók was attracted to the story because it shows "the accordance of dignity and rightness to a natural as opposed to a civilised state: the implicit elevation of the peasant above the townsman..." (Griffiths p.140).
Bartók's musical style in Cantata Profana was influenced by Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's Passions, though as the title of the work suggests it is more pagan than Christian. The great technical difficulties the piece presents mean it has had few performances.
Recordings
- Cantata Profana (with The Wooden Prince) John AlerJohn AlerJohn Aler is an American lyric tenor who performs in concerts, recitals, and operas. He is particularly known for his interpretations of the works of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, and Handel....
(tenor), John Tomlinson (baritone), Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Pierre BoulezPierre BoulezPierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
(Deutsche Grammophon, 1992) - Cantata Profana Tamás Daróczy (tenor), Alexandru AgacheAlexandru AgacheAlexandru Agache is a Romanian operatic baritone who has had an active international career since 1979. Possessing a powerful and flexible voice, he has drawn particular acclaim in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi.-Career:...
(baritone), Choir of Hungarian Radio & TV (Kálmán Strauss, chorus master), Budapest Festival Orchestra, conducted by Sir Georg Solti (London, 1998) - Cantata Profana (with Samuel BarberSamuel BarberSamuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
's Prayers of KierkegaardPrayers of KierkegaardPrayers of Kierkegaard is a one-movement extended cantata written by Samuel Barber between 1942 and 1954. The piece has four main subdivisions and is based on prayers by Søren Kierkegaard...
and Ralph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
' Dona nobis pacemDona nobis pacemDona nobis pacem is a phrase in the Agnus Dei section of the Roman Catholic mass. The phrase, in isolation, has been appropriated for a number of works, which include:* Dona nobis pacem, a traditional canon...
) Richard Clement (tenor), Nathan GunnNathan GunnNathan Gunn is an operatic baritone from the United States.He has appeared in many of world's well-known opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Opera,...
(baritone), Atlanta Symphony Chorus and OrchestraAtlanta Symphony OrchestraThe Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Robert Spano has been its music director since 2001...
, conducted by Robert ShawRobert Shaw (conductor)Robert Shaw was an American conductor most famous for his work with his namesake Chorale, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Shaw received 14 Grammy awards, four ASCAP awards for service to contemporary music, the first Guggenheim Fellowship...
(Telarc, 1998). This Grammy-winning recording is performed in an English translation created by Shaw.
Sources
- Paul Griffiths: Bartók (J.M. Dent, "The Master Musicians", 1984)
- Booklet note to the Boulez recording