Threni (Stravinsky)
Encyclopedia
Threni: id est Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae, usually referred to simply as Threni, is a setting by Igor Stravinsky
of verses from the Book of Lamentations
in the Latin
of the Vulgate
, for solo singers, chorus and orchestra. It is important in Stravinsky's output as his first and longest completely dodecaphonic
work, but is not often performed. It has been described as "austere", but also as a "culminating point" in his career as an artist, "important both spiritually and stylistically", and doubtless "the most ambitious and structurally the most complex" of all his religious compositions, as well as being simply "among Stravinsky's greatest works".
, Venice. Stravinsky dedicated the performance to Alessandro Piovesan, director of the Venice Biennale
, who had recently died.
The first Paris performance, on 14 November 1958, was disastrous. According to Stephen Walsh, Pierre Boulez
failed to fulfil his undertaking to obtain adequate performers, and those that he could obtain broke down several times. The audience response was polite at first, but when Stravinsky refused to return and take a bow, it gradually descended into jeers. Stravinsky said he would never conduct in Paris again. Stravinsky felt humiliated by what he called a "scandalous concert", writing in his diary immediately after the performance that it was the "unhappiest concert of my life!” and blaming Boulez for the result. Robert Craft adds that Boulez had promised to rehearse Threni, but failed to do so. Stravinsky nevertheless had a share in the blame for not canceling the concert despite the pleas of family and friends, including his wife and Nadia Boulanger
. Conceding that the performance was a "catastrophe", Boulez nevertheless insisted that he did in fact participate in the piano rehearsals, together with Stravinsky, whom he had tried in vain to persuade to be more firm with the singers. He concluded that Stravinsky "was not a good conductor; he was a terribly lousy conductor", and the problems with the singers were compounded because "the orchestra had been ill-prepared by Craft". While agreeing that the singers were "absolutely awful", he protested they had been chosen not by himself, but by an agent in charge of the Aix-en-Provence festival.
Stravinsky himself conducted the first recording in January 1959 with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra
. This recording has been reissued several times since first being published on LP in 1959, and forms part of the 2007 release of Stravinsky's works by Sony
.
Threni was first published by Boosey & Hawkes
in 1958. Conducting from this score is difficult because of a shortage of bar line
s. Asked by Robert Craft
about this, Stravinsky said "The voices are not always in rhythmic unison. Therefore, any bar lines would cut at least one line arbitrarily". He recommended the conductor to "merely count the music out as he counts out a motet by Josquin". However, a revised edition, with several changes to the barring as well as some corrections, was issued in 1965.
Stravinsky had already used twelve-tone technique
earlier in the 1950s, both in Canticum Sacrum
(1955) and in Agon
(1957). But neither of these is exclusively dodecaphonic, whereas Threni is.
, one contralto
, two tenor
and two bass
soloists, chorus and an orchestra of 2 flute
s, 2 oboe
s, cor anglais
, 2 clarinet
s (one doubling alto clarinet
), bass clarinet
, sarrusophone
, flugelhorn
, 4 horn
s, 3 trombone
s, tuba
, timpani
, tamtam
, harp
, celesta
, piano
and strings
. (The flugelhorn is actually listed as "bugle" by the publisher, though in the "orchestration" list at the head of the score the specification is for "Contralto Bugle in B (Fluegelhorn)", and in the score itself, where all the other instruments are named in Italian, it is called in French and German, "Bugle C-alto (Flügelhorn)". However, the part is played on the flugelhorn. The French word for flugelhorn is bugle à pistons, and the Italian is flicorno.)
, and he chose the words himself to suit his musical purposes. The complete text is included in Kuster's analysis. The text includes the Hebrew letters that begin the verses in some chapters of the Lamentations of Jeremiah. These are always set for chorus and have been likened to "a series of illuminated initials embellishing a manuscript".
The score calls for a large orchestra, but never uses it in tutti, preferring small groups of individually selected instruments at any one time.
The principal 12-tone row for Threni is D-G-G-A-C-A-D-B-E-C-F-F. Stravinsky makes considerable use of the tonal – even diatonic – possibilities of this row. However, Stravinsky does not really use twelve-tone technique in depth in this work, relying on free transposition and combination, selection, and repetition, so that the character of the music is actually not very different from his earlier works: the beginning of "Sensus spei", for example (especially the many repeated notes in the alto solo, and the repeated response from the chorus), recalls Renard
and Les noces
, and the two short passages for strings and chorus near the beginning setting the Hebrew letters caph and res are reminiscent of places in Orpheus (1948).
, for 8-part unaccompanied choir, composed in 1942 but only published in 1957 (the year before Threni). Stravinsky himself said that he liked this work, that he had read a treatise by Krenek on twelve-tone counterpoint, and that "Perhaps my own Threni shows contact with [Krenek's] Lamentations." Stravinsky's decision to rely on a tactus beat rather than on barlines in the "Querimonia" section is one instance.
Edgar Murray finds Threni less expressive than the Krenek, and more like the Lamentationes of Thomas Tallis
. However, Stravinsky, while acknowledging that he had studied the Tallis settings and also works by William Byrd
and Palestrina
, did not believe that they had influenced his music.
Other resemblances have also been observed—for example, the male-quartet episode in the "Querimonia" was probably suggested by Carlo Gesualdo
's Aestimus sum—though such things may be better characterized as "identifications" than "influences".
The series used by Pierre Boulez in his Structures 1a is found in the sketches for Threni. However, it differs so fundamentally from the row Stravinsky actually used that its relevance to Threni is unclear.
Querimonia : (complaint) uses verses 1–6 and 16–21.
Sensus spei : (sense of hope) uses verses 22–27, 34–36, 40–45 and 49–57.
Solacium : (solace) uses verses 58–64.
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
of verses from the Book of Lamentations
Book of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations ) is a poetic book of the Hebrew Bible composed by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah. It mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in the 6th Century BCE....
in the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
of the Vulgate
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
, for solo singers, chorus and orchestra. It is important in Stravinsky's output as his first and longest completely dodecaphonic
Twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg...
work, but is not often performed. It has been described as "austere", but also as a "culminating point" in his career as an artist, "important both spiritually and stylistically", and doubtless "the most ambitious and structurally the most complex" of all his religious compositions, as well as being simply "among Stravinsky's greatest works".
History
Stravinsky composed Threni between the summer of 1957 and the spring of 1958, beginning it on 29 August 1957 at the piano of the nightclub in the hotel where he was staying in Venice, and completing it before 27 March of the next year. It was first performed on 23 September 1958 in the hall of the Scuola Grande di San RoccoScuola Grande di San Rocco
The Scuola Grande di San Rocco is a building in Venice, northern Italy.-History:The Scuola di San Rocco was established in 1478 by a group of wealthy Venetian citizens, next to the church of San Rocco, from which it takes its name.In January 1515 the project of the building was entrusted...
, Venice. Stravinsky dedicated the performance to Alessandro Piovesan, director of the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
, who had recently died.
The first Paris performance, on 14 November 1958, was disastrous. According to Stephen Walsh, Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre 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...
failed to fulfil his undertaking to obtain adequate performers, and those that he could obtain broke down several times. The audience response was polite at first, but when Stravinsky refused to return and take a bow, it gradually descended into jeers. Stravinsky said he would never conduct in Paris again. Stravinsky felt humiliated by what he called a "scandalous concert", writing in his diary immediately after the performance that it was the "unhappiest concert of my life!” and blaming Boulez for the result. Robert Craft adds that Boulez had promised to rehearse Threni, but failed to do so. Stravinsky nevertheless had a share in the blame for not canceling the concert despite the pleas of family and friends, including his wife and Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
. Conceding that the performance was a "catastrophe", Boulez nevertheless insisted that he did in fact participate in the piano rehearsals, together with Stravinsky, whom he had tried in vain to persuade to be more firm with the singers. He concluded that Stravinsky "was not a good conductor; he was a terribly lousy conductor", and the problems with the singers were compounded because "the orchestra had been ill-prepared by Craft". While agreeing that the singers were "absolutely awful", he protested they had been chosen not by himself, but by an agent in charge of the Aix-en-Provence festival.
Stravinsky himself conducted the first recording in January 1959 with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Columbia Symphony Orchestra
The Columbia Symphony Orchestra was an orchestra formed by Columbia Records. It provided a vehicle for some of Columbia's better known recording artists to record using only company resources.-Bruno Walter:...
. This recording has been reissued several times since first being published on LP in 1959, and forms part of the 2007 release of Stravinsky's works by Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
.
Threni was first published by Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and wind musical instruments....
in 1958. Conducting from this score is difficult because of a shortage of bar line
Bar (music)
In musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined by a given number of beats of a given duration. Typically, a piece consists of several bars of the same length, and in modern musical notation the number of beats in each bar is specified at the beginning of the score by the top number of a...
s. Asked by Robert Craft
Robert Craft
Robert Lawson Craft is an American conductor and writer. He is best known for his intimate working friendship with Igor Stravinsky, a relationship which resulted in a number of recordings and books.-Life:...
about this, Stravinsky said "The voices are not always in rhythmic unison. Therefore, any bar lines would cut at least one line arbitrarily". He recommended the conductor to "merely count the music out as he counts out a motet by Josquin". However, a revised edition, with several changes to the barring as well as some corrections, was issued in 1965.
Stravinsky had already used twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg...
earlier in the 1950s, both in Canticum Sacrum
Canticum Sacrum
Canticum Sacrum ad Honorem Sancti Marci Nominis is a 17-minute choral-orchestral piece composed in 1955 by Igor Stravinsky in tribute "To the City of Venice, in praise of its Patron Saint, the Blessed Mark, Apostle." The piece is compact and stylistically varied, ranging from established...
(1955) and in Agon
Agon (ballet)
Agon is a ballet for twelve dancers, with music by Igor Stravinsky and choreography by George Balanchine. Composition began in December 1953 and concluded in April 1957; the music was first performed on June 17, 1957 in Los Angeles conducted by Robert Craft, while the first stage performance was...
(1957). But neither of these is exclusively dodecaphonic, whereas Threni is.
Orchestration
Threni is scored for one sopranoSoprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, one contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
, two tenor
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...
and two bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
soloists, chorus and an orchestra of 2 flute
Western concert flute
The Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, or flute player....
s, 2 oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, cor anglais
Cor anglais
The cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
, 2 clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s (one doubling alto clarinet
Alto clarinet
The alto clarinet is a wind instrument of the clarinet family. It is a transposing instrument pitched in the key of E, though instruments in F have been made. It is sometimes known as a tenor clarinet; this name especially is applied to the instrument in F...
), bass clarinet
Bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
, sarrusophone
Sarrusophone
The sarrusophone is a family of transposing musical instruments patented and placed into production by Pierre-Louis Gautrot in 1856. It was named after the French bandmaster Pierre-Auguste Sarrus who is credited with the concept of the instrument...
, flugelhorn
Flugelhorn
The flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
, 4 horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s, 3 trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, tamtam
Gong
A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
, harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, celesta
Celesta
The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and strings
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
. (The flugelhorn is actually listed as "bugle" by the publisher, though in the "orchestration" list at the head of the score the specification is for "Contralto Bugle in B (Fluegelhorn)", and in the score itself, where all the other instruments are named in Italian, it is called in French and German, "Bugle C-alto (Flügelhorn)". However, the part is played on the flugelhorn. The French word for flugelhorn is bugle à pistons, and the Italian is flicorno.)
Text
Stravinsky wrote Threni for the Venice Biennale, not for liturgical useTenebrae
Tenebrae may refer to:* Tenebrae, a Christian worship service held during Holy Week * Tenebrae , a horror film by Dario Argento* Tenebrae , soundtrack album for the Dario Argento film...
, and he chose the words himself to suit his musical purposes. The complete text is included in Kuster's analysis. The text includes the Hebrew letters that begin the verses in some chapters of the Lamentations of Jeremiah. These are always set for chorus and have been likened to "a series of illuminated initials embellishing a manuscript".
Musical style
Stravinsky himself described his treatment of pitch in Threni as "a kind of 'triadic atonality'", contrasting this with the "tonality repetition" of his ballet scores. Threni makes extensive use of canons. It also uses pitchless chanting in the choir - the first time Stravinsky had done this.The score calls for a large orchestra, but never uses it in tutti, preferring small groups of individually selected instruments at any one time.
The principal 12-tone row for Threni is D-G-G-A-C-A-D-B-E-C-F-F. Stravinsky makes considerable use of the tonal – even diatonic – possibilities of this row. However, Stravinsky does not really use twelve-tone technique in depth in this work, relying on free transposition and combination, selection, and repetition, so that the character of the music is actually not very different from his earlier works: the beginning of "Sensus spei", for example (especially the many repeated notes in the alto solo, and the repeated response from the chorus), recalls Renard
Renard (Stravinsky)
Renard, Histoire burlesque chantée et jouée is a one-act chamber opera-ballet by Igor Stravinsky, written in 1916. The Russian text by the composer was based on Russian folk tales from the collection by Alexander Afanasyev.The full Russian name of the piece is: Ба́йка про лису́, петуха́, кота́, да...
and Les noces
Les Noces
Les noces by Igor Stravinsky, is a dance cantata, or ballet with vocalists.-History:The ballet was premiered on June 13, 1923 at the Théâtre de la Gaîté, by the Ballets Russes with choreography by Bronislava Nijinska...
, and the two short passages for strings and chorus near the beginning setting the Hebrew letters caph and res are reminiscent of places in Orpheus (1948).
Influences
The work most likely to have influenced Stravinsky's Threni is the Lamentatio Jeremiae prophetae, opus 93, by Ernst KrenekErnst Krenek
Ernst Krenek was an Austrian of Czech origin and, from 1945, American composer. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including Music Here and Now , a study of Johannes Ockeghem , and Horizons Circled: Reflections on my Music...
, for 8-part unaccompanied choir, composed in 1942 but only published in 1957 (the year before Threni). Stravinsky himself said that he liked this work, that he had read a treatise by Krenek on twelve-tone counterpoint, and that "Perhaps my own Threni shows contact with [Krenek's] Lamentations." Stravinsky's decision to rely on a tactus beat rather than on barlines in the "Querimonia" section is one instance.
Edgar Murray finds Threni less expressive than the Krenek, and more like the Lamentationes of Thomas Tallis
Thomas Tallis
Thomas Tallis was an English composer. Tallis flourished as a church musician in 16th century Tudor England. He occupies a primary place in anthologies of English church music, and is considered among the best of England's early composers. He is honoured for his original voice in English...
. However, Stravinsky, while acknowledging that he had studied the Tallis settings and also works by William Byrd
William Byrd
William Byrd was an English composer of the Renaissance. He wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard and consort music.-Provenance:Knowledge of Byrd's biography expanded in the late 20th century, thanks largely...
and Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
, did not believe that they had influenced his music.
Other resemblances have also been observed—for example, the male-quartet episode in the "Querimonia" was probably suggested by Carlo Gesualdo
Carlo Gesualdo
Carlo Gesualdo, known as Gesualdo di Venosa or Gesualdo da Venosa , Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza, was an Italian nobleman, lutenist, composer, and murderer....
's Aestimus sum—though such things may be better characterized as "identifications" than "influences".
The series used by Pierre Boulez in his Structures 1a is found in the sketches for Threni. However, it differs so fundamentally from the row Stravinsky actually used that its relevance to Threni is unclear.
Movements
Threni has three movements, corresponding to the three chapters of the Lamentations of Jeremiah from which the texts used in the work are taken. The following is a summary. A detailed musical analysis and the complete Latin text, side by side with the English of the King James version of the Bible, are available in the thesis by Andrew Kuster.1. De Elegia Prima
After a short orchestral introduction, the movement begins with the words "Incipit lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae" (here begins the lamentation of the prophet Jeremiah), after which the music sets Lamentations chapter 1, verses 1, 2 (first part), 5 (first part), 11 (last part) and 20. A Hebrew letter precedes each verse used.2. De Elegia Tertia
This movement uses text from chapter 3 of Lamentations, with a Hebrew letter preceding each block of three verses. It is much longer than the other two movements combined, and is divided into three sections:Querimonia : (complaint) uses verses 1–6 and 16–21.
Sensus spei : (sense of hope) uses verses 22–27, 34–36, 40–45 and 49–57.
Solacium : (solace) uses verses 58–64.
3. De Elegia Quinta
This is by far the shortest movement of the work. It begins with the words "Oratio Jeremiae Prophetae" (prayer of the prophet Jeremiah), after which the music sets Lamentations chapter 5, verses 1, 19 and 21. No Hebrew letters are associated with this text.Discography
- Stravinsky: Threni, id est Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae (1957–58), Igor Stravinsky Conducting. Bethany Beardslee (s); Beatrice KrebsBeatrice KrebsBeatrice Krebs was an American operatic mezzo-soprano, musical theatre actress, and voice teacher.-Life and career:...
(contralto); William Lewis and James Wainner (tenors); Mac Morgan (baritone); Robert Oliver (bass); The Schola Cantorum (Hugh Ross, dir.); Columbia Symphony Orchestra; Igor Stravinsky conducting (recorded Jan. 5-6, 1959 – New York). LP recording, monaural. Columbia Masterworks ML 5383. New York: Columbia Records, 1959. Reissued on Stravinsky: Choral Works. Igor Stravinsky Recorded Legacy 14. 2-LP set. CBS 37527—37528. [N.p.]: CBS, 1981. Reissued on Igor Stravinsky Edition, Vol. 11. 2-CD set. Sony SM2K 46301. [N.p.]: Sony Classical, 1991. Reissued on Disc 21 (88697103112-21), "Sacred Works vol. 2", of Works of Igor Stravinsky. 22-CD set. Sony Classical 88697103112. New York: Sony BMG Music Entertainment, 2007. - Stravinsky Vol. VI: Symphony of Psalms, Les Noces, Lamentations of Jeremiah. The Philharmonia; The Simon Joly Chorale; Robert Craft, cond. In Les Noces: International Piano Quartet, Tristan Fry Percussion Ensemble, Alison Wells (soprano), Susan Bickley (mezzo soprano), Martyn Hill (tenor), Alan Ewing (basso profundo); In Threni: Julie Moffat (soprano), Jennifer Lane (mezzo-soprano), Martyn Hill and Joseph Cornwell (tenors), David Wilson-Johnson and Martin Robson (basses). (Symphony of Psalms recorded 5 & 6 January 2001; Les Noces recorded 8 & 9 January 2001; Threni recorded 25–30 June 2001; all recorded at Abbey Road Studio One, London, England.) Koch KIC-CD-7514. New York: Koch International Classics, 2002.