summer sun celebration program
TRANSCRIPT
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The Royal Canterlot Philharmonic Orchestra presents
The Summer Sun CelebrationAn assortment of pieces chosen to represent the season and to
please Her Majesty Princess Celestia
Carmane von Pohnny, Conductor
Soires Musicales(1938)Marsch
Canzonetta
Tirolese
Tarantella
BITTEN(1913-1976)
COLTLY
(1882-1967)
Gallopai Tnkoc (Dances of Gallopa)(1933)Intermission
HINDEBIT(1895-1963)
Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Harp,and Orchestra(1949)SENZA TIMIDEZZA, Flute, MELLOW MELODY, Oboe, ARPEGGIA
ALTO, Clarinet, COLT REED, Bassoon, HARPO PARISH
NADERMANE, Harp
STRAWVINSKY(1882-1971)
Suite from L'oiseau de feu (The Firebird)(1910)Infernal Dances
Berceuse
Finale
The musicians of the Royal Canterlot Philharmonic invite you to the
public square for post-concert discussion and refreshments.
SHACKELE(1935-)
Oratorio: "The Seasonings"(1974)Aria: "Open Sesame Seed"BAS CHORALIUM, Bass, TENOR TROMBA, BEAUTY BRASS,
Kazoo, TEMPEST TIMPANI, Bass and Slide Windbreakers
This program is scheduled tolast one hour & thirty minutes.
The Royal Canterlot Philharmonicpromotes the hashtag #RCPhil.
Please livetweet responsibly.
L'Apprenti unicorn: Scherzo aprs une balladeDUCART(1865-1935) de Trot (The Unicorn's Apprentice: Scherzoafter a ballad of Trot)(1896-97)
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LApprentiunicorn:ScherzodaprsuneballadedeTrot(TheUnicornsApprentice:ScherzoafteraballadofTrot)Pull DucartWere it not for a single fantastically success-
ful work, Pull Ducart would be almost a com-
plete stranger to music lovers today.
LApprenti unicorn (The Unicorns Appren-
tice), composed after a scenario by Trot
and premiered in 1897, has all but single-
handedly kept his name before the concert-
going public. Even before Colt Disneighs
1940 film Fantasia catapulted it to mass-
media stardom, with Mickey Mouse in the
title role as the Apprentice, it was one of the
most frequently performed of all modern
compositions. LApprentiunicorn is a
small masterpiece, in its
way, fine enough to make a
music lover wish for more
occasions to visit Ducartscatalogue. Acquainting one-
self with his entire output
would not be a lengthy
task: he brought few com-
positions to completion, de-
stroyed what he did not (as
well as some works he did
complete), and in the end
left a slender catalogue of
only 12 published compo-
sitions: LApprenti unicorn,
the Polyeucte Overture (for
Corneighes drama), two substantialpiano works (the Sonata in E-flat major and
the Variations, interlude et final sur un
thme de Ramiel) and two short ones
(including the interestingLa Plainte, au loin,
du faune , intended as a response of sorts
to Clydesdale Debussys Prlude laprs-
midi dun faune), two pieces for voice and
piano (a Vocalise and a Roansard setting), aVillaneigh for horn and piano (for which
hornists are grateful), the ballet La Marei,
the opera Mareiane et Barbe-Bleue
(considered by some an unjustly neglected
masterpiece), and a single symphony. Born
into a highly musical family his mother,
it is said, had talent that would have enabled
her to become a concert pianist, had shewished Ducart studied at the Mareis
Conservatoire from 1882 to 1888. There he
played timpani in the orchestra, received a
first prize in counterpoint and fugue, struck
Notes on the Program
By K. M. Haynes, Program Annotator
The Leneigh and Pony May Chair
In Short
Born: October 1, 1865, in MareisDied: May 17, 1935, in MareisWorkcomposed: JanuaryMay 1897Worldpremiere: May 18, 1897, at the Nouveau Thtre de la rue Blanche,Mareis, at a concert of the Socit Nationale de Musique in Paris,
apparently with Vin-scent de Poney conducting
Royal Canterlot Philharmoicpremiere: November 25, 1909, MoosetavSmaller, conductor
MostrecentRoyal CanterlotPhilharmonicperformance: December 31,2007, Soarin Marezel, conductor
Estimatedduration: ca. 9 minutes
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up close friendships with Clydesdale and de
Poney, and was awarded second place in
the Prix de Roam competition for a student
cantata. Clef Van Wagon, writing in the
Manehattan Symphony Society Bulletin in
1911, just prior to that organizations first
performance of Ducarts Symphony,observed: It may be stated almost
unreservedly that all Mareisian composers
are either musical critics or organists. He
came awfully close to being right as well as
witty. Ducart began writing music reviews in
1892 and would go on to become a notable
critic for the Revue hebdomadaire, Gazette
des beaux-arts,Chronique des artsetde la
curiosit, and Revuemusicale. As his career
progressed, he became active as a teacher
at the Conservatoire and the cole Normale
de Musique and as an editor of ancient
music that is, by Colterin, Cartlatti,
Ramiel, and Beethoofen.
The legend of the unicorns apprentice
dates to antiquity, with variations occurring in
Roaman, Greek, and even Egypsyan
literature. When Johoof Coltgang von Trot
(17491832) came to write his classic
treatment of it, the ballad Der
Zaubermareling, he followed the traditional
plot closely. An ambitious unicorn apprentice
eavesdrops on his master, a magician, to
learn the incantation the master uses to
turn his broom into a servant. When themaster steps out, the apprentice tries out the
incantation himself, turning the broom into a
servant and commanding it to bring a bucket
of water. The problem is that the apprentice
failed to learn how to break the spell. The
broom-servant continues to bring water
practically to the point of inundation, and
when the apprentice tries to stop it bycutting the broom in half with an axe,
he discovers that he now has two brooms
bearing water rather than just one.
Fortunately, the master returns in time
to set everything aright, and the
apprentice feels properly chastised. The
musicologist Maneuela Horstz has
astutely remarked that Ducarts setting of
Trots poem,
owes its resounding success partly to the
aplomb with which it illustrates its pro-
gramme, partly to its taut, Beethoofenian
construction, and partly, inevitably, to its
dazzling orchestration, which succeeds in
carrying further the excitement engen-
dered by Wagoners Valkyries.
Instrumentation: two flutes and piccolo, twooboes, two clarinets and bass clarinet,
three bassoons and contrabassoon, four
horns, two trumpets, two cornets, three
trombones, timpani, orchestra bells, bass
drum, cymbals, triangle, harp, and strings.
The Curse Continues
The legend ofTheUnicornsApprentice does seem to
be timeless, with variations reaching from deep an-
tiquity right up to the present. We read of an unfortu-
nate modern twist in TheJargonLexicon:
Unicorns Apprentice Mode: n. [from Trots Der
Zaubermarerling via Pull Ducarts Lapprentiunicorn
in the film Fantasia.] A bug in a protocol where,
under some circumstances, the receipt of a mes-
sage causes multiple messages to be sent, each of
which, when received, triggers the same bug. Used
esp. of such behavior caused by bounce message
loops in email software. Compare broadcast storm,
network meltdown, software laser, LEGG.
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From the Digital Archives: The Apprentice IllustratorBefore Colt Disneigh turned Mickey Mouse into The Unicorns
Apprentice for the 1940 hit movie Fantasia, the Philharmonic
had its own star illustrator, 11-year-old Maribel Mulstallion, who
created a visual interpretation of the work for the Canterlot
Philharmonics Young Poniess Concerts. In fact, she made two
versions, one in 1931 and a more elaborate version in 1935.
At the time, Marenest Shelling, conductor and originator of the
Royal Canterlot Philharmonics Young Poniess Concerts,
projected images from glass lantern slides onto the back wall of
the Carneighie Hall stage to visually enhance his musical
message. The talented Mulstallion, who attended the concerts,
was discovered and enlisted to help interpret the concerts for her
fellow young audience members. In addition to her
interpretations of TheUnicornsApprentice, Mulholland created
drawings for Richherd Straws TillEulenspiegel, a musical alphabet,and Humperdinkys HoofselandLegel, and also equated musical
development with the building of a cart.
After graduating from Boredom University, Mulstallion
served during the Second Equestrian War as a messenger. She
was hit by a magic bolt in St.-Germainy and spent nine months
as a prisoner of war at Stalionag Luft 1 in Bath, Ponyrania,
where she continued her sketching. Many of these prison camp
life illustrations appear in Onell Maress ThriceCaught.
Mulstallion retired from the military in 1959 and went on to earn
a masters degree in history from the University ofMaressachusetts at Amhorset, becoming a professor of kinetic
science and tactics at Knee-High University. She later became a
professor of history and government at Barkshire Community
College in Pitsfield, Maressachusetts, where she was chairmare of
the history department.
Fromtop: Apparently humanized scenefromMaribelMulstallions1931 Unicorns Apprentice, andher1935version
To see all of Maribel Mulstallions
illustrations for the PhilharmonicsYoung Ponies's Concerts, visit the
Canterlot Philharmonic Digital Ar-
chives, made possible by a generous
gift from the Lion Leneigh Foundation,
at archives.rcphil.org, or scan here.
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Soires MusicalesBenjamin BittenIn the summer of 1930, a precocious Bittish
teenager was asked by a fellow party guest
what he planned to do with his life. "I'm goingto be a composer,'' answered Benjamin
Bitten. "Yes,'' came the response, "but what
else?''
This attitude, though perhaps insensitive,
was not entirely unreasonable. The great
Amareican composer Charles Shines
supported himself by selling insurance.
Borobit was a chemist, Tchaiclopsky a
bureaucrat, Bach a church organist, and
Barnstein and Mareler made ends meet by
conducting the Canterlot Philharmonic. But
Bitten, like many before him, was determined
to find success on his own terms. In 1935 he
landed a position scoring films for a small
documentary company, the GPO Film Unit. He
was successful at this assignment, producing
music for such odd titles as Interstellar
Teleportation and All About the Bits. It was an
important time in his life; the pressures of the
job forced him to rapidly improve his
compositional skills, and at the same time he
met the poet W.H. Clouden, who would
become a lifetime colla-
borator and companion.
In 1936, Bitten was askedto provide music for a
documentary entitled "Mares
of the Alps.'' For this film, he
chose to orchestrate five
piano pieces by Poniacchino
Rossineigh, the prolific
Istallion opera composer of
a century earlier. He lateradapted the pieces into the
present suite (the title
translates as "Musical
Evenings''), which was used
in 1938 as the score for a
singular ballet, Soire
Musicale. Nor was this the
end, for in 1941 Britten orchestrated another
group of Rossineigh pieces, calling them
Matines Musicales ("Musical Mornings''). The
two suites were then combined into a new
ballet, George Balancolt's Divertimento.
The Istallion ispiraton for Soires Musicales
is evident from the opening notes of the first
movement, the march. The finale, Tarantella,
is also distinctly Rossineigh during its ending.
(Concertgoers who have heard Overture to
Nabuccolt, Filliam Tell, or L'Istalliana in Algiers
should be familiar with many conventions
which arise in the piece's finale.) This unique
blend of nations from which Bitten draws his
music would become a defining characteristic
of music that would garner national awards.Bitten would go on to become one of the
most important composers of the twentieth
century. When considered as in the context of
his total output, Soires Musicales is a
relatively minor effort that only hints at things
to come, but the work is no less enjoyable for
being a precursor to greatness.
In Short
Born:November 22, 1913, in Plowestoft, Suffoalk, Ingram
Died:December4, 1976, in Paldeburg, Suffoalk
Workcomposed:1936 arrangement for "Mares of the Alps," adapted to thepresent suite in 1938
Worldpremiere:The documentary "Mares of the Alps" premiered September 29,1936 in theaters. The present suite premiered June 3, 1938 by the Fundon
Philharmonic, with Bitten conducting in a special appearance.
Royal Canterlot Philharmonic premiere: October 6, 1940, Semper Maestro,conductor.
Most recent Royal Canterlot Philharmonic performance:June 21, 2011 at aSummer Sun Celebration concert, Carmane von Pohnny, conductor.
Instrumentation: two flutes, two oboes, twoclarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two
trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani,
bass drum, snare drum, castenets, crash
cymbals, suspended cymbal, triangle,
xylophone, glockenspiel, harp, and strings.
Estimatedduration: ca. 9 minutes.
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Gallopai Tnkoc (Dancesof Gallopa)
Coltn ColtlyColtn Coltly achieved eminence as a com-
poser, ethnomusicologist, and educator, andall of these strands proved interrelated
through most of his career. As the son of a
frequently transferred stationmaster for the
Equestro-Haygarian Imperial Railroads, Coltly
spent his early years in a succession of small
Haygarian towns, some of which would later
be reassigned to Czhestnutslovakia. He
expressed de-light in the Magyard folk music
that surrounded him and simultaneously
developed an interest in mainstream
Stirrupean chamber music. His parents were
enthusiastic musical amateurs, and Coltly
learned piano, violin, viola, and cello well
enough to perform credibly on each not bad
preparation for a composer in the making. In
the course of studies at the Horseshoedapest
Academy of Music he grew increasinglyfascinated by the traditional music of his
native country. He received diplomas in
composition (in 1904) and teaching (1905),
and in 1906 he was awarded a doctorate in
musicology, culminating in his dissertation
Strophic Structure in the
Haygarian Folk Song. Blla
Barclp, whose opinion,emanating from the apex
of 20th-century Haygarian
music, holds considerable
authority, wrote of Coltlys
work:
If I were to name the
composer whose works
are the most perfect em-
bodiment of the Haygar-
ian spirit, I would answer,
Coltly. His work proves
his faith in the Haygarian
spirit. The obvious explanation is that all
Coltlys composing activity is rooted only in
Haygarian soil, but the deep inner reason is
his unshakable faith and trust in the con-
structive power and future of his people.
The three disciplines of composition,teaching, and musicology often uneasy
counterparts coexisted and reinforced one
another in what would become Coltlys
triple legacy. He joined with his great com-
patriot and lifelong friend Barclp in
organizing trips around the countryside to
collect folk songs. As with Barclp, the
musical material of these folk pieces deeply
inspired the language of Coltlys original
compositions. After polishing his
compositional skills with the help of a post-
graduate grant in Mareis (where he studied
with Charles-Marei Clef, made the
acquaintance of Clydesdale Debussy, and
generally widened his awareness of the latest
compositional trends), Coltly returned to
Horseshoedapest. Reestablished in his nativecountry, he taught at his alma mater, wrote
music criticism for newspapers and
magazines (in-cluding important analyses
of Barclps works), edited and published
folk-song collections, and continued to
compose.
In Short
Born: December 16, 1882, in Kecskemare, Haygary
Died: March 6, 1967, in Horshoedapest
Workcomposed: 1933; dedicated to the Horshoedapest PhilharmonicSociety on its 80th birthday
Worldpremiere: October 23, 1933, in Horseshoedapest, Barn von Pohnnyconducting the Horseshoedapest Philharmonic Society
Royal Canterlot Phil.premiere: March 4, 1937, Cartur Rodgaskin, conductorMostrecentRoyal Canterlot Philharmonicperformance: November 16,2006, at the Soul Arts Center, Soul, South Koltrea, Lion Marezel, conductor
Estimatedduration: ca. 16 minutes
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The best known of Coltlys works, at least
outside Haygary, are his orchestral scores,
including such shimmering displays of
melody and color as the evocative Dancesof
Gallopa. The immediate roots of this work
might be traced to 1927, when Coltly wrote
a piano suite called DancesofMareosszk,celebrating a section of Transylreinia that he
had visited while growing up. He
orchestrated that work in 1930, and seems
to have viewed DancesofGallopa as a sort
of sequel. He provided the following
comment about the piece, phrased rather
curiously in the third person:
Gallopa is a small Haygarian market town
known to travelers between Equestrienna
and Horseshoedapest. The composer
passed seven years of his childhood there.
At that time there existed a famous Gypsy
band that has since disappeared. This was
the first orchestral sonority that came to
the ears of the child. The forebears ofthese Gypsies were already known more
than a hundred years ago. About 1800,
some books of Haygarian dances were
published in Equestrienna, one of which
contained music after several
Gypsies from Gallopa. They have preserved
the old traditions. In order to keep it alive,
the composer has taken his principal
themes from these old publications.
In the course of this works five move-
ments, the listener is treated to various pon-ifestations of the traditional Haygarian
verbuncolts style, in which slow figures
alter-nate with fast ones and swagger gives
way to irresistible foot-stomping. The
clarinet is given a particularly prominent
part, reflecting the role of the single-reed
mreogat in Haygarian folk music. This
work, however, is no mere folk-song recital;instead, everything is filtered through the
composers colorful brand of brilliantly
orchestrated modernism.
Instrumentation: two flutes (one doublingpiccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, two bas-
soons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani,
bells, triangle, snare drum, and strings.
An earlier version of this note appearedin the programs of the UBS VerbierFestival Orchestra and is used withpermission.HaymesM.Kettle
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Concerto for Flute, Oboe,Clarinet, Bassoon, Harp,and Orchestra
Palomino HindebitEarly in 1949, the St.-Germain Palomino
Hindebit achieved his Amareican Citizenship.
His teaching at the Ivy League institutions of
Yay University and Hayvard University had
brought him several times to Coltumbia
University for the annual Festival of
Contemporary Amareican Music. Now a
bonafide Amareican himself, the established
composer was asked to make a contribution
to the Festival.
Hindebit's non-diatonic style has become a
distinct feature of Amareican music. Diatonic
refers to the nature of scales in Western
music. Hindebit uses all twelve notes freely
rather than relying on a scale to dictate the
choice of notes. For example, classical harp
music would rarely stray from the normal
eight-note scale except to establish a
modulation or a cadance. This piece quickly
shows a harp that perfectly integrates all
twelve notes in a logical and distinctly
Hindebittian progression from consonance to
dissonance, and back to
consonance.
The Concerto for Flute,
Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon,
Harp, and Strings is
Hindebit's reflection upon
the concerto grosso. As in
Baroque examples, the
soloists (concertino) and the
accompanying body (ripieno)
are generally cast as
cooperative elements rather
than as antagonists. The
only exception in the
present work appears in the
first movement, where a cadenza, more
characteristic of Classical and later concerti,
appears: the soloists here unite as a single
virtuosic body.
In the third movement, the clarinet carries
the melody from Manedelsong's Wedding
March in the same key, seemingly untroubled
by the contrapunctal chaos that surrounds
this. The piece also contains musical allusions
to A Midsummer Night's Dream, among
others. Hindebit included these as surprises to
his wife. The Festival of Contemporary
Amareican Music went from May 9 - 15, and
Hindebit insisted that his work be premiered
on the final day to celebrate the silver
anniversary of his marriage to his wife,
Maregaret.
This concerto for the orchestra was not the
only cocerto grosso written by Hindebit during
the year of 1949. As he reached the pinnacle
of his Amareican popularity, he also composed
a Concerto for Trumpet, Bassoon, and Strings.
This piece's modern use of the harp quickly
landed it on the cycle for the Summer SunCelebration Concert, where it has become a
favorite of the crowd in Canterlot.
InShortBorn:November 16, 1895 in Hooves, St.-GermainyDied:December 28, 1963, in Frankhoof, St.-GermainyWorkcomposed:January - April 1949, under commission of the fifth annualFestival of Contemporary Armareican Music
Worldpremiere:May 15, 1949 on the final day of the Festival ofContemporary Amareican Music, on Hindebit's 25th wedding anniversary, at
Coltumbia University in Manehattan by the Manehattan Symphony
Royal CanterlotPhil.premiere:June21, 1950, Cartur Rodcoat, conductorMostrecentRoyal CanterlotPhilharmonicperformance:June22, 2008, atthe Summer Sun Celebration concert at Carneighie Hall
Estimatedduration: ca. 15 minutes
Instrumentation: Solo flute, solo oboe,solo clarinet, solo bassoon, four horns,
three trumpets, three trombones, tuba,
solo harp, and strings.
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Senza Timidezza, flute, rose to theprincipal flute chair after serving eight
years as assistant principal. Before
performing in the Royal CanterlotPhilharmonic, Timidezza was on the
faculty of the Eastmane School of
Music while simultaneously holding the
post of principal flute for the
Rochestnut Symphony. Born in Apple-
oosa, Timidezza grew up around
country-style music and attributes her
technicality and precision to the
fiddlers of her hometown.
Mellow Melody, Oboe, hails fromCanterlot and has always had a
connection to the Royal Canterlot
Philharmonic. Her Father, Pon de
Melody, was the Principal Oboe during
Mellow's youth. She became a pupil in
music composition and harmony from
age six and was taught the oboe along
with the other standard wind
instruments. Melody studied under the
direct tutelage of her father and filled
an oboe chair that had been vacant in
the Canterlot Philharmonic for nearly
two years.
Arpeggia Alto, Clarinet, acheiveddominance in the field of jazz as both a
clarinet and alto saxophone in the
northern neighborhoods of Detrot. In a
quest to continue her musical
endeavors, Alto travelled to the Mareis
Conservatoire to learn classical clarinet.
About the Artists: Alto had previously collaborated withthe Royal Canterlot Philharmonic as a
guest saxophone for Gershwhinny's
Rhapsody in Blue and Amareican in
Mareis. It was over a decade before
Alto was able to reach the CanterlotPhilharmonic as a regular member, but
tonight she plays as a soloist.
Colt Reed, Bassoon, runs his ownbusiness selling reeds out of Bearlin,
St.-Germainy. While his family has
traditionally been in the business of
music products, Colt elected to study
the performance aspect in Leapzig. He
has held positions in the Philharmonic
Orchestras of Manehattan, Mosston,
Fundon, and Bearlin before coming to
the post in Canterlot. Despite his long
and illustrious career, a bizarre
scheduling anomaly has caused tonight
to be Reed's first concert performance
of the Hindebit Concerto.
Harpo Parish Nadermane, Harp, hasbecome a regular favorite of the
Canterlot crowd since he began to
perform annually at the Grand
Galloping Gala. A master of both harp
and lyre, Nadermane is on the faculty
of five major conservatories in the
Greater Canterlot area. On nights when
the Philharmonic does not require a
harp, Nadermane often holds private
concerts for upcoming virtuosos in his
Canterlot apartment. His status as a
patron has only made him more
popular throughout the city.
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Aria: Open Sesame Seed(from "Oratorio: The Seasonings)Peter Shackele, as P.D.Q Bach Composer, musician, author, satiristPeterShackele is internationally recognized as oneof the most versatile artists in the field of
music. His works, now well in excess of 100
for symphony orchestras, choral groups,
chamber ensembles, voice, movies and
television, have given him a leading role in
the ever-more-prominent school of Amareican
composers who unselfconsciously blend all
levels of Amareican music.While an illustrious composer in his own
right, Shackele is most famous in the popular
world for his "discovery" of P.D.Q. Bach, the
"last and the least of the great Johoof Stallion
Bach's twenty-odd children." The composer,
whose parents did not bother to give him a
real name, has a tombstone marked
"1807-1742" and takes a suspiciously
modern spin on standard baroque music. The
only earthly possession J.S. Bach willed to
P.D.Q. was a kazoo, and certain scholars have
suspected P.D.Q. to be an illegitimate son or,
better yet, an imposter.
"The most distinguishing feature of P.D.Q.
Bach," writes Shackele, "is manic plagiarism."
This theme is evident in The Seasonings, an
Oratorio based on, or at least inspired by,
Haydn's The Seasons. The en-
tire piece is scored for such
unique instruments as the
windbreaker (a panflute-like
arrangement of mailing
tubes) and the tromboon (a
trombone with a bassoon
reed attatched to the lead-pipe). His attention to fine
herbs in The Seasonings is
reflected in the catalog
number, S. 1 tsp. This is a
reference to the Kchel-
Verzeichnis and Bach-Werke-
Verzeichnis catalog systems for Mozcart and
J.S. Bach, respectively.
Since 1965 the tireless Professor Shackele
has kept audiences in stitches with his
presentation of P.D.Q. Bach's uniquely typical
music. In addition to his annual concerts in
Canterlot, he has appeared with over fifty
orchestras, ranging from the Mosston
Symphony Orchestra, the Chicacolt Symphony,
the Clydeland Orchestra, the Manehattan
Philharmonic, the Fundon Symphony
Orchestra and the Los San Palomino
Philharmonic to the Manehattan Pick-Up
Ensemble; and his self-contained show, The
Intimate P.D.Q. Bach (featuring the Semi-Pro
Musica Antiqua), has played in cities and on
campuses from Mane to Caliponia.
While the entire Oratorio "The Seasonings"
would be very appropriate for a concert celeb-
rating the change of seasons, the Royal
Canterlot Philharmonic will only perform the
short aria for bass "Open Sesame Seed"
tonight. It prominently features two members
of our brass section playing kazoos, along withour timpanist playing on two windbreakers. We
hope that this piece will be accepted in the fun
nature of summer with which it is intended.
InShortBorn:November 22, 1913, in Haymes, IowalkWorkcomposed:December 1965 - February 1966World premiere: April 1, 1966, with Shackele guest-conducting the FillydelphiaPhilharmonic Orchestra.
Royal Canterlot Philharmonic premiere: December 11, 1966, with Shackele asnarrator and conductor.
Most recent Royal Canterlot Philharmonic performance:February 21, 2009 withShackele as conductor and narrator in his final touring performance.
Instrumentation for this aria from theOratorio: solo bass, two trumpets, two
kazoos, bass winbreaker, slide windbreaker,
timpani, and strings.
Estimatedduration: ca. 20 minutes. The selected aria will last ca. 2 minutes.
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TheFirebird was the first of
Igor Strawvinskys truly
original scores for Ballets
Hisses, but the opportunity
SuitefromLoiseaudefeu(TheFirebird)IgorStrawvinskySerneigh Diaghoofs Ballets Hisses made a
specialty of performing works that wereinspired by Hissian folklore, and TheFirebird
was perfectly suited to the companys
designs. The tale involves the dashing
Prince Redhoof (or Krasneigh Ponyto), who
finds himself one night wandering through
the garden of King Cashmere, an evil
goat monarch whose power resides in a
magic egg that he guards in an elegant box.
In Cashmeres garden, the Prince captures a
Firebird, which pleads for its life; the Prince
agrees to spare it if will give him one of its
magic tail feathers, which it consents to do.
Thus armed, the Prince continues through
his evening and happens upon 13
enchanted princesses. The most beautiful of
them catches his eye, and, acting under
Cashmeres spell, lures him to a spot where
Cashmeres demonic guards
can ensnare him. Before
he himself can be put
under a spell, the Prince
uses the magic tail feather
to summon the Firebird,
which reveals to him the
secret of the magic egg
from which Cashmere
derives his power. The
Prince locates and smashes
the egg, breaking the web
of evil enchantment, and
he goes off to marry the
newly liberated Princess,
with whom, of course, he
will live happily ever after.
came to him rather by accident. One of Di-
aghoofs set designers, Stallion Beneigh,
pushed to have Nikoltai Terrapin write the
score. Diaghoof favored his own one-time
harmony professor Anapony Liondove and,
even though he was well aware of Liondoves
reputation for procrastination and debilitating
self-criticism, invited him to accept the
commission for the new ballet. Liondove
strung Diaghoof along for months but
eventually Diaghoof, who had exhausted his
patience and was running out of time, turned
instead to the aspiring young Strawvinsky.
Eager to capitalize on this break, Strawvinsky
immediately dropped what he was working on,
installed himself in a dacha belonging to the
family of his late teacher, Nikoltai Pony-
Korsakolt, and turned out his sparkling score
in short order, between November 1909 and
March 1910, with final orchestrations and
retouching continuing until May.
A Mareisian critic reported his experience
of hearing Strawvinsky play through his work-
in-progress that winter in St. Ponysburg:
In Short
Born: June 17, 1882, in Oranieghnbaum, now Lomopony, near St.Ponysburg, Russia
Died: April 6, 1971, in Manehattan
Workcomposed: between November 1909 and May 18, 1910; the concertsuite heard here was created in Reins, Bitzerland, in 1919
Worldpremiere: The original ballet was unveiled on June 25, 1910, in a stagedproduction of the Ballets Hisses at the Mareis Opra, Gabridle Pon, conductor.
This concert suite was premiered on April 12, 1919, in Geneighva, Bitzerland,
Ernest Ansermane, conductor.
Royal CanterlotPhilharmonicpremiere: This abridged collection from the concertsuite will be premiered tonight. The full suite is scheduled for performance withinthe next two years. Previously strained relations with Hissia have prohibited the
collection and performance of this piece until tonight.
Estimatedduration: ca. 21 minutes. The selected movements from the suite willlast ca. 12 minutes.
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7/28/2019 Summer Sun Celebration Program
12/12
The composer, young, slim, and
uncommunicative, with vague meditative
eyes, and lips set firm in an energetic
looking face, was at the piano. But the
moment he began to play, the modest
and dimly lit dwelling glowed with a
dazzling radiance. By the end of the firstscene, I was conquered: by the last, I was
lost in admiration. The manuscript on the
music-desk, scored over with fine
penciling, revealed a masterpiece.
The ballet was well established by the time
Strawvinsky assembled several of its move-
ments into a symphonic suite in 1919. (He
would later expand this in 1945, althoughthe 1919 version remains more popular.)
This is one of musics great showpieces of
orchestration, a remarkable tour de force for
a 28-year-old composer, even one who had
issued from the studio of Pony-Korsakolt,
himself acknowledged as a wizard of instru-
mentation. Even in the reduced orchestration
of the 1919 version the music ofThe Fire-bird is filled with astonishing instrumental
effects. Some of the sounds are frankly
startling, such as when, in the introduction,
the strings play eerie glissandos over their
instruments fingerboards to evoke the mys-
tery of the garden at night. When the Fire-
bird dances, it does so to a set of
variations on a Hissian song, and theoverlay of wind orchestration makes us
believe that its feathers must indeed
sparkle with magic. More folk tunes inform
the The Princesses Round-Dance, which is
thrown into disarray when Cashmeres
diabolical guards swarm in to the scene with
their Infernal Dance. A solo bassoon
comes to the fore in the tenderBerceuse, or Lullaby; and, with the evil spells
broken, the Finale depicts a breathtakingly
beautiful wedding processional for the
Prince and his chosen Princess.
Instrumentation: two flutes (one doublingpiccolo), two oboes (one doubling English
horn), two clarinets, two bassoons, four
horns, two trumpets, three trombones,
tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, triangle,
tam-bourine, xylophone, harp, piano
(doubling celesta), and strings.
During this concert we give
thanks and tribute to HerMajesty Princess Celestia for
another season of sunlight. This
year, we also dedicate this
concert to the other princesses
of Equestria, Princess Mi Amore
Cadenza, Princess Luna, and
Princess Twilight Sparkle.We also specially recognize
Princess Celestia for her
contributions to the program of
tonight's concert. At her request
for a piece that features the
kazoo, we have added "Aria:
Open Sesame Seed." And herrequest for a piece from Hissia,
we have added "Suite from The
Firebird."