JAVS Summer 1997

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The Prelude, superficially recalling Bach's First from the Forty-Eight and Debussy's Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum, is not so cool and formal an affair as either. 8 It is the arpeggiated opening which in vites the comparison with Bach. The middle part of the movement, however, also evokes images of the Baroque. This section, in a pas toral 9/8, provides the movement's connec tion with the Christmas theme. The pastoral meter is often associated with the Christmas season, as is evident in works such as Handel's Messiah and Corelli's Christmas Concerto. Without having to refer to the season in verbal terms, Vaughan Williams evokes it through musical means. The "Carol" is the movement which has drawn special attention from several com mentators on the Suite. Even in the review of the first performance which appeared in the Musical Times, this movement stood out to the critic: . . . it is only the leisured simple things that were remembered. One of them came in the Carol, where the viola had a sweet and simple tune and the flute fol lowed it about, a bar or so behind, with fleece as snow. 9 (Actually, the flute leads the canon, with the viola entering one measure later.) Percy Young described the movement as demonstrating "the illimitable possibilities thrown open by melodic symbiosis." 10 This prominence of melody is one of the elements which con tributes to the movement's particular charm. The relaxed and lyrical nature of the melodic line is enhanced through its metric treatment. Measures alternate between 4/4 and 5/4 virtually the entire movement. This use of meter gives the theme a somewhat improvisatory feel: it is not forced into a metric straight jacket but is allowed the free dom of ebb and flow in its forward motion. "Christmas Dance," with its metric alter nations between 6/8 and 3/4, effectively concludes Group I. Passages which evoke images of a rustic fiddler are complemented by sections of broad lyricism. In the orches tral version of the Suite, Vaughan Williams adds to the radiant atmosphere of the

Perpetuo"), while dances provide the basis for Group III ("Musette," "Polka Melancolique," and "Galop"). The Suite is flexible in its pos sibilities for performance: it can be played as a complete unit; each Group may be performed independently; or single movements can be used as individual pieces. 7 Group I of the Suite consists of three movements which share the common theme of the Christmas season: "Prelude," "Carol," and "Christmas Dance." It is not only the programmatic titles of the second and third movements but also distinctive musical ele ments which suggest the association. Musi cally, evocations of Christmas include the pas toral atmosphere of the middle section of the "Prelude," the strophic form of the "Carol," and the jubilant mood of the "Christmas Dance." The opening movement, "Prelude," is, as the title suggests, a quasi-improvisatory fanta sia in a baroque manner. Frank Howes said of the movement: Group I

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