JAVS Summer 1997

THE ~~\," H.ICAGO SCHOOL : ~~ f 0: .~\ 0 , ~ , IOLIN MAKING '/ /~ I ..... A.', e comes InquInes Into Its ~::.: 3 1/2 - year (f full-time program in (I violin maIung and repair .\\\ \\\ I .. 1 d d·· I ~~ nstructlon IS base on tra Itlona e -l.an~hods and etnphasizes the aehievetnent ~,~~-- ~~~,,:,,: quality craftsIllanship. ~~ '~\ \~~\ 3636 Oakton \\ okie, Illinois 60076 \\ I,; EL (847) 673-9545 III 4 AX (847) 673-9546 o~ iiI 1 schu Ho/l%e, Director (MeIllher of AFVBM) 0: .. ::if7' _~veJ \,y Illinois State Board of Education I

Group II "Christn1as Dance" by including trumpets and percussion for the first time in the work. This increase in the size of the orchestra along with the brilliance of the added instru ments accentuates this movement and gives it special significance in the overall design of the Suite as the end of Group I. The three movements of Group I are all relatively extroverted in nature. The major mode dominates all three movements, and each contains aspects of metric interest. The first two movements both are directed toward the "Christmas Dance," although each of them can exist independently. In the manu script score, the indication "attacca no. 3" appears at the end of the "Carol," thus sug gesting greater unity between the final two n10vements. Whereas the three movements of Group I are focused outward, those of Group II, "Ballad" and "Moto Perpetuo," look inward. The two movements are linked by a common tonal center, C. The "Ballad" is in C major while the "Moto Perpetuo" is in C minor. The "Ballad" is the central slow move ment of the Suite and occurs at its midpoint. The principal melody is pentatonic, with the fourth and seventh scale degrees not present. The rich harmonic accompaniment with its frequent use of parallel fifths (reminiscent of a bagpipe drone) contributes to its solemn tone. A fast middle section in 6/8 provides contrast to the slower outer sections of the movement. This passage begins with an oboe solo (a pastoral instrument) and is in a pas toral meter (6/8). Taken with the pentatonic melody and the parallel and open fifths of the outer sections, elements of the pastoral tradi tion dominate this movement. The "Moto Perpetuo" which follows maintains the introverted atmosphere estab lished in the "Ballad." Although it contains only sixteenth notes played at a very fast tempo, the minor tonality and frequent appearance of the interval of the minor sec ond (an interval frequently associated with tragedy) give this movement its ominous character. The movement is certainly the most virtuosic and technically challenging of any in the Suite. The pastoral element is not

Group III present: this is the dark foreboding world of Vaughan Williams's Fourth Symphony (com posed 1931-34, first performed 1935), a work contemporary with the Suite. Taken as a pair, the "Ballad" and the "Moto Perpetuo" display two different approaches of Vaughan Williams's depiction of seriousness and austerity. The "Ballad" takes a lyrical approach: played at a slow tempo, the spaciousness of the principal melody is enhanced through the contrast of a fast central section. The "Moto Perpetuo," on the other hand, relies on tonality and the minor second for its evocation of pathos. Group III contains three dance move ments: "Musette," "Polka Melancolique," and "Galop." The arrangement of the dances is somewhat curious, for the slowest of the three movements is not in the middle of the set (its typical place), but rather at the beginning. Furthermore, each dance contains unusual features for a work of its particular type. The "Musette" does not have the identifiable drone of open fifths as its most salient fea ture; the usual vivacious polka is set in the