Pieces on the Quincy Porter: The Complete Viola Works recording
Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, 1948 (Tracks 1-4, 20:10 min.)
This four-movement concerto encapsulates what Porter loved most in music. One can hear his amazing ability to create long, singing lyrical lines, imaginative instrumental combinations, and fun, jazzy rhythmic play. The first movement is very rhapsodic -- like a recitative. It could be easily mistaken as an introduction to the second movement, but the motives used return in later movements.
The second movement is a scherzando in 6/8 that plays with rhythm and texture. Despite the faster tempo, Porter still has the solo viola singing long melodies, and when the viola has more technical passage work, the orchestra takes over the long lines.
The third movement is a contemplative, somewhat meandering, song, which Porter described as a dirge. The orchestra marches along solemnly with gentle utterances from the tam tam, while the viola weaves a long, searching melody. This movement houses the most substantive cadenza, the second cadenza being a brief statement in the last movement.
The last movement is fun to play and definitely jazzy. The orchestra has lots of off beat rhythms, and my favorite part of the piece where the orchestra tutti builds into a joyous, raucous climax. It ends with a bang, and I choose to play the option where the viola ends on a high G# versus the B, because I like the higher register, I prefer ending on the 3rd rather than on the 5th, and it's flashier!
What I love most about the concerto is that the orchestra is not reduced because the solo instrument is a mid ranged sonority. Porter uses percussion instruments and the full wind and brass complement so skillfully that they do not cover the solo, but enhance the musical experience. The orchestra is not sitting around playing whole notes while listening to a flashy soloist, but is truly integrated into the piece, and is a main character of the story.
This Concerto was written for William Primrose but premiered by Paul Doktor.
Speed Etude, 1948 (Track 5, 2:22 min.)
Poem for Viola and Piano, 1948 (Track 12, 4:28 min.)
In 1947 Porter was asked to write five pieces for a commission by the Juilliard School, four solo works and one string quintet. Speed Etude was among those pieces, as was Poem, originally written for cello, which Porter later arranged for viola.
Speed Etude is a delightful perpetual motion for viola and piano. The violist is definitely the soloist, but in the writing for the piano it is interesting to hear how the middle range is practically left out, although covered by the viola. Poem is in simple song form 'ABA' with long lines and a singing, contemplative melody.
These pieces were written while Porter was a professor of composition at Yale, but most of the music on this recording comes from his later years, because Porter was such a dedicated educator earlier in his career. His last 19 years were his most prolific.
Duo for Viola and Harp, 1957 (Track 6, 10:12 min.)
Duo for Viola and Harpsichord, 1957 (Track
13, 10:01 min.)
This piece was written in 1957 for Lillian Fuchs and Laura Newell (harp). It's interesting to hear both the harp and harpsichord versions back to back. The nature of both instruments changes the piece dramatically. With harp, it is more laid back and dreamlike, in contrast with the percussive harpsichord presentation. The register changes in the harpsichord are awkward and almost unplayable without help, which makes me think the harpsichord version was more of an academic endeavor. The structure of the piece is like a rondo form with two main themes, one slow and one twice as fast. The slow themes contain Porter's famously long melodic lines, while the faster passages are joyous and jazzy.
Suite for Viola Alone, 1930 (Tracks 7-10, 7:38 min.)
This is one of Porter's earlier pieces that he performed quite regularly. He premiered it himself in Paris in 1931 at the Salle Chopin, during his 1928-31 Guggenheim fellowship This particular concert was important for Porter because it consisted of only his music and was attended by notable composers such as Nadia Boulanger and Virgil Thompson.
It is interesting to note that many American composers had previously gone to Germany to study, but the events of WWI changed that, and there was a migration to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger. Porter himself spoke fluent German, but also decided to study in Paris, where he was one of the few American composers who chose not to work with Boulanger. He felt he had enough good instruction with his former teacher Ernest Bloch, and wanted to develop his own style. Following the 1931 premiere of this Suite, Boulanger wrote Porter a letter complimenting him both on his music and on the quality of performance.
Blues Lointains, 1928 (Track 11, 6:41 min.)
This is one of the first pieces Porter wrote in Paris. He originally wrote it for for flute but then transcribed it for viola. The blues idiom is very subtle, but the rhythms jazzy. Porter had formed a jazz band to defray the costs of Yale, so perhaps this is why so much of his music has that element. He truly knew and appreciated that form of American music.
Duo for Violin and Viola, 1954 (Tracks 14-16, 11:34 min.)
The two duos on this recording both were written in the 1950's (1957 and 1954), but they are starkly different in composition technique and approach. The violin and viola duo is written in three distinct movements, and is much more dissonant than the work for viola and harp/ harpsichord. In this one, Porter, who normally tends to use a lot of open intervals like 4ths and 5ths instead employs more seconds and sevenths.
The first movement is the most dissonant, but sounds the most full because of double stops in the accompaniment. The first and second movement are attacca (performed without a pause between them), and the second movement is a wistful melody that is passed between the two players. The last movement is a light scherzando with lots of flourish. It ends with a happy and less dissonant conclusion.