Program Notes

Samuel Barber (1910-1981)  

Andromache's Farewell (1962)

Scored for three flutes and piccolo, three oboes and English horn, three clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, percussion, timpani, strings and solo soprano

Never one to follow the popular musical trends of the time, Samuel Barber always remained true to his own unique voice. In his own words, “I think that's what's been holding composers back a great deal is that they feel they must have a new style every year. This, in my case, would be hopeless…I just go on doing, as they say, my thing. I believe this takes a certain courage.” This courage to remain true to himself resulted in genuinely heartfelt and sincere music that is capable of communicating on a very personal level. It also made him one of the most famous composers of the 20 th century.

He first came into prominence with the premier of his first symphony, the Overture to “The School for Scandal,” and his first Essay for orchestra. To this day, in fact, it is Barber's orchestral work that keeps his music in the concert halls. But what is not generally known is that Barber's greatest loves were poetry and the art song. He always had a volume of poetry to hand and was often lost in the beauty of words. By his own admission, his love of poetry was nearly as great as his love of music and as a result, his vocal compositions outweigh those of any other genre.

His study of words served him well and his instinctive feel for their deepest meaning seems to have been unerring in allowing him to shape the human voice to suit their needs. The accompaniments, too, are remarkably designed to carry the music surely to its destination, remaining always its servant or its equal, never its master.

An ideal example, which demonstrates not only Barber's originality, but also his love of classical and romantic ideals, is Andromache's Farewell , Op. 39. The work is a dramatic scene for soprano and orchestra in the traditions of Beethoven's Ah! Perfido and Berlioz's Les Nuits d'ete . The piece was commissioned in 1962 by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and first performed by them with soprano Martina Arroyo and conductor Thomas Schippers. The text is from the English translation of Euripides' The Trojan Women , and describes Andromache's lament for her son Astyanax, whom the Greeks are about to execute. The work is more stunningly hard-edged than almost any of Barber's earlier pieces, but its dramatic intensity is distinctly moving.

A shattering opening sequence of notes that represents the primary musical motive that is heard throughout the piece leads to a foreboding march theme in the first section, in which Andromache must tell her son he is about to die. The music becomes brisk, heroic and impassioned as Andeomache tells of the valor of her husband Hector, and her grief that her son will never fulfill his purpose. Then, in a poignant lament, Andromache first shames, then violently curses those who would so callously murder her child. She mourns the fact that she can do nothing to save her son, and the work ends in a final wail of grief.