MET#3 2024 – Deeper

CUTLAN Towards Affinity *WORLD PREMIERE

COYLE Deeper Concerto for Contrabass Saxophone *WORLD PREMIERE

TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6

Conductor – Sarah-Grace Williams

Soloist – Michael Duke (Contrabass Saxophone)

Marrickville Town Hall

Sunday August 11th, 3:00pm

** Interval will be after the concerto. **

Acknowledgment Of Country

The Metropolitan Orchestra acknowledges the traditional Aboriginal custodians of the land.

We acknowledge this is a country in which the members and elders of the local Aboriginal communities have been custodians for many centuries, and on which these people have performed age-old ceremonies.

The Metropolitan Orchestra acknowledges and pays our respects to the Gadigal and Wangal peoples of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of this land, and we pay our respects to their Elders both past and present.

Our Program For This Afternoon:

Cutlan, Paul

Towards Affinity *World Premiere

It is no coincidence that the title ‘Towards Affinity’ elicits the concept of ‘Towards Infinity’ – the inference being that either quality is unattainable. While the dramatic idea underpinning ‘Towards Affinity’ is one of discord between contrasting themes, perhaps symbolising the tension and conflict which arises between ideologies and allegiances, a musical unity is achieved by deriving all of the thematic and harmonic material from one common nine-note mode. Their differences are merely ‘skin-deep’.

A tense and belligerent opening theme in the brass dominates the narrative from the outset, with several other important melodies calling out in consternation. While some archetypically grand orchestral gestures are used to heighten this tension, each theme eventually receives the space to tell its own story, and to restore some equilibrium. A pastoral theme is heard initially on solo violin, then on oboe, while a more ornamental, folk inspired melody is introduced by the oboe and taken up by the piccolo. Two chorale-inspired themes appear at key points to comment on the narrative and to introduce an air of supplication. Even the tense opening theme undergoes a more lyrical transformation in the strings, showing its more vulnerable and expressive potential.

Just as the many contrasting melodies appear to be working towards an understanding, a chaotic cartoon-like polka crashes onto the scene, dissolving any sense of serious discourse. A climactic brass fanfare of one of the chorale melodies attempts to regain the narrative, before a final polka rendition of the pastoral theme catapults the piece back to the initial theme in a rocking eleven-beat Balkan ‘Kopanitsa’ rhythm, which is dominated by percussion and by the two note ‘Jaws’-like semitone of that theme. Compromise and relaxation arrive in the final bars, with the pastoral theme gently intoned by the brass.

© Paul Cutlan, 2024

Coyle, Jim

Deeper Contrabass Saxophone Concerto *World Premiere

‘Deeper’ is a concerto for contrabass saxophone commissioned by the Metropolitan Orchestra. It was composed for soloist Michael Duke and conductor Sarah-Grace Williams. ‘Deeper’ is in four movements, with the first two being played without a break. The writing for the solo instrument this largely conventional in its approach. As a composer, I wished to avoid writing a ‘circus’ piece for this very unusual instrument. Despite its rarity and apparent novelty, this instrument is not a freak. In the hands of as accomplished a soloist as Michael Duke, the contrabass saxophone has the capacity to be extremely expressive and to move with remarkable lightness and agility. It was these features, above all, that come to the fore in ‘Deeper’.

The first movement is called ‘Ad Profunda’, a title which references the ‘De Profundis’ prayer of Jewish and Christian liturgy in which the supplicant calls to God from the depths. ‘Ad Profunda’ means ‘to the depths’. It is an exploration of movement from light to darkness in contrast to so many musical works which move from darkness to light. However, the movement to darkness is not to the darkness of pain despair. Rather, it is a move to the darkness that has the velvety peace of night. In this first movement, the music becomes progressively slower, lower and duskier. A held note on the solo oboe links this directly to the second movement.

This movement it’s called ‘A Quiet night and a Perfect End’, a quotation from the prayer of Compline, the last prayer before sleep. This movement falls somewhere between a lullaby and a prayer. It is unashamedly nostalgic and eligiac and explores the calm and quiet of the night.

The third movement is much more lighthearted and humorous in character. Entitled ‘Swipe Left’ it is and narrative movement in which the soloist goes on a series of unsuccessful dates with various members of the orchestra. Some are clearly disasters from the start, others start in a more promising way but then fall apart for various reasons. This movement also features what may be the first orchestral appearance of the lobby bell whose meaning is obvious in this context.

The finale also starts with an unusual bell, in this case a very large cowbell. This movement is a jig and is a showcase for the remarkable agility and nimbleness of the contrabass saxophone. It is broadly speaking in rondo structure with a recurrent theme based in the Lydian mode.

‘Deeper’ is the latest in a series of concertos I have composed for rare instruments. Previous works for piccolo trumpet and for theatre organ were also premiered by The Metropolitan Orchestra with Sarah-Grace Williams.

© Jim Coyle, 2024

Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Illych (1840-1893)

Symphony No. 6 ‘Pathetique’

First performed on 28 October 1893, Tchaikovsky’s sixth and final symphony was to be his final composition that he would hear performed. At a supper with friends just four days after this symphony’s premiere, Tchaikovsky was served a glass of water with the warning that ‘it had not been boiled’. The presence of cholera in St. Petersburg at the time was not sufficient warning to Tchaikovsky, and he passed away just 5 days later, with cholera being the cause.

The symphony opens with a despairing theme played by mourning bassoons, soon joined by violas over a chromatic bass. The shift to Allegro non troppo announces the arrival of the first subject, with low strings joined by more elated flutes and clarinets. Despair again overcomes the brief high spirits, and mood changes define the second subject. The development section throws the thematic theme around the orchestra in the form of a fugue, leading to an exciting orchestral climax. This rich climax soon ebbs, seemingly exhausted.

The Allegro con grazia second movement provides the listener with a charming melody, with a 2+3 feel that adds a waltz-like feel that is completely undanceable. The sense of melancholy returns in the Allegro molto vivace third movement, underscoring a richly scored march featuring full brass, pizzicato strings and staccato quavers in the winds. Despair returns in full cry in the finale and despite the violins trying to console the rest of the orchestra, the theme continues to descend into despair and begins to threaten the audience.

A quotation from the Russian Orthodox burial service “Repose the Soul”, sombrely entrusted to the trombones and tuba, hints at Tchaikovsky’s possible intent for this work to be his requiem. The symphony is concluded by a disintegration of sound that fades away to a mere whisper, leaving the audience exhausted after their tumultuous journey through the complete facet of human emotions.

© Andrew Doyle, 2024

Our Artists For This Performance:

The Metropolitan Orchestra – Click Here To Read TMO’s Biography.

Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Sarah-Grace Williams. Click Here To Read Sarah-Grace’s Bio.

This Afternoon’s Soloist : Michael Duke Click Here to Read Michael Duke’s Bio

The Musicians Of The Metropolitan Orchestra On Stage Are:

Concertmaster: ^Victoria Jacono-Gilmovich

First Violin: #Elena Tabolkina, Ann Carew, Fiona Jose, Justin Li, James Parbery, James Krockenberger, Judy Hellmers, James Krockenberger, Paul Pokorny, Sam Jenkin, Lorraine Chan

Second Violin: #Dominic Meagher, Katherine Finch, Alexis Bell, Sarah Anthony, Victoria Giles, Jennifer Mee, Joshua Kok, Maria Isaac, Claudia Seibold, Kimberley Santos

Viola: *Robyn Botha, Monique Turner, Dawid Botha, Kirsten James, Denisa Smeu-Kirileanu, William d‘Avigdor, Nicola Elsworth, Alexandra Aarkapaw

Cello: #Julienne Guerbois, Emily Cavey, Sally Schinckel-Brown, Catherine Upex, Mitchell Quinn, Lye Lin Ho

Bass: *Jeremy Fox, Jessica Holmes, Paignthor Acevedo-Martin, Carol Jeon

Flute: *Emilia Antcliff, Merryl Neille, Jacinta Mikus

Oboe: *Alex Fontaine, Matthew Bubb

Clarinet: *Andrew Doyle, Alisha Coward

Bassoon: #Peta Goh, Cassandra Morgan

French Horn: #Gemma Lawton, Emily Hackney, Bridget Darby, Robert Stonestreet

Trumpet: *Chris Moran, Simon Wolnizer

Trombone: *Gareth Lewis, Mark Brown, Harry Macpherson

Tuba: *James Barrow

Timpani: #Helen Parker

Percussion: *Kaylie Dunstan, Anita Cook

^ Concert Master

* Principal

# Acting Principal

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