Amériques

Amériques is a musical composition by the French-born composer Edgard Varèse.

Written between 1918 and 1921 and revised in 1927, it is scored for a very large, romantic orchestra with additional percussion (for eleven performers) including sirens. It was the first work Varèse composed after he moved to the United States, and although it was not his first work, he destroyed many of his earlier pieces, effectively making Amériques his opus one (although he never used that designation).[1]

Structurally, the work is in one movement which lasts for around twenty-three minutes, with full orchestral involvement virtually throughout. Although it opens quietly, with "Debussy-like musing",[2] it quickly builds in dynamic power, and is punctuated by massive crescendos which are similar in style Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring but on a much larger scale. The work is marked by its fiercely dissonant chords, and rhythmically complex polyphonies for percussion and wind. It develops in continuous evolution with recurring short motifs, which are juxtaposed without development.

Opinions of the work have focused on its elemental power,[3] and its vivid expression of New York (replete with howling police cars). The siren was for Varèse of structural importance, however, representing a continuum pitch beyond twelve-tone equal temperament. Varèse intended the title Amériques to symbolise "discoveries - new worlds on earth, in the sky, or in the minds of men."[4]

Performances

The original version of Amériques was premiered on 9 April 1926 by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski. The revised version was premiered on 30 May 1929 by the Orchestré des Concerts Poulet under Gaston Poulet[5] at the Maison Gaveau. It was not until 1960 that it was recorded by the Utah Symphony Orchestra and Maurice Abravanel. In recent years it has emerged as a popular modernist showpiece in the orchestral repertoire, with recordings by Pierre Boulez, Christoph von Dohnanyi and Riccardo Chailly, among others.

Instrumentation

Amériques is scored for the following very large orchestra with additional percussion:

Woodwinds
3 Piccolos
4 Flutes
Alto Flute
4 Oboes
English Horn
Heckelphone
E-flat clarinet
4 Clarinets in B-flat
Bass Clarinet
Contrabass Clarinet
4 Bassoons
2 Contrabassoons
Brass
8 Horns in F
6 Trumpets
4 Tenor Trombones
Bass Trombone
Bass Tuba
2 Contrabass Tubas
Percussion
Timpani (2 players)

13 Percussion Players

1: Xylophone, Triangle, Ratchet, Sleigh Bells
2: Glockenspiel, Lion's Roar, Ratchet, Whip
3: Tambourine, Gong
4: Celesta, 2 Bass Drums, Slapsticks, Gong, Triangle, Lion's Roar
5: 2 Bass Drums, Slapsticks
6: Castanets, Sleigh Bells
7: Sleigh Bells, Siren, Boat Whistle, Wind Machine
8: Cymbals, Gong
9: Snare Drum
10: Crow Call, Sleigh Bells, Lion's Roar, Wind Machine, Triangle, Slapsticks
11: Slapsticks, Lion's Roar, Sleigh Bells, Whip
12: Whip, Triangle, Slapsticks, Wind Machine
13: Sleigh Bells, Slapsticks, Gong, Triangle
"Interior Fanfare"
4 Trumpets (2 in E-flat, 2 in D)
3 Trombones (2 Tenor, Bass)
Strings
2 Harps
Violins I, II (16 each)
Violas (14)
Violoncellos (10)
Double basses (10) (with low C extensions)

The revised version of 1927 reduced the instrumentation to the following[6]:

Woodwinds
2 Piccolos
2 Flutes
Alto Flute
3 Oboes
English Horn
Heckelphone
E-flat clarinet
3 Clarinets in B-flat
Bass Clarinet
3 Bassoons
2 Contrabassoons
Brass
8 Horns in F
6 Trumpets in C
3 Tenor Trombones
Bass Trombone
Contrabass Trombone
Bass Tuba
Contrabass Tuba
Percussion
Timpani (2 players)

9 Percussion Players

1: Xylophone, Chimes, Triangle, Low Rattle affixed to a solid base, Sleigh Bells
2: Glockenspiel, Lion's Roar, Low Rattle, Whip
3: Tambourine, Gong, Whip
4: Celesta, Bass Drum 2 (head extremely tightened), Triangle, Gong
5: Bass Drum 1, Bass Drum 2 with wirebrush, Crash Cymbal attached to Bass Drum 1, Gong
6: Castanets, Sleigh Bells, Gone
7: Siren, Sleigh Bells
8: Cymbals (both Suspended and Crash Cymbals)
9: Snare Drum

Percussion Notes:

The Low Rattle, Triangle, Sleigh Bells, Whip, Gong, and Bass Drum 2 are shared by more than 1 player
The Siren is specified to be "deep and very powerful with a brake for instant stopping, affixed to a solid base"
The "Gong" is a "Tam-Tam" (not a Javanese or Fire-Gong)

Strings
2 Harps
Violins I, II
Violas
Violoncellos
Double basses (with low C extensions)

String Notes: The number of players is not specified in the revised version

References

  1. ^ Composer Biography - Varese, Edgard
  2. ^ Gramophone Magazine, September 2001
  3. ^ Varèse and the Music of Fire | Rudhyar Archival Project | Musical Works and Writings
  4. ^ Quoted in Cambridge Companion to the Orchestra (2003) ed. Lawson, p. 63
  5. ^ Gaston Poulet
  6. ^ Edgard Varèse: Ameriques (Score), Colfranc, New York 1973, ed. Chou Wen-Chung