Song Without Words (Chanson sans paroles), in F major is the third of a set of three pieces for the piano collectively entitled Souvenir de Hapsal, op. 2 (1867). This tender melody is far more familiar in transcriptions than it is in its original version.
Tchaikovsky wrote three Suites for orchestra. From two of these come movements which must be counted with the composer’s most popular works. The Suite No. 1 in D minor, op. 43 (1880) is famous for its fourth movement, a Marche Miniature. The inclusion of this section into the suite was something of an afterthought with the composer, since it was interpolated into the work only after it had been published, placed as a fourth movement between an intermezzo and a scherzo. This march is in the grotesque, fantastic style of the piano Humoresque. The main subject is heard in the piccolo against plucked-string accompaniment. A transitory episode in strings and bells leads to a development of this melody.
The third movement from this same suite, Intermezzo, has two main melodies: the first appears in first violins, violas, bassoons and flute; the second, in cellos and bassoon. The coda is based on the first theme.
The suite No. 3 in G major, op. 55 (1884) is a four-movement work of which the second is particularly celebrated. This is a Valse mélancolique for full orchestra, highly expressive and emotional music in the composer’s identifiable sentimental style.
There are several other waltzes by Tchaikovsky familiar to all lovers of light music. The Valse sentimentale, op. 51, no. 6 comes from a set of six pieces for the piano (1882) where it is the final number. The opera Eugene Onegin (commented upon above for its Polonaise) is also the source of a remarkable waltz episode. This music, the essence of aristocratic style and elegance, appears in the first scene of the second act. Tatiana’s birthday is celebrated with a festive party during which the guests dance to its infectious strains. Two other famous Tchaikovsky waltzes come from his famous ballets—Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. In the orchestral suite derived from the score of Sleeping Beauty, the waltz appears as the fourth and concluding movement and consists of a lilting melody for strings which is carried to an overpowering climax. The Swan Lake consists of thirty-three numbers, various combinations of its most popular sections serving as orchestral suites for concert performance. The suave waltz music serves in the ballet for a dance of the swans at the lakeside in the second act.
Ambroise Thomas
Ambroise Thomas was born in Metz, France, on August 5, 1811. Between 1828 and 1832 he attended the Paris Conservatory where he won numerous prizes including the Prix de Rome. After his three-year stay in Rome, where he wrote some orchestral and chamber music, he returned to Paris in 1836 and devoted himself to writing operas. The first was La double échelle, produced at the Opéra-Comique in 1837. His first success was realized in 1843 with Mina, and in 1866 the opera by which he is remembered, Mignon, was triumphantly introduced at the Opéra-Comique. Later operas included Hamlet (1868) and Françoise de Rimini (1882). In 1851, Thomas was elected member of the French Academy. In 1871 he was appointed director of the Paris Conservatory, and in 1894 he was the recipient of the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. He died in Paris on February 12, 1896.
Mignon represents the French lyric theater at its best, with its graceful melodies, charming moods, and courtly grace of style. Its world première took place at the Opéra-Comique on November 17, 1866. In less than a century it was given over two thousand performances by that company besides becoming a staple in the repertory of opera houses the world over. The opera is based on Goethe’s novel, Wilhelm Meister, adapted by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier. Mignon is a gypsy girl purchased by Wilhelm Meister. She falls in love with him and is heartbroken to discover how he is attracted to the actress, Philine. She tells the demented Lothario of her sorrow and of her wish that Meister’s castle be burned to the ground. Lothario then proceeds to set Meister’s castle aflame. Mignon, caught therein, is saved by Meister and then gently nursed back to health. Meister now realizes he is in love with her and her alone. When the demented Lothario regains his sanity we learn that Mignon is in actuality his daughter and that the castle he has burned is not Meister’s but his own.
Parts of this opera are better known than the whole, and through these parts Mignon remains deservedly popular on semi-classical programs. The Overture makes extended use of two of the opera’s main melodies. The first is “Connais-tu le pays,” (“Knowest Thou the Land?”), Mignon’s poignant first-act aria in which she recalls her childhood in some distant land; the melody is given in the wind instruments after a brief introduction. The second aria is Philine’s polonaise, “Je suis Titania” (“I am Titania”) from the second scene of the second act.
Another delightful orchestral episode from this opera is a suave, graceful little gavotte heard as entr’acte music just before the rise of the second-act curtain.