Songs of the Apocalypse: a journey through the end

The Before

This first section of our program takes us through life before the apocalypse and the events that lead up to it. Beginning with Morning Mood we develop a false sense of security in our daily lives as the beautiful song is actually referencing a dark portion of the play "Peer Gynt." We then move to a sense of pride in our nation with Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture but there are hints of doubt and mocking in the government as Tchaikovsky is known for adding political mockery to his pieces. We then end this section with the reflection of our inner selves in Mars, Bringer of War. Holst reflects man's inner aggression and impulse through the pull of the god Mars. Together the false sense of security, government failures, and man's true inner self ultimately leads us to the beginning of the apocalypse. 

Morning Mood - ​Edvard Grieg

Peer Gynt was originally a play written by Henrick Ibsen about a Norwegan peasant’s downfall and then redemption. Morning Mood at first listen has a beautiful, peaceful sound and is often used in film when a character is awakening with the sun rising or arriving at a peaceful climax point. However, the piece was originally composed for Peer Gynt’s 3rd act, the piece originally accompanies a sunrise in the desert, before the act goes on to confront the death of his mother. Morning Mood, while beautiful, calm, and presenting a happy fresh feeling that nothings wrong actually precedes mourning feelings and iminent conflicts, which are seen in Peer Gynt and the struggles of the protagonists in our apocalyptic novels.

1812 overture - Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture is a piece many of you may be familiar with, however you may not know where it came from. This piece is often played as a symbol of American nationalism played on the 4th of July complete with fireworks and cannons. While it is often heard today as a song about American nationalism, Tchaikovsky originally wrote the piece to commemorate Russia’s defeat of Napoleon. Thus why is it used in america, and how is it related to an apocalyptic concert program? Tchaikovsky was actually known for defining the Russian musical sound by using big, bold, bombastic music. However, Tchaikovsky would add anecdotes that would mock Russian leaders while they played his music celebrating Russias victories, there were small notes and phrases that show Tchaikovsky’s revolt against the leadership. Like Morning Mood, where the piece has one implication with its sound, but another reason with the reason it was written. The nationalistic sound of the 1812 Overture celebrates war and a country as a symbol rather than the people who are living in it. The bells and cannons overshadow the hidden messages Tchaickovsky hides in his music. Similarly, in American War by Omar El Akkad is a representation of the second American Civil War over climate change and use of fossil fuels. Sarat, the main character is a poor child growing up in the middle of this war and her struggles are overshadowed by the power and support for military personnel. The 1812 Overture, is a representation of the impending doom put on by war, and while Nationalism may grow during a war, there are always hidden messages that show the truth behind the blind patriotism.

Mars, The Bringer of War - Gustav Holst

Mars, the Bringer of War Written by Gustav Holst is the opening movement to his suite The Planets. Mars, the bringer of War is an intense, march like portrayal of the celestial body and god Mars. Holst was deeply into astrology and the influence of the planets on the human mind. When writing The Planets, Holst focused on writing based on the god’s the planets were named after and their influence on humans, focusing on the “inner world” or thoughts and feelings of man.  Mars, the Bringer of War has been said to show the aggressive impulse of man, and in relation to the apocalypse, this impulse is accurately depicted. In many of the novels we have discussed there have been cults that form and show how strong, aggressive people take power and take advantage of those beneath them. For example, in Atwoods “The Year of the Flood” the main protagonists all find themselves in a cult called God’s Gardeners. In God’s Gardeners, they call themselves Adam’s and Eve’s, but their leaders are insistent their followers follow their practices as their way is the only way to survive the end of the world. When the humans begin to die, and cannibalistic packs form, it is clear the aggression that people embody in order to survive. “The Year of the Flood” is a deep look at the inner world each individual has and shows how different people will fall to their aggressive tendencies and how others will fight it. Mars, the Bringer of War represents the end of the calm life we once knew, and the beginning of the end.

References in The Before:
nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1819/Grieg-Peer-Gynt-Suite-No-1.pdf
www.classicfm.com/composers/grieg/guides/story-behind-griegs-peer-gynt/
​www.pri.org/stories/2018-07-04/its-ironic-we-play-1812-overture-fourth-july-celebrations#:~:text=Tchaikovsky%27s%20%221812%20Overture%22%20tells%20a,hymn%2C%20a%20prayer%20for%20peace.&text=It%27s%20not%20even%20about%20the%20American%20War%20of%201812theimaginativeconservative.org/2015/11/music-war-remembrance-ten-great-classical-music-works-stephen-klugewicz.html
​theimaginativeconservative.org/2015/11/music-war-remembrance-ten-great-classical-music-works-stephen-klugewicz.html​

Surviving the Virus

The second section picks up with a declaration of fate from Orff's O Fortuna, a fate of impending apocalypse, destruction, and death. We then continue to an acceptance of fate with Come, Sweet Death. Through this somber organ piece, those affected by the apocalypse accept their fate, and arrival to heaven. The apocalypse then continues with a never ending resolution of the Tristan chord from Tristan and isolde Prelude. This chord never resolves representing how we never know when the apocalypse will be over. We drudge on with no hope, in the darkness, accepting death. However, there is hope within us, and even in the darkest times, Even when He is Silent shows us an end will come, God will come, fate will come, even if it appears there is no end in sight. 

O fortuna - Carl orff

Carl Orff's O Fortuna or “Oh Fortune” from his Opera Carmina Burana serves as the prologue and epilogue to the opera. The Opera is set in 3 acts surrounding the idea of fortune and fate, and the idea that fate rules all, god’s and mortals. In Sweterlisch’s The Gone World the idea of time traveling and the altering of the past plays with fate. This is seen in the epilogue when we find that the timeline we had been following was not the Terra Firma (real time) but rather an alternate timeline, giving the impression that the main character Shannon was trying to stop the end of the world, or “fate.” The idea of an apocalypse, and of a pandemic goes along with fate. During these times there is a lot of discussion of religion, God’s plan/ will, and the universe, what will be will be. When there is an invisible enemy, such as a virus, it is often up to fate when it will subside and end. O Fortuna is a representation of the unknown of the beginning apocalypse as we await our fortune and fate. ​

Come, Sweet Death - ​Johann Sebastian Bach

Come, Sweet Death By Bach is a hymn about the anticipation of death and arrival in heaven. Pilar, aka Eve 6 before Toby in The Year of the Flood passed when she got older and passed on her role to Toby before she died. Pilar, while not a casualty of the apocalypse is an example of how people accept death when it is their time. In a situation like a pandemic, war, or other apocalyptic event, many people accept casualties as part of “the fight” and move on while others who are struggling find that letting go is easier than hanging on and suffering. This is an important point to consider when discussing any topic of death because it is a journey almost all have when they are near death, or have loved ones who are victims of their environment. Putting this piece after O fortuna is symbolic to accepting fate, While Tristan and Isolde (the next piece) really brings in the never ending cycle of the apocalypse, and leaves us searching for hope. ​

Tristan and Isolde Prelude to Act 1 - Wagner

When I took music theory IV, I learned of this chord called the Tristan chord, from Wagner's opera Tristan and Isolde. My professor Tom Sobieski showed us this chord that never resolves, and through the whole opera, this chord is played over and over, and doesn’t resolve to the very end of the Opera. Tristan and Isolde is a tragic love story of Isolde who is attempting to escape her miserable life, and Tristan, a man she once loathed and now loves, but is dying due to her potion. The constant pull of the music and the story of conflict and not knowing if either will survive or be pardoned creates so much uncertainty to the audience. In Whitehead's Zone One the crew of sweepers are tasked with the endless, mundane job of sweeping the buildings for straggler zombies of the apocalypse while they also deal with Post Apocalyptic Stress Disorder. The crew never knows when this task will end or when their PASD will subside. In our world with covid, we never know when it will end or when “the curve will be flattened enough” to return to our past life. This uncertainty in the end makes the apocalypse last longer, and make survival even more difficult.

Even When he is Silent - Kim Andre Arnesen

I sang this piece my Freshman year of College when I participated in women's choral, This piece is based on a poem written in a wall of Cologne, Germany by a Jew who was hiding from persecution during the holocaust. The Lyrics read:
 “I believe in the sun, even when it's not shining
I believe in love, even when I feel it not
I believe in God, even when He is silent”
This is a very powerful sentiment, creating hope and restoring faith, especially coming from someone in the worst point of human history to date. In Future Home of the Living Gods when pregnant women are being rounded up for their children, they are living in the same fear as those being persecuted during the holocaust. They are being collected, drugged, and their children are taken away from them. If they are lucky enough to escape they have to have faith and hope that they will survive birth, and their children will survive as well. Even When He is Silent was performed by many virtual choirs at the beginning of the pandemic, to restore faith and hope to those who could not see it. In the grand scheme of a pandemic or apocalypse, when you can not see the end, all that's left is hope. This piece is a glimpse of that hope that we have not seen since the apocalypse has started in our musical journey. 

References in Surviving the Virus:
www.britannica.com/topic/Carmina-Burana-by-Orff
​overgroundscene.wordpress.com/tag/come-sweet-death-come-blessed-rest/
​https://www.classical-music.com/features/works/guide-wagners-tristan-und-isolde/
​​https://genius.com/Kim-andre-arnesen-even-when-he-is-silent-lyrics
​

Rebuilding

In this final section, the apocalypse has subsided and we are left to rebuild, even with the loss, heartache, and struggles we have faced. Fanfare for the Common Man opens this section as a solemn remembrance of all those who were lost to the apocalypse, and to the struggles that all common folk have gone through just to survive. We end this final section with​ Pavane Pour une Infante Defunte. This is a reflection of a young princess of the 16th century dancing to a song she would have at a ball. While it may be sad to think of the past, and we may want to mourn the past and begin just as we were before the apocalypse, we must continue with where we are now and not as we were. This pavan gives us a daydream of past life, and shows us what we can have again.

Fanfare for the common Man - Aaron copland

Fanfare for the Common Man written by Aaron Copland was originally commissioned to honor those who fought in World War II. This fanfare is a very forward thinking piece as it is very powerful and direct with its message. When coming up with a title another title Copland had considered was “Fanfare for a Solemn Ceremony” which I like just as much as its given title. In our current pandemic, there has been an increase in the divide between the upper class and the middle/ lower class as middle and lower class workers put their health on the line in order to get food and other services available and provide medical care, while celebrities and those with excess wealth went on extravagant Isolated vacations to protect themselves.This fanfare doubles as honoring those who have lost their lives to a horrific tragedy or gone through unthinkable hardships as well as celebrating the everyday lives of the “common man.”

Pavane pour une Infante defunte - Maurice Ravel

Despite its deceiving name, Pavane pour une Infante Défunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess) is not a sad mournful piece but rather, a longing for the past, a glimpse into the life of a princess as she dances around the ball. Ravel wrote this piece to evoke feelings of a spanish princess (non in particular) dancing in the renaissance. Ravel is very insistent that this piece is not mourning a dead princess but instead is a daydream of something a young 16th century princess might dance to. In many of the novels we read, rebuilding and remembering the past was a common theme. Especially in Station Eleven which revived many Shakespearean plays, but longed for the simplicity and excitement of technology. In Station Eleven, they mourned the past and struggled moving on, and if they were to perform this piece they would take it much too slow and evoke a mourning emotion much to Ravel’s dismay. What we do to “rebuild” after a pandemic or apocalyptic event should not  be mournful of the past, but instead celebrate the past as we dance through to the future. 

References in Rebuilding:
www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200000006/
​www.favorite-classical-composers.com/pavane-for-a-dead-princess.html#:~:text=a%20Dead%20Princess-,A%20Rich%2C%20Nostalgic%20Dance,and%20he%20does%20it%20superbly.