Programme Notes: Obsessions Unraveled, June 7, 2025
Orchestra Toronto
Concert 5: Obsessions Unraveled
Tonight’s concert explores the many faces of obsession: romantic, musical, and even whimsical. From Berlioz’s fevered vision of love and madness, to Nino Rota’s reimagining of the double bass, and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s elegant charm, Obsessions Unraveled invites us to witness how composers have chased, embraced, and unraveled their fixations through sound.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Petite Suite de Concert, Op. 77
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s music was admired in his time for its lyricism, rhythmic vitality, and ability to bridge cultural traditions. A composer of mixed African and English heritage, Coleridge-Taylor became an icon in early 20th-century Britain, especially celebrated in both Europe and the United States. His popularity soared after the success of his cantata Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, and he was even invited to meet President Theodore Roosevelt in the White House - an extraordinary honour for a Black composer at the time.
The Petite Suite de Concert, written near the end of his life in 1911, was conceived as a light, accessible work for concert performance. Each of its movements evokes a different mood: from the coquettish sparkle of La Caprice de Nanette to the lyrical charm of Un Sonnet d’Amour, and finally to the fleet-footed La Tarantelle Frétillante, the suite captures the graceful, genteel character of late Romantic British music. The suite’s refined melodies and dance-like forms reflect Coleridge-Taylor’s obsession with musical elegance and expressive clarity.
Despite his tragically early death at the age of 37, Coleridge-Taylor’s legacy continues to grow, with many contemporary artists and scholars rediscovering his work. The Petite Suite represents a particularly vibrant and joyful side of his musical personality, offering audiences a glimpse into his love of storytelling, dance, and characterful expression. It's a perfect example of how even a so-called "light" suite can carry depth, charm, and historical significance.
Nino Rota: Divertimento Concertante for Double Bass and Orchestra
Best known for composing the iconic scores for The Godfather and many of Federico Fellini’s films, Nino Rota brought the same theatrical imagination to his concert works. His Divertimento Concertante (1968-73), composed for the celebrated Italian bassist Franco Petracchi, is a dazzling and sometimes mischievous exploration of the double bass as both a virtuosic and expressive solo instrument. It’s a rare gem in the repertoire - bold, funny, and unafraid to show off the instrument’s quirks.
The four movements take listeners on a whimsical journey. The first is playful and acrobatic, throwing the bass into rapid passages and leaps that rival a violin concerto in difficulty. The Marcia has a sly humour- sounding at times like a pompous parade and at others like a satirical circus tune. The third movement, Aria, showcases the deep, lyrical soul of the bass, drawing out long melodic lines that sing with surprising tenderness. The final movement is a showstopper: fast-paced, dramatic, and brimming with energy.
Our soloist, Joel Quarrington, is one of the world’s foremost double bassists, and a true Canadian treasure. An Officer of the Order of Canada, he has performed with leading orchestras across North America and Europe, held principal positions with the Canadian Opera Company, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra, and has made multiple award-winning recordings. Quarrington’s rich tone and musical sensitivity have made him a champion of solo double bass repertoire, and there is no better interpreter for this rarely performed Rota work.
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14
Few works wear their obsessions as boldly as Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. Composed in 1830 and inspired by his unreciprocated love for the Irish actress Harriet Smithson, the symphony dramatizes a hallucinatory journey from romantic passion to macabre fantasy. The story it tells is semi-autobiographical: a young artist, intoxicated by love and opium, imagines himself driven to despair, murder, and a final descent into a witches’ sabbath. It’s part symphony, part psychological thriller.
Berlioz’s use of the idée fixe, a musical theme representing the beloved, is revolutionary. This theme appears in every movement, altered and distorted to reflect the protagonist’s changing emotional state. In the final movement, it returns grotesquely transformed, mocking and distorted as the object of his love becomes part of a witches' dance. The orchestration, too, was unprecedented: Berlioz expanded the role of the percussion section, introduced unusual combinations of instruments, and wrote music of visceral power and complexity.
At its 1830 premiere, Symphonie Fantastique shocked and captivated audiences, establishing Berlioz as one of the most daring voices of the Romantic era. His obsession with Harriet Smithson eventually led to marriage, but it was stormy, and ultimately short-lived. The music, however, remains a staggering testament to the power of imagination and emotional intensity. Symphonie Fantastique set the stage for the programmatic symphonies of Liszt, Mahler, and Strauss, and remains to this day a thrilling experience in the concert hall.
