SYMPHONY OF SEASONS (Symphony No 1) by Dan Locklair

My SYMPHONY OF SEASONS (Symphony No. 1) was the result of an orchestral consortium commission by several American orchestras, led by The Louisville Orchestra (Uriel Segal, Music Director) in Louisville, Kentucky. The Louisville Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Segal, gave the World Premiere of the piece on 19 October 2002. Composed between July 2000 and January 2002, SYMPHONY OF SEASONS (Symphony No. 1) has as its extra-musical stimulus excerpts from extended poems from “The Seasons,” by the eighteenth century British poet, James Thomson. The poems appear in the attached published score.
1. AUTUMN
AUTUMN begins with an exuberant brass and percussion fanfare, which soon leads to the first primary section of the movement. Like the fanfare, this section, marked “Joyous”, is highly rhythmic and its melodic material is first introduced by the strings and woodwinds. Maintaining the rhythmic energy of the first section, the second primary section of the piece is soon introduced, with its melodic materials first introduced by the brass, accompanied by the horns, harp, piano and percussion. Introduced in this section, and freely quoted throughout the remainder of the movement, are variants of Martin Rinckart’s 17th century hymn tune, “Nun danket alle Gott.” The Rinckart text originally paired with this tune, “Now Thank We All Our God,” was written during Germany’s Thirty Years War and is still sung there on national occasions of rejoicing and thanksgiving. In America it is one of the most popular hymns of thanksgiving surrounding Thanksgiving Day, which occurs during the season of autumn. The remainder of this movement alternates and develops the ideas introduced in these two primary sections. The opening fanfare idea returns to bring the movement to a thrilling close.
2. WINTER
A dark and solemn recurring harmonic progression - a chaconne - is heard in the strings throughout WINTER. The chaconne appears twelve times and is twelve measures in length, thus symbolizing the twelve months of the year. After the initial statement of the chaconne in the cellos and basses, the English horn enters with a melodic idea that develops throughout the movement. WINTER finds its form in three words from the third line of Thomson’s poem: “Vapours,” statements 1-3 and 11-12 of the chaconne; “Clouds,” statements 4-6 and 9-10 of the chaconne; and Storms the climactic 7- 8 statements of the chaconne.
3. SPRING
SPRING seeks to capture the delight and spontaneity of spring. An irregular accompanimental idea opens the movement and soon becomes more regular as it underpins an idea reminiscent of both the traditional third movement classical “scherzo” and the untraditional (to classical/romantic symphonic movements) “waltz.” Solo recitative-like woodwind colors first call forth the “gentle Spring” then develop, with a regular pulse of one, the main idea first brought forth by the woodwinds. Like a traditional scherzo movement, SPRING has a contrasting middle section. This middle section has the quality of a “pastorale”, though instead of the traditional 6/8 meter, this section alternates 6/8 and 5/8 meters. After this section builds to a climax, the opening section returns in festive, whirling scherzo/waltz fashion to bring SPRING to a close, perhaps symbolizing the fulfillment of Thomson’s words: “While Music wakes around,..”
4. SUMMER
Subtitled “Arias to Summer,” SUMMER slowly unfolds in the lush warmth of muted strings as they introduce the primary material of the movement. Woodwinds soon enter as the intensity of the section builds. A fast, contrasting middle section - marked “Very quick” (and hinted at in the first section) - soon emerges. As a pre-existing melody appears in AUTUMN, so too, here, pre-existing material is used. Most significant to this middle section is the 13th century rota, Sumer is icumen in. A four-part canon (with two ostinato voices), “Sumer is icumen in” was the most famous piece of secular music in 13th century Europe. A second pre-existing melody, the refrain from American George Evans’s 1902 popular song, “In the Good Old Summertime,” is heard as a counterpoint to “Sumer is icumen in,” first subtly stated in the high strings and, later, becoming more apparent. As both of these melodies continue to be heard, the strings brilliantly emerge to mark SUMMER’S third and final section with a full statement of the original idea that opened the movement, eventually dissolving into a soft and rich ending suggesting “the sultry Hours.”
Total duration = ca. 30 minutes
This performance is by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kirk Trevor, conductor, as found on the Naxos CD, DAN LOCKLAIR SYMPHONY OF SEASONS. www.naxos.com/...
SYMPHONY OF SEASONS (Symphony No. 1) is published by Subito Music. (www.subitomusi...)

[@abigailsmith8366]

I am so thankful to have heard the Summer movement on our WDAV. Simply lovely. Thank you.

[@thom6746]

Just heard this in Sirius xm. First time I've heard of this composer. I liked enough to come here.