Czech composer Josef Suk's Second Symphony, named "Asrael" (

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

: „Asrael“, Symfonie pro velký orchestr c moll), was completed in 1906 following the deaths first of his father-in-law, in 1904, and then of his wife. Inevitably mournful but also vital in nature, the five-movement, hour-long work is cast in

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: Cha ...

and scored in Straussian vein for large orchestra. It was published as Opus 27. The composer had married Otilie Dvořáková, daughter of his composition teacher,

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

Background

Suk began to compose his funeral symphony at the beginning of 1905, about eight months after Dvořák's death. The composition was titled after

Asrael ''Asrael'' is a ''leggenda'' or opera in four acts by composer Alberto Franchetti and librettist Ferdinando Fontana. The plot, based on German fairy tale and folklore, displays the conflict between the spirit of evil and the spirit of Christian l ...

(Azrael), known as the angel of death in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

and as the Islamic carrier of souls after death. The work is in five movements. Suk completed the sketches of three movements less than a half year later. On 6 July 1905, while Suk was in the middle of the work, his wife Otilie died. Although the composition was to be also a celebration of Dvořák's life and work, the desolated composer rejected the optimistic tone of the rest of the work. Suk himself recalled: : The fearsome Angel of Death struck with his scythe a second time. Such a misfortune either destroys a man or brings to the surface all the powers dormant in him. Music saved me and after a year I began the second part of the symphony, beginning with an adagio, a tender portrait of Otilka. Suk completed the score on 4 October 1906. He dedicated the work "to the exalted memory of Dvořák and Otilie",''Album notes (SU 3864-2), p. 10'' in particular the last two movements to Otilie. The symphony was premièred on 3 February 1907 at the Prague National Theatre, conducted by

Karel Kovařovic Karel Kovařovic (9 December 1862 6 December 1920) was a Czech people, Czech composer and conductor from Prague. Life From 1873 to 1879 he studied clarinet, harp and piano at the Prague Conservatory.''Dopisy o životě hudebním i lidském, p. ...

. Karel Hoffmann and Jiří Herold, members of the Czech Quartet, attended the premiere as the

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...

s of the orchestra of the National Theatre.

Structure

The composition is in five

movements Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...

: # Andante sostenuto # Andante # Vivace # Adagio - a portrait of Suk's wife # Adagio e maestoso The influence of Dvořák's composing style, apparent in Suk's previous work, is not noticeable in this composition, according to Vysloužil, who writes that Suk develops his musical language rather toward modern

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...

and

harmonic In physics, acoustics, and telecommunications, a harmonic is a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'' of a periodic signal. The fundamental frequency is also called the ''1st har ...

techniques.Vysloužil, ''Hudební slovník pro každého, p. 518'' Suk included several music quotations in tribute to his father-in-law and wife, including quotes from Dvořák's ''Requiem'' and opera ''

Rusalka In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalki; , plural: русалки; , plural: ''rusałki'') is a female entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water. It has counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as th ...

''.

Instrumentation

The symphony is scored for

piccolo The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...

, 2

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

s, 2

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn (mainly North America), is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially ...

, 2

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

s in B-flat (A, E-flat),

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common Soprano clarinet, soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays no ...

, 2

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

contrabassoon The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences. Differences from the bassoon The Reed (mouthpie ...

, 6

horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

s (horns V and VI ad lib), 3

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

s in C, 3

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...

cymbals A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

, and strings.

Recordings

* 1952 - Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Talich, Supraphon * 1967 - Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Ančerl, Supraphon (2022) * 1967 - Südwestfunkorchester Baden-Baden, Ančerl, SWR Classic (2018) * 1968 - Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, Waldhans, Orchestral Concert (2009) * 1981 - Bayerisches Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester, Kubelik, Panton * 1985 - Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Neumann, Supraphon * 1990 - Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Pešek, Virgin * 1992 - Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Bělohlávek, Chandos * 1993 - URSS State Symphony Orchestra, Svetlanov, Russian Disc * 1999 - Orchestre Philharmonique De Montpellier, Schneider, Actes Sud * 2001 - Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Valek, Praga Digital * 2002 - Orchester Der Komischen Oper Berlin, Petrenko, CPO * 2007 - Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Mackerras, Supraphon * 2009 - Malaysian Symphony Orchestra, Flor, BIS * 2009 - Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Ashkenazy, Ondine * 2009 - National Orchestra Of Belgium, Weller, Fuga Libera * 2012 - BBC Symphony Orchestra, Bělohlávek, Supraphon * 2016 - Essen Philharmonic Orchestra, Netopil, Oehms Classics * 2019 - Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Bělohlávek, Decca * 2020 - Bayerisches Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester, Hrůša, BR-Klassik

Notes

References

* *

External links

* (Score and Reduction) {{Authority control Compositions by Josef Suk Suk 1906 compositions Compositions in C minor Antonín Dvořák