Symphony No. 5 (Nielsen)
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Symphony No. 5, Op. 50, FS 97 is a
symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...
composed by
Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor, and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he d ...
in Denmark between 1920 and 1922. It was first performed in Copenhagen on 24 January 1922 with the composer conducting. It is one of two of Nielsen's six symphonies lacking a subtitle, the other being his Symphony No. 1. The Fifth Symphony has a non-customary structure, comprising two
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 ...
instead of the common three or four. Written in a modern musical language, it draws on the theme of contrast and opposition. The post-
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
composition is also described as having elements of war.


Composition

There is no documentation of what inspired Nielsen to write his Fifth Symphony or when he started to write it, but it is generally understood that the first movement was composed in Humlebæk during the winter and spring of 1921. He stayed at his summer house at Skagen in the early summer. At the end of July he moved to a friend's home at Damgaard to compose the cantata '' Springtime on Funen'', and was therefore only able to resume working on the second movement of the symphony in September, during his free time from his conducting work in Gothenburg. The whole symphony was finished on 15 January 1922, as dated on the score. He dedicated the new symphony to his friends Vera and Carl Johan Michaelsen. Having insufficient rehearsal time, the premiere took place only nine days later, conducted by the composer himself at the music society Musikforening in Copenhagen.


Score

A work from the early 20th century, the Fifth Symphony is regarded as a modernistic musical piece. The symphony draws on all of the "deformation procedures" suggested by
James Hepokoski James Arnold Hepokoski (born 20 December 1946) is an American musicologist. He is best known for his work with Warren Darcy on developing sonata theory, first fully explained in their 2006 book ''Elements of Sonata Theory''. Life and career J ...
regarding musical modernism: breakthrough deformation,
introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...
- coda frame, episodes within
developmental Development of the human body is the process of growth to maturity. The process begins with fertilization, where an egg released from the ovary of a female is penetrated by a sperm cell from a male. The resulting zygote develops through mitosis ...
space, various
strophic Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music. Contrasting song forms include through-composed, ...
/
sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...
hybrids and multi-movement forms in a single movement. Its fragmented nature, unpredictable character and sudden synchronization at the ending also point towards a self-conscious modernist aesthetic, though as in most of Nielsen's early and middle works, non-modernist devices, including
organicism Organicism is the philosophical position that states that the universe and its various parts (including human societies) ought to be considered alive and naturally ordered, much like a living organism.Gilbert, S. F., and S. Sarkar. 2000. "Emb ...
and diatonicism, play some essential roles. As written in the original 1926 edition of the score, the Fifth Symphony is scored for 3
flutes 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 ...
(third doubling
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
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, ...
s, 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, 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 ...
s, 4
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, 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, 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 ...
s,
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, ...
,
cymbal 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 ...
s,
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 ...
,
tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...
,
snare drum The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...
,
celesta The celesta () or celeste (), also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music ...
, and
strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
. Some optional doublings are added in the 1950 edition of the score revised by
Emil Telmányi Emil Telmányi (22 June 1892 – 13 June 1988) was a Hungarian violinist. Telmányi was born in Arad, Partium, Transylvania, then in the Kingdom of Hungary. Telmányi began playing the violin at the age of six and made his public debut ...
and
Erik Tuxen Erik Oluf Tuxen (4 July 1902 – 28 August 1957) was a Danish conductor, composer, bandleader, and arranger. He worked for most of his life in Denmark. From 1936 until his death in 1957, he was a conductor at the Danish National Symphony Orchestra ...
; these include the third flute doubling flute in G and the second bassoon doubling
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 ...
. These optional doublings are discarded in the latest 1998 Carl Nielsen Edition score, which was produced as a co-operation between the
Danish Royal Library The Royal Library () in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark and the academic library of the University of Copenhagen. It is among the largest libraries in the world and the largest in the Nordic countries. In 2017, it merged with the ...
and
Edition Wilhelm Hansen Edition Wilhelm Hansen, formerly known simply as Hansen, is a Danish music publishing company based in Copenhagen. Currently owned by the Wise Music Group, it was for the majority of its history a family-owned and operated business. Begun by Jens ...
. The Fifth Symphony has two movements instead of the usual four, which is the only time Nielsen used this structure. Nielsen explained jokingly in an interview that it was not difficult to write the first three movements of a symphony but by the finale most composers had run out of ideas. The work has a craggy profile as "it is littered with false climaxes at every turn". The first movement climaxes in a battle between the orchestra and a renegade snare-drummer, who can only be silenced by the full forces of his colleagues in the final bars. The second movement continues the struggle with shivers of anxiety, building through repetitions and detours to the final victorious grand explosion.


Tempo giusto—Adagio non troppo

The first movement begins with violas softly oscillating between the C and A notes; after four bars of the single, minimally-inflected line, a pair of bassoons enters with the initial theme. The beginning has been described by Nielsen scholar Robert Simpson as like being "in outer space"; the subsequent wave-like line "appears from nowhere, as if one were suddenly made aware of time as a dimension". The very first theme ends at b. 20 with a descending scale, followed by a
fortissimo In music, the dynamics of a piece are the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings require interpretation by the performer depending on ...
interruption from
viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
s and a subsequent horn and flute dialogue. The prominent feature of instrumental pairing does not lead to any permanent thematic or textural stability, but contrarily grows into a persistent textural sparseness. After an emotionless string passage which encloses another brief warning from violas,
woodwind Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and Ree ...
s cry out amid a percussive background. While the monotonous rhythm of snare drum continues, violins respond tortuously, only to be overwhelmed by the mood of the "savage and destructively egotistical" (Simpson's description) clarinet and flute. The turmoil continues as the bass struggles to rise from the tonic (C) to the dominant (G), invoking a new clash with the percussion; the attempt at struggle fails as the bass is foiled at G flat when the ominous violin melody is distorted and disintegrates. The huge incongruity between harmonic and melodic parameters threatens the music with fracture and collapse. After gloomy phrases from various woodwinds, the music fades, leaving a feebly pulsing D with tiny hints of percussion sounds.; An oboe triplet figure then reveals the warm theme in G major of the ''Adagio non troppo'' section, a contrast to the prior cold landscape. The texture expands contrapuntally for the first time; the tonality brightens to B major and, after a climax, wanes to G major again. The full strings are soon disturbed by an "evil" motif on woodwinds, playing the shivering element from the work's opening; tension between wind and strings intensifies as tonality shifts within instrumental groups in their respective directions. With a further clash, the music is menaced by the snare drum at a tempo (
quarter note A quarter note ( AmE) or crotchet ( BrE) () is a musical note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note (or semibreve). Quarter notes are notated with a filled-in oval note head and a straight, flagless stem. The stem usually ...
♩=116) faster than that of the orchestra, and at its climax comes the composer's instruction to the snare drummer to
improvise Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...
"as if at all costs he wants to stop the progress of the orchestra".; (This instruction is not included in the 1950 edition of the score, being replaced by a written rhythmic line and instruction " cad. ad lib." after a few bars.) The warm theme eventually triumphs in a sustaining grandeur, as is affirmed by the snare drum actually joining the orchestral fanfare. When all subsides, echoes in woodwinds are heard and a solitary clarinet is left to mourn in a tragic atmosphere, recapturing ideas from the whole movement: "Who would have thought that so much could have come out of a gently waving viola line in empty space?"


Allegro—Presto—Andante un poco tranquillo—Allegro

The second movement in four sections consists of an "exposition", a fast
fugue In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universit ...
, a slow fugue and a brief coda. The music bursts in (in B major, despite the A major key-signature), and continues with great conflicts between instruments, until a broad, calm theme is found in the slow fugue. At the close it pivots on B flat, the dominant of E flat major; various elements collide and “fall together” into an uplifting 23-bar conclusion. This movement was portrayed by Robert Simpson as arising from the ashes and ruins left by the conflict in the first movement. In the first edition of his book he expressed hesitation over analysing this part, feeling that it either requires a very deep analysis, or should be described in the fewest possible words. Jack Lawson, founder and president of The Carl Nielsen Society of Great Britain, commented that in the second movement, the listener "inhabits a world reborn, at first calm but a world which produces new struggles and menacing dangers" and "transports the listener through the depths or above the heights of more standard musical perceptions".


Interpretation

Though the Fifth Symphony bears no title, Nielsen affirmed that, like his previous symphonies, it presents "the only thing that music in the end can express: resting forces in contrast to active ones". In a statement to one of his students, Ludvig Dolleris, Nielsen described the symphony as "the division of dark and light, the battle between evil and good" and the opposition between "Dreams and Deeds". To Hugo Seligman he described the contrast between "vegetative" and "active" states of mind in the symphony. The symphony is widely stated to be a work about contrast and opposition. The composer asserted that he was not conscious of the influence of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
when he was composing the symphony, but added that "not one of us is the same as we were before the war".
Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British conductor with German citizenship. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rat ...
also described the Fifth Symphony, rather than the Fourth as proclaimed by the composer, as being Nielsen's war symphony. In fact, the phrase "dark, resting forces, alert forces" can be found on the back cover of the pencil draft score. Nielsen may have considered it an encapsulation of the contrast both between and within the two movements of the symphony. Nielsen also wrote to Dolleris about the presence of the "evil" motif in the first movement of the symphony:
Then the "evil" motif intervenes – in the woodwind and strings – and the side drum becomes more and more angry and aggressive; but the nature-theme grows on, peaceful and unaffected, in the brass. Finally the evil has to give way, a last attempt and then it flees – and with a strophe thereafter in consoling major mode a solo clarinet ends this large idyll-movement, an expression of vegetative (idle, thoughtless) Nature.
Although Nielsen asserted that the symphony is non-programmatic, he once expressed his views on it thus:
I'm rolling a stone up a hill, I'm using the powers in me to bring the stone to the top. The stone lies there so still, powers are wrapped in it, until I give it a kick and the same powers are released and the stone rolls down again. But you mustn't take that as a programme!


Reception

The immediate reception of the press to the symphony was generally positive, especially the first movement. Axel Kjerulf wrote that in the Adagio section, he heard a Dream giving way to a "Dream about Deeds... Carl Nielsen has maybe never written more powerful, beautiful, fundamentally healthy and genuine music than here." However, critics were more hesitant towards the second movement. In August Felsing's review, he commented that "Intellectual art is what the second part is, and it is a master who speaks. But the pact with the eternal in art which shines forth in the first part is broken here." Musicians' opinions were divided.
Victor Bendix Victor Emanuel Bendix (17 May 1851 in Copenhagen – January 1926) was a Danish composer, conductor and pianist, who came from a Jewish family. His teachers included Niels Gade. He studied at the conservatory of music at Copenhagen, then ...
, a long-time supporter and friend, wrote to Nielsen the day after the premiere, calling the work a "Sinfonie filmatique, this dirty trenches-music, this impudent fraud, this clenched fist in the face of a defenceless, novelty-snobbish, titillation-sick public, commonplace people en masse, who lovingly lick the hand stained with their own noses' blood!" A Swedish performance on 20 January 1924, under the baton of
Georg Schnéevoigt Georg Lennart Schnéevoigt (8 November 1872 – 28 November 1947) was a Finnish Conducting, conductor and cellist, born in Vyborg, Grand Duchy of Finland, which is now in Russia, to Ernst Schnéevoigt and Rosa Willandt. Career Schnéevoigt ...
, caused quite a scandal; the ''
Berlingske Tidende ''Berlingske'', previously known as ''Berlingske Tidende'' (, 'Berling's Times'), is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen. It is considered a newspaper of record for Denmark. First published on 3 January 1749, ''Berlingske'' is ...
'' reported that some in the audience could not take the modernism of the work:
Midway through the first part with its rattling drums and 'cacophonous' effects a genuine panic broke out. Around a quarter of the audience rushed for the exits with confusion and anger written over their faces, and those who remained tried to hiss down the 'spectacle', while the conductor
Georg Schnéevoigt Georg Lennart Schnéevoigt (8 November 1872 – 28 November 1947) was a Finnish Conducting, conductor and cellist, born in Vyborg, Grand Duchy of Finland, which is now in Russia, to Ernst Schnéevoigt and Rosa Willandt. Career Schnéevoigt ...
drove the orchestra to extremes of volume. This whole intermezzo underlined the humoristic-burlesque element in the symphony in such a way that Carl Nielsen could certainly never have dreamed of. His representation of modern life with its confusion, brutality and struggle, all the uncontrolled shouts of pain and ignorance—and behind it all the side drum's harsh rhythm as the only disciplining force—as the public fled, made a touch of almost diabolic humour.
For decades, Nielsen's music did not win recognition outside Denmark. The first recording was in 1933:
Georg Høeberg Georg Valdemar Høeberg ( 27 December 1872 in Copenhagen – 3 August 1950 in Vedbaek ) was a Danish violinist, conductor and composer. He was the brother of the opera singer Albert Høeberg and cellist Ernst Høeberg and grandson of Hans Christian ...
with the
Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (DNSO; ), is a Danish orchestra based in Copenhagen. The DNSO is the principal orchestra of DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation). The DRSO is based at the Koncerthuset () concert hall in Copenhagen. Histo ...
for Dancord. The first live recording was produced in 1950 with
Erik Tuxen Erik Oluf Tuxen (4 July 1902 – 28 August 1957) was a Danish conductor, composer, bandleader, and arranger. He worked for most of his life in Denmark. From 1936 until his death in 1957, he was a conductor at the Danish National Symphony Orchestra ...
conducting the same orchestra at the
Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...
. An international breakthrough was made only when
Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...
recorded the symphony with the
New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...
in 1962 for CBS. This recording helped Nielsen's music to achieve appreciation beyond his home country, and is considered one of the finest recorded accounts of the symphony.


References


Sources

Books * * * First edition (reprinted by Hyperion Press ). * Second edition completely revised with additional chapter. Articles * * Scores * * Preface and sources of this edition of the score are available at the website o
The Royal Library


External links

* {{Authority control Symphonies by Carl Nielsen 1922 compositions