Le Laudi

Le Laudi
Cantico delle creature
Oratorio by Hermann Suter
English The Praises
Full Le Laudi di San Francesco d'Assisi
Catalogue Op. 25
Text Canticle of the Sun
Language Italian
Composed 1924 (1924): Basel
Dedication Basler Gesangverein
Movements 9
Scoring
  • soloists
  • choir
  • children's choir
  • organ
  • orchestra

Le Laudi, full title Le Laudi di San Francesco d'Assisi (The Praises of St. Francis of Assisi), Op. 25, is an oratorio by the Swiss composer Hermann Suter. He scored it for soloists, choir, children's choir and large orchestra, based on the Canticle of the Sun in the original Italian. Premiered in 1924, it is one of Suter's most important works and has been performed regularly in his home country.

History

Suter composed the work to mark the 100th anniversary of the Basler Gesangverein (Basel Choral Society), to whom the work is dedicated. He was a central figure in the musical life of Basel, as the director of the symphony concerts of the Allgemeine Musikgesellschaft, director of the Liedertafel, of the municipal music school and the conservatory. He was director of the choir from 1902.[1] The composition emerged in the summer of 1923 in Sils in the Engadine where Suter spent his holidays. The Italian text is the Cantico del Sole of Francis of Assisi.[2]

Scoring

The work is scored for four solo voices (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), choir, children's choir, organ and orchestra. Suter wrote as a subtitle Cantico delle creature (Song of Creation) and gave the choir prime importance in the scoring: per Coro, Soli, Voci di ragazzi, Organo ed Orchestra. He dedicated it to the memory of his parents. A performance lasts about 70 minutes.

Structure and music

Suter composed nine movements, according to the praises of the canticle:

  1. Altissimo onnipotente, bon Signore, (tenor, choir and children's choir)
  2. Laudato sia, mio Signore, per sora luna e le stelle, ("In modo dorico", soloists and choir)
  3. Laudate sia, mio Signore, per frate vento ("Fuga", soloists and choir)
  4. Laudato sia, mio Signore, per sor' acqua, ("Quartetto", soloist)
  5. Laudato sia, mio Signore, per frate foco, ("Passacaglia", choir)
  6. Laudato sia, mio Signore, per sora nostra matre terra, ("Alto solo")
  7. Laudato sia, mio Signore, per quelli che perdonano, (tenor and female choir, soprano solo and a cappella choir)
  8. Laudato sia, mio Signore, per sora nostra morte corporale, (bass, choir and children's choir)
  9. Laudate e benedite mi Signore (children's choir, choir and soloists)

The work is in the late-Romantic tradition, in particular the New German School, unaffected by the emerging dodecaphony. Suter drew on varied musical resources, including Gregorian chant, Impressionism, Polyphony and counterpoint, for example in the quadruple fugue of movement 3 and the Passacaglia in movement 5. Suter used "pictorial and dramatic elements: the first movement evokes the sun",[3] the sparkling of the stars is illustrated in movement 2, the roar of the wind in 3, gurgling water in 4, and the blaze and sparks of fire in 5. A gentle alto aria centers on Earth. After the praise of nature, addressing the sun, the moon, stars and the four elements as brothers and sisters, man appears in movement seven, shown as forgiving and suffering. Death of the body, addressed as sister, is the topic of movement 8, general praise concludes the work.[1]

Suter included archaic elements such as unaccompanied singing similar to Chant in a tenor solo at the very beginning, and a cappella singing. He contrasts music colours, such as mixed choir with the bright sound of the "ragazzi", tenor with female choir, soprano with a cappella choir. The last movement reaches a dramatic climax, but ends softly and pensive.[1]

The works's intensity of expression and sound has been compared to Ein deutsches Requiem by Brahms, Christus by Liszt, Franck's Les Béatitudes and Verdi's Messa da Requiem.[1]

Premiere and reception

The premiere of Le Laudi was on 13 June 1924 in Basel, conducted by the composer. It was published the same year as Opus 25 by publisher Edition Hug. The work made Suter known beyond Switzerland. Wilhelm Furtwängler conducted the work on 20 January 1926 in Vienna and directed further performances in the 1920s.[1] In 1934, Karl Straube performed it in Leipzig. It is still performed today, particularly in Switzerland, where it has a continuous performance tradition.[1][4] The work was recorded, in the early 1990s directed by Theo Loosli for the label Ars Musici and by András Ligeti for the label MGB. The work was first performed in the United Kingdom by "Choir 2000" on 21 June 2009 at the West Road Concert Hall in Cambridge.[5]

Literature

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Giese, Detlef (18 April 2012). "Le Laudi di San Francesco d'Assisi op. 25 / Sonnengesang des Heiligen Franz von Assisi" (PDF) (in German). Berliner Singakademie. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  2. ↑ Organists' review. Incorporated Association of Organists. 1994. p. 363. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  3. ↑ Flegler, Joel (1995). Fanfare. J. Flegler. p. 337. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  4. ↑ Nef, Karl (1947). An Outline of the History of Music. Columbia University Press. p. 284. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  5. ↑ "Le Laudi : June 2009". choir2000.org. 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2012.

Sources

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