Sinfonia austera
(1st Symphony)
1st Movement
The movement is in 4/4 time, tempo moderato (78). The time is maintained, but the tempo is increased in several places: at one point up to 132, later up to 144, ending on a less hectic tempo, 84. This alone tells us something important about the movement: shaped as a sort of curve, quiet at the beginning and end, but with a huge upswing in places.
The oppressive opening passage starts with a drumbeat, after which the melody comes in on the bass clarinet, followed by bassoon and cello playing over a muted roll on the kettle drums. The whole section is kept pianissimo, and the timbre and pitch are extremely sombre:
This material is worth a closer study, as it is exploited to the extreme in what follows. The first four bars reveal a kernel motif (A G B C D flat C B A) with characteristically small intervals and a narrow tonal range. The bars that follow go to work on this motif at once. The bassoon offers a shortened version of it (bars 4-6), supplemented by the bass clarinet: the notes are in a somewhat different order, though this is certainly not accidental, as the two instruments together produce the notes B A C H (in German notation, used in Denmark, H = B, and B = B flat, tr. note), no doubt a respectful greeting to the old master from the hand of the young composer.
A solo cello is then brought in, until the bass clarinet once more continues the development (bars 8-10). The fourth interval, C flat G flat, comes as a relief after all the narrow intervals, and forms in fact an important part of the material in what comes afterwards. The tonal range is extended by the addition of F sharp and F, and in bars 9-10 there is a little outburst, a third interval, A F, with a punctuated rhythm. This little figure is also of great importance in what follows; it often reappears as a short, lively interlude.
For purposes of comparison, the following sample score shows the beginning of Sibelius' 1st Symphony - note the small intervals on the clarinet in the first five bars, which use almost the same notes as Nørgård does. Sibelius' kettle-drum roll is on B.
The bass clarinet part in the opening of Holmboe's 8th Symphony is as follows:
The drum roll is on F, but only in the first bar - it is taken over by the double bass tremolo on this note.
In bar 10, the strings enter the scene with a background of sound, and over this the
lighter woodwind engage in a further development of the thematic material. Almost
everything in this movement takes place as a polyphonic development along the stave, and
as the material is derived from the same source, one often finds places where the theme is
combined with itself in longer note values - as, for example, the long, placid line of the
cello in bars 17-26. Such places as this are even more interesting when one knows how the
composer developed later: one can discern the hierarchical way of thinking.
Listen to the the example and the following bars ...
The music is toned down somewhat, and then there is a fresh start in bar 32, with new energy on the rhythmical side.
In the first place, the music builds up to one of the melodious string sections with the tune played high up on the first violins (bar 39 and following bars).
The further development up to the highpoint in bar 58 is overwhelming, and the culmination is no disappointment:
The marked rhythm, the dissonant harmonics and the use of the full orchestra create a mood of extreme seriousness, in which bassoons and tuba are used to great effect. These instruments have not been used up to this point, but brought in now, in the aftermath of the culmination, they indeed emphasise 'the power of darkness'.
As the movement proceeds there are several more culminating points, sometimes followed by a sudden reticence. Between these culminating points, the music streams along, constantly developing the material, and often incredibly lyrical and transparent, though without ever abandoning the severe and sombre tone.
The decisive, final culmination, a colossal revival of the culmination around bar 58, comes in bar 289. After this one has to ask oneself whether all the efforts, the struggles, the severity and seriousness have led to anything at all, or whether we have simply been revolving round our starting point.
In my view there has been a qualitative shift, the music has moved us on to a new vantage point. This may be heard in the conclusion of the movement, which brings a resolution, a clarification.
Immediately after the culmination in bar 289 follows one of the soulful string sections. This quietens down again in bar 302, when a low D makes its appearance. This low D is maintained as the music draws out, thinning out towards the end, so that finally all that is left is a broad, empty harmony on D with the fifth, A. This sustained harmony forms the background for a number of solo passages, incredibly transparent in a relaxed, clarified mood. Listen to the ending of the movement.
Score sample © Edition WH