Sur les Rives du Saint-Maurice, Op. 78
Jacques Hétu
Born August 8, 1938 in Trois-Rivières, Québec
Died February 9, 2010 in St.-Hippolyte
The city of Trois-Rivières is about midway between Montreal and Quebec City, at the confluence of the St. Maurice and St. Lawrence Rivers. Its name, which means Three Rivers, derives from the two small islands at the opening of the St. Maurice, which form three mouths at the St. Lawrence. Founded in July 1634 by French explorers and missionaries, the city is one of the most historic in Canada. Only Quebec City, founded in 1608, is older; Trois-Rivières was the second permanent French settlement in the New World.
In 2009, in anticipation of the city’s 375th anniversary, the Orchestre Symphonique de Trois-Rivières (OSTR) commissioned a composition from Jacques Hétu. As one of Canada’s most prominent composers and a native son of Trois-Rivières, Hétu was the logical choice. Lacombe, who is music director of the OSTR and also a native of Trois-Rivières, was delighted—he had previously premiered three of Hétu’s compositions. Beyond the symmetry of their shared hometown, Lacombe and Hétu had developed a personal friendship as well as an excellent working relationship.
The premiere of Sur les Rives du Saint-Maurice (“On the Shores of the Saint Maurice River”) took place on September 13 in Trois-Rivières at a gala concert that was recorded and broadcast by Radio Canada. Sadly, Hétu succumbed to a long battle with cancer in February of this year. These performances, the first time the NJSO has performed Hétu’s music, are the American premiere of this important symphonic poem. Later this year, Lacombe will lead additional performances in cities including Edmonton, Montreal, Calgary and Toronto.
Sur les Rives du Saint-Maurice is an extended 15-minute movement that divides into two principal sections played without pause. A prologue and epilogue frame an historical overview of the city and its surroundings. The composer’s note in the score provides the scenario:
Prologue - Festive Fanfare; the splendour of the landscape and the whirlpool of the waters: The river separates into three channels to create a perfect site for a city. Prehistoric Times - At dawn, at the edge of the woods near the river, a hymn announces the arrival of explorers and missionaries, then bird songs precede those of the natives; all of them gathering around a procession which quickly disappears into the mist. Present Day - The sun rises. A stroll on an upstream stretch of the river; rippling waters and then the roar of the waterfall. Evocation at first of a distant smithy; gradually, the noisy activity draws nearer, then bursts into a fury: the fires emanating from the blast furnace project terrifying shadows which create the “Devil’s Fountain.” Epilogue - the Lull: Remembrance of the ancestors. Gradual return to the tumult of the Festive city.
Brass and percussion dominate the opening fanfare. Clarinets and bassoons announce the march-like hymn of the first European settlers, with commentary from the upper woodwinds emulating birdcalls. English horn plays a traditional melody of the Indian First Nation.
The music of the smithy—an iron forge—dominates the next section. The site of the forge is still in Trois-Rivières, Lacombe says. Though it is no longer in use, it drove the city’s economy in earlier times, when Trois-Rivières was a major center of the paper industry. Hétu’s use of trumpets to depict flames shooting out of the forge is highly effective.
Hétu was educated at the University of Ottawa and the Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Arts in Montreal, where he earned a first prize in composition. He worked with Lukas Foss at Tanglewood and then secured an award from the Canadian Council to study with Henri Dutilleux in Paris. His Paris sojourn also included analysis classes with Olivier Messiaen.
From 1963 to 2000, Hétu served on the faculties of Université Laval in Quebec City, University of Montreal and University of Quebec at Montreal. One of Canada’s most distinguished modern composers, he is best known for his orchestral, chamber and vocal works. In his Montreal Gazette obituary, Arthur Kaptainis wrote: “Easily recognized by his professorial beard and pipe, Hétu was a distinctive figure in other ways. In an era that prized experimentalism, he represented dedication to old-fashioned craftsmanship and a preference for traditional forms.” Peter Oundjian and the Toronto Symphony premiered Hétu’s Fifth Symphony posthumously last month.
“Sur les Rives du Saint-Maurice demonstrates Hétu's legendary sense of balance and structure,” Lacombe says. “I am proud to introduce his music to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra audience.”
The score, which is dedicated to Lacombe, calls for piccolo, two flutes, oboe, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, suspended cymbal, tam tam, bass drum, tubular bells, harp and strings. Timing: approximately 15 minutes.
Социальные закладки