Oktoechos (1984)
Concerto Grosso for Eight Soloists and Orchestra
Duration: 18 minutes
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Commissioned by The Dallas Symphony
In conjunction with the Meet the Composer Orchestra Residency Program
Premiere Performance: May 4, 1984; Dallas Symphony;
Eduardo Mata, Conductor
Recording: Robert Rodríguez, First Edition, FECD-0027
Dallas Symphony; Eduardo Mata, Conductor
above: from manuscript of Byzantine Oktoechos chant
The title of Oktoechos refers to the ancient system of Byzantine chant, in which eight different melodic types were drawn from a single scale formation. Here each of the eight soloists creates an individual melodic contour out of a common kernel of rhythmic and melodic material. The soloists are divided into two groups of four, each containing a member of the orchestra’s four timbral families (string, woodwind, brass and percussion). On the conductor’s left are four soloists who play in the high register: violin, clarinet, trumpet and percussion (vibraphone, marimba, temple blocks and triangle); on the right are the low soloists: cello, bassoon, tenor trombone and piano. These four strong timbral groupings in the orchestra contrast sharply with the registralgroupings of the soloists; hence the dramatic conflict which shapes the piece.
Reviews:
…covers an impressively broad emotional and coloristic territory in its twenty-minute span. Indeed, Oktoechos is the work of a composer in complete command of both the psychological and technical elements of his music. The mood ranges from the captivating calm of the opening Adagio (reminiscent of the richly scored serenity of the middle movement of Bartok’s Third Piano Concerto), through the several passionate high points, to the hypnotic dying away at the close.
Wayne Lee Gay, Musical America
…eerie nocturnal sounds…ecstatic beauty…driving energy…
Olin Chism, Dallas Morning News
“The quiet opening…in its serenity, introduces a work that achieves a firm but never exploitative grip on the listener’s emotions. Rodríguez, best known through his chamber works, here exhibited an impressive command of orchestral sonority and of traditional virtuosic idioms in the solo instruments…Oktoechos is a major work by a major voice in contemporary music, and one worth hearing again.
Wayne Lee Gay, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
Program Note:
Oktoechos (1983) is a concerto grosso for eight soloists and orchestra commissioned by the Dallas Symphony in conjunction with the orchestra’s participation in the Meet the Composer Orchestra Residency Program. The title refers to the ancient system of Byzantine chant, in which eight different melodic types were drawn from a single scale formation. Here each of the eight soloists creates an individual melodic contour out of a common kernel of rhythmic (two sixteenth-note triplets tied to a quarter) and melodic (E C# F F# A G#) material.
The soloists are divided into two groups of four, each containing a member of the orchestra’s four timbral families (string, woodwind, brass and percussion). One group has high registers (violin, clarinet, trumpet and percussion vibraphone, marimba, temple blocks and triangle), the other low (cello, bassoon, tenor trombone and piano). Although Oktoechos is a work of “absolute” music, having no text or story, the composer’s rearrangement of the players on the stage, as indicated in the score, gives clue to the dramatic registral and timbral conflicts which shape the piece.
On the conductor’s left are the four high soloists; on the right, the four low soloists. Contrasting with these groups of mixed timbre are four larger groups of homogenous timbre: on the left, the woodwinds (piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, bassoon and contra bassoon); on the right, the brass (four horns, two trumpets, two trombones and tuba); in the middle, the harp, tympani and two percussion (playing antique cymbals, glockenspiel, tambourine, cymbals, snare drum, two tenor drums, maracas, wood block, claves, glass wind chimes, bass drum, suspended cymbal, finger cymbals, two slit drums and gong); and in front, the strings.
These four strong timbral groupings in the orchestra contrast sharply with the registral groupings of the soloists; hence the conflict. The violin solo, for instance, wants to play with the other members of its group (clarinet, trumpet and percussion) because they are all high; but it is equally drawn to the cello because they are both strings; plus there is the added temptation either to break away from all ties and be an independent soloist or to rejoin the other members of the violin section. This four-way pull on each of the soloists generates the essential conflict of the piece:
In the first movement (Adagio; Allegro energico) the soloists emerge as two rival groups, but all are quickly drawn back into the full orchestra. Episodes for each of the individual orchestral families then alternate with passages of increasingly greater independence for the two groups of soloists, building to a second orchestral outburst. There follows an extended cadenza, in which the soloists pair off, not by groups but by timbre: first brass, then woodwinds, strings and vibes/piano. The soloists, thus united, are victorious.
After a passionate intermezzo (Andante espressivo), the conflict begins anew. In the final section (Allegro moderato), old loyalties gradually weaken as the soloists, particularly the violin, grow increasingly independent. At the same time, the orchestra becomes more and more unified. As in the first movement there are alternating episodes for soloists and orchestra; but this time the soloists, now divided, cannot compete wit the orchestra and so are eventually absorbed into it, despite the trumpet’s valiant efforts to resist. There is a long, gentle moment of surrender, followed by a peaceful coda, in which the soloists, much subdued, emerge once more, then join with their respective timbral groups in a quiet canonic ostinato drawn from the work’s opening phrase.