(autumn is) a second spring
|
for orchestra (c. 9'00")
3.3.3.3. - 4.3.3.1. - timpani - 4 - harp - piano/celesta - strings MARTHA: ...What we call spring here is one rose and a couple of buds struggling to keep alive in the monastery garden. [Scornfully] And that’s enough to stir the hearts of the men in this part of the world. Their hearts are as stingy as that rose tree. A breath of richer air would wilt them; they have the springtime they deserve. JAN: You’re not quite fair; you have the autumn, too. MARTHA: What’s the autumn? JAN: A second spring when every leaf’s a flower. -Albert Camus, 1944, Le Malentendu (The Misunderstanding), Act 2. I first encountered an excerpt of this quote some time in the autumn of 2015 while completing my undergraduate studies in Western New York. A friend of mine posted a photo on Facebook of a sprawling hillside covered in autumn foliage with only the words, “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf’s a flower.” Having experienced a few of the autumns that Western New York is famous for, I felt quite taken by the sentiment, but at the same time perplexed by its ascription to Camus. Camus being one of my favorite authors, I felt the quote seemed a bit too romantic for his usual existential angst. After doing some digging I found the quote is derived from the play Le Malentendu, one of his earlier works. When read in the context of the play, the quote takes on an entirely different meaning; rather than being a simple commentary on the beauty of autumn, the quote instead suggests that autumn is a season of deception and false beauty, a transitory season where all appears to be in bloom, masking death beneath a colorful facade. This idea of a beautiful season of death and passing resonated with me, and reminded me of perhaps a springtime parallel: the Japanese cherry blossom tree. The cherry blossom tree blooms en masse and over the course of only a few days loses all of its petals in a stunning cascade; its life short, only in death does it achieve its true splendor. Historically and culturally, the cherry blossom serves as a metaphor that in life, all things, both beautiful and painful, will and must pass. It is this sentiment, the idea of transience, fleeting beauty, and a balance of life and death that serves as the essence of this piece. Read by the Peabody Studio Orchestra Conducted by Julie Debordes |
|
