Amériques

Amériques is a musical composition by the French-born composer Edgard Varèse.

Written between 1918 and 1921 and revised in 1927, it is scored for a very large, romantic orchestra with additional percussion (for eleven performers) including sirens. It was the first work Varèse composed after he moved to the United States, and although it was not his first work, he destroyed many of his earlier pieces, effectively making Amériques his opus one (although he never used that designation).^[1]

The work is in one movement which lasts around twenty-three minutes, with full orchestral involvement almost throughout. Although it opens quietly, with "Debussy-like musing",^[2] it quickly builds in dynamic power and is punctuated by massive crescendos which are similar in style to those found in Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring but on a much larger scale. The work is marked by its fiercely dissonant chords and rhythmically complex polyphonies for percussion and winds. It develops in continuous evolution with recurring short motifs, which are juxtaposed without development.

Structurally, the work is assembled by placing a number of self-contained 'blocks' of music against one another in the manner of Stravinsky. The blocks are marked primarily by texture and timbre, with melody and rhythm being much more malleable. This remained common practice for Varese throughout his career.

A number of these blocks are built out of direct quotations from other works, including the Peripetie from Schoenberg's Fünf Orchesterstücke Op. 16, the first movement of Mahler's Third Symphony, and Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, along with references to the big band sound of the 1920s.

Commentary on Amériques has focused on its elemental power,^[3] and its vivid representation of New York, not failing to incorporate its howling police car sirens. Varèse used the sirens for structural importance, as representions of a continuum pitch beyond twelve-tone equal temperament. Varèse intended the title Amériques to symbolize "discoveries - new worlds on earth, in the sky, or in the minds of men."^[4]

Performances

The original version of Amériques was premiered on 9 April 1926 by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski. The revised version was premiered on 30 May 1929 by the Orchestre des Concerts Poulet under Gaston Poulet^[5] at the Maison Gaveau. It was first recorded in 1960 by the Utah Symphony Orchestra and Maurice Abravanel. In recent years it has emerged as a popular modernist showpiece in the orchestral repertoire, with recordings by Pierre Boulez, Christoph von Dohnanyi, and Riccardo Chailly, among others.

Instrumentation

The original version of Amériques is scored for the following very large orchestra with additional percussion:

Woodwinds 3 Piccolos 4 Flutes Alto Flute 4 Oboes English Horn Heckelphone E-flat clarinet 4 Clarinets in B-flat Bass Clarinet Contrabass Clarinet 4 Bassoons 2 Contrabassoons Brass 8 Horns in F 6 Trumpets 4 Tenor Trombones Bass Trombone Bass Tuba 2 Contrabass Tubas Percussion Timpani (2 players)

13 Percussion Players 1: Xylophone, Triangle, Ratchet, Sleigh Bells 2: Glockenspiel, Lion's Roar, Ratchet, Whip 3: Tambourine, Gong 4: Celesta, 2 Bass Drums, Slapsticks, Gong, Triangle, Lion's Roar 5: 2 Bass Drums, Slapsticks 6: Castanets, Sleigh Bells 7: Sleigh Bells, Siren, Boat Whistle, Wind Machine 8: Cymbals, Gong 9: Snare Drum 10: Crow Call, Sleigh Bells, Lion's Roar, Wind Machine, Triangle, Slapsticks 11: Slapsticks, Lion's Roar, Sleigh Bells, Whip 12: Whip, Triangle, Slapsticks, Wind Machine 13: Sleigh Bells, Slapsticks, Gong, Triangle "Interior Fanfare" 4 Trumpets (2 in E-flat, 2 in D) 3 Trombones (2 Tenor, Bass) Strings 2 Harps Violins I, II (16 each) Violas (14) Violoncellos (10) Double basses (10) (with low C extensions)

The revised version of 1927 reduced the instrumentation to the following:^[6]

Woodwinds 2 Piccolos 2 Flutes Alto Flute 3 Oboes English Horn Heckelphone E-flat clarinet 3 Clarinets in B-flat Bass Clarinet 3 Bassoons 2 Contrabassoons Brass 8 Horns in F 6 Trumpets in C 3 Tenor Trombones Bass Trombone Contrabass Trombone Bass Tuba Contrabass Tuba Percussion Timpani (2 players)

9 Percussion Players 1: Xylophone, Chimes, Triangle, Low Rattle affixed to a solid base, Sleigh Bells 2: Glockenspiel, Lion's Roar, Low Rattle, Whip 3: Tambourine, Gong, Whip 4: Celesta, Bass Drum 2 (head extremely tightened), Triangle, Gong 5: Bass Drum 1, Bass Drum 2 with wirebrush, Crash Cymbal attached to Bass Drum 1, Gong 6: Castanets, Sleigh Bells, Gone 7: Siren, Sleigh Bells 8: Cymbals (both Suspended and Crash Cymbals) 9: Snare Drum Percussion Notes: The Low Rattle, Triangle, Sleigh Bells, Whip, Gong, and Bass Drum 2 are shared by more than 1 player The Siren is specified to be "deep and very powerful with a brake for instant stopping, affixed to a solid base" The "Gong" is a "Tam-Tam" (not a Javanese or Fire-Gong) The instrument identified as a "Low Rattle" is translated from the French "Crécelle." A clearer rendition would be "Ratchet." Strings 2 Harps Violins I, II Violas Violoncellos Double basses (with low C extensions) String Notes: The number of players is not specified in the revised version

References

1. Composer Biography - Varese, Edgard
2. Gramophone Magazine, September 2001
3. Varèse and the Music of Fire | Rudhyar Archival Project | Musical Works and Writings
4. Quoted in Cambridge Companion to the Orchestra (2003) ed. Lawson, p. 63
5. Gaston Poulet
6. Edgard Varèse: Ameriques (Score), Colfranc, New York 1973, ed. Chou Wen-Chung