Roy Harris - Symphony No. 1 ‘1933’

- In this episode of American Muse we will hear the first symphony by Roy Harris, titled for the year it was written 1933. We will discuss the odd man Harris was, his nomadic nature, and an interesting story about he, his wife, and her name... stay tuned for that. (Play opening 10 seconds)

###Composer

- Roy Harris, or LeRoy as is his full first name, born in Oklahoma, but quickly moved to southern California. Studied with Arthur Farwell at UC Berkeley. Had his first orchestral piece premiered at Eastman by Howard Hanson (that’s about the best promotion you could ask for right out of the gate!). Then met a guy named Aaron Copland who suggested he go to Paris and study with another composer named Nadia Boulanger. It’s hard to go wrong after starting a career with names like that on your resume. Oh, but let’s add one more shall we?? After returning to the US, Harris eventually meets Serge Koussevitzky, another career maker at the time, who then premiered and recorded Harris’ _Symphony 1933_ , and THAT became the first commercially recorded American symphony.

- Another thing to know about this man is that he could NOT sit still for very long. In chronological order, he taught at Juilliard, Westminster, Cornell, Stanford, Colorado College, University of Utah, Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Pennsylvania College for Women, Southern Illinois University, Indiana University, the Inter-American University in Puerto Rico, UCLA, and finally Cal State University, Los Angeles. And that’s just the university positions!

- Harris had a massive composition portfolio, and while he covered most of the bases—vocal, chamber, ballet, concertos, etc.—his main focus was clearly on the symphonic form. Harris numbered 13 symphonies (although, out of superstition, he numbered the last 14 to avoid the number 13), plus the _Three Symphonic Essays_, _American Portrait_, _Our Heritage_ (which he apparently only finished one movement for), a Symphony for High School Orchestra, _American Symphony_ for jazz band, Choral Symphony for chorus and orchestra, and the _Walt Whitman Symphony_ for solo baritone, chorus and orchestra. Oh! Also a _Symphony for Voices_, an entirely a cappella work. So, I’d say, he was hooked on the symphony.

- Now, though there is STILL time left for this to happen to me… I have never had the honor of being properly called a genius (uh, by anyone other than my mother…). Roy Harris, on the other hand, did have this dubious fortune. Paraphrasing a famous quote of Robert Schumann praising the talents of an up and coming Frédéric Chopin, one Arthur Farwell said of Roy Harris, quote “Gentlemen, a genius—but keep your hats on!” Later, the equally great Walter Piston would counter by complimenting Harris for quote “surviving the trying experience of having been hailed as a genius.” It would seem that Roy Harris had a strong effect on critics and contemporaries alike. One possible reason the label of genius did not effect Harris negatively was his ability to stay so presently in the moment, maintaining an intense focus on the matter at hand. Certainly an aspect that reveals itself in his compositions, and a characteristic that makes for long days and short years.

- Ok, one strange story I need to tell you is about he and his second wife. In 1936, Harris married Beula Duffey. Duffey was already on her way to a spectacular career as a pianist, having been hailed as a prodigy in Canada, and then as the youngest faculty member at Juilliard. The interesting part is that Harris convinced her to changer her FIRST name to Johana, after the great Johan Sebastian Bach! From what I could find, this was welcomed and uncontentious. It seems to have been a business and career decision as much as anything else. I just can’t quite imagine starting that conversation: “Darling, I love you, I love everything about you… it’s just, your name… I don’t like it, and no one else will either. Instead, let’s name you after a VERY dead male composer. What do you say??”

- It turns out that at first Harris only numbered the symphonies that used the traditional symphonic orchestra. But, then he wrote the _Abraham Lincoln Symphony_ for piano, percussion, and brass, and numbered it the 10th, so that tradition ended.

- Harris’ approach to the various aspects of symphonic composition is articulated nicely by a biographer of his, Dan Stehman. He says quote “Formal procedures… he employs in the symphonies are virtually the same as in his miscellaneous orchestral and band works, and his chamber compositions, for that matter. Acquaintance with all of Harris’ works in the genre reveals that his most consistent view appears to have been of the symphony as a work of greater seriousness, emotional variety, intensity of expression, and length than was the norm for him. Though… the elements which went into their creation were formed and treated quite similarly to those employed in other works, the materials of the symphonies are sometimes greater in number, richer in complexity, and accorded a more elaborate development. with especially prominent use of the various types of motivic working out… Occasionally ideas recur in a thematic sense within a symphony… thus providing more of a sense of large scale unity than one finds… in the miscellaneous pieces. … \[T]he quality of the ideas in the symphonies, particularly the long melodies, is sometimes more distinctive than that found elsewhere in Harris’s oevre.

- So, Symphony 1933, Symphony No. 1, pieced together from bits he had already composed. Yet it isn’t necessary to know that to enjoy the work. The initiation of this piece came about, as I mentioned earlier, via Aaron Copland introducing Harris to Koussevitzky, who was at the time not only the music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he premiered works by so many American composers he was basically a career maker. According to Harris’ memory, Koussevitzky said “Copland told me you are the American Mussorgsky. You must write for me a big symphony from the West. I will play.” Excuse my Russian accent, but that’s a pretty cool endorsement from someone that, at the time, was likely destined to make your career, right?

- Now to the symphony itself. These excerpts were performed by the Louisville Orchestra under the direction of Jorge Mester.

- Symphony 1933 is in 3 movements: Allegro, Andante, and Maestoso; nothing special there. What Harris does from the very beginning is establish a rhythmic theme, one that is both inherently contrasting, alternating triplets against 8ths, but is presented as triumphant and at times aggressive. At the very opening the timpani presents the rhythm and the winds furiously wind through the melodic material that will be developed, followed by a brass variation. (Play opening 45 seconds)

- The middle section of this movement shows characteristic melodic writing by Harris, using a soaring string line supported by regularly interjected rhythmic motives reminiscent of the opening energy beneath.

- In the final section, where the opening material returns, Harris shows his ability to play with layers and space. In this excerpt string and timpani punctuate a heavy rhythmic figure, the woodwinds play a sustained, menacing melodic line in unison, and the brass begin a fugal conversation over the top. The effect is powerful!

- In the second movement, Harris’ lush melodic writing is fully featured. Another aspect is the harmonic writing, that is in some ways key to the uniquely American sound that is starting develop. Here, Harris uses a tightly dense harmonic accompaniment that moves rhythmically in sync with the moldy, and has many surprising chromatic twists as it moves along.

- The last movement, while not overwhelming in energy, is constantly building interest and tension. In fact, Harris does this with a motive based only on 3 notes! Throughout out the movement he morphs those 3 notes in so many fashions you likely would not notice without it being pointed out, and that’s the point! 

- Here is the very opening with the 3 note motive

- Another version with a considerable amount of variation and energy this time, and more and more rhythmic complexity as it goes along

- In a moment of calmness, Harris varies the motive in a much more horizontal, lyrical fashion.

- Finally, Harris falls into repetitive mode to build up some energy.

- This piece is easy to listen to and take in. It is not very long, but packs quite a mental punch. Though it was his first symphony, Harris does show compositional growth and maturity here. It is more than worth your time to listen to and enjoy. I can almost guarantee you’ve rarely heard another piece like it.

Music:

Symphony No. 1 '1933'

By: Roy Harris

Performed By: The Louisville Orchestra, Jorge Mester

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/american-muse-podcast/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy