''Fervaal'',
Op. 40, is an
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
(''action musicale'' or lyric drama) in three acts with a prologue by the French composer
Vincent d'Indy
Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the P ...
. The composer wrote his own
libretto, based in part on the lyric poem ''Axel'' by the Swedish author
Esaias Tegnér
Esaias Tegnér (; – ) was a Swedish writer, professor of the Greek language, and bishop. He was during the 19th century regarded as the father of modern poetry in Sweden, mainly through the national romantic epic ''Frithjof's Saga''. He has b ...
. D'Indy worked on the opera during the years 1889 to 1895, and the score was published in 1895.
Background
''Fervaal'' premiered at the
Théâtre de la Monnaie
The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (french: Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, italic=no, ; nl, Koninklijke Muntschouwburg, italic=no; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National O ...
in Brussels on 12 March 1897. It was subsequently produced in Paris in 1898, and again in that city in 1912. The first of 13 performances by the
Opéra-Comique company (at the
Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.
One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...
), on 10 May 1898 was conducted by
André Messager
André Charles Prosper Messager (; 30 December 1853 – 24 February 1929) was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty opéra comique, opéras comiques, opérettes and other stage wo ...
and included in the cast Raunay and Imbart de la Tour from the Brussels premiere, along with Gaston Beyle,
Ernest Carbonne
Raymond Jean-Baptiste Ernest Carbonne (30 July 1860 in Toulouse – 1924) was a French tenor and stage director who had a long association with the Opéra-Comique in Paris.
Life and career
Carbonne studied at the , gaining first prizes in ...
and André Gresse. It was last performed on stage in 1912/13 (at the Paris
Palais Garnier, again with Messager conducting).
In concert, it was presented by
RTF in 1962. The
Bern Opera House presented it in two concert performances, conducted by Srboljub Dinić, on 28 May and 18 June 2009. It was also performed in concert by the
American Symphony Orchestra, led by
Leon Botstein
Leon Botstein (born December 14, 1946 in Zürich, Switzerland) is a Swiss-American conducting, conductor, educator, and scholar serving as the President of Bard College.
Biography 1946–1975: Early life, education, and career
Botstein was ...
on 14 October 2009 at
Avery Fisher Hall
David Geffen Hall is a concert hall in New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic.
The facility, desi ...
at
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...
in New York City. The Festival de Montpellier revived the work in 2019 with
Michael Spyres as Fervaal, Jean-Sébastien Bou as Arfagard and
Gaëlle Arquez as Guilhen, with
Michael Schønwandt
Michael Schønwandt (born 10 September 1953 in Frederiksberg) is a Danish conductor. In Denmark, he studied piano, theory, and composition, and later continued musical studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Biography
In 1979, Schønwan ...
conducting.
Contemporary commentary, such as from
Maurice Ravel, described ''Fervaal'' as strongly influenced by the operas of
Richard Wagner, such as ''Parsifal''. Thus the opera can be described as an epic with Wagnerian allusion. Anya Suschitzky has published a lengthy analysis of the opera in the context of French nationalism and the influence of Wagner on French composers.
James Ross has examined ''Fervaal'' in the context of French politics of the time, in addition to French nationalism.
Manuela Schwartz has discussed in detail the connection between the story of ''Axel'' and the opera of ''Fervaal''.
In the context of the religious theme of paganism vs. Christianity in the work, d'Indy uses the old musical theme of "Pange, lingua" as a musical representation of the new religion (Christianity) supplanting the old (paganism).
Roles
Instrumentation
* woodwinds: 4
flutes (3rd and 4th doubling
piccolos), 2
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
...
s,
cor anglais, 3
clarinets (3rd doubling
bass clarinet), bass clarinet (doubling
contrabass clarinet
The contrabass clarinet (also pedal clarinet, after the pedals of pipe organs) and contra-alto clarinet are the two largest members of the clarinet family that are in common usage. Modern contrabass clarinets are transposing instruments pitc ...
), 4
bassoons, 4
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
s (
soprano, 2
altos and
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
)
* brass: 4
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to:
* Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells
* The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain
* ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
, 4
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s, 8
saxhorn
The saxhorn is a family of valved brass instruments that have conical bores and deep cup-shaped mouthpieces. The saxhorn family was developed by Adolphe Sax, who is also known for creating the saxophone family. The sound of the saxhorn has a ...
s (2 sopranino in E-flat, 2 soprano in B-flat, 2 alto in E-flat, 2 baritone in B-flat), 4
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...
s,
tuba
The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...
,
cornett
The cornett, cornetto, or zink is an early wind instrument that dates from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods, popular from 1500 to 1650. It was used in what are now called alta capellas or wind ensembles. It is not to be confused wi ...
o
* percussion:
timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...
,
bass drum,
triangle
A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC.
In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...
,
cymbals,
tamtam
The tamtam, sometimes spelled tam-tam, is a type of gong.
TamTam, Tam-Tam, tamtam, or tam-tam may also refer to:
* ''Tam-Tam'' (album), a 1983 album by Amanda Lear
* Tam Tam (''Samurai Shodown''), a character from the fighting game ''Samurai Sh ...
, two small
gong
A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...
s
* strings: 2
harps, 1st
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
s, 2nd violins,
viola
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
s,
violoncello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D ...
s,
contrabasses
Synopsis
In the prologue, Saracen bandits ambush the Gauls Fervaal and Arfagard, leaving them injured. Guilhen, daughter of the Saracen emir and a sorceress, saves them from death. Guilhen has immediately fallen in love with Fervaal and offers to cure him. The prologue ends with Fervaal being carried to the palace of Guilhen.
In act 1, Arfagard explains to Fervaal the boy's history and upbringing. Fervaal is the son of a Celtic king, from the land of Cravann, and is destined as the last advocate of the old gods (the "Nuées"). He is charged with the mission of saving his homeland from invasion and pillage but must renounce love to fulfill his duty. Upon Guilhen's return, Fervaal returns her love. However, Arfagard calls for Fervaal to leave her and fulfill his mission. After he finally does take leave of Guilhen, she calls forth a mob of her fellow Saracens to revenge her abandonment by invading Cravann.
In act 2, Arfagard and Fervaal have returned to Cravann. They consult the goddess Kaito in the mountains, where she delivers this prophecy:
Si le Serment est violé, si la Loi antique est brisée,
si l'Amour règne sur le monde, le cycle d'Esus est fermé.
Seule la Mort, l'injurieuse Mort, appellera la Vie.
La nouvelle Vie naîtra de la Mort.
If the oath is violated, if the ancient law is broken,
if love reigns over the world, the cycle of Esus is closed.
Only death, injurious death, will call forth life.
From death, new life will be born.
Arfagard does not understand the meaning of the prophecy. Fervaal understands that the violation refers to his own breaking of the oath renouncing love and that the redemptive death will be his in the end. Arfagard introduces Fervaal to the Cravann chiefs, and they hail him as their new commander, or "Brenn". Fervaal anticipates that he will fail as a leader and thus as his land's saviour, but he feels that he can achieve his redemptive death in battle as a military commander. Fervaal tries to explain this situation to Arfagard, who becomes fearful for his people's future.
In act 3, the Cravann army has lost in battle, and Fervaal remains alive, in spite of seeking death in the conflict. He then asks Arfagard to kill him as a sacrifice to fulfill his duty. However, Guilhen appears, which reawaken's Fervaal's love and causes him to change his mind. Arfagard tries to kill Fervaal, but Fervaal instead cuts down Arfagard. Fervaal takes Guilhen away from the battlefield and they begin to ascend a mountain. Exhausted, Guilhen dies in Fervaal's arms. Fervaal laments the deaths of both Guilhen and Arfagard. He then hears the wordless chorus singing the "Pange, lingua" melody. Fervaal carries the body of Guilhen up the mountain, as he realizes that the reign of the "new God" is forthcoming. As he disappears from the scene, an "ideal sun" begins to shine.
Recording
There has not been a complete commercial recording of ''Fervaal'', although there have been several recordings of the Prelude:
* Brussels Royal Conservatory Orchestra;
Désiré Defauw
Désiré Defauw (5 September 1885, Ghent, Belgium – 25 July 1960, Gary, Indiana, United States) was a Belgian conductor and violinist.
During World War I he became a refugee, working in London where in 1917 he appeared at the Wigmore Hal ...
, conductor
["Discus" (pseudonym) (November 1, 1930), "Gramophone Notes". '']The Musical Times
''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country.
It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer ...
'', 71 (1053): 995–998.
*
L'Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux;
Albert Wolff, conductor, rec 1930
*
San Francisco Symphony;
Pierre Monteux, conductor, rec 27 January 1945, San Francisco
*
Paris Conservatoire Orchestra
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
;
Charles Munch, conductor, rec 4 October 1947,
Kingsway Hall
The Kingsway Hall in Holborn, London, was the base of the West London Mission (WLM) of the Methodist Church, and eventually became one of the most important recording venues for classical music and film music.
It was built in 1912 and demolished ...
, London
*
Columbia Symphony Orchestra
The Columbia Symphony Orchestra was an orchestra formed by Columbia Records strictly for the purpose of making recordings. In the 1950s, it provided a vehicle for some of Columbia's better known conductors and recording artists to record using o ...
;
Thomas Schippers
Thomas Schippers (9 March 1930 – 16 December 1977) was an American conductor. He was highly regarded for his work in opera.
Biography
Of Dutch ancestry and son of the owner of a large appliance store, Schippers was born in Portage, Michiga ...
, conductor, recorded 3 April 1961
In 2004,
BBC Radio 3 broadcast, as part of its "Composer of the Week" program, a specially made recording of act 3 of ''Fervaal'', with David Kempster, baritone;
Christine Rice, mezzo-soprano; Stuart Kale, tenor and the BBC National Chorus of Wales and
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) ( cy, Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC) is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisatio ...
conducted by Jean-Yves Ossonce; this was not commercially released.
A full production by French radio was recorded on 22 March 1962 and broadcast on 19 October the same year and was issued on the Malibran label (MR771) in 2015, its first commercial release.
*
Jean Mollien: Fervaal; Micheline Grancher: Guilhen; Pierre Germain: Arfagard; Janine Capderou: the goddess Kaïto; Jean Michel: Edwig; Joseph Peyron: Chennos; Christos Grigoriou: Geywihr; Gustave Wion: Berddret; Lucien Lovano: Helwrig; Chorus and Lyric Orchestra of the ORTF;
Pierre-Michel Le Conte, conductor.
A recording of a broadcast of a full production exists on archive.org in three parts at part of the Pogonyi Collection. Principals are Fervaal: Rodrigo Orrego; Arfagard: Philippe Rouillon; Guilhen: Sophie Fournier; Kaito: Qin Du; Chor und Extrachor des Stadttheaters Bern; Berner Symphoniecrchester, Srboljub Dinic, conductor. Performance May, 2009, broadcast 13 December 2009:
*
Part 1
*
Part 2
*
Part 3
References
External links
*
San Francisco Symphony link to recordings conducted by Pierre Monteux
{{Authority control
Operas by Vincent d'Indy
French-language operas
1897 operas
Operas
Opera world premieres at La Monnaie