Amériques is an orchestral composition by Edgard Varèse, scored for a very large, romantic orchestra with additional percussion (for eleven performers) including sirens. Written between 1918 and 1921 and revised in 1929, it was the first work Varèse composed after he moved to the United States. 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).Composer Biography - Varese, Edgard
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 PouletGaston Poulet at the Maison Gaveau. It was first recorded in 1966 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, Riccardo Chailly and Mariss Jansons, among others.
Music The work is in one movement which lasts around 23 minutes, with full orchestral involvement almost throughout. Although it opens quietly, with "Debussy-like musing",Gramophone Magazine, September 2001 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 Varèse throughout his career.
Commentary on Amériques has focused on its elemental power,Varèse and the Music of Fire | Rudhyar Archival Project | Musical Works and Writings and its vivid representation of New York City, not failing to incorporate its howling police car sirens. Varèse used the sirens for structural importance, as representations 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."Quoted in Cambridge Companion to the Orchestra (2003) ed. Lawson, p. 63
Instrumentation
Original 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 Clarinet in E 4 Clarinets in B Bass clarinet Contrabass clarinet 4 Bassoons 2 Contrabassoons
Brass 8 Horns in F 6 Trumpets 4 Tenor trombones Bass trombone Tuba 2 Contrabass tubas
Percussion Timpani (2 players)
13 Percussion Players: Xylophone, Triangle, Ratchet, Sleigh bells Glockenspiel, Lion's roar, Ratchet, Whip Tambourine, Gong Celesta, 2 Bass drums, Slapsticks, Gong, Triangle, Lion's roar 2 Bass drums, Slapsticks Castanets, Sleigh bells Sleigh bells, Siren, Boat whistle, Wind machine Cymbals, Gong Snare drum Crow call, Sleigh bells, Lion's roar, Wind machine, Triangle, Slapsticks Slapsticks, Lion's roar, Sleigh bells, Whip Whip, Triangle, Slapsticks, Wind machine Sleigh bells, Slapsticks, Gong, Triangle
"Interior Fanfare" 4 Trumpets (2 in E, 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)
Revised version The revised version of 1927 reduced the instrumentation to the following:Edgard Varèse: Ameriques (Score), Colfranc, New York 1973, ed. Chou Wen-Chung
Woodwinds 2 Piccolos 2 Flutes Alto flute (doubling Flute 3 and Piccolo 3) 3 Oboes English horn Heckelphone Clarinet in E 3 Clarinets in B 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: Xylophone, Chimes, Triangle, Low rattle affixed to a solid base, Sleigh bells Glockenspiel, Lion's roar, Low rattle, Whip Tambourine, Gong, Whip Celesta, Bass drum 2 (head extremely tightened), Triangle, Gong Bass drum 1, Bass drum 2 with wirebrush, Crash cymbal attached to bass drum 1, Gong Castanets, Sleigh bells, Gong Siren, Sleigh bells Cymbals (both suspended and crash cymbals) Snare Drum
Strings 2 Harps
Violins I, II Violas Violoncellos Double basses (with low C extensions)
References Notes
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