Mehul Symphony No. 2 in D Major

Symphony No. 2 in D Major (1808/09)

Etienne-Nicolas Mehul (1763-1817)

The French often speak somewhat disparagingly about their musical heritage, often pointing out that much greater respect has traditionally been shown the other arts, such as painting, theatre, the dance. While that is perhaps true, France has nevertheless produced many remarkable creative figures in music, often forced to compete for a place in the national cultural consciousness. At the same time there is also the puzzling historical phenomenon in which foreign musicians have won important positions (and popular success) in the notoriously xenophobic French world, even becoming symbolic of the very essence of French music---for example, Lully, Gluck, Cherubini, Rossini, Meyerbeer, Offenbach! If many wonderful composers seem to have slipped into obscurity over the years, undoubtedly this complicated cultural history may offer an explanation.

A classic case of an important figure who has fallen into near-oblivion is that of Etienne-Nicolas Mehul, who once occupied a central position in French musical life, and today is just beginning to be remembered and restored to his rightful place in the concert repertoire. That Mehul was admired by Beethoven, Weber, and even performed by Mendelssohn and Wagner, might come as a surprise to those who have never heard of him! Part of the problem is that Mehul was active during a period of extraordinary turmoil---the French Revolution and the Napoleonic age---which was followed by the first flowering of intense Romantic expression, exemplified by the towering figure of Hector Berlioz, whose work over-shadowed his immediate predecessors.

Born in the provincial town of Givet, Mehul found his way to Paris in his mid-teens, and by the age of 20 was a published composer, launched upon a career of opera composition. It was during the turbulent years of the Revolution that Mehul came into his own, appointed a founding member of the Institut National De Musique in 1793. In that same year Mehul showed his sympathy with the goals of the new French Republic with his Hymne A La Raison, followed by many other “public” works, perhaps the most lavish being the Chant National Du 14 Juillet 1800, commissioned by Napoleon. Composed for performance in the great church of the Invalides (where 30-odd years later Berlioz’ celebrated Requiem would have its first hearing), Mehul’s commemoration of the fall of the Bastille was decked out in full Napoleonic glory with three choirs and two orchestras, creating a grandiose spatial effect which anticipated Berlioz’ work. The young composer became one of the five inspectors of the Paris Conservatoire, which was established in 1795, and was the only musician appointed to the French Institute. Mehul’;s political dexterity could be seen in his smooth transition from the world of the National Convention (in the time of the “Reign of Terror”), to the age of Napoleon, who showed an interest in the composer early on, even asking him to accompany the Egyptian campaign in 1797. (Mehul declined to go.) After the success of his opera Joseph (1807) Mehul turned increasingly to orchestral composition, writing four symphonies between 1808-1810. In the early years of the 19^th century Mehul became France’s most famous native-born composer, especially acclaimed by the Germans. The final years showed a falling off of activity, the composer increasingly weakened by tuberculosis. The fall of Napoleon, restoration of the monarchy, and politically-motivated closure of the Conservatoire clouded Mehul’;s final days.

Only the first two of Mehul’s symphonies were published in his lifetime---Nos. 3 and 4 were only rediscovered in 1979! While the First Symphony is the best-known, the Second Symphony in D Major is, if anything, even more brilliant and inventive in structure and working out of musical ideals. In these symphonies we hear splendid examples of the composer’s single-handed regeneration of French symphonic style, solidly based upon the model of Haydn (whose works had long been known in France), as well as the late symphonies of Mozart and the first two symphonies of Beethoven.

The first movement opens with a slow introduction which is closely linked to the main thematic material, making much use of an ascending scale pattern, repeated a number of times in the strings, with the winds interjecting contrasting figuration. The tonality slips from the home key of D into F Major, then into D Minor, back to the main key and suddenly the ascending scale becomes the primary theme of the main body of the movement: energetic and forceful, with striking use of a repeated note figure. An unusually spacious and densely-packed second theme is heard in A Major, lilting, lyrical and graceful, soon becoming more assertive, shifting into the cool freshness of C Major, then back to A Major for a lively codetta. Mehul’s fondness for exploring a wide range of tonalities is much in evidence in a compact development entirely absorbed by the primary theme. The major components return as before in the recapitulation, rounded out by a brilliant coda.

The slow movement is set in the relative key of B Minor, as a sort of “double variation” structure somewhat akin to that found in the work of Haydn. Led in with a beguiling sustained single note in the horn, the main melody is a gracious, Scherzando affair, remaining snugly in its home key, followed by a contrasting passage which shifts into other tonalities (including C-sharp minor!) The main theme returns, with a rolling, restless figure in the lower strings, again veering into other keys in a contrasting section: starting with a militant D Major, gliding into B-flat, with a wonderful passage for winds (with Pizzicato strong accompaniment), soon bringing back the B Minor theme to conclude the movement in a coda of rich harmonic colours.

The minuet is particularly Haydnesque in tone, opening with a folk-like tune with repeated notes (no fewer than 25 in a row!), following the traditional pattern of repeated sections, with a middle section in which the repeated notes slide into B-flat Major. The Trio (in G Major) is delightfully French in its pastoral coloration, bringing to mind Rameau’s early 18^th century tonal landscapes. A spirited bridge passage carries the music back to a reprise of the main minuet section.

The finale (Allegro Vivace) opens with a drone-like figure, piling up the notes of the D Major tonic chord, bursting into a main theme quite Haydn-like in its bustling energy. There is a gliding second subject – but most of all, a buzzing rhythmic figure heard early on in the movement now heard in a number of variants, giving a zestful air to the proceedings, which move into a development of rich harmonic textures. The opening elements are recapitulated much as before, followed by a coda of surprisingly Beethovenian propulsion, with stentorian unison figures and vivid harmonic twists, pressing on to a resounding finish.

NCO Concert