Page 27 - Muscatine Symphony Orchestra - MasterWorks II: The Grandest of Them All

“On the Trail.” The scherzo of the suite, this movement is by far the most famous, both for
its lumbering yet bouncy theme that suggests a train of burros descending into the canyon
and for its “cowboy song” first played in full by two horns.
This movement opens with the orchestra giving a gigantic “heehaw,” echoed by a solo
violin, which goes on, surprisingly but delightfully, to play an extended cadenza with a
preview of the themes to come. The oboe introduces the burros’ cantering theme. Evidently
these animals bolt rather than remaining stubbornly in place, since on several occasions the
music speeds up rapidly before slowing to a halt, with the bass clarinet playing the role of
the unmanageable beast. Eventually, with the canter replaced by a grander, dreamier
orchestral background the trombones take over the cowboy song. An unexpected interlude
follows: a cadenza for celesta. At the end of the movement the burros must be approaching
their stable, because the cantering theme becomes a very rapid gallop before a final few
heehaws.
“Sunset.” Surely there are far fewer musical sunsets in the orchestral repertoire than
sunrises. One that Grofé may have recalled is the finale of The Fountains of Rome, which
has a few similar harmonies as well as the hint of church bells. “Sunset” opens with horn
fanfares and their echoes on muted horns, with some recollection of the dawn theme. A
murmuring figure for woodwinds and celesta sets the background for the movement’s main
melody, a sweetly harmonized theme for violins and violas, with a mostly descending note
pattern.
“Cloudburst.” Storms in music may be even more numerous than dawns. Grofé’s
contribution is, like his dawn, spread across an epic canvas. He begins the movement
surprisingly with a reprise of the cowboy song from “On the Trail,” now played tenderly by
strings alone. The English horn brings back the strings’ big dawn melody from the first
movement, while the strings offer a striking new theme, a passionate one with each upward
leap followed by a gradual descent. After a clarinet takes up the English horn’s own dawn
melody, the new theme is repeated with full orchestra.
Soon the orchestra becomes hushed, with only a solo cello wavering between two notes and
a gong shimmering in the background. In the truly spectacular storm that follows, Grofé
uses his expertise in orchestral colors to create dazzling effects of rising wind and lightning
flashes followed by distant rolls of thunder, building up to a terrific onslaught. At one point
the storm seems to die away, then rushes back as the suite reaches its ultimate climax: now
the passionate theme from earlier in the movement is played in tandem with a heroic
restatement of the cowboy theme. One final outburst of the storm music is overridden by
one last triumphant assertion of the cowboy theme.