BBC Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Omer Meir Wellber. John Bradbury as the clarinetist.
I - Thema. Sostenuto e dolce (0:00) - Variation I. Lo stesso movimento (1:52) - Variation II. Un poco più mosso - Calmo (3:42) - Variation III. [Calmo] (5:18) - Variation IV. Ancora più calmo (7:34) - Variation V. Allegretto, poco a poco accelerando - Allegro - Più allegro - Accelerando - Con fuoco (9:58) - Variation VI: Epilogue. Molto calmo e misterioso - Allegretto molto grazioso - Calando - Lento - Tempo I. Allegretto - Calmo (11:43)
Ben-Haim's "Pastorale Variée" was arranged in 1945, extracting and reorchestrating the finale from a previous quintet for clarinet and strings, which was written in 1941. The piece, structured as a set of theme and six variations, is emblematic of Ben-Haim's style after he emigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine, which would become the state of Israel in 1948.
The work opens with a lyrical and luminous main theme presented by the clarinet, invoking a Mediterranean style born from the sunlight and heat of the new land, greatly opposed to the previous dense and chromatic German postromantic style Ben-Haim wrote. The first variation maintains the relaxed and fluid tempo, while adding certain motion and exploring more nuances in expression. Against the undulating melody on the strings, the clarinet plays a counter-melody. The added ornamentations are reminiscent of oriental improvisation.
The second variation is more animated, with the clarinet playing fast scales and arpeggios over the regular motion of the strings. They later repeat parts of the clarinet’s fast improvisation. This part too, ends with an apparent improvisation, now more dramatic, on the clarinet. The third variation is more flexible and varied in rhythm. Over sustained harp and string chords, rich in harmonics and reminiscent of the beginning of the symphonic poem "Pan", the soloist plays free ornamental lines that are answered by the strings. The fourth variation is calmer and delicate, opened by expressive cellos answered by clarinets and violins. After the return of cellos, the clarinet answers in a free virtuosic passage that leads to the variation’s relaxed conclusion which leaves the impression of the Dorian mode.
The fifth variation is rhythmic and animated. It starts with strings in unison in a style that evokes the local Arab and Jewish music that Ben-Haim encountered in Palestine. Bracha Zefira’s influence is evident in the flowing and dancelike atmosphere. The sixth and final variation brings us back to the opening theme. This epilogue begins with a calm statement of the main theme on clarinet. A fast segment follows in form of a dance influenced by both oriental and Hassidic music, which Ben-Haim also discovered in Palestine. This mixture of elements is a trademark of Ben-Haim's mature style. After the fast dance, the music returns to the slow tempo of the beginning, and the composition ends in a light, sunlit, calm and detached A major.
Picture: "A Pastoral" (1905) by the British painter John Reinhard Weguelin.
Source: tinyurl.com/24hhbze7
Unfortunately, the score is not freely available.