The Ambiguous Narrative of Anna Clyne’s Midnight Hour, by Dylanna Fisher

Who is Anna Clyne?

Anna Clyne is known for her unique compositions and musical works. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a 2015 Grammy Award nominforion or Best Contemporary Classical Composition for her double violin concerto, Prince of Clouds; the 2016 Hindemith Prize; a 2010 Charles Ives Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; awards from Meet the Composer, the American Music Center, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and the Jerome Foundation; and prizes from ASCAP and SEAMUS. It’s an impressive list of achievements, dwarfed only by her skills in musical composition.

The Midnight Hour

This Midnight Hour is an orchestral composition written by Anna Clyne. Its world premiere is relatively recent. This Midnight Hour was first performed in the Fall of 2015 at Théâtre Espace Coluche, Plaisir, with the Orchestre national d’Île de France. The location of the premiere itself and “the character and power of the lower strings of L’Orchestre national d’Île de France” is the inspiration for the opening.

Since then, it’s been played at several concerts throughout the world. It’s been played by several orchestras, including the Seattle Symphony, The Edmonton Symphony, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, which can be heard below.

Anna Clyne’s Midnight Hour at The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra

I first listened to it at the Winspear Centre during a concert of Tchaikovsky & Dvořák by The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Th,is may have been the opening to the main compositions but it’s far from filler fluff.

“This is no lightweight ‘concert opener’ but a substantial, richly imagistic score, its implicit, montage-like narrative orchestrated with a high degree of imagination.” reviews Bachtrack. Thomas May, the writer for Bachtrack, is entirely accurate with that remark. It’s a piece with such rich and vivid imagery.

iLa musica;
mujer desnuda,
corriendo loca por la noche pura!
–Juan Ramón Jiménez

*English Translation
The music;
woman naked,
Running crazy for the pure night!

Harmonie du soir

Voici venir les temps où vibrant sur sa tige
Chaque fleur s’évapore ainsi qu’un encensoir;
Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du soir;
Valse mélancolique et langoureux vertige!Chaque fleur s’évapore ainsi qu’un encensoir;
Le violon frémit comme un coeur qu’on afflige;
Valse mélancolique et langoureux vertige!
Le ciel est triste et beau comme un grand reposoir.Le violon frémit comme un coeur qu’on afflige,
Un coeur tendre, qui hait le néant vaste et noir!
Le ciel est triste et beau comme un grand reposoir;
Le soleil s’est noyé dans son sang qui se fige. Un coeur tendre, qui hait le néant vaste et noir,
Du passé lumineux recueille tout vestige!
Le soleil s’est noyé dans son sang qui se fige..
Ton souvenir en moi luit comme un ostensoir!
-Charles Baudelaire

*English Translation
Here come the times when vibrating on its stem
Each flower evaporates as well as a censer;
The sounds and scents revolve in the evening air;
Melancholic waltz and languid vertigo! Each flower evaporates as well as a censer;
The violin quivers like a heart that is afflicted;
Melancholic waltz and languid vertigo!
The sky is sad and beautiful like a big resting place. The violi quivers like a heart that we grieve,
A tender heart, which hates the vast and black nothingness!
The sky is sad and beautiful like a large repository;
The sun has drowned in its freezing blood. A tender heart which hates the vast and black nothingness,
From the luminous past collects all vestiges!
The sun has drowned in its freezing blood …
Your memory in me shines like a monstrance!

Drawing inspiration from these above poems, there’s a hint of the narrative, but still just a hint. Lasting 12 minutes, this work of music is very imaginative.

Final Thoughts on Anna Clyne’s Midnight Hour

“Whilst it is not intended to depict a specific narrative, my intention is that it will evoke a visual journey for the listener,” Explains Clyne, adding to the piece’s mystery. She has expressly provided a rich visualization and doesn’t give the audience any hint about the intention of the narrative. It’s intentional. 

The narrative I created in my mind was one of a dark forest. Visions of a dramatic chase come to the forefront as the music weaves and sprints through the dark trees. Then the melody calms down for moments of calming peace, hiding behind a tree trunk only to rise again with panic. And the chase continues. Throughout the piece, each aspect of the music ranges in tone, tempo, rhythm, and dynamics. Each change causes the audience to follow along with their heartbeats physically.

This allows the audience to create whatever narrative they imagine to accompany the music. Each narrative is simultaneously correct.

What are your thoughts on the narrative behind Anna Clyne’s work?
Let Switching Styles know in the comments below