Symphony No. 1, Op. 9
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)

THE STORY

In August of 1935, Samuel Barber began what he called his “Symphony in One Movement” in Rome. Barber’s time in Italy would prove fruitful: there he finished both the Symphony and his String Quartet—the second movement of which would be adapted into his most enduring work, the Adagio for Strings.

Unlike some of his peers, Barber did not often incorporate idioms from popular, jazz, and folk music. Rather, he relied on the conventions of late-19th century Romanticism, employing a deep lyricism and commitment to classic musical forms. As Barber himself remarked in 1935, “Skyscrapers, subways, and train lights play no part in the music I write.”

Conspicuously modeled after the Seventh Symphony (1924) of the late-Romantic Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, Barber’s Symphony links the typical four movements of a symphony into a single cohesive movement that proceeds without pause. Barber introduces the three main themes in the initial section of the work, all of which return to be extensively developed in turn. While each theme is distinct, an overall darkness of tone pervades the work, which rarely ventures into the major mode.

LISTEN FOR

• The three themes—the first characterized by dramatic leaps, the second featuring an expressive melody for English horn, and the third a tragic descending melody
• The energetic Scherzo in the second section, which uses a quickened version of the first theme
• The return of the lyrical English horn melody, which is elaborated to a climax and dissolves into the fourth and final section
• The recurring motive in the low strings following the third section—Barber uses the first six notes of the initial theme to create this pensive ground bass that underlies the final moments of the Symphony

INSTRUMENTATION

Piccolo, three flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, strings