The Perilous Chapel

Description

Flute, Drums, Cello, Harp — “The Perilous Chapel” was composed by Lou Harrison in 1948 as a ballet for Jean Erdman. Exploring the struggles of the subconscious, the work pits the forces of anarchy against the power—and ultimate triumph—of the divine. Although the ballet comprises six movements, the concert version sounds as three large sections, since Movements I and II and Movements III to V are to be played without break. The sixth movement, in itself a third the length of the composition, stands alone, exemplifying, in Harrison's words, "a dance on the floor of Heaven." The entire work may be viewed as an emotional arch, beginning and ending in tranquil serenity. The forces of evil, portrayed in the barbaric dance of Movement III, reach the height of their power in the middle of Movement V, a musical representation of chaos. The dramatic close of this section is then abruptly countermanded by the heavenly transfiguration of the final Alleluia. According to Harrison, the instrumentation of “The Perilous Chapel” was inspired by Persian miniatures; the title draws from the works of William Blake. A tetrachordal motive pervades the composition, found in the accompanimental figures of Movements 1 and V, in the repeated ground bass motive of Movement VI, as part of the melodic figuration of Movement I, and, with octave displacement, in the flute line in Movement III.