Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Orchestre de Chambre Bernard Calmel conducted by Bernard Calmel.
I - Soleil s'efforcant à percer les nuées de l'aurore. Allegretto: 0:00
II - Soleil d'hiver sur un paysage triste. Adagio: 5:44
III - Soleil violent de plein été. Presto: 12:31
Rivier's Symphony No.8 was composed in 1978, being scored for string orchestra. Each movement has a pictorial subtitle that appears to depict landscapes in relation to the sun. This is rare coming from a composer who almost exclusively wrote abstract music, although we don't know if the symphony is descriptive in nature. The general style of the music is a bleak, almost expressionistic romanticism. Unfortunately little more is known about the piece.
The first movement ("Sun striving to pierce the clouds of dawn") is written in form of an arch. It begins with a sinuous and melancholic main theme on violas, after which violins and cellos join. The material then unfolds in an expressive way. In the central section, the music grows more dissonant and menacing before returning to the initial melancholy. The allegretto then ends with a sad fade-out coda.
The second movement ("Winter sun on a sad landscape") is also in form of an arch. It opens with a severe and austere main theme on cellos and basses, to which an ostinato is added on violas and violins. It is exposed in the same sad and melancholic tone of the first movement. As it is taken by full ensemble, the music grows in an agitated peak. The material is then recapitulated, ending the adagio with a long fade-out coda.
The third movement ("Violent midsummer sun") is written in a modified sonata form. It begins with a rhythmic and agitated main theme, which is contrasted by a more melodic second theme, both on full ensemble. We can hear some similarities with Rivier's Symphony No.4, composed in 1941 and also scored for strings. The ensuing restless development section is focused on the main theme. The recapitulation of the material is inverted, with the second theme before the main one. A bleak coda ends the entire work.
Picture: "Self-portrait" (1888) by French painter Charles Laval.
Musical analyis written by myself. Source: tinyurl.com/22zncpjs
Unfortunately, the score is not available.
Orchestre de Chambre Bernard Calmel conducted by Bernard Calmel.
I - Soleil s'efforcant à percer les nuées de l'aurore. Allegretto: 0:00
II - Soleil d'hiver sur un paysage triste. Adagio: 5:44
III - Soleil violent de plein été. Presto: 12:31
Rivier's Symphony No.8 was composed in 1978, being scored for string orchestra. Each movement has a pictorial subtitle that appears to depict landscapes in relation to the sun. This is rare coming from a composer who almost exclusively wrote abstract music, although we don't know if the symphony is descriptive in nature. The general style of the music is a bleak, almost expressionistic romanticism. Unfortunately little more is known about the piece.
The first movement ("Sun striving to pierce the clouds of dawn") is written in form of an arch. It begins with a sinuous and melancholic main theme on violas, after which violins and cellos join. The material then unfolds in an expressive way. In the central section, the music grows more dissonant and menacing before returning to the initial melancholy. The allegretto then ends with a sad fade-out coda.
The second movement ("Winter sun on a sad landscape") is also in form of an arch. It opens with a severe and austere main theme on cellos and basses, to which an ostinato is added on violas and violins. It is exposed in the same sad and melancholic tone of the first movement. As it is taken by full ensemble, the music grows in an agitated peak. The material is then recapitulated, ending the adagio with a long fade-out coda.
The third movement ("Violent midsummer sun") is written in a modified sonata form. It begins with a rhythmic and agitated main theme, which is contrasted by a more melodic second theme, both on full ensemble. We can hear some similarities with Rivier's Symphony No.4, composed in 1941 and also scored for strings. The ensuing restless development section is focused on the main theme. The recapitulation of the material is inverted, with the second theme before the main one. A bleak coda ends the entire work.
Picture: "Self-portrait" (1888) by French painter Charles Laval.
Musical analyis written by myself. Source: tinyurl.com/22zncpjs
Unfortunately, the score is not available.
