La hija de Cólquide
La hija de Cólquide (also known by the English translation, The Daughter of Colchis) is a ballet score composed by Carlos Chávez in 1943–44 on commission from the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation for Martha Graham.
In February 1941, Martha Graham offered a commission for a ballet to Copland, suggesting a "bitter, sardonic, murderous, and despairing" dance about Medea, the character from Greek mythology.
In July, before the commissions had actually been finalized, Graham sent Copland a new, more detailed version of her Medea scenarion, this time set in nineteenth-century New England and titled Daughter of Colchis.
Copland and Chávez, who had been close friends since the 1920s, were very pleased by the idea of having their ballets premiered together—initially planned for the Berkshire Music Festival, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, but then rescheduled for Coolidge's birthday, October 30, 1943, at the Library of Congress in Washington.
In a letter from to Harold Spivacke dated 10 May 1943 Copland states that he means to stick as close as possible to Chávez's instrumentation of a double quartet,[4] but another letter to Spivacke written a little less than a month later makes it clear that Copland still did not know exactly the instrumentation Chávez had in mind, even though the expected premiere was by then less than five months away: "I shall assume that the premiere date is October 30th unless I hear to the contrary.
In a letter to Martha Graham written in 1946, Harold Spivacke reported that "It is indeed unlikely that the Coolidge Foundation will ever again commission Chavez to write music for the dance or, in fact, for anything else which the date of performance is important.
[13][14][15] Through the efforts of Edward Waters, Assistant Chief of the Music Division of the Library of Congress, photostat copies of the score were finally sent to Graham in July 1945, in Bennington, Vermont, where she was teaching a summer course.
As a result, she decided to abandon the original scenario and create a completely new one, "about the mystery of rebirth and immortality which endures throughout human history, despite death and destruction".
[20] The ballet was finally premiered in this form on 23 January 1946 at the Plymouth Theatre in New York, with sets designed by Isamu Noguchi, costumes by Edythe Gilfond, and lighting by Jean Rosenthal.
The musicians were conducted by Louis Horst, and the principal roles were danced by Martha Graham as One Who Seeks, May O'Donnell as She of the Ground, and Erick Hawkins as He Who Summons.
[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] The nine sections of the music are: Chávez's score is constructed following Graham's original scenario, combining elements of Greek mythology with modern conceptions of psychological drama and mixing imagery of classical Greece and the nineteenth century of Edgar Allan Poe.
[34][35] The Allegro, for the strings alone, opens with a stately motive which is developed in both strict and free iterations in different modes, followed by a middle section featuring furious triplets running over the already established duplets.
[36] The Lento, also for the string quartet, begins with a modified version of the main theme of the preceding movement, now in the Aeolian mode, presented initially by the viola and answered by the other three instruments.
[40] Although the viola and cello suggest at the outset of the Interludio that the strings will continue to predominate, a low bassoon solo leads to an extended homophonic passage for the wind quartet.
Musically, it is largely based on the three-note motive from the end of the Preludio, accompanied by syncopated staccato figures, sustained bass pedals, and quiet motoric rhythms.
The secondary, B theme is derived from the preludio, and the climax of the movement is reached in its second occurrence It is only with this funereal chant that the full ensemble of eight instruments sounds together for the first time.
