Bernstein: Suite from "Candide" (1956) - Northern Iowa Wind Symphony, Ronald Johnson conductor

Suite from "Candide" (1956) by Leonard Bernstein (USA, 1918-1990).

Performed by the Northern Iowa Wind Symphony with Dr. Ronald Johnson, Conductor, on October 5, 2016 in the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. Recorded with permission.

~~Notes from the Conductor~~

This Suite is comprised of five numbers from the musical, "Candide," which premiered on Broadway in 1956. The satiric novella, "Candide," by Voltaire was the basis for a political and musical satire with a libretto by Lillian Hellman, and music by Leonard Bernstein. "Candide" as a musical has since had many reincarnations, but the sections of this Suite utilize musical numbers that have remained virtually unchanged from the original Broadway production.

1. The Best of All Possible Worlds
Doctor Pangloss, Voltaire’s satirical portrait of the philosopher, Gottfried von Leibnitz, tutors his Westphalian students (Candide and Cunegonde among them) in the finer points of optimism, refined by a classical education. The music alternately enjoins the pupil’s responses with Pangloss’s pedantic free-associative explanations that the ills of this world are somehow all for the best. The refrain is, of course, that this is the best of all possible worlds.

2. Westphalia Chorale and Battle Scene
The devout Westphalians sing a chorale praising the integrity of their homeland, after which they are massacred by the invading Bulgarian Army. The "Battle Scene" adroitly juxtaposes major and minor modes of material familiar from the "Overture."

3. Auto-da-fé
Candide and Doctor Pangloss find themselves in Lisbon where, being free thinkers (and optimists), they are prosecuted as heretics by the Spanish Inquisition. The handling of heretics was meant to prevent earthquakes, and the joyous music depicts the happy crowd celebrating their deliverance. However, the earthquake happens anyway, and Candide and Doctor Pangloss escape.

4. Glitter and Be Gay
Cunegonde, Candide’s true love, has become the reigning madam in Paris, France. In a parody of “Jewel Songs,” (such as that in Gounod’s "Faust"), she sings of how she endeavors to maintain a brilliant, carefree exterior, while she may (or may not) be tortured inwardly by self-doubt.

5. Make Our Garden Grow
At the conclusion of the musical, and of Voltaire’s novella, Candide realizes that the only purpose of living is to cultivate the earth, and to create a garden. He enjoins the others to assist him in bringing things to life, and even Cunegonde proposes to bake a loaf of daily bread. Optimism is transformed into practical necessity, and the entire cast of characters join in a hymn full of hope.