Jules Massenet (1842 – 1912) was a popular composer of French lyric opera. Like Gounod and Bizet, his music is known for its charm and beautiful melodies.
This piece, Meditation, is taken from his opera, Thaïs. Thaïs is the central character in the opera, a seductive courtesan that repulses a monk, Athanaël, with her worldly attitudes. She learns to resent her shallow existence, and after being confronted by Athanaël and spending a night in meditation, agrees to retire from the secular world and become a nun. Athanaël, ironically, has been smitten by Thaïs’ allure and decides that he is in love with her. He arrives at the convent where Thaïs now resides and finds her on her deathbed. Athanaël proclaims his love and renounces his vows of faith, while Thaïs steadfastly holds to her new found spirituality and dies, leaving Athanaël with neither faith nor love.
In the Opera, Meditation is played after the fall of the curtain in the second Act as Thaïs contemplates her dilemma, i.e., whether to repent of her worldly ways or not. The original version is for solo violin with harp accompaniment.
Scott Hartman began his chamber music career as a member of the Empire Brass. While with the Empire Brass (1984 – 1993), he played concerts throughout the United States, Japan and Europe. He recorded fourteen compact discs and appeared on numerous television and radio broadcasts. Scott has built a career also as a trombone soloist, performing frequently in the U.S. and abroad. Solo engagements with orchestra include concerts with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra under Eric Kunzel.
Scott has recorded with Joseph Alessi, Blair Bollinger, and Mark Lawrence on a CD entitled Four of a Kind and with Frank Tamburro on The Festive Cornet. He teaches at Yale University and publishes brass music through Firebird Editions. He plays a Shires trombone and designs and sells his own mouthpieces through Hartman Mouthpieces.
