"Méditation" (pronounced [meditasjɔ̃]) is a musical piece from the opera Thaïs by French composer Jules Massenet. The piece is written for a solo violin, an orchestra, and a chorus that sings offstage. The opera first performed at the Opéra Garnier in Paris on March 16, 1894.

Description

The Méditation is an instrumental piece played between scenes in Act II of the opera Thaïs. A wordless chorus joins the music during the final part of the piece. In the first scene of Act II, Athanaël, a monk who lives in a religious community, meets Thaïs, a beautiful woman who enjoys luxury and worshiped the goddess Venus. He tries to convince her to leave her life of pleasure and seek salvation through God. The Méditation is played after this meeting, during a time of reflection. In the second scene of Act II, after the Méditation, Thaïs tells Athanaël that she will allow him to take her to a monastery near the desert.

Ernest Newman wrote that the violin solo is often played in a way that is overly weak, asking, "What concern of the violinist is dramatic psychology?" He also said the piece can become overly sweet or overly emotional. Rodney Milnes noted that the music uses themes previously heard in the opera, including parts from Athanaël's romantic visions and his hymn.

The piece is written in the key of D major and lasts about five to six minutes. The tempo marking, Andante religioso, suggests it should be played with a religious or solemn feeling, at a walking pace (around 60 beats per minute). The piece begins with harps playing a short introduction, followed by the solo violin introducing the main melody. After the violin plays the melody twice, the music moves into a more lively section marked animato, gradually becoming more passionate (poco a poco appassionato). The music reaches its peak at poco piu appassionato (a little more passionate), then includes a short solo section before returning to the main theme. After the theme is played twice, the soloist joins the orchestra, playing high notes called harmonics while the harps and strings play softly beneath the solo line.

Orchestration

The piece requires a solo violin, two flutes, two oboes, an English horn, a clarinet, a bass clarinet, a bassoon, a contrabassoon, two horns, a SATB chorus, two harps, and strings. The solo violin part is usually played by the orchestra's concertmaster during an opera performance, or by a soloist standing in front of the orchestra during a concert. The SATB chorus is specified by Massenet to be sung by the entire chorus from behind the curtain during an opera, and by four to eight soloists seated among the orchestra during a concert. Other versions of the piece have also been created, such as a version for violin and piano.

Performers and adaptations

The Méditation from Thaïs is known as a famous encore piece; many violinists have performed it as soloists with large orchestras around the world. The Méditation has been adapted for violin and piano, as well as other instruments. Massenet created a version for voice and keyboard in 1894 called "Ave Maria." A critic named Camille Bellaigue mentioned it was even used in wedding ceremonies. Other versions include one for cello and piano by Jules Delsart. Flautist James Galway, euphoniumist Adam Frey, and trumpeter Sergei Nakariakov each recorded their own versions with orchestral accompaniment. Jazz musician Adrian Rollini played the opening notes in a 1925 recording of "Milenburg Joys" with the Varsity Eight. However, he played it in the key of D-flat major, which is one half-step lower than the original.

Choreography

Frederick Ashton, a British dance creator, made a ballet pas de deux from the Méditation. The piece first performed on March 21, 1971, was danced by Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell of The Royal Ballet at the Adelphi Theatre in London during a special event. Created in only two rehearsals, the ballet is not connected to the opera’s story but looks like a vision scene. In this scene, Sibley appears as a spirit that seems not attached to the body and floats lightly. Anthony Dowell designed the costumes for the performance. The audience loved the piece so much that Ashton asked if they wanted to hear it again, and they did. Marie Rambert called it one of Ashton’s best works, along with Symphonic Variations and La fille mal gardée. A recording from 2004 was released on DVD, and by 2013, Royal Ballet dancers had performed the piece 45 times in London and other places.

Selected recordings

According to the CHARM database, many recordings were made while the composer was alive. These include performances by Jacques Thibaud, Georg Sadler, and Louis Phal in 1905; Alessandro Genesini in 1908; and Fritz Kreisler in 1910 (his first recording). Later recordings include:

• 1960 – John Georgiadis – London Symphony Orchestra – London Records
• 1985 – Ivry Gitlis – Shigeo Neriki – EMI Classics
• 1988 – Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg – Gerard Schwarz, New York Chamber Symphony – EMI Classics
• 1993 – Anne Akiko Meyers – Philharmonia Orchestra – RCA Red Seal
• 1993 – Anne-Sophie Mutter – Vienna Philharmonic – Deutsche Grammophon
• 1996 – James Galway – National Philharmonic Orchestra – RCA
• 1999 – Linda Brava – John Lenehan – EMI Classics
• 2001 – Maxim Vengerov, Vag Papian – EMI
• 2002 – Sarah Chang – Berliner Philharmonic – EMI
• 2003 – Yo-Yo Ma, Kathryn Stott – EMI
• 2004 – Joshua Bell – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Decca
• 2009 – Nicola Benedetti – London Symphony Orchestra – Decca