Virginia Hall of Special Operations Branch receiving the Distinguished Service Cross from General Donovan, September 1945.
By Unknown photographer who worked for the CIA. - Making an Impact: Virginia Hall. The People of the CIA. CIA Official Website, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18030389
Virginia Hall Shruthi Rajasekar Grade 1 ABRSM 2023 – 2024
Character/story of the piece – here is an excellent opportunity for the player to be creative in inventing a story to accompany this piece. It is best for the player to know about Virginia Hall and her work during WW2. She was born in Maryland, US in 1906 and died in the same state in 1982. After studying French, Italian and German at university she obtained a job at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, Poland in the early 1930s. A few months later she was transferred to Turkey where she accidentally shot herself in the foot on a bird-shooting expedition. Her leg was amputated below the knee after the wound became infected with gangrene. For the rest of her life, she used a prosthetic wooden leg which she named ‘Cuthbert’. As she was in France in early 1940, she became an ambulance driver for the French Army. After the French Army defeat in June 1940, Virginia met a British intelligence officer who put her in touch with the British SOE (Special Operations Executive). After being trained by the SOE in the UK she arrived in Vichy, France on the 23rd August 1941. Her cover was as a reporter for the New York Post which gave her the opportunity to interview people, gather information and file stories. The Nazis, at this stage thought that a woman could not be a spy. Viriginia Hall, apart from gathering information for the Allies, also helped Allied servicemen escape capture and organised and trained resistance groups. One of her most audacious exploits was the escape of 12 Allied agents who were held in a prison by French police. Her life became more difficult as time went on, and by November 1942 she fled France to avoid capture by the Germans. In doing so, she walked over a pass in the Pyrenees to Spain.
Viriginia Hall returned to France on the 21st March 1944, this time working for the American Office of Strategic Services with her aim being to arm and train resistance groups. In one of her radio reports she states that her team had destroyed four bridges, derailed freight trains, severed an important railway line and downed telephone lines. By D Day, Virginia and her team were ready – they sabotaged German supply lines, attacked German troops and caused enough chaos behind enemy lines to hinder movements to the north of France. All over France, other resistance groups were doing the same.
The ABRSM footnotes to this piece say ‘Shruthi Rajasekar is an American composer and singer of Indian origin, who writes in South Indian classical (Carnatic) and Western Classical styles’. The ABRSM Teaching notes state there are ‘bold hints of blues in the melodic line, and the spy’s connections to the Allied Forces are maybe present in the persistent rhythmic R.H. accompaniment, reminiscent of Morse code’.
The story could include some of the following elements – the quaver patterns in the R.H. in the first four phrases and the L.H. in the last phrase are either Virginia Hall tapping out her messages or discussing with other agents what they are going to do. Regarding the other parts, the L.H. in the first four phrases and the R.H. in the last phrase these could represent the plan being put into action. The chords in bars 12 and 16 depict the moment that the plan succeeds; perhaps in this case the blowing up of a bridge with bar 12 being the explosion and bar 16 is the moment where the agents realise that they have achieved their goal. As the agents walk away in the final phrase, they start to discuss their next operation before finally disappearing in the last bar. The repetitive two quaver patterns on beats three and four, for example in bar 3 could represent a repeated refrain such as ‘I will’.
Form – this is clearly a free-flowing form which is consistent with the story that the music is telling. The music has a hint of D minor as its key although the piece has a restless quality tonally throughout and only sounds resolved in the final bar.
Main part of the music – the composer has stated that the loudest bar of the music is bar 12 at a fortissimo level. Considering that the loudest part is placed at just over half-way through the music it could potentially cause difficulty for some players in maintaining the interest and dynamic levels to the end of the piece. A suggestion could be, to move the loudest part to the end of the fourth phrase in bar 16. There is a danger that the player may play bars 12 and 16 too harshly in endeavouring to play fortissimo. This should be guarded against by using weight from the shoulder through the arm and hand rather than just using the forearm.
Phrasing – as already discussed, there are five phrases in this piece. Of course, there is similarity in melodic material in the phrases which provides cohesion to the music. The first two phrases contain the same R.H. melodic patterns, however in the second phrase there is the addition of the L.H. The third and fourth phrases contain similar material (and this material is like what is contained in the first and second phrases). Both hands are playing a third higher in the fourth phrase in comparison with the third phrase. This adds a degree of tension to the music. The final phrase is a kind of coda, it concludes the story effectively. All the phrases, except the final one, are connected from one to the other by either a melodic pattern in the L.H. or R.H.
Tempo, time signature and rhythmic patterns – the suggested time signature of 112 – 126 crotchet beats per minute is appropriate for the character and style of the piece. The tempo needs to be reasonably fast to convey the story of the piece. The player must be able to play the detached notes comfortably within the tempo that is chosen. The projection of the time signature of quadruple compound time is important; too much accentuation in this piece would affect the character. There are no rhythmic patterns that could cause difficulty for the player although the rests must be carefully observed throughout, as these provide suspense and mystery to the music. The rest, for example, in bar 4 must be strictly observed. In addition to this, the player must ensure that the minims, dotted minims and semibreves are held for their full value.
The OSS of World War II forged a French identification certificate for "Marcelle Montagne," an alias of spy Virginia Hall.
By Photo by Rudi Williams - http://www.defense.gov/DODCMSShare/NewsStoryPhoto/2002-05/hrs_200205021h.jpg at http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=44107, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32478636
Touch/articulation – the ABRSM notes say ‘the articulation can be achieved by a gentle, relaxed bounce from the wrist onto rounded, supported fingers. It doesn’t need much energy from the fingers themselves or there is a risk the tone will become initially rather too forthright and intrusive’. The player is required to play using a supple wrist and supported arm when playing the detached patterns. It could so easily result in tension if not observed. The application of the staccato must be consistent throughout. However, when the L.H. commences to play, an entirely different touch is necessary; here the L.H. should be cantabile and resonant. The composer has provided a range of articulation markings throughout the piece. Apart from the staccato dots, there are accent marks as well as tenuto marks. Discussion with the player as to how to execute these will be necessary so that the difference is observed between them. The tenuto markings in the final phrase will provide a contrast with the legato L.H. of the previous three phrases.
Balance between the hands – this is an interesting aspect of the interpretation for this piece. In the middle three phrases, the L.H. should have the balance however this should not be to the extent where the R.H. becomes a secondary partner. At any given time in these phrases the L.H. must be heard throughout the bar. In bar 16, the chords should be played with equal balance from both hands before ending with balance to the R.H. in the final phrase. The final flourish should be achieved with equal balance between the hands.
Dynamics – the player needs to have the ability to grade the dynamics throughout this piece with subtlety and flair. A wide range of dynamics should be employed in this piece ranging from ppp to fortissimo. In the last phrase the player should play with a reasonable level of dynamics so that the music is not too quiet too soon. There must always be a feeling of momentum and suspense in this piece and the use of a wide range of dynamics will contribute to this. Sudden changes in the dynamics are appropriate too.
Agogic effects – the only instance where rubato could be applied is on the third chord in bar 16, a slight lingering on this chord would be appropriate.
Considerations when playing this piece –
· When using the thumb, the player must listen carefully to how loud the note is played, there is a danger that the note played with the thumb could be significantly louder than the others.
· Considering that there are several repeated patterns, whenever there is a repeat there must be a change in the dynamics so that the listener’s attention is maintained.
· The player must consider carefully how loud to play the L.H. lead-ins at the end of the phrases as well as the R.H. one at the end of the fourth phrase. These must not be played significantly louder, as this would destroy the suspenseful character and intrigue.
· In bar 12 there is a danger that the player may linger too long in the final chord.
· The player has staccato notes in both quieter and louder dynamics.
· Not all the crescendos and diminuendos should be played exactly as written, some pulling back or going forward dynamically is appropriate as this provides interest and suspense.
· The hands should be held over the keys at the end to signify the final rest before placing the hands in the lap.
· Even though this sounds obvious, the player must have their L.H ready to start in bar 4.
· Gestures are an important feature of this piece in portraying the character.
· The R.H. carries the interest in bars 7 and 8.
· At times the player is moving from a thin texture to a thicker texture.
· Whilst the L.H. is holding the longer notes there should be an elbow movement accompanying the playing of these notes.
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