The Rio Grande (Lambert)

The Rio Grande is a secular cantata by English composer Constant Lambert. Written in 1927, it achieved instant and long-lasting popularity on its appearance on the concert stage in 1929. It is an example of symphonic jazz, not unlike the style of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", although it is very much Lambert's individual conception. It combines jazzy syncopation with lithe Latin American dance rhythms that create an air of haunting nostalgia. "The Rio Grande" is set to the impressionistic poem of the same name by Sacheverell Sitwell, and takes roughly 15 to 20 minutes to perform. This piece was dedicated to Angus Morrison, who played at its first performance.
Style.
"The Rio Grande" is scored for alto soloist, mixed chorus, piano, brass, strings and a percussion section of 15 instruments, requiring five players. It combines jazzy syncopations, ragtime and Brazilian influences, harmonies and rhythms inspired by Duke Ellington, with a traditional English choral sound. The outer sections are brisk, surrounding a central nocturne. The piano part often plays triplets against duplets, redolent of a rumba. The coda is based on material from the central section.
Lambert noted in a 1928 article: 
Music critic Christopher Palmer said of this piece that 
The poem refers to a river in Brazil, although there is no Brazilian river called Rio Grande.
Creation.
The idea for this piece began when in 1923 Lambert attended Will Vodery’s Plantation Orchestra. He later wrote: ‘After the humdrum playing of the English orchestra in the first half, it was electrifying to hear Will Vodery’s band in the Delius-like fanfare which preluded the second. It definitely opened up a new world of sound.’ That "new world of sound" is the syncopated jazz sound that he would incorporate in "The Rio Grande". While George Gershwin was clearly a major influence, Vodery's mention shows us that besides Gershwin, the entire jazz and Broadway zeitgeist of the day served as the influence for this piece. Frederick Delius also served as an inspiration. The chorus’s fortissimo opening statement is a direct transcription of the fanfare that appears frequently in Delius' work (the famous "Walk to the Paradise Garden" from "A Village Romeo and Juliet", to quote just one instance, has it in almost every bar). Delius knew much about spirituals from living among African-Americans in Florida.
Premieres.
Its first performance was a BBC Radio broadcast on 27 February 1928. The piano soloist was Angus Morrison, to whom the work was dedicated.
The first concert performance was in Manchester on 12 December 1929 with Sir Hamilton Harty as piano soloist, and the composer conducting the Hallé Orchestra. It had its London premiere the following day, 13 December, at the Queen's Hall, London, with the same forces. It was repeated at the subsequent Hallé concert the following month.
The first performance in Canada, and in North America, was on 11 February 1930, with Ernest Seitz and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Its first performance in New York City was in May 2018, when the Hunter College Choir, conducted by the Paul F. Mueller, performed this piece alongside Rossini's "Stabat Mater".
Reception.
This is generally considered Constant Lambert's most famous work. Lambert intended "Summer's Last Will and Testament" to be his masterpiece but, to his chagrin, it never surpassed "The Rio Grande" in popularity.
Recordings.
The composer made two recordings of "The Rio Grande" as conductor, both of which have held their place in the catalogue:
Later recordings include:
Sitwell's poem.
The poem "The Rio Grande" by Sacheverell Sitwell was from "The Thirteenth Caesar, and other Poems":