Méditation from Thaïs

Program notes

About the Work

The Méditation is the most famous page Massenet ever wrote, and one of the best-loved violin solos in all music, yet it began life as an orchestral interlude inside an opera. Thaïs (1894) tells the story of a beautiful courtesan in fourth-century Alexandria and the monk Athanaël who sets out to convert her to Christianity, only to fall hopelessly in love with her himself. The Méditation is placed between the two scenes of Act II, at the very moment of Thaïs’s spiritual transformation: as she wrestles alone with her conscience, a solo violin, accompanied by harp and strings, sings a melody of melting tenderness that represents her conversion and the dawning of grace within her. Its serene, prayer-like beauty has made it a concert and recital staple far beyond the opera house, beloved at weddings, memorials, and galas alike. At Schönbrunn it offers the orchestra’s concertmaster a moment in the spotlight.

What to Listen For

Listen for the solo violin’s long, arching melody, rising and falling like a sung prayer over rippling harp arpeggios. The tune unfolds in serene waves, building to a passionate climax, the soul reaching toward grace, before subsiding into hushed peace. Notice the dialogue between the soloist and the gentle orchestra, and how Massenet sustains an almost unbroken line of melody from first note to last.