Notes on the Notes
By Music Director Brian Worsdale
In our second chapter we continue to explore Music of The Americas and in that journey we go from the American Southwest to as far south as Brazil, making our way back up to Mexico and finishing our journey in Paris by way of Brooklyn, New York. The composers you hear tonight come from a vibrant swath of music of the last century and in celebrating this art, we continue to think about the tremendous impact music has on us all. I am reminded in a celebratory way that at some point, all music is new. And for us that point comes from the moment that an instrument is raised , a breath is taken or an upbow is executed and those first sounds emanate from the instruments to create something new. A new perspective on the music, a new person exploring this music and the first time these ensembles will play these pieces together as one. Even if they see this music in the future, it will become new again just by playing it fresh. Please enjoy these performances.
Wind Symphony Program Notes
Ron Nelson – “Homage to Perotin” from Medieval Suite
Medieval Suite was written in homage to three great masters of the Middle Ages: Leonin (middle 12th century), Perotin (c. 1155-1200), and Machaut (c. 1300-1377). These are neither transcriptions of their works nor attempts at emulating their respective styles. Rather, the music served as a sort of launching pad for three pieces which draw on some of the stylistic characteristics of music from that period, e.g., repetition of rhythmic patterns or modes, modules of sound, proportions that produce octaves, fourths and fifths, use of Gregorian chant, syncopation, long pedal points where a sustained tone regulates melodic progression.
Homage to Perotin springs from his Viderunt, with its driving rhythmic intensity, repetition, and pedal points. The opening section features insistent dissonances in alternation with brass fanfare-like passages. A second theme played by unison brass is written in the Aeolian mode.
Homage to Perotin was first performed March 18, 1983, at the National Conference of the College Band Directors National Association by the Western Michigan University Symphonic Band, Richard J. Suddendorf, conductor.
Yukiko Nishimura – Flying Away
Yukiko Nishimura, Composer/Pianist, was born in Japan. She graduated from Tokyo University of Arts in 1990. In 1991, she began private study with Dr. Alfred Reed at the University of Miami and in 1993 she continued her studies with Dr. Richard Danielpour at Manhattan School of Music. Among her honors, are the special mention at the 15th and 26th International Competition for Original Composition for band in Corciano, Italy and the 6th Aoyama Award.
Frank Ticheli – Simple Gifts: Four Shaker Songs for Concert Band
THE CREATION OF SIMPLE GIFTS: FOUR SHAKER SONGS
My work is built from four Shaker melodies — a sensuous nature song, a lively dance tune, a tender lullaby, and most famously, Simple Gifts, the hymn that celebrates the Shaker’s love of simplicity and humility. In setting these songs, I sought subtle ways to preserve their simple, straightforward beauty. Melodic freshness and interest were achieved primarily through variations of harmony, of texture, and especially of orchestration.
The first movement is a setting of In Yonder Valley, generally regarded to be the oldest surviving Shaker song with text. This simple hymn in praise of nature is attributed to Father James Whittaker (1751-1787), a member of the small group of Shakers who emigrated to America in 1774. My setting enhances the image of spring by turning the first three notes of the tune into a birdcall motive.
The second movement, Dance, makes use of a tune from an 1830s Shaker manuscript. Dancing was an important part of Shaker worship, and tunes such as this were often sung by a small group of singers while the rest of the congregation danced. One interesting feature in my setting occurs near the end of the movement, when the brasses state the tune at one-quarter speed, in counterpoint against the woodwinds who state it at normal speed.
The third movement is based on a Shaker lullaby Here Take This Lovely Flower, found in Dorothy Berliner Commin’s extraordinary collection, Lullabies of the World and in Daniel W. Patterson’s monumental collection The Shaker Spiritual. This song is an example of the phenomenon of the gift song, music received from spirits by Shaker mediums while in trance. Although the Shakers practiced celibacy, there were many children in their communities, including the children of recent converts as well as orphans whom they took in. Like many Shaker songs, this lullaby embodies the Shakers’ ideal of childlike simplicity.
The finale is a setting of the Shakers’ most famous song, Simple Gifts, sometimes attributed to Elder Joseph Bracket (1797-1882) of the Alfred, Maine, community, and also said (in Lebanon, New York, manuscript) as having been received from a Negro spirit at Canterbury, New Hampshire, making Simple Gifts possibly a visionary gift song. It has been used in hundreds of settings, most notably by Aaron Copland in the brilliant set of variations which conclude his Appalachian Spring. Without ever quoting him, my setting begins at Copland’s doorstep, and quickly departs. Throughout its little journey, the tune is never abandoned, rarely altered, always exalted.
– Program Note by composer
Astor Piazzolla – Oblivion
Composer Astor Piazzolla spent many of his formative years in the Italian neighborhoods of New York City, where he learned to play the bandoneón (a button accordion of Italian origin, now associated most often with the Argentine tango). After moving to Buenos Aires and receiving a formal music education, the precocious Piazzolla was accepted as a student of the celebrated composer and teacher Nadia Boulanger, mentor to many unique 20th-century composers (Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland, Walter Piston, Virgil Thomson, just to name a few of the Americans). After studying with her for a time, Piazzolla had composed a number of less-than-inspired works for Boulanger, prompting her to ask him what kind of music he loved to write. After playing one of his tangos for her, she said that this was the music he should be writing—the music from his heart and not from his head; instead of continuing to write more neo-classical chamber works, he devoted himself to the tango, with a vengeance. He formed his own tango orchestra, the Octeto de Buenos Aires and later the Quinteto Nuevo Tango, and began composing music that eventually became known as neuvo tango—the New Tango.
David Maslanka – Give Us This Day
The words “Give us this day” are, of course, from the Lord’s Prayer, but the inspiration for this music is Buddhist. I have recently read a book by the Vietnamese Bhuddist monk Thich Nhat Hahn (pronounced “Tick Nat Hahn”) entitled For a Future to be Possible. His premise is that a future for the planet is only possible if individuals become deeply mindful of themselves, deeply connected to who they really are. While this is not a new idea, and something that is an ongoing struggle for everyone, in my estimation it is the issue for world peace. For me, writing music, and working with people to perform music, are two of those points of deep mindfulness.
Music makes the connection to reality, and by reality I mean a true awakeness and awareness. Give Us This Day gives us this very moment of awakeness and awareness so that we can build a future in the face of a most dangerous and difficult time.
I chose the subtitle, “Short Symphony for Wind Ensemble,” because the music is not programmatic in nature. It has a full-blown symphonic character, even though there are only two movements. The music of the slower first movement is deeply searching, while that of the highly energized second movement is at times both joyful and sternly sober. The piece ends with a modal setting of the choral melody “Vater Unser in Himmelreich” (Our Father in Heaven) – No. 110 from the 371 four-part chorales by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Young Peoples Orchestra Program Notes
Michael Markowski – Wild Skies
I grew up in the great ‘sunset state’ — Arizona — a place known for its dramatic landscapes both on the ground and in the sky.But after graduating college, I realized that an even more dramatic landscape was calling to me: New York City. Arizona was my home for 25 years, but I’ve certainly become a city-slicker since leaving, living deep in canyons of towering buildings where the blue sky only occasionally makes a cameo appearance. As you might expect, I’ve become really nostalgic for the vast and unbounded beauty of my former home.
Wild Skies is an homage to many of the early American Westerns that were filmed in and around Arizona. In fact, over 60 feature films were shot here — with a great majority finding the rusty red rock of Sedona as the perfect backdrop. Actors like John Wayne (Stage Coach, 1939), Gene Autry (The Last Round-Up, 1947), James Stewart (Broken Arrow, 1950), Burt Lancaster (Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, 1957), and even Elvis Presley (Charro!, 1969) all played roles on film sets in and around this quintessential landscape. Ironically, even parts of the 1955 version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! were filmed in the southern part of the state.
There’s a familiar cliché that happens at the end of a lot of these films. After nearly two hours of railroad hijacking, gunslinging, and showdowns, our lonesome hero finds that law and order has finally been restored to his world. His work is done, and he knows it’s time now to ride on to that next adventure just beyond the horizon. He saddles up, says his farewells, and rides off into a sky painted with gold, brilliant oranges, and vibrant pinks. Perhaps he’s headed West — as so many cowboys do — or maybe he’s got his sights set on the East Coast where even more adventure awaits.
Wild Skies premiered in Flagstaff, Arizona on April 9, 2022, and was performed by the 2022 Arizona All-State Orchestra conducted by Maestro Jeffrey Grogan.
Juan Pablo Moncayo – Huapango
A percussionist who worked mainly as a conductor, José Moncayo wrote a couple of symphonies, an opera, and a ballet, among a relatively modest output. In 1941, Carlos Chávez asked Moncayo to write a piece based on the popular music of the Veracruz area on the Gulf of Mexico for the Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, in which Moncayo had played as a percussionist since it was founded in 1932.
“Blas Galindo [a fellow composer and colleague] and I went to Alvarado, one of the places where folkloric music is preserved in its most pure form; we were collecting melodies, rhythms, and instrumentations for several days,” Moncayo recalled for one of his students. “The transcription of it was very difficult because the huapangueros never sang the same melody twice in the same way. When I came back, I showed the collected material to Candelario Huízar, who gave me a piece of advice that I will always be grateful for: ‘Introduce the material first in the same way you heard it and develop it later according to your own ideas.’ And I did it, and the result is almost satisfactory for me.”
Moncayo incorporated three traditional Veracruz huapangos – “Siqui-Siri,” “Balajú,” and “El Gavilán” – into his orchestral masterpiece. Colorfully orchestrated with an emphasis on instruments typical of the Veracruz style (trumpet, harp, and violins) and driven by the distinctive huapango rhythm, Huapango has become an enduring classic. Chávez premiered it in August 1941 at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.
David Popper – Polonaise de Concert, Opus 14
David Popper, born June 18, 1843 in Prague, Czech Republic, was a prolific composer of music for his instrument, an eminent performer, and a prominent teacher. Popper composed more than one hundred works for the cello, including four cello concertos, numerous salon pieces for cello and piano, and a number of etudes. Popper’s most invaluable contribution to the art of cello playing is his High School of Cello Playing, Op. 73, consisting of forty etudes. These etudes are an integral part of every cellist’s technical foundation. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians once described Popper thus: “His tone is large and full of sentiment; his execution highly finished; and his style classical.” He died August 7, 1913 in Baden, Austria.
In the Polonaise de Concert, Op. 14 the strings introduce the typical polonaise rhythm which is then taken over by the cello in its opening theme. The second theme is a beautiful melody full of expression and romantic sentiment. In the third section Popper opens his bag of virtuosic tricks and employs everything from double stops to fast arpeggios to an ending full of octave passages
Valerie Coleman – Umoja
In its original form, Umoja, the Swahili word for Unity and the first principle of the African Dispora holiday Kwanzaa, was compose a simple song for women’s choir. It embodied a sense of ‘tribal unity’, through the feel of a drum circle, the sharing of history through traditional “call and response” form and the repetition of a memorable sing-song melody. It was rearranged into woodwind quintet form during the genesis of Coleman’s chamber music ensemble, Imani Winds, with the intent of providing an anthem that celebrated the diverse heritages of the ensemble itself.
Almost two decades later from the original, the orchestral version brings an expansion and sophistication to the short and sweet melody, beginning with sustained ethereal passages that float and shift from a bowed vibraphone, supporting the introduction of the melody by solo violin. Here the melody is a sweetly singing in its simplest form with an earnest reminiscent of Appalachian style music. From there, the melody dances and weaves throughout the instrument families, interrupted by dissonant viewpoints led by the brass and percussion sections, which represent the clash of injustices, racism and hate that threatens to gain a foothold in the world today. Spiky textures turn into an aggressive exchange between upper woodwinds and percussion, before a return to the melody as a gentle reminder of kindness and humanity. Through the brass led ensemble tutti, the journey ends with a bold call of unity that harkens back to the original anthem. Umoja has seen the seen the creation of many versions, that are like siblings to one another, similar in many ways, but each with a unique voice that is informed by Coleman’s ever evolving creativity and perspective.
“This version honors the simple melody that ever was, but is now a full exploration into the meaning of freedom and unity. Now more than ever, Umoja has to ring as a strong and beautiful anthem for the world we live in today.”
George Gershwin – An American in Paris
After the rousing success of Rhapsody in Blue, Walter Damrosch asked Gershwin to write a piano concerto and as he continued with this success then was asked to write a symphonic work in the same style. Gershwin who was fascinated by his time in Paris (he even bought his own set of Parisian taxi horns.) He wrote his own program notes which are so detailed that it leaves little to the imagination. He was then interviewed by Musical America and this is what he had to say regarding American in Paris.
“This new piece, really a rhapsodic ballet, is written very freely and is the most modern music I’ve yet attempted. The opening part will be developed in typical French style, in the manner of Debussy and the Six [a group of composers made up of Francis Poulenc, Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger among others], though all the themes are original. My purpose is to portray the impression of an American visitor in Paris, as he strolls about the city and listens to various street noises and absorbs the French atmosphere.
As in my other orchestral compositions, I’ve not endeavored to represent any definite scenes in this music. The rhapsody is programmatic only in a general impressionistic way . . .
The opening [cheery] section is followed by a rich blues with a strong rhythmic undercurrent. Our American friend, perhaps after strolling into a café and having a couple of drinks, has succumbed to a spasm of homesickness. The harmony here is both more intense and simpler than in the preceding pages. This blues rises to a climax, followed by a coda in which the spirit of the music returns to the vivacity and bubbling exuberance of the opening part with its impression of Paris. Apparently the homesick American, having left the café and reached the open air, has disowned his spell of the blues and once again is an alert spectator of Parisian life. At the conclusion, the street noises and French atmosphere are triumphant. “
Tutti Strings Program Notes
Traditional – De Colores
“De colores” – [Made] of Colors – is a traditional folk song that is well known throughout the Spanish-speaking world. No one knows for sure when the song first began to be sung in the America Continent. The main melody is believed to have been in circulation throughout America since the 16th century, having been brought over from Spain during the colonial era.
Traditional – The Banana Boat Song
This is a work song, thought to be sung by Jamaican banana workers, working the night shift loading bananas onto ships. In the morning, they want their work to be counted up so that they can go home. There were numerous versions of lyrics, some likely improvised on the spot by the singers as a call and response. The song was probably created around the second half of the nineteenth century or the first half of twentieth century, where there was a rise of the banana trade in Jamaica.
Traditional – This Train
(African American Spiritual)
This train is bound for glory, this train. (repeat)
This train is bound for glory
If you ride it you must be holy
This train is bound for glory, this train.
Brian Balmages – The Abandoned Funhouse
Written as a piece for the true beginner, The Abandoned Funhouse takes the listener on an eerie tour that can best be described as an unsettling experience with a touch of curiosity and anxiousness. My intent was to compose a piece that was extremely playable, yet I wanted it to sound like a legitimate film score that did not sound watered down. The piano part is required (and very playable) and serves as an integral voice in the composition as well as the orchestration. An optional celesta part is included as well – this can easily be played on a keyboard and adds a great deal to the mildly disturbing mood of the piece. String parts do not include any eighth notes. Even though the piece is in 3/4 time, I have taken great care to allow for proper bow distribution so students do not get “stuck” at one end of the bow. There is only one measure that includes a half note and a quarter note (and it occurs at the end of a phrase). The majority of every part moves by stepwise motion to help students with note reading while also allowing them to develop a good hand frame. All string crossings involve an open string. Instrument ranges are as follows, and only use the notes of a D Major scale. Violin 1 – one octave D Major scale Violin 2 and Viola – 5 notes (D through A) Cello and Bass – 6 notes (D through B) The Abandoned Funhouse was written for the Lutherville Laboratory String Orchestra and instrumental music teacher Alison Tunison. My son was a student at Lutherville Lab before we were redistricted to another school. We will always treasure the time we spent there.
Traditional – American Fiddle Medley
Bring out the cowboy hats and bandanas for this fantastic arrangement of everyone’s favorite fiddle tunes! Perfect for young players or as a quick play-down finale for older players, this medley will soon become a favorite that you will hear them playing before class begins. All sections play the melodies providing interest and a chance to work on dynamics. Performance recommendations to help make the tunes sound “fiddley” are provided in the score.
Béla Bartók – Echoes of Bartók
Symphonette Program Notes
Felix Mendelssohn – String Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major
Felix Mendelssohn’s String Symphony No.5 in B flat Major dates from 1821 at which time he was 11 years old. It is the second to the last of the first set of six so-called string symphonies he wrote between 1821 and 1823, although a movement also for strings is sometimes called No.13, it is generally not considered one of the string symphonies. An assignment in counterpoint from his composition teacher Carl Zelter, it is nonetheless a finished work. Like the others of this first set, it is in three movements and opens with an energetic Allegro vivace. The middle movement is a naïve but lovely Andante. The closing movement, Presto, never rests for a moment but is like a moto perpetuum. One hears the influence of Johann Sebastian Bach throughout. Certainly this is because Bach was one Zelter’s gods of composition
It is ironic that while none of these early sinfonia as he called them were intended to be played by the massed string section of a modern symphony orchestra or even the size of today’s chamber orchestra, that is the only way these works seem to be heard. The title of Sinfonia was given because of the style rather than the number of players he intended for the work. It is almost certain that Mendelssohn intended this work for five players not more. These lovely pieces were meant for home use and for musical soirees. Long out of print, we are pleased to reintroduce a work which makes a fine selection for quintet or small string orchestra.
Virtually all of the other editions have paid no attention whatsoever to page turns and the problems performers have with bad page turns and as a result make a poor choice for performance. However, our edition has eliminated these problems by creating page turns designed for performance.
Nicolas Repetto – Chicharra
Lee Holdridge – Elegy for Harp and Strings
Louis Prima – Sing, Sing, Sing
The swing classic Sing, Sing, Sing, which in 1937 was a major hit for the Benny Goodman Orchestra, was written by its trumpet player Louis Prima. Prima, born in New Orleans, did not only later become known for his spectacular live and radio performances. He also created his own jazz style — a mix of Dixieland and swing. This arrangement for concert band brings the unforgettable sound of the big bands from the thirties back to life.
– Program Note from publisher