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PROGRAM NOTES KU SYMPHONIC BAND - MATTHEW O SMITH, CONDUCTOR MAY 2, 2017 - 7:30 P.M. - LIED CENTER OF KANSAS MASQUE (2000) KENNETH HESKETH (b. 1968) TEARS OF ST. LAWRENCE (2014) AARON PERRINE (b. 1979) Brooke E. Humfeld, guest conductor SUITE OF OLD AMERICAN DANCES (1949) ROBERT RUSSELL BENNETT I. Cake Walk (1894-1981) II. Schottische III. Western One-Step IV. Wallflower Waltz V. Rag INTERMISSION UNDER THE DOUBLE EAGLE (1893) JOSEF FRANZ WAGNER (1856-1908) ALLERSEELEN (“ALL SOULS’ DAY”) (1885) RICHARD STRAUSS (1864-1949) Arr. ALBERT O. DAVIS Brett Keating, guest conductor PEQUEÑA SUITE PARA BANDA (2008) LUIS SERRANO ALARCÓN (b. 1972) I. Intrata II. Vals III. Nana IV. Galop MASQUE (2000) Kenneth Hesketh (b. 1968) Premiered in November 2000 at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK, Masque is a transcription of the composer’s Scherzo for Orchestra, written in 1987 while he was an undergraduate student. A simple heraldic tune is passed around, and the revelry rarely ceases. The composer has offered the following note about his work at the premiere: The masque has had a varied history, certainly a varied spelling (`masque’, `maske’, even `maskeling’). However, the historian E.K. Chambers in his book “The Medieval Stage” defines the word in the following way: “A form of revel in which mummers or masked folk come, with torches blazing, into the festive hall uninvited and call upon the company to dance and dice.” The above description can also serve as a description to the piece. The main theme is certainly bravura and is often present, disguised, in the background. The form of the piece is a simple scherzo-trio-scherzo. Colourful scoring (upper wind solos, trumpet and horn solos alternating with full bodied tuttis) with a dash of wildness may tease both player and listener to let their hair down a little! TEARS OF ST. LAWRENCE (2014) Aaron Perrine (b. 1979) With works in a variety of genres, Aaron Perrine’s music has been performed by some of the leading ensembles and soloists across the United States and beyond. He is a two-time winner of the American Bandmasters Association Sousa/ Ostwald Award for his compositions—Only Light in 2015 and Pale Blue on Deep in 2013. His music for band has been featured at The Midwest Clinic, The Western International Band Clinic, and at numerous all-state, state conference and honor band concerts. Tears of St. Lawrence was commissioned in 2014 by the McFarland High School 9th Grade Concert Band in McFarland, Wisconsin. The composer describes the piece beautifully in his program note: Early last summer, my then five-year-old daughter became very interested in astronomy. She read every book in the library on the topic and became obsessed with the idea of seeing a falling star. After scanning the night sky for a few months with no success, she began to give up hope. Fortunately for all of us, the annual Perseids meteor shower —often referred to as the “Tears of St. Lawrence” — was quickly approaching. One clear mid-August night, I woke my daughter a bit after midnight. Without telling her what was to come, we quietly made our way outside. After anxiously waiting for what felt like forever, we saw our first falling star together! In addition to the obvious sense of excitement, however, I couldn’t help but feel a bit nostalgic, because I knew that in a few short weeks, my daughter would be going to school for the first time. As we watched the stars, we took turns telling stories as we wondered what the next year would bring. Two hours and countless meteors later, I finally convinced my daughter to return to bed. Tears of St. Lawrence was inspired by the variety of emotions experienced during that memorable night. SUITE OF OLD AMERICAN DANCES (1949) Robert Russell Bennett (1894-1891) I. Cake Walk II. Schottische III. Western One-Step IV. Wallflower Waltz V. Rag Robert Russell Bennett was born in 1894 and enjoyed a brilliant career in musical arranging. He orchestrated over 200 Broadway shows and studied composition with Carl Busch and Nadia Boulanger. Bennett attended a concert honoring the seventieth birthday of Edwin Franko Goldman on January 3, 1948, where he became aware of “all the beautiful sounds the American concert band could make that it hadn’t yet made”. This suite is an original composition in which the composer seeks to set the mood of a Saturday night barn dance. The piece recalls several of the characteristic dances remembered from his childhood. He wrote the suite and showed it to Goldman under the original name of “Electric Park”, referring to Electric Park in Kansas City, which was “a place of magic to us kids”. The five movements of the suite reflect popular dances of the day, hence the name the publisher later supplied. The dances Bennett chose to set to music were as follows: CAKEWALK The cakewalk dance originated on the southern plantations, where slaves often imitated their plantation owners. The dance or “strut” was danced to jog-like banjo/fiddle music, usually done by couples who, with a backyard sway, strutted in a medium high step or low kicking fashion. Plantation owners would encourage their workers by presenting prizes for best couples. The prize was often a cake, usually shared with the other participants. The men would often dress in long coats with high collars and the women in frilly gowns, to mimic their white owners. SCHOTTISCHE Although the title of this dance suggests that its roots lie in Scotland, the schottische is actually a German variant of several Bohemian dances that later developed into the polka. The schottische features quick shifts from foot to foot and a striking of the heel. These movements resemble the Scottish reel and may have inspired the name. Because the polka was at one time called the “Scottish Waltz,” it is also possible that this earlier dance inspired its namesake. Either way, the dance came to the United States by way of England when polka dancing became the rage among continental society in the 1840s. The music for the early schottische was usually written in 2/4 time, and many describe the dance simply as a polka. WESTERN ONE-STEP The Western One-Step included in the Suite of Old American Dances is a somewhat misleading title. As noted wind band conductor and historian Frederick Fennell points out, “The composer informed me that this is also a dance known as the ‘Texas Tommy,’ an obviously bright-eyed tune with an equally bright-eyed tempo.” Little is known about the Texas Tommy, one of the obsolete forms of the one-step. This dance, from the early 20th century, is believed to have originated in brothels and saloons, where ladies of the evening were known as “tommies.” There is a record of the Texas Tommy appearing in the New York Lafayette Theater production of Darktown Follies in 1913. WALLFLOWER WALTZ Although the beginning of the 20th century represented a new cultural era, replete with new dance steps, the time honored waltz still reigned as king of the ballroom dance scene. RAG It seems fitting that Bennett chose to end his suite with a rag. Although there is no one specific dance that can be associated with the rag style, Bennett’s choice of music is representative of the era as a whole. The ragtime era coincided with the beginning of the century, and with a new generation, which was harshly criticized by its elders for embracing novel ideas.” Program note by Edward Higgins UNDER THE DOUBLE EAGLE (1893) Josef Franz Wagner (1856-1908) Joseph Franz Wagner was known as the “Viennese March King,” and a well-known military bandmaster in the service of the Habsburgs. The “double eagle” referred to in the title was the symbol of the conjoined state of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In Vienna, Under the Double Eagle is still used as the official regimental march of the 1st Austrian Artillery, Second Regiment, although the Empire this march was created to serve perished in the First World War. The long-held notion that Under the Double Eagle has some historical significance as an icon of American patriotism is in error. ALLERSEELEN (“All Souls’ Day”) (1885) Richard Strauss (1864-1949) Arr. Albert O. Davis Allerseelen (All Souls Day) Op.10 No.8 by Richard Strauss comes from a set of eight art songs for voice and piano titled Eight Songs from Last Pages. “Last Pages” refers to the collection of poetry by Herman Van Gilm of which Strauss uses as text for his songs. In 1885, this became the first collection of songs ever published in Strauss’ long history of art song composition. Allerseelen, in particular, has caught many people’s imagination throughout history including Robert Heger, who first realized this song’s possibilities with a large ensemble by orchestrating it in 1932. Albert O. Davis based his band arrangement from Heger’s orchestral setting, however Davis added his own original material as an introduction, and as a development section in the middle of the work to expand the three-minute song into a seven-minute work. The piece concludes the way Strauss intended. Davis was a high school classmate and friend of famed wind band conductor Frederick Fennell, who was one of the early forces to champion and help solidify this arrangement into the standard canon of the wind band repertoire. As Fennell once said, “Please enjoy the piece for band that Strauss did not write.” All Souls Day Place on the table the fragrant mignonettes, Bring in the last red asters, and let us talk of love again, as once we did in May.