SICPP Program Notes

SICPP Program Notes SUNDAY , JUNE 19, 2016 Brown Centering The title of the work is also that of a book by Mary Caroline Richards, an old friend whose poetry and philosophy and example have been of great value to myself and many other artists and friends. The book concerns itself with mental and physical "centering" in the sense of balancing and the gathering and focusing of one's resources as necessary to "perform well" in any life situation. In the music I have used the center frequencies of the violin and piano and of the total ensemble as structural points of balance and imbalance around which the form moves in and out of centers of repose. Within the composed continuity there are three "open-form" areas; two are cadenzas for the solo violin and one is a kind of cadenza for the conductor, working with the three instrumental trios (woodwinds, brass, strings). The work is dedicated to Mary Caroline Richards and to the memory of Bruno Maderna who was a very close friend of mine and whose death I heard of as I was in the process of completing the work. The very last five notes (for solo violin) are quotes from Bruno's first oboe concerto. – Earle Brown Czernowin Afatsim Afatsim (Hebrew) are galls. Webster’s dictionary defines galls as a swelling or excrescence of the tissues of a plant that results from the attack of parasites, often distinguished by a characteristic shape of color. For example, alpogall is a hard brittle spherical body that is about the size of a hickory nut and is produced on the twigs of an oak by a gall wasp. Searching for an alternative to a linear dramatic temporal experience, this piece suggested a way in which time might be disfigured like an infesta- tion of galls on the surface continuity of a branch. The nonet is subdivided into four composite instruments: viola and bass flute, violin and oboe, cello and clarinet, and piano, double bass and percussion. In each section of the piece, the interrelationships of this “quartet” changes. There might be four disparate polyphonic voices of this composite quartet, or the entire ensemble might magnify a single line of the flute, when in fact, this line had original- ly been conceived as only a single voice of pre-composed viola/flute material. Consequently, the perspective on the material and the ensemble zooms in and out as if the “lens” of the listener was in constant flux. Furthermore, coherent, well characterized (even eccentric), extremely gestured and physical musical behaviours are fragmented or torn off into “sentences,” “half sentences,” “words,” and “half words.” These then are recombined to create new “utterances.” This disfigurement subverts the ability for linear prediction, but does not altogether discard a resynthesized “strange” and implicit narrative continuity, on which like the branch, the disfigurement is grafted. The piece is dedicated to the Ensemble Recherché. – Chaya Czernowin & Steven Kazuo Takasugi Liang Brush-Stroke The music of Lei Liang encapsulates the musical cultures of the East and West with a desire for deep philosophical engagement that uses musical sound as a meditative tool. It has been described as disciplined and sponta- neous at once. Brush-Stroke immerses the listener in brief whispers of sound that seem to breathe as they swell and fade away. The title “reveals the influence of Chinese calligraphy” on his music. This work introduces Liang’s newly developed idea of “One-Note-Polyphony,” in which each note functions as an “intersection” through which numeral musical dimensions can be accessed. The naturalistic expression of this piece allows sound to find new directions and forms as the boundaries of Eastern and Western musical tradition are blurred beyond definition. Brush-Stroke was commissioned by and dedicated to Steven Drury and the Callithumpian Consort in 2005. – Caroline Fresh Epstein Mary Magdalen The traditional view of Mary Magdalen – a fallen woman who was a periph- eral part of Jesus’ circle – is very different from the portrayal of her in the Gnostic Gospels. The Gnostic Gospels are a collection of more than fifty poems and myths discovered in Egypt in the 1940s. They contain unconven- tional examples of the teachings of Jesus – teachings that reflect an elevation of the status of women as well as evidence of a more human, earthly view of Jesus than is found in the New Testament. I love tales about characters from familiar stories in which new, unimag- ined aspects of those characters are shown. This particular story about Globokar Monolith Mary Magdalen is a mix of the very ancient with modern resonances; Mary Sitting at a table, the flutist alternates playing piccolo, C flute, and bass flute is portrayed as Jesus’ most trusted and beloved disciple, and she is treated while singing for the entirety of the piece. Together the voice and flute lines with great suspicion and disdain by some of her fellow disciples who can’t affect each other creating a combined timbre. The flutist must carefully accept that Jesus may have elevated a woman to a higher status than the manage the breath, making a continuous sound by ingressive singing and men in his circle. circular breathing. – Rachel Beetz I felt that this story, with its blend of the old and new, was perfect for a piece involving the cimbalom, an instrument that I hear as embodying both Globokar Voix Instrumentalisée an ancient sound and a very modern sensibility. In this solo bass clarinet piece by Vinko Globakar, extended techniques such I would like to thank Nick Tolle and Jen Ashe for asking me to write as removing the mouthpiece and singing, speaking, or blowing into the this piece. – Marti Epstein instrument while manipulating the sound by changing fingering and incorpo- rating vocal effects and the clicking of keys create a paradoxical juxtaposi- Globokar Kaleidoskop im Nebel tion between it and the voice. Vinko Globokar’s most recently released composition, Kaleidoskop im Nebel, All sung and spoken parts revolve around the phrase “L’art et la science was commissioned by Borealis for their 2013 festival and is about the mist ne peuvent exister sans la possibilité d’exprimer des idées paradoxales.” which falls despite all forecasts; a delightful kaleidoscope is also a fata (Art and science cannot exist without the possibility of expressing paradoxi- morgana. cal ideas.) This sentiment is present in the piece through the give and take The sometimes bleak, sometimes lush soundscape of the piece could be between concepts of improvisation and strictly specific instructions for heard as the diving of birds of prey or the rolling fog on a dew-drop- fingering, vocalizing, and lip pressure on the instrument. covered meadow, the disturbance that sets a herd of deer scurrying or the Voix Instrumentalisée tests the boundaries of both voice and instrument, gentle rolling of a tide. As the piece progresses, it is a true kaleidoscope of calling for manipulation of the performer’s voice both independently and in sound that unfolds, transforming over elapsed seconds and remaining just combination with the bass clarinet. – Caroline Fresh long enough to peak interest before moving on to the next musical image. Performers burst out in laughter, groan in despair, and use their voices to whoop and siren in response to the sliding musical ideas. Tangible in this piece, along with others of Globokar’s, are the sonic, theatrical, and poetic discoveries inherent in the act of performance. – Caroline Fresh MONDAY , JUNE 20, 2016 Cage Apartment House 1776 The title of this work derives from the idea that at any given time in any apartment house, many things may happen at once. Its musical materials are derived from compositions by other composers, i.e. music from the time of the American Revolution and from the Drum Book by Benjamin Clarke. Alterations to these original works were made using I-Ching chance operations, resulting in 44 Harmonies, 14 Tunes, 4 Marches, and 2 Imita- tions. The performers make a program of what parts to perform. The four yearning increases. Limits are dealt with, and the music reaches a “won- vocalists represent peoples living in America 200 years before: Protestants, drous melancholy” (Doina Popescu in the CD notes). Confinement obtains. Sephardim, American Indians, and Negro Slaves. They decide which songs Smith’s compositions are informed by her appreciation of the work of they will sing, the only stipulation being that the materials be authentic. writers and painters, including: Marguerite Duras, Cormac McCarthy, Cy – Note from the Publisher Twombly, Giorgio Morandi, Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin, and Joseph Cornell, among many others. – Louis Goldstein Apartment House 1776 was composed by John Cage in 1976 for the United States Bicentennial and was performed by six orchestras across the country. Vines In Defence of Toads The work followed Cage’s Musicircus principal, having a multitude of It seems only yesterday I was babysitting a toddler-sized Billy Drury, and centers, and featured four solo vocalists, each representing a different now here he is, a soloist on the stage of Jordan Hall! In honour of our long- religious tradition in the United States: Protestant, Sephardic, Native running connection, I wanted to write something which brought together American, and African American, the four religious traditions practiced at his interests, my context and the adventures of childhood in general. My the U.S.’s founding in 1776. search for a text led me to – of all things – the correspondence of Sir With an emphasis on borrowing and quotation, the soloists are accom- Joseph Banks, prominent naturalist and protagonist in the British ‘discovery’ panied by versions of anthems and congregational music written by com- of Australia in 1770.

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