Peculiar Plants

VICTORIA BOND PECULIAR PLANTS WWW.ALBANYRECORDS.COM TROY1161 ALBANY RECORDS U.S. 915 BROADWAY, ALBANY, NY 12207 TEL: 518.436.8814 FAX: 518.436.0643 ALBANY RECORDS U.K. BOX 137, KENDAL, CUMBRIA LA8 0XD TEL: 01539 824008 © 2010 ALBANY RECORDS MADE IN THE USA DDD WARNING: COPYRIGHT SUBSISTS IN ALL RECORDINGS ISSUED UNDER THIS LABEL. THE COMPOSER THE MUSIC Lyrics by Victoria Bond & Kenneth Cooper Peculiar Plants Victoria Bond is the only woman composer/conductor to receive commis- Development is a part of a plant’s nature, but The famous botanist Linneus the Strangler Fig develops in a bizarre manner. Felt that plant life was in chaos; sions from major organizations and also hold music director positions with It innocently alights on its host tree, a tiny seed So he organized a system that lodges in the crotch of a branch and Which would classify and list ‘em. leading ensembles. Her extensive catalog includes works written for the Houston, sends out delicate tendrils in both directions. His splendid garden—not in Eden, These slender stalks grow stronger and wood- But somewhere in the depths of Sweden— Shanghai, and Richmond Symphony Orchestras, the Saint Paul and Indianapolis ier, like thick vines. They grow down towards Labels all things wild and planted, the tree’s roots and up into its highest branch- And though tourists are enchanted, Chamber Orchestras, American Ballet Theater, Pennsylvania Ballet and Jacob’s es. Gradually, as these vines thicken, they It’s a gift to modern botany— strangle the host tree, sucking out its vital That is, if he’s not forgot any. Pillow Dance Festival. She was recently honored with the American Academy nutrients until it becomes merely the scaffold- ing around which the Strangler Fig weaves its Once the plants were neatly seeded, of Arts and Letters’ Walter Hinrichsen Award. As a conductor, she has led dense and intricate web. Though despicable in Clearly something more was needed. its method, the Strangler Fig nonetheless While absorbed in contemplation, orchestras and opera companies throughout the U.S., China, Europe and South develops into a plant of extraordinary beauty, We had a sudden revelation: its design so sculptural and graceful that it can Music is the fourth dimension, America. The first woman to receive a doctorate in conducting from the Juilliard resemble the liquid architecture of Gaudi. I And deserves our full attention; was intrigued by this combination of beauty So we gave our plants a voice, School, Bond was also the first woman appointed Exxon/Arts Endowment and treachery. The Strangler Fig was the first Making harpsichord the choice. piece that I composed, and it began a suite of Conductor with a major orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony. She has been character studies for harpsichord written for I. Strangler Fig Kenneth Cooper called Peculiar Plants. Since Among the most bizarre of flora profiled in the Wall Street Journal and on NBC’s Today Show, featured in People then, the garden has grown and Ken and I had Is one with a distinctive aura: great fun writing short poems to introduce The Strangler Fig attacks its host— Magazine and in the New York Times. Her music is published by Theodore each plant. Here are the offshoots. A tree as innocent as most— By dropping seeds in crucial spots Presser, G. Schirmer, Subito Music, C.F. Peters and Protone Music. And spreading tendrils, which with knots And stalks and vine-like ammunition, Starves the tree of its nutrition. She liked to drink and dance and feast VI. Ghost Orchid Sacred Sisters But as the hapless victim dies, Voraciously as any beast, Here’s an orchid wild and rare I wrote Sacred Sisters to explore the traditional A marvelous sculpture multiplies, And terrorize the flower beds! That weightless, seems to float on air; telling of the stories of Esther, Ruth and Judith, Impressing on our inner mind While slashing stems and splitting heads, Creamy green or pallid white, studying A. W. Binder’s fascinating Biblical How life and death are intertwined. She caused the very buds to weep, This beauty is an eerie sight— Chant, and using the appropriate tropes as the Then threw them on the compost heap. More ephemeral than most, basis of my composition. As the story of Judith II. Venus Flytrap But that was then, and now a hush We think we may have seen a ghost! comes from the apocrypha and not from the The fly, whose brain is non-existent, Conceals her deeds with bashful blush. Torah, I invented my own melodic motives in Takes the path that’s least resistant: Instead of leaves, thin roots appear keeping with the traditional ones. The stories Lured by sweetly-scented bait, V. Deadly Nightshade Embracing ash and cypress trees; of these three women are filled with courage The Venus Flytrap seals his fate. Deep in thickets, woods and hedges It blossoms two weeks every year and resolve and share a willingness to defy Grows a vine with brilliant luster; And only nightly scents the breeze. the conventions of their day to save their III. Creeping Moss Bearing leaves with sharpened edges Hidden in the deepest wood, people. Esther is an account of the events that When life is damp and dark and tragic, And scarlet berries in a cluster, The Orchid Ghost is often missed; led to the inauguration of the Jewish festival Moss appears, as if by magic, Its fleshy roots and purple flowers We have done the best we could of Purim. The Book of Ruth is a deceptively Spreading luscious velveteen Are sought for their narcotic powers. And placed it on the endangered list. simple story of a poor widowed foreigner who Around each oak and evergreen, becomes the wife of a respected man of About the rocks and forest floor Its ancient name is Belladonna— VII. Ragweed Bethlehem and the great-grandmother of King More ancient than the dinosaur. Italian ladies get the honor: Nature made the Ragweed glorious David. Judith saves her people by cutting off Just a drop dilates the eyes, Because its features are notorious. Holofernes’ head with his own sword. These IV. Blushing Violet Seeming to increase their size. Its rampant growth has proved insidious: three biblical heroines are shown using their By the road a Violet stood, Apparently its taste is hideous. brains at least as much as their beauty: Their A recluse in the neighborhood; Sometimes misnamed ‘bittersweet’, Its leaves, when brewed, might cure your cold — highest priority is the future of their people. She blushed, as she was now aghast Our little plant is no such treat— The Puritans tried this, we are told. These qualities make them suitable role To tell us of her sordid past. Poisonous in lots of ways, Among the ragweed’s plusses and minuses: models for any era. Death is just the final phase: Pure disaster for our sinuses. Angelic though she seemed to be, Lungs and heart are compromised She led a life both fast and free: And vocal folds are paralyzed. She liked to stimulate the bees For this terrifying game And send them into ecstasies; Deadly Nightshade is to blame. Bridges effect on me. The fourth movement, The on a tiny fragment of the song—tossing it When Fontana Chamber Arts commissioned Brooklyn Bridge, has a particularly happy co- around, exploding it and re-arranging the pieces. me to write a quartet involving two clarinets incidence. I wanted this bridge to partake of It returns frequently to the original, to measure and two Chinese instruments, the Erhu and the the vibrant be-bop era in New York City. In the distance traveled and to find refreshing Pipa, the title Bridges seemed like a logical researching be-bop melodies, I came across relief in a world of quiet, peaceful repose. choice, bridging the music of the East and a standard favored by many jazz musicians, the West. Having traveled and performed “I Got Rhythm” by George Gershwin. Using only Woven extensively in China, I was not only drawn to the harmonic chord changes to this tune, play- Jack Lenor Larsen’s luscious fabric designs are its music, but had fallen in love with its fasci- ers crafted seemingly endless improvisations. the inspiration for Woven. Rather than trying to nating instruments. Beyond some superficial As the song was written in the typical AABA translate one art form into another, I have differences, the folk music of both America song form, the “B” section was referred to as applied the principle of interwoven strands of and China sounds surprisingly familiar, and the “bridge.” Here was the ideal confluence of colored thread to interwoven musical lines. even the instruments have striking similarities. the many meanings of the word “bridge”, and Texture, color and design are the governing I leaped at the opportunity to bring them all elements. Each short movement explores one Working with folk songs from my own back- together in this final movement. combination. The work opens with Spinning, ground as well as Chinese songs that I had in which the motion of the loom becomes learned, I decided to organize the piece around Jasmine Flower the rhythm, while the two intertwining lines four actual bridges, covering a wide variety of I am fascinated by contrast. In music, this can exchange musical phrases, spinning around landscapes and cultures. The first movement, be expressed by the contrast between tonal each other. The second movement, Knotted, Railroad Trestle Bridge in Galax, Virginia, uses grounding and chromatic tension to escape focuses on both lines in close proximity, the motoric rhythm of a train and the sound that grounding.

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