PHILIP SAWYERS Symphonic Music for Strings & Brass the Gale of Life Symphony No.1

PHILIP SAWYERS Symphonic Music for Strings & Brass The Gale of Life Symphony No.1 Philip Groom Landscape of Angels 3 Grand Rapids Symphony David Lockington, music director 8 NI 6129 NI 6129 1 David Lockington has been Music Director of the Grand Rapids Symphony since January 1999 and occupies the Steelcase Foundation Chair. Since arriving to the United States from Great Britain in 1978, his conducting activities have included serving as music director of the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, Denver Young Artist’s Orchestra and Boulder Bach Festival. He was founder and conductor of the Academy in the Wilderness Chamber Orchestra and for three years held the post of assistant conductor with the Denver Symphony Orchestra and Opera Colorado. Mr. Lockington served as associate conductor of the Baltimore Symphony from 1992. In Philip Sawyers 1993, he became music director of the Ohio Chamber Orchestra. In 1995, he assumed the title of music director of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and was music director of the Long Island Philharmonic from 1996 to 2000. Mr. Lockington is married 1 The Gale of Life 10.32 to violinist Dylana Jenson. They have four children and live in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 2 Symphonic Music for Strings and Brass 18.24 The Grand Rapids Symphony was officially organized in 1930. The orchestra hired its first full-time members in 1973, under Music Director Theo Alcantara. Following Symphony No. 1 Alcantara’s tenure, Music Directors Semyon Bychkov and Catherine Comet nurtured the orchestra as it grew into the second largest orchestra in the State of Michigan. 3 I Moderato 8.28 David Lockington has led the Grand Rapids Symphony to new heights of artistic 4 II Adagio 13.42 excellence during his tenure. On May 21, 2005, as part of its 75th Anniversary 5 III Scherzo - Allegro 4.04 Season, the orchestra made its celebrated Carnegie Hall debut in New York City. 6 IV Allegro 8.13 The Gale of Life. Recorded 9 September, 2008 Total playing time 63.38 Recording Engineer, Jean-Yves Münch Recorded on Aaton Cantar, Decca Tree with DPA 4006TL All performances recorded in DeVos Performance Hall, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA Symphonic Music for Strings and Brass. Recorded 11-12 January, 2002 The Gale of Life, 9 September, 2008 Symphony No.1. Recorded 19-20 November, 2004 Symphonic Music for Strings and Brass, 11-12 January, 2002 Recording Engineer, Paul Eachus Symphony No.1 19-20 November, 2004 Recorded with Bruel & Kjaer 4006 (pair), Oktava MC 012 (pair), Lexicon 20/20 A/D converter Editing, Jean-Yves Münch. Mastering, Glenn Brown Cover Art: Philip Groom Landscape of Angels 3 (Front), Landscape of Angels 4 (Back) Special thanks to John Varineau, Associate Conductor, (Wege Foundation Chair) for recording session assistance c 2010 Wyastone Estate Limited © 2010 Wyastone Estate Limited Production coordinator Roger Nelson 2 NI 6129 NI 6129 7 Wagner’s ‘Ring’ if not the tiniest glimpse of Seigfried’s dragon – not so surprising The three works on this disc are related by a quirk of fate. In 2002 I was invited by when I think of the 24 years I spent as a violinist in the Royal Opera House Orchestra! David Lockington to submit a piece for possible performance opportunities. That Sometimes the smallest gesture or convergence of tones or a detail of orchestration work, the Symphonic Music for Strings and Brass, was duly performed and widely can suggest an influence. The movement ends as it began, with the strings appreciated. Its success led to a commission for a piece to celebrate the 75th ‘meditating’ on the initial chord sequence until silence is reached. anniversary of the Grand Rapids Symphony, my first symphony. This in turn led to a commission from the Albany, NY Symphony Orchestra and is the first piece on this I would also like to mention the importance and value of artistic collaboration. I had it disc. in mind to bring back the main theme of the movement fortissimo, but was rather reticent due to its somewhat ‘filmic’ effect. David Lockington was having none of my The Gale of Life (2006) English reserve and asked me quite simply if I liked the idea – ‘yes’, came my reply – The idea to write a concert overture came shortly after the first performances of the ‘well, put it in, then’! Collaboration also extends naturally to my fellow players. first symphony where, it was suggested, the short and breathless Scherzo movement Wondering what a loud high D trill on 4 horns would sound like, I mentioned this to the would make an ideal concert opener on its own. I tried to follow the request for a fast, first horn of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra during a visit and attending energetic piece, and drew some inspiration from, as always with me, those great performances of some pieces of mine there. He wanted to know where I would be masters of the past, in particular those extraordinary works of Berlioz in the same sitting in the auditorium that evening. Whilst the orchestra were onstage tuning up genre. The title is taken from a stanza of poetry, ‘On Wenlock Edge’ from ‘A before the start of the concert he looked in my direction and gave a wave. Seconds Shropshire Lad’ by that quintessentially English of poets, A. E. Housman. later the entire horn section played the trill I had been wondering about! Goodness knows what the audience made of this unorthodox bit of warming up, suffice it to say ‘There, like the wind through woods in riot, the trill is very much in the ‘filmic’ moment I mentioned before. Thank you Fort Worth Through him the gale of life blew high; horn section. The tree of man was never quiet: Then ‘twas the Roman, now ‘tis I.’ The Scherzo and Trio are traditional in form and are given real virtuoso treatment here. I owe a debt of gratitude to the GRS musicians as it was their playing of this The music opens with the full orchestra announcing the main ideas, the first two movement that was partly responsible for the commissioning of ‘The Gale of Life’. chords a direct self-quotation from the finale of the first symphony. From these, and smaller motivic units, the music continually develops, growing and transforming, The start of the finale returns to a darker world. Melodically, if not always harmonically, although the motifs never lose their original identities completely. As with ‘gales’ real 12-tone based, the more agitated first section gives way to a chorale-type theme. This or metaphoric, the energy ebbs and flows and there is a central slow section which is played at first softly by the brass and then by the strings. It returns fortissimo at the begins on strings and glockenspiel in a more reflective mood. This section gradually coda in a triumphant blaze of orchestral colour and the symphony ends on an builds in intensity until a reprise of the very opening is heard, which then leads to an affirmative D major chord. even greater exploration and development of the original material. Although not tonal © 2010 Philip Sawyers in a traditionally diatonic sense, the music is built around tonal centres, and I hope this helps give the piece a convincing sense of purpose and direction. 6 NI 6129 NI 6129 3 Symphonic Music for Strings and Brass (1972) Symphony No. 1 (2004) This was composed while still a student at the Guildhall School of Music, and had a I have always thought more symphonically than rhapsodically or programmatically performance there with myself as conductor. At that time tonal music was distinctly and the commission to write a symphony for David Lockington and the GRS was both out of fashion and art music was in thrall to such trends as electronic music, aleatory, exciting and daunting in equal measure. Elgar said that when comparing his work to and serialism. I was very much taken with the Hindemith ‘Konzertmusik’ Op. 50 (1930) Beethoven’s 5th he ‘felt like a tinker surveying the Forth Bridge’. I felt similarly in and I liked his music, breaking from traditional tonality without throwing it overboard. relation to Elgar, let alone Beethoven! I believe it was Hindemith who said that tonality was like gravity, you ignore it at your peril. Also, he too was a string player. That made him practical. As a reaction to the The first movement is rather dark in character and is based on a 12-note row modernism of the time I gave myself some restrictions. I didn’t want something devoid introduced at the outset and used episodically with contrasting sections of lyricism of colour, but I wanted to avoid all those often gratuitously used special effects like and more driven fugal sections. After much symphonic ‘argument’ the movement flutter-tonguing and harmonics. I was also interested in absolute music, something ends softly with the retrograde version of the introductory bars finishing on a widely classic and pure with no programmatic overtones. The affinity with Hindemith and spaced ‘A’ over the orchestra and with two final bell strokes. The odd moments of Bartók can be heard as can a Mahlerian influence in the horn writing and dotted homage to past masters were not always intentional, but became clear after the work rhythms. was finished. The opening ‘A’ in octaves is slightly reminiscent of the opening of Mahler’s first symphony. The four movements are based on A, D, A, D respectively The piece is in one continuous movement consisting of five sections plus transitions as tonal centres. in the so-called ‘arch’ or ‘mirror’ form much beloved by Bartók.

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