Program Notes

HAUNTED TOPOGRAPHY PROGRAMHAUNTED TOPOGRAPHY NOTES Haunted Topography (2013) instrument—the aluphone, a metallophone (an animal that is an island), brief “forest which combines the effects of a vibraphone interludes” take us deeper into the night and David T. Little (b. 1978) and bells. deeper into the forest itself. Haunted Topography is a meditation on a story The work is written in one through-composed Imaginative creatures provoke new sounds and told to me by Moe Armstrong in the summer movement, incorporating a substantial fast instrumentation, with a special focus on spatial of 2011. Moe is the founder of the veteran and lively section, a middle section which possibilities using a variety of soloists. For rehabilitation program Vet2Vet. It was in this begins ritualistically and subsides into a example, the opening “Sprite” hops from music capacity that he met a woman whose son had dreamy, reflective mood, and a third section stand to music stand, even bouncing offstage. been killed in Vietnam. Even decades after which gradually builds in momentum and “The A Bao A Qu” is a serpentine creature that the loss, this mother could not even begin to speed. The main characteristic of the opening slithers up a tower; gloriously molts at the top; move past the pain. In speaking with Moe, it section is that the soloist plays marimba along then slides back down. The entire movement came out that, though she had asked, no one with two other marimbas in the orchestra. —like the life-cycle of the animal—is an exact had ever shown her a map of where it had The accompaniment is rhythmic and spiky. palindrome. “Nymphs” features two frolicking happened. She felt that she needed to know Various untuned metal instruments are also clarinets, while “The Gryphon” uses timpani this—to see the place where her son had been used. The middle section introduces cencerros and brass to conjure a flying lion that hunts killed—before her healing process could begin. (tuned cowbells) and a steel drum on which horses (in this case, the violins). Moe showed her, and it helped her to begin ruminating and expressive lines are played. The lyrical core of the piece, “Sirens,” features to heal. The metal sounds return in the final section offstage violins that lure the rest of the strings, as the music quickens, leading to the climactic one by one, to an epiphany. But it is short lived, It is a simple story, of course, but it says a lot return of the aluphone, vibraphone, and as the island they approach devours them in about the nature of grief, of mortality, and of the crotales as a chorale emerges from the depths “The Zaratan,” an island-sized animal conjured peculiarities of each individual’s needs while of the orchestra. The work is dedicated to by tone clusters. The sprawling finale occurs at engaging with the healing process. Colin Currie. the witching-hour moment between midnight —James MacMillan —David T. Little and dawn (madrugada, from the Spanish). Percussion Concerto No. 2 was commissioned This movement collapses the entire work upon The sinfonietta version of Haunted Topography by the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and itself, as all of the animals fuse together in the was originally commissioned by Alarm Will Netherlands Broadcasting Organizations darkest, deepest part of the forest. Sound. It was premiered on October 21, AVROTROS/NTR, the Philharmonia Orchestra 2011, at Roulette as part of the 2011 SONiC [The work was written for the Chicago Symphony with the support of the Southbank Centre, Festival. The orchestral version of the work and their music director, Riccardo Muti.] In the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, was commissioned by Christopher James virtuosity the piece requires of soloists and Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and Lees. It was premiered on October 18, 2013, sections, it resembles a concerto for orchestra, Marin Alsop, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, by the University Philharmonia Orchestra at the and every note was written with specific players and Orchestra Sinfônica do Estado de São University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, conducted in mind. Many of the players of the [Chicago Paulo (São Paulo Symphony Orchestra). It by Lees. Symphony] Orchestra have become dear was premiered on November 7, 2014, at friends, as has Maestro Muti—whose unique Not recorded TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht, with Colin Currie abilities as a musical dramatist inspired the and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, piece from beginning to end. conducted by James Gaffigan. Percussion Concerto No. 2 —Mason Bates (2014) Not recorded Anthology of Fantastic Zoology was James MacMillan (b. 1954) Anthology of Fantastic commissioned by the Chicago Symphony [United States Premiere | Festival Orchestra and was premiered on June 18, Co-commission] Zoology (2015) 2015, at Chicago Symphony Center, conducted Mason Bates (b. 1977) by Riccardo Muti. More than twenty years have passed since [West Coast Premiere] Not recorded I wrote a percussion concerto for the great Scottish virtuoso Evelyn Glennie. This work, The slim size of Jorge Luis Borges’ Anthology of Veni, Veni Emmanuel, was written for the BBC Fantastic Zoology belies the teeming bestiary Proms in 1992. In 2013-14, another great contained within its pages. A master of magical Scottish soloist, Colin Currie, asked me for a realism and narrative puzzles, Borges was second percussion concerto. the perfect writer to create a compendium of mythological creatures. Several are of his own It is natural to consider different routes and invention. characteristics when a composer revisits a similar specification. This time the orchestra The musical realization of this, a kind of is bigger, there is an orchestral percussion psychedelic Carnival of the Animals, is section which adds to the solo material, and presented in eleven interlocking movements (a there are a number of different percussion sprawling form inspired by French and Russian instruments used here. For example, the ballet scores). In between evocations of new work opens with the sound of a new creatures familiar (sprite, nymph) and unknown CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC 37.

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