Matériel : Conducteur
SKU: SU.50600030
Commissioned by the Colonial Symphony, Paul Hostetter, Music Director and Conductor First performed in 2006 Published by: Dunsinane Music Composer's Note: My inspiration for Smiling Dennis is the great bass clarinet virtuoso Dennis Smylie. I have had the pleasure of getting to know Dennis over the past several years owing to our mutual affiliation at Montclair State University. We would meet unintentionally in the halls and begin conversations regarding all manners of topics: from the colorful history of the bass clarinet—and bass clarinetists—to the furious appetite of the New Jersey groundhog. Dennis inevitably finds the humor in things—he revels in discovering the comic story that can often be found, just underneath the topic. When Maestro Hostetter asked me to compose a new piece during his initial season with the Colonial Symphony, and mentioned the possibility of a work related to humor, I immediately thought of the Dennis. When I spoke with Maestro Hostetter the following day, I had already conceived of the title (very unusual for me—I’m much more a musical/visual thinker than a verbal one) as well as the overall musical narrative. Smiling Dennis is a concerto in one movement for one bass clarinetist and twenty string players. Somewhat unusually, each performer has a unique musical assignment—that is, the string players are not aligned into their typical alliances of first violins, second violins and so forth. This permits a more complex string texture, allowing each performer to assert his or her individuality. Indeed, the notion of individuality is essential to this concerto, as it often is in concerti. For example, Smiling Dennis begins with the bass clarinet not quite obeying the conventions of tuning to the orchestra. Rather than simply take the A offered by the Concertmaster, the soloist playfully performs a gently descending series of notes. Offered another A, the soloist repeats this gesture (though with a different descending series). This exchange occurs four times. In the final one, members of the string orchestra join the soloist in the first significant statement of one of the central melodies. The bass clarinet completes this introductory section alone, playing all the way down to a low A, a third below the lowest note in the celli. Following the introduction, Smiling Dennis consists of six sections, somewhat along the lines of a dance suite: an energetic Allegro, a lyric Arioso, a forward Piú mosso, a light-hearted and syncopated dance, a even more energetic passage for strings alone, and finally a modified return to the introduction. In the return, the string ensemble is no longer at all oppositional to the soloist. Rather, in response to the soloist’s gentle cajoling and supportive commentary, the strings accompany—with pleasure, you might say—the quiet, individual playfulness of the bass clarinet. The work ends with a return to the soloist’s substratum A, accompanied quietly by the strings.
SKU: SS.50600030
Commissioned by the Colonial Symphony, Paul Hostetter, Music Director and Conductor. First performed in 2006. Composer's Note: My inspiration for Smiling Dennis is the great bass clarinet virtuoso Dennis Smylie. I have had the pleasure of getting to know Dennis over the past several years owing to our mutual affiliation at Montclair State University. We would meet unintentionally in the halls and begin conversations regarding all manners of topics: from the colorful history of the bass clarinet - and bass clarinetists - to the furious appetite of the New Jersey groundhog. Dennis inevitably finds the humor in things - he revels in discovering the comic story that can often be found, just underneath the topic. When Maestro Hostetter asked me to compose a new piece during his initial season with the Colonial Symphony, and mentioned the possibility of a work related to humor, I immediately thought of the Dennis. When I spoke with Maestro Hostetter the following day, I had already conceived of the title (very unusual for me - I'm much more a musical/visual thinker than a verbal one) as well as the overall musical narrative. Smiling Dennis is a concerto in one movement for one bass clarinetist and twenty string players. Somewhat unusually, each performer has a unique musical assignment - that is, the string players are not aligned into their typical alliances of first violins, second violins and so forth. This permits a more complex string texture, allowing each performer to assert his or her individuality. Indeed, the notion of individuality is essential to this concerto, as it often is in concerti. For example, Smiling Dennis begins with the bass clarinet not quite obeying the conventions of tuning to the orchestra. Rather than simply take the A offered by the Concertmaster, the soloist playfully performs a gently descending series of notes. Offered another A, the soloist repeats this gesture (though with a different descending series). This exchange occurs four times. In the final one, members of the string orchestra join the soloist in the first significant statement of one of the central melodies. The bass clarinet completes this introductory section alone, playing all the way down to a low A, a third below the lowest note in the celli. Following the introduction, Smiling Dennis consists of six sections, somewhat along the lines of a dance suite: an energetic Allegro, a lyric Arioso, a forward Piu mosso, a light-hearted and syncopated dance, a even more energetic passage for strings alone, and finally a modified return to the introduction. In the return, the string ensemble is no longer at all oppositional to the soloist. Rather, in response to the soloist's gentle cajoling and supportive commentary, the strings accompany - with pleasure, you might say - the quiet, individual playfulness of the bass clarinet. The work ends with a return to the soloist's substratum A, accompanied quietly by the strings.
SKU: HL.49045166
ISBN 9790220135002. UPC: 888680724214. 8.25x11.75x0.276 inches.
Violin Concerto is scored for a Classical-sized orchestra, with the addition of a harp and celeste, and lasts around 17 minutes. Although the work sets out to explore the lyrical characteristics of the solo instrument, it is only gradually that the violin finds its full, lyric voice, and thence, as the work progresses, a more dominant role. This, in one sense, is the 'journey' of the piece. The work's straightforward formal scheme consists of three movements (roughly fast-slow-fast) framed by a reflective introduction and epilogue. However, these formal divisions exist within a single, unbroken arc. Such an overall symmetrical shape places the slow Arioso (itself divided into three subsections) at the midpoint, sandwiched between the two Allegro movements. The dramaturgy of the piece centers on a twofold search. First there is the ongoing pursuit to recapture the simple melodic material stated by the solo violin - accompanied by thar harp's bass register - during the opening bars. Whilst aspects of this melody are invoked frequently throughout (especially in the violin cadenza which closes the Arioso movement), it is only with the final and most important climax of the work that the melody appears again in its complete form, now accompanied by violent, orchestral stabs. The second search is for a tonal resting place, the arrival of which is delayed until the close of the epilogue. The original version of the Violin Concerto, commissioned by the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, was premiered in Amsterdam in February 2012 with Gordan Nikolic as soloist. The present, revised version was created for Barnabas Kelemen and the Halle.
SKU: AP.1-ADV7036
UPC: 805095070361. English.
The character of the opening movement, Allegro, is determined by the sonata form with two themes. In the course of its development, the first theme takes on a jazz-like diction. In contrast, the second theme has the character of a ländler (folk dance in 3/4 time). As the movement continues, interactions and contrasts between the two themes create charming moments. The second movement, Sostenuto, has the form of an arch. Above a pedal-point, the melodic material of the movement is presented. In Arioso, chorale-like episodes alternate with recitative-like insertions. At the medial section of the movement, the Gregorian hymn Veni creator spiritus is heard---played by the saxophone. A substantially reduced reprise closes the movement in extreme pianissimo. The final movement, Presto, with its variable metrical structure, has a rondo-like character. Three different musical ideas emerge and are tossed together into a colourful mixture. A terse Stretta concludes this playfully virtuoso movement. Arranged for E-flat alto saxophone and piano. Titles: Allegro * Sostenuto * Presto.
SKU: SS.50600012
Performing Materials: score and parts Composer's Note: A fancy is an English version of the Italian capriccio, a form introduced in the 16th century for works in various media wherein the force of imagination has better success than observation of the rules of art (Furetiere, Dictionnaire universel). The term is also used to describe a suite of dances. Fred's Fancies is a series of six dances that are quite capricious in nature, a fair portrait of the person to whom the work is dedicated. The suite's musical material is introduced in the first movement, an athletic Allegro. The following four movements emphasize some aspect of the first. The second, Waltz, is a quiet variation of the first movement's opening gesture. The third, Manic, combines the opening gesture with a secondary theme emphasizing descending perfect fourths separated by half-steps. The fourth movement, Arioso, re-visits themes from the Waltz, now set in a freer rhythm. The fifth, Favotte, combines elements of the gavotte with fugal episodes. The cycle culminates in a speedy final movement, Vivace, that brings back the all principal themes of cycle.
SKU: SU.50600012
Duration: 15' Performing Materials: score and parts Published by: Dunsinane Music Publishing Composer's Note: A fancy is an English version of the Italian capriccio, a form introduced in the 16th century for works in various media wherein the force of imagination has better success than observation of the rules of art (Furetière, Dictionnaire universel). The term is also used to describe a suite of dances. Fred’s Fancies is a series of six dances that are quite capricious in nature, a fair portrait of the person to whom the work is dedicated. The suite’s musical material is introduced in the first movement, an athletic Allegro. The following four movements emphasize some aspect of the first. The second, Waltz, is a quiet variation of the first movement’s opening gesture. The third, Manic, combines the opening gesture with a secondary theme emphasizing descending perfect fourths separated by half-steps. The fourth movement, Arioso, re-visits themes from the Waltz, now set in a freer rhythm. The fifth, Favotte, combines elements of the gavotte with fugal episodes. The cycle culminates in a speedy final movement, Vivace, that brings back the all principal themes of cycle.
