Threnody

Cantata for string orchestra and chorus. Triptych represents the concatenation and re-orchestration of two extant works. Movement I was commissioned with funds from The RVW Trust for the inaugural concert of the Choir of London conducted by Jeremy Summerly in Christ Church, Spitalfields on 18th December, 2004 - the work, premièred as Threnody, was subsequently toured by the Choir to Jerusalem and the West Bank from 19th-26th December, 2004. Movements II and III, commissioned by Portsmouth Grammar School with financial support from the PRS Foundation, were premièred as And There Was a Great Calm in a contiguous version for lower strings and upper voices by the Portsmouth Grammar School Chamber Choir and the London Mozart Players in a concert at Portsmouth Anglican Cathedral on 13th November, 2005 conducted by Nicolae Moldoveanu. The title of this latter section is taken from Thomas Hardy's poem of the same name, written at the signing of the Armistice on 11th November, 1918 - a couplet from which is set, in a moment of tranquillity, in the final movement. Relatively new to living in New York, I am much more aware of the independent, vibrant cultural plurality that exists today - it's probably the single most dazzling facet of the City and is largely responsible for the infamous 'edginess' that pervades daily life there. With this in mind, I set to work on Threnody (movement I here) in 2004 - I wanted to write something that was relevant to the Israeli/Palestinian issue without losing that City 'edge'. The texts, in English, are excerpted from a variety of sources: William Penn, William Blake, the Psalms of David and Muhammad Rajab Al-Bayoumi, an Egyptian poet of the early twentieth-century. Fast and rhythmically influenced by the music of North Africa in its syncopations, this movement was the first composition that evolved entirely from my New York perspective. From the moment that the commission for And There Was a Great Calm (movements II and amp - III here) was offered, I knew the piece I was about to embark upon would end up being linked with Threnody in some way. I realized that what I had been aiming for in Threnody served as a template for this new piece, originally composed for a Remembrance Sunday concert. Musical works connected with commemoration or memorials are often suitably pensive and slow - I wanted to start with that concept, but to bring in some of the relentless urban rhythms that had been such a large influence on my life in the preceding two years. The result is that that the second movement is quiet and gentle (a moment of recollection), while the final movement is much faster and vibrant, returning to a more openly elated rendering of the start of Triptych (the texts here dealing with transmigration and the future). and nbsp - I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Bruce Ruben and Judith Clurman, as well as that of my parents, with the collation of the texts. Tarik O'Regan New York, February 2006 / Soprano, SATB Et Orchestre De Cordes

Pour Saxophone Soprano et Piano / for Solo Saxophone and Piano-André Jolivet’s Chant de Linos for Saxophone and Piano (arrangement: Carmen Lefrançois). Captivated by the magical and religious dimension of music André Jolivet (1905-1971) couldn’t help but have a predilection for the Flute a “deep expression of humankind (…) that charges sounds with what in us is both visceral and cosmic”. Eight years after the famous Incantations for solo Flute in 1936 he wrote the Chant de Linos for Flute and Piano. Its pedagogical purpose – as an examination piece for national Conservatoire students - does not mask itsgravity: in Ancient Greece it was a funeral lamento originally sung in memory of the poet Linos who lost his life to Apollo’s jealousy. In 1945 the composer transformed this piece into a powerfully charming quintet for Flute Violin Viola Cello and Harp. The Editions Leduc are publishing a transcription for Soprano Saxophone and Piano written by Carmen Lefrançois and approved by Christine Jolivet the composer’s daughter. Lefrançois beautifully avoids smothering the delicacy of the music with the Saxophone's dynamics which could prove excessive in this context. The threnody interspersed with ritual dances retains its strange beauty touching the hearts of a new generation of musicians.

Three Pieces Inspired By Douanier Rousseau s Paintings-The Japanese Saxophonist and composer Ryo Noda born in 1948 has placed his musical trajectory under the concept of East Meets West: a crossing of influences illustrated by Murasaki No Fuchi for Saxophone duo in which the shakuhachi can be substituted for one of the Saxophones (AL 25 893). How could he have not felt certain elective affinities between his creation and that of Douanier Rousseau (1844-1910) whose jungle landscapes are the expression of a dreamlike exoticism? Inspired by three of the naïf master's paintings Yume – The Dream for solo Saxophone lets the listener first succumb to the incantation ofThe Snake Charmer (1907): the threnody imitating the flute imbued with mysterious sensuality is echoed in the surrounding Nature just like the pale moonlight reflecting on the surface of the lake. In War (1894) the charred trees and crimson clouds surround the goddess Bellone whose cavalcade is evoked by the 'slap' technique and the devastation by the Saxophone's harsh portamenti. The Dream (1910) shows us this woman nude in the middle of the jungle the state of Nature before the Fall the incarnation of archaic innocence.

Threnody for Five Solo Voices or Small Chorus of Mixed Voices (SATT(Bar)B Choir). Text: William Blake

Contents: Suite R-B (Overture Waltz Gavotte Little Lullaby Toccatina The Iris Garden) * Suite Osmanthus (Prelude after Mompou The Musical Chocalate Box Changes Elegie enigmatique Etude Da Capo Nocturne - Cavatina) *Valse enigmatique No. 2 * Petit Impromptu enigmatique * Threnody * Elegy.

A setting of a poem by Marina Tsvetayeva translated into English. The piece has a haunting effect and relies on the musicians being sensitive to their roles. Also crucial is where they stand in the performing area.