Imagine Spring

SKU: FG.55011-567-5

ISBN 9790550115675.

Alex Freeman's (b. 1972) Cathedral of Spring for chamber choir (2019) to poems of e.e. cummings and Robert Frost was commissioned and premiered by Somnium Ensemble. The composer tells: For the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Somnium Ensemble (Finland), I was commissioned to write a piece with spring as a central theme. While contemplating that and perusing appropriate poetry, I was inspired by memories of the night-time sky in early spring--the warm air, the teeming, buzzing energy of life all around, and an expansive dome of stars overhead. I then imagined that moment in time as a kind of sacred space; this is the point where the cathedral notion came to mind. The frenetic and joyous poetry of e.e. cummings, from his Epithalamion, gives an exclamatory introduction to the set, followed by his vision of spring from the point of view of giddy children in his iconic poem, [in Just-]. We then take a moment to contemplate the ephemerality of all this beauty (spring giveth and spring taketh away, i.e. an offertorium of sorts); Robert Frost's Blue-Butterfly Day places us in a moment where, by chance, we find ourselves enveloped by a delicately fluttering swarm of butterflies. Peaceful and still, yet in constant flux, we spend a some time taking that phenomenon in, while also experiencing a twinge of the realisation that this is truly fleeting. The final movement, returning to a later stanza from Epithalamion, cummings's sparkling paean to May is set as a kind of final anthem..

SKU: CF.SPS93

ISBN 9781491159774. UPC: 680160918362.

Adversity, in any form at any point of our lives, can be absolutely debilitating mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. In the midst of hard times, it is difficult to imagine what our lives will look like on the other side of the adversity we are facing. Yet so many of us carry on, move forward, and rise above determined to never be defined by our circumstances. For some their personal faith, support from family, or relationship to friends provides the necessary fuel for the resilience they need to rise above adversity. It is amazing when a group of people are able to come together to overcome a common obstacle. With this in mind, I put to music that spirit of rising above for the Liberty High School Band and their director Michael Summers. Northeast Ohio has seen its share of prosperity and significant times of hardship along many different fronts. I still see resilient leaders, community members, and educators like Mike who continue to fight for what is best and what is right. The debut of this work, like so many other things, was interrupted in the spring of 2020. Now on the precipice of a new beginning for many band programs across the country, all of us in instrumental music education must summon resilience to ensure our groups recover, grow and flourish. The rising major second represents us all taking the first step forward in good and difficult times. The adversity (tension) arrives in various ways harmonically throughout the work. Tension can make us lose sense of where we are on our journey and rob us of our ability to imagine getting through our current situation. But I am reminded that not all tension is bad. Given enough time and enough resolution, we can often make sense of the adversity. We can recognize that the adversity taught us something about ourselves we didn't know, or perhaps challenged us to grow in a way we didn't think possible. Either way, it does not happen unless we possess resilience. I thank you in advance for your support of this music and wish you and your group the very best moving forward with Resilience.
Adversity, in any form at any point of our lives, can be absolutely debilitating mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. In the midst of hard times, it is difficult to imagine what our lives will look like on the other side of the adversity we are facing. Yet so many of us carry on, move forward, and rise above determined to never be defined by our circumstances.For some their personal faith, support from family, or relationship to friends provides the necessary fuel for the resilience they need to rise above adversity. It is amazing when a group of people are able to come together to overcome a common obstacle. With this in mind, I put to music that spirit of rising above for the Liberty High School Band and their director Michael Summers. Northeast Ohio has seen its share of prosperity and significant times of hardship along many different fronts. I still see resilient leaders, community members, and educators like Mike who continue to fight for what is best and what is right. The debut of this work, like so many other things, was interrupted in the spring of 2020. Now on the precipice of a new beginning for many band programs across the country, all of us in instrumental music education must summon resilience to ensure our groups recover, grow and flourish. The rising major second represents us all taking the first step forward in good and difficult times. The adversity (tension) arrives in various ways harmonically throughout the work. Tension can make us lose sense of where we are on our journey and rob us of our ability to imagine getting through our current situation. But I am reminded that not all tension is bad. Given enough time and enough resolution, we can often make sense of the adversity. We can recognize that the adversity taught us something about ourselves we didn’t know, or perhaps challenged us to grow in a way we didn’t think possible. Either way, it does not happen unless we possess resilience.I thank you in advance for your support of this music and wish you and your group the very best moving forward with Resilience.