SKU: PR.164002950
ISBN 9781491114568. UPC: 680160633449. 9 x 12 inches.
Dan Welcher??s fascinating work for soprano sax is both a refraction of Mendelssohn??s music for A Midsummer Night??s Dream, and his own incidental music to Shakespeare??s comedy. The work??s title, AS LIGHT AS BIRD FROM BRIER, quotes from Oberon (King of the Fairies) invoking revelry at the play??s climactic wedding scene. Welcher??s fantasy skips among the most beloved themes of Mendelssohn??s Midsummer ?? giving the saxophonist quite a workout, and the listener a midsummer delight.AS LIGHT AS BIRD FROM BRIER is loosely based on Shakespeare??s play A Midsummer Night??s Dream, which has haunted me since I was nine years old. My parents subscribed me to The Children??s Record Guild, and every month a new 78rpm vinyl record would arrive in the mail. They were mostly fairy tales and ??kids lit,? but in this case it was a very condensed performance of the actual play, with Mendelssohn??s music. I loved it immediately, and still do ?? I saw a performance in 2014 at the Stratford Festival that literally stalks my dreams.When I was commissioned by saxophonist Stephen Page to compose a work for soprano saxophone and piano two years later, I channeled Mendelssohn as an inspiration: specifically, the Overture, the Scherzo, the Intermezzo, the fairy??s song ??You spotted snakes with double tongue,? and the Rustics?? Dance. But it??s not a pastiche ?? most of the music is completely my own, though attentive listeners will detect snatches of Mendelssohn??s haunting score throughout.This piece joins MILL SONGS and FLORESTAN??S FALCON among works honoring my favorite 19th-century composers (in those cases, Schubert and Schumann) without ripping them off. As Stravinsky did in his ballet Pulcinella, I have borrowed fragments of melody from a much-loved composer, and made a fabric of harmonies and scales that are genetically related to Mendelssohn, but unmistakably Welcher.In this work, the saxophonist is Puck ?? skittish, dazzlingly fast, and brilliant in the outer parts, and a mischievous Cupid in the long, central Love Song. (Remember how Puck anoints Titania??s eyes with the juice from a magic flower, which causes her to fall in love with Bottom the weaver, who has been bewitched and wears a donkey??s head?) The music traces Puck??s magic flight, the finding of the flower, Titania??s love-scene with Bottom and her fairies, and the rustic players ?? whose rehearsal of the funniest play-within-the-play in literature is interrupted by Puck??s dirty tricks.I greatly enjoyed the process of writing this piece, and often found myself quite moved even as I was writing it... which rarely happens. Stephen Page, who commissioned the work, is a consummate artist (and a bit of a Puck himself). The title comes from Oberon??s final speech in the play:Through the house, give glimmering light,By the dead and drowsy fire.Every elf and fairy spriteHop as light as bird from brier,And this ditty, after me,Sing, and dance it trippingly.
SKU: BT.AMP-340-140
9x12 inches. English-German-French-Dutch.
Of Skies, Rivers, Lakes and Mountains was commissioned by the Northern California Band Directors' Association to honour their 50th Anniversary in 2012. The first performance was given by the Association’s 2012 Honor Band, conducted by Dr Royce Trevis, in the Harlen Adams Theater, California State University, Chico, California, on 4th February that year.The brief for the commission asked for a piece that celebrated the United States’ natural resources and composer Philip Sparke turned to Katharine Lee Bates’s lyrics for the song America the Beautiful, of which the first and last verses are:O beautiful for spacious skies,For amber waves of grain,For purplemountain majestiesAbove the fruited plain!America! America!God shed His grace on thee,And crown thy good with brotherhoodFrom sea to shining seaThe three movements each take their title from these verses:1. O Beautiful for Spacious Skies: Opening with filigree woodwind figuring, this movement aims to recreate the light and lightness of a spring sky, birds and blossoms floating on gentle breezes.2. From Sea to Shining Sea: A vivacious celebration of water bubbling in streams, rivers and lakes.3. For Purple Mountain Majesties: A slow final movement representing an awe-inspiring range of mountains Of Skies, Rivers, Lakes and Mountains is geschreven in opdracht van de Northern California Band Directors' Association, ter gelegenheid van het vijftigjarig jubileum van deze organisatie, dat in 2012 werd gevierd. De première werd op 4 februari van dat jaar onder leiding van dirigent Royce Trevis uitgevoerd door de Association’s 2012 Honor Band, in het Harlen Adams Theater, California State University, Chico, Californië.De componist kreeg het verzoek een werk te schrijven dat een lofzang zou zijn op alles wat de natuur van Verenigde Staten te bieden heeft. Philip Sparke gebruikte de tekst van Katharine Lee Bates voor de song America the Beautiful, waarvan heteerste en laatste couplet als volgt luiden:O beautiful for spacious skies,For amber waves of grain,For purple mountain majestiesAbove the fruited plain!America! America!God shed His grace on thee,And crown thy good with brotherhoodFrom sea to shining seaDe titels van de drie delen van de compositie zijn ontleend aan deze coupletten:1. O Beautiful for Spacious Skies: Dit deel, dat opent met verfijnde figuren in het hout, is een poging om het licht en de lichtheid van een lentehemel te herscheppen, met vogeltjes en bloesems die wiegen in een milde bries.2. From Sea to Shining Sea: Een levendige ode aan water dat stroomt in beken, rivieren en meren3. For Purple Mountain Majesties: Een langzaam laatste deel waarin het beeld wordt opgeroepen van een indrukwekkende bergketen Of Skies, Rivers, Lakes and Mountains wurde von der Northern California Band Director’s Association (Dirigentenverband Nord-Kaliforniens) zum 50-jährigen Jubiläum im Jahr 2012 in Auftrag gegeben. Die Uraufführung mit dem Ehrenorchester 2012 des Verbands fand am 4. Februar desselben Jahre unter der Leitung von Dr. Royce Trevis im Halen Adams Theater an der California State University, Chico Kalifornien) statt.Der Kompositionsauftrag verlangte ein Stück zu Ehren der Reichtümer der Natur Amerikas. Der Komponist Philip Sparke wählte daher die erste und letzte Strophe aus Katherine Lee Bates’ Text zum Lied America the Beautiful, die da lauten:O beautiful for spaciousskies,For amber waves of grain,For purple mountain majestiesAbove the fruited plain!America! America!God shed His grace on thee,And crown thy good with brotherhoodFrom sea to shining seaDie Titel der drei Sätze stammen alle aus diesen Strophen:1. O Beautiful for Spacious Skies (O wunderschön, der weite Himmel): Mit filigranen Figuren im Holz beginnend, will dieser Satz das Licht und die Leichtigkeit des Frühlingshimmels, die Vögel und von einer sanften Brise getragene Blüten zum Leben erwecken.2. From Sea to Shining Sea (Vom Meer zum strahlenden Meer): Mit lebhafter Musik wird hier in Flüssen, Bächen und Seen sprudelndes Wasser zelebriert.3. For Purple Mountain Majesties (Die Erhabenheit der purpurrot leuchtenden Berge): Der langsame Schlusssatz richtet den Blick auf ehrfurchtgebietende Gebirge. Of Skies, Rivers, Lakes and Mountains est une commande de la Northern California Band Directors' Association pour marquer son 50e anniversaire, en 2012. Cette œuvre a été créée par le Honor Band 2012 de l’Association sous la direction du Dr Royce Trevis au thé tre Harlen Adams de l’université de Californie Chico, Californie, le 4 février de cette même année.La commande stipulait que la pièce devait célébrer les ressources naturelles des États-Unis. Le compositeur Philip Sparke s’est donc inspiré des paroles de Katharine Lee Bates pour la chanson America the Beautiful, dont voici les premier et dernier couplets :O beautiful for spacious skies,For amberwaves of grain,For purple mountain majestiesAbove the fruited plain!(Oh belle pour tes vastes cieux,Tes vagues de grains ambrés,La majesté de tes montagnes violettesDominant des plaines fruitées !)America! America!God shed His grace on thee,And crown thy good with brotherhoodFrom sea to shining sea(Amérique ! Amérique !Dieu t’a donné sa gr ceCouronnée de la fraternité des hommesDe la mer la mer étincelante)Les trois mouvements empruntent chacun leur titre ces couplets :1. O Beautiful for Spacious Skies: S’ouvrant avec des figures en filigrane jouées par les bois, ce mouvement cherche recréer la lumière et la légèreté d’un ciel printanier, d’oiseaux et de fleurs flottant au gré d’une douce brise.2. From Sea to Shining Sea: Plein de vivacité, ce mouvement évoque les frémissements de l’eau des ruisseaux, des rivières et des lacs.3. For Purple Mountain Majesties:Le dernier mouvement, lent et majestueux, dépeint une impressionnante chaîne de montagnes.