11.16.24 Libby Sheldon, Clarinet

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Student Recital Series 2024 – 2025 Season

Sarah M. Snell Music Theater Saturday, November 16th at 3:45 PM

Libby Sheldon 贺美春, clarinet

Tracy Lipke-Perry, piano

Monologue: Impressions on The True Story of Ah Q (1993) Chen Yi (b. 1950)

Clair Matin (ca. 1910–1920)

Paul Jeanjean (1874–1928)

Time Pieces (1983)

I. Allegro risoluto

II. Andante espressivo

III. Allegro moderato

IV. Introduction:Andante molto

Brief Pause

Robert Muczynski (1929–2010)

Le Tombeau de Couperin (1914–1917)

I. Prelude

II. Fugue

III. Menuet

Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) arr. Mason Jones

5 forAnnie Woodwind Quintet

Chris Connors, flute

Annelise Herschbein, oboe

Ryan Eckl, horn

Liam Hill, bassoon

Cantilène (1933) Fernande Breilh Decruck (1896–1954)

Yellow Jersey (2004)

Emily Oldfield, clarinet

Libby Larson (b. 1950)

Libby Sheldon is from the studio of Dr. Julianne Kirk-Doyle.

This program is presented to fulfill the senior recital requirement for the Bachelor of Music degree in Performance.

Program Notes

Chen Yi

“It has been strongly haunting me for a long time to think about ignorance and civilization, lowliness and pride.

This piece for solo clarinet was inspired by Lu Xun’s The Biography of Ah Q. Lu Xun (Zhou Shuren, 18881-1963) is China’s best-known 20th-century author of essays and short stories, in which he called on the Chinese people to rise and give battle to feudalism. I want to express my gratitude to Inter-Artes in London, who commissioned and premiered the piece at the concert “The World of Lu Xun” in Birmingham, UK, for offering me an opportunity to listen to my heart through my own musical monologue.” - Chen Yi

Paul Jeanjean

The sound of Clair Matin showcases the charmingly sweet nature of the clarinet.As you listen, I invite you to let your imagination drift – allow the music to guide the creation of scenes within your mind. - Libby

Paul Jeanjean was a renowned French composer and principal clarinetist of the Garde Républicaine Band and the Monte Carlo Opera. Best known for his contributions to clarinet repertoire, Jeanjean was a student of Chrysogone Cyrille Rose, one of the most influential clarinet pedagogues of his time. Jeanjean’s compositions, primarily studies, focus on technical development for clarinetists. Each year, the Paris Conservatory invited clarinet instructors to create music both for their own use and for their students, resulting in many enduring sets of studies from this era that continue to enrich the clarinet repertoire.

Robert Muczynski

Time Pieces was composed for Mitchell Lurie, who had served as principal clarinet of the Chicago and Pittsburgh Symphonies and was on faculty at the University of Southern California. It is a true piece of chamber music in which all instruments play an equal role in the music-making. The work contains material reminiscent of the jazz and classical styles of the twentieth century. The composer says the

following about the piece in his notes for the album Lurie and Baker Play Muczynski:

“This composition is a suite of four contrasting pieces, each highlighting some specific characteristic of the clarinet in terms of range, technical prowess, color, and expressiveness.... The title of the work, Time Pieces, has nothing to do with mechanical clocks or watches. It is not a play on words but rather an awareness that everything exists in time: history, our lives and...in a special way...music.” -R. Muczynski

I first discovered this piece at 17 and chose it for my Crane audition the following year. Returning to it now, four years later, has been a unique process of reconnecting with a younger version of myself. At the time, I learned the piece with all the technique and tension of a young player. In my preparation for today, I’ve had to unravel those bad habits. This has allowed me to celebrate the work my younger self, at all stages, has put in and thank her for starting me on this journey. - Libby

Maurice Ravel

Le tombeau de Couperin represents a rich tapestry of layered meanings. Composed as a six-movement suite for solo piano, Ravel originally intended this work to be an homage to the 18th-century composer François Couperin. But his motivations changed dramatically having witnessed the horrors of WWI first-hand as a military nurse’s assistant. Ravel dedicated each movement of the suite to a fellow soldier who was killed in the war. The title takes on a double meaning in that Tombeau translates to “tomb”, but also refers to a collection of works in memorial to a deceasedperson.OnemightbesurprisedtohearRavel’stributetothefallenasmusic of such sprightly and seemingly light-hearted character. Marguerite Long, a pianist whose husband was among the work’s dedicatees, wrote the following in defense of Ravel’s untraditional compositional approach:

The dead are unhappy enough as they are. Is it necessary to dedicate laments to them forever? When a musician of genius gives them the best of himself and at the same time something they would have enjoyed, isn’t that the most moving tribute he can make?

In 1970, Mason Jones, former principal horn of the Philadelphia Orchestra, reorchestrated selections from the piano and orchestral versions for the wind quintet, which speaks well for the idea of reinvention. Both performer and listener alike are given a wealth of musical material to explore.

5 forAnnie has become one of my favorite musical groups during my time at Crane. Playing alongside these musicians in a chamber setting has led me to find a new layer of joy as a player and an individual. - Libby

Fernande Breilh-Decruck

Jeanne Delphine Fernande Breilh-Decruck was born on December 25, 1896, in Gaillac,France.SheenteredtheToulouseConservatoryatjusteightyearsold,where she won first prizes in music theory (1911) and piano (1913), as well as a second prize in harmony (1917). As a young pianist, Fernande also worked to improvise live music for silent films. In 1924, she married clarinetist Maurice Decruck, as they were both students at the Paris Conservatory.

Though she enjoyed considerable success in Paris during World War II, opportunities became scarce after the war. Her active performing career in Germanoccupied France led to criticism, as France was rebuilding and male composers who had been suppressed during the war were returning.

I’d like to dedicate this piece to my mother. She is an artist by nature who has always surrounded my sister and me with creativity ever since we were girls. Her love for the Impressionist movement, particularly artists like Renoir, Degas, and Monet, has greatlyinfluencedmy own musicalpassions.With Cantilène,Ihopeto aurallyevoke even a fraction of these masterworks for her and express my gratitude for the impact she has had on my own art forms. - Libby

Libby Larson

The composer writes of the piece: Composed during the year between Lance Armstrong's fifth and sixth victories in the Tour de France (2004), Yellow Jersey is a short wind sprint for two clarinets. I invented the form of the piece by imagining how the sprint might go:

Massed Start

Cadence I

Breakaway I

Cadence II

Breakaway II

Cadence to coast

Coast

Cadence III

Glossary:

Bonk: To exercise to the point of depletion of the body's energy stores, leaving one extremely weak and giddy.

Breakaway: Suddenly riding away from a pack of racers, quickly enough that opponents cannot keep close enough to draft (i.e. riding close to another rider in order to avoid wind resistance).

Cadence:Apedaling rate, measured in revolutions per minute.

Coast: To ride without pedaling.

Massed-Start: A race in which competitors start at the time (as opposed to a time trial).

Yellow Jersey: The jersey worn by the current overall leader during the Tour de France.

A huge thank you to Emily for her musicality, collaboration, and infectious spirit, which never fail to make me smile. - Libby

Closing Regards:

Thesupportand encouragement I’ve received from my family,teachers and Julianne Kirk-Doyle have been invaluable. I will always be grateful for their wisdom and guidance. I would also like to acknowledge my friends and sister, whose rich and unwavering love has been a gift I never imagined I’d be lucky enough to see.

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