PERSEVERANCE
Musicby AfricanAmericanComposers forClarinet
EdBland(1926-2013)
11. For Clarinet (soloclarinet)
UndineSmithMoore(1904-1989)
From Afro American Suite (Arr.MarcusEley)
12. Who is that Yonder?; It Looks Like My Lord, Coming in a Cloud
GiovannaMoragaClayton,cello
LucerneDeSa,piano
DavidN.Baker(1931-2016) DUO
13.
14.
MarcusEley,clarinet
withLucerneDeSa,piano
GiovannaMoragaClayton,cello
ToddCochran,piano andRafaelRishik,violin
1.
4:52
Reggae Fantasy 8:24
Largo and Danzetta 3:30
Pater Pater
4:27 RafaelRishik,violin
cello LucerneDeSa,
TranscenDance 2.
3
4
for Uncle – Grandfather
GiovannaMoragaClayton,
piano
3:25
ToddCochran,piano
3:46
3:17
3:18
4:17
6:48
Eley)
GiovannaMoragaClayton,cello ToddCochran,piano
4:06
4:25
= 168 6:01
Quarter note
Slow; Quarter note = 60 5:26
Quarter note = 160 6:08
15.
cello TotalTime 72:09
GiovannaMoragaClayton,
This recording is dedicated to all African American composers who “persevered” and endeavored to have their music published, performed, and recorded.
2.
from AfroAmerican Suite Undine Smith Moore
(Published by International Opus)
1. Nobody Knows the Trouble I See; Brother Will You Pray for Me and Drive Ole SatanAway (Arr. Marcus Eley)
Giovanna Moraga Clayton, cello
Lucerne DeSa, piano
Nobody Knows the Trouble I See is a recognizable Negro spiritual. It echoes the pain of hard times and hopeful redemption of divine intervention. Undine Smith Moore skillfully weaves other familiar Negro spirituals into the texture of this work. The original instrumentation is for flute, cello, and piano. In this arrangement, the pairing of the clarinet and cello allows this spiritual to be more impactful. – Marcus Eley
Undine Moore Smith
(1904-1989) inspired and influenced many black musicians across the United States. Many of her choral pieces are staples of the performing repertory among choirs and she also composed music in other genres, employing a broad range of styles. Winning a scholarship to Fisk University seemed to seal Moore's choice of music as her life's work. In 1926, Moore graduated with a dual degree that included studies in piano and music theory. She went on to Columbia University Teachers' College in New York, where she completed her M.A. in 1931, and studied at the prestigious Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Eastman School of Music. Many of her most popular compositions are for chorus and draw in one way or another upon the settings of spirituals. She was a professor of music at Virginia State University for more than 40 years.
TranscenDance* for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano Dennis Thompson II
2. Reggae Fantasy
3. Largo and Danzetta
4. Pater Pater for Uncle
Grandfather
Rafael Rishik, violin
Giovanna Moraga Clayton, cello
Lucerne DeSa, piano
*world premiere recording
Reggae Fantasy
This movement portrays a journey which leads the listener between classical and world music. The use of reggae as a rhythmic base was interesting to me as I’ve not yet heard other composers make use of this genre’s rich syncopations.
3.
–
Largo & Danzetta
The Danzetta in this piece is the same as the Largo with the difference being that the Danzetta is twice as fast and in a major key. This adjustment is meant to symbolize hope and light-heartedness amidst struggles, difficulties, and despair.
Pater-Pater for Uncle Grandfather
A bit of a play on words involving a secret quotation, this movement follows a similar journey as in the first movement, but this one is dedicated to a mutual relative of the composer and Marcus Eley, the performer who requested this work. Dennis Thompson II
Dennis Thompson II (born 1968) studiedmusicatSanFranciscoStateUniversityandreceivedaBachelorofArts(BA)inInterdisciplinaryCreativeArtsspecializinginavant-gardetheoryandperformance.DennismovedtoEuropewherehebecameahighschool musicteacherwhilstperforminginjazzgroupsandasindividualpianistthroughouttheNetherlands. WhileinHolland,DenniscompletedhisMastersofArtsEducationdegreefromtheUtrechtUniversityoftheArts. Denniscontinuestopursueconducting,composing,and performingbetweenAmsterdamandPariswhereheteachescompositionandperformanceattheEcoleATLA.
5.Adoration Florence Price (Arr. Marcus Martin) (Published by G. Schirmer, Inc.)
Todd Cochran, piano
Florence Price’s composition, Adoration, has been arranged for different instruments and ensembles. It is a has soothing, melancholy, albeit rhapsodic melody. It was initially written for organ. This arrangement is one that fits the clarinet’s timbre well. Marcus Eley
Florence Price (1887-1953) was the first symphonic work by a Black woman to be played by a major American orchestra. Steeped in American folk music, spirituals, and church hymns, Price’s celebrated work reflects her experience as a Black woman raised in the post-Civil War South. Commissioned by the Federal Music Project at the height of the Great Depression, Florence Price composed her Third Symphony during the Chicago Renaissance, a backdrop for writers and artists including Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, and Margaret Bonds.
4.
The Banyan Tree* (solo clarinet) Todd Cochran
6. Seeds
7. Roots
8. Fruit
*world premiere recording
(Published by Jadon Music)
The Banyan Tree is a three-movement work composed for solo clarinet. Each movement is a metaphorical representation of exploration and natural progression, symbolizing the melding of past and present. In sacred texts are descriptions of a cosmic ‘world tree,’ a banyan growing upside-down with its roots in the heavens. Its trunk and branches extend to Earth to bring blessings to humanity. Todd Cochran
Todd Cochran (b. 1951), a San Francisco native, developed an early appreciation for the arts. His music incorporates diverse musical references from the traditions of the African and Asian Diaspora and global pop culture. He has performed and recorded with legendary artists John Handy, Bobby Hutcherson, Rashaan Roland Kirk, and Maya Angelou. His formal studies were in the degree program of Trinity College of Music, London. While in the United Kingdom, Todd became active in the art rock scene performing and recording with luminaries including Peter Gabriel, Joan Armatrading, and Stewart Copeland. Todd sees the world of music as a village where different humanities come together.
9. The Featherheart Lawren Brianna Ware (Published by lbwaremusic)
Todd Cochran, piano
My composition was inspired by a piece of art by Enrique Martinez Celaya's work, "The Featherheart", and thus, the name of my composition. The painting depicts, what I believe to be is, a young woman who has a scar on her left cheek. Behind her, one can see the dark night sky and stars. However, there seems to be a glimmer of hope in her face for a brighter future. I wanted to create a piece that was calm, ethereal, and emotional. I chose the instrumentation of clarinet and piano. The clarinet's wide range of notes and dynamics is representative of the woman's voice. The piano accompaniment is meant to feel free and ethereal. – Lawren Brianna Ware
Lawren Brianna Ware (b. 1994), a Gadsden, Alabama native, is a graduate of The University of Wisconsin-Madison where she earned her DMA in Music Composition with a minor in musicology. Compositionally, Dr. Ware’s goal is to “write music that makes one feel.” In July of 2022, Brianna became the first African American composer selected to be the composer in residence for the Seal Bay Music Festival in Vinalhaven, Maine.
5.
10. Legend of the Moors(excerpt) Richard Thompson (Divergence*) (Arr. Marcus Eley)
Giovanna Moraga Clayton, cello
Todd Cochran, piano
*world premiere recording
Legend of the Moors, a large work for jazz ensemble, was awarded the first Individual Artist Award for classical music composition from the Brooklyn (NY) Arts Council. This composition depicted the presence and influence of the Moors in Spain during the Middle Ages. I was introduced to this work on the recommendation of a colleague. I was captivated by the jazz harmonies and hypnotic-like melodic lines. In fact, they seem to “diverge”. In homage to Richard Thompson, I arranged a slow section from this composition, and named it Divergence, for clarinet, cello, and piano. –
Marcus Eley
Richard Thompson (born 1954) is currently Professor Emeritus of Music at San Diego State University, where he teaches theory, jazz performance, and history. In 2021 Black Pierrot and The Negro Speaks of Rivers, two songs from Mr. Thompson's song cycle, Dream Variations, were performed as part of an online concert celebrating Black art song and the poetry of Langston Hughes. The concert was broadcast from the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg. He is a performer and composer whose work encompasses jazz and Third-Stream composition. His opera, The Mask in the Mirror, about the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, was released in 2019 and is currently being distributed by Naxos. In 2023, Seattle Opera featured his songs in a concert devoted to settings of the poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar. His most recent opera is Fannie Lou, I’m Sick and Tired.
11. For Clarinet (solo clarinet) Ed Bland
(Published by edblandmusic)
Originally written in 1964 and revised in 1978, is composed for clarinet solo. This whimsical, joyful, atonal piece is very idiomatic. For Clarinet is written in a virtuoso style. - William
Powell
Ed Bland (1926-2013) studied saxophone and clarinet. Undergraduate studies included musicology and philosophy at the University of Chicago. He also studied composition privately with composer John Becker in Chicago. His musical career began in jazz. He eventually moved to New York City to pursue performance and composition. Bland’s music is a synthesis of three canons: Western, Jazz and West African Drumming. It was that diversity which made it possible for him to work as a composer, producer, arranger, and orchestrator. In concert music, Bland’s Piece for Chamber Orchestra (1979) was called, “… an amazing tour de force in terms of relentless energy ” , “... a fascinating strong piece.” by Gunther Schuller, American composer, conductor, and author. After years of composing, many of Bland’s works were sampled by Hip-Hop artists, notably Fat Boy Slim and Cypress Hill.
6.
from AfroAmerican Suite Undine Smith Moore (Published by International Opus)
12. Who is that Yonder?; It Looks Like My Lord, Coming in a Cloud (Arr. Marcus Eley)
Giovanna Moraga Clayton, cello
Lucerne DeSa, piano
Two beautiful Negro spirituals melded into a solemn and pastoral composition arranged for clarinet, cello, and piano. – Marcus Eley
DUO* for Clarinet and Cello David N. Baker (Published by Keiser Southern Music)
13. Quarter note = 160
14. Slow
15. Quarter note = 160
Giovanna Moraga Clayton, cello
*world premiere recording
DUO for Clarinet and Cello was commissioned by The Ronen Chamber Ensemble of Indianapolis (IN) and premiered in 1988. The clarinet opens the first movement in a quasi-jazz like recitative. The cello joins the clarinet in a heated call response refrain before a melancholy section relaxes the tempo. The opening tempo returns and drives to a climatic finish. The second movement is slow and pensive. The clarinet and cello are equal partners in this romantic dance. The third movement shows the virtuosity of both instruments. Like the first movement, the melancholy section slows the tempo but only for a moment. The cello starts the fast counterpoint and the clarinet answers. Both instruments continue their heated exchange until the motion slows to a mutual conclusion. – Marcus Eley
David N. Baker (1931-2016) was a Distinguished Professor of Music and Chairman of the Jazz Department at the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, as well as conductor and artistic director of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. Mr. Baker received both bachelor's and master's degrees in music education from Indiana University and has studied with a wide range of master teachers, performers, and composers. He was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1979 and has been honored three times by Down Beat magazine. His compositions total more than 2,000 in number, including jazz and symphonic works, chamber music, and ballet and film scores. Mr. Baker has received honorary doctorates from Wabash College, Oberlin College, and the New England Conservatory of Music. In 2007 he was honored by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with their Living Jazz Legend Award.
7.
Marcus Eley
is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Music in clarinet andstudiedat the Hochschulefuer Musik und darstellendeKunst inVienna, Austria.
Eley has performed as a soloist with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra (Germany), the Louisville Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Edmonton (Canada) WindSinfoniaandtheNationalArmyMilitaryBandofthePeople’sRepublicofChina (Beijing). HehasalsogivennumerousrecitalsinmajorcitiesoftheUnitedStates.
HehasparticipatedasguestartistattheNationalArtsFestivalinGrahamstown,South Africa.Ofhisperformance,JeffBrukmanof Cue Magazine said, “… consummate artistry. The festival is indeed fortunate to host such a master of the clarinet.”
In2012,recordcompany Sono Luminus releasedMr.Eley’sCompactDisc,titled “But Not Forgotten: Music by African American Composers for Clarinet and Piano.” LawrenceVittes,CDreviewerfor Gramophone magazinesaid, “(Eley) applies his pure, limpid tone eloquently in music of a varied range of styles.” SteveArloff, MusicWeb International cites, “… a disc of pure unalloyed joy.” The Listener (Germany),RainerAschemeierexclaims, “Wow!’ What a beautiful, varied CD! This CD has succeeded in its well-chosen repertoire, as well as interpretation and sound.” “Marcus Eley knows when and how to make the clarinet charm, dance, sing and cry. –JeanYvesDupperon, Classical Music Sentinel.
EleywasaguestperformerattheBeethovenfestBonn. ClaudiaWallendorf,musiccriticofthe Bonn General Anzeiger said, “(Eley’s) colorful and nuanced clarinet playing . . . was very pleasantly displayed”.
Eley hasserved asDean of Students at the New England Conservatory, Assistant (Adjunct) Professor of Music (Clarinet)atCalifornia StateUniversityLosAngelesand Marketing ProjectsSpecialist/ArtistRelationsforRico International.
8.
AssistingMusicians…
Pianist, Lucerne DeSa receivedherbachelor'sandmaster'sdegreesinmusicfromtheUniversityofCalifornia,Irvine, and the University of Southern California respectively and completed her doctoral degree in piano performance at the State University of New York - Stony Brook. She has performed extensively as both solo recitalist, chamber musician andrecording artist. Ms. DeSa and Mr. Eley havealso performed for radio on WFMT Chicago and KUSC Los Angeles. In 2015, Ms. DeSa performed with Marcus Eley at the prestigious Beethovenfest Bonn (Germany). ShehasalsoperformedrecitalsofmusicforclarinetandpianocomposedbyAfricanAmericanswith Mr. Eley at the National Arts Festival in South Africa. Ms. DeSa is currently the piano instructor at the Alabama SchoolofFineArts.
Cellist, Giovanna Moraga Clayton holdsabachelor’sandmaster’sdegreefromUCLAinmusicperformance. She hasperformedasanorchestralmusicianandsoloistwithorchestrasinNorthandCentralAmerica. Uponherreturn from an eight-month fellowship with the Chicago Symphony, Giovanna won positions with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (2004), Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the New West and Santa Barbara symphonies. Giovanna isafounding memberoftheLatin GrammyNominated group, Quattro. Sheisafamiliarfacein theHollywoodmusicsceneandkeepsabusyrecordingschedule.
Pianist, Todd Cochran’s music incorporates diverse musical references from the traditions of the African and AsianDiasporaandglobalpopculture. BorninSanFrancisco,hedevelopedanearlyappreciationforthearts. He hasperformedandrecordedwithlegendaryartistsJohnHandy,BobbyHutcherson,RashaanRolandKirkandMayaAngelou.HisformalstudieswereinthedegreeprogramofTrinityCollegeofMusic,London.WhileintheUnited Kingdom,ToddbecameactiveintheartrocksceneperformingandrecordingwithluminariesincludingPeterGabriel,JoanArmatrading,andStewartCopeland.Toddseestheworldofmusicasavillagewheredifferenthumanitiescometogether.
Violinist, Rafael Rishik attended the Juilliard School of Music. He continued his studies at Indiana University School of Music then at University of California-Santa Barbara where he completed his graduate studies. Mr. Rishik has had the rare privilege of performing Ernest Chausson’s Poeme (Op. 25) in masterclass for the great violinist, Yehudi Menuhin. Mr. Rishik's principal teachers have been Stuart Canin, Ramy Shevelov, Zinaida Gilels, Christine Dethier, and Sally Thomas. Chamber Music has always been a big part of Mr. Rishik's musical life. He has spent several years performing with the Camerata Pacifica and is a founding member of the New Hollywood String Quartet. He performs on a Joseph Rocca violin made in Turin, Italy 1863.
9.
PERSEVERANCE: Music by African American Composers
Marcus Eley, clarinet
Assisted by Lucerne DeSa, Giovanna Moraga Clayton, Todd Cochran, and Rafael Rishik ___________ _
RecordedatAllegroRecordings,Burbank,California–December2021throughFebruary2023
Producers:MarcusEleyandSusanFrederick
Recording Engineers:MatthewSnyder,WilliamChen,AllegroRecordings,Burbank,CA
Editing Engineers:MatthewSnyder,WilliamChen,AllegroRecordings,Burbank,CA
Mastering Engineer:ReubenCohen,LurssenMastering,Burbank,California
A&R Direction and Release:MarcusEley
Piano:SteinwayHamburgB
Equipment Set-Up:SchoepMK4,SennheiserMKH8040,TelefunkenTF51
Photo of Marcus Eley:SusanFrederick
Photo of Lucerne DeSa:BrianScott
Photo of Giovanna Moraga Clayton:ProvidedbyMs.Clayton
Photo of Todd Cochran:ProvidedbyMr.Cochran
Photo of Rafael Rishik:ProvidedbyMr.Rishik
Photo of Dennis Thompson II:ProvidedbyMr.Thompson
Photo of Lawren Brianna Ware:ProvidedbyMs.Ware
Graphic Design: HaegDesign
℗ & © 2023 Imaginary Animals. All Rights Reserved.
WARNING: Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited by law and will result in criminal prosecution.
10.
℗ & © 2023 Imaginary Animals. All Rights Reserved
