PROGRAM
Pre-Concert Chat: 6:45 pm
with Vincent Ho, Michael van der Sloot, and Laurie Matiation
Giuoco delle coppie Omar Daniel (CAN)
I. allegro barbaro
II. moderato nontroppo
III. allegro pesante
IV. lento nontroppo
V. allegro molto
VI. adagio
Celestial Garden Vincent Ho (CAN)
The Strange Highway Gity Razaz (USA)
LuxAeterna Michael van der Sloot (CAN)
INTERMISSION
Piano Trio No.2:
Triptych - This Mirror has Three Faces Lera Auerbach (RUS/USA/AUS)
I. Prelude (LeftExteriorPanel) Moderato libero
II. FirstUnfolding (LeftInteriorPanel)Allegro appassionato
III. Second Unfolding (RightInteriorPanel)Tempo divalse
IV.Tell’emWhatYou See (CenterPanel)Allegro assai
V. Folding – Postlude (RightExteriorPanel)Adagio nostalgico
In C Dorian + FrankTicheli (USA)
Terry’s Whimsical Dream of F anciful Birds…in C Vincent Ho (CAN)
LAND’S END ENSEMBLE
Maria van der Sloot (violin)
Beth Root Sandvoss (cello)
Susanne Ruberg-Gordon (piano)
With the fantastic students from the MRU Conservatory
Continuing our partnership with Mount Royal University’s Conservatory, we are thrilled to present ourthird concert of our residencyfeaturing students oftheir music program! We bring you more exciting works that push the boundaries oftoday’s performance practices and sonic experiences: Omar Daniel’s Giuoco delle coppie, Gity Razaz’s The Strange Highway, Lera Auerbach’s PianoTrio No. 2, Michael van der Sloot’s LuxAeterna, and Vincent Ho’s Celestial Garden. For our grand finale, we present one ensemble performing FrankTicheli’s In C Dorian on stage and another performing Vincent Ho’s Terry'sWhimsical Dream ofFanciful Birds...in C from the balconies, ATTHE SAME TIME! Thanks to the support and permission ofthese two composers, this will be the firsttime these two works will be presented in this way, highlighting the stereophonic effects ofthe Bella Concert Hall through spatialized (separated) ensembles.
PROGRAM NOTES
Giuoco delle coppie (2 violins) - Omar Daniel (CAN)
My inspiration forthis work is the collection ofviolin duos by Bela Bartok. His worktakes the form of a series of miniatures, each one very specific in both ‘mood’ and technical challenges. Indeed, theywere pedagogical pieces meantfor students. Mywork uses Bartok’s principle of miniature ‘character pieces’, and aims to exploitthe broad technical possibilities ofthe violin, as well as explore a game-like approach to the relationship ofthe two violins. So, both violin parts are equally challenging and interesting (I hope…), and they engage in a continuous ‘cat and mouse’ relationship throughoutthe work. www.omardaniel.com
Celestial Garden (6-hand piano) - Vincent Ho (CAN)
When I was proposed the idea ofwriting a 6-hand workfor piano forthe 3-member junctQín Piano Collective, myfirst reaction was ambivalence. What could I possibly do with three players on one piano? After some contemplation on it, I realized that I alreadythink in these terms when composing orchestral music – composing in three layers (foreground, midground, and background). So, composing forthe full range ofthe piano with three pianists involved came surprisingly natural for me and was a fun wayto discoverwhat can be done when given these parameters.
The work is in five parts. The first is a prelude that is built on various coloristic gestures that are expressed as musical “brushstrokes”. A simple theme soon emerges (played in the mid-range bythe middle player) that is continuously repeated, leading into the second part of the work. The lower player joins in with a groovy chord progression harkening the spirit of blues and jazz. The upper playerthen completes the texture with music inspired bythe sounds of gamelan music. Togetherthey create a polyphonic fabric ofthree distinct layers of music, each one inspired by different musical traditions – jazz, Chinese folk, and gamelan.
As the music builds to a climax, we are soon plunged into the third section – a fast-paced 3-partfugato. Each line “chases” one another while getting shorter and shorter in length, eventually getting caught up in a motivic frenzy. This then leads into a climactic dance that is propelled by a constant beat, as played bythe lower player, while the middle and upper players unleashes with the gamelan-inspired music from before.
The fifth and final part ofthe work is a postlude, built on other coloristic gestures like those ofthe opening prelude, that brings everything to a calm while providing relieffrom the highly kinetic journeythatthe players have undergone. www.vinceho.com
The Strange Highway (cello octet) - Gity Razaz (USA)
The inspiration forThe Strange Highway comes from the eponymous poem bythe Chilean writer and poet Roberto Bolaño, also the author of the novel, 2666.
I was moved bythe subtle but potent sense of desolation and vulnerability expressed through the poem’s powerful imagery. My attempt in writing the piece was to capture and recreate these emotions through rhythmic and violent opening and closing sections that engulf a lyrical, emotionally and dramatically charged middle section that uses dense, contrapuntal melodies and rich harmonies. www.gityrazaz.com
LuxAeterna (cello ensemble) - Michael van der Sloot (CAN)
Latin for "eternal light", the lux aeterna is usually encountered as a final movement of a liturgical requiem. In this case, it is the ending of a larger work of mine in the making, Missa borealis. The movement is scored for between 6-12 cellists with orwithout amplification performing from two open-form aleatoric parts where the performers move forwards or backwards in the music attheir own individual discretion.
still life locked in a crystal embrace, sweetestsound ofsilence, suspended peace oftimeless night, and clarity ofdreamless sleep an emptywindow towarmthforgotten withoutathought norlove ofdawn
www.michaelvandersloot.com
Piano Trio No.2: Triptych - This Mirror has Three Faces - Lera Auerbach (RUS/USA/AUS)
I like the idea of exploring the dramatic, ritualistic side of music. In The MirrorWith Three Faces, one can look atthree differentfaces or roles of the same person or atthree distinct personalities - each with its own face. Each character (i.e. instrument) may be isolated, in conflict, or in harmonywith others and itself. This trio explores individuality and ensemble, harmony and conflict, one in three orthree in one – that is the ambiguous nature ofthis work, structured in the form of a triptych. https://leraauerbach.com
In C Dorian (flexible ensemble) - FrankTicheli (USA)
Composed in the wake ofthe 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, this piece sprang from a need to create music for musicians during a time when full ensembles could not meet altogether in a closed space a piece that could be played by any combination of instruments and in any number. An important catalystforthe piece is the 1960’s musical movement known as Indeterminacy. Works such as Terry Riley’s In C, John Cage’s Music of Changes, and Lutoslawski’s Venetian Games invite performers to make certain creative decisions within clear (and sometimes not so clear) structural frameworks. Marked byflexibility in terms of duration, instrumentation, and many other parameters, this now 50-year-old musical movement can now be seen as a kind of harbinger of our present day. It suggests one of many possible pathways forward as we seekways to nurture live music during this challenging time. www.manhattanbeachmusiconline.com/frank ticheli
Terry’s Whimsical Dream of Fanciful Birds…in C (flexible ensemble) - Vincent Ho (CAN)
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic there was a need for compositions thatwere adaptable to any instrumentation. A number of works were written to fulfill this need, such as FrankTicheli’s In C Dorian and Thomas Adés’ Dawn. This conceptwas newto me and I was inspired to try my hand at it. As a starting point, I turned to Terry Riley’s famous work In C as a model. Riley’s piece represents the musical concept known as indeterminacy, where various aspects of a musical work are left open to chance orto the interpreter’s choice. This provides greatflexibility in many areas – dynamics, duration, instrumentation, etc.
Similar to Riley’s work, I created my own collection of musical “cells” and cast them in the key of C major (with some cells using chromatic inflections). My piece differs from Riley’s in that I used many of the bird-like motifs and gestures I had been developing in my Whimsical Sketches of Fanciful Birds series (for saxophone). Thus, this work is my own take on indeterminacy, inspired by Riley’s In C, but expressed in my own way using motifs that evoke a gathering of birds.
I dedicate this workto FrankTicheli, whose own composition In C Dorian inspired me to followthis creative direction, and to Mathew S. James (Artistic Director ofTimepoint Ensemble) for commissioning this work. www.vinceho.com
Thank you to this season’s supporters:
