MUSIC IN COLOR
WORKS BY A A R O N J AY K E R N I S
Sometimes, when I'm imagining music, I see colors. Not just the colors around me, but colors in my mind that the music evokes. At times a key, a sound or a chord bring out mixtures of subtle or bold hues, or simply bright and singular ones. The images in this catalog express textures and emotions which emerge from colors I "see," whether simple or saturated, illuminating in a very personal way what it feels like to create music. AARO N JAY KE RNI S
The limitless color palette of the orchestra the vast emotional tangle of the symphonic is where I feel so engaged, challenged, yet at home.
Symphonic Journeys
“dream of the morning sky� (solo sop) Symphony in Waves Second Symphony Colored Field (vc or Eng hn solo) Color Wheel Symphony of Meditations (Symphony No. 3) (sop/bar/chorus)
Rich Orchestral Color Five Etudes by Debussy (arr. by Kernis) Invisible Mosaic III Newly Drawn Sky New Era Dance Too Hot Toccata Whisper, Echo, A Cry On Wings of Light
23'
30'
25'
40'
22'
72'
20'
17' 17' 6' 6' 6' 3'
Hearing cantorial music as a small child was a formative experience: echoes of the sobbing beauty and dark intensity from Jewish traditions have marked my efforts from the start.
Works on Jewish Themes ORCHESTRA
Symphony of Meditations (Symphony No. o. 3) (sop/bar/chorus)
Colored Field (vc or Eng hn solo) Viola Concerto Lament and Prayer (solo vn/str orch/ob/hp/perc) a Voice, a Messenger (tpt/wind ens) Simple Songs (sop or ten/ch orch or ch ens) CHAMBER VOCAL AND CHORAL
Still Movement with Hymn (vn/va/vc/pno or vn/cl/vc/pno)
Trio in Red (cl/vc/pno) Death Fugue (bass bar/db/2 perc) Aria-Lament (vn) Nocturne (sop/2 glock/2 pno) Two Meditations (chorus/org) Praise Ye the Lord (chorus) Song of You (chorus)
72'
40'
30'
25'
22'
20'
28'
16'
11' 9'
5'
14' 5'
4'
I love writing music that sings and challenges... the play of lyricism and drama is so crucial in creating music for stellar soloists.
Concertos
Colored Field (vc or Eng hn) Viola Concerto Double Concerto for Violin and Guitar Three Flavors (pno) Toy Piano Concerto Lament and Prayer (vn) Valentines (sop) Dreamsongs (cello) a Voice, a Messenger (tpt/wind ens) Simple Songs (sop or ten) Concierto di “Dance Hits� (gtr) Air (vn or cello)
40'
30' 30'
28'
28'
25'
25'
22'
22'
20'
12'
11'
POP! JAZZ! POW!
Transforming the Vernacular
ORCHESTRA
Double Concerto for Violin and Guitar (with orch) Dreamsongs (vc/orch) Concierto di “Dance Hits” (gtr/str orch) Too Hot Toccata New Era Dance CHAMBER
Two Movements (with Bells) (vn/pno) 100 Greatest Dance Hits (gtr/str quartet) Ballad (8 vc or vc/pno) Three Superstar Etudes No. 1-3 (pno) Waltz for Linda (pno) Speed Limit Rag (pno)
30'
22'
12' 6' 6'
17'
15' 8'
4'; 4'; 9'
3'
3'
Music of the Spirit
ORCHESTRA
Symphony of Meditations (Symphony No. 3) (sop/bar/chorus)
Colored Field (vc or Eng hn solo) Lament and Prayer (vn/str orch/hp/perc) a Voice, a Messenger (tpt/wind ens) Simple Songs (sop or ten/orch/or ch orch) Concerto with Echoes (ch orch) Newly Drawn Sky musica celestis (str orch) Air (vn/vc/orch) On Wings of Light CHAMBER
Still Movement with Hymn (vn/va/vc/pno or vn/cl/vc/pno)
Air (vn/vc/or fl with pno or ft/str quartet)
72'
40'
25'
22'
20'
17'
17'
11'
11' 3'
28'
11'
Judaic music and modes have inspired and anchored me from childhood, and appear in many of these pieces - as do Christian and Eastern modes, which evoke for me the multiplicity of ways that the Divine can be expressed.
VOCAL AND CHORAL
Brilliant Sky, Infinite Sky (bar/vn/perc/pno) Two Awakenings and a Double Lullaby (sop/vn/gtr (opt)/pno)
Simple Songs (sop or ten/ch ens) Ecstatic Meditations (chorus) Two Meditations (chorus/org) Glorious Majesty (chorus) Praise Ye the Lord (chorus) The Love of God (chorus/org) Song of You (chorus) Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord (chorus)
20' 22'
20'
17'
14' 9'
6'
5'
4'
4'
Music on War in Our Time ORCHESTRA
Colored Field (vc or Eng hn solo) Lament and Prayer (vn/str orch/ob/hp/perc) Second Symphony Sarabanda in Memoriam (str orch) New Era Dance CHAMBER AND SOLO
Still Movement with Hymn (vn/va/vc/pno or vn/cl/vc/pno)
Trio in Red (cl/vc/pno) Death Fugue (bass bar/db/2 perc) Hymn (accordion) Aria-Lament (vn)
40'
25'
25'
16' 6'
28'
16'
11'
18'
9'
Between 1991 and 1995 I felt compelled to respond musically to the chain of conflicts that ravaged much of the world, from the First Gulf War, to Bosnia, then looking back toward World War II and the Holocaust. These works, so filled with grief and empathy, are among my most personal statements.
Inspired by Nature, Children and Love NATURE
Colored Field (vc or Eng hn solo/orch) Symphony in Waves (orch) “dream of the morning sky” (sop and orch) Newly Drawn Sky (orch) Pieces of Winter Sky (fl-picc/cl/vn – va/vc/pno/perc) Brilliant Sky, Infinite Sky (bar/vn/perc/pno) The Wheel of Time, the Dance (chorus)
CHILDREN
Garden of Light (vocal soloists/chorus/orch) Goblin Market (narr/ch ens) Before Sleep and Dreams (pno) Two Awakenings and a Double Lullaby
(sop/vn/gtr/pno)
Songs of Innocents, Books 1 and 2 (sop/pno) Angel Lullaby (pno) Playing Monster (pno)
40'
30'
23'
17'
22'
20'
17' 45'
45'
22' 22'
15’; 15' 4'
3'
Suggesting light and color through music is essential to me, as is taking on influences from the natural world, not in a literal way, but by using them to free the emotions, pouring them onto the page in sound. LOVE
Valentines (sop/orch or sop/pno) Love Scenes (sop/vc) Air (vn or vc with orch or pno, or fl with pno or str quartet)
Love Advice (chorus)
25'
25'
11'
10'
Chamber Music
POWERFUL AND STRIKING
String Quartet No. 1 (“musica celestis”) String Quartet No. 2 (“musica instrumentalis”) Still Movement with Hymn
35'
39'
(vn/va/vc/pno or vn/cl/vc/pno)
28'
(sop/fl/vla/hp/perc)
25'
L’Arte della Danssar (The Art of Dance)
Pieces of Winter Sky (fl-picc/cl/vn-va/vc/perc/pno) Music for Trio (fl-afl-picc/vc/pno) On Distant Shores (solo vc/ob/str quartet/pno) Invisible Mosaic I (cl/vn/vc/pno) Passacaglia Variations (va/pno) Perpetual Chaconne (cl/str quartet) Two Movements with Bells (vn/pno) Partita (gtr) Trio in Red (cl/vc/pno) Air (vn or vc/pno) Meditation (in memory of John Lennon) (vc/pno) Aria-Lament (vn)
22'
22'
18'
16'
19'
17'
17'
16'
16'
11'
10' 9'
Ballad (vc/pno) Second Ballad (vc/pno) A Dance of Life (vn) Fanfare Con Fuoco (cl/vn/vc/pno) Harlem River Reveille (br quintet) WHIMSICAL AND PLAYFUL
L’Arte della Danssar (The Art of Dance)
8'
8' 4'
3'
3'
(sop/fl/vla/hp/perc)
25'
(narr/vn/vc/pno)
20'
Le Quattro Stagioni dalla Cucina Futurismo (The Four Seasons of Futurist Cuisine) Delicate Songs (fl-afl-picc/vn/vc) 100 Greatest Dance Hits (gtr/str quartet) Stein Times Seven (chorus or 5 solists/pno) Feng Shui for Your New Home (sop/pno) Superstar Etudes No. 1-3 (pno) Mozart en Route (vn/va/vc) Playing Monster (pno) Phantom Polka (accordion)
18'
15'
13' 7'
4';4';8' 3'
3'
3'
Vocal Music SOPRANO
Valentines (Carol Ann Duffy) (orch/or with pno) L’Arte Della Danssar
(Italian texts from the 15th century) (fl-picc/vla/hp/perc)
Love Scenes (Ana Swir) (vc) Simple Songs (Spiritual texts from many traditions) (orch, ch. orch, ch. ens, or pno)
Two Songs: Love and Spirit (pno) Feng Shui for Your New Home (pno) Nocturne (Song of Songs) (2 glock/2 pno) Six Fragments of Gertrude Stein (fl-picc-afl) Songs of Innocents, Books I and II (19th & 20th Century texts about children) (pno)
Two Awakenings and a Double Lullaby (Texts on the Spirit of Children) (vn/gtr (opt)/pno)
25' 25'
25' 20'
10' 7'
5'
5' 15’;15'
22'
MEZZO-SOPRANO
America(n) (Day)dreams (May Swenson) (ch ens)
18'
Simple Songs (Spiritual texts from many traditions) (orch, ch orch, ch. ens, or pno)
20'
TENOR
BARITONE
Brilliant Sky, Infinite Sky
(Dream Texts from the 19th & 20th Century) (vn/perc/pno)
The Blue Animals (Jon Anderson) (pno) Clear Midnight (Walt Whitman) (pno) BASS-BARITONE
Death Fugue (Paul Celan) (db/2 perc) NARRATOR
Goblin Market (Christina Rossetti) (large ens) Le Quattro Stagioni dalla Cucina Futurismo (The Four Seasons of Futurist Cuisine) (F.T. Marinetti) (vn/vc/pno)
20' 6'
5'
11' 45' 20'
Choral Works
WITH SOLOISTS AND ORCHESTRA
Symphony of Meditations
(Symphony No. 3) (sop/bar/chorus/orch)
Garden of Light (vocal soloists/chorus/orch) A CAPELLA WORKS
Ecstatic Meditations (Mystical texts) 1. Effortlessly love flows 2. I Cannot Dance O Lord 3. How the Soul Speaks to God 4. How God Answers the Soul The Wheel of Time, the Dance (Wendell Berry) 1.The Circles of Our Lives 2. The Wheel 3. Returning Love Advice (Internet love texts) Glorious Majesty (Psalms) Praise Ye The Lord (Psalms) Dorma, Ador (Traditional Portuguese-style melody) Song of You (Hasidic Text)
72'
45'
3'30"
3'30"
4'30" 5'30" 17' 7' 6' 4'
10' 9'
6'
4'
3'40"
WITH PIANO
excerpts from Garden of Light 1. Home 2. The Light of Heaven 3. Is There a Place 4. In Search of Hope 5. In Our Children's Embrace Stein Times Seven (Gertrude Stein) I Will Lie Down (May Swenson) Music is a Gift (Philip Littell) WITH ORGAN
The Love of God (Dante) Two Meditations (Psalms) 1. On Transience 2. On the Presence of God Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord (Psalms)
4'30" 2'
2'30"
4'40" 13' 5' 3' 5'
14' 7'
7'
4'
Orchestral Works by Length 3'-11'
On Wings of Light Whisper, Echo, A Cry New Era Dance Too Hot Toccata Overture in Feet and Meters Musica Celestis (str orch) Air (vn or vc solo) 17'-22'
Sarabanda in Memoriam (str orch) Newly Drawn Sky Concerto with Echoes (ch orch) Invisible Mosaic III Five Etudes By Debussy (arr. Kernis) Color Wheel Over 25'
Symphony in Waves Colored Field (vc or Eng hn solo) Symphony in Meditations (Symphony No. 3) (sop/bar/chorus)
3'
6'
6' 6'
10'
11'
11'
17'
17'
17'
17'
20'
22'
30'
40'
72'
Works Requiring Moderate Rehearsal Time Dreamsongs (vc/orch) Simple Songs
(sop or ten/orch/ch orch or ch ens)
Newly Drawn Sky (orch) Concerto in Echoes (ch orch) Morningsongs (bar/ch ens) musica celestis (str orch) Air (vn or vc/orch) On Wings of Light (orch) Air (vn or vc pno) Meditation (in memory of John Lennon) (vc/pno) Ballad (8 vc or vc/pno) Dorma, Ador (chorus) I Will Lie Down (chorus/pno) Waltz for Linda (pno)
Concierto di 'Dance Hits' (gtr/str orch)
22' 20'
17'
17'
15'
11'
11' 3'
11'
10' 8'
5'
5'
3'
12'
Discography AIR, DOUBLE CONCERTO for Violin and Guitar, LAMENT AND PRAYER Joshua Bell, Pamela Frank, Cho-Liang Lin, Sharon Isbin Minnesota Orchestra/David Zinman Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra/ Hugh Wolff (Argo/Phoenix USA)
AIR Tim Fain, violin; Pei-Yao Wang, piano (Naxos) BALLAD (for 8 cellos) Paul York, cello (Centaur)
BEFORE SLEEP AND DREAMS, SPEED LIMIT RAG, SUPERSTAR ETUDE No. 1 Anthony de Mare, piano (Koch/E1 Entertainment) BEFORE SLEEP AND DREAMS Lara Downes, piano (Tritone Music)
THE BLUE ANIMALS Douglas Shambo, bass; Aaron Jay Kernis, conductor (Innova) CIACONA (from PARTITA) Seth Josel, guitar (CRI)
COLORED FIELD, STILL MOVEMENT WITH HYMN Julie Ann Giacobassi (English horn) San Francisco Symphony/ Alasdaire Neale (Argo)
COLORED FIELD, AIR, MUSICA CELESTIS Truls Mรถrk, cello; Eiji Oue/Minnesota Orchestra (Virgin) ECSTATIC MEDITATIONS Volti/Robert Geary (Innova)
EFFORTLESSLY LOVE FLOWS Musica Sacra/Kent Tritle (MSR Classics)
FENG SHUI FOR YOUR NEW HOME Talise Trevigne, soprano; Kelly Horstead, piano (Schott)
THE FOUR SEASONS OF FUTURIST CUISINE, BEFORE SLEEP AND DREAMS, AIR, MEDITATION (IN MEMORY OF JOHN LENNON) Evan Spritzer, narrator; Eberli Ensemble; Michael Finckel, cello; Aaron Jay Kernis and Evelyne Luest, piano; Andrea Schultz, violin (Argo/Phoenix USA) GOBLIN MARKET, INVISIBLE MOSAIC II Mary King, narrator Rebecca Miller/The New Professionals (Signum)
HOW THE SOUL SPEAKS TO GOD San Francisco Symphony Chorus/ Vance George (Delos) I CANNOT DANCE, O LORD Philip Brunelle/ VocalEssence (Clarion)
LAMENT AND PRAYER (The Glenn Dicterow Album) Glenn Dicterow, violin Lorin Maazel/New York Philharmonic (Naxos online)
LOVE SCENES; BRILLIANT SKY, INFINITE SKY; MORNINGSONGS Sanford Sylvan, baritone; Carmen Pelton, soprano; Jan Opalach, bass-baritone; Jorja Fleezanis, violin; Daniel Druckman, percussion; Robert Helps, piano; St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble/ Ransom Wilson (CRI/New World Records) MOZART EN ROUTE Ida Kavafian, violin; Steve Tenenbom, viola; Peter Wiley, cello (Bridge) MUSICA CELESTIS Gerard Schwarz/Seattle Symphony (Naxos)
100 GREATEST DANCE HITS, AMERICA(N) (DAY) DREAMS, MOZART EN ROUTE, SUPERSTAR ETUDE No. 1, NOCTURNE David Tanenbaum (guitar); Chester Quartet; Michael Barrett, piano (New Albion)
100 GREATEST DANCE HITS, BEFORE SLEEP AND DREAMS, SUPERSTAR ETUDE No.1, AIR (for Cello and Piano), MEDITATION (IN MEMORY OF JOHN LENNON) David Tanenbaum, guitar; Kashii String Quartet; Andrew Russo, piano; Felix Fan, cello (Black Box Classics) 100 GREATEST DANCE HITS Manuel Barrueco, guitar; Cuarteto Latinoamericano (Tonar Music) PARTITA David Tanenbaum, guitar (New Albion Records)
PHANTOM POLKA Guy Klucevsek, accordion (CRI/New World Records) Guy Klucevsek, accordion (Starkland)
SARABANDA IN MEMORIAM Grant Park Orchestra/Carlos Kalmar Cedille Records
SECOND SYMPHONY, MUSICA CELESTIS, INVISIBLE MOSAIC III City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Hugh Wolff (Argo/Phoenix USA) SIMPLE SONGS, VALENTINES, SONGS OF INNOCENTS Susan Narucki, soprano Donald Berman, piano Aaron Jay Kernis, conductor (Koch/E1 Entertainment)
SONG OF YOU NY Virtuoso Singers/Harold Rosenbaum (Soundbrush) STEIN TIMES SEVEN (Movement No. 6) Jan DeGaetani, mezzo-soprano; Gilbert Kalish, piano (Nonesuch)
STRING QUARTETS No. 1 ("musica celestis") and No. 2 ("musica instrumentalis") Lark Quartet (Arabesque) STRING QUARTET No. 1 ("musica celestis") The Kernis Project Jasper Quartet (Dorian)
STRING QUARTET No. 2 ("musica instrumentalis") The Kernis Project Jasper Quartet (Dorian)
SYMPHONY IN WAVES, STRING QUARTET No. 1 (“musica celestis”) Gerard Schwarz, conductor/ NY Chamber Symphony Lark Quartet (Argo/Phoenix) SYMPHONY IN WAVES, NEWLY DRAWN SKY, TOO HOT TOCCATA Carlos Kalmar/Grant Park Orchestra (Cedille) TEACH ME THY WAY, OH LORD The New York Concert Singers/ Judith Clurman (New World Records)
TWO AWAKENINGS AND A DOUBLE LULLABY Hila Plittman, soprano; David Tanenbaum, guitar; Axel Strauss, violin; Aaron Jay Kernis, piano (Naxos)
TRIO IN RED David Shifrin, clarinet; Fred Sherry, cello; Anne Marie McDermott, piano (Delos)
THE WHEEL; I CANNOT DANCE, O LORD Loïc Pierre/Mikrokosmos Chamber Choir (Jade)
IN PREPARATION:
ON DISTANT SHORES, BALLAD (for Cello and Piano), TRIO IN RED, MORNINGSONG WITH MIST (Aubade sous Brume), PLAYING MONSTER, ANGEL LULLABY, LINDA’S WALTZ, SPEED LIMIT RAG Evelyne Luest, piano; Susan Babini, cello; Caroline Stinson, cello; Members of Contrasts and Daedalus Quartets (Phoenix USA – Release date: Winter 2015) THREE FLAVORS (for Piano and Orchestra), TWO MOVEMENTS (WITH BELLS), BALLAD(E) OUT OF THE BLUE(S) – SUPERSTAR ETUDE No. 3 James Ehnes, violin; Andrew Russo, piano Albany Symphony/ David Alan Miller, conductor (Naxos – Release date: Spring 2015)
Winner of the coveted 2002 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition and the 1998 Pulitzer Prize, Aaron Jay Kernis is among the most esteemed musical figures of his generation. With "fearless originality [and a] powerful voice" (The New York Times), Kernis is one of today's most frequently performed composers. His music, full of variety and dynamic energy, is rich in lyric beauty, poetic imagery, and brilliant instrumental color. His works appear prominently on orchestral, chamber, and recital programs world-wide and he has been commissioned by many of the world’s foremost performers and institutions, including soprano Renee Fleming; violinists Joshua Bell, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and James Ehnes (for the BBC Proms); pianist Christopher O'Riley and guitarist Sharon Isbin; the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia and Minnesota Orchestras, Seattle and San Francisco Symphonies Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Walt Disney Company, Rose Center for Earth and Space, Ravinia Festival and the Lark, Orion and Jasper string quartets. Commissions in recent years have included a number of concerti for prominent soloists, a 3rd string quartet and diverse chamber works.
One of America's most honored composers, Mr. Kernis was recently inducted into the Classical Music Hall of Fame. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, he has received countless awards and prizes throughout his career, including the 2011 Nemmers Award from Northwestern University. A devoted mentor and educator, he served for ten years as New Music Advisor to the Minnesota Orchestra and founder and artistic director of that orchestra's Composer Institute for 15 years. He currently teaches composition at Yale School of Music, a position he's occupied since 2003. His works have been recorded on Virgin, Naxos, Dorian, Arabesque, Phoenix, Argo, Cedille and many other labels. Kernis also enjoys conducting and has appeared in past seasons in that role with the Pascal Rioult Dance Company, at major chamber music festivals in Chicago and Portland,
and with members of the San Francisco and Minnesota Orchestras and New York Philharmonic.
Leta Miller's book-length portrait of Kernis and his work was published in 2014 by University of Illinois Press as part of its American Composers Series.
Aaron Jay Kernis was born in Philadelphia on January 15, 1960. He began his musical studies on the violin; at age 12 he began teaching himself piano, soon after began composition studies, and went on to the San Francisco Conservatory and Manhattan and Yale Schools of Music. Kernis first came to national attention in 1982 with the acclaimed premiere of his first orchestral work, "dream of the morning sky," by the New York Philharmonic at its Horizons Festival.
“Aaron Jay Kernis: A Colorist of Dynamic Proportions” – WQXR
Publisher G. Schirmer, Inc. / Associated Music Publishers, Inc. 180 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor New York, NY 10016 212.254.2100 allison.weissman@schirmer.com www.musicsalesclassical.com
Management and Public Relations Dworkin & Company PO Box 248 Bedford Hills, NY 10507 914.244.3803 elizabeth@dworkincompany.com www.dworkincompany.com
Design by: Stanwood Studios, Laura Wurzel Music of the Spirit Photo: Elizabeth Leslie Photography Photos of Aaron Kernis and Music on War: Richard Bowditch
Inside back cover