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Composer's Collection: Jack Stamp
Urban Dreams
Composer's Collection - Vaughan Williams / Corporon, Et Al
Includes work(s) by various composers.
Composer's Collection - Schwantner / Corporon, North Texas
The earliest work is . . . and the mountains rising nowhere. By the time this review appears, the piece will be 30 years old. It represented an important turning point in Schwantner’s creative development as he emerged from the academic world of serial composition into his own more poetic and evocative musical language. Its premiere by the Eastman Wind Ensemble at a conference of the College Band Directors National Association in 1977 reportedly made a stunning impact on the many band conductors in attendance, and gave birth to a new approach in composing for winds and percussion, one that left the neo-Classicism of much of the mid-20th-century band repertoire far behind. James Popejoy’s program notes for this GIA release state, “This work in particular has had a profound effect on the wind ensemble movement since its premiere and is generally considered as one of the most important and pivotal compositions for winds and percussion of the last thirty years.” . . . and the mountains rising nowhere is scored for amplified piano, 50 percussion instruments, orchestral winds and brass, and tuned glass crystals. The players are expected to sing and whistle as well. So strikingly original is Schwantner’s treatment of the ensemble that one is not immediately aware of the absence of strings, or that one is listening to a band. The performance here is extraordinary and breathtaking. The amplified piano plays a strong role in the work, as it does in each of the four compositions for wind ensemble. The brilliant Polish-born pianist Adam Wodnicki is credited as soloist in mountains. It is not clear from the notes whether he fills this role in the other pieces as well.
. . . and the mountains rising nowhere is so accessible that its impact is immediate, so it’s no surprise that it spawned so many similar works in its wake. Of course, some of these similar works came from the pen of Schwantner himself. From a Dark Millennium (1980), written for the Mid-America Conference Band Directors Association, is one such, and it almost outdoes its predecessor with regard to fantastic sonic imagery. This work also exists in a reduced scoring for chamber ensemble, with the title Sanctuary.
Schwantner’s next wind ensemble effort was In evening’s stillness . . .. Composed in 1996 on commission from the Illinois College Band Directors Association, it is very much like the two preceding pieces in overall concept, although, to its credit, it remains fresh and effective. In fact, Schwantner envisions that the three pieces could be performed as a single work in three sections.
The most recent piece presented here is Recoil, composed in 2004 for the University of Connecticut Wind Ensemble. It calls for a somewhat larger ensemble than the previous works, and is also a more active, exciting piece, with lots of rhythmic energy. All four of these works are immediate in their impact and vivid in their imagery, calling to mind visions ranging from ancient rituals of mysterious sorcerers to futuristic landscapes of other worlds.
The remaining work is the transcription for band of Schwantner’s 1994 Percussion Concerto, which he had dedicated to the memory of Stephen Albert, the gifted composer who died in a car accident in 1992 at the age of 51. The work was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic on behalf of its principal percussionist Christopher Lamb, who gave the first performance, under the direction of Leonard Slatkin. The Concerto was recorded in 1998 by the celebrated percussionist Evelyn Glennie, with Slatkin leading the National Symphony Orchestra (reviewed in Fanfare 21:6) in a stupendous performance. It has since been performed numerous times throughout the world. In 1997, Andrew Boysen, Jr. transcribed the work for wind symphony, under Schwantner’s supervision, making it available for performance by the many highly proficient college wind ensembles. Like Recoil, just described, and A Sudden Rainbow (on the Hyperion disc), the Percussion Concerto displays the sense of direction and forward momentum often missing from Schwantner’s music, with the result that these three are among his most effective and fully satisfying compositions. The Concerto’s tremendously exciting first movement seems to show the influence of Steve Reich in its use of irregularly accented ostinato patterns. The elegiac second movement is the emotional core of the work—intensely evocative, conjuring an atmosphere of dark mystery, against which a soft, heartbeat-like motif grows gradually to a tremendous climax. The third movement returns to the rapid, rhythmically aggressive manner of the first movement, with a lengthy, partly improvised, cadenza. The transcription for band is highly effective on its own terms, giving no indication of anything “missing,” although I must admit to a preference for the orchestral version, when the two are placed in direct comparison. But the key factor here may not be the transcription, but, rather, the performance: although soloist Christopher Deane, a member of the percussion faculty of the University of North Texas, does an excellent job on the whole, he takes a curiously slow tempo in the finale, making that movement alone four minutes longer than in the Glennie performance, with the result that the finale seems a bit of a letdown. However, that is really the only criticism I have about any of the performances on this two-CD set. Throughout the set, the North Texas Wind Symphony plays brilliantly, and the sound quality of the recording is breathtaking.
As I stated in my review of the Hyperion release, enthusiasts of Schwantner’s music will definitely enjoy this recording, which may be ordered from www.archivmusic.com. However, some prospective purchasers may balk at being asked to pay $24 for a set that lasts only 83 minutes.
FANFARE: Walter Simmons
Transformations
Contact!
Discoveries / Corporon, North Texas Wind Symphony
Since the inception of the projects, composers, conductors, music critics, and connoisseurs worldwide have praised the recordings conducted by Eugene Migliaro Corporon for their innovation, excellence, and professional standards. These exceptional videos and compact discs identify and preserve the standard repertoire and globally encourage composers to contribute to the ever-growing legacy of great music that has the power of universality. The breadth and variety of the releases highlights the fact that the wind symphony, in its many forms throughout hundreds of years of music history, has been and continues to be a significant original medium for serious aesthetic expression. The projects have yielded more than 100 albums that showcase the creative energy of thousands of world-renowned composers and gifted musicians. Winds magazine offers the following regarding the body of work: “This series has immense historic value in documenting the best of the repertoire...as well as providing much sheer listening (and viewing) pleasure for the level of artistry in the performances. The acoustic quality of the recording is state-of-the- art... All of the works are superbly realized and worthy of exploration...these discs represent the standards to which all must aspire.” This release contains the works of Mackey, Dooley, Nagao, Schoenberg, Feld, Corigliano, and Daugherty.
Inventions / Corporon, North Texas Wind Symphony
Featuring music from today’s most prominent wind band composers- John Williams, Gernot Wolfgang, Bruce Broughton, John Mackey, and Michael Daugherty, this new album features the internationally acknowledged and respected North Texas Wind Symphony. The creation of the WindWorks label represents an expanded relationship between the North Texas Wind Symphony and GIA Publications. GIA’s generous support and ongoing dedication to wind music has made it possible for the ensemble to continue producing recordings of the highest quality that are a testament to the perseverance and work ethic of everyone involved. While the first 34 releases in the series, initiated in 1989, remain with the Klavier lable, this broadened alliance with GIA affords the opportunity to consolidate all of the current projects under one publishing roof. Partnering in this way creates exciting possibilities that allow the imaginative output to stay focused on the ongoing mission: to provide first-class recordings that accentuate the comprehensiveness, depth, and value of the wind symphony medium and its music. “This series has immense historic value in documenting the best of the repertoire… as well as providing much sheer listening (and viewing) pleasure for the level of artistry in the performances. The acoustic quality of the recording is state-of-the-art… All of the works are superbly realized and worthy of exploration… these discs represent the standards to which all must aspire.” (Winds magazine)
Altered States - Sierra, Etc / Corporon, North Texas Wind
Composer's Collection - Ticheli / Corporon, North Texas
Includes work(s) by various composers.
Composer's Collection - Grainger / Corporon, North Texas
Includes work(s) for band by Percy Aldridge Grainger. Ensemble: North Texas University Wind Ensemble. Conductor: Eugene Migliaro Corporon.
To You Who Bow
Composer's Collection - Gustav Holst / Corporon, North Texas
Includes work(s) by Gustav Holst. Ensemble: North Texas University Wind Ensemble. Conductor: Eugene Migliaro Corporon.
Composer's Collection - Persichetti / Corporon, Et Al
Includes work(s) by Vincent Persichetti. Ensembles: North Texas University Wind Ensemble, Cincinnati College-Conservatory Wind Symphony. Conductor: Eugene Migliaro Corporon.
Life Is Changed, Not Ended: Songs of Hope & Encouragement
Composer's Collection: George Gershwin
Offerings
Canvases / Corporon, North Texas Wind Symphony
Revelations
Genesis
God Is Everywhere
