OSKAR BÖHME, TROPMETENSEXTETT OP. 30 OskarBöhme(1870–1938)wasaGermancomposerbornin
PotschappelnearDresden.GraduatingfromtheLeipzigconservatoryin1888, it isassumedthathewastouringasasoloist from1888–1894.AconcertreviewfromBayreuthin1892alludestothis.In1896BöhmemadehiswaytoSt.Petersburg,Russiawhereheplayedinorchestras and taught until he was exiled by Stalin in 1935 andbanishedfor3yearstoChkalov.KGBrecordsshowthathewasshotin1938,probablybyStalin’shenchmen.
Trompetensextett is scored for a brass quintet and a solocornet. Movement 1 is in sonata form with a chorale styleintroduction.Themainthemeisawiderangingmelodypresentedinimitation; the second theme is amore lyrical variant of the first,followedbyadevelopmentbasedonshortmotivicsequences.Aftertherecapitulation,acodathatcreatesanexcitingconclusion.
Thesecondmovement isa scherzoand trio inE-flatmajorwithafeelingofsyncopation.Movement3returnstominorwithanelegiacthemethatbuildstoaclimaxandquicklyreturnstoacalmand sorrowfulmelody at the conclusion. The finalmovement is arondo that features a lively theme and playful variations movingthroughavarietyofkeysandtechnicalchallenges.
ElijahPugh,MichaelCovington,MattSoares,HaleyFunkhouser,
DrennanHolliday,EliWesterfield
Personnel
Brittney Patterson —flute Erik Larson — oboe/English horn
Michael Abrams — clarinet Elijah Pugh —trumpet/cornet Michael Covington — cornet
Matt Soares — cornet Haley Funkhouser — horn
Drennan Holliday — trombone Eli Westerfield — tuba
Aaron Levy — percussion Tim Heath — percussion Alex Benford — piano
Airee Loh — piano
Recording Engineer
David Myers
Album Artwork
Joshua Cayne
CARLOS SURINACH, RITMO JONDO Carlos Surinach (1915–1997)was a Catalan bornAmerican
composer.BorninBarcelona,hestudiedattheconservatorytherebefore moving to Düsseldorf to further his education in NaziGermany.ThedayafterhisgraduationfromthePrussianAcademy,heleftBerlinandreturnedtoSpain.LaterhemovedtoFrance,andin1950finallyfoundhiswaytheUnitedStates,becomingacitizenin1959.
RitmoJondowasfirstperformedataconcertsponsoredbytheMuseumofModernArtinNewYorkin1952.Eachmovement,scoredforclarinet,trumpet,xylophone,tamburo,timpaniandhandclappers,isbasedonadancefromtheFlamencotradition.Surinachhimself provided a description of the dance that eachmovementrepresents.“Bulerias”agayfastFlamencodance, improvisatory incharacter, with shifting rhythms…, “Saeta” a slow ritual song ofSeville, sung in the streetsduring theGoodFridayprocessionand“Garrotín” a violent temperamental dance of Flamenco origin,accompanied only by fragments of melody… and the staccatoclappingofrhythmsofthesurroundingobservers…
MichaelAbrams,ElijahPugh,AaronLevy
SAMUEL BARBER, CAPRICORN CONCERTO OP. 21 Samuel Barber (1910–1981) was an American composer
oftencategorizedasaneo-Romantic.However,hisworksfrom1939forwardarecomposedinamuchmoremodernway.Writtenin1943whilehewasservingintheAirForce,CapricornConcertoembodieshislaterstyleofcomposition.Scoredforflute,oboe,trumpet,andpiano,Capricorn ispresented in3movements.Barberusesmixedmeterandmotivicrepetitionextensivelythroughoutthepiece.
Thefirstmovementisbasedaround4motives,allofwhicharepresented inthefirst13measures.Based inthekeyofA, thismovementneversettlesintomajororminor.Thesecondmovementfeaturesmelodicfragmentstradedamongthedifferentpartsoveraconstantrhythmicostinatoof16thnotes.Thefinalmovementshowsclear ties to Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, opening with atrumpet fanfare that is reminiscent of the fanfare that opens theBrandenburg’s third movement. Statements of the theme areinterspersedbetweenthreeexploratorysectionsandthemovementendswithafinalstatementofthefanfaretheme.
BrittneyPatterson,ErikLarson,ElijahPugh,AlexBenford
AARON COPLAND, QUIET CITY AaronCopland (1900–1990) an iconic American composer,
whowasborninNewYorkCity.Theyoungestoffivechildren,bothof his parentswere Russian-Jewish immigrants. After high school,rather than attend college, Copland focused onmusic, continuingstudywithhispreviousteachers.In1921,hewenttoFrancewherehemetandstudiedwithNaudiaBoulanger.Overthecourseofhislife, he became a famous composer,writingmusic in a variety ofgenresandteachingatTanglewood.
Quiet City, scored for english horn, trumpet and piano ispulled frommusic that Copland originallywrote for a failed IrwinShawplayofthesamename.Themusicmimicstheplotoftheplay.Theprotagonist,GabrielMellonhasgivenuphisdreamsandrejectedhisJewishbackground,marryingawealthysocialiteandbecomingasuccessful businessman. Gabriel’s alter ego is represented by hisyoungerbrother, a tense,nervousyoung trumpeter fullofenergyandexuberancedespitebeingpoor.Thisalteregoisrepresentedbythetrumpetinthemusic.
ErikLarson,ElijahPugh,AlexBenford
PAUL BOWLES, MUSIC FOR A FARCE PaulBowles(1910–1999)wasanAmericancomposerbornin
NewYorkCity.BowleslefttheUniversityofVirginiaandmovedtoParis to studymusic after beingmoved bymusic at the Copland-Sessions Concerts. After a year abroad he returned to New YorkwherehemetAaronCoplandandVirgil Thomson.Throughouthislife,Bowlescontinuedtotravelextensively.Thesightsandsoundsheexperienced impacted his writing. In 1949, Bowles completed hisfirstnovelbeginningthejourneythatwouldleadtohimbecomingawell-knownauthoraswellasanaccomplishedcomposer.
Music for a Farce is written in 8 movements for clarinet,trumpet,pianoandpercussion.Originallywrittenfortheplay,TooMuch Johnson, Bowles pulled from that music to create acompositionfullofslap-stick-likehumor.Rangingfrommusicthatisintentionally over nostalgic, to the use of unusual noises in thepercussion part including a milk bottle and an electric doorbell,Bowleshascreatedalivelyandentertainingpieceofmusic.
MichaelAbrams,ElijahPugh,AireeLoh,TimHeath