Songs of Awe and Wonder - An Introductory Guide

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An Introductory Guide

“....a remarkable and important work, this is passionate music on a grand scale

– a modern day “Song of the Earth.”

John Lenehan, pianist

Songs of Awe and WonderA Symphonic Song Cycle by Andrew Webb-Mitchell

Words by Joanna Boulter

Page 2 Songs of Awe and Wonder

The first movement, The Artist’sWife, iswritten in sonata form and was inspiredby a painting by the Vienneseexpressionist artist, Egon Schiele of hiswife, Edith. It is an unusual painting andis quite unlike any of his other works; thetenderness and sensuality of this portraitcontrasts starkly with much of his otherwork, raising the question of how hissubject must have influenced both theman and the creative artist. The text forThe Artist’s Wife examines this act ofcreation from this woman’s viewpoint –questioning her role as muse to the artistand her longing to be accepted andvalued as a real woman, rather thanmerely an object of physical beauty.

In the autumn of 1918, the Spanish flupandemic that claimed more than20,000,000 lives in Europe reachedVienna. Edith, who was six monthspregnant, succumbed to the disease on28 October. Schiele died only three daysafterhiswife.Hewas28 years old.Duringthe three days between their deaths,Schiele drew a few sketches of Edith;these were his last works.

is a symphonic song cycle in nine movementsfor soprano, tenor and orchestra. The music iswritten in a direct and lyrical musical language– contemporary in style yet filled withreferences to the past. It is a powerful andemotional piece, striking in its simplicity yetrich in raw emotion. Each of the movementsaddresses the general theme of inspiration inmany connotations.

Songs of Awe and Wonder

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Kites Over Malvern pays tribute to theEnglish composer Edward Elgar, depictinghimpursuinghispassion for flyingkitesoverthe Malvern Hills. As he stands on thehillside, the kites are reeling in the cosmicsymphony that he feels all around. Hewatches the kites soaring skywards and

holds himself in readiness to transcribe thisenigmatic artistry.

Oneof thepre-eminentmusical figuresofhistime, Elgar bridged the nineteenth andtwentieth centuries as the finest Englishcomposer since the days of Handel and

"Am I real in your eyes,or am I just a muse, creation of your art,

and nothing myself?"


Purcell. Elgar's most fruitful period was thefirst decade of the twentieth century, duringwhich he wrote some of his noblest, mostexpressive music, including the SymphonyNo. 1 inA flatmajor,Op.55 (1907-1908), andthe Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61(1909-1910).

Kites Over Malvern offers a glimpse of theman in his earlier years before publicrecognition, drawing inspiration from hislove of the open countryside and consolationfor his artistic isolation.

All views of the Newcastle riverside aredominated by the seven famous bridgesacross the Tyne, which link the city toGateshead on the south bank of the river.Bridges not only reflects this spectacularimagery but also the significance of thebridges to the people that live there; theywitness and inspire the changing landscapeof a developing city.

The Quayside was once an industrial areaand a busy commercial dockside. However

during more recent times, the docks hadbecome extremely run-down as industry intheNorthEast fell intodramaticdecline.TheQuaysidehas sincebeenheavily redevelopedto provide a modern environment for themodern arts, music and culture, as well asnew housing developments. The bridgeshave played a key role in this process ofrenewal

In a wider sense, Bridges examines thesymbolic significance of bridges tohumanity, promoting the co-existence andunification of communities.

The Ascent of Gailly examines theinspiration which compels human fortitudeto great feats of endurance, and is based onthe story of Etienne Gailly, the Belgianmarathon runner who only just failed to winthemarathon in the 1948 LondonOlympics.

Gailly had never run a marathon before, buttraded the leadwithmore establishednamesthroughout the first 26 miles. Despiteunderestimating the dehydrating effect of


the severe and unusual heat and humidity, he beatback challenges on two occasions and for some timeit looked as if a big surprise was in the making. Heentered the stadium first, shortly ahead ofArgentina's Delfo Cabrera and Britain's ThomasRichards. Gailly had barely a lap of the track tocomplete, but the crowd could see his legs wobblingand his path wavering to and fro. Groans rang outaround the stadiumas he dried up to awalk andwasovertaken by Cabrera and Richards. In a shockingreminiscence of Pietro Dorado collapsing withinview of the tape 40 years earlier (the last time theGames had been held in London), Gailly fell to hisknees on the home straight. But, to a standingovation, he straightened up and staggered over thefinishing line for a bronze.

"Inspiration fires usflame of hearts and mindslike a beacon here at the borderswhere our journey begins."

The text for The Inspiration of Night takes usback to thedawnof time suggesting the aweandwonder of primitive man as he gazed towardsthe heavens, referring particularly to a bronze-age artefact, the Nebra Sky Disc; an amazingand beautiful example of early humanity'scraftsmanship and skill in astronomy.

The disc was found in a cache of bronze goods,including axes anddaggers, in aBronzeAge siteat the top of a mountain, the Mittelberg. It isthought that the site would originally have hada good view of the skies and the horizon allaround, and might have been used as anobservatory. The astronomical information onthe disc is particular to the latitude of thelocation where it was found, so it is likely thatthe discwasmade for andused in the sitewhereit was finally hidden.

"Stars burst forth with bright display,

planets gleam for guidance,

constellations arch above us"


"The core of these lyrics is their sheer, stark elegiac power reminding me of how I feltthe first time I heard Rilke’s Duino Elegies.”Award-winning British poet, critic and ecologist, David Morley

Kites Over MalvernTenor Solo

"The string is taut and I'm reeling inmy heart strings to the harmony,the soul of universal sound;the kites are reeling inthat cosmic symphony that's all around."

BridgesSoprano and Tenor Duet

"Like characters playing a role in the dramathey quietly influence all that they see.They speak of past and of future,imparting their lore."


The Inspiration ofNightSoprano Solo

"Then souls will stir and wake to skiesthat encircle the earth with their nightly beauty.

Now the pulse of the visiting night still holdsour souls enraptured,the cloak of darkness all about us:for we could fear the night yet do not."

The Ascent of GaillyTenor Solo

"My body gives way; I stumble, am falling,am passed, and passed again.How can I keep on in vain?For my vanishing hopes are melting away tonothing."

Extracts from lyrics byJoanna Boulter


“In Songs of Awe and Wonder, AndrewWebb-Mitchell has created a stunning set of symphonic songs on

a grand scale. The music is full of passion and heroism, with glorious harmony and beautiful textures.

The orchestration is beautifully detailed and the vocal writing creates a soaring line that carries the

listener right through the vast canvas of the cycle. The work is dedicated to Mahler but, although the

scale of the work is comparable to aMahlerian song cycle, themusic is in noway derivative andAndrew

Webb-Mitchell has his own unique style and sound-world.” Tasmin Little, OBE

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¬ Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé Orchestraperformed the world premiere of TheInspiration of Night in October 2012 at TianjinGrand Theatre, China.

¬ Songs of Awe and Wonder was recorded in 2011by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestraconducted by Mikel Toms, with ElizabethBailey (soprano) and Hui Jin (tenor).

¬ The album was produced by Alexander VanIngen and mixed by Mike Hatch of FloatingEarth, all for First Creative Productions.

¬ Several short films have been producedfeaturing movements from Songs of Awe andWonder, including Dances of Life and Death andKites Over Malvern.


“There is dream, daring and duende in the

poetry of Songs of Awe andWonder."

Award-winning British poet, David Morley"Soaring vocal lines, sparkling orchestration

and direct, vivid storytelling. A great new

work.”

Michael Price, Music editor for the Lord of The Rings Trilogy

Joanna Boulter is a British poet who has publishedthree poetry pamphlets and received several awardsfrom the Arts Council. Her lifelong interest in musicas well as words led to her first full-length poetrycollection, Twenty Four Preludes and Fugues onDmitri Shostakovich (Arc Publications), which wasshortlisted for the Forward First Collection Prize in2007. She is a Hawthornden Fellow, and has receivedaTyroneGuthrie Fellowship and aNorthern PromiseAward, from Northern Arts and NewWriting Northrespectively.

Joanna readEnglish, Latin andMusic at theUniversityof London, and later gained a distinction at MA inWriting Poetry at Newcastle University.


Dreams of FlightSoprano and Tenor Duet

Dreams of Flight is set in Kitty Hawk on a coldDecember morning in 1903. The Wright brothers arehard atworkwith final preparations tomake theworld’sfirst controlled powered flight. They briefly reflect onthe immensity of the task they face but are now willingto throw caution to the wind. As they start the engine,the propellers begin to rotate; movement begins towake in The Flyer, longing for wind in its wings.

The first flight was made by Orville and lasted only 12seconds, during which the airplane flew 120 feet. Thatsame day, however, on its fourth flight, with Wilbur atthe controls, the plane stayed in the air for 59 secondsand traveled 852 feet before a severe gust of windseverely damaged the craft.

Dances of Life andDeathSoprano Solo

An intimate portrait of Anna Pavlova as she preparesfor the role in which she became most closelyassociated. While touring in The Hague, Netherlands,Pavlova was told that she had pneumonia and requiredan operation. She was also told that she would never beable to dance again if shewent aheadwith it. She refusedto have the surgery, saying "If I can't dance then I'drather be dead." She died of pleurisy, three weeks shortof her 50th birthday. Shewas holding her costume fromThe Dying Swan when she spoke her last words, "Playthe last measure softly."


Drinking AloneUnder the MoonTenor Solo

Apoet raises his glass and invites themoon to drinkwith him and in turn the moon shines upon himcasting his shadow. These three friends then spendtheir evening together; as the poet sings his song,the moon sails across the sky. As the poet dances,the shadow dances with him. Finally at the end ofthe evening the three friends part, hoping to meetagain one day on the far reaches of the milky way.

After Li Bai

EarthscapeSoprano and Tenor Duet

My first view - a panorama of brilliant deep blueocean, shotwith shades of green and gray andwhitewas of atolls and clouds. Close to the window Icould see that this Pacific scene in motion wasrimmed by the great curved limb of the Earth. Ithad a thinhaloofblueheld close, andbeyond, blackspace. I heldmy breath, but somethingwasmissingI felt strangely unfulfilled. Here was a tremendousvisual spectacle, but viewed in silence.Therewasnogrand musical accompaniment; no triumphant,inspired sonata or symphony. Each one of us mustwrite the music of this sphere for ourselves.Charles Walker, Astronaut

www.theenglishcomposer.comMUSIC © ANDREW WEBB-MITCHELL 2012LYRICS © JOANNA BOULTER 2012© 2012 THE COPYRIGHT OF THESE PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS ANDTHIS SOUND RECORDING IS OWNED BY ANDREW WEBB-MITCHELL.ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Andrew Webb-Mitchell has had a long anddistinguished career inmusic education, holdingpositions in Kuwait and Taiwan before leadingmusic departments in several schools in theUnited Kingdom. As Director of Music atNewcastle Church High, one of England'sleadingprivate schools, he ledhis choir in a seriesof successful tours of Europe, performing inVienna, Budapest, Prague, Florence and Rome.In 2005 his choir performed during Mass in St.Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. During this timehewas also responsible for stageperformances ofBernstein's fiendish musical, On The Town andGershwin's chamberopera, BlueMonday. In2008

he was appointed Director of Music andPerforming Arts at the British School of Beijingand in 2010 became founding Headmaster ofKing's College Beijing. He is currentlyComposer-In-Residence for The British SchoolsFoundation.

As a composer,Webb-Mitchell's orchestral songcycle, Songs of Awe andWonder was recorded bythe Brno Philharmonic in 2011, his professionalrecording debut. His orchestral song TheInspiration of Night was premiered at the TianjinGrandTheatre inOctober2012bySirMarkElderand the Hallé Orchestra.

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Songs of Awe and Wonder - An Introductory Guide

Documents

pianistsongs of awe

music iswritten

wondera symphonic song

passionate music

mostexpressive music

modern day song

egon schiele of hiswife

earlier years