Music and Spoken Word
Tonight, I had the pleasure of listening to new music. ok, perhaps not brand new, but the composers were still alive. Not only that, but it was narrated by David Ogden Stiers. It was a really good concert, I thought everything was performed well.
On the concert was Ravel's Mother Goose Suite, arranged for cello, piano and narrator, "Lucy and the Count" (from Bram Stoker's Dracula), and "The quilting frolic" (from Legend of Sleepyhollow) by Jon Deak, and Kernis' Four Seasons of Futurist Cuisine.
Both Deak pieces were, for me, too theatric. though it doesn't surprise me to learn he played in theatrical music groups in 1960s Soho, so it makes sense. Some interesting concepts though, like sprect-whateveritwas, like sprectstimme, except instead of speach-singing, this was speach-playing. The instruments played sounds based on how a person would sound reading these lines, and these "lines" the instruments were "speaking" were in the program. A really cool concept, that sadly turned out to sound not so dissimilar from the adults in Charlie Brown.
The Mark Fish arrangement of the Ravel I thought to be interesting, and not in that "oh-I-have-nothing-good-to-say-so-I'll-call-it-interesting," but just...intriguing perhaps? Here I am trying to figure out how to use all the sounds in an orchestra, and this composer condenses Ravel's full orchestration (well, somewhat. He said he used both the original two-piano score and the later ballet orchestration). I was mostly surprised by his version of the conversation between Beauty and the Beast (this piece, by the way, made me kick myself for not having studied it before the concert, it would have been cool to know really well the original orchestrations) because I know, mind you, without actually remembering terribly accurately the piece, I know I would have put Beauty's part of the conversation in a high cello part. Maybe because I'm just fixated on high cello, but I love the sound. But he orchestrated it with the cello having the Beast's part. And it worked.
The Kernis is what I was most excited for. Well, after hearing, seeing, and talking with David Ogden Stiers. It was good. It sounded to me a lot like it could have easily been programmed on a Composer's inc. concert. It was also the only piece on the concert in which the narrator actually spoke with music was going on behind him, which is what I thought the rest of the concert was going to have too. It was my favorite piece on the program, I liked the first few movements more than the last two. I think I liked it because there was more meat to it than either of Deak's, and the Ravel...well, it's Ravel, you just can't go wrong with Ravel, but he's been around, and he's known and the Kernis is new to me. and I wanted to hear something new.
After the concert, I got to talk to David Ogden Stiers (he wouldn't sign my program, only autographs for charities, nor did he want to take a photo because he hates posing, but he was kind enough to chat with me...ACTUALLY talk with me, not like when I met PG). I am such a nerd, but I was really excited. Talked to him about music, he asked if I was still in school (everyone I talked to did...hmmm) and I told him no, I had recently graduated, that I studied composition. And then he asked me what I wrote, and this was interesting, when I said I had written mostly chamber works, but that I was currently working on an orchestral piece, he told me that, as he's heard it, it is much more difficult to write for chamber groups (especially string quartet) than orchestra. And we discussed that a bit and it was great. It was so cool to talk to someone who doesn't play an instrument, but loves and understands the world of music.
I also talked to the artistic director (amazing pianist) and the composer who arranged the Ravel, apparently has been to composer inc concerts, knew who La Rocca was and such. Talked to him about schools (after he asked me if I was still in school) and it appears I should really know more about these schools than I do. The artistic director was so easy to talk to, told her I thought it was so good to see another organization bringing attention to new music, and apparently that's a really big goal of these people and yeah. Maybe all this talking will do me good. If nothing else, it gave me practice =)
On the concert was Ravel's Mother Goose Suite, arranged for cello, piano and narrator, "Lucy and the Count" (from Bram Stoker's Dracula), and "The quilting frolic" (from Legend of Sleepyhollow) by Jon Deak, and Kernis' Four Seasons of Futurist Cuisine.
Both Deak pieces were, for me, too theatric. though it doesn't surprise me to learn he played in theatrical music groups in 1960s Soho, so it makes sense. Some interesting concepts though, like sprect-whateveritwas, like sprectstimme, except instead of speach-singing, this was speach-playing. The instruments played sounds based on how a person would sound reading these lines, and these "lines" the instruments were "speaking" were in the program. A really cool concept, that sadly turned out to sound not so dissimilar from the adults in Charlie Brown.
The Mark Fish arrangement of the Ravel I thought to be interesting, and not in that "oh-I-have-nothing-good-to-say-so-I'll-call-it-interesting," but just...intriguing perhaps? Here I am trying to figure out how to use all the sounds in an orchestra, and this composer condenses Ravel's full orchestration (well, somewhat. He said he used both the original two-piano score and the later ballet orchestration). I was mostly surprised by his version of the conversation between Beauty and the Beast (this piece, by the way, made me kick myself for not having studied it before the concert, it would have been cool to know really well the original orchestrations) because I know, mind you, without actually remembering terribly accurately the piece, I know I would have put Beauty's part of the conversation in a high cello part. Maybe because I'm just fixated on high cello, but I love the sound. But he orchestrated it with the cello having the Beast's part. And it worked.
The Kernis is what I was most excited for. Well, after hearing, seeing, and talking with David Ogden Stiers. It was good. It sounded to me a lot like it could have easily been programmed on a Composer's inc. concert. It was also the only piece on the concert in which the narrator actually spoke with music was going on behind him, which is what I thought the rest of the concert was going to have too. It was my favorite piece on the program, I liked the first few movements more than the last two. I think I liked it because there was more meat to it than either of Deak's, and the Ravel...well, it's Ravel, you just can't go wrong with Ravel, but he's been around, and he's known and the Kernis is new to me. and I wanted to hear something new.
After the concert, I got to talk to David Ogden Stiers (he wouldn't sign my program, only autographs for charities, nor did he want to take a photo because he hates posing, but he was kind enough to chat with me...ACTUALLY talk with me, not like when I met PG). I am such a nerd, but I was really excited. Talked to him about music, he asked if I was still in school (everyone I talked to did...hmmm) and I told him no, I had recently graduated, that I studied composition. And then he asked me what I wrote, and this was interesting, when I said I had written mostly chamber works, but that I was currently working on an orchestral piece, he told me that, as he's heard it, it is much more difficult to write for chamber groups (especially string quartet) than orchestra. And we discussed that a bit and it was great. It was so cool to talk to someone who doesn't play an instrument, but loves and understands the world of music.
I also talked to the artistic director (amazing pianist) and the composer who arranged the Ravel, apparently has been to composer inc concerts, knew who La Rocca was and such. Talked to him about schools (after he asked me if I was still in school) and it appears I should really know more about these schools than I do. The artistic director was so easy to talk to, told her I thought it was so good to see another organization bringing attention to new music, and apparently that's a really big goal of these people and yeah. Maybe all this talking will do me good. If nothing else, it gave me practice =)
posted by Jessica at
11:24 PM
3 Comments:
How nice that you have stared a blog. This should be a good thing for you to keep up with and get those frustrations out on.
Glad you went to the concert. I've spotted an assload of new music concerts on the horizon that you, I, or we must go see. I'll have to write the dates down and give them to you soon as some of them are coming up in the next few weeks.
Chamber music harder to write than orchestral...? I think they are about the same difficulty. Band - that is the hardest!
Study up on that theory and ear training. It probably would be a good idea to analyze a Beethoven sonata too. Don't stress too much about pbody. What happens, happens. remember - on one23 you set yourself free.
see you mardi next.
hdez
P.S. - Turn on comment verification to avoid spam comments. Those are the worse.
By
Rafael Hernandez, At
January 28, 2007 at 8:48 PM
As a fan of David Ogden Stiers, I envy that you not only got to talk to him, but you thought of something intelligent to say! :-)
One thing tho' - you're mistaken in thinking he doesn't play an instrument. He played French Horn in the Juilliard Orchestra when he was studying there, and he plays piano too. He's also Resident Conductor for the Newport Symphony Orchestra (Oregon). So it's not surprising that he had such an understanding of the music!
By
kay-uk, At
February 2, 2007 at 7:36 AM
Thats was great that you got to talk to David Ogden Stiers he is a very nice man!
From Kirsten
By
Anonymous, At
February 22, 2007 at 10:17 AM
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