Monhegan Suite and Other Musical Journeys

Monhegan Suite and Other Musical Journeys

  • 流派:Classical 古典
  • 语种:英语
  • 发行时间:2013-01-24
  • 类型:录音室专辑
  • 歌曲
  • 歌手
  • 时长

简介

This CD contains three different musical journeys through time. We hope that listeners will feel they have spent that day on Monhegan Island, experienced the brief but passionate relationship of the Apache lovers and traced the evolution of the Tango over the course of a century. Monhegan Suite by John Kusiak was commissioned by Jill Dreeben to depict the moods and tones of different places on Monhegan Island in the course of a summer day. The rest of this booklet will be devoted to the thoughts of the composer. Katherine Hoover described Canyon Echoes as the story of two young Apaches from a large canyon “where the streams ripple and the wind sings in the cottonwoods.” In Dance they meet and have eyes only for each other. Serenade marks the growth in their friendship. She Mourns when her young lover leaves for the hunt. When He Returns he is stricken to learn she has fallen ill and died. In Histoire du Tango, Astor Piazzolla traces the evolution of the Tango from its origins in Buenos Aires in Bordel 1900 to Cafe 1930 then to Club 1960. Prelude – 12 Nautical Miles – This movement opens with the guitar emulating the sound of distant bell buoys that gradually come closer. An introduction leads to a dreamy anticipation of the day; the main theme with its Lydian mode character is stated by the flute. Excitement over returning to Monhegan builds as I imagine the Laura B ferry making the 12- mile trip from Port Clyde over open sea, a trip sometimes accompanied by harbor porpoises, whales, and seals. Sunrise at Burnt Head – The summer day begins with a sunrise that can be best experienced by rising a half-hour before dawn, walking a half mile across the island to the eastern cliffs (in this case, Burnt Head) and waiting for the sun to appear over the ocean. The dawn is shared with seagulls and scrub pine. The flute gradually climbs as the sun ascends and the mood is serene and reverent, finishing with a chorale-like section in Eb. Lobster Cove – Lobster Cove is on the southern tip of the island and is mostly flat and rocky. It sports a wreck of the D.T. Sheridan rusting peacefully by the surf. In the music, I have tried to create a feeling of the rolling waves with guitar arpeggios and odd meters. The flute melodies contain and develop some of the bird songs that I recorded while walking to the cove. Day Trippers – This is a fun movement for mid-day that illustrates the chaotic and sometimes humorous activity found on the dock, Main Street and the beaches when tourists converge on Monhegan for a few hours. The Trails to the Headlands – Monhegan is famous for its trails. This movement evokes the haunting beauty of the forest. It is quiet and dark with shafts of light illuminating green moss. In foul weather, these trails can be treacherous, but in August they are magical. The trail ultimately leads to the Headlands, opening onto bright sunlight and dramatic cliffs. Waves crashing against the rocks below are suggested by cascading flute arpeggios and dramatic guitar strumming. Few who fall in on this side of the island have been rescued. The danger is real for the reckless and the unlucky. The Library/Jackie and Edward – Jackie Barstow and Edward Vaughan were two of the unlucky ones. In 1926, Edward was supervising Jackie’s eleventh birthday party picnic on a flat rock at the base of Black Head when she was swept out to sea by a rogue wave. Edward jumped in to save her. Both were lost. The Monhegan Memorial Library was dedicated to them and provides a quiet place to read and reflect. Here the main theme is stated and developed by both instruments in turn; a simple meditation on the tragic loss of two innocents. Sunset at the Lighthouse – One of the great pleasures of Monhegan is viewing the sunset from lighthouse hill. This movement is related in tone and tempo to the Sunrise movement, building in intensity with the setting sun through quiet expectation, dramatic light and clouds, and vibrant colors. It reprises the reverent chorale of the Sunrise music as the sun descends into the horizon, ending with a promise of return through the use of unsettled seventh-chord harmony. Evening: Friends and Family – Here, the theme loses its Lydian character as it is set to a simple accompaniment in B Major expressing the warmth of family, friends and laughter. Music that describes the boat journey to the island is recapitulated in portraying the journey back to the mainland. Epilogue –Dream: Winter on the Island – Back home on the mainland – “inshore” as year-rounders call it – the island is still with me in my imagination. Dreaming about what the island is like in winter is reflected musically in a new theme played by solo guitar. When the flute enters, hints of previous themes return in an extended quasi-improvised section. As the movement concludes, guitar themes from the prelude are repeated. The bell buoy sounds a positive chord as it fades away beneath undulating flute arpeggios. Jill Dreeben has performed in numerous solo flute and chamber music concerts throughout New England. She is a founding member of Solar Winds Woodwind Quintet and a member of Kaleidoscope Chamber Ensemble. She has played with the Lumen Contemporary Ensemble, Composers in Red Sneakers and has been a soloist with The Boston Secession. She premiered music written for her by composer John Kusiak and recorded some of his commercial works as well as works by local composers Pasquale Tassone, Armand Qualliotine, Betsy Schramm and James Ricci. Jill Dreeben plays with the New England Orchestra in Lowell and she has performed with Emmanuel Music of Boston. Ms. Dreeben studied with Craig Goodman, Louis Moyse and Lois Schaefer. She earned a BA in Music from Cornell University (1983) and an MM in Flute Performance from New England Conservatory (1987). Currently Ms. Dreeben teaches flute at Brandeis University and maintains a private studio in Arlington, MA. Peter Clemente has performed solo and chamber music throughout New England and has completed successful concert tours in California and in the southwestern United States. He has been featured live in concert/interview radio broadcasts on WGBH, Boston, and KPFK, Los Angeles, and in 1990 made his New York debut at Weil Hall with soprano Katherine Emory. A native of Massachusetts, Mr. Clemente studied the guitar with Richard Provost at the Hartt School of Music, where he is the only guitarist to have received the prestigious Applied Music Award for outstanding musical performance. Later training was with David Leisner at New England Conservatory and with Neil Anderson at the Boston Conservatory. He was the firstprize winner in both the Guitar Foundation of America’s International Solo Competition in 1986 and the Ovation Classical Guitar Competition in 1981. He is currently a Lecturer in Music at Assumption College in Worcester, MA. John Kusiak composes music for film, television and live performance. He has scored hundreds of projects, including television documentaries (HBO, IFC, PBS and Sundance), large-screen exhibitions (Yellowstone National Park and the Smithsonian) and feature films (Tabloid, Secrecy, The Singing Revolution and additional music for the 2004 Academy Award winning documentary The Fog of War). His score for Errol Morris’ “Tabloid” won the 2012 Cinema Eye Honors Award for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music

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