EXTREME ALTITUDES
CrossSound Sinfonietta
Stewart Emerson (music director)

Thurs. 7 & Fri. 8 Sept. 7:45 PM, JUNEAU, Northern Light Church
pre-concert talk at 7:00 PM

Sat. 9 Sept. 7:45 PM, SITKA, Sheetk’a Kwaan Naa Kahidi
pre-concert talk at 7:00 PM

*CrossSound Commission

Shih-Hui Chen (1962 Taiwan/TX)
JIN (Metal)
(World premiere of new version)
concerto for pipa and large ensemble (violin, viola, cello, contra bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, trumpet, trombone, percussion) soloist Zhou Yi

Shih-Hui Chen originally wrote her pipa concerto "Jin" for Wu Man and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (or BMOP) in 2002 (commissioned by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at Brigham Young University). Since then she has rewritten and revised her piece to fit the eclectic 2006/2007 CrossSound Sinfonietta. She writes, “Although the title of this piece, Jin (Gold), suggests brilliance and grandeur, it serves as a point of departure for a more abstract study in contrast and continuity. Jin is from a series of pieces based on five Chinese elements, with a focus on the integration of Western compositional techniques with Chinese sound qualities. Other completed pieces in this group are: Four Pieces for Wood for solo guitar, Shui (Water) for cello and piano, and Tu (Earth) for pipa, flute, viola and percussion.

Peter Child (1953 UK/MA)
PROMENADE*
(World premiere)
for violin, viola, double bass, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, and percussion

MIT professor Peter Child writes that his piece, written for the unusual, heterogeneous composition of the ensemble of Alaskan musicians: clarinet, trumpet, trombone, percussion, violin, viola, and double bass,” will be a continuous piece in three contrasting sections, in which the emotional rhetoric aims to be immediate and engaging. The first section introduces the instruments in layers of autonomous melody, which eventually give way to a cheerful promenade based upon an English change-ringing pattern. The middle section alternates an almost unvarying melodic-harmonic meditation with transitions that have a muted fanfare-like feel. The last section is brisk, cheerful, and agitated. Echoes of a single melodic source (a descending scale pattern) recur throughout, and the instrumental writing reflects the unique composition of the ensemble.

Thomas Reiner (1959 Germany/Australia)
SWEET-SPOTS*
(World Premiere)
concerto for doublebass clarinet and ensemble (violin, viola, cello, contra bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, trombone, percussion, and pipa), soloist Kevin Schempf

Thomas Reiner writes, "The 'sweet-spots' are associated with resonance. This includes such things as the resonance between two instruments playing an octave apart, the resonance between a fundamental and its overtones, and, more metaphorically, the resonance in the case of a warm and sonorous arrangement of simple melodies and harmonies. More specifically, however, the idea of 'sweet-spots' refers to passing, transient resonances as they occur, for example, in a glissando that momentarily duplicates the pitch of a sustained sound.

"The use of pedal tones, that is, sustained pitches, is closely linked to the work's exploration of 'sweet-spots.' The stable pedals, employed throughout the piece, provide the harmonic framework for other sounds to create moments of resonance."

Reiner believes that these sweet-spots can appeal to an appreciation of sound in its own right, but also trigger emotional responses because of the warmth and reinforcing qualities associated with resonance.

Bun-Ching Lam (1954, Macao/NY)
THE CHILD GOD
(Northwest Premiere)
Shadow Puppet Opera for narrator, counter tenor, cello, dizi, suona, xun, bass clarinet, percussion, pipa, and guzheng

Lily Hudson (narrator), Randall Wong (counter tenor), Michael Kerstan (production)

Bun-Ching Lam's shadow puppet chamber opera "The Child God" was originally commissioned by Bang On a Can (NYC). Leighton Kerner of The Village Voice calls it, "An operatic gem . . . Bun-Ching Lam's music stretched the conventions of Chinese opera into intense evocations of grief, passion, and ultimate triumph. If the Child God ever comes your way, embrace it." Lam has produced a new version for us here in Alaska.

A mix of styles from all over the world, "The Child God" is sung in Chinese, prefaced by an English-speaking narrator who helps in capturing the moods of the opera.

It tells the tale of No Cha (Na Zhe in Mandarin), born with god-like powers. In his adventures he angers the Dragon King by killing a turtle guard and one of the Dragon King's own princes in fierce, mythical battles. The Dragon King intends to take the boy's transgressions out on No Cha's parents. No Cha realizes the responsibility he must take for what he has done and thus kills himself. In the end, he is reincarnated as a saint.

This is the tale as given by "The Creation of the Gods," a Ming era (1368 — 1644) mystical novel, but, as Richard K. Weems writes, "Lam turns all this into a driving piece of music, enhanced by quick turns of tempo and style found in much of today's American style (like John Zorn and David Shea, even Harry Partch). The harsh plucking and crashing of pipa and percussion found commonly in classic Chinese opera turns suddenly to a comical loping of bass clarinet and cello quite reminiscent of Meredith Monk. Through it all, Bun-Ching Lam presents not just Chinese music with a Western edge to it, but a music that is both Eastern and Western and neither, a new kind of fusion taking place to produce something fresh and quite original."

CROSSSOUND "SOLO SOUND SERIES"
RECITAL
Robert Schulz, Percussion
with special guests Zhou Yi, pipa and Kevin Schempf, bass clarinet

Sat. 2 Sept. 7:30 PM, JUNEAU, Northern Light Church

Sun. 10 Sept. 3:30 PM, SITKA, Sheetk’a Kwaan Naa Kahidi

Chen Yi (1953, China)
ANCIENT DANCES (2005)
with Zhou Yi, pipa
Three Poems by Li Bai, venturing into the partnership between traditional music and calligraphy

Stefan Hakenberg (1960, Germany)
EMERGENCE (1993)
Kevin Schempf, bass clarinet

"The clarinet … singing, shrieking, and muttering — while the percussionist throws in sly rhythmic counterpoint …"
(David Weininger, Boston Globe, 2005)

Emergence was written in 1993, the year Hakenberg arrived in Boston for grad school. At the time in Cologne, he was sharing an apartment with composer Volker Blumenthaler (CrossSound 2000) who had put him in touch with the bass clarinetist Henri Bok (CrossSound 2001). Bok is known for his versatility and for his excellent control of the so-called "extended techniques" on the bass clarinet. Hakenberg writes, "The structure of the bass clarinet part of 'Emergence' features a wide range of dynamics with a large palate of sound colors in divergent registers — some notes are flutter tongued, others are played and sung at the same time, shaping the sounds of the bass clarinet into what I like to hear as a human voice, one that is whispering, […] speaking, grunting, etc.

"At the time I was composing 'Emergence,' I was considering an opera libretto written for me by the American writer Philip Gourevitch on an early short story of his called "Mount Scopus." I was fascinated by the mental state of the central character Charlie Sharp, who, emerging from a coma, found that he had tragically lost both his legs after hitting a mine on a dirt road while on a humanitarian mission far from his American home.

"While the bass clarinet part of 'Emergence' is colorful and diverse, the percussion part is remarkably limited in sounds and scope. Four instruments are played in standardized ways. A rather high-tuned small snare always played with twig brushes is joined by a slightly muted triangle, a tambourine, and two slightly different small rattle sounds — at times mimicing the sound of a toy drum set, or the sound of mechanic monkeys druming away, and at others, the sound of Walkman headphones blasting away on the head of another.

"'Emergence' establishes four larger parts, each marking an intensification and then a short release. Each time a new part starts, [it gets more and more sparse]. The piece develops from a chaotic, faster-paced beginning, to a more consolidated, controlled, clear ending-gesture.

[In 2005] I worked with Bob Schulz [to record] 'Emergence' for a CD to be released later this year. […] Mr. Schulz's love for the instruments he chose for the percussion part shows in every well-placed beat and the joy with which he creates the sound of numerous players at the same time out of his single part. […]"
Stefan Hakenberg (2005)

Roberto Sierra (1953, Puerto Rico)
BONGO-O (1986)

“… a delightful, bouncy bauble, brief and fun”
David Cleary (NewMusicon.org, 2005)

"I have been always fascinated by the extreme virtuosity of Afro-Caribbean percussion playing. While studying the different styles of drumming I realized that timbre was an integral and extremely important part of the rhythmic patterns. Thus, where the drum is stroke becomes critical and can change the character of any given pattern. Bongo-0 is a toccata in three parts. The first section is characterized by the sounds produced by striking the drums with hands. The middle part incorporates the voice of the performer as an additional timbre. The piece ends with a virtuosic display of the bongos played with sticks." — Roberto Sierra

Eric Moe (1954, USA)
TEETH OF THE SEA (2003)

"… Moe's work is anything but predictable …"
(Peter Dobrin, Philadelphia Inquirer, 2001)

“Teeth of the Sea” is a literal translation of “Denti di Mare”, the title given to the Italian release of the movie Jaws. Although there is no reference to the score or narrative of the movie, I did have the breathtaking fierceness of the natural world in mind. The performance indication is “with barely controlled fury”; the work is virtuosic throughout.

I am grateful to Michael Lipsey, whose playing I have long admired, for commissioning the work, and to the Montana Artists Refuge, where I composed it. Additional thanks to Anne Appleby for the loan of her conga drums, and to the rainbow and cutthroat trout of the Missouri, Blackfoot, and Madison rivers, who provided ample inspiration in the form of breathtaking fishy fierceness.

Javier Alvarez
TEMAZCAL (1984)

"… The quirkiest of the computer-driven offerings ... an evocation of a Mexican steam bath ... a wonderful juxtaposition of antique and modern music making …"
(Allan Kozinn, New York Times, 1994)

Sat. 26 Aug. 7:00 PM, HAINES, Chilkat Center for the Performing Arts
Showcase of Haines
Performing Artists

Mon. 28 Aug. 7:00 PM, HAINES, Chilkat Center for the Performing Arts
Master Class I
with Stewart Emerson for singers and coaches
»auditors welcome!«

Tues. 29 Aug. 7:00 PM HAINES, Chilkat Center for the Performing Arts
Master Class II
with Stewart Emerson for singers and coaches
»auditors welcome!«

30 Aug. 7:00 PM HAINES, Chilkat Center for the Performing Arts
Public Concert
Songs and Arias from the Baroque ‘Till Today
Recital by Course Participants