Banner (2014)

The bulk of the Program Notes have been provided by the composer (https://www.jessiemontgomery.com):

Banner is a tribute to the 200th Anniversary of the Star Spangled Banner, which was officially declared the American National Anthem in 1814 under the penmanship of Francis Scott Key. Scored for solo string quartet and string orchestra, Banner is a rhapsody on the theme of the Star Spangled Banner. Drawing on musical and historical sources from various world anthems and patriotic songs, I’ve made an attempt to answer the question: “What does an anthem for the 21st century sound like in today’s multi-cultural environment?”

In 2009, I was commissioned by the Providence String Quartet and Community MusicWorks to write Anthem: A tribute to the historical election of Barack Obama. In that piece I wove together the theme from the Star Spangled Banner with the commonly named Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing, by James Weldon Johnson (which coincidentally share the exact same phrase structure). Banner picks up where Anthem left off by using a similar backbone source in its middle section, but expands further both in the amount of references, and also in the role play of the string quartet as the individual voice, working both with and against the larger community of the orchestra behind them. The structure is loosely based on traditional marching band form, where there are several strains (or contrasting sections), preceded by an introduction, and I have drawn on the drum line chorus as a source for the rhythmic underpinning in the finale. Within the same tradition, I have attempted to evoke the breathing of a large brass choir as it approaches the climax of the “trio” section. A variety of other cultural Anthems and American folk songs and popular idioms interact to form various textures in the finale section, contributing to a multi-layered fanfare.

The Star Spangled Banner is an ideal subject for exploration in contradictions. For most Americans the song represents a paradigm of liberty and solidarity against fierce odds, and for others it implies a contradiction between the ideals of freedom and the realities of injustice and oppression. As a culture, it is my opinion that we Americans are perpetually in search of ways to express and celebrate our ideals of freedom — a way to proclaim, “we’ve made it!” as if the very action of saying it aloud makes it so. And for many of our nation’s people, that was the case: Through work songs and spirituals, enslaved Africans promised themselves a way out, and built the nerve to endure the most abominable treatment for the promise of a free life. Immigrants from Europe, Central America and the Pacific have sought out a safe haven here, and though met with the trials of building a multi-cultured democracy, continue to find rooting in our nation, and make significant contributions to our cultural landscape. In 2014, a tribute to the U.S. National Anthem means acknowledging the contradictions, leaps and bounds, and milestones that allow us to celebrate and maintain the tradition of our ideals.

The scoring for this work consists of solo string quartet plus tutti strings.

Impressions from the Black Sea for Horn and Orchestra

The bulk of the Program Notes have been provided by the composer (https://danlazarescoumusic.com/):

Impressions from the Black Sea is a symphonic work of loose musical impressions of memories of the Black Sea. Called Pontos Axeinos (The Dark or Inhospitable Sea) by the ancient Greeks or, later, Pontus Euxinus (The Hospitable Sea) by the Romans, the Black Sea witnessed the tumultuous birth and history of the six modern countries which share today its shores: Romania to the northwest, Ukraine to the north, Russia and Georgia to the east, Turkey to the south and Bulgaria to the southwest.

The first movement, Pontus Euxinus, opens the work with impressions of a hospitable sea.

The Bridge at Drobeta, over the Danube, was built and crossed by the Roman legions Legio II Adjutrix recalled from the British Islands, Legio IV Flavia Felix recalled from Moesia Superior (modern Serbia), and a detachment of Legio VI Ferrata recalled from the Roman province of Judea. The Roman legions conquered Dacia (modern Romania) during the Dacian Wars, commemorated by the bas-reliefs of Trajan’s Column in the center of Rome.

Trials and Tribulations are inspired by two Romanian folk songs: Mocirita cu trifoi, a love song, and Cantec de catanie, an army drafting old song.

The last movement, The Black Sea, brings back polyphonically the previous musical themes. The memories of the welcoming sea conclude the Impressions from the Black Sea.

Scored for horn solo, woodwinds in pairs (plus piccolo), 3 each of trumpets and trombones, timpani, percussion, harp, and strings, the work is played mostly without pause, the only break occurring between Movements Two and Three.

Symphony No. 5 in C-Minor, Op. 67

First Performance: Theater an den Wien, Ludwig Van Beethoven (conductor): Vienna, December 1808

As a Music Appreciation instructor for over a quarter of a century, Beethoven’s groundbreaking “Fate” symphony has long been a favourite lecture topic of mine; I mean, are there any four notes in the history of music more famous than this work’s iconic opening?? Even military historians will recognise the three short notes followed by a long note as the three dots and a dash that represent V (for Victory) in Morse Code!! This four-note motive permeates the entire work, providing the glue that holds the piece together—sometimes it’s obvious; sometimes, not so much. But it’s always there, if you know what to listen for. Beethoven’s influence, as the bridge composer between music’s Classical and Romantic periods, cannot be overstated here, and in the 5th Symphony, many of his most important innovations are clearly on display as the work progresses.

The First Movement is a relatively straightforward sonata form, and includes primary, secondary, and closing themes. The four-note motive provides the basis for the main theme, and is used as an accompanying figure beneath the second theme. A couple of unusual features of the first movement include a cadenza-like oboe solo following the opening of the recapitulation, and an extended coda (closing section) that is equal in length to the previous exposition, development, and recapitulation sections (Beethoven became known for his lengthy codas, especially in his middle and late period compositions). The coda also introduces a new theme not previously heard in the movement.

The Second Movement is a theme-and-variations form featuring two important themes, not one. The lower strings really get the opportunity to shine here, with the violas and cellos carrying the melodic material of the first theme in its opening statement, along with variations one and two. The second theme starts in the clarinets, and is reiterated in the trumpets before a bridge takes us to the next variation in sequence. Remember our four-note motive?? You’ll hear it in the second theme, following the dotted figure pick-up. A quasi-development section featuring aspects of both themes occurs between variations two and three, with another rather lengthy coda to conclude the movement. Harmony nerds will rejoice at the reference to the first half of “La Folia” (harmony only, not the well-known Corelli melody—though it could, in fact, easily be layered over Beethoven’s material!!) that occurs near the end of the “development” section.

The Third Movement is a scherzo, rather than the Minuet and Trio one normally associates with earlier Classical period instrumental works. While this is normally a ternary (ABA) form movement, there is some evidence that Beethoven intended for the scherzo proper of the 5th Symphony to be repeated twice, as happens in symphonies Four, Six, and Seven, creating an ABABA structure (these performances will feature the standard ABA format). The two themes that comprise the scherzo are easily distinguishable one from the other: An arpeggiated figure played by the cellos and basses in pianissimo, followed by the full orchestra, led by the horns, in fortissimo. The second theme is created using the four-note motive (short-short-short-long) as its basis, making it impossible to confuse the two. The Trio in this instance is a rather boisterous fugue, starting in the lower strings, and working its way up through the full orchestra. Note that the return to the scherzo maintains its quietness throughout, rather than alternating the earlier dynamic contrasts, with the focus on the woodwinds, accompanied by pizzicato strings. Rather than ending, the movement enters a mysterious and hushed transition, based on the arpeggiated theme, that concludes with a huge crescendo into the Fourth Movement.

First things first: Let’s add some instruments to the orchestra!! In the Fourth Movement, Beethoven adds piccolo, contrabassoon, and three trombones, giving extra weight to both ends of the pitch spectrum (up until this point, the work has featured a typical Classical period instrumentation of woodwinds in pairs, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings). It is a sonata form movement—but with stretch marks. We have our usual three themes, the second theme being where the four-note motive is strung together to create a melody; this theme will also be the basis of the development and the coda. Where things really go off the rails in terms of format is right before the recapitulation: Beethoven returns to the second theme of the THIRD MOVEMENT!! This begs the question: Is it a real return,…or has the earlier material simply been continuing along beneath the main body, and we just didn’t notice it until now?? The movement finishes with a gigantic coda that teases the listener with at least a half-dozen false endings before reaching its triumphant conclusion.