Le Carnaval de Venice by Jules Demersseman (1833-1866/arr. Hemke
Jules Demersseman was a flutist and composer who was born in Holland but studied in Paris. He was known to have lungs possessing impressive power and capacity, as well as fingers and tongue of incredible velocity. He dazzled audiences with lengthy cadenzas and pyrotechnics of his own writing, causing them to stand and shout with enthusiasm. Le Carnaval de Venice was written for Adolphe Mayeur, a music director of the Imperial Guard Band and an accomplished saxophone performer. Mayeur had been a student of Adolphe Sax. Published posthumously in 1867, Caranaval was first published by “House of Adolphe Sax.”
Monday, July 14, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Ode to Lord Buckley
Ode to Lord Buckley by David Amram (b.1930)
I played piano for Lord Buckley, and spent his last night and early morning with him. A few hours later, a friend called up and said he had passed on. I have never forgotten him or that time many years ago.
Lord Buckley was the consummate performer, who had total command of his instrument, his voice, and his ability to be all the various people that inhabited the world he created for his memorable performances. He was one of the first to combine Shakespeare, the Bible and the poetry of the streets.
For many of us, he was a combination of Walt Whitman, Charlie Parker, Baudelaire and Lawrence Olivier.
Like Whitman, he was always lyric and grandiose. He reminded me of Charlie Parker as he created new stories out of thousands of unique patterns with spontaneous flights of fancy and one-time-only improvisations drawn from the moment. He seemed to relive Baudelaire's spirit as a mad, burning passionate poet, always romantic and worldly, in spite of the overwhelming setbacks that would have destroyed almost anyone else. Like Olivier, he could create and become any number of unforgettable human beings and make you remember them forever. Lord Buckley was much more than his defined role as a comedian and entertainer. He was a visionary and a true American original, influencing a whole generation. All who heard him recognized him as an underground genius of spontaneous American poetry and humor.
He captured the great joy and the great melancholy of the 1940 s and 1950's.
The alto saxophone is an instrument that bridges the classical American tradition created by Johnny Hodges and Charlie Parker, whose amazing creativity, like Lord Buckley's, had no precedent. I felt a concerto for alto saxophone and orchestra would be a way of expressing homage to the era I grew up in.
January 20, 1981 David Amram
I played piano for Lord Buckley, and spent his last night and early morning with him. A few hours later, a friend called up and said he had passed on. I have never forgotten him or that time many years ago.
Lord Buckley was the consummate performer, who had total command of his instrument, his voice, and his ability to be all the various people that inhabited the world he created for his memorable performances. He was one of the first to combine Shakespeare, the Bible and the poetry of the streets.
For many of us, he was a combination of Walt Whitman, Charlie Parker, Baudelaire and Lawrence Olivier.
Like Whitman, he was always lyric and grandiose. He reminded me of Charlie Parker as he created new stories out of thousands of unique patterns with spontaneous flights of fancy and one-time-only improvisations drawn from the moment. He seemed to relive Baudelaire's spirit as a mad, burning passionate poet, always romantic and worldly, in spite of the overwhelming setbacks that would have destroyed almost anyone else. Like Olivier, he could create and become any number of unforgettable human beings and make you remember them forever. Lord Buckley was much more than his defined role as a comedian and entertainer. He was a visionary and a true American original, influencing a whole generation. All who heard him recognized him as an underground genius of spontaneous American poetry and humor.
He captured the great joy and the great melancholy of the 1940 s and 1950's.
The alto saxophone is an instrument that bridges the classical American tradition created by Johnny Hodges and Charlie Parker, whose amazing creativity, like Lord Buckley's, had no precedent. I felt a concerto for alto saxophone and orchestra would be a way of expressing homage to the era I grew up in.
January 20, 1981 David Amram
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Catch Me if You Can
Catch Me if You Can by John Williams (b. 1932) is one of the composition that me and Todd will play together on November.
It's from the soundtrack of the 2002 film Catch Me if You Can, which constituted a delightful departure for director Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of Frank Abagnale, the teenaged imposter, who baffled FBI agents with his incredible exploits.
The film is set in the now nostalgically tinged 1960's, and so it seemed to me that I might evoke the atmosphere of that time by writing as sort of impressionistic memoir of the progressive jazz movement that was then so popular. The also saxophone seemed the ideal vehicle for this expression and this piece is the result. The music relates to the often humorous sleuthing which took place in the story.
The piano accompaniment part is rather easy and tricky at the same time. Fast tempo, quarter note = 152, consists of triplet figurations, a toccata like movement. Quiet, light, smooth, and fun, that's how I describe this piece. I'm still at quarter note = 100 now, will get there, along with the other pieces. It starts with incomplete soft triplets and end short and soft in F sharp octave.
It's from the soundtrack of the 2002 film Catch Me if You Can, which constituted a delightful departure for director Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of Frank Abagnale, the teenaged imposter, who baffled FBI agents with his incredible exploits.
The film is set in the now nostalgically tinged 1960's, and so it seemed to me that I might evoke the atmosphere of that time by writing as sort of impressionistic memoir of the progressive jazz movement that was then so popular. The also saxophone seemed the ideal vehicle for this expression and this piece is the result. The music relates to the often humorous sleuthing which took place in the story.
The piano accompaniment part is rather easy and tricky at the same time. Fast tempo, quarter note = 152, consists of triplet figurations, a toccata like movement. Quiet, light, smooth, and fun, that's how I describe this piece. I'm still at quarter note = 100 now, will get there, along with the other pieces. It starts with incomplete soft triplets and end short and soft in F sharp octave.
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