Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble

Otto Ketting (1935-2012) Intrada 

Dutch composer Otto Ketting studied composition with his father.  He created works in most genres of classical music, including ballet, opera, and film.  He has also written for jazz ensembles.  Intrada was composed in 1958 originally for solo trumpet but is well suited to the rich sonorities of the trombone.  The work is centered on two related quasai-atonal themes punctuated by brilliant fanfare passages.  The piece is bold and expressive, proving that atonal music can be astonishingly sensitive and evocative.

Daniela Candillari (b. 1979) Extremely Close

Composer and conductor Daniela Candillari grew up in Yugoslavia.  She earned a master’s from the University Music in Graz and a PhD in musicology from the University of Music in Vienna.  She attended Indiana University on a Fulbright scholarship, where she developed an interest in jazz.  Based on Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” Candillari’s five-movement “Extremely Close” was inspired by “the way my husband and I kept close while separated for three years,” the composer says.  She treats the piano and trombone equally, creating a close dialog.  

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)  Pièce en Forme de Habanera 

Regarded as one of France’s greatest composers, Ravel grew up in an artistic home.  His parents encouraged his musical talent, and at the age of 14 he entered the Paris Conservatory.  While there he composed some of his most celebrated works, including his Pavane for a Dead Princess and his string quartet.  Pièce en Forme de Habanera, originally written as a Vocalise-etude in 1907, is a demanding and virtuosic piece which demonstrates Ravel’s skill in writing for the human voice. 

Harry Burleigh (1866-1949)  Till I Wake 

Henry Thacker Burleigh was an American composer, arranger and baritone singer who played a significant role in the development of American art song.  He arranged spirituals and other forms of African-American music into classical forms.  While attending the National Conservatory of Music, the director of the conservatory, Antonín Dvořák, asked him to sing spirituals for him.  These songs inspired some of the themes in the Czech composer’s own music, most notably his symphony No. 9, “From the New World.”  Dvořák wrote, “In the Negro melodies of America I discover all that is needed for a great and noble school of music.”  He was a founding member of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) and sat on its board of directors. ’Till I Wake” is the fifth and final song of Burleigh’s song cycle Five Songs of Laurence Hope.  Composed in 1915, with text by Hope, the cycle is considered by many to be his greatest achievement.

Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941) John Henry’s Big (Man vs. Machine)

American composer Adolphus Hailstork studied composition at Howard University and with Nadia Boulanger in France.  He received a Bachelor and Masters of Music from the Manhattan School of Music and a PhD in composition from Michigan State University.  He is currently professor of music and Composer-in-Residence at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.  “John Henry’s Big” was inspired by the legend of an American folk hero, John Henry, a giant of a man with legendary strength.  A former slave who worked in the building of American’s railroads, John Henry was said to have outperformed a steam drill.  The text uses quotes from the spiritual “Every Time I Feel the Spirit” and the folk song “The Ballad of John Henry.”  Fittingly, it is a tour-de-force for trombone and piano, as well.    

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)  Two Songs for Mezzo Soprano, Viola and Piano

German composer Johannes Brahms exhibited extraordinary talent from an early age and was playing publicly by age ten.  His early formal training grounded him firmly in the classical traditions of Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.  His friend, celebrated violinist Joseph Joachim, introduced the 20-year-old Brahms to Robert and Clara Schumann, who worked tirelessly to advance his career.  Brahms wrote the profoundly beautiful “Two Songs for Mezzo Soprano, Viola and Piano” for Joachim and his wife.  The first song, composed in 1884, is based on a poem by Friedrich Rückert.  The second, written in 1863, is based on a text by Emanuel Geibel after Lope de Vega.

Eric Ewazen (b. 1954) Angel of Dreamers 

Cleveland, Ohio, native Eric Ewazen is a composer and educator who studied at the Eastman School of Music and The Juilliard School, where he has served on the faculty since 1980.  He has also lectured for the New York Philharmonic and has served on the faculties of the Hebrew Arts School and the Lincoln Center Institute.  His compositions have earned him numerous awards.  Angel of Dreamers is a cycle of five songs for voice, trombone and strings based on poetry by Lorna Goodison.  The work was commissioned by the Faye and Semour Okun Innovative Projects Fund and premiered by Daniel Washington, David Jackson and the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings in March 2009. 

Program notes by Sara Grossman