ALL-DAY MEETING AND DINNER ON THE GROUND
HIGH ALTITUDE TROMBONE QUARTET with LEE GARRETT, organ
Daniel Speer (1636-1707) 3:02
1. Sonata for Four Trombones and Continuo (1685)
Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) 6:25
2. Fili mi Absalom (1629)
- John Lueck, baritone
Giovanni Gabrieli (1553-1612) 4:18
3. *Sonata Pian' e Forte (1597)
Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672)
4. Attendite, populue meus, legem meam (1629) 10:02
-John Lueck, baritone
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
5. Wachet Auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Awake, A Voice is Calling), BWV 645 4:03
6. Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (Come, Savior of the Nations), BWV 659 3:47
7. Wir glauben all an' einen Gott (We Believe in One God), BWV 680 3:14 - Lee Garrett, organist
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
*Selections from 'Mass in C Minor, K.427' (1783)
8. Qui Tollis 4:12
9. Jesu Christe - 10. Cum Sancto Spiritu 0:39, 4:20
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
11. *Inveni David (1868) 2:48
12. *Ecce Sacerdos Magnus (1885) 5:31
- John Lueck, baritone
Charles Ives (1874-1954)
13. Processional: "Let There Be Light" (1901) 2:08
- Carol Wilson, extra organist
Robert Spillman (born 1936)
14. All-Day Meeting and Dinner on the Ground (1998) 13:01
*World Premier Recording*
Henry Mancini (1924-1994)
15. Two for the Road (arr. Tony Klatka)
1. Sonata for Four Trombones and Continuo (1685) Daniel Speer (1636-1707)
Speer was the author of a modest musical treatise (1687) which included instructions for playing contemporary musical instruments. He included a few sonatas that purport to illustrate what he considered appropriate musical style suitable for them, including some works for trombones. These compositions for three and four trombones, of course, have become staples of the trombone repertoire. This recording recognizes Baroque performance practice in dynamics and ornamentation.
2. Fili mi Absalom (1629) Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672)
4. Attendite, populue meus, legem meam (1629)
Schütz was the most important German composer of the first half of the seventeenth century. He made two important trips to Italy--earlier to study with Giovanni Gabrieli, and later to study the operatic style of Monteverdi. These two solo motets are the product of the later trip, and were published in Venice in the year of his return to his position in Dresden. They are characterized by the passionate, dramatic declamatory style of Monteverdi's operas, complete with short solo instrumental sections ("sinfonia") for trombones and continuo. The first motet is the well-known lament of King David for his son, Absalom, and the second is from the Psalm 78. The choice of trombones in these motets is a natural expression of their importance in the musical traditions of both Venice and Germany, and lend an appropriate solemnity to the gravity of the texts (which follow).
Fili mi Absalom, fili mi, My son, Absalom, Quis mihi tributat ut ego moriar prote quis, would that I had died in your place, Absalom, fili mi Absalom. my son Absalom.
Attendite, popule meus, legem meam, inclinate aurem vestram in verba oris mei.Aperiam in parabolis os meum, loquar propositiores ab inintio.Quanta audivimus et cogno vimus ea, et patres nostri narraverunt nobis.Hear my law, O my people; incline your ears unto the words of my mouth.I will open my mouth in a parable; I will declare hard sentences of old;Which we have heard and known, and such as our fathers have told us.
- from Psalm 78 (Maschil of Asaph)
3. Sonata pian' e forte (1597) Giovanni Gabrieli
(1553-1612)
This well-known composition has long been touted as important for its early use of specific dynamic indications--hence the title. While it has been performed by every imaginable instrumentation, it originally was conceived for two instrumental choirs: cornetto and three trombones, and violino (a viola-like instrument) and three trombones. This performance substitutes organ for the first choir, and uses four trombones in the second choir. While entitled a "sonata," the composition is clearly in the vocal polychoral motet tradition, and as such, makes for a natural vehicle for the vocal style of trombone playing.
5. Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
6. Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659
7. Wir glauben all an' einen Gott, BWV 680
Throughout his life Bach was interested in the various ways the chorales used in Lutheran liturgy could be arranged for the organ, and we have four important collections that he assembled for that purpose.
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme ("Awake, a voice is calling") is the first of a group of six organ chorales published by Johann Schübler around 1746, and is transcribed from the tenor aria in Bach's 'Cantata 140', composed in 1731. Bach's carefully-notated articulation marks for the violins in the cantata are retained in the organ setting, representing invaluable guidance in aspects of Baroque performance style.
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland ("Come, Savior of the nations") exists in three arrangements in a collection of eighteen chorales (sometimes referred to as the "Leipzig" chorales) Bach worked on throughout his life. The first setting is heard in this recording, presenting a highly ornamented melody in the soprano register.
Wir glauben all an einem Gott ("We believe in one God") is taken from the third part of Bach's Clavierübung (keyboard studies), consisting of various chorales in a sequence appropriate to the Lutheran liturgy. The melody in this setting is presented more freely, and applied to the intricate contrapuntal style of a fugue.
Selections from 'Mass in C minor, K.427' (1783) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
8.Qui Tollis
9.Jesu Christe-10.Cum Sancto Spiritu
It was normal practice for trombones to double the choral parts in the sacred music of Austria in Mozart's time. The Mass in C minor has long been a favorite of trombonists, owing not only to its innate brilliance and the musical challenge of sensitively blending with the chorus, but also the opportunity for substantive participation in a large, significant work. Although the long wait for the appearance of the Commendatore in Mozart's Don Giovanni is well worth the many measures counted by trombonists, there is nothing like playing more and resting less--especially if it's Mozart. In these arranged excerpts, the trombones take all the chorus parts for themselves (most of which they originally play, anyway), and are accompanied by the organ.
11. Inveni David (1868) Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
12. Ecce Sarderos Magnus (1885)
Anton Bruckner, while a committed disciple of Wagner, could not have been more unlike the latter. Bruckner was a devout Catholic and an accomplished organist, focusing his compositional efforts on sacred organ and vocal music, as well as on symphonies with "Gothic grandeur." His music in all three media resounds with the sonic space of large cathedrals. Bruckner's style of orchestration reflects his skill and experience as an organist; his symphonies are characterized by large, alternating blocks of blended and contrasting colors not unlike that of organ registration. The brass section - and especially trombones - play an important part in this scheme. In these performances of two of Bruckner's choral motets, the natural reverberance of First Christian Church provides a perfect acoustic ambiance for these sonorous compositions. The original trombone parts are maintained, while the organ substitutes for voices.
13. Processional: "Let There Be Light" (1901) Charles Ives (1874-1954)
Charles Ives was an American original whose musical compositions have enjoyed a renaissance in the last quarter of the twentieth century. His musical style spans a wide technical and emotional range--from masterful, sophisticated gems of mystery to that of naive-sounding American "crudities." What is of true significance in his work lies in his role as a seer of fundamentally new ways of defining music, its subject, and the technical means for creating it. He stormed theoretical and philosophical ramparts in a quiet, unassuming way, but was the most significant of the Americans to see "new musical paths" early on. Let There Be Light is a technically simple choral work, but which contains much of his new spiritual concepts of the nature of sounds in art. Ives included parts for trombones in this work that double the choir. However, the choir has been omitted for this recording.
14. All Day Meeting and Dinner on the Ground (1998) Robert Spillman (born 1936)
Until recent developments in communication, transportation, and mass entertainment, the people who live in southern Appalachia have been able to preserve a rich heritage of arts and crafts handed down by their British, Scottish, and Irish ancestors. The songs, hymns, and fiddle tunes of the region have long existed not just in collections of musical archaeologists such as Sharp and Lomax, but as music which was woven into everyday life. In this composition, I have depicted two scenes: a revival meeting and a barn dance. Preceding these is a slow introduction in which I have tried to evoke the beautiful loneliness of the isolated hollows of Kentucky. Then, with the intoning of "I will Rise and Go to Jesus", the arrival of the itinerant preacher is announced. Everyone has a favorite hymn: "Jacob's Ladder" competes with "Band of Brothers", until the strains of "Jesus Walked this Lonesome Valley" unite the religious fervor with the atmosphere of place. Then, with so many neighbors gathered, it seems only right to turn the service into a social occasion; meals are shared, and the fiddle's music starts toes to tapping. Most of the tunes are regular and pentatonic, although "Carrion Crow" is a raucous exception. After the dance reaches a climax, quiet reclaims the scene. I have chosen another song evocative of place, "Mingo Mountain", to represent the last sound we hear in the dark valleys. [Note - this work was commissioned and premiered by the High Altitude Trombone Quartet]
15. Two for the Road (arr. Tony Klatka) Henry Mancini (1924-1994)
This is an arrangement of the title song from the 1967 movie starring Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn. It is the story of two people journeying through the challenge of marriage, seeking harmony in the midst of discord and pulling apart only to discover each other again. Their wanderings and travels are captured in Mancini's wonderful score. [The melodic material of the music depicts the wandering, unsettled nature of their lives together]. Tony Klatka's beautiful arrangement for us shows a Kenton-like scoring for trombones, very unlike his writing for either Woody Herman or Blood, Sweat, and Tears. The opening and closing sections display this style, while the middle section has a six part contrapuntal vamp with a distinctly Baroque flavor.
History and Program notes by William Runyan with the following exceptions:
Bach notes by Lee Garrett
Spillman notes by the composer
Mancini notes by William Holst