Download Below: Music for Low Flutes

“BELOW: Music for Low Flutes”
Peter Sheridan, Flutes
PROGRAM
‘Noisy Oyster’ (Concert Etudes)
Hilary Taggart 9’
Alto, Bass and Contrabass flutes
A Small Sonata for a Large Flute (2008)
Gary Schocker 10’
Moderato-Cantabile-Snappy
Bass flute and Piano
Esa-Pekka Salonen 6’
Yta I (1982)
Presto; Nervoso
Alto flute
Sonata for Contrabass flute and Piano
Andrew Downes 15’
Largo e espressivo, Allegretto con moto, Adagio con amore, Allegro Brilliante
Peter Sheridan 4’
And The Giant Began To Dance
Sub-Contra Bass flute and percussive keys
Below (2008)
Alex Shapiro 11’
Contrabass flute and Electronics
MUSICIANS
Peter Sheridan: Alto, Bass, Contrabass and Sub-Contrabass flutes
Pianist: TBC
60 minute program
“BELOW: Music for Low Flutes”
Peter Sheridan, Flutes
NOTES
Low Flutes
This unique recital program features commissioned chamber music for Low Flutes.
Low Flutes are a 20th century invention, yet the concept of extending a particular instrumental
sound dates back to the Renaissance period, where such ensembles as recorder consorts, with
bass and alto recorders were used frequently. The popularity of Low Flutes grew with the
renewed interest in the flute choir and flute quartet. Low Flutes are members of the extended
flute family, sounding below the range of the standard Orchestral C Flute. These instruments
include the Alto Flute in G (four pitches below the C Flute), the Bass Flute in C (one octave
below C Flute), the Contrabass Flute in C (two octaves below C Flute, played in an upright
position), and the Sub-Contra bass Flute in C (three octaves below the C Flute, played either
sitting or standing).
Compositions
These compositions were commissioned during the 2007-2008 season, to showcase the
lyrical and colorful tonal qualities of these instruments, and to expand their small, yet
growing repertoire. All of these works were paid for with private funds. I want to sincerely
thank the composers who created such beautiful and lasting music. I and the entire flute
community are forever grateful.
Concert Etudes for Low Flutes were recently completed by British composer and flutist
Hilary Taggart. I first came into contact with Hilary’s music ten years ago, when I stumbled
on a set of etudes in a music shop. As I worked through these challenging studies in my
practice time, I quickly realized they were not only studies but music as well! Low and
behold I wanted Hilary to compose some more with the Lower flutes in mind. As mentioned
above these instruments do not have a vast repertoire such as the flute or violin, though it is
growing each day. What the low flutes do not have is a standard book of etudes to get the
fingers, sound, reading, coordination and tone quality going. So here they are. Possibly the
first of their kind.
“BELOW: Music for Low Flutes”
Peter Sheridan, Flutes
A Small Sonata for a Large Flute is a well constructed composition that explores register,
timbres, dynamic shadings, and lyricism of a flute twice the length and size of the C Flute.
The first movement begins with a syncopated folk-like melody which is transformed through
meter and register changes. There is a fleeting movement of virtuosity, before the sound is
abruptly halted and a glimpse of the opening motif returns. This simple and effective design
of form, gives the listener a sense of something more to come. The breath of the piece lies in
the second movement marked cantabile (singing), which speaks from the heart. The languid
opening melody with its pulsing piano rhythm and quiet tone, recall the heaviness of
loneliness and pain. The middle section leads to an anguished cry, displaying the bass flute’s
expressive high tessitura, which is eventually calmed to an eerie stillness through the use of
an elongated unison pedal tone. This emotional descend to quietude, changes the musical
impact of the returning opening melody, which now has its premonitions fulfilled. The
movement ends in a questioning manner, and the sense of loneliness sits gently in the
questioning air. The final movement, Snappy, acts as a release valve, with its quirky rhythms
and short incomplete melodic lines, this dance overtakes us and the little motive sticks in
your ear, long after the piece has finished. This unique composition is a most welcomed
addition to the ever growing chamber music for the bass flute, and provides an opportunity
for the instrument to showcase its lyricism and rhythmic zest!
Yta I (Surface) is part of a series of works for solo instruments conceptualizing ‘vibrating
surfaces over which a light plays.’ Composed in 1982 the short intense work makes use of
extended techniques. Most notable is the audible inhalations and syllables, which create a
nervous, abstract energy and vibration to the overall outcome of the composition.
And the Giant began to Dance....is a spontaneous composition inspired by the dancing
pulsations of air emerging from the Sub-Contrabass Flute. Though I am not a trained
composer, I possess a deep passion for creating sound, so I did! I began the short work based
around the grumbling footsteps of an approaching grumpy giant. As the music changes, so
does his mood, and as his feet become freer with each phrase, we feel the resonance of the
Giant’s foot stomps, until he is almost dancing on air. The Sub-Contrabass flute is a
gigantic instrument that resembles a contrabassoon. This dance style of music is not the most
appropriate fit for such a grumpy slow responding pipe, yet is becomes rather charming in a
big oaf style of pun. I thought I would teach the instrument how to dance, and in the process,
allow myself to dance with such an awkward instrument. I experienced much enjoyment
creating this hypnotic sonic web.
"Below" plunges beneath the surface, into a stunning world of liquid beauty and grace.
Hidden from our eyes and even our imagination, the sea is a private sanctuary that envelopes
life and hope. Seismic activity from one of the Pacific Ocean’s many undersea volcanos
bookends a journey into an environment of unknowns. Peter played bass flute so beautifully
on the recording of my 2004 flute quartet, "Bioplasm," that when he asked me to create a
work for the gorgeous lyricism and driven outbursts of his contrabass flute, I was thrilled.
I immediately knew that I would pair him with an unusual duet partner, and auditioned the
sound files of many candidates until I came across this exceptional song from a Pacific
Humpback whale. No adjustments in rhythm or pitch were needed to make the two
harmonious; they blend naturally, swimming in the same sonic waters and communicating
from the heart, with Peter even singing along at one point! Follow your ears and your heart to
the depths of a place we sometimes forget to look.”
“BELOW: Music for Low Flutes”
Peter Sheridan, Flutes
Peter Sheridan, a native of New York City, has performed and taught in America, England
and Australia. He has been a staff member of numerous music faculties in Los Angeles and
was a founding member of the Los Angeles Flute Quartet. He has recorded Hollywood
soundtracks and has been a recipient of awards from Mannes College, University of Arizona,
Aspen Music Festival, Ottorino Respighi Festival (Italy), American Composers Forum, and
Santa Monica College. A specialist on the Low flutes, he has commissioned over forty
compositions for these instruments. Mr. Sheridan is a flute teacher for the University of
Melbourne, Monash University, and the Victorian College of the Arts, in Melbourne
Australia. Peter performs on Kotato & Fukishima Bass and Contrabass Flutes, and a Jelle
Hogenhuis Sub-Contrabass flute. He is an active soloist and chamber musician as well as a
contributing committee member of the NFA Low Flutes committee, and the Victorian Flute
Guild, Melbourne. His flutes can be heard on Move Albany, Innova, Warner Music Latina,
and Varese Sarabande record labels.
Composers
Hilary Taggart studied flute with Trevor Wye, and Marcel Moyse. She has a wide
experience with Orchestras, from the Welsh National Opera to West End shows in London.
She is an experienced and respected teacher and examiner. She has composed numerous
studies and short works for flute.
Gary Schocker is a world-renowned flutist as well as an award-winning composer with over
100 compositions in publication. He has published more pieces for the flute than any other
living composer. An active soloist Gary tours throughout the World and his engagements
have included performances with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra,
the Dallas Symphony and a tour with I Solisti Italiani. Schocker has collaborated with many
artists on stage, including Pinchas Zuckerman, Michael Tilson Thomas, Jessye Norman, and
Julius Baker. He has been the winner of numerous competitions, and has extensively toured
and taught internationally.
(www.garyschocker.com)
Esa-Pekka Salonen studied horn, composing and conducting at the Sibelius Academy in
Helsinki during the 1970s and composing with Niccolò Castiglioni and Franco Donatoni in
Italy. He initially considered himself to be a conducting composer, until in 1983 he undertook
a performance of Mahler's third symphony with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London at
short notice and became a composing conductor virtually overnight. Some twenty years later,
alongside his international conducting career, Salonen has preserved his individual voice as a
composer and his works are regularly performed and broadcast all around the world
Alex Shapiro has become one of the Pacific coast's most familiar composers of acoustic and
electroacoustic chamber music. Performed and broadcast weekly across the U.S. and
internationally, Alex's music is lyrically expressive, dramatic and often rhythmically driven.
Published by Activist Music, Ms. Shapiro's scores are widely distributed and found in
libraries and universities nationwide. Alex's music has been recorded by many artists and is
available on CDs from Cambria Master Recordings, Innova Recordings, Crystal Records, DC
Records, Centaur Records, Quindecim Recordings, Oehms Classics and others. Her life and
music were the subject of the one-hour show American MusicMakers, broadcast in February
2006 on public radio stations across the United States.
www.alexshapiro.org.