Composed by James Meredith. Score and part(s). 20 184 pages. Duration 3 minute...(+)
Composed by James
Meredith. Score and
part(s). 20 184 pages.
Duration 3 minutes, 27
seconds. Carl Fischer
#YPS0175. Published by
Carl Fischer (CF.YPS175).
For
Chamber Orchestra.
Composed by James
Matheson. This edition:
Version 6/10/10. Sws.
Contemporary. Full score.
With Standard notation.
Composed February 13
2003. 84 pages. Duration
18 minutes. Theodore
Presser Company
#416-41423. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.416414230).
ISBN
9781598066630. UPC:
680160602087. 9x12
inches.
Colonnade
is James
Matheson’s
intriguing response to
the Albany
Symphony’s
commission to create a
work inspired by the NY
State Board of Education
Building, designed by the
renowned architect Rafael
Guastavino. Matheson
explains that “A
colonnade acts as a
metaphor for the tension
between knowledge and
perception. The columns
are the same height and
equidistant from each
other; while the mind
understands this fully,
there exists no place
from which one can
perceive this –
the columns always appear
to be of uneven height
and spacing. If one then
adds motion to
perspective, identical
columns acquire
elasticity, and begin to
change kaleidoscopically
– they shrink,
grow, become closer, and
then further
apart.†This
structural paradox is
given musical life in the
outer sections of
Colonnade, while the
long, arching middle
section is inspired by
the vaulted ceiling of
one of the
building’s largest
rooms, enhancing the
structure’s
spacious openness and
lightness. Colonnade
is inspired by
Albany’s majestic
New York State Board of
Education Building, and
written on a commission
from the Albany Symphony
Orchestra. It was an
intriguing task, in part
because in order to
accept the commission I
had to agree to write a
work “inspired
by†a building I
had not yet seen.
Thisproblem was
compounded by the fact
that, for me, the very
notion of extra-musical
inspiration is a complex
one, particularly with
respect to literary or
visual sources. I
generally find ideas and
abstracted notions more
generative of musical
ideas than specific ones
(a poem, an experience, a
painting). So when I went
to seeand tour the
building, I sought to
identify fundamental
formal aspects of the
building which I could
process into musical
ideas, and would then be
linked to the building
through a sense of formal
relationship. In theend,
two characteristics of
the building stood out as
noteworthy and
undiminished by time
(compared with, for
instance, the
building’s
rotunda, which contains a
series of quaintly
outdated allegorical
paintings): theexterior
colonnade and a beautiful
interior vaulted ceiling,
designed by Rafael
Guastavino.For me, a
colonnade acts as a
metaphor for the tension
between knowledge and
perception. We all know,
for instance, that the
columns are of the same
height and are
equidistant from each
other. Nevertheless,
while the mind
understands this fully,
it is also the case that
there exists no place
– no standpoint or
viewpoint –
anywhere in the universe
– from which one
can perceive this; the
columns always appear to
be of uneven height and
spacing. If one then adds
motion to perspective
– a walk along the
colonnade, for instance
– the fixed, even,
rigidly identical columns
acquire elasticity, and
begin to change
kaleidoscopically
– they shrink,
grow, become closer, and
then further apart.
Further, the detail of
the building’s
façade behind the
colonnadeshifts into and
out of visibility, with
different portions
obscured by the columns
from each vantage point.
These considerations
underlie the outer
sections of Colonnade, in
which a continuously
repeated, continuously
varied rising figure
– suggestive of a
column –
dominates. The iterations
of this elastic,
evolvingfigure are
interspersed with other
music – suggestive
of the building’s
façade. The second
feature of the building
that caught my attention
was the vaulted ceiling,
designed by Guastavino,of
one of the
building’s largest
rooms. The ceiling
enhances the spaciousness
of the room, giving it an
openness and lightness
that is quite
captivating. The middle
section of Colonnade has
this openness at its
core, and is dominated by
long, arching lines that,
to me, suggest the
refined beauty of this
ceiling.World premiere
March 8, 2003; Albany
Symphony Orchestra
conducted by David Alan
Miller.
For Chamber
Orchestra. Composed
by James Matheson. This
edition: Version 6/10/10.
Contemporary. Large
Score. With Standard
notation. Composed
February 13 2003. 84
pages. Duration 18
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #416-41423L.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.41641423L).
UPC:
680160602094. 11 x 14
inches.
Colonnade
is inspired by Albanys
majestic New York State
Board of Education
Building, and written on
a commission from the
Albany Symphony
Orchestra. It was an
intriguing task, in part
because in order to
accept the commission I
had to agree to write a
work inspired by a
building I had not yet
seen. This problem was
compounded by the fact
that, for me, the very
notion of extra-musical
inspiration is a complex
one, particularly with
respect to literary or
visual sources. I
generally find ideas and
abstracted notions more
generative of musical
ideas than specific ones
(a poem, an experience, a
painting). So when I went
to see and tour the
building, I sought to
identify fundamental
formal aspects of the
building which I could
process into musical
ideas, and would then be
linked to the building
through a sense of formal
relationship. In the end,
two characteristics of
the building stood out as
noteworthy and
undiminished by time
(compared with, for
instance, the buildings
rotunda, which contains a
series of quaintly
outdated allegorical
paintings): the exterior
colonnade and a beautiful
interior vaulted ceiling,
designed by Rafael
Guastavino. For me, a
colonnade acts as a
metaphor for the tension
between knowledge and
perception. We all know,
for instance, that the
columns are of the same
height and are
equidistant from each
other. Nevertheless,
while the mind
understands this fully,
it is also the case that
there exists no place no
standpoint or viewpoint
anywhere in the universe
from which one can
perceive this; the
columns always appear to
be of uneven height and
spacing. If one then adds
motion to perspective a
walk along the colonnade,
for instance the fixed,
even, rigidly identical
columns acquire
elasticity, and begin to
change kaleidoscopically
they shrink, grow, become
closer, and then further
apart. Further, the
detail of the buildings
facade behind the
colonnade shifts into and
out of visibility, with
different portions
obscured by the columns
from each vantage point.
These considerations
underlie the outer
sections of Colonnade, in
which a continuously
repeated, continuously
varied rising figure
suggestive of a column
dominates. The iterations
of this elastic, evolving
figure are interspersed
with other music
suggestive of the
buildings facade. The
second feature of the
building that caught my
attention was the vaulted
ceiling, designed by
Guastavino, of one of the
buildings largest rooms.
The ceiling enhances the
spaciousness of the room,
giving it an openness and
lightness that is quite
captivating. The middle
section of Colonnade has
this openness at its
core, and is dominated by
long, arching lines that,
to me, suggest the
refined beauty of this
ceiling. World premiere
March 8, 2003; Albany
Symphony Orchestra
conducted by David Alan
Miller.
Chamber Orchestra; Viola; Violin (Study Score) SKU: HL.14023605 For Vi...(+)
Chamber Orchestra; Viola;
Violin (Study Score)
SKU: HL.14023605
For Violin, Viola and
Chamber Orchestra.
Composed by Michael
Nyman. Music Sales
America. Classical.
Studyscore. Composed
2002. 118 pages. Chester
Music #CH61649. Published
by Chester Music
(HL.14023605).
ISBN
9780711992412.
9.25x12.0x0.38
inches.
Drowning By
Numbers, arranged by the
composer from his
sound-track for the film
by Peter Greenaway for
Violin, Viola, and
Chamber Orchestra. This
work was commissioned by
the London Mozart
Players, and first
performed December 1998
at the Warwick Arts
Centre. Duration 20
minutes. Full Score and
parts are available on
hire from the publishers.
Instrumentation: Solo
Violin, Solo Viola, 2
Flutes, Oboe, Cor
Anglais, 2 B Flat
Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 2
Horns in F, 2 Trumpets in
C, Bass Trombone, Piano,
Strings (8.6.4.4.2).
Composed
by James Meredith. Full
score. With Standard
notation. 20 pages.
Duration 3 minutes, 27
seconds. Carl Fischer
Music #YPS175F. Published
by Carl Fischer Music
(CF.YPS175F).
ISBN
9781491144138. UPC:
680160901630. 9 x 12
inches.
This fun,
pirate themed piece from
James Meredith finds ways
to intrigue the performer
and audience with catchy
melodies spliced with
subtle mentions of
classical themes. This
makes the piece fun while
also giving teachers
opportunities to pique
interest in other
literature.