Orchestra
SKU:
PR.11641867S
Composed
by William Kraft. Full
score. Duration 16
minutes, 25 seconds.
Theodore Presser Company
#116-41867S. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.11641867S).
UPC:
680160683208.
Conte
xtures: Riots -Decade '60
was commissioned by Zubin
Mehta and the Southern
California Symphony
Association after the
successful premiere of
the Concerto for Four
Percussion Soloists and
Orchestra. It was written
during the spring and
summer months of 1967.
Riots stemming from
resentment against the
racial situation in the
United States and the war
in Vietnam were occurring
throughout the country
and inevitably invaded
the composer's creative
subconscious.
Contextures, as the title
implies, was intended to
exploit various and
varying textures. As the
work progressed the
correspondence between
the fabric of music and
the fabric of society
became apparent and the
allegory grew in
significance. So I found
myself translating social
aspects into musical
techniques. Social
stratification became a
polymetric situation
where disparate groups
function together. The
conflict between the
forces of expansion and
the forces of containment
is expressed through and
opposition of tonal
fluidity vs. rigidity.
This is epitomized in the
fourth movement, where
the brass is divided into
two groups - a muted
group, encircled by the
unmuted one, which does
its utmost to keep the
first group within a
restricted pitch area.
The playful jazzy bits
(one between the first
and second movements and
one at the end of the
piece) are simply saying
that somehow in this age
of turmoil and anxiety
ways of having fun are
found even though that
fun may seem
inappropriate. The piece
is in five movements,
with an interlude between
the first and second
movements. It is scored
for a large orchestra,
supplemented by six
groups of percussion,
including newly created
roto-toms (small tunable
drums) and some original
devices, such as muted
gongs and muted
vibraphone. There is also
an offstage jazz quartet:
bass, drums, soprano
saxophone and trumpet.
The first movement begins
with a solo by the first
clarinetist which is
interrupted by
intermittent heckling
from his colleagues
leading to a
configuration of large
disparate elements. The
interlude of solo violin
and snare-drum follows
without pause. The second
movement, Prestissimo, is
a display piece of
virtuosity for the entire
orchestra. The third
movement marks a period
of repose and reflection
and calls for some
expressive solos,
particularly by the horn
and alto saxophone. The
fourth movement opens
with a rather lengthy
oboe solo, which is
threatened by large
blocks of sound from the
orchestra, against an
underlying current of
agitated energy in the
piano and percussion.
This leads to a section
in which large orchestral
forces oppose one
another, ultimately
bringing the work to a
climax, if not to a
denouement. Various
thematic elements are
strewn all over the
orchestra, resulting in
the formation of a
general haze of sound. A
transition leads to the
fifth movement without
pause. The musical haze
is pierced gently by the
offstage jazz group as if
they were attempting to
ignore and even dispel
the gloom, but a legato
bell sound enters and
hovers over both the jazz
group and the orchestra,
the latter making
statements of disquieting
finality. Two films were
conceived to accompany
portions of Contextures.
The first done by Herbert
Kosowar, was a
chemography film
(painting directly into
the film using dyes and
various implements) with
fast clips of riot
photographs. The second
was a film collage made
by photographically
abstracting details from
paintings of Reginald
Pollack. The purpose was
to invoke a non-specific
response - as in music -
but at the same time to
define the subject matter
of the piece. The films
were constructed to
correspond with certain
developments in the piece
and in no way affect the
independence and musical
flow of the piece, having
been made after the piece
was completed.
Contextures: Riots -
Decade '60 is dedicated
to Mehta, the Southern
California Symphony
Association and the Los
Angeles Philharmonic
Orchestra. The news of
the assassination of Dr.
Martin Luther King came
the afternoon of the
premiere, April 4, 1968.
That evening's
performances, and also
the succeeding ones, were
dedicated to him and a
special dedication to Dr.
King has been inserted
into he score. All the
music that follows the
jazz group - beginning
with the legato bell
sound playing the first 2
notes to We shall
overcome constitutes a
new ending to commemorate
Dr. King's death.
Funkytown: Tonal Bass Drum
