Frank Ticheli

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Frank Ticheli; Music Pieces by Frank Ticheli
Topic Started: Nov 15 2004, 12:40 PM (312 Views)
ChEnG Fu	Nov 15 2004, 12:40 PM Post #1
Unregistered	Title of Piece: Simple Gifts: Four Shaker Songs Composer: Frank Ticheli Level of Difficulty: Grade 3 Perfomance Time: approx. 9 minutes Piece Description: THE SHAKERS The Shakers were a religious sect who splintered from a Quaker community in the mid-1700's in Manchester, England. Known then derisively as "Shaking Quakers" because of the passionate shaking that would occur during their religious services, they were viewed as radicals, and their members were sometimes harassed and even imprisoned by the English. One of those imprisoned, Ann Lee, was named official leader of the church upon her release in 1772. Two years later, driven by her vision of a holy sanctuary in the New World, she led a small group of followers to the shores of America where they founded a colony in rural New York. The Shakers were pacifists who kept a very low profile, and their membership increased only modestly during the decades following their arrival. At their peak in the 1830's, there were some 6,000 members in nineteen communities interspersed between Maine and Kentucky. Soon after the Civil War their membership declined dramatically. Their practice of intense simplicity and celibacy accounts for much of their decline. Today there is only one active Shaker community remaining, the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester, Maine. They maintain a Shaker Library, a Shaker Museum, and a website at www.shaker.lib.me.us. The Shakers were known for their architecture, crafts, furniture, and perhaps most notably, their songs. Shaker songs were traditionally sung in unison without instrumental accompaniment. Singing and dancing were vital components of Shaker worship and everyday life. Over 8,000 songs in some 800 songbooks were created, most of them during the 1830's to 1860's in Shaker communities throughout New England. THE CREATION OF SIMPLE GIFTS: FOUR SHAKER SONGS My work is built from four Shaker melodies - a sensuous nature song, a lively dance tune, a tender lullaby, and most famously, "Simple Gifts," the hymn that celebrates the Shaker's love of simplicity and humility. In setting these songs, I sought subtle ways to preserve their simple, straightforward beauty. Melodic freshness and interest were achieved primarily through variations of harmony, of texture, and especially, of orchestration. The first movement is a setting of "In Yonder Valley", generally regarded to be the oldest surviving Shaker song with text. This simple hymn in praise of nature is attributed to Father James Whittaker (1751 - 87), a member of the small group of Shakers who emigrated to America in 1774. My setting enhances the image of spring by turning the first three notes of the tune into a birdcall motive. The second movement, "Dance," makes use of a tune from an 1830's Shaker manuscript. Dancing was an important part of Shaker worship, and tunes such as this were often sung by a small group of singers while the rest of the congregation danced. One interesting feature in my setting occurs near the end of the movement, when the brasses state the tune at one-quarter speed in counterpoint against the woodwinds who state it at normal speed. The third movement is based on a Shaker lullaby, "Here Take This Lovely Flower," found in Dorothy Berliner Commin's extraordinary collection, Lullabies of the World. and in Daniel W. Patterson's monumental collection, The Shaker Spiritual. This song is an example of the phenomenon of the gift song, music received from spirits by Shaker mediums while in trance (see pp. 316 ff. in Patterson, op cit., for a detailed account, and also Harold E. Cook's Shaker Music: A Manifestation of American Folk Culture, pp. 52 ff.). Although the Shakers practiced celibacy, there were many children in their communities, including the children of recent converts as well as orphans whom they took in. Like many Shaker songs, this lullaby embodies the Shakers' ideal of childlike simplicity. The finale is a setting of the Shakers' most famous song, "Simple Gifts," sometimes attributed to Elder Joseph Bracket (1797 - 1882) of the Alfred, Maine community, and also said (in Lebanon, New York, manuscript) as having been received from a Negro spirit at Canterbury, New Hampshire, making "Simple Gifts" possibly a visionary gift song. It has been used in hundreds of settings, most notably by Aaron Copland in the brilliant set of variations which conclude his Appalachian Spring. Without ever quoting him, my setting begins at Copland's doorstep, and quickly departs. Throughout its little journey, the tune is never abandoned, rarely altered, always exalted. PERFORMANCE NOTES I - In Yonder Valley: Strive to keep the music light, but alive and flowing. Bring out the bird-call motive which occurs throughout the movement (e.g., flute 1, measure 1, the accented eighth-note to the half note). The triangle and glockenspiel parts add a light, crystalline quality to the texture. Their presence, combined with the generally light textures and avoidance of the lower register, reinforces the image of a bright spring morning. II - Dance: The notes marked staccato may be played shorter than normal, and very lightly. This will give greater contrast to the accented notes, which are notated almost exclusively on the second half-note of the bar, giving the dance a somewhat offbeat feeling. At measure 49, the second and third trumpets, accompanied by the low brasses and woodwinds, state the dance melody at quarter speed against the first trumpets and upper woodwinds, who state the tune at normal speed. Make sure the second and third trumpets bring their part out. III - Here Take this Lovely Flower: Begin the movement with a full, connected, rich sound, giving way to a sweeter, gentler sound at measure 9. In the canon of measures 17 to 24, the flutes and oboe should be in equal balance with the imitating clarinets. IV - Simple Gifts: From measures 5 to 40, and again from measures 61 to 102, strive to maintain an optimistic, percussive, dance-like quality, and keep the notes light, but always energized. The tempo should not lag. Notes marked with accents and fp markings should ring like bright bells. In the chorale statement (measures 45-60) strive for richness and warmth. Beginning in measure 61, the energy builds, culminating in the climax at measure 99. The energy recedes in a final, nostalgic glimmer. The closing ritardando could be interpreted as a "molto ritardando," and if so, the conductor may choose to shift to a four-beat pattern somewhere during the final five bars. Adapted From www.frankticheli.com
Unregistered


JY2027	Nov 30 2004, 06:07 PM Post #2
Moderator Posts: 198 Group: Moderators Member #30 Joined: November 1, 2004	go and listen amwerican elegy ! it is beri nice !!



priscilla1986	Dec 1 2004, 03:58 PM Post #3
Posts: 112 Group: Members Member #197 Joined: November 12, 2004	Blue Shades This composition reflects Frank Ticheli's love fot the tradition jazz music that he heard so often while growing up near New Orleans. Blue Shades was his opportunity to express his own musical style in this medium. He provides the following descriptionof the work. As its tittle suggets, the work alludes to the Blues, and a jazz feeling is prevalent - however, it is in not literally a Blue piece. There is not a single 12-bar blues progression to be found, and except for a few isolated sections, the eighth-note is not swung. The work, however, is heavily influenced by the Blues: " Blue notes" (flatted 3rds, 5ths and 7ths) are used constantly; Blue harmonies, rhythms, and melodic idioms pervade the work; and many "shades of blue" are depicted, from bright blue, to dark, to dirty, to hot blue. At times, Blue Shades burlesques some of the cliche from the Big Band era, not as a mockery of those conventions, but as a tribute. a slow and quiet middle section recalls the atmosphere of a dark, smoky blues haunt. An extended clarinet solo played near the ends recalls Benny Goodmans' hot playing style, and ushers in a series of "wailing" brass chords recalling the train whistle effects comonly used during that era.



kwan	Dec 1 2004, 07:38 PM Post #4
Secretary Posts: 154 Group: Helpers Member #206 Joined: November 13, 2004	An American Elegy An American Elegy is, above all, an expression of hope. It was composed in memory of those who lost their lives at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, and to honor the survivors. It is offered as a tribute to their great strength and courage in the face of a terrible tragedy. I hope the work can also serve as one reminder of how fragile and precious life is and how intimately connected we all are as human beings. I was moved and honored by this commission invitation, and deeply inspired by the circumstances surrounding it. Rarely has a work revealed itself to me with such powerful speed and clarity. The first eight bars of the main melody came to me fully formed in a dream. Virtually every element of the work was discovered within the span of about two weeks. The remainder of my time was spent refining, developing, and orchestrating. The work begins at the bottom of the ensemble's register, and ascends gradually to a heartfelt cry of hope. The main theme that follows, stated by the horns, reveals a more lyrical, serene side of the piece. A second theme, based on a simple repeated harmonic pattern, suggests yet another, more poignant mood. These three moods - hope, serenity, and sadness - become intertwined throughout the work, defining its complex expressive character. A four-part canon builds to a climactic quotation of the Columbine Alma Mater. The music recedes, and an offstage trumpeter is heard, suggesting a celestial voice - a heavenly message. The full ensemble returns with a final, exalted statement of the main theme. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://members.aol.com/mbmband/html/an_american_elegy.html



kwan	Dec 1 2004, 07:42 PM Post #5
Secretary Posts: 154 Group: Helpers Member #206 Joined: November 13, 2004	Amazing Grace I wanted my setting of AMAZING GRACE to reflect the powerful simplicity of the words and melody - to be sincere, to be direct, to be honest - and not through the use of novel harmonies and clever tricks, but by traveling traditional paths in search of truth and authenticity. I believe that music has the power to take us to a place that words alone cannot. And so my own feelings about "Amazing Grace" reside in this setting itself. The harmony, texture, orchestration, and form are inseparable, intertwined so as to be perceived as a single expressive entity. The spiritual, "Amazing Grace," was written by John Newton (1725-1807), a slaveship captain who, after years of transporting slaves across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World, suddenly saw through divine grace the evilness of his acts. First published in 1835 by William Walker in The Southern Harmony, "Amazing Grace" has since grown to become one of the most beloved of all American spirituals. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://members.aol.com/mbmband/html/amazing_grace.html



JY2027	Dec 1 2004, 11:21 PM Post #6
Moderator Posts: 198 Group: Moderators Member #30 Joined: November 1, 2004	american elegy is jus so nice



dcube	Mar 16 2005, 02:23 PM Post #7
Posts: 98 Group: Members Member #262 Joined: December 12, 2004	postcard... a song dedicated to viginia curry.... by her son.... shes apparently a crazy woman with a lot of personalities postcard... grade 5 difficult for trumpets, clarinets and horns



bent	Mar 20 2005, 11:23 PM Post #8
Posts: 58 Group: Members Member #190 Joined: November 11, 2004	ha. VS played that.


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