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Performed At:
The San Francisco Composers
Chamber Orchestra
Old First Church
San Francisco, Ca.
November 8, 2008
under the baton of Martha Stoddard
Listen to Recordings from the Performance:
Movement 1
Movement 2
SIGNATURES IN TIME AND PLACE is a symphony that addresses the intersection
between music and architecture. Just as architecture begins with a blueprint,
so does music. The dots and dashes one see on a musical page are not in of
themselves music. The music happens the moment the instrument is performed
on. And the musicians follow the “score”. This score or blueprint is analogous
to the architect’s renderings. His work does not stand until it is built
from his blueprints. And then it is made real.
The three dimensional quality to architecture exists for the musicians and
her audience as a moment so real and so solid and yet so fleeting as to be
grasped and let go much as a completed edifice slowly wears the ravages of
time. In musical time this process is speeded up to such a great extent that
the music passes one by leaving a lingering feeling, image, and sound texture
all its own.
The first movement of SIGNATURES IN TIME AND PLACE is entitled, “Romanesque”. This movement calls for an early classical orchestra composed of instruments of the time of Haydn. Romanesque, like the architecture it is named for, although having a more delicate orchestral arrangement, is massive and evokes the thick walls, round arches and sturdy piers of its time. It is regular and symmetrical and heavy and dark. The geometric ornamentation bespeaks a massive energy and directional movement that is illustrated both by the bourree and by the fugue.
The second movement is “The Corinthian Order”. Now we have stepped back in time to an architectural wonder more closely associated with the Greeks. And in direct contrast, the orchestra has now assumed a more modern instrumental mantle. The columns of Corinth are varied; each column standing sentinel to this great civilization .Each column may be ornamented yet different from the one before. They are playful and flexible and can evoke an atmosphere rich and festive. There are opportunities for variation and distinction and this is illustrated by the varied and lively approach musically that constantly ornaments and returns and ornaments again the columns fluted structure.
The third movement is called “The Hebrews Building the Pyramids”. This movement is evocative of the constant activity and repetitive nature of this profound architectural undertaking. The tactus, or pulse, of this piece, from the opening bars of the horns calling the workers to begin their day, to the syncopation of the varied sections, illustrates this moment musically. And yet, one feels the humanity of the slave in the hopeful and uplifting vision that has carried the Hebrew people forward for a multitude of generations.
REVIEW BY ALLAN CROSSMAN
Sheli Nan's Romanesque, the enjoyable first movement
of her
"Signatures
in Time and Place", radiates a sensual glow.
From the first measure, it's all about tunefulness and color, as solo alternates
with ensemble to create a memorable piece in somewhat the style of Respighi's
Ancient Airs and Dances - a fresh, modern update of early dance music. Every
moment is both humable and danceable, and the progression of instrumental
color is clearly as central to the character of the piece as are melody and
harmony.
The Corinthian Order is a dance piece - rhythmic and playful. The inspiration
comes from Corinthian columns, but, as we hear, the columns seem to be in
motion! - the music is always melodic, the tunes constantly transforming
into one another, creating a kind of tapestry of color, as instrumental voices
emerge and return to the texture, as though solo dancers in turn moving to
the front.
Closer to the end of the movement, we hear a more introspective passage,
adding to the emotional range of the piece.
This is a festive mosaic of color, emotion, gesture, all seamlessly woven
into a memorable texture.
Allan Crossman has written for many soloists/ensembles, and a recent commission is the piano trio Icarus, for the Bay Area's New Pacific Trio. Recordings can be found at northsouthmusic.org. His theatre score, The Log of the Skipper's Wife, was produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford and the Kennedy Center, with music drawn from Irish/English shanties and dances. He is Professor Emeritus, Concordia University (Montreal), and is on the faculty of the SF Conservatory of Music. acrossman.com.
...go to Sheli Nan's RhythmTwisters site
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