Videos

From the 30 Sept 2018 Annapolis Chamber Players "Lyric Convergence" Concert. The premiere of John Leupold’s 2017 “Profligate Aberration” for clarinet and bass clarinet. John composed this work using a collection of 6 notes heard in the bass clarinet opening measure. This set of pitches was then transposed, inverted, reversed, and otherwise manipulated throughout the composition. The sheer number of operations inspired the title’s first word, “profligate” meaning “recklessly extravagant in the use of resources,” which sums up the compositional process as well. The method of using sets of pitches has historically been associated with atonal works. While Profligate Aberration is theoretically atonal (not “in a key”), the method has been manipulated to create a piece that, at times, sounds quite tonal. “Aberration” has multiple meanings. The first, and most common, is “a departure from what is normal or expected.” An alternate meaning comes from the world of optics: “the failure of rays to converge at once focus.” Both of these definitions apply to the conception of the piece and can be heard in the final product. For more John Leupold creative compositions see https://www.johnleupold.com/

From the 30 Sept 2018 Annapolis Chamber Players "Lyric Convergence" Concert. Scott Pender’s 2017 “Threes on the Line” for harp and percussion. Composed in 2016, this work draws it inspiration from the phone numbers of the people for whom the work was written. Using C as 0, C# as 1, etc, a collection of pitches was assembled from their phone numbers. A melody was also created using the exact sequence of numbers. This melody does not appear until later in the work during the short harp solo section. The use of phone numbers inspired the “on the line” portion of the title. Threes also play an integral role in this work. First, the form is in basically three sections, a typical fast-slow-fast. The work also draws on a menagerie of musical styles. Of course traditional classical music, but also popular music and world music. Of particular importance is the music of India. In North Indian Hindustani music, one frequently hears what is called a tihai. This is a rhythmic, and sometimes melodic, pattern that is repeated three times. It is designed so that the last note of the third repetition ends on beat 1 of a new phrase. A tihai is used at the end of a section to signal that the performers have finished one section of the piece and will be moving on to the next. Tihais are used throughout with the work culminating in one of large proportions. For more of Scott Pender’s creative compositions go to http://www.scottpender.net/

From the 30 Sept 2018 Annapolis Chamber Players "Lyric Convergence" Concert. The premiere of Scott Pender’s “Two Raymond Carver Songs”. Lyrics adapted from “Happiness” and “Grief," currently collected in ALL OF US by Raymond Carver. Copyright © 1996 by Tess Gallagher – used with permission. For more of Scott Pender’s creative compositions go to http://www.scottpender.net/

From the 30 Sept 2018 Annapolis Chamber Players "Lyric Convergence" Concert, Scott Pender’s Lyric Set of four pieces for piano and bassoon.

1. In the Tide of Times
2. Every Day Is Saturday
3. Lord Berners’ Giraffe
4. Hopeful about the Past Performed by Scott Pender on Piano and Phillip Kolker on Bassoon.

For more of Scott Pender’s creative compositions go to http://www.scottpender.net/

From the 30 Sept 2018 Annapolis Chamber Players "Lyric Convergence" Concert, the Premiere of Scott Pender’s “Requiem for My Father” played by Trio Simpatico.

For more of Scott Pender’s creative compositions go to http://www.scottpender.net/ For more of Trio Simpatico music go to http://TrioSimpatico.com

From the 30 Sept 2018 Annapolis Chamber Players "Lyric Convergence" Concert. John Leupold composed “2,3,7” in 2017. The influence of triangles is found in the layers of (2,3,7) from the set-up of the ensemble down to portions of the thematic material. The title is an important triangle group used in the theory of Riemann surfaces. While the piece itself does not directly relate to this, the three numbers, 2, 3, and 7, are very important to the piece. Conceived in two parts. The first is fast and dominated by the 7/8 time signature split into 2+2+3 (often notated as / / △). The second is slow and lyrical and flows into a perceived third section in listening. This portion features a steady accelerando back to the original tempo. As it speeds up, the 7/8 features of the opening intertwine themselves and take over the texture of the work. Melodically, this work relies primarily on the dorian mode. Specifically, F dorian, which is a scale from F to F that uses the key signature of Eb Major. The resulting scale sounds similar to an f minor scale, but with a raised 6th note of the scale. Occasionally, the piece does hint at other home pitches, but always returns quickly to F.