joan tower
fanfair for the uncommon woman, #1DIVE IN!
American composer Joan Tower, born in 1938, began writing music in the 1960s during a time when composition standards were still being set in a male dominated field and when American composers were still hewing closely to European styles. She is widely known and credited for paving the path for American composers to create their own styles and use their own creative voices to do so. Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman is an excellent example of Tower’s canny respectful way of honoring the spirit of the past, acknowledging the present, and looking to the future.
RESOURCES:A direct comparison of Joan Tower’s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, #1 and Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, under the direction of Marin Alsop. Joan Tower’s Fanfare begins at 3’30”.HIGHLIGHTS:
Joan Tower wrote Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman in 1986 when she was 48 years old. It was commissioned by the Houston Symphony and premiered in 1987.
Joan Tower composed 5 additional fanfares between 1989 and 2016, to make a set of six. All of them can be performed as a set, lasting 25 minutes.
Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, #1 was inspired by American composer Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. It is scored similarly, for heavy brass and percussion, but adds glockenspiel, marimba, chimes, and drums.
In her composer note, Joan Tower writes about the first fanfare “it is dedicated to women who take risks and who are adventurous”. Each of them are dedicated to an inspiring woman in music. Fanfare for Uncommon Woman, #1 is dedicated to Marin Alsop.
Of the set of 6, this one is the most frequently performed. The Colorado Symphony has performed it as recently as 2022.
The first five fanfares were recorded by the Colorado Symphony in 1999. In 2015 the recording was added to the collection at the National Library of Congress in the category of “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important.”
A typical performance of Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, #1 lasts just under 3 minutes.NERD ASSIGNMENT:
Listen to the Colorado Symphony performance of Joan Tower’s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman and again via recording if possible. Take note of what you hear and how it relates to the title. What makes this a “fanfare”? What about this music supports “uncommon” or “woman”? As a listener, how might you be affected by this music if you didn’t know the title prior to hearing it?
Anna clyne
dance, for cello and orchestraDIVE IN!
Described as a “composer of uncommon gifts and unusual methods” in a New York Times profile and as “fearless” by NPR, GRAMMY-nominated Anna Clyne (b. 1980) is one of the most in-demand composers today, working with orchestras, choreographers, filmmakers, and visual artists around the world. DANCE premiered in 2019. To date, as recorded by featured soloist Inbal Segev and Conductor Laureate Marin Alsop, it has racked up more than 10 million plays on the Spotify streaming service.RESOURCES:Get to know composer Anna Clyne in this 7 minute videoA video of the first movement, featuring soloist Inbal SegevHIGHLIGHTS:
DANCE was premiered in 2019 and is dedicated with to Clyne's father, Leslie Clyne.
DANCE is composed in 5 movements, each reflecting a line of the Rumi poem by the same name.
Dance, when you're broken open.
Dance, if you've torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of the fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance, when you're perfectly free.
The movement titles are taken directly from the poem:
I when you're broken open
II if you've torn the bandage off
III in the middle of the fighting
IV in your blood
V when you're perfectly free
DANCE is scored for solo cello, 2 flutes and piccolo, 2 oboes and English horn, 2 clarinets and bass clarinet, 1 bassoon and contra bassoon, 2 trumpets, 2 horns, 1 trombone and bass trombone, timpani, percussion, and strings.
A typical performance of DANCE lasts about 25 minutes.
Ludwig van beethoven
SYMPHONY #9DIVE IN!
Ludwig van Beethoven’s astonishing Symphony #9 is widely recognized as his most popular and frequently performed work. In the 2019 and 2020 seasons, covering Beethoven’s 250th birth year, countless performances of Symphony #9 were scheduled to be presented around the globe. This included a massive undertaking by Colorado Symphony Conductor Laureate Marin Alsop to collaboratively perform the work on 6 of the 7 continents, with added contemporary texts and the original text sung in the native language of each location. This colossal work of art and its message of unity and brotherhood will continue to stand the test of time in part due to Beethoven’s authenticity and drive as a creative artist in spite of consistent devastating obstacles in his life. Dive right in and let yourself be transported to a place of resilience and faith in the best of humanity with this performance by your Colorado Symphony.RESOURCES:A short description of the first movement...the second movement...the third movement...and finally the famous fourth movement.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony #9 was composed between 1822 and 1824, and premiered that same year in Vienna. Though he conducted the premiere, he was unable to hear any of it clearly due to his advanced hearing loss and was frequently “off” from the musicians, who instead watched a second conductor for important cues.
Symphony #9 was immediately notable for its unusual use of vocal soloists and a chorus.
Many other composers paid homage to this great piece by quoting or incorporating material from the symphony into their works. In his first symphony, Johannes Brahms composed a beautiful melody which leaned so heavily on the Ode to Joy theme that it was often mockingly referred to as “Beethoven’s Tenth”.
CDs, those quaint tiny plastic “records” of the 80s and 90s, were engineered to hold 74 minutes of music based on the timing of the longest existing Symphony #9 recording at the time.
The “Ode to Joy” portion of Symphony #9 has been the European Anthem since 1972. Fun fact - your Colorado Symphony made a socially distanced recording of the Herbert von Karajan arrangement during the Covid pandemic quarantine in March 2020 which was viewed approximately a bazillion times.
Beethoven’s score calls for 2 flutes and piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons and contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, violins, violas, cellos, and basses, plus a full chorus and soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone vocal soloists.
Symphony #9 takes about 65-75 minutes to perform and is in four movements - the famous “Ode to Joy” final movement taking a full 25 minutes.EXPLORE THE MUSIC:
The first three movements of this work are an incredible introduction to the final movement, in which the major thematic material of each of the previous movements is reviewed before launching into an all out celebration of the 1785 “Ode to Joy” text by Friedrich Schiller.
The 4th movement music begins with an explosion of notes that deliver us into a new world of sound - at turns dramatic and wild, at turns tender and searching. We know things have really strayed from typical symphonic writing when a baritone begins singing, and then we are in a completely different experience when the full chorus and orchestra launches into face melting mode! Here is the text Beethoven uses from Schiller’s poem, translated into English:
NERD ASSIGNMENTS:
Consider and Discuss
Beethoven dealt with consistent adversity throughout his life. Resilience and gratitude became a recurring theme in his composition as well. How do you express resilience and gratitude. What creative activities do you engage in to relieve stress or give yourself space to think? Journaling, volunteering, cooking, tinkering, gardening, inventing new ways to do old things? Take some time to consider how you practice creativity in your daily life and how that practice connects you to humanity and community. You and Beethoven have a lot more in common than you might have thought!
Extra credit reading recommendation on this topic: “The Everyday Work of Art: Awakening the Extraordinary in Your Daily Life” by Eric Booth
Activate!
Do you have a favorite poem, inspirational speech, or quote? Think about how you would set it to music! Beethoven set a portion of Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” to a variety of styles of music, some of it hymn-like, some of it a jovial dance, some of it a rollicking party. What styles of music might reflect all the different ways you feel connected to the central message of your chosen text? What styles of music might bring new or different meaning to the text? Have some fun experimenting with your ideas!
READY TO ENGAGE!
Please share your experience with me – [email protected]!
I’d love to hear about it or see any of your activities, journaling, or creations!
I’d love to hear about it or see any of your activities, journaling, or creations!