The deepest and darkest part of the night has always held people's fascination. The witching hour conjures forth images of terror and despair, leading to stories and superstitions across the world. This program explores how midnight has captured the imaginations of composers throughout the ages, for both good and ill.
PROGRAM
Prelude and Fugue in Bb Minor BWV 867.........................................Johann Sebastian Bach
"The Night's Procession" from Two Episodes from Lenau's Faust.........................................Franz Liszt
around 7am*.........................................Rachel Whelan
"Scarbo" from Gaspard de la Nuit.........................................Maurice Ravel
"Midnight" from Cinderella Op. 87.........................................Sergei Prokofiev, arr. by Brendan Jacklin
XII Exists Between*.........................................Zachary McDonald
'Round Midnight.........................................Thelonius Monk
Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik.........................................George Crumb
*commissioned for this project.
"The Night's Procession" from Two Episodes from Lenau's Faust.........................................Franz Liszt
around 7am*.........................................Rachel Whelan
"Scarbo" from Gaspard de la Nuit.........................................Maurice Ravel
"Midnight" from Cinderella Op. 87.........................................Sergei Prokofiev, arr. by Brendan Jacklin
XII Exists Between*.........................................Zachary McDonald
'Round Midnight.........................................Thelonius Monk
Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik.........................................George Crumb
*commissioned for this project.
It was during the 1800's when Bach's music took on many extra-musical characteristics. People such as Christian Schubart gave keys personalities, attributing them with meaning that Bach would not have meant. However, once gained, these meanings stuck. Bb minor is discontented and full of despair, cloaked in the garment of the night.
Liszt spent much of his creative life with the legend of Faust and his deal with Mephistopheles. "The Night's Procession" sets a scene from Lenau's Faust episodes to music, describing Faust's journey through a dark forest, interrupted only by a procession of priests, highlighting the danger to his eternal soul.
"My work features the gestural sweeps and repeated pitch of "Scarbo" with the vaguely jazzy implications of a “seventh” inspired by ‘Round Midnight. Each day I set a series of alarms to ensure I wake up by 7AM. This work explores the musical totality of “seven”; from intervals, interval vectors, semitones, to ostinati, the idea of seven and the ways it can be represented in music is thoroughly explored theoretically and from the perspective of perception. Both of the source inspirations have an emphasis on pitch class E-flat/D-sharp, which I present and subvert throughout the piece. “Seven” to me represents somewhere between waking and sleeping, the hum of nighttime slumber disrupted by chirping ripples. While the work was written to express a nearly obsessive dedication to the concept of a number, it is inherently programmatic and expressive, further enforcing the dichotomy of this “in-between” time of day." - Rachel Whelan
The technically challenging "Scarbo" depicts a creature of the night emerging in and out of the darkness, flitting around the terrified observer in bed. Based on a poem by Aloysius Bernard, the goblin plays with the observer's mind, heard through the chaotic gestures and skittering around by the performer.
"Midnight" showcases the internal panic of Cinderella as the clock strikes midnight, fleeing the ball before her secret is discovered. The repeated musical gestures are juxtaposed with loud and abrupt chords, originally heard in the brass and percussion.
"This work was written to originally be part of a program centered on the theme of midnight. While exploring ideas for this prompt, I
thought about how, technically speaking, midnight is the point when one day changes to the next. But is it? How much of an actual
difference is 12am from 11:59pm? If I'm still awake at midnight, it certainly doesn't feel like a new day. In this piece, I try to explore the
idea of perceiving midnight as a new day, yet when it comes there is a realization that there is nearly nothing new about it.Additionally, I
explored the thought that if one is awake at midnight, one might realize the time and suddenly stop thinking about whatever they are
doing and instead begin thinking forward to the morning, with possible distraught over how tired they will be." - Zachary McDonald
Composed by the famous jazz pianist Thelonius Monk, 'Round Midnight features many of his trademarks: unusual harmonies, a striking and disjunct yet hauntingly beautiful melody, The piece was originally conceived as a love ballad, though its meaning has changed, along with its title.
George Crumb based Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik (A Little Midnight Music) on Monk's Round Midnight. As the piece continues, the listener will hear the influence of Claude Debussy and Richard Strauss, jazz and blues, and Crumb's characteristic extended techniques, including pizzicato, harmonics, muted tones, and percussion effects.
Liszt spent much of his creative life with the legend of Faust and his deal with Mephistopheles. "The Night's Procession" sets a scene from Lenau's Faust episodes to music, describing Faust's journey through a dark forest, interrupted only by a procession of priests, highlighting the danger to his eternal soul.
"My work features the gestural sweeps and repeated pitch of "Scarbo" with the vaguely jazzy implications of a “seventh” inspired by ‘Round Midnight. Each day I set a series of alarms to ensure I wake up by 7AM. This work explores the musical totality of “seven”; from intervals, interval vectors, semitones, to ostinati, the idea of seven and the ways it can be represented in music is thoroughly explored theoretically and from the perspective of perception. Both of the source inspirations have an emphasis on pitch class E-flat/D-sharp, which I present and subvert throughout the piece. “Seven” to me represents somewhere between waking and sleeping, the hum of nighttime slumber disrupted by chirping ripples. While the work was written to express a nearly obsessive dedication to the concept of a number, it is inherently programmatic and expressive, further enforcing the dichotomy of this “in-between” time of day." - Rachel Whelan
The technically challenging "Scarbo" depicts a creature of the night emerging in and out of the darkness, flitting around the terrified observer in bed. Based on a poem by Aloysius Bernard, the goblin plays with the observer's mind, heard through the chaotic gestures and skittering around by the performer.
"Midnight" showcases the internal panic of Cinderella as the clock strikes midnight, fleeing the ball before her secret is discovered. The repeated musical gestures are juxtaposed with loud and abrupt chords, originally heard in the brass and percussion.
"This work was written to originally be part of a program centered on the theme of midnight. While exploring ideas for this prompt, I
thought about how, technically speaking, midnight is the point when one day changes to the next. But is it? How much of an actual
difference is 12am from 11:59pm? If I'm still awake at midnight, it certainly doesn't feel like a new day. In this piece, I try to explore the
idea of perceiving midnight as a new day, yet when it comes there is a realization that there is nearly nothing new about it.Additionally, I
explored the thought that if one is awake at midnight, one might realize the time and suddenly stop thinking about whatever they are
doing and instead begin thinking forward to the morning, with possible distraught over how tired they will be." - Zachary McDonald
Composed by the famous jazz pianist Thelonius Monk, 'Round Midnight features many of his trademarks: unusual harmonies, a striking and disjunct yet hauntingly beautiful melody, The piece was originally conceived as a love ballad, though its meaning has changed, along with its title.
George Crumb based Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik (A Little Midnight Music) on Monk's Round Midnight. As the piece continues, the listener will hear the influence of Claude Debussy and Richard Strauss, jazz and blues, and Crumb's characteristic extended techniques, including pizzicato, harmonics, muted tones, and percussion effects.