| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
I am fascinated with the music of the Far East and in my travels I have had ample opportunity to participate both as performer and composer in the music of China. Although I have never been to Japan, I am attracted to its music and to its culture. For many years have had a strong desire to compose a work related to Rashomon. The story was adapted by Akutagawa Ry?nosuke from the Konjaku Monogatarish?, an anonymous 12th Century collection of folk tales. The story tells of a murder witnessed by a group of people who have gathered under the dilapidated Rashomon gate to escape the rain. Rashomon literally means “the castle gate” and is the name of a large gate that stood between Kyoto and Nara in Japan. All of their accounts of the crime differ radically, but we are never told which account is the truth.
The form of the story is intrinsically musical, being a theme and variations, but the emotional context gives this classical form a new perspective. I divided the work into four movements, and within the larger theme and variations, each movement has its own form:
I. The Gate - Theme
II. The Murder: A Crime of Violence – Variations
III. The Murder: A Cold Calculation – Passacaglia
IV. The Murder: A Crime of Passion - Rondo |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
The Voices of Air
What does air sound like? Because the trombone is an instrument that depends on air, it made me think about the many voices of air and how we experience it as musicians. The first movement, “Breath,” focuses on the contrast between meditative long, deep breaths and agitated short breaths and how our breathing expresses our emotional states. The second movement, “Airplay,” is an homage to two great jazz trombonists and their recorded works: Urbie Green’s “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” and Carl Fontana’s “Beautiful Friendship.” I was fascinated with their virtuoso playing and the playful spirit of their music. The title of the third movement, “Floating on Air,” describes a serene and weightless sensation, and the fourth movement, “Breathless,” is just the opposite – turbulent, vigorous and unsettled.
“The Voices of Air” is dedicated to trombonist JoDee Davis, with gratitude to her and to the Curators of the University of Missouri who commissioned this work.
-----Victoria Bond, October 2019
|
|
