Search Manic Mark's Blog

Saturday, December 13, 2014

New Music For Horns - The Horn Club Of Los Angeles

Nonet For Brass

New Music For Horns
The Horn Club Of Los Angeles
Producer: George Sponhaltz
Sound Engineer: Carson Taylor
Angel S-36036

From the back cover: Gunther Schuller was born November 22, 1925, in New York City, Where his father was a violinist with the New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. At 19 he joined the Metropolitan Opera orchestra as horn player, a position he occupied for 15 years. The prolific and distinguished composer and author has since 1967 been President of The New England Conservatory, in Boston, and a very substantial indication of both his prolificacy and distinction is the fact that he currently has 17 commissions for world to be completed in the next few years. His Lines and Contrasts was begun in the 1950s and completed in 1960 in New York. Of it, the composer writes:

Lines and Contrasts for 16 horns is in two movements. The first, Lines, is a twelve-part "fugue" whose theme is exposed initially by the seventh horn. As each new voice enters (third horn, twelfth, first, etc.), variants and embellishments of the theme are developed as accompanimental material in the "consequent" part. Inevitably, by this procedure, the texture thickens into a twelve-part polyphony. Thus at the height of this development several horns are simultaneously engaged in playing various various segments of the theme, while others supply supporting harmonic material and melodic ornamentations. At the greatest point of density, the 13th through 16th horns enter almost unnoticeably with a four-part chord, which gradually expands into other pitches (and horns), and eventually swallows up the fugal material. Other interjections, particularly boy the hand-stopped horns, tend to underline the gradual disintegration of the fugue. Thus what started as a linear polyphonic twelve-tone structure has been turned by the conclusion of the movement "on end," so to speak, into a chordal homophonic (twelve-tone) structure.

In the second movements, Contrasts, the ensemble is divided into one solo horn and three quintets, each of which performs certain discrete harmonic, rhythmic, timbral and spatial functions and contrast. These will be obvious to even the most casual listener, although the spatial effects inherent in a live performance cannot be fully duplicated in a recording. It should be pointed out that considerable use of quarter tones is made, as well as the obvious forms of writing available on the horn.

In general, as in my Five Pieces for Five Horns and other works for brass instruments, I have shied away from the traditional stereotypes of horn writing. Lines and Contrasts is best heard not as a "composition for horns," but rather as a concert piece of absolute music which happens to be for horns, and which makes use of the magnificent range of colors and expression natural to this instrument.

William Kraft, composer and timpanist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, was born in Chicago in 1923. His Games: Collage No. 1 was composed in 1969. He write of it:

Games: Collage No. 1 is based on games of skill, opposition and chance. Some are known games such as chess and poker, others are invented musical games. The conductor two separate choirs, often in independent meters. He also decides when new players are added in various "collages."

The orchestra consists of 26 players in two equal antiphonal groups of 13 each: 3 trumpets, 4 horns, 2 Wagner tubas (another version exists for 3 trombones), 1 tuba and 2 percussionists (In Choir I they play metalophones, chimes, erotales, bell plate, glockenspiel and large tam-tam. In Choir II they play membranophones: timpani and graduated drums, with the addition of one of more gongs used to signal changes in attack and defense positions in the chess game).

Game I is a fanfare announcing the games. In itself, it is a game of coordination between the groups, wherein they balance themselves against each other and engage in a brief tug-of-war to determine their relative strengths.

Game II is two games in one, creating the first collage. The first i a game of chance through choice played by percussionists of Choir II. Each percussionist has a large variety of cells which he may play in any order. The second game is one of opposition played by the brass choirs The conductor chooses the time to begin. Choir I is a agile group trying to outmaneuver Choir II. Choir II relies on weight and strength, and eventually throws Choir II into a state of panic. Since Choir I is lighter (muted) and less monolithic, it seems destined to lose – but the conductor can fix the game to permit them to win.

Game III is a shadow game played by the two percussionists of Choir I, playing glockenspiel and crotales. They attempt to stay together (within each other's shadow) in a unison cadenza (which the conductor can again control by variances in tempo).

Game IV is played by two percussionists of Choir I, this time playing glockenspiel and chimes. It is a game of choices. Each player has an ostinato of which the beginning is fixed but the continuation is chosen at random from a group of cells. Cells may be performed singly or in combination, after which the player refers back to the fixed beginning.

Game V is a chess game superimposed on Game IV, played by the percussionists of Choir II. A list of attacks is given, related to actual chess moves, e.g., the knight moves two spaces up on the staff and then down one. The responses from the other player are either identical of, in most cases, variants of the attack in any rhythm and any speed. The bishop functions diagonally on the staff, and the queen, naturally, is the most active. The king is one strong note. Should either player wish to exchange roles, he does so by striking a gong which is place between the two players.

Game VI is the third layer of this collage (Games IV - V - VI) and is played by the opposing brass choirs. It is a game of skill for the players and for the conductor as one choir (I) is in duple meter and the other is in triple meter.

Game VII takes the duple-triple relationship a bit further into an even more demanding four-against-three relationship: the coincidence of downbeats occurs only every four measures. The music here of Choir I is based on the chorale "Laude Sion Salvatorum" used by Hindemith in Mathis der Mahler.

Game VIII is a game of poker played by Choir I over Choir II's augmented variations of the opening of the piece. Each player involved in the game has two notes (Some have another for "standing pat") that he formulates into various poker hands, e.g., full house equals one note twice, the other thrice. Again, any speed.

Games: Collage No. 1 was commissioned by the Encounters Committee to celebrate the opening o the new Pasadena Art Museum and thus was premiered on the cold, wintry night of November 21, 1969, with the choirs placed on opposite sides of the entrance courtyard.

Alec Wilder was born in Rochester, N.Y., February 16, 1907, and he makes his home in New York City. His many hundreds of compositions range from the popular songs "I'll Be Around," "It's So Peaceful In The Country," "Who Can I Turn To?" and "While We're Young" to chamber works and orchestral pieces, often composed with specific players or ensembles in mind. Most celebrated, perhaps, among the latter were his Octets, written at the urging of Mitch Miller, in 1939 and 1940, and his pieces for Woodwind Octet, String Orchestra and Harpsichord, recorded with Frank Sinatra conducting in 1945. Alec Wilder has been called "one of the most lyrical melodists of our time." His Nonet For Brass was composed in the spring, 1969. Direct and to the point, it readily invites listening of the most pleasurable kind. It has been described as a spectacular tour de force for the instruments, including to "descant" (high B-flat) horns, two normal French horns, four Wagner tubas and bass tuba.

Roger Johnson was born November 12, 1941, in San Mateo, California and now lives in East Orange, N.J. Now a doctoral candidate at Columbia University, he obtained his Master's from Yale School of Music. He is presently working in a free, atonal style with some use of aleatoric techniques. He is also interested in electronic music and is working in the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. He writes of his work:

Suite For Six Horns was written in 1960 which I was a first year under-graduate student at the University of Washington in Seattle and was first performed by an ensemble from the School Of Music. It was then placed in the Library of the Los Angeles Horn Club and has since been performed many times by them and other groups. As a horn player myself, I have often written for this instrument, and my Suite represents the first of a number of works exploring its many tonal and compositional possibilities.

Lines And Contrasts For 16 Horns / Composed By – Gunther Schuller 10:22
Madrigal / Composed By – Roland de Lassus 1:22
O Che Splendor / Composed By – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina 2:15
Nonet For Brass Composed By – Alec Wilder 8:39

Games: Collage No. 1 Composed By – William Kraft 8:12
Suite For Horns / Composed By – Roger Johnson (4) 6:57
Ave Maria / Composed By – Tomás Luis de Victoria 2:17
Fanfare De Chasse / Composed By – Gioacchino Rossini 2:36

Horns: Dan Ashe, Arthur Briegleb, Huntington Burdick, James Decker, Vincent DeRosa, Leon Donfray, David Duket, Arthur Frantz, Thomas Greer, William Hinshaw, George Hyde, Waldemar Linder, Sinclair Lott, James McGee, Richard Mackey, Hyman Markowitz, Todd Miller, Caswell Neal, Richard Perissi, George Price,  Ralph Pyle,  Alan Robinson, Gale Robinson, Irving Rosenthal, Harry Schmidt, Eugene Sherry & Victory Vener

Trumpets: Irving Bush, Robert DiVall, Donald Green, Malcolm McNab, Mario Guarneri & Thomas Stephens

Bass Tuba: Roger Bobo, Roger Culbertson & John Johnson

Percussion: Charles DeLancey, Mitchell Peters, Walter Goodwin & Barry Silverman

Bass Tuba – Roger Bobo, Roger Culbertson, John Johnson*
Horn –     ,  (2),   (3),    Victor Vener, Waldemar Linder,
Horn [Descant Horn] –
Horn [Natural Horn] –  (2)
Horn, Tuba [Wagner Tuba] –
Percussion –
Timpani – Barry Silverman
Trumpet –  (3),   *

Gunther Schuller / Lines and Contrasts for 16 horns conducted by the composer

William Kraft / Games: Collage No. 1 for 22 brass and 4 percussion soloist conducted by the composer

Alex Wilder / Nonet for Brass conducted by Gunther Schuller

Friday, December 12, 2014

Songs Of The Seventies - Sounds Of The 70s Orchestra

Variation On A Theme From Of Eirk Satie (QL-6774)

It's Too Late (SL-6774)

Songs Of The Seventies
Sounds Of The 70s Orchestra
Arranged And Conducted By William Loose
Produced by Ernest K. Dominy
Specialty Markets/Capitol Records SL-6774

Realistic QL-6774
Custom Manufactured for Radio Shack
1972

I Don't Know How To Love Him
For All We Know
You've Got A Friend
One Less Bell To Answer
Rose Garden
Variations On A Theme Of Erik Satie
It's Impossible
Theme From "Love Story"
Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again
It's Too Late

Love Is Blue - Great Songs Of The 60s

Call Me
Somebody To Love
The Beat Goes On
Slick
A Whiter Shade Of Pale
For What It's Worth

California Dreamin'

Love Is Blue
Great Songs Of The 60s
Pleasure Programmed
Reader's Digest Record
1970

This 4 LP boxed set features a great 70s mood vibe created by such artists as Frank de Vol, Frank Comstock and Billy May.

Record 1
Love Is Blue / Johnny Gibbs and His Orchestra
Wonderful World / Perry Botkin, Jr. and His Orchestra
The Glory Of Love / Frank de Vol, His Orchestra and Chorus
Call Me / Norman Percival and His Orchestra
Groovin' / The New Classic Singers - Hank Levine and His Orchestra
The Happy Ending / Perry Botkin, Jr. and His Orchestra
There's A King Of Hush / Perry Botkin, Jr. and His Orchestra
You Only Live Twice / Johnny Gibbs and His Orchestra
Somebody To Love / Arranged and Conducted by Les Reed
A World Of Our Own / Norman Percival and His Orchestra
Feelin' Groovy / The New Classic Singers - Hank Levine and His Orchestra
Baby, I Need Your Lovin' / Billy May and His Orchestra
Born Free / Johnny Gibbs and His Orchestra

Record 2
To Sir With Love / Norman Percival and His Orchestra
Release Me / The Nashville Singers
Elanor Rigby /Perry Botkin, Jr. and His Orchestra
I Wish You Love / Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra
The Beat Goes On / The Nashville Singers - Bill Walker and His Orchestra
His Eyes, Her Eyes / Pete King and His Orchestra
Mr. Tambourine Man / Johnny Harris and His Orchestra
The Happy Trumpeter / Perry Botkin, Jr. and His Orchestra
Cast Your Fate To The Wind / Pete King and His Orchestra
Don't Sleep In The Subway / Norman Precival and His Orchestra
You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling / Frank Comstock and His Orchestra
La Bamba / Norman Precival and His Orchestra
Free Again / Pete King and His Orchestra
Slick / Arthur Greenslade and His Orchestra

Record 3
Ode To Billie Joe / Perry Botkin, Jr. and His Orchestra
Tom Dooley / Arthur Greenslade and His Orchestra
This Guy's In Love With You / Arranged and Conducted by Les Reed
By The Time I Get To Phoenix / The Nashville Singers - Bill Walker and His Orchestra
Walk On By / Billy May and His Orchestra
Honey / The Nashville Singers - Bill Walker and His Orchestra
Those Were The Days / Arthur Greenslade and His Orchestra
Puppet On A String / Frank Comstock and His Orchestra
In The Arms Of Love / Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra
Walk Right In / Hank Levine and His Orchestra
Sunny / Pete King and His Orchestra
Classical Gas / Johnny Harris and His Orchestra
Since I Fell For You / The New Classic Singers - Hank Levine and His Orchestra
A Whiter Shade Of Pale / Perry Botkin, Jr. and His Orchestra

Record 4
Cherry, Cherry / Billy May and His Orchestra
It Must Be Him / Perry Botkin, Jr. and His Orchestra
Elusive Butterfly / The New Classic Singers - Hank Levine and His Orchestra
Waterloo Sunset / Norman Precival and His Orchestra
For What It's Worth / Perry Botkin, Jr. and His Orchestra
Green, Green Grass Of Home / The Nashville Singers - Bill Walker and His Orchestra
I've Been Here / Johnny Gibbs and His Orchestra
Here Come's My BabyPerry Botkin, Jr. and His Orchestra
This Is My Song / Frank de Vol, His Orchestra and Chorus
Spanish Harlem / Billy May and His Orchestra
Nice 'N' Easy / Frank Comstock and His Orchestra
California Dreamin' / The New Classic Singers - Hank Levine and His Orchestra
Alfie / Norman Percival and His Orchestra
Land Of 1000 Danices / Norman Percival and His Orchestra

Monday, December 8, 2014

El Guatequito - Valladares Y Su Conjunto

Migajas De Amor
El Guatequito
Valladares Y Su Conjunto
Suave S-1170
Armada & Rodriguez Of Florida

A Mi Manera
Son De La Loma
Migajas De Amor
Guantanamera
La Mujer Que Yo Ame
Tres Lindas Cubanas
Olvido
A Mi Que
Las Palmaditas
No Vale La Pena

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Perfume De Gardenias - Los Millonarios

Incertidumbre
Despecho
Perfume De Gardenias
Con Los Millonarios
Vol. III
Miami Records
Discos Fuentes MFS-3072

Enjoy a few samples from this obscure Latin space age lounge set.

Prisonero Del Mar
Cuando Vuelva A Tu Lado
Hojas Muertas
Nuestras Vidas
Incertidumbre
Perfidia
Perfume De Gardenias
Campanitas De Cristal
Niebla Del Riachuelo
Traicionera
Palida Azucena
Despecho

Pepe Lara - Con la Orquesta de Jesus Moreno

Pepe Lara
Con la Orquesta de Jesus Moreno
Panart LP-3045

Enjoy the obscure cover art from a set that you can purchase from the usual online vendors.

Islas Canarias
Te Ame En Silencio
Triana
Nina
Malaguena
Dejame Abrazarte
Recuerdame
Valencia
Campanera
Enamorado Del Mar
El Beso
Gitana

Quine Tiene Tu Amore? - Wilfredo Mendi

Quien Tiene Tu Amore
Quine Tiene Tu Amore?
Wilfredo Mendi
TECA Records LIS-571

Quien Tiene Tu Amor
La Hiedra
Que Te Cuesta
Te Voy A Besar
Cancion Prohibida
Siempre Te Amare
De
De Rodillas
Inevitable
Tu Ventana
Regalame Un Recuerdo
Como Un Carnaval

Arpa Expectacular - Alfredo Rolando Ortiz

Tabu
Arpa Sepectacular
Alfredo Rolando Oritz
Discuba LPD 600

Nathalie
Sombras
El Tema Del Verdugo
Jamas Te Olvidare
Moliendo Cafe
Jinetes En El Cielo
La Novia
Cascada
La Flor De La Canela
Ajedrez
Fantasia Gaucha
Tabu