Pre-Concert Homework

Congratulations! You have continue reading despite the scary title to this post. I know that my students would have probably broken into an immediate rash, shut down the computer and run hard and fast.

I am more excited about the World Premiere of Renascence than I have been about the performance of a piece in quite a while. This piano concerto by Christopher Marshall (pictured to the left), has an amazing balance of tension, release, passion, angst and beauty. It speaks to rebirth and is the focal work on our February 23rd concert.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Chris last weekend and we did a short interview that dealt with the origin of the piece, his thoughts about it and the significance of the title. This interview will be posted on the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble web site in the coming days and I encourage you to give it a listen.

This is not your homework, however. Some prior listening will help make your first exposure to Renascence even more poignant. First, I encourage you to find a recording of Schubert's song cycle Die Schöne Müllerin. In particular, you want to listen to Trockne Blumen. All of the melodic and harmonic material in Renascence is based on this piece. Not that I'm a Schubert expert by any stretch, but I am particularly enjoying the recording by Malcolm Martineau & Michael Schade that I purchased from the iTunes Store. Only 99¢ for the one movement and $9.99 for the full disc.

Secondly, you need to go to Chris's web site and listen to the recordings he has posted there. They will give you a taste of his writing style. In my estimation, his two best works are missing from his web site collection. They are Resonance, which was recorded by the International Youth Wind Orchestra at the WASBE conference in Killarney, Ireland last summer, and Renascence which hasn't been performed yet!

Even though, this is a wonderful work that will be a moving experience for an uninitiated first time listener, listening to the recordings recommended will help to put the piece in perspective for you.

Happy listening and see you at the Evergreen Cultural Centre on February 23rd!