FROM A DARK MILLENNIUM COMES THE MUSIC OF AMBER A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TWO WORKS BY JOSEPH SCHWANTNER James Popejoy, B.M.E., M.A. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August, 2000 APPROVED: Eugene Migliaro Corporon, Major Professor Neil Slater, Related Field Professor Dennis W. Fisher, Committee Member Debbie Rohwer, Committee Member William V. May, Interim Dean of the College of Music C. Neal Tate, Dean of the Robert B. Toulouse School of Graduate Studies Popejoy, James, From a Dark Millennium comes the Music of Amber: A comparative study of two works by Joseph Schwantner. Doctor of Musical Arts (Conducting), August 2000, 89 pp., 52 titles. The two works of Joseph Schwantner which are the focus of this study, are quite unique for this composer. These two pieces represent the only instance in which Schwantner used the same music for two different compositions. From a Dark Millennium, and Sanctuary from the Music of Amber, are identical in musical material, form and length. While From a Dark Millennium was written for a large wind ensemble, Sanctuary was scored for a sextet of flute, clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion. The comparative analysis of these pieces reveal the essence of the music, as well as explores the scoring of each version. Both the melodic and harmonic material in this music is based almost entirely on an octatonic scale of alternating whole and half steps. Very little musical material is used in these works, however the approach toward expanding this material is exceptionally creative. The music shifts abruptly from sections that are sparse and soloistic, to scoring that is very dense. While the piano is utilized as the central timbre in both versions, the wind ensemble presents a much heavier and more percussive sound throughout. The chamber version, due to its size and instrumentation, is more ethereal, and features the performers in a soloistic environment. In examining both of these works, many of the distinctive traits found in the music of Joseph Schwantner are exhibited. The differences between these two versions help to illustrate his unique approach to composition and orchestration. The two works have also had a significant impact in their respective performance media as well. From a Dark Millennium has become an important part of the repertoire for wind ensembles; and Music of Amber, which won the 1981 Kennedy Center Friedheim Award for excellence in chamber composition, is one of Schwantner(cid:146)s most performed chamber pieces. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter I. JOSEPH SCHWANTNER: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).1 Compositional Output Characteristics of Compositional Style II. GENESIS OF MUSICAL WORKS(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)....18 From a Dark Millennium Music of Amber III. ANALYSIS OF SCORES(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).....26 Form Melody Harmony Rhythm Dynamics Stylistic Articulations and Expressive Gestures Scoring Texture IV. SUMMARY(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).(cid:133).81 BIBLIOGRAPHY(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).(cid:133)(cid:133).86 ii CHAPTER I JOSEPH SCHWANTNER: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION Joseph Schwantner was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 22, 1943. Schwantner showed an early interest in music, beginning the study of guitar at seven years of age. His teacher was Robert Stein, who first introduced him to folk guitar before moving to classical study. The study of the guitar with Stein was to have a tremendous effect on Schwantner as a composer. Another early influence was Schwantner(cid:146)s grade school music teacher, Adeline Anderson, who invited him to play tuba in the Warren Palm School band. He entered Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Illinois in 1957 where he continued playing tuba in the band and played guitar with the jazz ensembles. Schwantner was fortunate to be involved in a strong high school music program which included the study of music history and theory. He was also encouraged by his band director, Lyle Hopkins, to arrange and compose music for various ensembles. In an interview with the composer, Schwantner stated: It was a suburban high school, and we had a very large music program with orchestra, band and jazz ensemble. I even had my own jazz group. It was the closest thing to being a music major in high school at that time. I also had theory courses, and studied composition with the band director. I used to write all the music for the student shows.1 1 Joseph Schwantner, interview in Dallas, Texas, October 1, 1999. 1 Even as a high school student, Schwantner began receiving recognition for his music writing. One of his jazz compositions, Offbeat, won the National Band Camp Award in 1959. Interested in experimental or (cid:147)free(cid:148) jazz at this time, the composition was a twelve-tone piece written in 5/4 for his school jazz ensemble. The award allowed Schwantner the opportunity to attend the Stan Kenton Jazz Camp where he took a class in arranging and composition with Russ Garcia. Schwantner stated that it was during this time that (cid:147). . . it seemed to be clear to me, that this (composing music) is what I wanted to do.(cid:148)2 Schwantner attended the Chicago Conservatory College between 1961 and 1964, studying composition with Bernard Dieter. He completed his first work for orchestra, Sinfonia Brevis, in 1963 and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1964. Schwantner continued his studies as a composer in graduate school at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, receiving his Master(cid:146)s degree in music in 1966. Serving as a teaching assistant in music theory, he earned a doctorate in music from Northwestern University in 1968. His composition teachers during this time were Anthony Donato and Alan Stout. Schwantner was the recipient of numerous composition awards during his student days. These award-winning works were written for various soloists and small ensembles at Northwestern University. Schwantner served on the music theory and composition faculties at both the Chicago Conservatory College and the Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington during the 1968-1969 school year. In 1969-1970 he was an assistant 2 Joseph Schwantner, interview in Dallas, Texas, October 1, 1999. 2 professor of theory at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, and guest composer and lecturer at Miami-Dade Junior College in Miami, Florida in 1971. Schwantner joined the faculty of the Eastman School of Music in 1970 where he has since remained. He served as an assistant professor of composition and theory from 1970-1973; as an assistant professor of composition from 1974-1975; an associate professor of composition in 1975; and became chairman of the composition department in 1979, achieving the rank of full professor in 1980. In 1975, while on leave from the Eastman School, he served as Lecturer in Music at the University of Texas in Austin and Guest Composer and Lecturer at the University of Houston, Texas. He was Guest Composer and Lecturer at Yale University and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1979, serving in that capacity at Yale University once again during the 1999-2000 academic year. Schwantner was also the 1987-89 Karel Husa Visiting Professor of Composition at Ithaca College. Throughout his career, Schwantner has received numerous awards for his compositions. His first major orchestral work, Aftertones of Infinity, received the Pulitzer Prize in 1979. Other awards included First Prize in the Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards in 1981 for Music of Amber and Third Prize in 1986 for A Sudden Rainbow; the Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in 1978; Composers Fellowship Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1974, 1977, 1979 and 1988; the Martha Baird Rockefeller Foundation Grant in 1978; ISCM National Composers Competition Awards in 1978 and 1980; CAPS Grants in 1975 and 1977; first recipient of the Charles Ives Scholarship presented by the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1970; the Bearns Prize in 1967; BMI Student Composer Awards in 1965, 1966 and 1968; and the William 3 T. Faricy Award for Creative Music in 1966. He has also been the subject of a television documentary, (cid:147)Soundings,(cid:148) produced by WGBH of Boston for national broadcast. Schwantner was Composer-in-Residence at the Wolf Trap Farm for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia in 1979. From 1982 to 1985, he served as Composer-in-Residence with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra as part of the Meet The Composer/Orchestra Residencies Program funded by the Exxon Corporation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. In an article about the residency program, John Duffy, founder and president of Meet The Composer, Inc., discussed Schwantner(cid:146)s important early participation in this program: After the first two years of the program, I got a letter from Joan Bricetti, the manager of the Saint Louis Symphony. She was concerned about losing (Joseph) Schwantner as Composer-in-Residence. She asked (cid:145)Is there life after Schwantner?(cid:146) That was nice verbal manifestation that some orchestras felt they couldn(cid:146)t do without a resident composer, that it was as essential as having a music director or a concertmaster.3 Duffy also discussed the impact of the experience on the composer as well: Schwantner, who had been used to the cloistered academic life (at Eastman), suddenly found himself in demand, someone people were very interested in. They were very intrigued with the whole idea that a composer-in-residence would go on tour with the orchestra and talk to people. They begin to refer to him as the Johnny Appleseed of composers. He has a very open spirit. He(cid:146)s no-nonsense; people sense a warmth and openness. He found that this vastly affected his music, knowing the players, knowing the city. Music-making became much more personal. It was a very tough adjustment to go back to academic life. He wants very much to be back in the program.4 3 Karen Campbell, (cid:147)Meet The Composer: Orchestral Residency Program,(cid:148) Ovation IX/8 (September 1988), 26. 4 Ibid. 4 Two recordings of Schwantner(cid:146)s works by the Saint Louis Symphony received Grammy nominations. His Magabunda (cid:147)Four Poems of Agueda Pizarro,(cid:148) was nominated for a 1985 Grammy Award in the category (cid:147)Best New Classical Composition,(cid:148) and his A Sudden Rainbow received a 1987 Grammy nomination for (cid:147)Best Classical Composition.(cid:148) Compositional Output During the early part of his career, the majority of Schwantner(cid:146)s compositions were scored for chamber ensembles. Schwantner indicated that there were many reasons for his interest in writing for professional chamber ensembles. Unlike music directors of many orchestras, the musicians in these chamber ensembles embraced new compositions, and were dedicated to committing significant time and effort in preparation of new works for performance. These professional chamber musicians were also very comfortable in performing music for unique instrumental combinations, with unusual notation and scoring. As he searched for ways of augmenting the sounds available to him in these small ensembles, without increasing the size of the group, Schwantner began to develop many of the traits we now associate with his personal compositional style. These experiments with unique colors and effects found in his chamber compositions, led him to develop scoring techniques that he would later use in his works for wind ensembles and orchestras. Many of these early chamber pieces were commissioned by, or written for, professional chamber ensembles such as the Da Capo Chamber Players; Boston Musica Viva; the 20th Century Consort; the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble; and the New York New Music Ensemble. Generally scored for small, mixed ensembles in various 5 combinations of woodwinds, strings, piano and percussion, these works include his Consortium I (1970); Consortium II (1971); In Aeternum (1973); Canticle of the Evening Bells (1975); Elixir (1976); Sparrows (1978); Music of Amber (1981); and Distant Runes and Incantations (1987). In discussing the award-winning performance of Music of Amber by the New York New Music Ensemble in the Kennedy Center Friedheim competition, Schwantner had this observation: Well, after I heard these guys play, I suspected they would just blow every other ensemble off the stage, and they did! I(cid:146)m telling you, it was just amazing. They were young and hot, and they cared more about playing than they did about a career. . . . That was why I was so excited about writing chamber music for these kids.5 Schwantner has written three important works for wind ensemble during his career. In a recent interview, Schwantner indicated his interest for the medium: I(cid:146)m just widely excited about the wind ensemble medium, even though I have only three wind ensemble pieces. People send me tapes all the time, so I hear a lot of music. I(cid:146)m just very impressed with how well they are playing, especially the larger schools.6 His first work for wind ensemble,(cid:133)and the mountains rising nowhere, was commissioned by the Eastman Wind Ensemble with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and premiered at the National Conference of the College Band Director(cid:146)s National Association in 1977. This work in particular has had a profound effect on the wind ensemble movement since its premiere. And the mountains rising nowhere is generally considered by many wind conductors as one of the most important and pivotal compositions for winds and percussion of the last 25 years, and has helped to 5 Joseph Schwantner, interview in Dallas, Texas, October 1, 1999. 6 Ibid. 6