Clarinet Choir Showcases Range Musical Ideas
Ben Franks
Issue date: 11/23/09 Section: News
Last Monday night the Harwood Recital Hall featured the musical talents of the Henderson Clarinet Choir. The group performed a multifaceted concert showcasing both different styles of arrangements for clarinet ensembles and a broad range of musical ideas.
The performance began with a well-known piece, "Ave Verum Corpus" by W.A. Mozart.
The tune has its origins as a short Eucharist hymn dating back to the 14th century. Several composers have put it music. Mozart composed this piece and a clarinet concerto six months before his death.
The concert then moved to one of two student-conducted selections. Michael Henson and Fredrick Brown, both senior music majors, took their turns waving the baton. Henson led a very technical piece entitled "Italian in Algiers" by Gioacchino Rossini, while Brown conducted the more lyrical "Introduction and Rondo" by Gordon Jacob. The Rossini piece also featured Brown as a soloist.
For each of their assigned tunes the senior conductors were responsible for instructing the group. "The students did all the teaching for their pieces," said Steven Becraft, the choir's director.
The show then featured a very small group from the choir. The Henderson Clarinet Quartet performed "Normandie: Suite on Ancient Airs from Normandy." The four-movement suite was entirely the quartet's own interpretation as they took on the challenge of preparing by themselves with spare class time that Becraft allotted them. The quartet was made up of Fredrick Brown, Savanna Burkland, Michael Henson and James Thomas.
Burkland is a senior music major, and Thomas is a sophomore music major. "As a group, we worked really hard," said Thomas. "The performance turned out very well."
After the quartet, the choir returned to the stage. The choir was split for two of the last three pieces. The "Canzona per Sonare No. 2" by Giovanni Gabrielli showed an 11-clarinet setup. The piece was originally written for a group of choirs.
The different ensemble settings allow the students to showcase different styles and blending of their instrument. Freshmen music major Anna Eckstein said, "I enjoyed the versatility of this group. I really got to learn how to blend in different settings, and it was great to get to play with such talented musicians."
The finale was "Monochrome III" a modern work of music written by Peter Schickele.
Schickele is also known for the works of his alter ego composer P.D.Q. Bach, who claims to be one the lesser-known sons of the famous Johann Sebastian Bach. He reserves the Bach name for more of his experimental pieces. He uses Schickele for his serious works.
The set featured nine players, but all played B-flat clarinets. "Monochrome III" is a part of a series of works Schickele wrote for ensembles of the same tuning.
Becraft introduced this piece by telling the audience not to be fooled by its name; the piece is full of "several musical colors." "We had great results tonight," said Becraft. "The students were well prepared, and they all responded very well in the performance."
The Henderson Clarinet Choir rehearses on campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 p.m.
The group is open to all students.
The performance began with a well-known piece, "Ave Verum Corpus" by W.A. Mozart.
The tune has its origins as a short Eucharist hymn dating back to the 14th century. Several composers have put it music. Mozart composed this piece and a clarinet concerto six months before his death.
The concert then moved to one of two student-conducted selections. Michael Henson and Fredrick Brown, both senior music majors, took their turns waving the baton. Henson led a very technical piece entitled "Italian in Algiers" by Gioacchino Rossini, while Brown conducted the more lyrical "Introduction and Rondo" by Gordon Jacob. The Rossini piece also featured Brown as a soloist.
For each of their assigned tunes the senior conductors were responsible for instructing the group. "The students did all the teaching for their pieces," said Steven Becraft, the choir's director.
The show then featured a very small group from the choir. The Henderson Clarinet Quartet performed "Normandie: Suite on Ancient Airs from Normandy." The four-movement suite was entirely the quartet's own interpretation as they took on the challenge of preparing by themselves with spare class time that Becraft allotted them. The quartet was made up of Fredrick Brown, Savanna Burkland, Michael Henson and James Thomas.
Burkland is a senior music major, and Thomas is a sophomore music major. "As a group, we worked really hard," said Thomas. "The performance turned out very well."
After the quartet, the choir returned to the stage. The choir was split for two of the last three pieces. The "Canzona per Sonare No. 2" by Giovanni Gabrielli showed an 11-clarinet setup. The piece was originally written for a group of choirs.
The different ensemble settings allow the students to showcase different styles and blending of their instrument. Freshmen music major Anna Eckstein said, "I enjoyed the versatility of this group. I really got to learn how to blend in different settings, and it was great to get to play with such talented musicians."
The finale was "Monochrome III" a modern work of music written by Peter Schickele.
Schickele is also known for the works of his alter ego composer P.D.Q. Bach, who claims to be one the lesser-known sons of the famous Johann Sebastian Bach. He reserves the Bach name for more of his experimental pieces. He uses Schickele for his serious works.
The set featured nine players, but all played B-flat clarinets. "Monochrome III" is a part of a series of works Schickele wrote for ensembles of the same tuning.
Becraft introduced this piece by telling the audience not to be fooled by its name; the piece is full of "several musical colors." "We had great results tonight," said Becraft. "The students were well prepared, and they all responded very well in the performance."
The Henderson Clarinet Choir rehearses on campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 p.m.
The group is open to all students.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
lentyna
posted 4/07/10 @ 3:28 PM CST
I have to agree with teh poster above... :/ looks like a lot of hot air to me.
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