Program Notes
Alpenglow (2021) - Stacy Garrop The first time I saw an alpenglow, I had no idea what it was. It was the late 1980s, and I was at music camp at the base of the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. A few of us got up in the middle of the night so we could hike to a vantage point at the foot of Longs Peak, to watch the sun rise without any trees obstructing our view. Even though we had a few more minutes to go before the sun breached the horizon, when I looked up at the face of Longs Peak, it was glowing intensely with a most beautiful peach-pink color. This enchanting vi- sion lasted only about ten minutes, after which the color faded as the sun rose. Throughout the next thirty years, whenever I returned to the Rocky Mountain National Park, I would occasionally catch this pre-dawn light show in all its glory. An alpenglow is an optical phenomenon that is visible on high altitude mountains. It happens twice daily, right before the sun rises and right after it sets. The earth’s atmosphere scatters the sun’s light, allowing particu- lar wavelengths of light through and blanketing the mountains in rich hues of peach, pink, red, and purple. Alpenglow opens with First Light. This movement begins in the pre-dawn hour. The music starts simply and slowly, then grows increasingly animated as the sky lightens and the horizon shimmers with color. The move- ment explodes in a massive flurry of activity when the blazing sun pulls itself across the horizon. In Arc of the Sun, we follow the sun as it energetically leaps and surges upwards in the sky. The music moves steadily upwards as it keeps pace with the sun’s progress, then crests as the sun reaches its zenith. As the sun bends back down towards the earth, the music follows suit, getting lower in range and slower as the sun nears the horizon. In Radiant Glow, the sun slips under the horizon, giving way to a most radiant alpenglow. As the alpenglow fades and twilight envelops the earth, stars shimmer in the night sky. - Program Note by composer Swamp Stomp (1999) - Mike Holober Swamp Stomp is the second movement of my Road Trip for Alto Saxophone and Wind Band. Road Trip was commissioned by The Commission Project and premiered by New York Philharmonic Saxophonist Dave Demsey. As a jazz composer, I often use an element in my music that could be described as “folkish.” The fea- tures of this harmonic language include “majorness,” an abundance of fourths and fifths, and a general feeling that is very un-blues-like in its positive attitude. There is also an “American” quality to this that has been pro- grammed into us, primarily by Aaron Copland. I love it! It gives me chills -- and what better medium to let my sentiments run wild than in that most American ensemble of all, the concert band/wind ensemble? With the saxophone as the solo voice, the setting is perfect for exploring my weakness for this language. Swamp Stomp is in a second line groove and is both a parade bayou style and a crawdad fest. This movement has a section where the entire ensemble must improvise responses to the soloist. - Program Note by composer Double Concerto “Baroque” (2018) - Carter Pann In a musical style strongly influenced by (and occasionally parodying) American popular music, the subti - tle “Baroque” may seem a puzzle at first. It is also the key to Pann’s approach in composing for multiple wind soloists and ensemble. With Bach’s Brandenburgs in the rear-view mirror, Pann has created a glorious hybrid of inspirations with intricate counterpoint, cadenzas, beautiful slow textures, and wild rides, creating a 16-minute, fast-slow-fast concerto grosso. Double Concerto “Baroque” was commissioned by David Stambler for a consortium of 15 Duos and Wind Ensembles around the United States. - Program Note from publisher
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