$20 SCHOOLS TICKETS PROGRAM RESOURCES SLAVA, RODRIGO & BEETHOVEN VII SO DREAM THY SAILS

Transcription

1 $20 SCHOOLS TICKETS PROGRAM RESOURCES SLAVA, RODRIGO & BEETHOVEN VII SO DREAM THY SAILS

2 AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA One of the world s most lauded chamber ensembles, the Australian Chamber Orchestra is renowned for its inspired programming and unrivalled virtuosity, energy and individuality. Its unique programming extends across six centuries, spanning popular masterworks, adventurous cross-artform projects and pieces specially commissioned for the ensemble. Outstanding Australian violinist Richard Tognetti has been at the helm of the ACO since 1989.

3 ABOUT GORDON KERRY Born In 2009 Gordon Kerry was awarded the Ian Potter Established Composer Fellowship to compose new works for the Sydney Chamber Choir, Bendigo and Sydney Symphony Orchestras, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and to complete a new opera with playwright Louis Nowra. Recent works include settings of cantos from John Kinsella's Divine Comedy, Cpieces for the Australian National Academy of Music, ABC Classic FM,Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, ABC, BBC, and the Australian Youth Orchestra. Chamber music for Musica Viva Australia and Wigmore Hall, London as well as independent ensembles in Australia, Germany, the USA, Sweden and Russia. Recordings of his music appear on Tall Poppies, Vox Australis and ABC Classics. Studied composition with Barry Conyngham at the University of Melbourne, and he has held fellowships from the Australia Council, Peggy Glanville-Hicks Trust and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, USA. He lives on a hill in north-eastern Victoria, Australia.

4 SO DREAM THY SAILS MOVEMENTS Quasi Barcarola Inequieto Tranquillo From the Program notes on the work, written by GORDON KERRY: It is a wonderful thing for a composer to receive a message from a philanthropically-minded person who wants to commission a new work, especially when that work will be of great personal significance to the commissioner. So I was thrilled that Andrew and Fiona Johnston wanted me to write a substantial piece to celebrate the forthcoming 90th birthday of Andrew s father, David Dawson Johnston, and that the ACO was happy to perform it. Andrew agreed that a violin concerto would be ideal, and stipulated only that the work should if possible reflect his father s great love of sailing on Port Phillip Bay.

5 AURAL/ MUSICOLOGY Each sequence of Lessons provided by the ACO will focus on developing key skills: PERFORMANCE, COMPOSITION and AURAL/MUSICOLOGY. This sequence of lessons will focus on PERFORMANCE

6 PERFORMANCE ACTIVITY So Dream Thy Sails is a new work by Gordon Kerry which will be premiered by the ACO. This is a great honour for a performer, as this first interpretation could shape the work for years to come. There are no recordings to listen to, no other performances to watch, only the score and what the composer has written. IF YOU WERE PERFORMING THIS PIECE FOR THE FIRST TIME, WHAT STEPS WOULD YOU TAKE FIRST? On the next slide is an introduction to the piece, written by the composer. Read it and consider how might affect your interpretation of the work.

7 PERFORMANCE ACTIVITY The piece attempts to capture the feeling of the various moods of the sea, from a gentle barcarolle' at the start which features the soloist in long singing lines over a rocking accompaniment, a fast and much less predictable central movement and finally a slow finale of wide vistas and a soaring solo line. The solo violin interacts with the strings en masse and as individuals or smaller groups; horns and harp and a maritime colour and, where necessary, a little extra heft and bass reinforcement to the orchestral tutti. Various poetic images of sailing influence the work the tenacious heroes of Tennyson s Ulysses, and the Anglo-Saxon Seafarer as translated by Ezra Pound and J M Couper, for instance, and the sailing vessels that stream through Kenneth Slessor and James McAuley. But the title comes from a fragment by Hart Crane, for whom, like me, the sea was a source of inspiration. - Gordon Kerry

8 DISCUSSION As a performer of this work, what are your FIRST STEPS? What is more important to you your interpretation as an artist, or staying true to the composer's intentions?

9 PERFORMANCE ACTIVITY The first step as a performer might be to research some influences mentioned in this first step. Individually, or as a group, find and read the poems: TENNYSON S ULYSSES THE SEAFARER (TRANSLATED BY EZRA POUND) Why do you think the composer mentions these poems specifically? Would this change your interpretation of the work? SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH THE CLASS.

10 RESEARCH TASK ACO SHOSTAKOVICH STRING QUARTET NO.8 Choose a piece you are playing at the moment and research it. Try to better understand the composer's intentions, with the goal of gaining a better understanding of the music. Who wrote it? When was it written? Was it conventional or unconventional at the time it was written? Why or why not? Was it written for an individual or group? Was it written in response to an event? Was it shaped by any events in the composer's life? Will this new understanding of the piece change your performance?

11 COMPOSITION ACTIVITY You need: pencil, manuscript, a dice. In groups or individually, Use chance to compose your own four bar melody. Roll a die (or get a partner to pick a number). First Roll 1 2 Crotchet 3 4 Quaver 5 6 Minim Second Roll 1- C 4- G 2- D 5- A 3- E 6- Roll Again Roll twice for each note. You should end up with a short ALEATORIC melody based on the C pentatonic.

12 COMPOSITION ACTIVITY Now it is YOUR turn to describe how to play your melody. Is it fast? Is it slow? Is it haunting? Does it remind you of anything? Write something to influence a performer trying to play your work for the first time. ACTIVITY: Swap melodies with another group or individual and try to interpret their work. You may perform it for the class for your own world premiere!

13 When you go to the concert, use the knowledge and skills we have explored and consider the following questions: What elements of the sea can you hear? How does the performance convey the composer's wishes? How has the composer reflected the text we have studied in the work?

14 Teacher's Notes for reference to the Draft Australian Curriculum: The Arts and NSW Stage 6 Music 1 & Music 2 Syllabus. General Capabilities LIT Reading the score, writing about the Concepts of Music (CoM). NUM Identifying and discussing meter and rhythm. ICT Utilising internet resources. CCT Critically discussing the set work/s. PSC Sharing personal responses to set work/s. EU Working collaboratively with peers in group discussions. ICU Discussing cultural issues surrounding the set work/s. Cross-Curriculum Links & Priorities English, Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematics, History, Language Viewpoints 2 Extend discussions into the links between the repetitive nature of these works and that of cultural music of Asian regions (eg; Balinese, Chinese).

15 NSW Stage 6 Syllabus Links MUSIC 1 Topic Links Music of the 20 th & 21 st Centuries Music for Small Ensembles Music and the Related Arts (Hermann & Stravinsky) MUSIC 2 Topic Links Music Music Years Ago Music of the Last 25 Years (Although the Tüür work is not Australian) MUSIC 1 Outcome Links P 4,5,6,7,8,10,11 H 4,5,6,7,8,10,11 MUSIC 2 Outcome Links P 4,5,6,7,8,10,11 H 4,5,6,7,8,10,11

16 OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS WITH THE ACO Find out about more great opportunities with the ACO