Kingfishers Catch Fire — John Mackey (b. 1973)

John Mackey has written for orchestras (Brooklyn Philharmonic, New York Youth Symphony), theater (Dallas Theater Center), and extensively for dance (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Parsons Dance Company, New York City Ballet), but the majority of his work for the past decade has been for wind ensembles (the fancy name for concert bands), and his band catalog now receives annual performances numbering in the thousands. Recent commissions include works for the BBC Singers, the Dallas Winds, military, high school, middle school, and university bands across America and Japan, and concertos for Joseph Alessi (principal trombone, New York Philharmonic), Christopher Martin (principal trumpet, New York Philharmonic), and Julian Bliss (international clarinet soloist). In 2014, he became the youngest composer ever inducted into the American Bandmasters Association. In 2018, he received the Wladimir & Rhoda Lakond Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He resides in San Francisco, California, with his spouse, A. E. Jaques, a philosopher who works on the ethics of artificial intelligence for MIT, and also titles all of his pieces; and their cats, Noodle and Bloop.

Mackey provided the following program notes for Kingfishers Catch Fire:

“A kingfisher is a bird with beautiful, brilliantly colored feathers that look in sunlight as if they are on fire. Kingfishers are extremely shy birds and are rarely seen, but when they are seen, they are undeniably beautiful.”

 

“The first movement, following falls and falls of rain, is suspended in tone, but with hope, depicting the kingfisher slowly emerging from its nest in the early morning stillness, just after a heavy rainstorm. The second movement, Kingfishers Catch Fire, imagines the bird flying out into the sunlight.

 

“The work features optional antiphonal trumpets placed behind the audience. The trumpet solo in the first movement is played from the back of the hall, and the trumpet flourishes in the second movement are played by the antiphonal trumpet choir. You may catch the reference to Stravinsky’s Firebird at the end of the piece.”

Tribute to Rudy Wiedoeft — arr. Gunther Schuller

Rudy Wiedoeft (1893-1940) was one of the first true superstars of the saxophone, whose virtuosity and flamboyant lifestyle helped kick off the “saxophone craze” of the 1920s. His rapid-fire double-tonguing and nimble improvisations inspired other jazz saxophonists like Frank Trumbauer, Sidney Bechet, and Jimmy Dorsey. Wiedoeft was often compared with Fritz Kreisler, the pre-eminent violinist of the era.

Tribute of Rudy Wiedoeft includes three of Wiedoeft’s most popular numbers, arranged by ragtime and jazz expert Gunther Schuller. Schuller also arranged Scott Jop[in’s rags for Marvin Hamlisch used in the motion picture The Sting in 1973.

The first movement, Valse Erica (1917), is a showy parlor waltz with multiple sections that complement each other. Divided into three sections—fast-slow-fast—it is filled with catchy melodies and challenging technical requirements.

The second movement, Saxarella (1923), is a spritely fox-trot. Filled with wit and syncopation, it shares a style with much of the music from the silent film era. Again, in three sections, this movement is loaded with fast passages and arpeggios.

The finale, Saxophobia (1920), is a lightning-fast tour-de-force. Slides, arpeggios, and syncopation abound but, most of all, it’s just fun!

Feste Romane (Roman Festivals) — Ottorino Resphigi (1879-1936)

Though he later appeared in public, both as a conductor and a pianist, Respighi began his career as a violinist shortly after he graduated from the Liceo Musicale Rossini in Bologna in 1901. Around 1905 Respighi turned his attention to the historic viola d’amore and he became quite adept at the performance of early Italian scores for the instrument. In time his interest was extended to the arrangement of a considerable amount of Renaissance and early Baroque music. He transcribed Frescobaldi’s Toccatas and Fugues for piano and created a modern edition of Monteverdi’s Lamento di Arianna. He made orchestral arrangements of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in D Major, Passacaglia in C Minor, and three of his chorales. The year before he died, Respighi edited and orchestrated Monteverdi’s Orfeo.

Respighi was not content merely to rearrange and transcribe old music. However, many of his mature works employ traditional church modes. Two of his most successful efforts were his twin suites of Ancient Airs and Dances. His trilogy Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome, and Roman Festivals, original works not based on antiquity, are probably his most popular pieces, holding important positions in the concert repertoire to this day.

Shortly after Respighi moved to Rome in 1913 and became a professor at the Santa Cecilia Academy, he became acquainted with the city’s concert life. He got to know the capabilities of the Roman orchestras and resolved to write works depicting certain aspects of the city. Roman Festivals, composed in 1929, was the last of the three tone poems.

The work is in four movements, each depicting a different festival. The first movement, Circenses (Circuses) represents gladiators in ancient Rome and their combat. It opens with fanfares to which the combatants entered. Chants are heard in the woodwinds. Near the end, Respighi includes growls of animals and the death of martyrs.

Respighi’s second movement, Il Giubileo (The Jubilee), shows pilgrims marching to Rome, complete with church bells. In the final measures, they see Mt. Mario, one of the seven hills of Rome.

The third movement, L’Ottobrata (The October Festival), is a harvest celebration. A horn solo representing the harvest of crops begins the movement. Listen for the love serenade later in the movement.

Respighi’s finale is La Befana (Epiphany), representing the festival in Piazza Navona. Reminiscent of Stravinsky in character only, this movement is a jumble of sounds associated with celebration. There are trumpets playing Roman songs and an organ grinder. However, no festival is complete without a drunken attendee, here portrayed by brilliant writing for solo trombone.

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