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DAN LOCKLAIR
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Dan Locklair (b. 1949), a native of Charlotte, North Carolina (USA), holds a Master of Sacred Music degree from the School of Sacred Music of Union Theological Seminary in New York City and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Presently, Dr. Locklair is Composer-in-Residence and Professor of Music at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.The music of Dan Locklair is widely performed throughout the U.S., Canada and abroad, including performances in England, Germany, France, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Sweden, Korea, Japan, Finland and Russia. His prolific output includes symphonic works, a ballet, an opera and numerous solo, chamber, vocal and choral compositions. Dr. Locklair's many awards have included consecutive ASCAP Awards since 1981, a Kennedy Center Friedheim Award, an AliÈnor Award, the New Music Award from the Omaha Symphony Society, two North Carolina Composer Fellowship Awards and the top Barlow International Competition Award for 1989. In 1992, he became the first American composer ever to be invited to and have music performed at the 35 year old Czech Festival of Choral Arts in Jihlava, Czech Republic and, again at the invitation of the Czech government, was invited to return to be a part of this Festival during 1997. In its Centennial Year, Dr. Locklair was named 1996 AGO Composer of the Year by the American Guild of Organists, a distinguished honor awarded yearly to an American composer who has not only enriched the organ repertoire, but who has also made significant contributions to symphonic and concert music. His 1995 composition, Since Dawn (A Tone Poem for Narrator, Chorus and Orchestra based on Maya Angelou's On the Pulse of Morning), is the first musical setting of Maya Angelou's well-known and important poem commissioned for the 1993 Inauguration of U.S. President Bill Clinton. Dan Locklair's music has been premiered and/or performed by such ensembles as the Helsinki Philharmonic (Finland), the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Louisville Symphony Orchestra, the Kansas City Symphony, the Gregg Smith Singers, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the Paul Hill Chorale, the Chicago Ensemble, the Omaha Symphony, as well as by solo performers Igor Kipnis, Jukka Tiensuu, and Marilyn Keiser. His commissions have included works for the Knoxville Symphony, the North Carolina Dance Theatre, the Binghamton Symphony, two American Guild of Organists' National Conventions (1992, 1996), the Choral Art Society (Portland, Maine), an IBM commission for the Binghamton Youth Symphony, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, the MallarmÈ Chamber Players, the Bel Canto Company and a Barlow Endowment Commission. In addition to performances of Dr. Locklair's music in such halls as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall and Washington's Kennedy Center, his music has been programmed on major festivals throughout the world, including the Aspen Music Festival, Spoleto U.S.A., the Chautauqua Festival, Interlochen, the Brevard Music Center (Composer-in-Residence, 1989, 2002 seasons), Southern Cathedrals Festival (England), Warsaw Autumn (Poland), Vendsyssel Festival (Denmark), the Bergen Festival (Norway) and the Internationale Orgelwoche N¸rnberg Musica Sacra festival (Germany). Broadcasts of his music have been heard world-wide over Voice of America, Vatican Radio, Finnish Radio, the BBC, Czech Radio, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, National Public Radio's “Performance Today” and the Public Radio International programs “St. Paul Sunday Morning,” “Pipe Dreams” and “With Heart and Voice.” Dan Locklair's music is commercially available on the Ondine, Albany, Naxos, Gasparo, Titanic, Pro Organo, ACADigital, Capstone, Gothic, Pro Arte Fanfare, Orion and Opus One labels. His primary publishers are Ricordi (e.c. kerby, ltd.) [Boosey & Hawkes and Hal Leonard, agents] and Subito Music Corporation [Theodore Presser, agents]. He is listed in numerous biographical dictionaries, including the International Who's Who in Music, Contemporary American Composers, Dictionary of Distinguished Americans, Dictionary of International Biography and Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (1996 ed.). A professional organist at the age of 14, Dan Locklair's past organ recitals have included New York City performances at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, St. Thomas Church and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Prior to coming to Winston-Salem, from 1973 to 1982 he was Church Musician of First Presbyterian Church in Binghamton, New York, and an Instructor of Music at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York.
Hue - 1. The dimension of color that is referred to [on] a scale of perceptions ranging from red through yellow, green and blue and (circularly) back to red. 2. A particular gradation of color; tint; shade. 3. Color. Middle English : An outcry; to cry out; shout (imitative).
(From The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.)
My three-movement set of brief tone poems, Hues for orchestra, was composed between the summers of 1992 and 1993 on a North Carolina Composer Fellowship Award (competitively granted through the North Carolina Arts Council, a state agency). Each movement is a reflection upon the words that entitle them.
I. Cloudburst - With energy perhaps akin to bursting summer clouds, this fanfare-like movement's foundation consists of four pitches (C, Eb, Bb, G) and the resulting harmonic sonorities built upon them. The ever-shifting, asymmetrical meters constantly “re-cycle” the harmonic sonorities as the dramatic drive of brass and percussion pour forth their brilliant vibrancy.
II. Moonshine - The serenity and calm of this movement is always framed by the muted strings. Solo and full section wind and brass colors alternate in exposing and developing the movement's chromatic ideas. Bowed vibraphone and crotales (i.e. antique cymbals), along with the Bell Tree, color this movement like moonbeams dancing upon an evening sky.
III. Sunburst - Based on the ancient Lydian mode (i.e. piano white keys, F to F), yet spiked with chromaticism reflective of II, the asymmetrical meters of I return to energetically propel Sunburst from beginning to end. Though the rhythmic drive is constant, like Nature's sunrise through the morning clouds, it only reaches its brightest moments following a steady, rising crescendo. At the movement's zenith, a chorale-like statement from the brass heralds the brilliant arrival of the ending.
Dayspring (A Fanfare/Concertino for Guitar and Orchestra)
Dayspring was commissioned by the Second American Classical Guitar Congress (David Tanenbaum and Patricia Dixon, Congress President and Director respectively). Composed during the late summer and early autumn of 1988, Dayspring received its World Premiere on 13 June 1989 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with David Tanenbaum as the featured soloist and the Winston-Salem Piedmont Triad Symphony Orchestra (Peter Perret, Music Director). Dayspring is dedicated to my publishers at that time, Franco and Elvira Colombo.
Though in three short movements, Dayspring is played without pause. Against a backdrop of tom toms and string harmonics, the guitar soloist enters immediately with the movement's primary (pentatonic) melodic material. Gradually all instruments of the orchestra enter to develop this idea, leading to a fanfare in dialogue between the brass and woodwind sections of the orchestra. After the guitar also presents the fanfare idea, the movement builds to a climax and begins to fold into the quiet middle movement. With muted strings throughout, the movement is largely a lyrical dialogue between the guitar and two instruments, flute and vibraphone. After the movement's climax, the guitar introduces the first idea of the fast third movement. This section, which evokes the beginning of Dayspring, functions as a bridge to the movement's primary idea. Playful in nature, dialogues abound between the guitar and all sections of the orchestra as the movement eventually culminates into a return of the opening movement's fanfare idea, bringing Dayspring to a vibrant close.
In the Autumn Days (A Symphony for Chamber Orchestra)
In the Autumn Days (A Symphony for Chamber Orchestra) was composed during the spring of 1984. It is dedicated “To the memory of Wriston Locklair (1925-1984),” whose distinguished career as a critic included writings for Musical America and Opera News. At the time of his sudden death in 1984 he was Director of Public Relations and Assistant to the President at The Juilliard School in New York City. His impact on my life was very significant.
In the Autumn Days is a symphony for chamber orchestra in five movements, but is played without pause. It was the winner of the Omaha Symphony's 1984 New Music Competition and its World Premiere was given in Omaha, Nebraska, on 20 April 1985 with Christian Tiemeyer conducting the Nebraska Sinfonia of the Omaha Symphony.
Movement #1 highlights all four sections of the orchestra and introduces melodic, harmonic and rhythmic material that is developed throughout the entire piece. It begins energetically with a roto tom flourish that presents the main pentatonic melodic idea that permeates the movement. Over rhythmic chords (made up of these pentatonic pitches) the trumpet states the pentatonic melody that is embellished with quarter-tones and half-steps. The strings soon introduce a second idea that is chorale-like in nature which, with the rhythmic, pentatonic chords, creates a sense of bi-tonality. Soon the woodwinds state a tritone-based third idea that is, like the first theme, jazzy in nature and related to the previous two ideas. The movement concludes with a restatement of the first idea (now in the strings) bringing the movement to a vibrant, though sudden, close. A solo flute lingers and, with its melodic tritones, forms the bridge to the serene second movement.
Movement #2 develops a tritone-based melody (from the third idea of Movement #1). It is developed by the flute and other woodwinds and is accompanied by lush strings, bowed vibraphone and suspended cymbal. After building to a climax, and a lessening of tension, the flute again serves as the bridge to the next movement.
Movement #3 begins with the piano introducing a pentatonic ostinato (reflecting the first idea of Movement #1) against a backdrop of high-pitched string harmonics. The winds develop a pentatonic, chorale-like idea reflective of the second idea of Movement #1. The flute again connects the end of this movement to the beginning of Movement #4.
Movement #4 is for double-string orchestra. The first orchestra consists of a solo (divisi) quintet and the second orchestra forms the larger ensemble. All strings are muted. The construction of this movement is akin to the baroque concerto idea whereby the concertino (small, solo ensemble) is featured both separately and as a part of the ripieni (larger, full ensemble). Musically, echos and after-effects of the sound are apparent throughout this movement. At the end of the movement the suspended cymbal and roto toms (reflective of Movement #1's pentatonic idea) form the bridge that leads to the final movement.
Movement #5 recapitulates the ideas of Movement #1 but, following the statement of the third idea, “resolves” into a vibrant and highly rhythmic final section that brings In the Autumn Days to an exhilarating close.
(A Prelude for Orchestra)
Creation's Seeing Order (A Prelude for Orchestra) was composed during autumn 1987 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on commission from the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (Leo Driehuys, Music Director) and was premiered by that orchestra on 13 April 1988 in Ovens Auditorium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Creation's Seeing Order is scored for a slightly augmented double-wind orchestra.
Though not in “C Major” or “c minor,” the foundation of the piece is centered on the note “C” (explaining the pun of the title, Creation's Seeing [C-ing] Order). In one movement, the piece can best be structurally described by dividing it into the six sections that flow naturally one into the other.
In the first section, all four sections of the orchestra (brass, percussion, strings and woodwinds) are featured as they expose, harmonically and melodically, the main musical idea of the piece (C/Eb/B/Bb). The developmental transition of the second section has woodwind, harp, piano, chimes and vibraphone overlapping one another in melodic, contrapuntal statements of the main idea. High-pitched string harmonics provide an ethereal backdrop. In the third, dance-like section, the primary idea (now centered on Db and Bb) is melodically developed as it is tossed about between the various solo wind colors. The dance-like spirit intensifies in the fourth section as the upper strings take over the melodic development of the primary melodic material. This section is again centered on “C” and it is in this section that the climax of the piece is reached. In the fifth section (a short developmental transition reflecting the second section), tension-building trills in the strings provide a backdrop to the contrapuntal woodwinds, harp, piano and chimes. In the sixth section, like the first, the individual choirs of sound return (though the musical material is re-distributed) and development continues through the final bar.
“Ere long we shall see...” (Concerto Brevis for Organ and Orchestra)
“Ere long we shall see...” (Concerto Brevis for Organ and Orchestra) was commissioned by David Vogels, in conjunction with the Steering Committee of the AGO `96 Centennial Convention for the Centennial Celebration of the American Guild of Organists. Composed during the summer and autumn of 1995, the piece was given its World Premiere in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City on 9 July 1996 as a part of the 1996 Centennial National Convention of the American Guild of Organists. The Convention Festival Orchestra was conducted by Robert Duerr and the organ soloist was Gregory D'Agostino. The score of the piece bears the following inscription:
“Dedicated to the AGO: Present, past and future”
The title, “Ere long we shall see...”, is taken from a brief essay, “What the Guild of Organists Means for the Profession,” by one of the AGO's founders, A. Gore Mitchell. The essay originally appeared in The American Guild of Organists' department of The Pianist and Organist, July 1896, and was reprinted in the May 1995 issue of The American Organist. Paying tribute to the present, past and future of the AGO on its 100th Anniversary was my goal with this new creation, and Dr. Mitchell's words provided me with an initial extra-musical stimulus.
“Ere long we shall see...” (Concerto Brevis for Organ and Orchestra) is a one movement work in three primary sections (with the first section briefly returning to conclude the piece), played without pause. All of the motivic and melodic material in the composition, along with natural permutations, are derived from the pitch and interval equivalents of the initials “AGO,” the notes A - G - B. Although hardly essential for the listener to know in order to make sense of the piece, each of the three sections is marked in the score with extra-musical stimuli that further pays tribute to this occasion: The first section seeks to celebrate the present (marked, in the score, “In Celebration”), the second section reflects the past (marked “In Remembrance”) and the third section dances into an unknown, yet hopeful, future (marked “In Anticipation”).
The opening section, “Majestic and bold,” is broad in nature. The A - G - B idea is immediately introduced by each section of the orchestra, beginning with the timpani, other percussion and pizzicato strings, then as a fanfare-like statement from the woodwinds and then as a chorale-like statement from the brass. Following the brass's statement, muted strings emerge with their own chordal realization of the three-note idea. Percussion and woodwinds then recapitulate varied statements of their own versions of the main idea, only this time the organ enters for the first time and takes over the chorale-like brass statement. After a varied return of the lush string statement of the three-note idea, dialogue between the brass, organ and woodwinds ensues, again reflecting the main melodic cells of the composition. Near the end of the section, the strings are again heard with their three-note chordal statement (this time loudly), helping to melt this majestic opening section into the piece's reflective and slow second section.
Marked “Gently moving and reflective,” the second section is very lyrical in nature. Amid a backdrop of pulsating muted strings, high string harmonics and percussion colors, the primary A - B - G melodic material first emerges in the English horn. The organ soon responds with its own statement of the idea and the remainder of the movement alternates orchestra and organ, as equal partners, as they weave and transform the main musical materials. After a rich climax, where A - B - G melodic fragments of varied rhythms emerge as if memories themselves, a solo flute, with notes B - G - A , ends the section, symbolically, perhaps, linking the reflections of the past with the pending, yet unknown, future.
Overlapping the flute's final note of the second section, the third section, “Energetic and very rhythmical,” begins with percussion alone. Xylophone, with varied statements of the piece's main three-note idea (accompanied by woodblocks and tom toms and punctuated by the woodwinds and brass), establishes the rhythmical spirit of this jazzy and energetic section. As the main motive of the piece now becomes more chromatic, the organ soon enters with a vibrant pedal solo. Dialogues between the orchestra and organ abound throughout this section, eventually culminating in a brief return of the opening section of the piece, marked “Majestic,” symbolically reminding us, perhaps, that the future lies in the strength and resolve of the present.
When Morning Stars Begin to Fall
(A Tone Poem for Orchestra)
When Morning Stars Begin to Fall (A Tone Poem for Orchestra) was composed between April and September of 1986 on commission from the Knoxville (TN) Symphony Society (Kirk Trevor, Music Director). Revisions to the score were made in 1990 and in 1999. The inscription of the score reads: “To the memory of my dad, Archie Greer Locklair (1916-1986).” Ironically, my beloved father, who died during the composition of this work, was born on April 23, the date of the 1987 World Premiere of When Morning Stars Begin to Fall.
The title of this multi-sectioned tone poem was suggested, in part, from an old Southern pentatonic folk tune, When the Stars Begin to Fall. George Pullen Jackson of Nashville, Tennessee, collected this tune in the North Carolina mountains in the 1930's for his book, White and Negro Spirituals. The melody, as well as another pentatonic hymn tune (Night Thought from the Vermont-New Hampshire Christian Harmony of 1805), are freely and briefly quoted during the course of the piece. Their melodic and rhythmic shapes helped generate musical materials for the entire composition.
Like so much of my music, its impulse is given by extra-musical ideas, especially words. The extra-musical stimuli in my music are not really necessary for the listener to know in order to enjoy the piece, but their awareness may help enhance communication at another level. The poetic words that inspired this piece are below and they are original. Their form lays out the shape of When Morning Stars Begin to Fall.
up to the dance of the night!
Morning stars begin to fall!
Internationally known conductor and teacher Kirk Trevor is a regular guest conductor in the world's concert halls. Music Director of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra since 1985, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra since 1988, and the Missouri Symphony since 2000, he is forging a strong musical partnership with two of America's leading regional orchestras.
Born and educated in England, Trevor trained at London's Guildhall School of Music where he graduated cum laude in cello performance and conducting. He was a conducting student of the late Sir Adrian Boult and Vilem Tausky. He went on to pursue cello studies in France with Paul Tortelier under a British Council Scholarship and came to the U.S. on a Fulbright Exchange Grant. It was in the U.S. that his conducting skills led him to positions as Assistant Conductor at the North Carolina School of the Arts, Associate Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony and, finally, in 1982 the Exxon Arts Endowment Conductor position with the Dallas Symphony. In 1990 he was again recognized as one of America's outstanding young conductors, winning the American Symphony Orchestra League's Leonard Bernstein Conducting Competition.
In 1994 he was named Chief Conductor of the Martinu Philharmonic in Zlin and continues in the position of Principal Conductor. During his tenure he has made 10 recordings for Koch, Albany, Fatra, Crystal and Carlton Classics. In 2000 Trevor forged a new relationship with the famed Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra in Bratislava. With the SRSO he began a series of recordings of American music for the consortium of independent record companies. To date, he has made 7 albums of new American music as part of this ongoing project. Trevor has been named Principal Guest Conductor of the SRSO.
As a guest conductor he has appeared with over 40 orchestras in 12 countries.
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
The orchestra was founded in 1929 as the first professional musical ensemble fulfilling the needs of radio broadcasting in Slovakia. From its origin as a small size orchestra it was gradually enlarged and from 1942, regular performances of symphony concerts were begun, broadcasted as live transmissions by the Slovak Radio.
With the current chief conductor Charles Olivieri-Munroe, who took the position in year the 2001, regular concert performances at the home stage of the orchestra are continuing. The orchestra has recorded for the Opus, Supraphon, Naxos, Marco Polo and Arte Nova labels, among others.
Jozef Zsapka is a native of the Slovak Republic. He began his guitar studies at the age of fourteen and was a student of the Czech guitarist Arnoöt S·dl”k at the State Conservatory in Brno and in the Music Academy in Bratislava. Zsapka has performed in numerous countries, including Japan, the United States, Australia, Spain, Portugal, France, England, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Greece, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Cuba, Vietnam and Mongolia. Jozef Zsapka ranks among the top Slovak performing artists and his concert activities are wide-ranging, performing as both a solo performer and as a concerto performer with prominent symphony orchestras. Jozef Zsapka has made 30 LP and CD recordings, including ones for Naxos, Opus, SPI Milan and RCA Japan labels. From 1971 to 1989 he taught at the Conservatory of Bratislava. In 1984 he joined the faculty of the Music Academy in Bratislava, rising to the rank of Professor in 1997. In addition, in 2000 he became a Visiting Professor at Aveiro University in Portugal. Jozef Zsapka is also music director and organizer of the International Johann Kaspar Mertz Guitar Festival - Bratislava, a festival that attracts prominent guitarists from all over the world.
Gregory D'Agostino was a featured artist at the 1996 Centennial Convention of the American Guild of Organists in New York City during which he gave the premiere of Dan Locklair's “Ere Long We Shall See. . .” Concerto at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine before an overflowing crowd of 3,400. Earning critical acclaim for his memorized performances on three continents, he has been called “brilliant” and “impeccable” by The Washington Post. He has appeared with such ensembles as the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and Hong Kong Philharmonic, as well as at South Carolina's Piccolo Spoleto Festival in three different seasons, Mainly Mozart Festival (San Diego), Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival (WA), Balboa Park Summer International Organ Festival (San Diego), St. Petersburg International Festival of the Palaces (Russia), London Incorporated Association of Organists, and the Schola Cantorum in Paris, where he has also given masterclasses.
His large repertoire includes music from the Renaissance forward, and he has authored a treatise on Handel's Organ Concertos. Mr. D'Agostino also maintains an active interest in new music which has resulted in collaborations with composers Milton Babbitt, David Diamond, George Crumb, Pia Gilbert, Stephen Dembski, Robert Baksa, and Stephen Paulus, many of whose works he has premiered. A versatile artist, he has recorded for film including the recent Cremaster 2 by experimental filmmaker Matthew Barney, now part of the permanent collection of both Minneapolis' Walker Arts Center and San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art.
Mr. D'Agostino made his London debut at St. Paul's Cathedral and has previously performed on historic Silbermann organs in Germany. He has also been Artist-in-Residence at New Jersey's Monmouth University, a performing artist with the Lincoln Center Institute, and has been heard numerous times on National Public Radio. While at Juilliard he won the Handel Organ Concerto Competition and subsequently performed Handel concertos in Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall where, for seven years, he performed weekly on the Theodore Kuhn tracker organ.
Gregory D'Agostino earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Juilliard School where, as a scholarship student, he studied organ with Jon Gillock and Vernon deTar and harpsichord with Lionel Party; he also coached with Xavier Darasse and Bernard LagacÈ in Toulouse, France. While a graduate student at Juilliard, he served as Teaching Fellow in music theory and returns as guest lecturer and performer.
Cover art: “Composicao Vinho Novo” © 1986 - stone lithograph
Sao Paulo, Brazil - artist: David L. Faber
Photo of the cover art and Locklair photo: Wes Stewart
CD recorded by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Kirk Trevor, conductor) from 2 - 5 September 2001 in Radio Hall, Bratislava, Slovakia. Supervised by the composer.
Sound engineer: Hubert Geschwandtner
The pipe organ in Radio Hall, Bratislava, was built in 1979 by the firm, Rieger-Kloss (Opus #3500) and consists of 98 stops.
All compositions on this recording are ASCAP and are published by Subito Music Corporation (www.subitomusic.com).
Partial funding for this project was provided through the Research and Publication Fund and the Archie Fund of Wake Forest University. The composer wishes especially to thank the administrators of these funds, Dr. Gordon Melson and Dr. Paul Escott, as well as Dr. David Levy (Chair, Department of Music), for their support and assistance with this recording.
Cover design: Gillian Farnum
Art direction:Bates Miyamoto Design
RADIO HALL ORGAN, Op. 3500 (1979)
10 Creationís Seeing Order [5:37]
11 ìEre long we shall see...î [10:31]
Gregory DíAgostino, organ
12 When Morning Stars [12:09]
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
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