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Flights of Fancy: Ballet for Organ is a suite of eight dances, which, like a ballet, can tell a story, though imaginary here. The dedications (I. for Fred and Louise's Wedding, II. to the memory of Gretchen Finney, III. for Hector Olivera and Michael Lorimer, IV. to the memory of Leonard Raver and George Cree, V. to Karen McFarlane on an important birthday; VI. for Philip Brunelle, VII. to the memory of my mother, VIII. for the American Guild of Organists), alternating memorials and playful honoraria, could be thought of as integral to the action.
The overall structure is a symmetrical balance of key relations and dance types. F Major is the key of the opening overture ("Curtain Raiser") and is the predominant key of the entire cycle. There follow two relatively literal dance movements, "Valse triste" with its melancholy chromatics, and "Tango fantastico," a dark journey in many ways appropriate to the genre. "Pas de deux" is in two parts: the first a lament based on the imitation of falling drops of water, the second a rich harmonic essay in a post romantic style.
The "Ragtime Lullaby" reminds us of how closely the ragtime texture is related to body movement (for example, the cakewalk). Like any good piece of boudoir art, it has a brief section of "strip-tease" before it eventually falls asleep. Brahms, perhaps because of his famous "Lullaby" is a constant companion. With its pop/jazz orientation "Shimmy" would sound best on a Hammond (the score should have drawbar suggestions!), and "Hymn" honors American folk music. The "Alla marcia" has a "fantastic" introduction-a sort of slide into hell accompanied by quotes from previous movements-before it settles into a Sousa-inspired march. The trio section cries out for college "fight-song" words, such as, for the first line, "I'm A-O.K..., I'm A.G.O." The remainder awaits treatment by one or more inspired and sympathetic lyricists.
The entire work was commissioned by the American Guild of Organists for their 1992 Biennial National Convention in Atlanta and was premiered at the Fox Theater, July 2, by organist Hector Olivera.
Chasm (1985) was commissioned by the Ann Arbor Chapter of the American Guild of Organists in conjunction with the Detroit Chapter of the AGO for the 1986 National Biennial Convention in Detroit. Of his own work, Albright has said, "As implied by the title, the sounds of the piece evoke vast spaces—such as Gothic cathedrals or canyons—through slow moving harmonic rhythm (while the tempo is fast) and a variety of echo effects. The score even calls for a distantly placed 'echo instrument,' chosen by the performer, that removes the music from its ordinary speaking position for two brief moments. The tonal plan is simple: an opening in D modal-minor that unfolds slowly, and a closing in D major. Both of these areas are soft (pp); they are cleft through by a primitive loud section in C minor. The piece ends on a repeated low D-flat, figuratively filling in the gap between D and C."
Undertones (1990) was composed by Herbert Bielawa in a response to a commission from Pamela Decker (supported by a grant from the San Francisco Chapter of the American Guild of Organists). Its world premiere was given that summer in Europe by Ms. Decker. According to Bielawa, "Undertones is a virtuoso concert piece in three sections. It seemed at the outset that this piece should be an aggressively driving piece. It had to be more diatonic than usual, I thought, though still contain good harmonic 'bite.' How to give such a work tonal focus as well as a sense of progression became the issue. A tonal 'skeleton' was needed on which to flesh out the musical detail. The skeleton, in fact, turned out to be a long string of double pedals related to each other in a normal contrapuntal fashion but very slow, similar to a double cantus firmus (undertones). Although the skeleton is present throughout the piece, one never actually hears it as such. The music hovers over and around the skeletal tones as it slowly modulates. In other words, the most popular pitch class to be found at any moment in any musical section of the piece is the skeleton tone for that place. The work has no program, however; it is 'absolute' music.
Pamela Decker's Nightsong and Ostinato Dances (1992) was composed for the 1992 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists in Atlanta. The piece received its premiere performance at the opening recital of that convention, given by the composer. The work is made up of a lyrical, meditative "song" followed by three multisectional dances. The entire work is continuous; it is not a set of independent movements. The sections flow like a dream sequence in which one surrealistic dream grows out of another; the sections are nonetheless unified and developed with ostinato figures and subtly related motives that transform and evolve a~ they weave into new rhythmic patterns and non-tonal harmonic progressions. The harmonic language is based on non-tonal modes having nine or ten notes per octave, modes derived from flamenco patterns. Among the dance rhythms are habanera (with tresillo), charrada, bolero, and tarantela.
Herbert Bielawa earned his degree in piano and composition at the University of Illinois and the University of Southern California. He has been a member of the faculties of Bethany College and San Francisco State University where he founded the Pro Music Nova and created the electronic music studio and courses for the Computer Music Major. He has written music for instrumental ensembles, piano, harpsichord, pipe organ, choir, electronics, chamber opera, band and orchestra. His much performed SPECTRUM for Band and Tape was composed during his CMP (Contemporary Music Project) residency in Houston from 1964 to 1966. Since 1991 he has been a freelance composer and pianist. His most recent music commissions were from the Minneapolis Convention Center, from the San Francisco School of the Arts, from the American Guild of Organists and from Earplay of San Francisco.
Pamela Decker, composer/performer, holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stanford University and the Fulbright Certificate for successful completion of study as a Fulbright Scholar in West Germany. She has won prizes in national and international competitions for organ playing and for composition. She has performed extensively since the age of thirteen as both recitalist and accompanist. Decker has appeared as soloist and continuo organist at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, and has given recitals at many important conferences and festivals, including the American Guild of Organists' National Convention, the Annual Conference on Organ Music at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, the Twice Festival, and the Tallinn International Organ Festival in Estonia. Her compositions for organ have been performed in many countries by American, Canadian, and European organists. Decker is represented by Phyllis Stringham Concert Management.
Pamela Decker has three published organ works: Passacaglia (Hindon Publications for Hinshaw Music, Inc.), Toccata (C.F. Peters), and Nightsong and Ostinato Dances (Wayne Leupold Editions for E.C. Schirmer, WL 700017). Nightsong won a prize at the ISO (International Society of Organbuilders) International Composition Competition in 1993.
Dr. Decker is director of Music/Organist at St. John's Episcopal Church in Plymouth, Michigan, and Conductor of the Southeastern Michigan Choral Society.
William Albright (born 1944 in Gary, Indiana), composer and performer, has concretized widely in Europe, Canada, and the United States, specializing in concerts of recent music for organ. As a composer he is well known for his keyboard works, though he has produced works for every medium, several of which involve electronic, visual, and theatrical element. He has been the recipient of many commissions and awards, including the Queen Marie-Jose Prize, an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, two Fulbright and two Guggenheim Fellowships, the Symphonic Composition Award of Niagara University, two National Endowment for the Arts Grants, and two Koussevitzky Composition Awards. He has received commissions from the Koussevitzky Foundation, Chamber Music America, and Meet the Composer/Reader's Digest. In 1979 he held the post of Composer-in-Residence at the American Academy in Rome, in 1993 he was honored with the Composer of the Year Award from the American Guild of Organists.
Albright is presently Professor of Music and Chair of the Composition Department at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He is also Associate Director of the University's Electronic Music Studio. He maintains an active performance schedule as organ recitalist and ragtime pianist, and is well known as a recording artist. As a performer Albright is represented by Karen McFarlane Management (Cleveland) and by Great Lakes Performing Artist Associates (Ann Arbor).
Flights of Fancy and Chasm are published by C.F. Peters. Nightsong and Ostinato Dances is published by Wayne Leupold Editions (E.C. Schirmer, selling agent). Undertones is available from Byron Hoyt Sheet Music, San Francisco, California (415-431-8055).
Recorded June 25-26, 1993 at St. Mark's Cathedral, Seattle, Washington. First recording on the expanded and reconditioned Flentrop Organ (1965/1993).
Recorded by: Richard Krueger
Recording Assistant: Donna Krueger
Supervision: William Albright
Registration Assistant: Rodney Blackburn
Special thanks to J. Melvin Butler, organist of St. Mark's.
Cover photo by Elizabeth Albright
Design by Paul Miyamoto
ALBANY RECORDS U.S.
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© 1994 PAMELA DECKER
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