Wind Symphony welcomes Craig Kirchhoff, guest artist-in-residence 11/17/23

Friday, Nov. 17, 2023  •  7:30 p.m.

Weigel Auditorium
Columbus, OH

WIND SYMPHONY

CONDUCTOR
Russel C. Mikkelson

GUEST ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE
Craig Kirchhoff

FACULTY GUEST ARTIST
Michael Rene Torres, saxophone

GRADUATE STUDENT CONDUCTOR
Dustin Ferguson

ROSTER
Wind Symphony

PROGRAM

Variants on a Medieval Tune
Norman Dello Joio (1913–2008)

Dustin Ferguson, conductor

The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation commissioned Dello Joio’s first wind band piece, Variants on a Medieval Tune. Written for the Duke University Wind Ensemble and Paul Bryan, its conductor, the work received its premiere performance on April 10, 1963. The medieval tune is In dulci jubilo, an early 14th century work attributed to Heinrich Seuse, a German mystic who, according to legend, heard angels singing this tune and joined them in a dance of worship. Norman Dello Joio’s set of variations begins with a brief introduction, the theme, and then five variants contrasting in tempo and character. These metamorphoses utilize the sonic possibilities of the wind band to the highest degree.

Let the Darkness Out
Catherine Likhuta (b. 1981)

Michael Rene Torres, saxophone

The composer writes:

This saxophone concerto version of Let the Darkness Out was created for Michael Duke, John Lynch and The SCM [Sydney Conservatorium of Music] Wind Symphony. In its original 2011 version, Let the Darkness Out is a virtuosic sonata for alto saxophone and piano, and is one of my most internationally performed pieces to date.

Shortly after moving to Australia in 2012, I heard about Michael Duke as one of the country’s most prominent saxophonists and champions of new saxophone repertoire. Incidentally, around the same time, Michael was attending an international conference in the United States and heard about me and my music from the current president of the North American Saxophone Alliance, Griffin Campbell, who had toured Darkness for several concert seasons. Since then, I had great pleasure to collaborate with Michael and his internationally renowned ensemble HD Duo. At some point during our collaboration, Michael came up with the idea to turn Darkness into a saxophone concerto and gave me inspiration and support to make this idea a reality. I felt very comfortable (and excited!) making this new version for John Lynch and the SCM Wind Symphony — one of the absolute best wind ensembles in the country. Inspired by these fine musicians, the piece aims to highlight the expressive and virtuosic features of a stellar saxophone soloist, matched and supported by a confident and powerful ensemble.

— Note by Catherine Likhuta

— INTERMISSION —

Traveler
David Maslanka (1943–2017)

Traveler was commissioned in 2003 by the University of Texas at Arlington Band Alumni Association, the Delta Sigma Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi and the Gamma Nu Chapter of Tau Beta Sigma, in honor of the career contributions of Ray C. Lichtenwalter, retiring Director of Bands at UT Arlington. Ray has been a close friend and champion of my music for many years, and it was a great pleasure for me to writ this piece for his final concert.

The idea for Traveler came from the feeling of a big life movement as I contemplated my friend’s retirement. Traveler begins with an assertive statement of the chorale melody “Nicht so traurig, nicht so sehr” (“Not so sad, not so much”). The chorale was not chosen for its title, although in retrospect it seems quite appropriate. The last part of life need not be sad. It is an accumulation of all that has gone before, and a powerful projection into the future — the potential for a tremendous gift of life and joy. And so the music begins with energy and movement, depicting an engaged life in full stride. At the halfway point, a meditative quiet settles in. Life’s battles are largely done; the soul is preparing for its next big step.

In our hearts, our minds, our souls
We travel from life to life to life
In time and eternity.

— Note by the composer

O Magnum Mysterium
Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943)
arr. H. Robert Reynolds

Craig Kirchhoff, guest conductor

Morten Lauridsen’s choral setting of O Magnum Mysterium (O Great Mystery) has become one of the world’s most performed and recorded compositions since its 1994 premiere by the Los Angeles Master Chorale conducted by Paul Salamunovich. The work was commissioned by Marshall Rutter in honor of his wife Terry Knowles.

About his setting, Morten Lauridsen writes: "For centuries, composers have been inspired by the beautiful O Magnum Mysterium text with its depiction of the birth of the newborn king amongst lowly animals and shepherds. This affirmation of God’s grace to the meek and the adoration of the Blessed Virgin are celebrated in my setting through a quiet song of profound inner joy."

Recordings of Lauridsen’s music have received numerous GRAMMY nominations, and the composer was a 2007 recipient of the National Medal of Arts. H. Robert Reynolds arranged the symphonic wind version of this popular work with the approval and appreciation of the composer.

O magnum mysterium
et admirabile sacramentum
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,
jacentem in praesepio!
Beata Virgo, cujus viscera
meruerunt portare
Dominum Christum. Alleluia!

O great mystery,
and wondrous sacrament
that animals should see the new-
born Lord, lying in their manger!
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb
was worthy to bear the
Lord Jesus Christ. Alleluia!

— Note by Catharine Sinon Bushan

Dionysiaques
Florent Schmitt (1870–1958)
ed. Felix Hauswirth

Craig Kirchhoff, guest conductor

Dionysiaques was composed for the 100-member Garde Républicaine Band in Paris in 1913, mere months after Schmitt attended the premiere performance of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Its own premiere had to wait until 1925 because of World War I, but it has been performed frequently since the mid-20th century and it now stands as one of the cornerstone pieces of the early wind band repertoire.

The title comes from the “Dyonisia” — ancient Greek celebrations honoring Dionysus, the god of wine. He was thought to have provided man with the vineyard, and subsequently the harvest, winemaking, drunkenness and the means for mystical trances.

The piece itself begins ominously as the low brass and woodwinds set the stage for an exotic and almost hypnotic journey. Schmitt’s impressionistic tendencies are immediately evident: wandering melodies emerge in the woodwinds and gradually gain momentum. Their fluidity is slowly abandoned in favor of festivity, perhaps encouraged by the ‘fluid’ of Dionysus, be it red or white. The bacchanal eventually bursts forth, brimming with rhythmic vitality and a relentless insistence on partying all the way to the verge of control, and perhaps a bit beyond.

— Note by Cynthia Johnston Turner