David Kechley
In the DragonÕs Garden
Innova 254
VALENCIA: Iberian Musings for Marimba and Saxophone
Quartet Empire Saxophone Quartet with Gordon Stout
1 ...on the
edge [5:08] 2 Prayer and Lament with Interjections
[7:19]
3 Please refrain... [4:11]
4 DRIVELINE: A Powerwalk for Guitar and Alto Saxophone [10:33] the
Ryoanji Duo
Stepping Out 5 Minimum Overdrive
[4:07] 6 Midnight Reflection [4:39] 7 Anonymous
[1:47] 8 An Easy Burden [3:51] Empire
Saxophone Quartet
9 In the DragonÕs Garden [15:24] Floating
on the Wind
Islands in the Sand The Sea of
Stones Beyond the Wall
Dancing between the Rocks the Ryoanji Duo
ÒOh, you are a composer...what kind of music do you write?Ó
is still a question I dread, but for this, my third compact disc, I suppose I
could say, Òsaxophone music.Ó But then people would assume this is a jazz disc
so perhaps there is no way to win at this game!
The notes for Winter Branches (1997), my first disc, expressed discomfort with musical categories. I feel the same discomfort now in describing this diverse collection of work. These pieces may appear less varied at first glance, given the consistent use of the saxophones even with such unlikely companions as acoustic guitar and marimba. However, closer scrutiny reveals that blues forms, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and Asian influences continue to show themselves, but with the addition of medieval references, a minimalist parody, and an obvious Spanish flavor. Perhaps this latter characteristic is expected when guitar is involved. However, it is much more apparent in the saxophones and marimba. Despite all of this diversity, European classical roots are clear in the structural plans and compositional techniques, providing a kind of glue that holds everything together.
Without categorizing this music, I will admit to characteristics common to all. Each piece evokes a broad range of emotion, fully exploits the instruments, challenges the performers, and is intended to engage the active listener. I leave the question of category to others. ÑDavid Kechley, Williamstown, 2002
David Kechley is a ÒNew EnglanderÓ
who grew up in Seattle, attending Roosevelt High School and the University of
Washington, where he studied composition with Paul Tufts, William Bergsma,
James Beale, and Robert Suderburg. In 1976 he began
his trek east as far
as Ohio to attend the Cleveland Institute of Music and study with Donald Erb. In 1979 he continued on to the Atlantic Ocean, accepting a position at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and in 1986, he was called to the Berkshires by Williams College, where he now resides. Kechley has produced a large body of work performed by orchestras, chamber groups and individuals throughout the world. His music has been awarded prizes including the 1995 Lee Ettelson Prize for In the DragonÕs Garden. His work has also been recognized by the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Barlow and Howard Foundations. One of the primary sources of his inspiration and support is Jerilee Taverniti, his spouse of 32 years, along with his three children, Aaron, Benjamin, and Anthea.
VALENCIA: Iberian Musings for Marimba and
Saxophone Quartet Empire Saxophone Quartet
with Gordon Stout
1 ...on the
edge [5:08] 2 Prayer and Lament with Interjections
[7:19]
3 Please refrain...[4:11]
Valencia: Iberian Musings for Marimba and Saxophone Quartet
was influenced by a trip to Spain in September of 1997, but also owes much to
previous works such as In the DragonÕs Garden and
Stepping Out. The first movement, ...on the Edge was later orchestrated to
become the opening of Transformations: An Orchestral Triptych. It is a fast
virtuoso piece with the marimba maintaining a perpetual motion punctuated by
the saxophonesÕ exclamatory remarks. Even as it becomes more lyrical, its
rhythm and tempo are relentless. Prayer and Lament with Interjections
juxtaposes several moods requiring the marimba and saxophones to reverse roles.
The marimba is effective in the role of rhythm machine, but its ability to
create sustained, almost organ-like sonorities is quite remarkable. The
ÒprayerÓ which opens this movement is such a passage and the saxophones later
articulate the ÒlamentÓ against this backdrop. The ÒinterjectionsÓ range from a
few notes to a more extended section forming the return connection to a more
anguished Òlament.Ó Please refrain... refers to the playful vamp that sets the
pace for this energetic and sparkling, rondo-like movement. The catchy opening
rhythm was suggested by a Cedar Walton tune, Bolivia, introduced to bassist Kechley by his pianist son, Aaron, on a playing engagement.
Despite its repetitive vamp element, this movement continues to create
entertaining variations on the material introduced in the first movement.
4 DRIVELINE: A Powerwalk
for Guitar
and Alto Saxophone [10:33] the Ryoanji Duo
Driveline: A Powerwalk for Guitar and Alto Saxophone was
commissioned and premiered by The Ryoanji Duo at the
Eleventh World Saxophone Congress in Valencia, Spain. Driveline refers to the
single melody ÒlineÓ which opens the work with great energy and rhythmic
momentum, setting the music into motion like the drive shaft (or line) in a car
or truck. The aggressive, walking bass or ÒpowerwalkÓ melody is then elaborated
by each instrument as it moves through an ever more elaborate set of
variations.
The score states that this work Ò...honors the memory of
Abraham C. Keller, a good friend, and a well-known political and social
activist in Seattle. He had a reputation for unbending principles and a
boundless energy to do battle on countless local and global issues. The
tenacity and momentum of the music as well as its reflective moments are a most
appropriate tribute to AbeÕs memory.Ó
Stepping Out 5 Minimum Overdrive
[4:07] 6 Midnight Reflection
[4:39] 7 Anonymous [1:47] 8 An Easy
Burden [3:51] Empire Saxophone Quartet
Stepping Out is an appropriate, if not the most original, title for a work in which each of the movements is based on the interval of a step up and back. Thus the title seems to describe a changing state of being in those who listen to or perform the work and is similar to terms such as mellowing out, tripping out, stressing out, chilling out, or even pigging out. By the end of the piece the audience, performers, and even the composer will be Òtotally stepped out.Ó Minimum Overdrive seems at first to call for some sort of ÒminimalistÓ interpretation before it suddenly moves toward funky rhythms and blues forms. There may also be a reference here to the title of a 1980Õs movie based on a Stephen King story and filmed in Wilmington, NC, where the composer once lived. Kechley has acknowledged this possibility, but has declined to name the film. Midnight Reflection alludes to fragmented and slightly nostalgic thoughts experienced late at night or in the early morning hours. The ÒstepsÓ are changed from whole to half and turn into long lyrical lines interspersed with silence and the irregular ticking of a distant clock.
Anonymous is one of the most revered of medieval composers, according to Kechley, and the triple meter, ÒcrudeÓ counterpoint (to some ears), and repetitive nature serve as an irreverent tribute. The stepwise figures still function as the basis of this dance-like movement which owes its A-B-A structure and third movement placement to the classical minuet and trio. An Easy Burden also has a medieval connotation not because of its sound, but its form and title. The ÒburdenÓ in this case is the repeated chorus or refrain between each Òverse.Ó This burden is easy to listen to and begins with a motto featuring the opening steps. Even the verses stay close to their stepwise origins and the entire movement closes as peacefully as it began, an unusual closing for a four-movement work which begins with such energy.
9 In the DragonÕs Garden
[15:24]___Floating on the Wind
Islands in the Sand
The Sea of Stones
Beyond the Wall Dancing between the
Rocks
the Ryoanji Duo
In the DragonÕs Garden is the final piece on the disc, but
most importantly it represents a turning point in the composerÕs work. It was
inspired by several visits to Ryoanji, a temple in
Kyoto, Japan. Ryoanji roughly translates as
Òdragon-temple,Ó probably because of the large dragon painted on one of the
inner walls. More significantly this temple contains one of the most famous Zen
gardens in the world. Fifteen large rocks are set with precise randomness in a
carefully raked rectangle of small white stones, and the entire garden is
surrounded by low earthen walls. In this garden, one is free to imagine the
many possible meanings it may have. Some of these are reflected in the
subtitles of the various sections which continue from one to the next with few
obvious beginnings or endings.
The composer himself has not claimed the work to be Japanese in sound, although others have. The melodic and harmonic material, shaku hatchi-like bending of pitches on the saxophone, and even the roll-off gesture similar to the wood block sounds used in Zen temples all contribute. The composer has indicated the most important aspects to be the structural aesthetic concepts exemplified by the use of irregular accents which seem naturally placed, but are carefully calculated with Òprecise randomnessÓ just like the large rocks in the garden. Some years after completing the work, Kechley attended a Monet exhibition in which the artist was alleged to have described some of his own paintings in a similar way, having also been influenced by the Zen aesthetic of the Japanese garden. The musical ideas, which sprang forth from this work in 1992, have clearly continued to influence KechleyÕs work since that time.
The Ryoanji Duo is one of the
first guitar and saxophone duos to emerge in recent years. Frank Bongiorno and Robert Nathanson
began their collaboration in Pesaro, Italy at the World Saxophone Congress in
1992 with the commission and premiere of In the
DragonÕs Garden and later took their name from the Japanese temple that
inspired this work. The duo has commissioned, performed, and recorded many new
works for this pioneering medium.
The Empire Saxophone Quartet was formed in 1987 and has
recorded and performed a variety of musical styles in upstate, New York, New
England, Eastern Canada and elsewhere. Its members are Steven Mauk, Jamal Rossi, April Lucas, and Anthony Alduino.
Gordon Stout is known internationally as a virtuoso marimbist, teacher and composer. He has recorded
extensively both his own works and those of others.
Thanks to Rob and Frank for encouraging me to write for
guitar and saxophone individually and in combination and for their many hours
of practice as
a consequence
Thanks to Williams College for its generous financial
support and Ithaca College, School of Music for the use of its facilities
Valencia and Stepping Out recorded at Ithaca College by John
Mehne and edited by Toby Mountain
Driveline recorded at Sonic Wave Recording Studio by Mark Cimerro and edited
by Rob Nathanson
In the DragonÕs Garden originally recorded at Coastal
Carolina Recording Studio by Scott Houle, remixed and re-edited by Toby
Mountain with new material recorded at Sonic Wave Recording Studio by Mark Cimerro
Final Mastering by Toby Mountain at Northeastern Digital
Recording, Inc.
Graphic Design by Rose Michelle Taverniti
Produced by David Kechley