1: SLIPPING
(2006; for violin, harpsichord and very mixed percussion; 9:34)
When violinist Robin Lorentz commissioned this piece as a giftfor her friend and partner in musical crimes, harpsichordist Kathleen McIntosh,I thought it would be fun to offer the two of them something that would beunexpected at the close of their otherwise respectable programs. Thinking aboutthe traditional, serious sounding music that usually defines the harpsichordrepertoire, I decided to give the instrument every kind of music to play, withthe one exception of the baroque style to which harpsichordists are so oftentethered. Since violins are standard across the globe, I converted theharpsichord into many other plectrum instruments such as dulcimer, koto,mandolin, oud, guitar and bouzouki. Throw in some Cuban montuno rhythms andArgentine tango for a little variety, and suddenly itÕs a world tour for anyonewith attention deficit disorder.
Robin Lorentz, violin
Kathleen McIntosh, harpsichord
Dan Morris, percussion
Produced by Alex Shapiro & John Steinmetz.
Recorded January 2006 at Citrus Studios, Los Angeles, CA.
and July 2006 at Dino Falls Studios, Los Angeles, CA.
Recorded, edited and mixed by Mike Aarvold.
Assistant recording engineer: Mike Sherlock.
Special thanks to the hilariously inspiring Robin Lorentz whocommissioned ÒSlippingÓ and its close, non-percussive relative, ÒSlipÓ and toJack Loeffler for recording ÒSlipÓ at his studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico,November 2003.
2: BIOPLASM
(2004; for flutequartet: 2 bass flutes, 2 alto flutes, 2 C flutes, 1 piccolo; 11:56)
I named this piece ÒBioplasmÓ because ÒGurgling Up From thePrimordial SludgeÓ seemed a bit long for a title. Bioplasm is the stuff of life, the germinal matter thatÕsessential for living beings to generate. This is a squishy piece: rather thanexploit the individual voice of each flute, I wanted to create an organism fromthe four flutists that oozes across the sonic floor as a unified entity,sometimes slowly, sometimes at a quick pace, but always as one, like a Slinkytoy. The blend of homogenous sound with four flutes can be a throbbing pulse oflife; add to this four human voices, and itÕs an eight part choir of plasma,looking for life to begin. Everything heard here is performed live with nooverdubs. No flutists were harmed in the making of this recording.
The Los Angeles Flute Quartet:
Colleen Carroll, Eileen Holt Helwig,
Lisa-Maree Amos, Peter Sheridan
Produced by Alex Shapiro & John Steinmetz.
Recorded March, 2004 at Citrus Studios, Glendora CA.
Recorded, edited and mixed by Mike Aarvold.
Assistant recording engineer: Mike Sherlock.
Appears on the 2005 CD, ÒAbove and Beyond,Ó LAFQ 0605.
Special thanks to The California Association of ProfessionalMusic Teachers which commissioned Bioplasm, and to The Los Angeles FluteQuartet for their enthusiastic support, generosity, and sense of adventure.
3-5: CURRENT EVENTS
(2003; for string quintet: 2 violins, 2 violas, 1 cello; totaldur. 15:35)
3:Surge (4:18)
4:Ebb (7:36)
5:Rip (3:41)
Current Events ponders the oceanÕs tides aswell as waves of a more internal, emotional nature. Living very near the water,communing with tide pools has been a constant in my life: if I werenÕt amusician I might well have become a marine biologist. As our above-sea levelworld continues on its restless and sometimes frightening path, I walk to theocean for truth and a mirror. Staring into the water I seek out life forms thatencounter their own dramas, good and bad, with each wave. I wonder how, likeus, they endure.
The power of a storm surge creates a much higher tide level thanpredicted under normal weather conditions. In the case of this first movement,the storm to which the music refers is as related to world events as it is tooceanic ones.
Ebb tides expose the shoreline at its most private, and revealcreatures usually hidden under deeper waters. The music of this second movementaddresses loss, grief and uncertainty, as lifeÕs own protective tidesoccasionally pull away and leave us equally naked and vulnerable.
Dangerous rip currents are unexpected and challenging, pullingobjects, human and otherwise, involuntarily away from shore. As with so manythings in life, such threats can be overcome by calm and measured action.
Like the oceanÕs currents, change in life is constant. ItÕs howwe adapt to the flow that makes all the difference.
Miwako Watanabe, Connie Kupka, violins
Victoria Miskolczy, David Walther, violas
David Speltz, cello
Produced by Alex Shapiro & John Steinmetz.
Recorded June 2003 at Citrus Studios, Los Angeles, CA.
Recorded, edited and mixed by Rich Breen; additional editingby Mike Aarvold.
Assistant recording engineer: Mike Sherlock.
Special thanks to Mark Carlson and his marvelous PacificSerenades concert series which commissioned Current Events, and to The AmericanMusic Center and The American Composers Forum of Los Angeles for additionalfunding.
6: FOR MY FATHER
(1996; for solo piano; 5:26)
For My Father is a movement from my largerpiano work, Piano Suite No. 1: The Resonance of Childhood.
Susanne Kessel, piano
Co-produced by Dieter Oehms and Westdeutscher Rundfunk Kšln.
Recorded July 2006, KvB Funkhaus Kšln.
Recording Producer: Stephan Schmidt.
Sound Engineers: Dirk Franken, Bardo Kox.
ÒFor My FatherÓ appears here with permission from Oehms Classics,with special thanks to my brilliant friend Susanne Kessel. This recording isfeatured on the 2006 CD, ÒCalifornian Concert,Ó Oehms Classics/WDR 534.
7-9: AT THE ABYSS
(2003; for piano, marimba, vibraphone and percussion; total dur.13:48)
7:Observe (6:39)
8:Reflect (4:20)
9:Act (2:49)
During the time I composed this music, too many sad, threateningand violent events throughout the world offered proof of the fragility ofhumans and of our planet. Politically. Ecologically. Ethically. I titled this piece ÒAt the AbyssÓbecause as members of a species which remains too savage for its ultimatesurvival, weÕre staring directly into a crevasse that is our future. We arepoised to plummet to its depths if we do not react accordingly.
Observe, Reflect, Act: akin to my three-step approach to life...and to hope. In this instance, IÕm observing the world, and stepping back toreflect on it in grief while accepting that thereÕs only so much that willchange. Finally, I realize that the least one can do is... act. In one way oranother.
Teresa McCollough, piano; Thomas Burritt, marimba andvibraphone; Peggy Benkeser, percussion
Produced by Teresa McCollough & Alex Shapiro.
Recorded June 2004 at The Center of Performing Arts RecitalHall, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara CA.
Recorded, edited and mixed by Tom Carr.
Production assistance: Trevor Hunter and Dustin Callahan.
Edited and mixed at The Annex, Menlo Park, CA.
ÒAt the AbyssÓ appears here with permission from TeresaMcCollough, an indefatigable champion of living composers. This recording isfeatured on the 2005 CD, ÒMusic for Hammers and Sticks,Ó Innova 630. Specialthanks to Teresa McCollough and Santa Clara University for commissioning ÒAtthe Abyss.Ó
10: PHOS HILARON
(1999; for flute, clarinet, bassoon and piano; 2:34)
Phos Hilaron is one of six movements from
Brice Martin, flute; Charles Boito, clarinet; Carolyn Beck,bassoon; Frank Basile, piano
Produced by Alex Shapiro.
Recorded June 1999 at Sunburst Studios, Los Angeles, CA.
Recorded by Bob Wayne.
Edited and mixed by Bruce Hanifan.
Special thanks to St. BedeÕs Episcopal Church in Mar Vista,CA. and Frank Basile, who trusted an Ethical Culturist composer of Jewish,Catholic and Methodist descent and commissioned ÒEvensong SuiteÓ for theirchurch service.
11: MUSIC FOR TWO BIG INSTRUMENTS
(2000; for tuba and piano; 6:42)
Whenever I mentioned to non-musician friends that I wascomposing a work for tuba and piano, the response was usually one of surpriseand barely muffled laughter. The exclamation, ÒTuba, eh? What a funnyinstrument!Ó was often accompanied by exaggerated hand and mouth gestures thatsomewhat resembled a trout attempting to inflate a balloon. I knew I had mywork cut out for me. Thus, the arrival of ÒMusic for Two Big Instruments,Ó bornof my desire to create good PR for a sometimes beleaguered and misunderstoodinstrument. While everyoneÕs familiar with tubas and Òoom-pah-pah,Ó less isknown of the F tubaÕs agility or gorgeous lyrical qualities. Thus, here are twocontrasting themes, one up-tempo and the other nearly a jazz ballad, toshowcase just how beautiful and diverse this great instrument really is.
Alan Baer, tuba; Bradley Haag, piano
Produced by Baer Tracks Music, aka the delightful Alan andNoreen Baer.
Recorded May 2005 at Gerald Daniel Recital Hall, CaliforniaState University, Long Beach
Recorded, edited and mixed by Sonny Ausman.
ÒMusic for Two Big InstrumentsÓ appears here with permissionfrom Alan Baer. This recording is featured on the 2005 CD, ÒCoast to Coast,ÓBaer Tracks Music BTM 001.
Special thanks to Norman Pearson and Cynthia Bauhof-Williams,who commissioned ÒMusic for Two Big Instruments,Ó and to the American ComposersForum of Los Angeles for additional funding.
12: DEEP
(2004; for contrabassoon and electronics; 7:35)
Performed beautifully here by Leslie Lashinsky,
Leslie Lashinsky, contrabassoon
Dan Morris, additional percussion
Electronic track realized, produced and recorded by Alex Shapiro
Produced by Alex Shapiro.
Recorded, edited and mixed by Bruce Hanifan.
Percussion recorded by Dan Morris andAlex Shapiro December, 2004 at Dino Falls Studio, Los Angeles, CA.
Contrabassoon recorded December, 2006 at Hanifan Productions,Los Angeles, CA.
Special thanks to Carolyn Beck, who commissioned ÒDeep.Ó
MUSICIANS
Robin Lorentz was the premiere violinist ofthe acclaimed California Ear Unit for 25 years. A versatile instrumentalist, Ms. LorentzÕ solo violinplaying has been featured in major motion pictures and television series. Shehas been a featured performer on tour with composers Terry Riley and JohnLuther Adams, gave the world premiere of John AdamsÕs ÒRoad MoviesÓ at theKennedy Center, and has served as concertmaster on the
Harpsichordists often get stuck musically somewhere before 1800,but not Kathleen McIntosh! She loves Baroque music, to be sure, and plays in festivalsand concerts all over the U.S. and abroad. But among her greatest joys is playing new music, and she haspremiered new works by Tomiko Kohjiba, John Steinmetz, Melinda Wagner, AlexShapiro and Augusta Read Thomas among many others. She is also part of McFish www.mcfishduo.com
Dan Morris started out playing in rock bands beforedeveloping an interest in world music, jazz and the avant-garde. He built asuccessful career performing on albums and TV/film soundtracks, and has beenfeatured on more than 45 recordings. Dan has toured the world with a number ofmusicians/bands, including the Smashing Pumpkins, Noe Venable and Rufus Wainwright.Recently Dan has been composing for multimedia and dance. His passion andtalents are currently being utilized in video game sound and music atActivision Publishing. www.musicandthebird.com.
Passionate flute players driven to dynamic performances, excitedby new music, and committed to authenticity, the Los AngelesFlute Quartet is a
Originally from Tokyo, violinist Miwako Watanabe
Violinist Connie Kupka has served as PrincipalViolinist for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Pasadena Symphony, and theColorado Music Festival, and has appeared as soloist with the South BaySymphony and Colorado Chamber Orchestra. She augments her Los Angeles orchestral activities with chamber musicperformances with the South Bay Chamber Music series and Monday EveningConcerts and is also active in motion picture studio orchestras.
Australian born Victoria Miskolczy
Upon graduating from USC in 1999 as a student of Donald McInnes,violist David Walther joined the Debussy Trio and soonafter became a founding member of the New Hollywood String Quartet. Both groupsare critically acclaimed and have toured extensively throughout Europe and theUnited States. In addition to being a chamber musician, Walther works as astudio musician in the motion picture industry.
Cellist David Speltz helped form the Arriaga StringQuartet, and with the Musical Offering ensemble, he performed at the Library ofCongress, and Lincoln Center, recording on the Nonesuch label. He is familiarto audiences at many of Los AngelesÕ chamber music series, and was a member ofthe Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra during Sir Neville MarrinerÕs tenure and principalcellist of the California Chamber Symphony for eight seasons. In 1989 he wasinvited by Helmuth Rilling to serve as principal cellist of the Bachakademie inStuttgart, Germany. David also regularly plays on Hollywood film musicsessions.
Pianist Susanne Kessel, a resident of Bonn, Germany, iswell known for unusual concert and CD programs that passionately engageaudiences. Exploring many diverse styles, her playing is highly experimentaland innovative. Ms. Kessel has given solo recitals on radio and television,produced her own radio features for the WDR Kšln, and has worked as a musicianor as music coach for several movies. She has given concert-hall piano performances and concert tours inEurope and the USA.
Pianist Teresa McCollough has commissioned, premiered, andperformed many new compositions by todayÕs emerging and established composersincluding Alvin Singleton, Lou Harrison, Joan Tower, Alex Shapiro, BelindaReynolds, Zhou Long, Charles Griffin, David Rakowski, Tomas Svoboda, HenryMartin, George Crumb, and others. She has appeared as a soloist and withensembles and orchestras on four continents and in international festivalsaround the world. www.teresamccollough.com
Percussionist Peggy Benkeser
Thomas Burritt is currently principalpercussionist with the Barbwire New Music Ensemble, and has recorded forguitarist Eric Johnson and recording artist David Byrne. BurrittÕs first soloCD: ÒAll Times Identical - New American Music for Solo MarimbaÓ was released inNovember or 2006 and is available at GoFishmusic.com. He is currently AssociateProfessor of Percussion and Director of Percussion Studies at the University ofTexas at Austin and is a clinician for LLC/Malletech Instruments, MalletechMallets and Zildjian Cymbals. www.thomasburritt.com
Carolyn Beck is the Principal Bassoonist withthe Redlands Symphony and the San Bernardino Symphony, and performs with studioand other orchestras in the Los Angeles area. She was formerly principalbassoonist of the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Orchesta Sinfonica delPrincipado de Asturias in Spain. Her solo CD ÒBeck and CallÓ came out onCrystal Records in 2005 and is available at crystalrecords.com
Brice Martin is an active studio musician,and plays for film, TV and commercial soundtracks. He has a large collection ofexotic winds from around the world that he specializes in. He has played forÓRobin Hood: Prince of Thieves,Ó the Grammy Awards Orchestra, ÓStar Trek:Voyager,Ó and the ÓWonderful World of Disney.Ó Brice is also a composer and haswritten music for film and television. www.martinsmusicstudio.com
Charles Boito has been active in the LosAngeles musical scene for over 30 years. Graduating from the USC and Yale schools of music he is well known forhis participation in local chamber music and symphonic groups as well as havingperformed on hundreds of feature films and TV series. His bass clarinet playing for all of the Star Trekfranchises gives him the distinction of being Òthe worldÕs most recorded contrabass clarinetistÓ. He is currentlyworking on the Fox TV series Family Guy
Frank Basile has been Director of Music atSt. BedeÕs Episcopal Church in Mar Vista, California since 1989. He has servedas conductor of the Yale Bach Society, the USC Early Music Ensemble, and theBurbank Chorale. Frank iscurrently on the faculty of Campbell Hall School (Episcopal), serves on theCommission on Music and Liturgy for the Diocese of Los Angeles, and is afaculty member in the Leadership Program for Musicians in Small Parishes.
Alan Baer joined the New York Philharmonic in 2004, asPrincipal Tuba. He was formerly principal tuba with the Milwaukee SymphonyOrchestra, Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.His other performing credits include recordings with The Cleveland Orchestraled by Vladimir Ashkenazy, performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, theChicago Symphony Orchestra, Peninsula Music Festival of Wisconsin, New OrleansSymphony, Los Angeles Concert Orchestra, and Ojai Festival Orchestra. Heperforms as a featured soloist, touring much of Europe.
Pianist Bradley Haag has won numerous prizes forperformance including the Clara Rolland Piano Competition, the Theodore PresserScholar Award, and the Armstrong Award for Outstanding UndergraduatePerformance. As a prizewinner at the Artists International auditions in NewYork, Haag gave his New York recital debut in January of 1999, performing inWeill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and lauded by the New York Concert ReviewBoard. Brad has also appeared as aconcerto soloist with the Soloists of St. Petersburg, Russia.
Contrabassoonist Leslie Lashinsky
For more information about all of these musicians, please visitthe companion site for this CD:
www.notesfromthekelp.com
About Alex Shapiro:
Alex Shapiro has become one of the PacificcoastÕs best-known composers of acoustic and electroacoustic chamber music.Published by Activist Music, her works are heard weekly in concerts andbroadcasts around the world, and can be found on CDs from record labelsincluding Cambria Master Recordings, Innova Recordings, Crystal Records, DCRecords, Centaur Records, and Oehms Classics. Educated at The Juilliard Schooland Manhattan School of Music as a student of Ursula Mamlok and JohnCorigliano, Ms. ShapiroÕs honors and awards include those from The AmericanMusic Center, ASCAP, the American Composers Forum, Mu Phi Epsilon, TheCalifornia Arts Council and The MacDowell Colony. An ardent believer incommunity involvement, Alex is a familiar speaker at many music events and therecent President of the American Composers Forum of Los Angeles. She has beenan officer on the boards of national music organizations including NACUSA, TheCollege Music Society, and The Society of Composers & Lyricists, as well ashaving served as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the American CivilLiberties Union of Southern California. Having lived for many years in Malibu,California, Alex now resides in WashingtonÕs San Juan Islands. When sheÕs notat sea or exploring the tide pools, Alex procrastinates on her next piece byupdating her website, www.alexshapiro.org, and her blog,
From Alex:
Composing is a lot like making love. WeÕre trying to pleaseourselves. WeÕre hoping to please at least one other person. And, we are infact, communicating. Passionately. I compose to communicate.
Notes from the Kelp represents a decadeÕs worth ofthe joy I get from communicating. All of the music you hear in this collectionwas composed in Malibu, California, with the Pacific Ocean undulating in thebackground and framing my life with beauty and endless things to explore.Immersed in the tidesÕ shifting daily rhythms, when IÕm not writing music IÕmoften in or on the water, communing with sea life and with my inner voices. Andas you can hear in these pieces, there are a lot of diverse voices that keep mecompany! I suppose composing is a form of socially acceptable insanity.
The variety of mood, sound and color in these tracks makes mesmile. A wide swath of emotion and truth are offered here, from the silly andweird to the dark and introspective. If music mirrors a composerÕs personality,then youÕll know a lot about me through these pieces. As you listen, my hope isthat like tide-pools, they show you not only a glimpse of my world, but areflection of yours.
As you read this, I now live in another natural seaside paradisein WashingtonÕs magical San Juan Islands. The notes I scribble these days arealso from the kelp, and from a deep, watery place that a kid who grew up inManhattan for her first 21 years could never have imagined becoming someaningful in her life.
IÕm very grateful for each of the 23 fabulous musicians who havebrought the chaos from inside my head out into the air for these tracks. IÕmlucky to count many of them as friends who are as much fun to socialize withover bottles of wine as they are to create magic with in a recording session orlive performance. In particular, I have especially invaluable, real, and deeplyappreciated personal friendships with four of the players you hear on thisdisc. In order of their appearance: Robin Lorentz, Dan Morris, TeresaMcCollough, and Carolyn Beck are people I count among my dear buddies, the kindof pals you could call at 3 in the morning if your car broke down in the middleof nowhere. Not only would they rescue me, but theyÕd sound great doing it.
My co-producer on three of these tracks, John Steinmetz, is agifted composer and bassoonist, and here you can enjoy the brilliance of hisears and his gentle spirit as he made the recording sessions for
Composing is a very solitary pursuit during the note alignmentprocess, and a very public activity once a piece is finished. Sincere thanks goto my friends who offered love and support, a small sample of whom include:Gernot Wolfgang, Adrienne Albert, Kubi Uner, ASCAPÕs Frances Richard and CiaToscanini, Eleanor Academia, Christine Clark, Larry Karush, Bronwen Jones, MikeLang, Valerie Berman, Jon Burlingame, Steve Winogradsky, Alvin Singleton, LauraKoplewitz, and Philip Blackburn.
Almost every piece on this CD was composed after I met oneperson who changed my life and brought out the best in me through hisunconditional love: my husband Charles. This disc, like so many other things Iaccomplish on any given day, is dedicated to him.
Enjoy, and feel free to drop me an email to continue thecommunication.
Cover design and photographs by Paul Chepikian.
All works on this CD composed by Alex Shapiro and published byActivist Music (ASCAP).
All scores, parts and CDs available from Activist Music
For the full kelp experience as seen through AlexÕs eyes, visither blog and the companion site for this CD:
www.notesfromthekelp.com
For more information about Alex Shapiro that you can possiblyimagine, go to
www.alexshapiro.org
To contact Alex, send an email to [email protected]
Innova is supported by an endowment from the McKnightFoundation.
Philip Blackburn: Director, design
Chris Campbell: Operations manager