Kenji Bunch

The Snow Queen

 

Orchestra Next, dir. Brian McWhorter

 

Innova 977

 

NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER

When Brian McWhorter first approached me with the idea of working on a ballet for The Snow Queen, I immediately said ÒyesÓ and then realized just as quickly that I had very little idea of what I was getting myself into. Helping to tell this hauntingly beautiful but entirely wordless story for close to two hours was, simply put, the largest undertaking of my career to date, by a longshot.

Eugene Ballet Artistic Director and Choreographer Toni Pimble and I were_drawn to the same aspects of the story, particularly the loyal, pure friendship_of Gerda and Kay, and the strong, self-reliant heroine Gerda becomes through_her many trials. Musically, my first and most important task was to de ne the two diametrically opposed musical characters for the Snow QueenÕs cold, clinical, icy realm and the warmth of Gerda and KayÕs friendship. Essentially, the entire work became a struggle between those two forces.

Along the way, there are of course some fun excursions: the quirky Conjure WomanÕs Garden, the incessantly cawing Crows, the madcap antics of the Gypsy Camp. But at its heart, this is a story of love and friendship, and the indomitable will of the human spirit. My musical inspirations were the masters of the orchestral ballet form: Prokofiev, Ravel, Stravinsky, and the greatest of them all, Tchaikovsky.

Now IÕve come full circle. Just as I had no idea how monumental the task was that I was taking on, I now listen back to this beautiful recording and look at our score with a similar sense of bewilderment. How did we do that? I donÕt really know, but am beyond grateful to Eugene Ballet and Orchestra Next to have been a part of this wonderful project!

Ñ Kenji Bunch

 

 

THE SNOW QUEEN: Ballet in Two Acts ACT 1

.    1  Prologue (4:12) _

.    2  The Snow QueenÕs Palace (7:06) _

.    3  The Snow QueenÕs Dance (2:32) _

.    4  The Mirror (4:05) _

.    5  Kay and Gerda (4:55) _

.    6  Arrival of the Snow Queen (4:37) _

.    7  KayÕs Heart Turns to Ice (7:52) _

.    8  Gerda Mourns (2:05) _

.    9  The Conjure Woman (3:46) _

.    10  Dance of the Flowers (4:52) _

.    11  The Rose Briar Returns to Life (3:33) _

ACT 2

.    1  The Fields (2:08) _

.    2  Arrival of the Crows (6:36) _

.    3  Gerda Awakes (1:38) _

.    4  The PrinceÕs Palace (3:06) _

.    5  The Palace Bedroom (10:19) _

.    6  Gerda Flies with the Crows (2:24) _

.    7  Gypsy Camp (4:13) _

.    8  The Robber Girl (4:47) _

.    9  Return to the Snow QueenÕs Palace (3:32) _

.    10  Song of the Ice Captives (5:52) _

.    11  Gerda Finds Kay (2:58) _

.    12  Gerda Thaws KayÕs Heart (5:31) _

.        Producers Brian McWhorter, Sarah Viens, Bob Ponto, Kenji Bunch_Engineer and Mastering Lance Miller_General Manager Sarah Viens_Recorded at Aasen-Hull Hall, School of Music and Dance, University of Oregon CD Design Jerril Nilson/JLN Design

.        Photography Jeremy Bronson, Kylie Keppler, Bob Keefer, Sarah Viens, Erica Lyn The Snow Queen ©2017 Kenji Bunch Music Publishing (ASCAP)

.        THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

.        Orchestra NextÕs Board of Directors: John Reynolds, Ray Morse, Phyllis Helland, Riley Grannan, Mark Gould

.        University of Oregon Humanities Center Endowment for Public Outreach for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities

.        Toni Pimble, Eugene Ballet Company Artistic Director and The Snow Queen Choreographer, for creative concept and direction

.        The Snow Queen score was commissioned by Eugene Ballet Company with support from The Hult Endowment Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation

.        © Orchestra Next. All Rights Reserved, 2017._innova¨ Recordings is the label of the American Composers Forum. www.innova.mu www.orchestranext.com

.        VIOLIN 1

 

ORCHESTRA NEXT

Brian McWhorter, conductor

Sarah Viens, everything else

 

FLUTE/ALTO FLUTE

Molly Barth

 

OBOE/ENGLISH HORN

Melissa Pe–a

 

BASSOON

Steve Vacchi

 

CLARINET

Mark Dubac

 

TRUMPET

Sarah Viens

 

HORN

Lydia Van Dreel

 

TROMBONE

Carson Keeble

 

PIANO

Hung-Yun Chu

 

HARP

Jane Allen

 

TIMPANI

Pius Cheung

 

PERCUSSION

Eriko Daimo

Jade Hails

Kathie Hsieh

 

VIOLIN

Ron Blessinger, concertmaster

Julia Frantz, principal

Mary Evans_

Bashar Matti

Christopher Stark

 

VIOLIN 2

Matthew Fuller, principal

Sasha Chandler, principal

Izabel Austin

Paige Buursma

 

VIOLA

Holland Phillips, principal

Lauren Elledge, principal

Hyrum Kohler

Karlie Roberts

 

CELLO

Heather Blackburn, principal

Noah Seitz, principal

Kathryn Brunhaver

 

BASS

Tyler Abbott, principal

Milo ÒThe RockÓ Fultz