*watch online at http://music.calarts.edu/rod.html*
Jody Hurt May, 14th, 11pm
MFA Graduation Recital Roy O. Disney Hall
The Judge Robert Allaire
Tierkreis Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928 – 2007)
I. Aquarius
II. Pisces
VI. Cancer
VIII. Virgo
IX. Libra
XII. Capricorn
Short Pause
Trio in E flat Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897)
I. Andante
II. Scherzo
III. Adagio mesto
IV. Rondo
Luke Fitzpatrick, violin; Mark Menzies*, piano
*Calarts Faculty Member
Translations______________________________________________________________
The Judge
From Psalm 42
Quare tristis es, anima mea? Why art thou sad, O my soul?
Et quare conturbas me? And why dost thou disquiet me?
Quia tu es Deus fortitudo mea: For thou art God my strength:
quare me reulisti? why hast thou cast me off?
Iudica me. Judge me.
Tierkreis
I. Wasserman - Aquarius
Wassermann Aquarius luftig geistig Bearer of water, Aquarius airy spirit
Hell und sharf und klar in die Ferne bright sharp and clear reaching
Dringend, forschend; blitzesschnell for the distant, delving; lightning fast
Wechselnd; hoffend, vereint changing; hopeful, unites
In Brüderlichkeit. in peaceful brotherhood.
Aquarius, Wintergeist bewegt Aquarius, feel of winter influenced
Durch Uranus Saturn kühn by Uranus Saturn bold discovering,
Erfindend, Janus gleich sees through past
Vergangenheit, Zukunft durchschauend, through the future like Janus,
Okkult; sucht Freundschaft, Freiheit. occult; seeks friendship, freedom.
II. Fische - Pisces
Pisces zwei Fische in Bewegung Pisces two fishes in movement
Planten Jupiter Neptun wasserweich planets Jupiter Neptune water softly
Anschmiegend fromlos vorwärts clinging formless foreward
Rükwärts unentschieden zerfliessend backward undecided dissolving
hingebungsvoll Sanft und gütig plötzlich devoted gentle and kind
Eigensinn, Intuition Träume Weisheit sudden willfulness,
Kindlichkeit. intuition dreams wisdom innocence
VI. Krebs – Cancer
Cancer Cancer Wasser Mond Cancer cancer water moon
Weib und Frau Mittag Südliche woman and wife midday southern
Sonnenglut Quellbäche Ströme Meer glowing sun spring-brook flowing stream
Und Wellen Sommer blüte innerlich, sea and ebb and flow summer blossom
Empfindsam träumrisch zart krebs innerly, tender dreamy fine crab
VIII. Jungfrau – Virgo
Virgo Jungfrau Merkur Spätsommer Virgo virgin Mercury clear late summer
Reife Kulgheit Vorsicht Kühle mellow sensible cautious and aloof
Gewissenhaft hilfsbereit conscientious, serving, modest
Virgo Jungfrau erdhaft ordnend Virgo earthy ordering
Schönheit des Denkens der beauty of thinking,
Vernunft und Simmetrie reason and of symmetry
Du goldener Mittelweg you golden middle-way
IX. Waage – Libra
Libra Waage Luft Winde Venus Libra balance air winds Venus
Freund Geliebte West Abend friend beloved lover west evening
Herbstfrucht lieblich harmonisch autumn ripened fruit lovely harmonious
Ausgleichend tanzend peaceful dancing
weigend verleibt swaying in love
XII. Steinbock – Capricorn
Capricornus Steinbock mit Saturn, Capricornus sea-goat with Saturn,
Erde Mensch aus Erde, Mann; Earth son of Earth, the man;
Nacht, ich Winternacht zeig das night, I winter-night show the
Himmelsfirmament Sternenzelt. Heaven’s firmament starry tent.
Same, verschlossen langsam Seed, withdrawn, slow tenacious,
Unaufhaltsam zäh, stetig steadily climbing heights;
Kletternd zur Höh; stur und starr, stubborn stiff,
Strebend zum Licht, Sohn der striving for light, son of
Ursonne Sirius. Mother-sun Sirius.
Commentary and Notes_________________________________________
My mid-residency recital was not unlike many others in its since of exploration. With guidelines for neither repertoire nor form, I did just about everything that I could do at the time. Several weeks later I learned just how far ‘out’ I had gone. I was riding with my long-time friend Jonah to a party when I asked him what he thought of the event. Jonah, a Louisville native, had been in attendance for my undergraduate recital, and therefore was in a unique position to give insight on what I was doing at Calarts. He simply replied that it was “much more contemporary than (my) last one.”
Jonah isn’t musically illiterate. Neither is he a scholar of music; he is an actor. Something about his statement piqued my interest though. He had spoken enthusiastically about the last program he had seen (which was grounded in the traditional music that inheres in western schools of music programs). For some time I pondered the whys and wherefores of musical experimentation, audience entertainment, and audience understanding. During this period of musing I realized that Jonah’s comments following my undergraduate recital weren’t about the music that I had played. Rather, they spoke of the connection that I had to the music. My performances during the mid-residency recital, while being drawn from my disparate musical interests, did not have the personal connection that had been so apparent during my undergraduate recital.
It is to this end that I present this evening’s recital: a program of music representing my past, present, and future.
For me, this means an experiment in voice. I have always had a profound interest in voices, both human and otherwise. Tonight’s program begins with a pair of voices speaking in turn (a new work for the catalogue of French horn pieces) followed by four voices working together in various pairs (a song cycle for voice and sustaining instrument), and finally three voices in the setting of the high-romantic era (French horn, violin, and piano.
Bob Allaire’s new work for horn and voice, The Judge, represents my future. During my time at Calarts I have developed a passion for commissioning new pieces for the French horn. Moreover, I enjoy receiving pieces that are written for me, not just for A French horn player. Due to the favourable ratio of horn players to horn positions in orchestras across the globe, there have been few pioneers in the realm of contemporary solo literature. I would like to work to expand this repertoire by continuing to work closely with composers to produce works that are not just solo pieces, but French horn pieces.
Bob writes about his work,
“Originally, this piece was going to be titled Duality. It is a convergence of different sound worlds inspired by Jody’s unique combination of skill with both the horn and voice. It is simultaneously a call and a cry – an answer and a question. At the midpoint of the piece is a request, or perhaps a challenge. The text is excerpted from Psalm 42.”
I relate my present by performing Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Tierkreis. The piece is a collection of melodies, one for each sign of the zodiac. Each sign has its own tempo marking and its own key (perhaps this last point is why Stockhausen neglected to set the thirteenth sign of the zodiac, Ophiuchus, as there are only twelve distinct pitches in the traditional western system of tonality). The composer instructs the performer to begin a performance with the sign that the performance takes place in. After performing all twelve movements in chronologic order, the performer repeats the “proper” melody. I will not be following the composer’s wishes exactly, I must admit.
The MFA program in music is a two-year program. By the end of the third term I had already fulfilled my graduation requirements (save this recital). It was around this time that my mentor, Ed Carroll, suggested the possibility of me staying on for a third year, for, there was one thing that I had wanted to do that had, to date, been impossible. Because of the way the National Association of Schools of Music defined private lessons (as either your major, or a minor), I had, for nine years, been refused private lessons for anything over thirty minutes. So, I accepted the offer to return for a third year, knowing that I would get to study voice as a major. This has truly been one of the highlights of my time at Calarts. I have decided to perform half of the movements of Tierkreis, due to the amount of time that I have spent working on technique.
The last section of the program represents at once my past and future. The Brahms “Horn Trio” is the first piece that performed with a chamber ensemble. This early experience at the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts also figures in the sort of arts collaboration that inspired me to attend Calarts. As this piece is one of the few works with a French horn that is not only good horn music, but rather just good music, I am hopeful to be a part of many more performances in years to come.
The Trio is comprised of three distinct voices: the violin, piano, and horn. These are the instruments that Brahms played as a child. There is no declaration of why Brahms wrote this trio, but there are hints. In the year following his mother’s death, Brahms wrote only two pieces: A German Requiem, and the Horn Trio. Perhaps the very instrumentation, which calls back to his past, is a tribute to his childhood, and by extension, his mother.
I would like to thank the Calarts community. You have been my source of inspiration over the last three years.
To my professors, for showing me new ways of thinking,
To the vocal staff, and Paul Berkolds especially, for taking on a rogue student,
To Danny Katzen, for teaching although it meant giving up time at home,
To Robin Graham, for really getting it,
To Mark Menzies, for his understanding and wisdom imparted,
To Ed and Jim, for being great leaders of the program,
And to everyone that I have had the pleasure of arguing and / or playing with,
Thank you.
