David Dzubay

Symphony No. 1

(1996)

Symphony No. 1 (1996) by David Dzubay I Rage, rage...

II ...they dance their glories into shadow

III ...as filaments of memory spin...

Duration: 33 minutes

Instrumentation: 3(2,3+pic).3(3=E hn).3(3=B-cl).3(3=cbn) – 4331 – timp.3perc.hp.pno – strings

Program Note:

During my high school years in Portland, Oregon, I was fortunate to know three exceptional human beings, all of whom taught music at Jefferson High School, and all of whom died at young ages: Sonny King (jazz saxophone), Dee Wiggins (percussion), and Richard Thornburg (trumpet). Not only were these men superb musicians and teachers - they were absolutely three of the most gentle, unselfish, and kind people I have known. This music has been composed in memory of these three good friends. Though the symphony as a whole is a reflection on the life and death of all three men, there is a particular association for each (I - Dee, II - Sonny, III - Richard) which is reflected in the character and orchestration of each movement.

The first movement, Rage, rage..., features the percussion section much of the time, often with them playing versions of a rhythm resulting from the declaration: "Sonny King, Dee Wiggins, Richard Thornburg." This thematic rhythm pervades the entire symphony. The rather angry character of the movement hardly reflects that of Dee Wiggins, but the aggressive drumming, often in streams of sixteenth notes, is perhaps reflective of Dee's playing in his funk band, Velvet, which I played trumpet in for one year. The movement is framed by two presentations of a sustained, tutti, contrapuntal section, the first of which is a rather frantic, shocked reaction to hearing of a death, and the last being a final anguished cry of grief. Once the music calms down a bit, about three minutes into the movement, the first trumpet presents three increasingly demanding statements (not unrelated to Ives' famous question), as if to ask "why?!" This second quarter of the movement reflects a mix of emotions and has a number of changes in tempo and orchestration. The tempo doubles around the midpoint, and after a brief period of calm, the movement builds to explosions of rage leading to the final cry.

Sonny King was a vivacious, hilarious, and inspirational man who played saxophone and worked with our jazz improvisation groups at Jefferson. Sonny seemed to know, before I did, that composition might become an important part of my life and provided some early encouragement in that direction. The second movement, ...they dance their glories into shadow, is a playful scherzo which features the woodwinds and uses a number of elements from jazz, including part of the chord progression from Charlie Parker's Donna Lee. Another 'found' source is a Gagliarda by Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630), fragments and variations of which are used as basic material throughout the movement. Following the introduction and binary body of the movement (five sections in each part), is a coda in which the Gagliarda clearly emerges before dancing off into the shadows as the movement ends.

Schein's Padouana from the same suite is referenced in the final movement by the piccolo solo and by the cadential pattern at the climax. (Our high school brass quintet frequently performed these Schein dances). ...as filaments of memory spin... was inspired by memories of Richard Thornburg, a former second trumpet in the Oregon Symphony whose beautifully warm tone, lyrical playing, and gentle spirit were daily inspirations throughout high school. Mr. Thornburg practiced Tai Chi, and the idea of balance became important in this movement in a number of ways, not the least of which is having a slow movement to balance the previous two. Also 'in balance,' are most of the important events in the movement, each having three presentations: offstage trumpet calls, 'sighs,' 'swirls,' mensural canons, a melodic lament, descending cadences, and a scalar, diatonic phrase. The offstage trumpets play a fusion of earlier material and one of Mr. Thornburg's favorite melodies, The Last Rose of Summer, which is clearly revealed in the final, most distant call.

James DePreist provided the impetus for this Symphony, and it was composed for the Oregon Symphony and Maestro DePreist, whose support and encouragement over the years is greatly appreciated. The subtitle for movement I is from "Do not go gentle into that good night," by Dylan Thomas. James DePreist's poems, "Somehow we can" and "Its luminous links," found in The Distant Siren, provide the subtitles for movements II and III.

Symphony No. 1 was commissioned for James DePreist and the Oregon Symphony on the occasion of its Centennial, the Louisville Orchestra, and the Oakland East Bay Symphony, and was made possible by a grant from the Meet The Composer/Reader's Digest Commissioning Program, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund.

Premieres: Oregon Symphony, James DePreist; Oakland East Bay Symphony, Michael Morgan; Lousiville Orchestra, Robert Franz The cover art is by Melissa Thornburg, who kindly gave permission to reproduce this excerpt from her "Watercolor Memorial" to Richard.

INSTRUMENTATION: 3 Flutes (2nd and 3rd doubling Piccolo) 2 Oboes English Horn 2 Bb Clarinets Bb Bass Clarinet 2 Bassoons Contrabassoon 4 Horns in F 3 Trumpets in C 2 Tenor Trombones Bass Trombone Tuba Timpani, cymbal (to place on timpani) 3 Percussion 1: Glockenspiel, Small Suspended Cymbal, Mark Tree, 2 Cowbells, Tam-tam (large), Marimba, Woodblock (large), Wood Wind Chimes, Bongos, 2 Tom-toms (higher than perc. 2) 2: Vibraphone (bow), Triangle, Large Suspended Cymbal, Bell Tree, Glass Wind Chimes, Lion's Roar, 4 Tom-toms (lower than perc. 1), Small Bass Drum 3: Triangle, Medium Suspended Cymbal, Metal Wind Chimes, Wood Wind Chimes, 3 Japanese Temple Bowls, 2 Woodblocks (small, medium), 5 Temple Blocks, Snare Drum, Large Bass Drum Harp Piano Strings

Symphony No. 1 (1996) by David Dzubay, Outline and Structural Elements

I. Rage, rage… 15 minutes, various tempos from slow to fast to slow. • in memory of percussionist Dee Wiggins = percussion featured. • angry, but also a mix of emotions represented • four main ideas: 1) chorale (cry). sustained tutti framing the movement. 4-part. 2) pulsed eighths (in e minor, well, starting there) 3) three trumpet solos (related to Ives) 4) insistent punctuated tune (starting from row and expanding…) • form: intro (perc.) – chorale 1 – outbursts (transitions) – trpt solo – outburst – perc. soli – tutti outburst – flurry 1 – wdblks. – sync.-tune (growing cntrpnt) – fanfare – tpt. solo dev. in tutti (brief s- tune tutti) – cadence – s-tune – flurry 2 – fanfare/perc trans. – chorale 2 – cadence (fades…)

II. …they dance their glories into shadow 8 minutes, fast • in memory of jazz saxophonist Sonny King = woodwinds featured; Donna Lee • title from James DePreist’s “somehow we can” in The Distant Siren • light, playful character. fast. treble register. muting in brass and strings. • form: intro – 3/2 walk bs. & ww flurries – 2/2 walk bs.&bebop – 3/2 high trans. Bells – 5/2 C sharp arp – 3/2 walk bells & horn solo - 3/2 walk/bop+hints of Schein – 2/2 tighter bop – perc. solo – 4/2 sparkly cadence/ww-hn soli – 5/2 C sharp arp – 4/2 HR canon/ww flurry/dance tune – cadence Coda = Schein… + bop… disappearing into C sharp arp

III. …as filaments of memory spin… 10 minutes, slow • in memory of trumpeter Richard Thornburg = off-stage trumpet trio featured, balance (see #3), and oscillations (lip flexibilities) • title from James DePreist’s “Its luminous links” in The Distant Siren • #3: 3 mvts., 33’, 3 trumpets playing 3 off-stage ‘calls’, other major elements presented 3xs each, including swirls, sighs, diatonic scalar phrase, a melodic lament, canons, descending cadence • form: sigh 1 (brass intro) sigh 2 sigh 3 swirl 1 swirl 2 swirl 3 canon 1 canon 2 canon 3 call 1 (tpts.) call 2 call 3a call 3b scalar 1 scalar 2 scalar 3 lament 1, 2 lament 3 (vn/vc) (+fl/bn) (beg of climax) desc. cadence 1 desc. cadence 2 desc. cadence 3 picc. Solo (Shein) Schein ext. CADENCE

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heartbeat (hauptrhythmus – main rhythm) • From the declaration: "Sonny King, Dee Wiggins, Richard Thornburg" • used at many speeds; ubiquitous; often in canon (mensural); featured at beg/end of mvts.

Quotes • Trumpet solo(s) in I: first phrase is a variation/extension of Ive’s The Unanswered Question solo. • Johann Hermann Schein, from his Banchetto musicale (1617):

Gagliarda (II end) & Padouana (III piccolo solo & tutti climax) • Donna Lee. (Miles Davis/Charlie Parker). Some of the chord progression used/hinted at in II. • Last Rose of Summer. RT’s favorite tune. The off-stage trumpet music gradually converges on this.

Tonal Plan • Starting point / architecture: pitches in “Dee Wiggins, Sonny King, Richard Thornburg” I mostly E and G. e minor. II B flat and G, also A and A flat [0123]. Cadence to G re-interpreted to e minor. D also important. III D, A, F, E, B flat, F, E, D, G maj.

Cyclical Elements • G emphasis. (e minor…but ends in G major) • hauptrhythmus

• #3 • row and its extension

© 2009 David Dzubay

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...x13 and a couple others used.

x12

© 2009 David Dzubay

Symphony No. 1 (1996), by David Dzubay

hauptrhythmus - main rhythm ("heartbeat" of the work):

Some of the more clear examples:

Movement 1

1-8: x7, x6, x5, x4 - percussion. mensural canon arriving together.

10-22: x7, a (10-11), b (14-16), c (19-22) - segmented, percussion.

27-35: x5, with c stretched out to x6 - percussion.

38-47: x3 in basses, x 1.5 in trbs, x2 in high instrs. moving to mid., x1.5 in high. staccato counterpoint.

349: x1 - percussion (alone, fff, most clear statement).

351-4: x.5 with c condensed to x.25 - segmented, in percussion.

359-361: x2 in tenor instruments, x4 in basses. mensural canon starting together.

note: head motive rhythm at m. 10 & 350 (recap.) is similar to a.

Movement 2

364-367: x8 - harp, vibraphone, strings at the opening. (elisions of a/b/c)

606-627: canon in strings & horns

705-714: x12 - basses at the end.

Movement 3

715-721: x4 - brass at opening, leading to....

721: c @ x7, x8, x10, x10 2/3. brass, bsns., bcl., percussion. mensural canon starting together.

799-811: insistent bass: x4ab, x4ab, x3ab, x3ab, x2abc leading to climactic cadence.

823-end: x3, x5, x6 1/3, x7, x9, in percussion, harp, piano. mensural canon arriving together.

"Sonny King, Dee Wiggins, Richard Thornburg"

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© 2009 David Dzubay

Symphony No. 1 (1996), by David Dzubay

melodic & harmonic ideas

main focal pitchs:

(....some others as well)

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drifting line (I m. 63-69, III 774-786,...)

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Ives, The Unanswered Question

1. (m. 70-75)

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Sym. 1, melodic/harmonic ideas, page 2

10Pa douana

Outnr.

Gagliarda

Donna Lee

1

The Last Rose of Summer(Martha)

Sir John Stevenson (1761-1833) Thomas Moore (1779-1833)

Voice and Piano

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Mutopia-2004/03/16-434 This music is part of the Mutopia project: http://www.MutopiaProject.org/

It has been typeset and placed in the public domain by Stan Sanderson.

Unrestricted modification and redistribution is permitted and encouraged—copy this music and share it!