The musical program will feature William Berry's composition Cycling Music, capturing the moods and motions of cycling in a solo for trumpet with the brass choir. More information on Cycling Music is below. Clarion will also perform a few classical transciptions for brass: the death-defying March to the Stake from Berlioz' Symfonie Fantastique, a gorgeous and peaceful Nimrod from Elgar's Enigma Variations, and summer would not be complete without a smattering of Gilbert and Sullivan. George Gershwin's Summertime will be Clarionized in a swinging happy-go-lucky version, and to fill in the "I can't believe the brass are playing this" category, Ghost Riders in the Sky and Walk Like An Egyptian.
ABOUT CYCLING MUSIC
Bicycle riding may seem like an odd thing around which to center a piece of music, but they tell writers to "write what you know" and it seems like reasonable advice for a composer as well. I have been riding bicycles about as long as I've been making music; I can't really remember life without either. Cycling has been my sport forever. Lance Armstrong has recently raised the awareness of European-style road biking to a place or two above curling in the American mindset, but relative to other sports, cycling is still not very popular or understood in this country.
The first seeds of this music were written down in Spring of 2002, and I have stolen a few small quotes and textures from that start for other projects I have been working on in the meantime. The original bits were written for brass quintet, and I had brass in mind for the material, so when the opportunity arose to write a new piece to feature one of the best trumpeters on the planet, Allen Vizzutti, with Clarion Brass, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to dust it off and finish it. Vizzutti is a very athletic player who has performed and recorded in popular styles, so it seemed like a good vehicle to show off his talents, and writing for 12 brass rather than 5 allows much more versatility in the sounds available.
All of the movements reflect the rhythms of cycling in different ways and each of the movements is a personal reflection on some aspect of cycling. It sounds a little bizarre just to put that last phrase in print, and there was some debate as to whether I should have just named the piece Concerto, call the movements I through IV, and keep the inspiration for the music to myself. Nevertheless, music is always about something, and strange though they may be, it made sense to have some descriptions tied to the music. Certainly, the music can be enjoyed by the non-cyclist as pure music, but some explanation of the inspiration might help in the understanding of the music.
RHR48
I don't measure myself or my rides; I think it would take some fun out of cycling to quantify everything. That being said, this is an odd way to title the movement, but I couldn't come up with a more succinct way to refer to the calm feeling cycling gives me. I did measure my resting heart rate in the middle of riding season a couple of years ago and came up with 48, so put that in the title even though I know the number changes. Riding has long-term health benefits, but the day-to-day relaxation and peacefulness of being alone out in the world and returning refreshed is what I enjoy about it and what this movement is about. The melodic material is a slowed down fantasy on the "flying" theme from the fourth movement.
Cooper Jones
This movement, paired with the next one, is the cycling version of death and resurrection. Cooper Jones was a young man who was struck by a car while riding in a local race, and who died as a result of his injuries on 2 July 1997. His death spurred a great deal of activism concerning cycling safety and resulted in changes in Washington state law. I didn't know Cooper Jones, I don't race, and I wasn't involved in any of the activism that resulted in changes in the law and cycling awareness, but the whole event meant a lot to me, and this music reflects my feelings about those events, as well as my personal fear while riding, knowing how vulnerable a cyclist is and how unaware drivers are. Out of Cooper Jones' life and death came a lot of positive things, and those victories are intended to be part of the next movement as well. The music is fast and tense at the beginning, and ends with a somber chorale.
Oct 2
Lance Armstrong's license plate recognizes his personal day of resurrection. I don't have many heroes, certainly in sports, but Lance comes about as close as you get. This music is not necessarily about his cycling as much as it is about his incredible recovery from cancer and victory over all of our mortal restraints. This is an uplifting fanfare which grows directly out of the previous movement.
Flying
There is a feeling I get on long rides. The bicycle is an incredibly simple device which transforms the human body into an efficient machine, capable of covering large distances with truly minimal effort. Maybe it's the endorphins talking, but this feeling is a sense of being “one with the bike" that seems to eliminate the mechanics of the situation and makes me feel like I'm flying effortlessly over the landscape. This music captures that feeling with a rhythmic melodic gesture which is repeated throughout the movement, but which gradually evolves, so that it is never really the same for more than a few repetitions. This movement shares thematic material with the first movement.