Inspired by Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh (Persian Book of Kings), Feridoun is a loosely-programmatic work depicting the struggle and coming to power of one of ancient Persia’s earliest kings.
In Persian mythology, the lands were ruled by an evil tyrant named Zahhak. Two snakes grew from his shoulders, and Zahhak ordered that two people must die each day in order to satiate the snakes. Fear spread amongst the people, and they longed for justice and revenge. One night, Zahhak dreamed that a boy named Feridoun would eventually dethrone him. Terrified, he ordered that this boy be found and killed.
For years, Feridoun’s mother kept him one step ahead of Zahhak. When he was a teenager, he learned that Zahhak had sacrificed and fed his father to the ever-hungry snakes. Enraged, he joined a small uprising against Zahhak and led his envoy into battle. Singlehandedly he defeated Zahhak and bound him in a cave beneath Mount Damavand. The tyrant cast down, Feridoun ruled the earth with benevolence and justice for the rest of his long lifetime.
Musically, Feridoun is a through-composed piece, each section directly relating to an aspect from the story. Many of the sections have subtitles, a few of which are “Zahhak,” “Kaveh’s Revolt,” “The Battle of Zahhak and Feridoun,” and “The Divine Farr.”
* This work includes extended techniques for both flute and piano, plus the usage of some small percussion instruments.
About
Inspired by stories from Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh (Persian Book of Kings), Div is a work depicting the dual facets of these colorful beings.
A “div” (pronunciation: deev) often has negative associations, and in Persian mythology is an evil spirit akin to a demon that loves to cause harm and destruction. However, some divs may actually be helpful and benign. Unlike in Judeo-Christian tradition, a div is a physical being, often pictured with combined human and animal features. Though they have two arms and legs like humans, often they feature tufted tails like a lion, hairy, multicolored bodies, and bestial faces. Divs are frequently mentioned in the Shahnameh; one famous story involves the struggle between the Persian hero Rostam and the Akvan Div, a white demon whose name means “evil mind.”
Musically, the first half of the piece represents the malevolent side of divs, whereas the latter half represents their benign nature. Subtitled Ahura, a Farsi word representing the “right” kind of divinity and the moral opposite of evil, this latter half utilizes much of the same melodic content, though slightly transformed. Does the work end in a pure, righteous state, or do some elements of the “evil” div mischievously return? The listener may fully decide.
Div was commissioned by the KU Helianthus Contemporary ensemble.
Lamb of God is a heavily-revised, but surviving “early” piece. It was originally composed as a Men’s trio, but later expanded for Men’s Chorus. This recording is of the KU Men’s Glee Club, directed by my friend Tod Fish.
Oh, just for the record, I’m singing the tenor solo in the middle of the piece.
Commissioned by Tod Fish, this work brings to life one of the “war poems” by Sextus Propertius (c. 50 – 15 BCE). The story is told from the point of view of a mortally-wounded soldier (Gallus) addressing another wounded soldier who is stumbling down the ramparts. Seeing his wounded comrade recoil in horror at the sight of his wounds, Gallus addresses him as a friend (“I am part of your closest armed comrades.”).
The poem (and the music) abruptly shift to a sense of urgency as Gallus tells his friend to leave. “Don’t stop! Get out and save yourself!” By leaving Gallus behind, the soldier can make it home to his family. This fate does not await dying soldiers like Gallus, who tells how he almost made it through enemy lines, but was struck by “an unknown hand.”
The final section contains Gallus’ simple, yet powerful, request – to be remembered. The idea of bleached bones lying uncovered is not only disturbing, but it is a permanent disfigurement of the funeral ritual – one that was not lost on the Romans. “…let him know that these bones are MINE.”
Original Text
Tu, qui consortem properas evadere casum,
miles ab Etruscis saucius aggeribus,
quid nostro gemitu turgentia lumina torques?
pars ego sum vestrae proxima militiae.
sic te servato ut possint gaudere parentes,
haec soror acta tuis sentiat e lacrimis:
Gallum per medios ereptum Caesaris enses
effugere ignotas non potuisse manus;
et quaecumque super dispersa invenerit ossa
montibus Etruscis, haec sciat esse mea.
My Translation
You, who hurries to avoid our common fate,
wounded soldier from the Etruscan ramparts,
what makes you turn your wide eyes toward my moaning?
I am one of your closest armed comrades.
Thus, save yourself, so that your parents may rejoice,
but let my sister know of my fate through your tears:
that Gallus stole away through the midst of Caesar’s swords
but was unable to escape an unknown hand;
and whoever will come upon these scattered bones
on the Etruscan hillside, let him know that these bones are mine.
My doctoral composition recital went well… really well, in fact. I should have the recording in a few days, and when I do, I’ll post a few audio files. Stay tuned.
Also, the “Joy of Singing” concert is Tuesday, April 1st at the Lied Center here at KU. The concert starts at 7:30 pm. Each choir at KU will sing one piece, demonstrating a variety of choral literature that is performed here.
I am pleased to say (and this is no ‘April Fools’ joke!) that for the first time on a public venue, my good friend (and KU alumnus) Dan Forrest and I both have a piece on the same concert.
The Men’s Chorus is performing my Lamb of God, and the Chamber Choir is performing Amen, from Dan’s Words from Paradise.
Needless to say, if you are in the area, consider attending. It should be a real treat.
Tomorrow (30 March 2008) is the day of my doctoral composition recital. As you might imagine, I’m simultaneously exhilarated, anxious, stressed, pumped, panicked, and elated about it. Here are the details:
On Friday, February 29 the University of Kansas Men’s Glee Club will perform on the evening concert at KMEA in Wichita, KS (8:45 PM).
Directed by my friend and colleague Tod Fish, the group will perform a variety of works, including an arrangement of Enosh by fellow KU-composer Doug Helvering, and a new choral work by yours truly.
I also happen to be singing tenor with the group.
The piece of mine that we are performing is titled Tu Qui Consortem. The text (for which I hope I do justice) is a “war” poem composed by the ancient Latin poet Sextus Propertius. Both the text and my translation are below.
Original
Tu, qui consortem properas evadere casum,
miles ab Etruscis saucius aggeribus,
quid nostro gemitu turgentia lumina torques?
pars ego sum vestrae proxima militiae.
sic te servato ut possint gaudere parentes,
haec soror acta tuis sentiat e lacrimis:
Gallum per medios ereptum Caesaris enses
effugere ignotas non potuisse manus;
et quaecumque super dispersa invenerit ossa
montibus Etruscis, haec sciat esse mea.
Translation
You, who hurries to avoid our common fate,
wounded soldier from the Etruscan ramparts,
what makes you turn your wide eyes toward my moaning?
I am one of your closest armed comrades.
Thus, save yourself, so that your parents may rejoice,
but let my sister know of my fate through your tears:
that Gallus stole away through the midst of Caesar’s swords
but was unable to escape an unknown hand;
and whoever will come upon these scattered bones
on the Etruscan hillside, let him know that these bones are mine.
The story is told from the point of view of a mortally-wounded soldier (Gallus) addressing a fellow wounded (though not mortally) soldier who is recoiling in horror at seeing the severity of his comrade’s wounds.
“Get out of here! Save yourself!” he urges, and we have a vision of the soldier returning home safely to his family. The scene now takes an abrupt shift, and we can picture Gallus’ sister weeping as she hears how he almost broke free from enemy lines, but was slain by an unknown hand.
Finally, there is another shift to a later scene in which one comes upon some scattered bones on a hillside. “… Know that these bones are… MINE.”
I find the poem incredibly moving, and when I first read and translated it, I thought “this would make for a great Men’s Chorus work!” As far as I know, I’m the only person who has ever set it to music. If I am wrong, someone please correct me.
No, it isn’t exactly typical “Glee Club”material, but it certainly provides variety on the program. I’m looking forward to the KMEA performance, and hope it will be performed many more times to come.
Speaking of which, I’m currently pursuing publication of the work, but if you would like to get your hands on it in the meantime, please contact me.
My apologies for not posting much these days. I’ve been busy working on a number of different tasks, and it’s difficult to keep a running commentary on them.
First of all, Tu Qui Consortem had its world premiere last Friday evening at Trinity Lutheran Church here in Lawrence, KS. The Men’s Chorus sang well, and I look forward to what they will do with it by the time KMEA rolls around in February.
Second of all, I have music theory comprehensive exams coming up on November 9, 2007. That’s less than two weeks away, and while I’m not particularly nervous, eight hours of theory exams is going to be rigorous!
Shortly after theory exams will be my comprehensive oral exams. What am I supposed to know in order to pass them? EVERYTHING!
In addition to prepping for these massive exams, I have that little thing called a dissertation to write. In short, I’m writing an oratorio for orchestra, chorus, and soloists. More on that later.
Finally, I’m officially on the job market! For several weeks now I’ve been monitoring mailing lists for college/university openings in Music Theory / Composition, and have sent out a few applications. With any luck, hopefully I will have a “real” job next year. I admit that it’s a strange feeling to have no idea where one will be next year.
Oh, and for the record, the more I study the works of Dmitri Shostakovich, the more I like him.
Recently I finished a piece for Men’s Chorus titled Tu Qui Consortem. As you may have guessed from the title, it’s on a Latin text by the Roman poet Propertius (c. 60 - 15 BCE).
The text is quite touching - it’s a war poem in which a mortally wounded soldier (Gallus) addresses another soldier from his company, urging him to save himself, “so that your parents may rejoice, but let my sister know of my fate through your tears. And whoever comes upon my scattered bones on the Etruscan hillside, let him know that these bones are MINE!”
There’s a lot of substance in that poem, and I strove to capture the essence of it. I got to know the poem intimately before I wrote a note (I translated it from the Latin), and I let it simmer for a few months before committing anything to paper.
Now, it’s finished, and I’m pleased to announce that it went into rehearsal about three days after completion! The KU Men’s Chorus is rehearsing it now for performances later in the semester. Better yet, they have been selected to perform the premier concert at KMEA (Kansas Music Educator’s Association) next year, and guess who’s piece will be on the program?
The KMEA concert will be in February 2008 in Wichita, KS. I’m definitely looking forward to it.
Today I received notice that I won the 2006-7 Anthony B. Cius Award, given to the outstanding student composer at KU for the year. It’s a nice honor, and I’m deeply grateful. My good friend Dan Forrest won it last year, so I’m definitely in good company. Plus, I get to have my name engraved on a plaque inside Murphy Hall, which is nice.
As an added bonus, I found out that I won the award today, which is my birthday. How appropriate!
Kat surprised me with a great birthday present: a large, framed poster of J. S. Bach! (click the thumbnail for a full-size view)
Now whenever I look up from my monitor, Herr Bach will look down upon me and inspire me to keep working on my dissertation (or at least write a little counterpoint).
The end of my final semester of coursework is fast approaching, and I have much work to finish. Tonight, however, we are going to celebrate with a filling, out-of-this-world dinner at our favorite restuarant, India Palace. Yum!
Here are the details:
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