Concert 1 in D Major, TWV 42:D6
PROGRAM NOTES
Georg Philipp Telemann
Telemann was one of the most prolific composers of all time, having written more than 3000 works sacred, vocal, dramatic, orchestral, small ensemble, and solo many of which are lost. During his lifetime and into the latter half of the 18th century he was famous, successfully, and highly regarded by his contemporaries. He pursued exclusive publication rights for his works, and orders for his music came from all over Europe. He was a friend of JS Bach and Handel and was godfather to Bach’s son Carl Philipp Emanuel. His list of accomplishments is long and varied.
Among Telemann’s vast output we find a set of six Concerts for harpsichord and transverse flute (1734). These pieces are remarkable not only for their contemporary musical style. Also interesting is that their notation differs from most other works of the time for solo instrument and harpsichord, in that the harpsichord part is obbligato written out. Normally the music the harpsichordist sees written (along with the soloist’s part) is a bass line and figured bass, from which the harpsichordist improvises an accompaniment. Other composers at the time who wrote an obbligato harpsichord part for the harpsichord were few JS Bach, Rameau, and Boismortier. The obbligato part for keyboard is just beginning to come into practice. Today we bring you Concert 1 in D Major.
Flute Thing for flute and tape operator (1970) Larry Nelson
Flute Thing (1970) is scored for solo flute and tape operator, but it creates the illusion of performance by a choir of flutes. The 1970 version used different tape decks to record and play back material played moments earlier, the tape operator controls online the accompaniment to the live flute, piling line over line so as to create canonic and harmonic textures. The 2025 strategy is the same but a computer is programmed to follow the score and to record/playback the flute lines and therefore has replaced the tape decks.
"The work opens with long sustained notes in the low register and, through the mixing of flute and recording, gradually builds until silence interrupts. The flute and tape proceed to build again, this time with fast, chattering note-groups that end with the flute alone sustaining a low D-flat. Then the flute repeats a three-note group, D-flat, A-flat, C-flat, ten to fifteen times, allowing the tape system to create a static sonority against which the flute later plays a solo. This is followed by a strict canon between flute and tape (the only metered portion of the score).
"After a different static sonority is generated, there is an unaccompanied flute cadenza. When the tape re-starts, it records a group of running notes followed by one sustained note. This figure is alternated with its retrograde form through several repetitions, creating a background for the flute's next series of pointillistic pitches. The piece fades to a close with a return of the first static sonority, D-flat, A-flat, C-flat.” LN
A Mirror of Midnight (2021)
Larry Nelson
In 2017 or thereabouts, after discussion with a few fellow composers about using jazz standard compositions as inspiration for a new version of these same pieces, I decided to give it a try. The result is Four Reimaginings consisting of Mezzanotte Rotonda (Round Midnight), Watch Me (Someone to Watch Over Me), Laura Lore (Laura), and Singing Rain Rhythm (Singing in the Rain / I Got Rhythm simultaneously). In 2021 I rearranged my Reimagining, Mezzanotte Rotonda (Round Midnight), for my dear friends, Kim Reighley and Tracy Richardson, to create A Mirror of Midnight for flute and harpsichord.
The idea of using a jazz standard as inspiration has been quite popular. In 2002 pianist Emanuele Arciuli commissioned a number of composers to create the Round Midnight Variations. The composers included Milton Babbitt, William Bolcom, David Crumb, George Crumb, Michael Daugherty, John Harbison, Aaron Jay Kernis, Gerald Levinson, Frederic Rzewski, and Augusta Read Thomas.
Round Midnight by Thelonius Monk was copyrighted in 1943 but probably composed in 1940 or 1941. Monk may have written an early version around 1936 (at the age of 19). Round Midnight (sometimes titled Round About Midnight) quickly became a jazz standard and has been recorded by a wide variety of artists. It is one of the most recorded jazz standards composed by a jazz musician. In fact it has been recorded more than 140 times.
In A Mirror of Midnight there are enough somewhat familiar harmonies that allow the listener to feel at home. There are also quite a few melodic inversions that still carry the feel of the original. LN
Florescence (2005)
Ingrid Arauco
Florescence is a set of three miniatures for flute and harpsichord, written for and dedicated to my friends Kim Reighley and Tracy Richardson in 2005. The first movement presents a number of sharply etched melodic motifs; some bold, others delicate or playful in character. While composing, I observed that some of these motifs formed tendril-like shapes on my manuscript page; hence “florescence,” a term which refers to the flowering or blossoming of plants. In contrast to the variegated rhythmic tapestry of the first movements, the second movement flows in an energetic stream of steady sixteenths, punctuated occasionally by assertive, rhythmically jagged figures. The final movement has a predominantly lyrical quality; after reaching a peak of intensity it subsides in a gently transcendent passage. Throughout the work, both instruments share equally in the presentation and development of ideas, whether engaged in lively dialogue or in thoughtful conversation. IA
a hint of light remains (2019)
Suzanne Sorkin a hint of light remains is bound together by a short melodic motive coupled with a harmonic figure heard at the very beginning of the piece. Each time the original motive emerges, it serves as a signpost for a new formal section. Each section engages this material in a different manner. For instance, in the middle of the composition, the harpsichord presents the original motive, ushering in the lowest register of the harpsichord for the first time, while the flute provides a shimmering background a hint of light in pure harmonics. In the climactic section, the melodic motive is transformed into a highly ornamented, accented flute melody played against resonant chords, based on the original harmonic figure, in the harpsichord’s uppermost register. As the piece concludes, the flute and harpsichord join together to create a final flickering light trail. SS
River Scenes (2023)
Howard Buss – Season Premiere
River Scenes was composed during the autumn of 2023 for mélomanie2, the duo featuring flutist Dr. Kimberly Reighley and harpsichordist Tracy Richardson. The four movements were inspired by the atmospheres generated by picturesque riverine settings: Panorama, Avian Intrigues, Reflections in the Still Pool, and Whitewater. River Scenes is written without a key signature, with frequent chromatic shifts, colorful chord structures with mixed accidentals, and cross-relations. HB