WIND BAND CLASSICS

ANGELS IN THEARCHITECTURE

Ticheli • Bassett • BolcomMiddle Tennessee State University Wind Ensemble

Reed Thomas

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From the cover of the score of Frank Ticheli’s Angels in the Architecture (Manhattan Music)

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Middle Tennessee State University Wind Ensemble

Conducted by Dr. Reed Thomas, The Middle Tennessee State UniversityWind Ensemble is the premier performing ensemble for wind, brass, andpercussion students at the university. Members are selected through auditioneach semester and comprise the best musicians at MTSU. The ensembleexplores the vast range of the wind repertoire by utilizing a flexibleinstrumentation approach where the repertoire dictates the number of playersfor each piece. The ensemble is dedicated to performing outstanding and

challenging works of diverse musical styles while furthering wind music of artistic and historical significance.Performing three to five concerts each semester, they also tour extensively throughout the region and overseas. The WindEnsemble is recognized as one of the outstanding university ensembles in the U.S. and abroad, having performed onconcert tours of South Korea, China, Costa Rica, and Panama. Graduates of the MTSU Wind Ensemble have pursuedgraduate degrees at major universities throughout the country, have held positions in symphony orchestras and several ofthe premier military bands, and are exceptional conductors, teachers and performers in public and private schools andcolleges throughout the world. A Tennessee Board of Regents university, MTSU is an equal opportunity, nonraciallyidentifiable, educational institution that does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. Further informationcan be found by visiting the MTSU band website at www.mtsubands.com.

Dr. Reed Thomas

Dr. Reed Thomas is the Director of Bands and a full Professor of Music and Conducting atMiddle Tennessee State University. His responsibilities include conducting the Wind Ensembleand University Chamber Winds, teaching undergraduate courses in conducting and instrumentalmethods, graduate courses in conducting and wind and orchestral repertoire, and he guides allaspects of MTSU band program. He is the founding conductor of the Three Rivers WindSymphony, a professional group of wind and percussion players from Northeast Indiana andwas the Conductor of the Littleton Chamber Winds in Littleton, Colorado from 1997-99. He hasbeen a guest conductor throughout the United States, South Korea, China, Brazil, Panama,Columbia, Russia, and several European countries. Dr. Thomas is an active conductor andclinician who has received praise and critical acclaim for his artistic interpretations, thoroughpreparation, and innovative programming from composers such as Nigel Clarke, JonathanNewman, DJ Sparr, Shafer Mahoney, Peter Fischer, Jamie Simmons, and Robert Bradshaw,

and from solo performers such as Peter Sheppard Skævard, Steve Houghton, Eddie Daniels, Jennifer Gunn, DavidCooke, Jonathan Gunn, and She-e Wu for his interpretive conducting. His groups have been invited to perform at venuesthroughout the United States, China, South Korea, Panama and Costa Rica. Dr. Thomas is an avid supporter of newmusic, commissioning over thirty compositions since 2003. A native of Colorado, Dr. Thomas received his Ph.D. inMusic with an emphasis in conducting from the University of Minnesota and both his Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees inMusic Education from the University of Utah. Prior to his appointment at MTSU, he conducted at universities in Indianaand Colorado and was a public school Music Director at two high schools in Utah. Dr. Thomas is an active member ofseveral associations including the College Band Directors National Association, the World Association for SymphonicBands and Ensembles, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Kappa Kappa Psi and is an honorary member of the Korean BandAssociation, the China Bandmasters Association, and the Asian Pacific Band Directors Association.

Photo: Jill ThomasThe CD title Angels in the Architecture spotlights oneof Frank Ticheli’s most recent works, but also isindicative of the relationship he has with two of hismajor influences. Although the piece was originallyinspired by the architecture of the Sydney Opera House,the inspirational relationship Frank Ticheli has withLeslie Bassett and William Bolcom is on full display onthis recording.

Ticheli has quickly become a major champion ofthe wind band world and learning how his teachershelped him forge his unique compositional language isboth interesting and insightful. When I first approachedFrank about a CD featuring some of his compositions, Iasked who he would most like to share time with on thisrecording. He immediately suggested his two PulitzerPrize winning professors, Leslie Bassett and WilliamBolcom. He further suggested I inquire about the newsymphony Bolcom had just finished. This idea was avery exciting proposal and I immediately set out to talkwith both gentlemen and to choose music. I decided tochoose pieces that had not been recorded, and LeslieBassett was pleased with my suggestion for his Nonet.It is one of those terrific pieces that does not get muchperformance traction; hopefully this recording will helpNonet gather much deserved performance momentum.During my discussion with William Bolcom, it wasdetermined that his First Symphony for Band would bethe obvious choice, but I had to wait until theconsortium date had passed before being allowed aglimpse at the score and parts. In early January, 2010, aset arrived and I quickly decided to schedule aperformance and recording session for later in theSpring semester of 2010.

This project has been an absolute joy for everyoneinvolved and one can easily see how Frank was inspiredthrough working with these two giants of the musicworld.

Reed ThomasConductor, MTSU Wind Ensemble

It’s not every day that a composer gets to have hismusic recorded side by side with that of his teachers.Leslie Bassett and William Bolcom are two of the mostimportant influences in my professional life. I learnedso much from them during my student days at theUniversity of Michigan. I must admit that, even after allthese years, it is still more than a little daunting to sharea recording with these two great masters.

But it is also an honor. I can never fully repay Billand Leslie for all they taught me, but I can honor theirlegacy by doing what they expect of all their formerstudents – to continue to compose the very best music Ican.

To Bill and Leslie, and to Reed Thomas and theMiddle Tennessee State University Wind Ensemble, Iexpress my deepest gratitude and affection. And to all,here’s to great music – and to great teachers.

Frank Ticheli

Frank Ticheli

Frank Ticheli’s music has beendescribed as being “optimisticand thoughtful” (Los AngelesTimes), “lean and muscular”(The New York Times),“brilliantly effective” (MiamiHerald) and “powerful, deeplyfelt crafted with impressiveflair and an ear for strikinginstrumental colors” (SouthFlorida Sun-Sentinel). Ticheli(b. 1958) joined the faculty ofthe University of Southern

California’s Thornton School of Music in 1991, wherehe is Professor of Composition. From 1991 to 1998,Ticheli was Composer in Residence of the PacificSymphony, and he still enjoys a close working

Angels in the Architecture: American Music for Wind BandFrank Ticheli (b. 1958) • Leslie Bassett (b. 1923) • William Bolcom (b. 1938)

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Photo: Katryn Conlin

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from the graveyard, gives the form of “Marchesfunéraires et dansantes”, and leaves us at long last withan atmosphere of exuberance and hope.”

Bolcom has elaborated on these notes, and suggeststhat the work as a whole was conceived as a politicalcommentary. To paraphrase the composer: The firstmovement’s title, “Ô tempora ô mores”(“O the times!Oh the customs!”), is taken from a line in Cicero’sFourth Oration Against Verres – a proclamation whichdecried the increasing autocracy and decreasingmorality of the late Roman Republic. In this case, theaforementioned “dark times” of the first movement area specific reference to the harsh and somewhatunenlightened political and social climate present in theUnited States in the better part of the first decade of thiscentury. The second movement is similarly dark: a sortof dysfunctional waltz, as he suggests in the programnotes. The third provides an apparent respite from thisgloom – but an insidious undercurrent remains andreaches a climax in a jarring outburst towards the centerof the movement. Finally, the fourth – perhaps the mostprogrammatic – is inspired dramatically andstructurally by a somewhat idiosyncratic funeral ritepracticed in New Orleans. In that tradition, a travelingband would accompany the cortege to the graveyard,accompanying the precession with dark, mournfulmusic. Yet upon the burial, the band would traditionallyburst into a song of optimism and exuberance: musicevocative of the ultimate catharsis provided by theceremony. This rite is an appropriate analog for thecompositional and dramatic aims of the fourthmovement – Bolcom implies that its structurerepresents both a reflection on the “dark times”illustrated in the first movement, and an invitation toparticipate in a different type of catharsis: a recognitionthat such times have concluded (albeit incompletely),and a hope that such a climate will never return.

Oblique and direct references to the symphonic andband literature abound throughout the structure of thework; such varied stylistic references constitute an obviouscelebration of the union of such immense (and untilrecently, it would seem, relatively incongruous) musicaltraditions, but also denote a hallmark of Bolcom’s

compositional language: “polystylism.” In character, thefirst movement is (appropriately enough) something of amarch; it provides both a parody of the boorish militarismthe work castigates and an acerbic reference to a genre all-too-familiar to band musicians. Yet the movement is muchmore than a march: it is also cast in sonata form – a formthat, for more than two centuries, has quintessentiallydefined symphonic first-movements.

The second movement is a scherzo, marked“tenebroso” (“shadowy”) by the composer; he indicatesthat it was partially inspired by the “Nachtmusik”movements of Mahler’s Seventh Symphony. And asMahler often did in his scherzi, Bolcom makes room fora tongue-in-cheek reference to his musical vernacular:in this case, a cornet solo reminiscent of those of thefamed Herbert L Clark, principal cornettist of the SousaBand (whom the composer witnessed perform in personas a child).

The third movement – the slow movement of thebunch – is seemingly innocent at the outset; a hugecentral outburst serves both as a reminder that theaggressive pessimism of the first movement has yet tobe addressed, and as an allusion to Haydn’s symphonicoeuvre: the slow movements of Hob 1/88 and Hob1/103 are the more famous examples of the many of hissymphonic movements to possess such volcanism.

“Marches funéraires et dansantes” – the final,concluding movement – brings the work to a dramaticclose and is demarcated by a form that is, in the contextof the symphony as a whole, geographically quiteappropriate; it is a rondo, like that to be found at theclose of so many works in symphonic canon.

The numerous formal and stylistic allusions todivergent musical sources that seem to define thelanguage of this piece (and, to a certain extent, thelanguage of Bolcom’s oeuvre in general) are extremelysignificant: for through them, the composer pays tributeto both the western symphonic tradition and to thehistory of the wind ensemble itself.

Program notes compiled by Reed ThomasSpecial thanks to Matthew Forte for

his contributions to the Bolcom liner notes.

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relationship with that orchestra and their music director,Carl St. Clair.

Ticheli is well known for his works for concertband, many of which have become standards in therepertoire. In addition to composing, he has appeared asguest conductor of his music at Carnegie Hall, at manyAmerican universities and music festivals, and in citiesthroughout the world.

Symphony No. 2 won the 2006 NBA/William D.Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest. Ticheli’sother awards for his music include the Charles Ives andthe Goddard Lieberson Awards, both from theAmerican Academy of Arts and Letters, the WalterBeeler Memorial Prize, and First Prize awards in theTexas Sesquicentennial Orchestral CompositionCompetition, Britten-on-the-Bay Choral CompositionContest, and Virginia CBDNA Symposium for NewBand Music. He is a national honorary member ofKappa Kappa Psi and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and hewas named by the American School Band DirectorsAssociation as the 2009 recipient of the A. AustinHarding Award, bestowed to individuals “who havemade exceptional contributions to the school bandmovement in America.”

Ticheli received his doctoral and masters degrees incomposition from The University of Michigan. Hisworks are published by Manhattan Beach, Southern,Hinshaw, and Encore Music, and are recorded on thelabels of Albany, Chandos, Clarion, Klavier, KochInternational, and Mark Records.

About Symphony No. 2, the composer writes the following:

“The three movements of Symphony No. 2 refer tocelestial light – Shooting Stars, the Moon, and the Sun.

Although the title for the first movement, “ShootingStars,” came after its completion, I was imagining suchquick flashes of color throughout the creative process.White-note clusters are sprinkled everywhere, likestreaks of bright light. High above, the Eb clarinetshouts out the main theme, while underneath, the lowbrasses punch out staccatissimo chords that intensifythe dance-like energy. Fleeting events of many kinds

are cut and pasted at unexpected moments, keeping theear on its toes. The movement burns quickly, and endsexplosively, scarcely leaving a trail.

The second movement, “Dreams Under a NewMoon,” depicts a kind of journey of the soul asrepresented by a series of dreams. A bluesy clarinetmelody is answered by a chant-like theme in mutedtrumpet and piccolo. Many dream episodes follow,ranging from the mysterious, to the dark, to the peacefuland healing. A sense of hope begins to assert itself asrising lines are passed from one instrument to another.Modulation after modulation occurs as the music liftsand searches for resolution. Near the end, the maintheme returns in counterpoint with the chant, buildingto a majestic climax, then falling to a peaceful coda.The final B-flat major chord is colored by a questioningG-flat.

The finale, “Apollo Unleashed,” is perhaps themost wide-ranging movement of the symphony, andcertainly the most difficult to convey in words. On theone hand, the image of Apollo, the powerful ancientgod of the sun, inspired not only the movement’s title,but also its blazing energy. Bright sonorities, fasttempos, and galloping rhythms combine to give a senseof urgency that one often expects from a symphonicfinale. On the other hand, its boisterous nature is alsotempered and enriched by another, more sublime force;Bach’s Chorale BWV 433 (Wer Gott vertraut, hat wohlgebaut). This chorale – a favorite of the dedicatee, andone he himself arranged for chorus and band – serves asa kind of spiritual anchor, giving a soul to thegregarious foreground events. The chorale is in ternaryform (ABA’). In the first half of the movement, thechorale’s A and B sections are stated nobly underneathfaster paced music, while the final A section is savedfor the climactic ending, sounding against a flurry ofsixteenth-notes.

My Second Symphony is dedicated to James E.Croft upon his retirement as Director of Bands atFlorida State University in 2003. It was commissionedby a consortium of his doctoral students, conductingstudents and friends as a gesture of thanks for all he hasgiven to the profession.”

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Angels in the Architecture was commissioned byKingsway International, and received its premiereperformance at the Sydney Opera House on 6th July,2008 by a massed band of young musicians fromAustralia and the United States. The work unfolds as adramatic conflict between the two extremes of humanexistence – one divine, the other evil. Composer notesfrom the score state the following:

The work’s title is inspired by the Sydney OperaHouse itself, with its halo-shaped acoustical ornamentshanging directly above the performance stage. Angelsin the Architecture begins with a single voice singing anineteenth-century Shaker song:

I am an angel of LightI have soared from aboveI am cloth’d with Mother’s love.I have come, I have come,To protect my chosen bandAnd lead them to the promised land.

This “angel” – represented by the singer – frames thework, surrounding it with a protective wall of light andestablishing the divine. Other representations of light –played by instruments rather than sung – include atraditional Hebrew song of peace (“Hevenu ShalomAleichem”) and the well-known sixteenth-centuryGenevan Psalter, “Old Hundredth.” These threeborrowed songs, despite their varied religious origins,are meant to transcend any one religion, representingthe more universal human ideals of peace, hope, andlove. An original chorale, appearing twice in the work,represents my own personal expression of theseaspirations.

In opposition, turbulent, fast-paced music appearsas a symbol of darkness, death, and spiritual doubt.Twice during the musical drama, these shadows sneakin almost unnoticeably, slowly obscuring, andeventually obliterating the light altogether. Thedarkness prevails for long stretches of time, but thelight always returns, inextinguishable, more powerfulthan before. The alternation of these opposing forcescreates, in effect, a kind of five-part rondo form (light –

darkness – light – darkness – light). Just as Charles Ivesdid more than a century ago, Angels in the Architectureposes the unanswered question of existence. It ends as itbegan: the angel reappears singing the same comfortingwords. But deep below, a final shadow reappears –distantly, ominously.

Leslie Bassett

Leslie Bassett studied piano,trombone, cello and otherinstruments, then served astrombonist, composer andarranger with the 13th ArmoredDivision Band in the UnitedStates and Europe duringWorld War II. Graduate studyat Michigan with Ross LeeFinney was followed by workin Paris as a Fulbright fellowwith Arthur Honegger at theEcole Normale de Musique and

with Nadia Boulanger at her home. He later studiedelectronic music with Mario Davidovsky, and with theSpanish-British composer Roberto Gerhard.

Leslie Bassett received the 1966 Pulitzer Prize inMusic for his Variations for Orchestra, premiered inRome in 1963 by the RAI Symphony Orchestra underFeruccio Scaglia, followed two years later by thePhiladelphia Orchestra’s U.S. premiere under EugeneOrmandy. Variations, which represented the U.S. at the1966 International Rostrum for Composers in Paris, hasbeen widely performed. A recording by the ZurichRadio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by JonathanSternberg for Composers Recordings (CRI 677), washailed by Saturday Review as one of music’s finestclassical releases.

The University of Michigan’s Albert A. StanleyDistinguished University Professor Emeritus of Music,Leslie Bassett was the 1984 Henry Russel Lecturer, theUniversity’s highest faculty honor. He has received theDistinguished Artist Award from the State of Michigan,was named Distinguished Alumnus by his California

alma mater, Fresno State, and by the University ofMichigan School of Music. He was awarded the MajorComposer Award and membership of the AmericanAcademy of Arts and Letters, and has twice beencomposer-in-residence at the Rockefeller Foundation’sBellagio Center. Boston held its “Leslie Bassett Week”in March, 1990. Edition Peters publishes most of hismusic.

Commissioned by the Iota Chapter of KappaGamma Psi at Ithaca College, Nonet, subtitled TwoMovements for Winds, Brass and Piano, was premieredon 16th April, 1968, Gregg Smith conducting. Thecomposer states: “The work is quite challenging witheach instrument acting as an independent voice. Thereare many difficult rhythms throughout the piece alongwith an advanced harmonic language.”

William Bolcom

Named 2007 Composer of theYear by Musical America,William Bolcom is a composerof cabaret songs, concertos,sonatas, operas, symphonies,and much more. He wasawarded the 1988 PulitzerPrize in Music for his TwelveNew Etudes for piano.

Bolcom taught compositionat the University of Michigan

from 1973-2008. Named a full professor in 1983, hewas Chairman of the Composition Department from1998 to 2003 and was named the Ross Lee FinneyDistinguished University Professor of Composition inthe fall of 1994. He retired from teaching in 2008. Priorto 1973, he taught at the University of Washington,Queens Brooklyn Colleges of the City University ofNew York, and New York University’s Tisch Collegeof the Arts. He maintains an active career as a pianosoloist, accompanist (primarily with his wife, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris), and composer. His recordingcredits are vast and he has written numerous books andarticles on music and musicians. His list of awards,

fellowships and grants is extensive and includesadmittance to the American Academy of Arts andLetters and the National Medal of Arts.

Born in Seattle in 1938, Bolcom’s early musicalexposure to the wind ensemble as a vehicle for theperformance of serious repertoire was limited, at best.A student of Darius Milhaud in his early adulthood,Bolcom took more interest in his teacher’s songs andchamber music than his foray into the band repertoire(the well-known Suite française). Indeed, as has beenthe case with many composers only familiar with theorchestral repertoire, Bolcom relates that his initialattitude towards the wind ensemble was quite jaded.

The composer writes of the work:

“Commissioned by the Big Ten Band DirectorsFoundation, and premiered by the University ofMichigan Symphony Band under Michael Haithcock,my First Symphony for Band (2008) was originallyplanned to be my Ninth Symphony: I had decided tofollow my friend John Corigliano’s example of callinghis magnificent Circus Maximus for band SymphonyNo. 3. On reflection I realized that, since Beethoven andMahler, ninth symphonies have been thought of as acomposer’s last will and testament – a third symphonydoesn’t have that stigma – and I’m not ready for thatfinal word yet. Thus, this is a First Symphony for Band.

The First Symphony is by far the most ambitiouspiece in my very small catalogue for band. In form itrelates most closely to my fifth and sixth symphoniesfor orchestra: as with them, it begins with a tight sonatamovement followed by a scherzo, a slow movement,and a sort of rondo-finale. “Ô tempora ô mores”, atragic and forceful protest, laments our dark time.“Scherzo tenebroso” is a cousin to the scherzi in mythird, fifth and sixth symphonies, especially in thesardonic use of popular material in their trios; in thistrio, as we hear the cornet playing a waltz, I envision aclown dancing. “Andantino pastorale” belies aseemingly simple tunefulness with its darkundercurrent. The image of a New Orleans funeralprocession, followed by a joyous dancelike march back

Photo: Charlie Grosso

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8.572732 8.5727324 5

Angels in the Architecture was commissioned byKingsway International, and received its premiereperformance at the Sydney Opera House on 6th July,2008 by a massed band of young musicians fromAustralia and the United States. The work unfolds as adramatic conflict between the two extremes of humanexistence – one divine, the other evil. Composer notesfrom the score state the following:

The work’s title is inspired by the Sydney OperaHouse itself, with its halo-shaped acoustical ornamentshanging directly above the performance stage. Angelsin the Architecture begins with a single voice singing anineteenth-century Shaker song:

I am an angel of LightI have soared from aboveI am cloth’d with Mother’s love.I have come, I have come,To protect my chosen bandAnd lead them to the promised land.

This “angel” – represented by the singer – frames thework, surrounding it with a protective wall of light andestablishing the divine. Other representations of light –played by instruments rather than sung – include atraditional Hebrew song of peace (“Hevenu ShalomAleichem”) and the well-known sixteenth-centuryGenevan Psalter, “Old Hundredth.” These threeborrowed songs, despite their varied religious origins,are meant to transcend any one religion, representingthe more universal human ideals of peace, hope, andlove. An original chorale, appearing twice in the work,represents my own personal expression of theseaspirations.

In opposition, turbulent, fast-paced music appearsas a symbol of darkness, death, and spiritual doubt.Twice during the musical drama, these shadows sneakin almost unnoticeably, slowly obscuring, andeventually obliterating the light altogether. Thedarkness prevails for long stretches of time, but thelight always returns, inextinguishable, more powerfulthan before. The alternation of these opposing forcescreates, in effect, a kind of five-part rondo form (light –

darkness – light – darkness – light). Just as Charles Ivesdid more than a century ago, Angels in the Architectureposes the unanswered question of existence. It ends as itbegan: the angel reappears singing the same comfortingwords. But deep below, a final shadow reappears –distantly, ominously.

Leslie Bassett

Leslie Bassett studied piano,trombone, cello and otherinstruments, then served astrombonist, composer andarranger with the 13th ArmoredDivision Band in the UnitedStates and Europe duringWorld War II. Graduate studyat Michigan with Ross LeeFinney was followed by workin Paris as a Fulbright fellowwith Arthur Honegger at theEcole Normale de Musique and

with Nadia Boulanger at her home. He later studiedelectronic music with Mario Davidovsky, and with theSpanish-British composer Roberto Gerhard.

Leslie Bassett received the 1966 Pulitzer Prize inMusic for his Variations for Orchestra, premiered inRome in 1963 by the RAI Symphony Orchestra underFeruccio Scaglia, followed two years later by thePhiladelphia Orchestra’s U.S. premiere under EugeneOrmandy. Variations, which represented the U.S. at the1966 International Rostrum for Composers in Paris, hasbeen widely performed. A recording by the ZurichRadio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by JonathanSternberg for Composers Recordings (CRI 677), washailed by Saturday Review as one of music’s finestclassical releases.

The University of Michigan’s Albert A. StanleyDistinguished University Professor Emeritus of Music,Leslie Bassett was the 1984 Henry Russel Lecturer, theUniversity’s highest faculty honor. He has received theDistinguished Artist Award from the State of Michigan,was named Distinguished Alumnus by his California

alma mater, Fresno State, and by the University ofMichigan School of Music. He was awarded the MajorComposer Award and membership of the AmericanAcademy of Arts and Letters, and has twice beencomposer-in-residence at the Rockefeller Foundation’sBellagio Center. Boston held its “Leslie Bassett Week”in March, 1990. Edition Peters publishes most of hismusic.

Commissioned by the Iota Chapter of KappaGamma Psi at Ithaca College, Nonet, subtitled TwoMovements for Winds, Brass and Piano, was premieredon 16th April, 1968, Gregg Smith conducting. Thecomposer states: “The work is quite challenging witheach instrument acting as an independent voice. Thereare many difficult rhythms throughout the piece alongwith an advanced harmonic language.”

William Bolcom

Named 2007 Composer of theYear by Musical America,William Bolcom is a composerof cabaret songs, concertos,sonatas, operas, symphonies,and much more. He wasawarded the 1988 PulitzerPrize in Music for his TwelveNew Etudes for piano.

Bolcom taught compositionat the University of Michigan

from 1973-2008. Named a full professor in 1983, hewas Chairman of the Composition Department from1998 to 2003 and was named the Ross Lee FinneyDistinguished University Professor of Composition inthe fall of 1994. He retired from teaching in 2008. Priorto 1973, he taught at the University of Washington,Queens Brooklyn Colleges of the City University ofNew York, and New York University’s Tisch Collegeof the Arts. He maintains an active career as a pianosoloist, accompanist (primarily with his wife, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris), and composer. His recordingcredits are vast and he has written numerous books andarticles on music and musicians. His list of awards,

fellowships and grants is extensive and includesadmittance to the American Academy of Arts andLetters and the National Medal of Arts.

Born in Seattle in 1938, Bolcom’s early musicalexposure to the wind ensemble as a vehicle for theperformance of serious repertoire was limited, at best.A student of Darius Milhaud in his early adulthood,Bolcom took more interest in his teacher’s songs andchamber music than his foray into the band repertoire(the well-known Suite française). Indeed, as has beenthe case with many composers only familiar with theorchestral repertoire, Bolcom relates that his initialattitude towards the wind ensemble was quite jaded.

The composer writes of the work:

“Commissioned by the Big Ten Band DirectorsFoundation, and premiered by the University ofMichigan Symphony Band under Michael Haithcock,my First Symphony for Band (2008) was originallyplanned to be my Ninth Symphony: I had decided tofollow my friend John Corigliano’s example of callinghis magnificent Circus Maximus for band SymphonyNo. 3. On reflection I realized that, since Beethoven andMahler, ninth symphonies have been thought of as acomposer’s last will and testament – a third symphonydoesn’t have that stigma – and I’m not ready for thatfinal word yet. Thus, this is a First Symphony for Band.

The First Symphony is by far the most ambitiouspiece in my very small catalogue for band. In form itrelates most closely to my fifth and sixth symphoniesfor orchestra: as with them, it begins with a tight sonatamovement followed by a scherzo, a slow movement,and a sort of rondo-finale. “Ô tempora ô mores”, atragic and forceful protest, laments our dark time.“Scherzo tenebroso” is a cousin to the scherzi in mythird, fifth and sixth symphonies, especially in thesardonic use of popular material in their trios; in thistrio, as we hear the cornet playing a waltz, I envision aclown dancing. “Andantino pastorale” belies aseemingly simple tunefulness with its darkundercurrent. The image of a New Orleans funeralprocession, followed by a joyous dancelike march back

Photo: Charlie Grosso

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68.572732

from the graveyard, gives the form of “Marchesfunéraires et dansantes”, and leaves us at long last withan atmosphere of exuberance and hope.”

Bolcom has elaborated on these notes, and suggeststhat the work as a whole was conceived as a politicalcommentary. To paraphrase the composer: The firstmovement’s title, “Ô tempora ô mores”(“O the times!Oh the customs!”), is taken from a line in Cicero’sFourth Oration Against Verres – a proclamation whichdecried the increasing autocracy and decreasingmorality of the late Roman Republic. In this case, theaforementioned “dark times” of the first movement area specific reference to the harsh and somewhatunenlightened political and social climate present in theUnited States in the better part of the first decade of thiscentury. The second movement is similarly dark: a sortof dysfunctional waltz, as he suggests in the programnotes. The third provides an apparent respite from thisgloom – but an insidious undercurrent remains andreaches a climax in a jarring outburst towards the centerof the movement. Finally, the fourth – perhaps the mostprogrammatic – is inspired dramatically andstructurally by a somewhat idiosyncratic funeral ritepracticed in New Orleans. In that tradition, a travelingband would accompany the cortege to the graveyard,accompanying the precession with dark, mournfulmusic. Yet upon the burial, the band would traditionallyburst into a song of optimism and exuberance: musicevocative of the ultimate catharsis provided by theceremony. This rite is an appropriate analog for thecompositional and dramatic aims of the fourthmovement – Bolcom implies that its structurerepresents both a reflection on the “dark times”illustrated in the first movement, and an invitation toparticipate in a different type of catharsis: a recognitionthat such times have concluded (albeit incompletely),and a hope that such a climate will never return.

Oblique and direct references to the symphonic andband literature abound throughout the structure of thework; such varied stylistic references constitute an obviouscelebration of the union of such immense (and untilrecently, it would seem, relatively incongruous) musicaltraditions, but also denote a hallmark of Bolcom’s

compositional language: “polystylism.” In character, thefirst movement is (appropriately enough) something of amarch; it provides both a parody of the boorish militarismthe work castigates and an acerbic reference to a genre all-too-familiar to band musicians. Yet the movement is muchmore than a march: it is also cast in sonata form – a formthat, for more than two centuries, has quintessentiallydefined symphonic first-movements.

The second movement is a scherzo, marked“tenebroso” (“shadowy”) by the composer; he indicatesthat it was partially inspired by the “Nachtmusik”movements of Mahler’s Seventh Symphony. And asMahler often did in his scherzi, Bolcom makes room fora tongue-in-cheek reference to his musical vernacular:in this case, a cornet solo reminiscent of those of thefamed Herbert L Clark, principal cornettist of the SousaBand (whom the composer witnessed perform in personas a child).

The third movement – the slow movement of thebunch – is seemingly innocent at the outset; a hugecentral outburst serves both as a reminder that theaggressive pessimism of the first movement has yet tobe addressed, and as an allusion to Haydn’s symphonicoeuvre: the slow movements of Hob 1/88 and Hob1/103 are the more famous examples of the many of hissymphonic movements to possess such volcanism.

“Marches funéraires et dansantes” – the final,concluding movement – brings the work to a dramaticclose and is demarcated by a form that is, in the contextof the symphony as a whole, geographically quiteappropriate; it is a rondo, like that to be found at theclose of so many works in symphonic canon.

The numerous formal and stylistic allusions todivergent musical sources that seem to define thelanguage of this piece (and, to a certain extent, thelanguage of Bolcom’s oeuvre in general) are extremelysignificant: for through them, the composer pays tributeto both the western symphonic tradition and to thehistory of the wind ensemble itself.

Program notes compiled by Reed ThomasSpecial thanks to Matthew Forte for

his contributions to the Bolcom liner notes.

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relationship with that orchestra and their music director,Carl St. Clair.

Ticheli is well known for his works for concertband, many of which have become standards in therepertoire. In addition to composing, he has appeared asguest conductor of his music at Carnegie Hall, at manyAmerican universities and music festivals, and in citiesthroughout the world.

Symphony No. 2 won the 2006 NBA/William D.Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest. Ticheli’sother awards for his music include the Charles Ives andthe Goddard Lieberson Awards, both from theAmerican Academy of Arts and Letters, the WalterBeeler Memorial Prize, and First Prize awards in theTexas Sesquicentennial Orchestral CompositionCompetition, Britten-on-the-Bay Choral CompositionContest, and Virginia CBDNA Symposium for NewBand Music. He is a national honorary member ofKappa Kappa Psi and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and hewas named by the American School Band DirectorsAssociation as the 2009 recipient of the A. AustinHarding Award, bestowed to individuals “who havemade exceptional contributions to the school bandmovement in America.”

Ticheli received his doctoral and masters degrees incomposition from The University of Michigan. Hisworks are published by Manhattan Beach, Southern,Hinshaw, and Encore Music, and are recorded on thelabels of Albany, Chandos, Clarion, Klavier, KochInternational, and Mark Records.

About Symphony No. 2, the composer writes the following:

“The three movements of Symphony No. 2 refer tocelestial light – Shooting Stars, the Moon, and the Sun.

Although the title for the first movement, “ShootingStars,” came after its completion, I was imagining suchquick flashes of color throughout the creative process.White-note clusters are sprinkled everywhere, likestreaks of bright light. High above, the Eb clarinetshouts out the main theme, while underneath, the lowbrasses punch out staccatissimo chords that intensifythe dance-like energy. Fleeting events of many kinds

are cut and pasted at unexpected moments, keeping theear on its toes. The movement burns quickly, and endsexplosively, scarcely leaving a trail.

The second movement, “Dreams Under a NewMoon,” depicts a kind of journey of the soul asrepresented by a series of dreams. A bluesy clarinetmelody is answered by a chant-like theme in mutedtrumpet and piccolo. Many dream episodes follow,ranging from the mysterious, to the dark, to the peacefuland healing. A sense of hope begins to assert itself asrising lines are passed from one instrument to another.Modulation after modulation occurs as the music liftsand searches for resolution. Near the end, the maintheme returns in counterpoint with the chant, buildingto a majestic climax, then falling to a peaceful coda.The final B-flat major chord is colored by a questioningG-flat.

The finale, “Apollo Unleashed,” is perhaps themost wide-ranging movement of the symphony, andcertainly the most difficult to convey in words. On theone hand, the image of Apollo, the powerful ancientgod of the sun, inspired not only the movement’s title,but also its blazing energy. Bright sonorities, fasttempos, and galloping rhythms combine to give a senseof urgency that one often expects from a symphonicfinale. On the other hand, its boisterous nature is alsotempered and enriched by another, more sublime force;Bach’s Chorale BWV 433 (Wer Gott vertraut, hat wohlgebaut). This chorale – a favorite of the dedicatee, andone he himself arranged for chorus and band – serves asa kind of spiritual anchor, giving a soul to thegregarious foreground events. The chorale is in ternaryform (ABA’). In the first half of the movement, thechorale’s A and B sections are stated nobly underneathfaster paced music, while the final A section is savedfor the climactic ending, sounding against a flurry ofsixteenth-notes.

My Second Symphony is dedicated to James E.Croft upon his retirement as Director of Bands atFlorida State University in 2003. It was commissionedby a consortium of his doctoral students, conductingstudents and friends as a gesture of thanks for all he hasgiven to the profession.”

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Middle Tennessee State University Wind Ensemble

Conducted by Dr. Reed Thomas, The Middle Tennessee State UniversityWind Ensemble is the premier performing ensemble for wind, brass, andpercussion students at the university. Members are selected through auditioneach semester and comprise the best musicians at MTSU. The ensembleexplores the vast range of the wind repertoire by utilizing a flexibleinstrumentation approach where the repertoire dictates the number of playersfor each piece. The ensemble is dedicated to performing outstanding and

challenging works of diverse musical styles while furthering wind music of artistic and historical significance.Performing three to five concerts each semester, they also tour extensively throughout the region and overseas. The WindEnsemble is recognized as one of the outstanding university ensembles in the U.S. and abroad, having performed onconcert tours of South Korea, China, Costa Rica, and Panama. Graduates of the MTSU Wind Ensemble have pursuedgraduate degrees at major universities throughout the country, have held positions in symphony orchestras and several ofthe premier military bands, and are exceptional conductors, teachers and performers in public and private schools andcolleges throughout the world. A Tennessee Board of Regents university, MTSU is an equal opportunity, nonraciallyidentifiable, educational institution that does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. Further informationcan be found by visiting the MTSU band website at www.mtsubands.com.

Dr. Reed Thomas

Dr. Reed Thomas is the Director of Bands and a full Professor of Music and Conducting atMiddle Tennessee State University. His responsibilities include conducting the Wind Ensembleand University Chamber Winds, teaching undergraduate courses in conducting and instrumentalmethods, graduate courses in conducting and wind and orchestral repertoire, and he guides allaspects of MTSU band program. He is the founding conductor of the Three Rivers WindSymphony, a professional group of wind and percussion players from Northeast Indiana andwas the Conductor of the Littleton Chamber Winds in Littleton, Colorado from 1997-99. He hasbeen a guest conductor throughout the United States, South Korea, China, Brazil, Panama,Columbia, Russia, and several European countries. Dr. Thomas is an active conductor andclinician who has received praise and critical acclaim for his artistic interpretations, thoroughpreparation, and innovative programming from composers such as Nigel Clarke, JonathanNewman, DJ Sparr, Shafer Mahoney, Peter Fischer, Jamie Simmons, and Robert Bradshaw,

and from solo performers such as Peter Sheppard Skævard, Steve Houghton, Eddie Daniels, Jennifer Gunn, DavidCooke, Jonathan Gunn, and She-e Wu for his interpretive conducting. His groups have been invited to perform at venuesthroughout the United States, China, South Korea, Panama and Costa Rica. Dr. Thomas is an avid supporter of newmusic, commissioning over thirty compositions since 2003. A native of Colorado, Dr. Thomas received his Ph.D. inMusic with an emphasis in conducting from the University of Minnesota and both his Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees inMusic Education from the University of Utah. Prior to his appointment at MTSU, he conducted at universities in Indianaand Colorado and was a public school Music Director at two high schools in Utah. Dr. Thomas is an active member ofseveral associations including the College Band Directors National Association, the World Association for SymphonicBands and Ensembles, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Kappa Kappa Psi and is an honorary member of the Korean BandAssociation, the China Bandmasters Association, and the Asian Pacific Band Directors Association.

Photo: Jill ThomasThe CD title Angels in the Architecture spotlights oneof Frank Ticheli’s most recent works, but also isindicative of the relationship he has with two of hismajor influences. Although the piece was originallyinspired by the architecture of the Sydney Opera House,the inspirational relationship Frank Ticheli has withLeslie Bassett and William Bolcom is on full display onthis recording.

Ticheli has quickly become a major champion ofthe wind band world and learning how his teachershelped him forge his unique compositional language isboth interesting and insightful. When I first approachedFrank about a CD featuring some of his compositions, Iasked who he would most like to share time with on thisrecording. He immediately suggested his two PulitzerPrize winning professors, Leslie Bassett and WilliamBolcom. He further suggested I inquire about the newsymphony Bolcom had just finished. This idea was avery exciting proposal and I immediately set out to talkwith both gentlemen and to choose music. I decided tochoose pieces that had not been recorded, and LeslieBassett was pleased with my suggestion for his Nonet.It is one of those terrific pieces that does not get muchperformance traction; hopefully this recording will helpNonet gather much deserved performance momentum.During my discussion with William Bolcom, it wasdetermined that his First Symphony for Band would bethe obvious choice, but I had to wait until theconsortium date had passed before being allowed aglimpse at the score and parts. In early January, 2010, aset arrived and I quickly decided to schedule aperformance and recording session for later in theSpring semester of 2010.

This project has been an absolute joy for everyoneinvolved and one can easily see how Frank was inspiredthrough working with these two giants of the musicworld.

Reed ThomasConductor, MTSU Wind Ensemble

It’s not every day that a composer gets to have hismusic recorded side by side with that of his teachers.Leslie Bassett and William Bolcom are two of the mostimportant influences in my professional life. I learnedso much from them during my student days at theUniversity of Michigan. I must admit that, even after allthese years, it is still more than a little daunting to sharea recording with these two great masters.

But it is also an honor. I can never fully repay Billand Leslie for all they taught me, but I can honor theirlegacy by doing what they expect of all their formerstudents – to continue to compose the very best music Ican.

To Bill and Leslie, and to Reed Thomas and theMiddle Tennessee State University Wind Ensemble, Iexpress my deepest gratitude and affection. And to all,here’s to great music – and to great teachers.

Frank Ticheli

Frank Ticheli

Frank Ticheli’s music has beendescribed as being “optimisticand thoughtful” (Los AngelesTimes), “lean and muscular”(The New York Times),“brilliantly effective” (MiamiHerald) and “powerful, deeplyfelt crafted with impressiveflair and an ear for strikinginstrumental colors” (SouthFlorida Sun-Sentinel). Ticheli(b. 1958) joined the faculty ofthe University of Southern

California’s Thornton School of Music in 1991, wherehe is Professor of Composition. From 1991 to 1998,Ticheli was Composer in Residence of the PacificSymphony, and he still enjoys a close working

Angels in the Architecture: American Music for Wind BandFrank Ticheli (b. 1958) • Leslie Bassett (b. 1923) • William Bolcom (b. 1938)

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Photo: Katryn Conlin

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WIND BAND CLASSICS

ANGELS IN THEARCHITECTURE

Ticheli • Bassett • BolcomMiddle Tennessee State University Wind Ensemble

Reed Thomas

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From the cover of the score of Frank Ticheli’s Angels in the Architecture (Manhattan Music)

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CMYK

Frank Ticheli’s award-winningSymphony No. 2 has been describedas ‘uninhibited, high-flying andintensely rhythmic’ (South FloridaSun-Sentinel). Angels in theArchitecture was inspired by theforms and ornamentation of theSydney Opera House, contrastingdivine light with turbulent darknessto pose the unanswered question ofexistence. Ticheli is joined by his twomajor influences in first recordingsof Pulitzer Prize-winning LeslieBassett’s terrific Nonet and thepotent messages of 2007 MusicalAmerica Composer of the YearWilliam Bolcom’s First Symphonyfor Band.

All rights in this sound recording, artw

ork, texts and translations reserved.U

nauthorised public performance, broadcasting and copying of this

compact disc prohibited. �

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2011 Naxos R

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Frank Ticheli (b. 1958): Symphony No. 2 for Concert Band (2004) 22:031 Shooting Stars 4:412 Dreams Under a New Moon 11:003 Apollo Unleashed 6:22Leslie Bassett (b. 1923): Nonet –Two Movements for Winds, Brass and Piano (1968) 12:464 I. 4:235 II. 8:22

6 Frank Ticheli: Angels in the Architecture (2008) 15:56

Soprano solo: Lara SpiesserWilliam Bolcom (b. 1938):First Symphony for Band (2008) 18:577 Ô tempora ô mores 4:588 Scherzo tenebroso 5:009 Andantino pastorale 3:480 Marches funéraires et dansantes 5:13

MTSU Wind EnsembleReed Thomas

Recorded at MTSU Wright Music Hall, Murfreesboro, Tennessee,USA, on October 20th, 2009 (tracks 1-3, 6), on October 25th,2009 (tracks 4 and 5), and at First United Methodist Church,Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on April 14th, 2010 (tracks 7-10)Producers: Reed Thomas and Michael Fleming (tracks 1-10),Randall Foster (tracks 1-3) • Engineer and editor: MichaelFleming • Publishers: Manhattan Beach Music (tracks 1-3, 6); C.F. Peters Corporation (tracks 4 and 5); Edward B. Marks Music Company and Bolcom Music (tracks 7-10)Cover photograph by Piccianeri (Dreamstime.com)

ANGELS IN THEARCHITECTURE

American Music for Wind Band

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