The Musical Diary of Greg ScheerWhereas the first movement of 91 Days is a lively tango, the second movement slows to a bi-tonal ballad. (Bi-tonal, for those of you who didn’t study music theory, is when two different “keys” are sounding simultaneously. A famous example would be Charles Ives’ “The Unanswered Question.”) I quite like the way the violin and piano are like oil and water that swirl around each other, but never quite join.
In my college and grad school days, I focused on composing modern classical music–otherwise known as art music, concert music, or “scary monster music.” Actually, I haven’t changed all that much. I continue to enjoy a biting harmony or complex rhythm. But I’m also a practical person, so I try to work those interesting elements into pieces that people will actually hear.
While I was at Pitt I wrote a piece, 91 Days for Violin and Piano, that was an important part of my transition from composing what I thought I should compose to composing what I would want to listen to. It’s still “art music,” but incorporates more energetic rhythm, harmonies that slip in and out of tonality, and melodies that sound, well, melodic. The piece was premiered by Roger Zahab, the patron saint of new music, with Robert Frankenberry on piano.
On Saturday night, an encouraging number of people showed up to play, hear and sing my new cantata, Everlasting to Everlasting. Thanks to everyone who came out, but especially to The Choral Scholars, who sounded brilliant as always, and the hastily named Grand Rapids Hallel Ensemble, who walked my musical tightrope with style and grace.
We’ll perform the cantata again in its entirety at the Calvin Worship Symposium (Jan 30-Feb 1, 2014) as part of the Vesper services on Thursday and Friday night. After that, we will be accepting invitations to exotic locales for further performances. Book it now. Seriously.
In the meantime, here’s an excerpt: MP3. Movement 9, “All You Nations” (Psalm 117), dovetails with the instrumental “All Nations Hallel.”
Before I became the music director at Bellefield Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, I was just a lowly grad student in the composition program at Pitt. But the people of Bellefield were took pity and asked me to compose a choral anthem for a sanctuary rededication. I chose Psalm 118:19 as my text and wrote an extremely difficult anthem. Bellefielders must also be long-suffering folks; if I were the choir director, I would have pulled the plug on this after one read-through. I’m glad they didn’t, though, because it ended up sounding pretty good: MP3
They say that any piece can get a premiere, but you know you’ve been truly successful if you get a second performance. By that standard, Jig for string quartet is a resounding success. Here it’s played by the Daedalus String Quartet: MP3
Speaking of spring cleaning, you’ll need to spring clean your ears after you’re done listening to this one. No, actually, I quite like this one; but it certainly isn’t easy listening music. I wrote it toward the end of my undergrad days. The second recording is of me on bass and my friend Jim DeFrancesco playing it at my senior recital. At one of our rehearsals my father said it sounded like it was composed by Palestrina’s demented younger brother. The first recording is performed by Andy Kohn, a guy who can actually play all the notes at tempo and on pitch. (Thank you, Andy!)
Astute listeners will recognize a quote from Bach’s chorale “Ach Wie Flüchtig” at the end of the piece. In fact, the whole piece distills the biting dissonance of that chorale, but whereas Bach resolved the tensions, I leave them hanging. If you know much about string bass solo literature, you’ll know that it’s mostly frothy show off stuff. I like that “Elegie” uses the entire range and playing techniques of the instrument while not losing focus on the music. Ironically, when I played it at a bass master class for a prominent bassist, he didn’t know what to say about it. There was a moment of awkward silence as he tried to think of something nice to say about the piece or my playing, and then he quickly moved on to more frothy show off stuff.
MP3 (Andy Kohn)
MP3 (Greg)
More fun with creative phone messages! This time it’s me singing a two-part counterpoint message inviting people to leave a message: MP3
You heard “Den Armen” in a previous spring cleaning post in its original form as part of a cantata for choir and organ. Later, I returned to this movement and turned it into an anthem for women’s choir and piano, ably sung by the University of Pittsburgh Women’s Chorale: MP3. (I also have a version for women, strings and harp if anyone’s interested.)
In Bertolt Brecht’s Trommeln in der Nacht, there’s a touching scene in which a returning soldier’s wife explains why she eventually gave up hoping he was still alive. I decided that I needed to set it to music, and friends Karen Hopkins and Kathryn Chester were kind enough to sing and play it: MP3.