GRYPHON
Theresa Martin, born in 1979, is a 21st century composer residing in the
state of Wisconsin, where she currently teaches lessons in composition,
clarinet and piano. Her piece Gryphon, commissioned by Yenting Chuang
in 2006, is based off of the mythological creature. She states in notes accompanying her composition the following: "While composing the opening
gesture of Gryphon, my mind envisioned a magnificent creature possessing a
magical and seductive aura standing proudly on the cliffs of an ocean. He is
wild and quick-tempered, yet he can be surprisingly calm and gentle at
times." In the music, instances of what can either be considered wild or
maybe flight are depicted in abrupt changes in meter and tempo. The composer uses quarter-tones, which sound like the cries of the creature itself,
and also uses a metric modulation throughout the piece, used to increase
the tempo very steadily.
SONATA FOR CLARINET AND PIANO
Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg, Germany, to Johanna Henrika
Christiane Nissen and Johann Jakob Brahms in May 1833. Brahms initially
started his music instruction on the piano, cello, and horn. In order to help
his family financially he began to give piano lessons, play popular music at
places referred to as Schanken, or entertainment establishments for working
class individuals, accompany in the theatre, and made arrangements for instrument ensembles. There is a prominent influence of folk and popular music, which is said to be due to these activities he participated in as a young
musician. In 1890, nearing the end of his life, Brahms had committed himself
to retiring from composing. In January 1891 he made a trip to Meinigen, a
town in central Germany, for an Arts Festival. While at the Arts Festival he
was captivated by the performances by soloist Richard Muhlfeld, and inspired him to once again compose. The Second Sonata, written in Eb Major,
is a three-movement work for clarinet and piano. The first movement is a
very sweet sounding, song like section that truly captures the spirit of which
it was named, Allegro Amabile (meaning tender-loving). The second movement is almost a waltz like section, written in a very romantic and passionate fashion with large sweeping melodies. The third movement is a very
modest section written in 6/8. It sets a light mood in the beginning portion
of the movement, and then changes into interplay between the piano and
clarinet characterized with short melodic phrases. They mimic each other in
almost a canonic fashion. The final section of the third movement is a fast
allegro section, which is characterized by a very forceful transition and dramatic build in dynamics.
STETSONUNIVERSITY
School of Music
STETSON
UNIVERSITY
School of Music
421 N. Woodland Blvd. Unit 8399 | DeLand, FL 32723
stetson.edu/music | concert line 386.822.8947
SENIOR RECITAL
Spencer Jones, clarinet
Studios of Lynn Musco and Jessica Speak
In collaboration with
Tammy Miller, piano
Saturday, April 5, 2014 | 5:30 p.m.
Lee Chapel, Elizabeth Hall
