Senior Honors Recital by Lucas Alexander Barry

Senior Honors Recital A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation with Honors in Music, Performance 2016 i WHITMAN COLLEGE Department of Music presents Senior Recital Lucas Barry, saxophone Jackie Wood, piano Jordan Miller alto saxophone Taka Olds, tenor saxophone Hillary Smith, baritone saxophone Saturday April 9, 2016 Chism Recital Hall Sonata in G minor 7:30 p.m. Henri Eccles (1670-1742) arr. by Sigurd Rascher 1. Largo 2. Courante 4. Presto Chanson et Passepied, Op. 16 Jeanine Rueff (1922-1999) Fuzzy Bird Sonata Takashi Yoshimatsu (b. 1953) Run, Bird Sing, Bird Fly, Bird brief intermission Adagio et Rondo. Op. 63 Jean-Baptiste Singelée (1812- 1875) Fugue in G minor, “Little Fugue” Caprice en Forme de Valse J.S. Bach (1685-1750) arr. for saxophone quartet by J. Michael Leonard Paul Bonneau (1918- 1995) Please turn off your cell phone. If you must leave this concert before its conclusion, please do so only during applause. This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the major in Music. Lucas Barry is a senior majoring in Music, Performance emphasis. A Higley Estate Scholar and recipient of a Bates Music Scholarship, he studies saxophone with Clark Bondy and has also been coached by Dr. Amy Dodds. Program Notes Sonata in G minor – Henri Eccles (1670-1742) arr. Sigurd M. Rascher Born in London, Henri Eccles moved to Paris relatively early in his career. A composer and violinist, Eccles’ father and brother were also composers. Eccles played in the court of King Louis XIV from 1694 to 1710 and had stationed himself in Paris by 1716. Overshadowed today and in his lifetime by composers such as Handel and Vivaldi, Eccles is most well known for his Twelve Sonatas for Gamba and Figured Bass, published in 1732, and of which the Sonata in G minor is a part. These sonatas were greatly inspired by the music of another contemporary, the Italian composer Giuseppe Valentini. The Sonata in G minor is usually heard on violin, but Sigurd Rascher, an influential German classical saxophonist during the early to mid-20th century, arranged this particular sonata for saxophone and piano in 1958. In his notes on the published arrangement, Rascher addresses why he arranged a string piece for saxophone: “There need not be any misgivings about the fact that the Saxophone did not exist in Eccles’ day as his contemporaries were rather liberal in transcribing their own works as well as those of other composers. J. S. Bach, for example, transcribed Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violons for such an unusual combination as Four Harpsichords.” Only movements 1, 2, and 4 will be performed tonight. Chanson et Passepied – Jeanine Rueff (1922-1999) Born in France, Jeanine Rueff studied Composition at the Paris Conservatory under Henri Busser. She returned to the conservatory to work as an accompanist for the saxophone classes of Marcel Mule and the clarinet classes of Ulysse Delécluse. She later became a professor of solfege and harmony at the Paris Conservatory until her retirement in 1988. Composed during Rueff’s time as an accompanist, Chanson et Passepied may have been written for Mule, likely to be performed by himself or one of his students. The opening melodic motif is frequently used, and appears in both the opening and developed throughout the piece, including a diminution of the rhythm in the faster allegretto section. Rueff composed other pieces for saxophone, but Chanson et Passepied is the most frequently performed by intermediate-level students and professionals musicians alike. Fuzzy Bird Sonata – Takashi Yoshimatsu (b. 1953) Born in Tokyo, Takashi Yoshimatsu did not seriously pursue a music career until his twenties. Previously a tech major at Keio University, Yoshimatsu largely taught himself composition by studying the scores of Sibelius as a teenager, and participated in several jazz and rock groups; later, he did receive music instruction from Teizo Matsumura, a Japanese composer of Western musical genres around the mid to late 20th century. This unique musical background, as well as his interests in traditional Japanese folk music and bird calls, greatly influenced the majority of his compositions. Unsurprisingly, Yoshimatsu embraces what he calls “new lyricism,” in opposition to the so-called “unmusical” atonal techniques of contemporary composers. His Neo-Romantic style uses singing melodies as well as tonal and modal scales. He is currently one of the most well-known contemporary Japanese composers in the Western-influenced classical idiom. The Fuzzy Bird Sonata, commissioned by Japanese saxophonist Nobuya Sugawa, is an excellent example of Yoshimatsu’s wide range of interests. The adjective “fuzzy” refers to the image of a bird rather than the bird itself. The bird in question is less of a duckling and more like a bird of prey. Several extended techniques are requested by the composer throughout the sonata in order to represent the different aspects of the bird, including slap-tonguing, extreme altissimo, and unstructured improvisation. “Run, Bird” is multi-metric and utilizes fast, angular runs with periodic pauses to give the effect of a quick bird that pauses before continuing on its way. A slow section in the middle gives a glimpse of the bird’s song as it rests before running once more. “Sing, Bird,” the slow middle movement, utilizes rubato and high altissimo as an analog to the call of a strange bird. The final movement, “Fly, Bird,” recalls motifs from the previous movements as the bird prepares itself for flight. Adagio et Rondo, Op. 63 – Jean-Baptiste Singelée (1812-1875) Jean-Baptiste Singelee was a Belgian violinist, conductor, and composer. Although not well known today, Singelée served an important role in the early history of classical saxophone performance. He and Adolph Sax, the first professor of saxophone at the Paris Conservatory, were acquaintances, and Singelee wrote examination pieces for Sax’s saxophone class, incidentally some of the first pieces ever written specifically for the saxophone. Singelée even wrote the very first saxophone quartet for Adolph Sax. The piece on today’s program is one of these examination pieces. Although originally written for tenor saxophone, I will play Adagio et Rondo on soprano sax instead. Since soprano and tenor are both B-flat instruments, the piece will be heard an octave higher than usual. Fugue in G minor, BWV 578 – J.S. Bach (1685-1750) arr. J. Michael Leonard Hardly needing an introduction, J. S. Bach wrote extensively in almost all instrumental genres of the Baroque era. One of his biggest contributions was to the organ’s repertoire, especially fugues and toccatas. The Fugue in G minor, more commonly known as the “Little Fugue,” is one of Bach’s most popular fugues. The four-voice fugue is ideal for saxophone quartet. Indeed, transcriptions of pre-existing works are among the most numerous types of pieces in the saxophone quartet repertoire. J. Michael Leonard has served as a saxophonist for the Boston Symphony and the Boston Pops Orchestra, and he has arranged many concert pieces for saxophone and saxophone quartet. Caprice en Forme de Valse – Paul Bonneau (1918-1995) French composer Paul Bonneau studied at the Paris Conservatory, where he won first prize for Harmony (1937), Fugue (1942), and Composition (1945) in the classes of Jean Gallon, Noël Gallon, and Henri Busser, respectively. He became Assistant Manager of Music in the French Army in 1939 and was made band master of the French Republican Guard in 1945. Bonneau also conducted light orchestral music for French national radio. Beginning in 1944, he led 638 recording sessions which were broadcast nationally over 1500 times. Bonneau’s compositions, on the other hand, are rarely heard in contemporary concerts. Although he composed or co-composed music for over forty full-length French films, Bonneau’s most well known composition is his Caprice en Forme de Valse for unaccompanied saxophone. Originally part of a two-piece set entitled Deux Caprices en Forme de Valse, the second caprice is more commonly played, and it will be heard tonight. Written for Marcel Mule, a virtuosic and influential saxophonist as well as the first professor of saxophone at the Paris Conservatory after the instrument’s inventor Adolph Sax, Caprice challenges performers to balance playful energy with difficult runs.