My son is obsessed with spheres. Witness this sculpture he made in college some 15 years ago.
He named his company Spherical and travels the globe, this great and gorgeous sphere, constantly.
He is also one of my biggest fans and so I have written this piece in honor of him and in thanks for all he gives me: love, attention, lots of good laughs and even his patronage through Patreon.com, which is how this work came to fruition.
He’s basically a happy guy, loves life, and so I wanted to write him a happy piece. But I can’t say that’s my forte! I like the brooding moody stuff. To get a little guidance from chance, I assigned notes to the name Spherical and then turned them around in retrograde motion to symbolize a sphere. As explained on other pieces in which I used this technique, I generate both a diatonic and chromatic version;
Well, sadly for the happy idea, I fell in love with the more moody chromatic version and there the piece begins. It is after all a mild but difficult winter coping with major illness and frequent, stressful trips to Boston and other locales for treatments and assessments of my condition. Our sadness and the spiritual quest my family is engaged in seem to be what came to the fore in the music. And the work flowed very smoothly, so I could not doubt its veracity, its right to be.
And then, glad tidings! The second movement appeared in a dream and it is, more or less, a quirky dance movement. It’s fast and rhythmic, and I might even say happy.
Thanks Adam! And to Nancy and Gus and all my family for support and love and patience — OH MY GOD, the patience is astounding.
— Frank A. Wallace
Notes
Of the Spheres is the latest addition to my “avian” series. In this case, we have two sea-birds that migrate the farthest of any living birds. The first, Wandering Albatross, has the same instincts as my son, who loves to travel the globe. It flies constantly around the Southern Hemisphere and has the largest wingspan of any living bird, up to and more than 11 feet!
The bird that flies farthest is the Arctic tern, an elegant white seabird. This bird also sees more daylight than any other. The Arctic tern breeds on the shores of the Arctic Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere summer. And it feeds over the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere half a year later – in Southern Hemisphere summer. So, like many birds, this bird flies great distances every year to maintain its life of endless summertime. North American Arctic terns fly about 24,000 miles (40,000 km) each year. That’s a distance about equal to the distance around the Earth.
Two Arctic terns. Image via Wikimedia Commons
An Arctic tern can live for 25 years, so in its life-long quest for summer it can fly a million kilometers (620,000 miles) – nearly three times the distance from the Earth to the moon. By the way, there are about 120 migratory bird species with populations in the United States and south of the equator. Most of these species cross the equator during migration. For example, the red knot flies from New England to far southern South America.
Other birds stay in one hemisphere, but go farther. For example, the wandering albatross spends most of its life aloft, circling the world over the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere. It stops only to breed on storm-swept islands near Antarctica. A wandering albatross might fly 30,000 kilometers – that’s 18,000 miles – between breedings. So while the Arctic tern flies farthest of all birds, there are other bird species that come in a close second!
enigma: a person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand.
“Death is the ultimate enigma and we’ll never know its secrets.”
Deana Blanchard 17 years old
Her Memory
On October 9, 2003 Deana Blanchard was tragically hit by a bus on the streets of Cairo and died shortly after. She was 17 years old. Her father, David Blanchard, was my first classical guitar buddy. We played duets under the tutelage of Ed Bishop at the Peninsula Conservatory of Music in San Mateo CA. He briefly describes her: “Deana was beautiful. She had an infectious smile. She always had time for other people, more than for herself. She had so many friends I could not count them all. She enjoyed life so much. She loved spending time with and mentoring her friends, doing sports, reading, playing piano, and traveling. She loved life. Deana had a special love of angels. She always had pictures or figurines of angels in her room. For us she has become “the Angel of the Nile.” You can read more about her here.
I still have not seen Dave since that time, but we met again online several years ago and have kept in touch. Recently Dave was one of the first to sign up for my Patreon account to support my creative efforts. Sweet Enigma, written on January 27 of 2020, is the result of our friendship and is dedicated to the memory of Deana.
The Music
Was I to write a sad piece? A tragic piece? Nostalgic, loving, full of happy memories? I never met Deana and am struggling with a life-threatening illness myself. “Death is the ultimate enigma…” Rilke says” The artist’s function is — to love the enigma. All art is this: love, which has been poured out over enigma — and all works of art are enigmas surrounded, adorned, enveloped by love.”
And so my conundrum has been answered by my creative urge. An enigma itself. I don’t know if this piece is the right piece, I don’t know if I have done justice to Deana’s memory, to her life. But I have added one small expression to the mystery of life and death. My hope is that Deana’s father, all who knew her, and all who have suffered loss, tragic loss, may derive some solace, even pleasure, from this humble effort.
To be, or not to be? To continue, to contend with suffering, or to end in the unknown? Sweet Enigma chose to be. It chose life. This music has the energy of Dave, Deana, their family, and me at its core. It emerged from a tiny seed, and flowered forth. It is my prayer for the eternal goodness of life and the power of the creative soul.
…is a musical prayer, not a study, and was written on retreat at the Centre Artistque de Piégon, Provence, France, on 11/7/19. I prefer to publish collections rather than stand alone works, and so it seemed fitting that this should be included here as it represents a new beginning for me. After two years of health struggles and an ensuing one-year hiatus from composing, this is the piece that motivated my muse to reawake. The chambre is a beautiful room filled with art and resonant sound. I was fortunate to have it as my private studio for one week. At the time, I was primarily practicing long hours on a magnificent 1969 Bouchet loaned to me by a dear friend. On the fifth day, I needed a rest, and so took up my pencil. The whispering sounds of the swallows that once inhabited this space, when windows were shattered and abandonment of the ancient farm had taken its toll, inspired the music you will hear. It is spacious, ponders time, imbued with the natural beauty of the land and air surrounding this special retreat, lovingly restored by its owners and restorers: Claude, Sheela and Jean-Pierre Eichenberger.
Now begin the true etudes, my first in many years. Recently I have been pondering very fundamental issues n my own playing: balance, articulation, dynamic clarity, voice separation. These are the results.
II. Opposition
One of the most difficult tasks of the guitarist is to play multiple voices with one hand. Both hands individually face this challenge, but here I focus on the right hand balance between thumb and fingers. The natural function of our opposing thumb is to grasp, to hold things and manipulate them, be it chipping stone blades, or holding a glass, hammering a nail or guiding a pipette into a test tube. The thumb must match the opposing pressure of the fingers and vice versa. But what if the music demands a soft note in the fingers and a loud one with the thumb. Bach fugues, Narváez fantasías, or any melody with accompaniment by Mozart or Sor require this skill. The three fundamental combinations are summarized by Equal and Opposite: loud thumb with soft fingers, equal value of both, or loud fingers with soft thumb. Endless variation can be, and should be employed.
III. Reach
It has been noted repeatedly that I have a big reach in my left hand and use that ability in my compositions to create unique sounds, harmonies and effects not otherwise achievable. Many times I am unaware of the demands I am placing on other players, though at times I see no alternative and need to practice the stretches myself. Stretch is the common word used, but reach seems to me much more appropriate. Why? We all have a natural ability, a limited span of the fingers and hand bones to open. Stretching these tendons, muscles and connective tissue (carefully and consciously!) is crucial, but position of the hand, arm, shoulder and back (spine) are more critical. One frequently needs to lean to the left a bit from the spine and bring the left elbow toward the body, while reaching with a straight first finger towards the nut. This is often counter-intuitive! It is, of course, a very general statement and needs refinement in each individual situation. The central point is that position matters! It is more effective than actually stretching the fingers.
IV. Slurs
I have nothing new to say about slurs. But I will note that even some very accomplished players (including myself!) frequently forget the concept that a left hand slur is nothing more than a different kind of pluck. One can use free stroke or rest stroke, either way all left hand plucks need to be consciously controlled and musically informed. In the two etudes offered here, strive for fluidity, regular rhythm and adequate volume of the slur, ie: don’t strike the preceding right hand pluck too loud. Right and left hands should be balanced in their attacks.
V. Polyphonic Expression
I spent more than ten years devoted to the music of Renaissance Spain. Seven composers left about 700 works for the vihuela de mano that still exist. Most classical guitarists are familiar with a small handful of their works. Sadly to me, these are the least characteristic of the genre, the more popular styles, but not the core of a very serious and sophisticated music. The vast majority of them are intricate polyphonic fantasías, inspired by Josquin and other famous authors of the day. As mentioned above in Opposition, the skills required to perform these fantasías and my two etudes, as well as many, many other works, require a profound knowledge of the structure of the music and the concept of imitation. Musical imitation is the same as any other, a motive or phrase is repeated in its identical form, at a different time and/or pitch. It is essential that the imitation be exact in expression as well as form. Musical development may bring in more complex demands and so at times each repetition may expand or grow in dynamic or even be altered slightly, though retaining its fundamental character. Bach reached the ultimate expression of this concept in the Art of the Fugue where he employed many techniques such as retrograde, etc. Read more on The Art of the Fugue and Bach’s final output and obsession with fugal, or imitative writing.
My two “simple” etudes are the opposite. They mostly use repeated notes as motives, thus requiring little left hand preoccupation and total focus on right hand control: dynamic, articulate and timbral. I encourage the use of rest stroke and free stroke as well as a continuous flow of timbral changes to enhance the auditory effects. In other words, when playing a forte, use rest stroke and mostly sul ponticello, the opposite for piano: free stroke and sul tasto. But don’t stop there, seek endless variation. And have fun!
a work by Frank A. Wallace for flute and guitar, op. 100
Commissioned by Daniel Acsadi & Meghan Jacoby
Composed in January 2020
The titles of movement one and two of Fish Fights, Melville / Hemingway, were suggested by an old friend, luthier Stephan Connor. I was trying to decide on a central theme of survival of species, birds or fish of New England specifically. I awoke one morning with two words on my mind — fish fights. Loved the pun, and the symbolic connection to my personal battle with cancer. My fists are clinched, ready to fight an epic battle, to win, to conquer, to emerge victorious.
I knew Steve was interested in the ocean and the environment. Being a resident of Cape Cod, I wrote to ask him what he knew of local endangered species. He responded inspirationally with the the success story of the recovery of Osprey on the Cape. A couple days later, he wrote again with mention of his two favorite books, both about epic battles at sea: Moby Dick and The Old Man and the Sea.
Our oceans are in a mammoth battle with humans. Pollution, plastics and over-fishing are devastating populations of birds and fish. The Old Man Santiago, in Hemingway’s novella, cuts his hands badly trying to haul in the marlin he has hooked, which is subsequently ravaged by sharks. Captain Ahab is dragged to his death, caught in the lines that he hoped would capture his obsession, the White Whale. Both men are connected to the sea, to the natural world, by a thin line. One survives and cultivates his optimism for life, the other is a tragic bitter calamity. Both men fail, utterly, to control natural powers greater than they. Steve mentioned these two books as the ultimate examples of man’s struggle with nature, both his inner nature and Mother Nature. I chose the authors’ names as an invitation to contemplate great stories and story-telling along with the depths of our collective soul.
In this fight, the fight for all species to survive, it is not appropriate to say, “May the best man win.” We must ALL win – fish, fowl and humans. We must bless all life on Earth.
It is my solemn wish that Fish Fights will bring just a few more people into awareness of this life and death struggle via the concert hall. My 2005 composition How Fragile She Is: ten songs for soprano, baritone & guitar, op. 33, is a musical celebration of and prayer for our small planet. I have long wanted to spread the word that our lifestyle impinges greatly on the lives of so many plants and animals, birds and fish, mammals and reptiles, trees and grasses. Fish Fights explores the many textures of life in musical fantasy. Fights happen, dissonant clashes between flute and guitar, along with calm and intermittent beauty, reflecting life to its fullest. The piece symbolizes my own struggle with a rare disease, ocular melanoma. I first lost most vision in one eye as a result of the initial tumor and its surgical and radiation treatments. A year and a half later, the cancer metastasized to my liver and now is spreading further. I too am fighting a battle for survival and Fish Fights is part of my battle, part of my struggle, part of my acceptance and healing. May we all accept our terrifying situation on earth and fight the good fight.
Frank A. Wallace
Biographies of Commissioner/performers
Flutist Dr. Meghan Jacoby has performed as a chamber and orchestral musician throughout the United States, England, Italy, Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, and Cuba. As a musician in the Boston area, she has also performed with Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), Emmanuel Music, and with the Portland, Indian Hill, and Cape Cod Symphonies. She is principal flute with the chamber orchestra Symphony by the Sea, under the direction of acclaimed bassist Donald Palma. Recent international travels have taken her to Lima, Peru, where she has been a guest artist at the Festival Internacional de Flutistas, and to Cremona, Italy, where she is on faculty in the summers at the Cremona International Music Academy. In addition to being on faculty at Phillips Academy Andover, Meghan is also on faculty at Saint Anselm College, New England Conservatory Preparatory School, Powers Music School, and Concord Academy. READ MORE
As an acclaimed performer, educator, and arts administrator, Dr. Daniel Acsadi is creating exciting new directions for the classical guitar. Guided by his wide-ranging interests and Hungarian-American heritage, Dan’s musical projects and teaching link the great musical traditions of Europe and the Americas. Since winning his first guitar competition at the age of fifteen, Dan has performed extensively throughout the United States both as soloist and chamber musician. He has created arrangements of 19th-century art songs, Portuguese fado, Brazilian bossa nova, Hungarian classical and folk music, and American traditional songs. READ MORE
Gratus Sum, Sonata #4, op. 98
by Frank A. Wallace
five movement sonata for guitar solo
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Become a Patron! I am grateful! Sonata #4 was written in gratitude to ALL those who have supported me in the past two years: friends, family, acquaintances, Facebook friends, old friends, new friends, colleagues and loved ones.
Dedicated to William Kanengiser with special thanks to the Boston Classical Guitar Society and Bob Ward, Alex Dunn, Chris Ladd, Ása Guðjónsdóttir, David William Ross, Daniel Acsadi and Nick Cutroneo for the wonderful concerts they presented in tribute to my work on October 25 and 26, 2019 in Boston MA and Hartford CT.
I. Lento appassionato
II. Largo cantabile
III. Scherzo adagio
IV. Allegro
V. Finale
I have much to be thankful for, as I have said many times in these blogs. And so today, in the spirit of my nearly completed 4th Guitar Sonata, Gratus Sum – I am Grateful – I give thanks to all the musicians who have done so much to inspire and support me. Gratus Sum is dedicated to long time friend William Kanengiser and gives special thanks to the the seven musicians listed below who presented two concerts in my honor on Oct. 25 and 26, 2019 in Boston and Hartford. Bill made a surprise guest appearance at the Hartford concert – a huge thrill to hear him play several movements of Sweet ladyslipper.
Bob Ward and the Boston Classical Guitar Society presented in Boston and Chris Ladd presented the concert at the Hartt school in Hartford CT. The concert of my compositions featuree Bob with Alex Dunn playing Duo Sonata #1; Chris Ladd, guitar and Ása Guðjónsdóttir, violin, on Gryphon, Violin Sonata #1, Daniel Acsadi playing Débil del Alba, David William Ross did Cyrcles, Sonata #3 and Nick Cutroneo played Shadow of the Sun. All joined for a wonderful performance of New England Sextets at the end.
1) If one uses the three combination strokes described, all the various dynamic combinations can be accomplished. It is crucial to think only about each individual combination at first, before trying to make music.
2) Be physical! A forte is a forceful stroke, piano is light. Forte presses the string and you feel its tension, piano is like a brush glancing over the string, up and away. Conceiving of the physical sensation between thumb and fingers is essential to understanding and execution and actually hearing the result. Force has both magnitude and direction, use it.
3) Rest stroke forte comes from the base knuckle of the finger, piano free stroke from the mid-joint with very little follow through.
4) Take advantage of each fingers natural position – the a is more separate and distant from the thumb, so ponticello is possible while playing tasto with the thumb…explore how this aids dynamics.
BACKGROUND
I spent more than twenty years devoted to the music of Renaissance Spain. Seven composers left about 700 works for the vihuela de mano that still exist. The vast majority of them are intricate polyphonic fantasías, inspired by Josquin and other famous authors of the day. The clear presentation of these magnificent works became my passion.
The skills required for these fantasías, and my two included etudes, as well as many many other works, require a knowledge of imitation. Musical imitation is the same as any other, a motive or phrase is repeated in its identical form, at a different time and/or pitch. It is essential that the imitation be exact in expression (dynamic, color) as well as form. When these iterations overlap is when the fun begins and when the guitarist needs the techniques described in this volume to achieve clarity and continuity. Bach reached the ultimate expression of this concept in The Art of the Fugue.
My two “simple” etudes presented at the end of this booklet use repeated notes as motives, thus requiring little left hand preoccupation and total focus on right hand control: dynamic, articulate and timbral. The judicious use of rest stroke and free stroke with a continuous flow of timbral changes enhance the auditory effects. In other words, when playing a forte, use rest stroke and sul ponticello, for piano: free stroke and sul tasto. It is then essential, after mastering the three basic combination strokes, that more subtle gradations become possible and useful. Play as if you are singing!
Any texture can be colored in this manner: arpeggios, repeated chords, pointillistic sections. Indeed the purpose of arpeggio or tremolo is to create a more sustained texture, but that texture can be constantly shifting in hue. Take advantage of the inherently different tone of each nail, or each finger’s proximity to the bridge. Don’t just alternate i and m because it’s what your supposed to do – rather explore using one finger or changing not only attack, but timbre for an accented note. Mastery of these techniques will lead to new modes of expression in non-imitative music. Dissonance or consonance can be greatly enhanced by the use of color – try playing the dominant chord nasally and the resolution more roundly: or use an e vowel on the dissonance and an ah to resolve it.
Find blogs, tweets and videos on technique and tone by searching my handle #techandtone
Recording:Schubert and Mertz by Duo LiveOak: Nancy Knowles mezzosoprano and Frank Wallace guitar and baritone
Contents
I. An die Musik
II. Der Geistertanz
III. Der Tod und das Mädchen
IV. Erlkönig
V. Harfenspieler II
VI. Harfenspieler III
VII. Im Abendrot
VIII. Meeres Stille
IX. Mignon I
X. Mighon II
Friends for cello by Frank A. Wallace twelve meditations for cello and guitar; dedicated to those who dare to love; parts included
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I. Akiko
II. Ben
III. Nina
IV. Nina (2)
V. Aaron
VI. Meg
VII. Sandy
VIII. Nadene
IX. Bob
X. Pamela
XI. Lisa
XII. Alejandro
Duration: 21 minutes; 19 pages
Difficulty level: concert work
Written: arranged and newly composed for cello and guitar in March and April 2020; based on the Friends for guitar solo
Dedicated to: my friends who reached out in tough times
…who support, love, and stay by your side. Friends are those you have fun with, a great dinner, the movies, a ball game or a hike. Friends are not acquaintances on Facebook, in general, though I have made wonderful friends in far flung places through Facebook. Friends are sometimes a surprise, sometimes a disappointment. Friends don’t live on a TV show. Friends talk to you and hug you when you need – from close are far. Friends is twelve meditations for cello and guitar!
Writing Friends
I started Friends in December 2017 at the same time as Cyrcles, my Sonata # 3. One night, our young friends Aki (Akiko) and Ben came over for dinner. After they went home, I sat down to begin a short song for Aki, an inspirational young woman from Japan. It was tuneful, a little quirky, and featured a five note phrase in 5/8 derived from her full name – Akiko. But I was in the middle of a big project, and so didn’t have time to finish the piece.
I returned to Aki’s piece in early July. Soon other friends had their names on the top of a page of music. Ben appeared, and Nina, and Aaron. I realized these were people who dared to say a little extra. They called and wrote to see how I was doing after several surgeries and a bout with ocular melanoma – a rare form of eye cancer that has now metastasized throughout my body and threatens my life and my vision in one eye. I jotted down the names of others who had dared to share their souls with me and ended up with ten people. It’s not everyone who helped or sympathized, so don’t feel bad if you are not on the list!
This past winter of 2020 brought a revisit to the piece and I had the idea of adding a cello part. This was inspired by my dear friend Lisa de Lima who goes way beyond the call of duty frequently, and has for years, being one of our major supporters and dearest of friends. She has helped a young cellist now at Julliard who lost his mother in his teen years and Lisa stepped up for him. I first heard Nico Olarte-Hayes’ magnificent playing at a house concert in Cambridge. he has gone on to do great things at Julliard including conducting and commissioning new works form major composers.
At the same time, another friend from Montreal introduced me to someone special who he thought I would enjoy and could help – he is Alejandro Sardá who played in the Caracas Symphony until his cancer stole that ability away. And so Friends for cello was born and I have added two new pieces at the end.
I must put in a disclaimer: each musical work does not attempt to portray the individual. Lord, some of you might be very confused if that were the case. Some of the pieces are tuneful, but most are quirky and enigmatic, tiny composition exercises to keep me occupied and free of worry. They emerged directly from my soul with little interference from the head – contemplative, but emotional, spiritual meditations.
The Music
My original intent was not to create a unified extended work. However, after the fifth piece I began to repeat small motives in the rest of the works. Sandy, #7, is the only piece that I wrote for the dedicatee in the sense of being descriptive. Sandy stopped by to show me his latest set of jazz chords he had been studying and mentioned that he and his teacher were exploring possibilities with Eb tuning of the sixth string. So I used the Eb sixth and made my humble attempt at sounding ‘jazzy’.
For any geeks in the crowd, I will note that one sleepless night, I imagined chords and melodies based on expanding or contracting intervals. And so #5, Aaron, begins with a rising series of intervals that each contract by a half step, resulting in perfect fifth, diminished fifth, perfect fourth, major third, etc. down to a half step. The next phrase reverses the sequence and subsequent phrases borrow from the resulting sonorities. Nadene, #8, returns to this basic concept starting 1/2 step, whole step, minor third, etc. And the idea pervades #11 & 12.
Thank you all for your help, support and inspiration. I am so grateful!
A Distant Wind music inspired by faraway times and places
CD by Frank Wallace guitar and composer music by Wallace, Britten and Sagreras; guitar by Aaron Green, 2018
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The title track
Puerh
A distant wind
blows from the sun.
It blows from China
and the Faroes,
It blows from
Chichén Itzá
and Paris,
Machaut and Britten
Basel, Boston and Brittany.
My cup is filled,
sun, soil, soaked leaves
flow in my veins.
Ancient wisdom
bathes cells
in silence.
A distant wind
flows through.
All compositions by Frank A. Wallace (b. 11/22/52) unless otherwise noted; published by Gyre Music. ASCAP
Fünf Kleine Stücke
01) I. Sequenz I 1:49
02) II. Basel 1298 1:36
03) III. Lindenberg 2017 1:10
04) IV. Durch den Rhein 1:33
05) V. Sequenz II 2:31
A Distant Wind
06) I. Tjaldur 3:50
07) II. Drunnhvíti 4:01
Timid Nightingale Sonata #2
08) I. The sweet voice sings 5:31
09) II. If I forget to love 3:51
10) III. Garden and grove 2:48
11) IV. A joy that rises 3:50
Nocturnal after John Dowland, Op. 70
by Benjamin Britten 11/22/1913 – 12/4/1976
12) Musingly 1:40
13) Very Agitated 0:59
14) Restless 1:31
15) Uneasy 1:27
16) March-like 1:27
17) Dreaming 1:54
18) Gently Rocking 1:27
19) Passacaglia and Slow and Quiet 6:01
20) Ben* 1:16, #2 from Friends
21) La Ideal 4:14
by Julio Sagreras 11/22/1879 – 07/20/1942
22) Amanda’s Dance6:15
Total Time: 60:43
*Manuel Ramirez guitar, c. 1910
The title song A Distant Wind by Frank A. Wallace
If I forget to love — 2nd mvt of Sonata #2, Timid Nightingale.
In this age of retreat, anti-immigration and denial of our oneness, I dedicate this CD to the good that comes from afar: spices from Zanzibar, yoga from India, pizza from Italy, French fries, rosewood from Brazil, tomatoes and potatoes from Peru, corn from the Maya, the blues from Africa, hummus from the Middle East, poetry from Persia, stories from Nordic lands, sculpture and democracy from Greece. The music on this CD is inspired by a song from 16th century England (Nocturnal), friendship in the Faroes (A Distant Wind), friendship and history in Basel, choral singing in my young adult days in Boston (Amanda), the first cellist of the Boston Symphony in the 1950’s who loved a troubadour song from 12th century Provence and has a loving son in New Jersey. OK, New Jersey isn’t so far, but you get my point. All modern life takes treasures from all over the world to get through a day – any day, every day.
My influences
The I Ching says, “In the words and deeds of the past there lies hidden a treasure that men may use to strengthen and elevate their own characters.” My musical roots are as American as apple pie. In other words I am a polyglot of music – a melting pot of styles. Even as a teenager I listened to Jobim and Getz, Buddy Rich and Wes Montgomery, Los Romeros, Segovia and Bream, Bach and flamenco, the Beatles, the Stones and West Side Story and South Pacific. True, Machaut and Schoenberg came a little later, but not much. My music has been likened to Britten and Takemitsu – both had their roots in many pies as well. Takemitsu the Beatles, Britten ancient song and dance of the British Isles. As a composer I love the riches given to me in this incredible age we live in where time and place have become so fluid. In the practice of Qigong, it is said there are three forms of Q,or universal energy: Jing, Qi and Shen. They can be seen as equivalent to the energy of past present and future and it is believed they are all present at once. That is how I feel about the music on this CD.
Medieval music
portrait by Nancy Knowles Frank Wallace with Miso & Joel van Lennep lute
The first two pieces on A Distant Wind CD hearken back to medieval times with the use of parallel fourths and fifths, both raw and adorned. These open harmonies were the harbinger of polyphony about a thousand years ago. I performed this music in the 1970’s and 80’s with Trio LiveOak. We roamed the Pyrenees searching for Romanesque architecture in which to sing these songs. We toured Europe looking for perfect acoustics and basked in the warm glow of vibration. In the Middle Ages beautiful resonances were achieved by very simple harmonic means with two or three voices and the same approach is vibrant on the guitar. I enjoy working in this archaic style and have done so throughout my compositional career: Cunctipotens Genitor 1997; Nuevas Cantigas 2001; and more recently in Fünf Kleine Stücke, written while visiting Basel Switzerland in spring 2017, and A Distant Wind in 2018. My Christmas CD JOY also features sounds from many lands and times.
The compositional process
Photo by Nancy Knowles Frank Wallace composing Fünf Kleine Stücke in Basel, Switzerland in 2017
While I do use the simple methods of the past in some thematic material, I also take advantage of my medium, the classical guitar. I ornament and expand the textures and harmonies in many ways inspired by what is possible on the guitar. I use some random or chance methods to generate new harmonies and note groups. Sometimes these more modern methods allow for greater exploration of harmonies and textures and even suggest larger forms. Timid Nightingale started with a modal troubadour song by Bernart de Ventadorn to which I added pitch groups generated by the name of the dedicatee, famed cellist Samuel Mayes. In brief, the notes D#, E, F became a rich source of motivic material that spurned three more movements after being intertwined with the troubadour song in the first movement. This, my Sonata #3, was commissioned by good friend, guitarist and fellow early music enthusiast Joseph Mayes.
Distant winds blow through our lives more than we can imagine. Thoughts, memories, dreams inspired by parents, grandparents and beyond. Religious tales and beliefs chained to time influence our decisions. Old books, a song we heard as a child, an ancient tree under which we might dawdle, dream or desire our first kiss. An argument from decades ago, a lost friendship or a new friend from distant lands.
Thanks for A Distant Wind
This CD is a celebration of connections to time, people and place. It is dedicated to many people who have changed and moved my life: Nancy Knowles, my adoring wife and my sons Gus and Adam, who have stayed by my side through great hardship; John Fleagle, an old friend who went down many distant paths with me for a time and whose musical gifts still blow through my life and music; Aaron Green who built my exquisite guitar; all those who have inspired my compositions, too mny to name here; my parents who supported my musical education and loved listening to me play late at night as the went to sleep.
I conclude with a short recent poem that ponders the question where did I get my musical talent, my gifts? I never met my paternal grandfather, a poet, and my mother’s Dad was distant after I was five years old and died soon after we moved from Texas to California. He played piano by ear, but I recall nothing of it, and so I wonder still…
My grandfather’s piano My grandfather’s piano
It calls me
It beckons me
Its mystery
surrounds me
Its keys
tickle my memory.
