Flare Players June 29th, 2024
I’m going to give everyone a rundown on what we are doing each week with the Flare Players, so you can follow along when you come to the park for our performances.
This week our lineup of “Flare Players” is Celia Harris on violin, Iryna Kudielina on keyboard, Kris Yenney, Manon Robertshaw and myself on cello.
We are doing an “open rehearsal” format. In order to extend the funds you all are contributing to support these musicans as far as we can, we are not doing private rehearsals. We are working out our repertoire right in the park. Most things we will be able to read right through. Some things we will need to stop and start and try in different ways.
We are going to start this morning ( at 11 am) with “Hymn To The Stars in My Heaven”. This is a piece I composed at the request of my friend, Lisa, who wanted to honor her parents who have both been gone for a number of years. To create the piece I started by listening to Lisa tell stories of her childhood memories with her mom and dad, looked at some photos to get a feel for their presence. I wanted something that would capture the sense of purpose and faith they shared with their children. And beauty. They created a beautiful life, close to nature, for Lisa. So we will begin with this one.
Next we will play Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” which I have arranged for the group.
Third on our program is “Butter Yellow Lullaby Dance for Carol”, a piece that was commissioned as a gift from an extended family to the beloved matriarch of their family, Carol. I am sure she would not want to be called a matriarch, but she is the mother and grandmother in this beautiful family and she loves the color butter yellow and she always used to dance with her daughters in the kitchen. There is something both gentle and playful about her and that is what I was hoping to capture in this piece.
Next is the Astor Piazzola masterpiece, “Oblivion” which has been arranged in many ways, but lends itself very well to the combination of instruments we have. A gorgeous melody.
Following that, another Piazzolla tango piece, “Libertango”. I highly recommend Yo Yo Ma’s version of this, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do it! It is a very fun, juicy piece and we are just getting used to playing it.
Then we will have a piece composed as a gift from a woman, Shelley, who has come to the park to listen often, for her sweetheart, Matt. Exactly why I decided to call this piece, “Trial By Fire”, I am not entirely sure, but I think it has something to do with the depth I feel in Matt, as if he has faced and embraced many challenges and come through with a powerful sense of heart. I like this piece because it incorporates a melody that Matt himself has been playing on piano for a long time, a little tune that means something to him, that gave inspiration to this piece about his larger journey.
After that we will play “Reunion of the Sisters” a piece I wrote many years ago to go with a dance piece that was choreographed by my friend, Rise, during her Masters Program in Choreography at the Iowa State University. This piece was originally written for three cellos. I’ve expanded it to the current instrumentation and it is a continuous work in progress.
We will follow “Reunion” with the Bach/Gounod version of “Ave Maria”. This beautiful version incorporates Bach’s gorgeous piano prelude with a beautiful melody over the top.
Next to last is “Out of An August Dream”, my first attempt at composing for the quintet last August. This piece starts in an unusual meter, 7/4, and repeats the melody later in a more conventional 4/4. Yes, the emergence of it had something to do with a dream!
And finally, unless we have run out of time, we will play “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”. This is my arrangement. There are so many ways to play this beautiful melody. I am enjoying how this one is coming out.
Thank you for coming and enjoying the music we are presenting! It is a great blessing to me to be able to offer the rich sounds of string instruments played together with piano. It is an intimate, powerful combination that I have always loved. With your support, we will continue to expand the repertoire of the group, try new things, and improve our skills at playing togethera!