rogerbourland.com » Music by Roger Bourland

Bourland orchestral music: Clarinet Rhapsody (1979)

Roger Bourland — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:06:34 +0000

Clarinet Rhapsody for clarinet and orchestra (1979) mp3
Music: Roger Bourland
Performers: Gunther Schuller conducts Collage (Sanders Theater)
Publisher: Associated Music Publishers
Download audio file (clarinet_rhapsody.mp3)

This piece was commissioned by my old classmate, John Strickler, who at this time was a doctoral student in conducting at USC and wanted a contemporary work for his final recital. It was this connection that later took me to Los Angeles, as I was to rent a room from him when I first moved to LA.

Looking back at this piece almost thirty years later, I hear much. I hear quotes from some of my Soliloquies, especially the flute one and the clarinet one. At one time I had planned my own cosmic “Universe” symphony, and some of the music written for that surfaces here.

In my last year as an undergraduate in music theory at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, we spent an entire year applying different analytic techniques to the Berg Violin Concerto. In retrospect, I hear some of that music peaking through. I also hear myself slowly moving away from atonality, and towards a melodic-based music.

Gunther Schuller published this piece in his Margun Music press, and later assigned it to AMP.

Bourland chamber music: The Smiling Spider (1983)

Roger Bourland — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:00:51 +0000

The Smiling Spider by Odilon Redon

The Smiling Spider for soprano, soprano sax, viola, cello, and piano (1983) mp3
Words and music: Roger Bourland (quotes from Charlie Chaplin)
Performers: Composers in Red Sneakers, Karen McVoy, soprano
Publisher: Yelton Rhodes Music
Download audio file (Smiling_Spider.mp3)

The story behind this piece is actually pretty funny. The Composers in Red Sneakers decided to offer their “Concert 8 and a half” anonymously. There was a perception that our faithful Boston Globe critic favored some of us over others. This would solve that.

At the time I was infatuated with the paintings of Odilon Redon, having composed an orchestral piece called “Scenes from Redon.” This was a painting that hadn’t found music yet.

Add to that, I had just watched [I think it was] Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights” and heard this catchy little tune that I couldn’t get out of my head. You’ll also hear a quick quote of “Do Not Foresake Me Oh My Darling.”

Add to that, I had just seen a documentary on TV discussing the mating habits of tarantulas, how the female can eat the male after the mating ritual if he’s not careful. This seemed dramatically pregnant and at least amusing.

Add to that, a friend’s pet tarantula had just died and I asked whether I could have the body. He said yes.

For the performance, I tied the spider to a roofless umbrella which the soprano holds while singing to the spider. The piece opens with the soprano skipping onto the stage with the umbrella inside a guitar case. She opens it, takes out the umbrella, and begins to sing her love song to the dangling arachnid.

There is an amusing little dance break where she dances and spins the umbrella with the spider hurling in circles. At the end, she can’t stop singing “Ta ta ta taaaa…” until the sax player (her boyfriend actually) goes up and tickles her in the armpit.

It shouldn’t have been too difficult for the Boston audience and critic to tell that this piece was by me: who else could be so silly? And I still got a good review.

Ta ta ta ta ta taaaa
Ta ta ta ta ta taaaa

Tarantula my beloved spider
On my shoulder in the moonlight tonight
When your leggies touch my hands I shiver
And I quiver when you whisper my name.

Now you might think it rather odd
To be in love with such a beast
But I really rather like him
And he smiles a lot at least
And if he asks to marry you
You can be sure that he’ll be true
As a husband a tarantula is really quite a feast!

Hand in hand by the edge of the sand
Nuptial bliss, I’ll devour thee with a kiss.
Leggies locked, cosmic kisses of death
Dancing spiders, a crazy kind of love!

Bourland chamber music: Recent Dreams (1989)

Roger Bourland — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:14:38 +0000

Recent Dreams for horn trio (1989) mp3
Music: Roger Bourland
Performers: Richard Todd, horn, Debra Price, violin, Delores Stevens, piano
Publisher: Yelton Rhodes Music
Download audio file (Recent_Dreams-for-horn-trio.mp3)

Commissioned by Pacific Serenades, “Recent Dreams” was written during a period when I was having a lot of vivid dreams. Each morning, after waking up, I made musical sketches that somehow encapsulated those dreams. As dreams can be rather flee flowing and puzzling, so is this piece. Having known Rick Todd to be one of the greatest horn players in the world, I felt free to write almost anything for him. Hearing the piece after 20 years have gone by, I like the piece quite a lot. It could possibly use a little tweaking here and there, but all in all, a good piece.

A hornist discovered that I had written this piece and asked to see it. It’s copied in a piece of dead software, so all that exists now is a photocopy of that score and will need to be recopied someday [the plight of many composers]. I realized that I had not digitized the piece as well, so I’ve now taken care of that.

Electro-acoustic music: Glamour and Eros (1986/90)

Roger Bourland — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 01:53:55 +0000

Glamour & Eros (1987/90) mp3
for alto saxophone and electronics
Music: Roger Bourland
Performer: Greg Chambers, saxophone
Yelton Rhodes Music

Download audio file (glamour_n_eros.mp3)

Glamour and Eros was originally commissioned by Jack Elliott and the New American Orchestra who specialized in orchestral jazz. Jack came up with the idea of including 3 Yamaha DX7s and an EWI (electronic wind instrument, designed by Nile Steiner). With backing from Lloyd Rigler, I set to work on the jazziest piece I have ever written. I grew up hearing jazz, but have never been a jazz musician.

Four months later, I showed up with a new piece called “Broken Arrows” (yes, like Neil Young’s “Broken Arrow”). Jack took a look at the orchestration and said “this orchestration will be difficult to make happen” being afraid of the synths. I was flabbergasted as it was HIS orchestration. Now, the likelihood of performances seemed slim, so the work was reorchestrated for a synthesizer ensemble (8 synthesizers with 3 percussionists). The rehearsals and performance was a blast, but again the instrumentation was doomed for an early death. In 1990, I turned the piece into Portable Rhapsody No.1 for solo alto sax and electronic accompaniment (mp3).

“Glamour and Eros” musically celebrates attraction and the erotic. The saxophone was chosen because it can hold its own against a loud accompaniment, and because it is perhaps the sexiest of all of the orchestral instruments. The musical language draws from rock, jazz, and psycho-classical. A descending (or ascending) four note motive permeates the piece as the predominant melodic figure.

The now historic synthesizers used on the accompaniment were the Yamaha TX816 and TX802, the Proteus/2, the Korg M1R, the Prophet 2002, and the Roland D550. (I still have them gathering dust in the basement.)

The work is dedicated to my friend and teacher, composer and multiple wind player, Les Thimmig.

This recording arrived in the mail today from Greg Chambers. Greg and his wife Chelsea were both in my theory classes many years ago. They hail from Gilroy, CA, the garlic capitol of the world. His performance is terrific and I hope he doesn’t mind my sharing it with you.

Electro-acoustic music: Mirabell (1991)

Roger Bourland — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:15:42 +0000

Mirabell (1991) mp3
Music: Roger Bourland
Performer: William Powell, clarinet
Yelton Rhodes Music

Download audio file (mirabell.mp3)

Portable Rhapsody No.3 “Mirabell” for clarinet and tape was written for and dedicated to William Powell. “Mirabell” is a character in James Merrill’s epic The Changing Light at Sandover. Mirabell is a young mischievous spirit that speaks to the story’s main characters through the Ouija board. He is sometimes playful and whimsical, but can turn into a oracle of mysteries when we least expect it.

This piece is the fourth of a series of “Portable” music: three Portable Rhapsodies (for alto sax, flute, and clarinet) and one Portable Concerto for Viola. The pieces are portable in that they may be played with a portable mp3 player or computer virtually anywhere. The styles borrow from not only the classical music tradition, but from jazz, new age, and popular music. It is the composer’s hope that they will not be banned to the ghettos of contemporary music concerts and will be received as “cross-over” works.

[Photo of James Morrison who played Mirabell in the film "Voices from Sandover" and adaptation of James Merrill's "Changing Light at Sandover."]

Bourland chamber music: Nostos (1982)

Roger Bourland — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:29:10 +0000

NOSTOS (1982) mp3
for flute, alto flute, soprano and alto saxophones, clarinet and bass clarinet

Music: Roger Bourland
Ensemble: Composers in Red Sneakers, Concert 7
Conductor: Theodore Antoniou
Yelton Rhodes Music

Download audio file (Nostos.mp3)

In my composer-biography phase of movie watching lately I watched biographies of Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky. Both tremendously popular composers, but both lived with nostos their entire lives. Nostos in their cases meant a deep inner yearning for their homeland, Russia. Their music likely was a tremendous outlet for this homesickness.

I remember working for Hadjidakis all alone in Athens for a month, cut off from English speaking friends and my culture, I had a tremendous sense of nostos for home, which was Boston at that time. So, in the time that I wasn’t walking around Athens or working for Manos, I composed “Nostos.”

Bourland: Discography

Roger Bourland — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:00:23 +0000

For readers who wish to find CDs with music by Roger Bourland, here is a discography.

Wind Song (2007)

Marijim Thoene (organ) and Anne Chabreck (flute)
Composition: Cantilena for flute and organ (1981)
Format: compact disc