from my first graduate recital at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts
accompanied by Nancy Johnston

Hummel Bassoon Concerto In F - Romanza (Andantino E Cantabile)

Hummel Bassoon Concerto In F - Rondo (vivace)

from my first graduate recital at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Kenneth Northcutt, clarinet

Tres Paysadas Para Clarinet Y Fagot - I. Payaso Gracioso (Andante Moderato)

vocals by Clara Sherley-Appel
bassoon and sax by Post-Haste Reed Duo
http://www.posthasteduo.com/
arranged and mixed by Lanier Sammons
http://www.laniersammons.com/

photo by Laney Sammons

created at the request of Jack Sammons as a reward for Post-Haste Reed Duo's Kickstarter project

poem by Christina Rossetti
setting by Gustav Holst

In the Bleak Midwinter

Dan Lipori, bassoon.

Bachalicious for solo bassoon is an adaptation of the Fugue in D Major, BWV 850, from J. S. Bach’s "Das wohltemperierte Klavier," Book I. My inspiration to create this came from hearing Luis de Pablo’s Solo-Kunst, which is a virtuoso adaptation for solo clarinet of two of the four-voice fugues from Bach’s Die Kunst de Fuge (“The Art of Fugue,”) BWV 1080. However, the technique I used to transform the original four-voice fugue into a piece for a solo single-line instrument is different from what was done by Luis de Pablo. 
The idea of transforming someone else’s music into a new version for a different instrument was common in Bach’s day; famous examples include Bach’s own transcriptions of concerti by Antonio Vivaldi for solo organ and solo harpsichord.

Daniel Lipori, bassoonist and professor of bassoon and music history at Central Washington University, is a good friend and has been a strong supporter of my music for bassoon. This adaptation is dedicated to him.

Bachalicious for solo bassoon (2015)

Premiere performance by Daniel Lipori, April 6, 2017, at Central Washington University.

Composed as the prize composition for Dan Lipori, the bassoonist who gave the first performance of my extraordinarily difficult Bachalicious for solo bassoon, Harkening was conceived with the restriction that all of its melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, and formal language would be only that which would plausibly be in use by a leading composer of the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries, i.e. a late-Romantic tonal vocabularly. The reason for this is largely the result of my having taught chromatic tonal harmony in core music theory classes and graduate seminars for many years—something from this was bound to come out in a composition of mine sooner or later—as well as my lifelong adoration of the music by composers such as Gustav Mahler, Anton Bruckner, and  Richard Strauss. Harkening was not an attempt to write a pastiche of the music of such composers,  but rather to explore what a composition of my own might be like were I a composer from that time period. It's a bit like putting on a costume. 

The opening phrase was composed for a handout I made on the subject of ornamentation for my students, as an example exploring a late-Romantic melodic turn.

Harkening For Solo Bassoon (2016) performed by Dan Lipori

Program Note:

     At its very core, Life for Life is a musical depiction of the salvation offered by Jesus Christ.  On the one hand, the title implies a law: one life given in exchange for the redemption of another life which is lost—Christ’s life willingly given for the believer’s.  On the other hand, it refers to Jesus’ life being the source of life for the believer.  A concise musical narrative of the work is as follows: There is a law by a holy God (represented by persistent, static, recurring chords) that cannot be escaped or fulfilled.  All human efforts fail, and brokenness, despair, and lament follow.  However, in the seeming darkness, God’s grace in Jesus Christ works behind the scenes.  When the music picks up tempo, there are two layers of analogy present: that of Christ’s human struggle in a broken and sinful world, and the struggle of the believer to come to, and live by, faith (with embedded elements of hope).  As the musical tension builds, the original “law chords” return and grow in intensity.  The building tension, resulting in an abrupt halt, represents Jesus taking on himself the law’s full requirements and penalty (on behalf of the believer) when he died on the cross (and on the other analogous level, the believer coming to the end of themselves in a metaphorical death).  What follows is an increasing hope and joy in the resurrection and gospel of Jesus Christ, leading to an eternity with Him.


Background:

     Life for Life is the culmination and capstone of my year-long experience  as the first recipient of the Zwilich Graduate Assistantship in Music Composition.  Through this assistantship, I was able to immerse myself in the orchestral idiom during the 2015-2016 academic year by attending the weekly rehearsals of both the University Philharmonia Orchestra’s and the University Symphony Orchestra.  My orchestral education was also greatly helped by Dr. Jimenez, graduate conductors, James Chang and Rachel Friedman, and the orchestral staff and players.  This close and frequent contact with the orchestra and personnel provided me with a wealth of knowledge and tools, and ultimately, the springboard from which to write this piece.  It was a phenomenal and unparalleled experience that I absolutely cherish, and for which I am extremely grateful.

Life For Life (orchestra)

Alex Shapiro - Desert Notes (2001) for oboe, bassoon and piano

Performed LIVE at Palacio de Congresos, Granada, Spain at the 2019 International Double Reed Society conference.

Dr. Casey Knowlton, oboe
Dr. Jacob Goforth, bassoon
Dr. Galen Dean Peiskee, Jr., piano

Alex Shapiro - Desert Notes (2001)

All recordings posted to this SoundCloud account are LIVE unless noted otherwise.

BM Central Washington University
MM University of North Carolina Greensboro
DM Florida State University