Though written for the Great Highland Bagpipe, Krekhts is not a commentary on Scottish traditional music or Scottish piping. The piece is most immediately influenced by the wordless melodies of the Hasidim known as niggunim. These melodies are a very spiritual form of music, vocalized on nonsense syllables such as “buh- buh- bai” or “ai- ai- ai.” Sung with tremendous passion and devotion, niggunim are an essential component of the communal Hasidic celebration known as a tish, or “table.” According to tradition, niggunim are sung a cappella and accompanied solely by rhythmic table banging. When a niggun is sung, it is believed that the soul of the rabbi who created it appears in the room.
 
While all of the musical material in this piece is original, it is deeply influenced by the tradition and practice of niggunim as well as the traditions of the klezmorim. It follows that the bagpipe should be thought of as a voice in this piece, rather than an instrument.
 
Krekhts is Yiddish for “sob” or “weep.” It is also the name for the distinctive klezmer ornament that mimics a sudden choke in a vocal line, imitating a sobbing sound.

Performed by the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra in Hill Auditorium on February 9, 2014.

Krekhts, for Great Highland Bagpipe and Orchestra (2014)

St John The Baptist commissioned by All Saints Church.
Performed by All Saints Church choir.
Dec. 3, 2023
Text: Anne Killigrew

St John The Baptist (2023)

The Jazz musician, John Coltrane, discusses his art, the meaning of music in human experience, and his particular spiritual approach. This rare interview was done in November, 1966,  less than a year before his death. Get your copy of the "The Coltrane Legacy" two-disc set for $28.50 from Pacifica Radio Archives, 1-800-735-0230 -It  includes the complete 1966 John Coltrane interview and a 2005 interview with John's wife, Alice Coltrane. OR order ONLINE AT http://pacificaradioarchives.org/recording/pz065901-02 

BC1266 An Interview With John Coltrane By Frank Kofsky

Harry Stafylakis (b. 1982)
www.hstafylakis.com

Never the Same River (2016) 
for orchestra

Commissioned by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

Read by the Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra, Felix Mildenberger conducting. Recorded live by Adam Borecki on July 20, 2016 in Harris Hall, Aspen, CO.

World premiere by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alexander Mickelthwate, at the Winnipeg New Music Festival on January 31, 2017 in Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

Score and parts available for rental (PDF or hard copy) through my website: www.hstafylakis.com/contact



Program Notes:

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”
—Heraclitus

The above aphorism, attributed to pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus (quoted by Plato in the dialogue Cratylus), expresses a view of the universe as being in a constant state of change. A musical analogue to this concept of impermanence is the chaconne, a Baroque form wherein a constantly repeating pattern (e.g. harmonic progression, bass line, etc.) provides a foundation for a process of continuous variation, decoration, figuration, and melodic invention. 

Never the Same River is a texture-based composition that attempts to embody Heraclitus’s philosophy of simultaneous constancy and flux. The work is propelled by a 26-note melody that outlines a perpetually-repeating harmonic progression, serving as the chaconne theme. First presented by the harp and percussion, the theme serves as a vehicle for the gradual textural development of the musical surface. The orchestra slowly emerges as captured harmonic resonances of the harp and percussion theme accumulate and gradually take over the texture. 

Throughout the work, the instruments of the orchestra act as semi-independent musical streams whose ever-shifting interactions conspire to effectuate a large-scale rhythmic, melodic, articulative, registral, and dynamic intensification. At the peak of this textural crescendo, the music buckles under its own weight and breaks off into disconnected fragments that struggle to rekindle the musical flow in fits and starts. Although the chaconne theme has been looping almost continuously, as the music winds down to its calm conclusion there is a sense of having traversed a great distance.
— HS

www.hstafylakis.com

Never the Same River (orchestra)

Never the Same River (2016) for orchestra

A Kind of Lung was written for a diverse ensemble expressing an experience we all share - breathing together. Commissioned by the Bang on a Can Summer Festival, where I was a fellow in 2017. 

Naomi Johnson- flute
Erlan Kasabolotov- Sabyzgy
Hunter Shelby Long- Paetzold Contrabass Recorder
Khushbakht Niyozov- Rubab
Sayat Yeshmatov- Dombra
Shannon Reilly Steigerwald- Violin
Nick Photinos- Cello
Nadezda Filippova- Piano
Caitlin Cawley- Percussion / Vibraphone
Kevin Zetina- Percussion / Drum Set

This live performance was from the premiere concert held at Mass MoCa.

St John The Baptist (2023)

Mark Holmes A' Court

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