For flute choir and Piccolo soloist

Instrumentation:
Solo Piccolo – Flute I, II, III – Alto flute – Bass flute – Contrabass flute

Commissioned by:
Ms. Muriel Southerland, Bethesda, MD

Premiere:
Woodbridge Flute Choir
Tara Nadel, piccolo soloist
Abiding Presence Lutheran Church, Burke, VA
March 20, 2011

Butterfly was inspired by a remarkable series of events that happened to family friends of mine. On the afternoon of July 10, 2007, Mr. Daniel Southerland was walking with a friend in crowded, hot downtown Washington, D.C., when a Red Admiral butterfly landed on his shoulder. It remained there for many hours, through lunch, photographs, and a taxi ride home, and seemed to make itself at home in the Southerland family’s yard. For thirty-seven consecutive days, the butterfly that Dan dubbed "Poppy" remained with the Southerlands, and came out nearly every evening to greet Dan and his family. He sometimes brought other Red Admirals along to "show off their flying abilities," and sometimes landed on Dan’s head or even the rim of his glasses. Poppy’s behavior was so unusual, and so friendly, that the entire Southerland family became very attached to him. After Poppy’s final farewell appearance on August 15, 2007, Dan wrote about his experience for the Washington Post Magazine, which published his article on August 24, 2008, and advertised the article with the title page headline, "A near-miraculous encounter with a butterfly changes a man’s life." Dan has since received poems, letters and even hand towels embroidered with Red Admiral butterflies from people inspired by his story. (Link to Washington Post article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/15/AR2008081502356.html)

While my composition Butterfly was inspired by Dan’s extraordinary story, I did not try to produce a literal programmatic version of the story in my music. Instead, I paid homage to Poppy and to the story in a few different ways. First, I wrote a virtuoso solo piccolo part to play the role of the titular butterfly; the piccolo accordingly dances, twirls and swirls in rapid passagework around the more slowly-moving remainder of the flute choir. I used common-tone modulations and rapidly-shifting key centers throughout the work to try to convey a sense of wonder, and used a variety of arpeggiation and passagework techniques to give all the members of the flute choir opportunities to dance, and to "zip and dip," in the words of Dan’s son Matthew. In my mind, the opening represents Poppy’s flight through the Washington air before landing on Dan; the lyric themes introduced in measure eighteen represent Poppy in free flight; and the busier, more dissonant section represents the traffic jam scene in downtown Washington where Dan and Poppy’s paths initially crossed. From measure 85 onwards, the listener should use his or her imagination to decide what might be happening in the story, up until the butterfly’s final display of "fighter pilot" tricks in the piccolo cadenza and his reluctant trilled goodbye at the very end.

This work is dedicated jointly to the Southerland family and to Ms. Debbie Gilbert and the Woodbridge Flute Choir of Woodbridge, VA.

Butterfly

Published by Hal Leonard in the Henry Leck Creating Artistry Series

Premiere and recording source:
The Sixth-Grade All-County Chorus of Fairfax County, VA / Dr. Lynnel Joy Jenkins, conductor / Nancy Stowe, piano / 6th-grade students, soprano recorders
Mount Vernon High School, Alexandria, VA
April 24, 2010

Text:
Robert Louis Stevenson (1885)

    Whenever the moon and stars are set,
    Whenever the wind is high,
    All night long in the dark and wet,
    A man goes riding by.
    Late in the night when the fires are out,
    Why does he gallop and gallop about?
    Whenever the trees are crying aloud,
    And ships are tossed at sea,
    By, on the highway, low and loud,
    By at the gallop goes he.
    By at the gallop he goes, and then
    By he comes back at the gallop again.

I composed this setting of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Windy Nights” because I was inspired by the evocative, suggestive, mysterious text.  My original intention was to compose a set of settings of Stevenson poems, to be performed together, but only this one came out to my liking (to date).  I used vocal ostinati – a technique with which our sixth-graders are familiar – gradual dynamic changes, and voice exchanges to highlight the spookiness of the words.

I was delighted with the premiere performance, with more than 900 of the finest sixth-grade singers in Fairfax County, VA, singing, under the direction of a wonderful conductor and with an outstandingly sensitive accompanist.  Ten students also did an excellent job learning and performing the recorder descant.  It was an honor and a privilege to be able to present my work to such a large group of developing musicians, and to have them sing it in a deeply musical way.  I am grateful to them for their hard work.

Windy Nights

Prayer for America's Military Personnel
sung by Zemer Chai, directed by Eleanor Epstein

Premiere: Zemer Chai, 2020

Also available with a COVID-adapted text, titled "A Prayer for America's Heroes": music video at https://youtu.be/izbg8mkxu0s

Text by Rabbi Gerald Skolnik, used and adapted by permission:

Ribbono Shel Olam!
Sovereign of the Universe!
We invoke your blessings upon the members of our American armed
forces, those brave men and women whose courage and commitment
to our country protects us all.
Whether by air, land or sea, wherever their orders take them, we ask,
dear God, that they be protected within your sheltering Presence.
Shield them from harm and from pain, assuage their loneliness, and
sustain their faith in the face of the formidable enemies that they
confront on a daily basis. May all of their efforts be crowned with
victory, and the assurance that we who depend on their courage
appreciate and understand the great difficulty of their work.
Most of all, we pray what for all soldiers is the ultimate prayer – that
they be privileged to return to the loving arms of their families and a
grateful country safely, speedily, and in good health. Because of their
courage, may we all be privileged to know and savor the blessings of
true peace and security.
Amein.

T'filah L'chayalei Artzot Ha-brit (Prayer for the Military)

Premiere performance and recording by Michael Sheppard, 2005.

In five short movements. 

This work, my first for solo piano in five years, comprises five movements titled “Inventions.” While on the surface my inventions bear no resemblance to traditional Baroque inventions – works in two or three voices in strict canonic counterpoint – they do resemble Baroque
inventions in that they were designed and constructed monothematically.  Each movement is built around one highly elaborated idea, whether it’s a melody, an ostinato, or even just a single chord. This helped me to keep each movement independent, focused, and unique.

The title of this work, Crossings, refers to the inverted hand-over-hand
technique the pianist must often utilize throughout the piece.

Crossings

Commissioned, premiered, and recorded by Dr. Rebecca Metheny Mason, 2020

Lepidopterae = members of the scientific order which includes moths and butterflies.

This work is intended to evoke all the myriad emotions and unique drama that someone in love might experience, where the highs are ecstatic, and the lows are, well, the opposite. To imitate the palpitations of a lovestruck heart, the rhythms of this work are exciting, unpredictable, and never remain too steady for too long, even in the Irish jig-inspired section near the end of the work. Similarly, it moves freely and continuously through a variety of key and tonal centers, with dissonance and consonance in balance, and with every resolution and moment of calm followed by a dramatic gesture.

All this said, it is my hope that the listener will simultaneously keep in their mind both the rapidly changing expressions, experiences, and feelings I’ve described, and a clear mental image of the swooping, diving, stuttering, beautiful flight of a butterfly as well. They are certainly not the most elegant or efficient fliers in the insect world, but they sure look gorgeous in their ungainliness — and, when you come down to it, isn’t that what we humans strive for every day?

I am most grateful to very grateful to Dr. Rebecca Metheny Mason, the artist for whom I composed this work and who premiered it, not only for her artistry and encouragement, but also for her inspiring work in using her music and performances to advocate for human rights causes. I also wish to express my thanks to Mr. Steve Mason for commissioning this work as a gift for Rebecca. It has been a pleasure and honor working with both of them.

Love (Flight of the Gastric Lepidopterae)

Commissioned and premiered by the Alturas Duo (Carlos Boltes on viola and South American folkloric instruments, and Scott Hill on guitar).  

Recording by Dr. Benjamin Altman (guitar) and Amy Noonan (viola), 2017

This work was commissioned by the Alturas Duo, comprising Carlos Boltes on viola and South American folkloric instruments and Scott Hill on guitar. I decided to compose them a melodic, singing work including elements of both classical and contemporary instrumental sounds, textures and performance techniques. I also named the work “From Air to Air” as a nod to the Duo and to their own name; since “Alturas Duo” is taken from the title of a poem by Pablo Neruda titled “Alturas de
Machu Picchu” (“Heights of Machu Picchu”), I named my piece “From Air to Air” after the evocative first four words of the same Neruda poem, “Del aire al aire.” “From Air to Air” also intentionally highlights the double meaning of the word “air,” meaning both the substance that we breathe that is so scarce in the Peruvian heights and a musical melody or tune as well.

I am most grateful for the Alturas Duo’s encouragement, support, and assistance in editing this piece.

From Air To Air

Composed for and premiered by Tara Francke (flute) and Yuri Liberzon (guitar), 2003.

This piece, composed for flutist Tara Francke, was written as a musical ode to the flute and the guitar, two of the most flexible and consistently beautiful instruments. Both can execute shifts of mood, dynamic level, articulation, performance technique and overall style fluently, changing instantly from dolce to violento and back, while sounding gorgeous regardless of the amount of dissonance used in the composition. These
remarkable abilities are greatly amplified when the two instruments play together, and off of each other. The goal of this piece was to allow both instruments to do what they do best, in terms of techniques, gestures and sonic idioms, while simultaneously complementing each other musically and aesthetically, thereby producing a whole that is
much more than the sum of its instrumental parts.

Serenata a due (Serenade for Two)

Composed for, and premiered and recorded by, Drs. Nancy Roldán and Noel Lester, 2002.

In two movements:
I. Fantasia
II. Fugue

This piece is based on a “Requiem” theme I found in the Liber Usualis, a wonderful treasury of the prayers, chants and lessons used by Roman Catholic monks first published in 1896. The most singular thing about the music contained in this volume is that the music, when separated from the religious texts, can still stand quite well on its own. This theme is at first presented literally in the first movement, and is then developed, harmonized, and elaborated upon throughout the course of the movement, and is combined with various counter-themes of my own composition. In the second movement, I altered the even note values of the original chant to make the theme into a fast mixed-meter fugue subject, and developed it in the traditional fugue style (with expositions, episodes and middle entries). I then composed another fugue entirely of my own creation, and made the second movement into a large double fugue by superimposing the two themes at the end of the movement. Both movements give ample opportunity for the pianists to show off both their lyric and interpretive sensibilities and the technical
“chops” required to play exciting, pyrotechnic piano music. This piece is dedicated to Drs. Nancy Roldán and Noel Lester, with great admiration and appreciation.

Fantasia and Fugue on a Gregorian Theme

Premiered by the Peabody Symphony Orchestra, 2005.

This work explores the fascinating microscopic world of the interval, rarely heard or considered on its own, as experienced through gradually shortening periods of time. It begins with a simple B octave, first in the high strings and winds and gradually descending into the lower-pitched instruments (with some commentary from the timpani). At the moment of complete saturation, fifty-seven measures into the piece, the
upper B of the octave descends a half-step and becomes Bb (or A#) and the process begins again, but lasts for only forty-nine measures until the lower B raises a half-step and becomes C and the orchestral development begins anew. In this way, the original interval of the B octave compresses, gradually but in ever-faster waves, until – after the
dust settles after the interval of a minor second – all that’s left is a solitary F, played by the solo violin just as it played the B’s to begin the piece.

Compression Waves

Text from Jewish liturgy.

Published by Transcontinental Music Press: https://www.transcontinentalmusic.com/PDI-Psalm-92-79506

Recording by the Seattle Jewish Chorale, directed by Jacob Finkle, for Transcontinental Music Press.

I composed this setting of "Tov L’Hodot" for the Guild of Temple Musicians’ 2017 Ben Steinberg Young Composer’s Award, and is intended for an advanced volunteer choral group. I aspired to incorporate as much literal “text-painting” in this setting as possible, in the interest of “illustrating” the poetry of the Psalm and highlighting the subtle mood changes in the text. To that end, the music incorporates ear-catching rhythmic motives and techniques, including echoing and call-and-response. The setting shifts from declamatory homophonic textures to multiple interweaving parts as the text suggested. Finally, the melodic and harmonic language throughout the piece was strongly influenced by traditional Jewish prayer modes; the primary, triumphant text passages are largely set in (or near) the “Adonai Malach” mode, while the more emotionally-charged passages often shifts to the Ukrainian-Dorian Hexachord or the “Magen Avot” mode.* I also tried to evoke some of the drama, glory, and pathos I find in the best works of Janowski, Lewandowski, Davidson, Steinberg, and other notable Jewish composers of the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries whose music I have had the privilege to sing over the years.

This setting was requested by Mitch Bassman, director of the Choir of Congregation Adat Reyim in Springfield, VA. I am grateful to him, and to all the members of the Adat Reyim Choir, for their years of support and encouragement.

Tov L'hodot (Psalm 92)

For bio, list of compositions, media, and more:
https://www.russellnadel.com

Russell Nadel

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