Lighter Classics Program Notes: Time for Three - May 21, 2009

Lighter Classics Program Notes: Time for Three - May 21, 2009

ESO Robbins Lighter Classics
Enmax Hall, Winspear Centre

Time for Three
Thursday, May 21, 2009 - 8 pm

Program

KULESHA
Celebration Overture

RANAAN MEYER
Shenandoah / Foxdown

LENNON / McCARTNEY
Blackbird

JS BACH
Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV1043

ANDERSON
Fiddle Faddle

INTERMISSION

FOSTER
Beautiful Dreamer

COPLAND
Hoedown (from Rodeo)

MEYER
Of Time and Three Rivers

BRAHMS
Hungarian Dance No. 5

RANAAN MEYER
The American Suite
  I-Gigue
  II-MoHawk
  III-Hymn
  IV-Orange Blossom Special

Notes on original compositions / arrangements

Shenandoah/Fox Down:

Shenandoah is a traditional folk song.  Time for Three has embraced this boatman’s song and turned it into an epic journey from start to finish.  This piece highlights the huge sound and range that tf3 is capable of.  Fox Down is an original composition by Meyer.  This piece is explained by Time for Three as the bagpipes of Scotland meeting the American cowboys.

The American Suite:

The gigue or giga is a lively baroque dance, usually in a compound metre such as 6/8, 6/4, 9/8 or 12/16. In the first movement of The American Suite, Gigue, it is normal for the listener to feel a unique type of a dance in motion throughout the movement.  But notice as the piece continues how the dance or themes evolve ever so slightly (just like the history of the gigue has as well.)  This is significant and symbolic to the ever-changing music that makes up the heritage of the United States today.

A hoedown is a type of American folk dance or square dance in duple metre, and also the musical form associated with it. In the 19th century, the hoedown was mainly associated with black people, and was a dance in quick movement most likely related to the jig, reel, or clog dance; however by the early 20th century, the term was mainly associated with white Americans, particularly in rural or western parts of the country.

MoHawk, simply put, is a hoedown.  It is another dance, a perpetual dance that drives to the finale of the piece.  Think of how much influence the hoedown has had on American culture.  I find that I am consistently blown away by the vast influence music has had on the evolution of mankind.  But it seems perfect that this happens because it is just abstract enough to allow the listener to make up their own mind about things and their own decisions.  So take these program notes for what they’re worth but please please please, look for what you want to look/listen/feel for because there is a chance by doing this you just may change the world for the better.

The Hymn is a spiritual. Spirituals were often expressions of religious faith, although they may also have served as socio-political protests veiled as assimilation to white, American culture. They were originated by enslaved African-Americans in the United States. During slavery in the United States, there were systematic efforts to de-Africanize the captive Black workforce. Enslaved people were forbidden from speaking their native languages. Because they were unable to express themselves freely in ways that were spiritually meaningful to them, enslaved Africans often held secret religious services. During these “bush meetings,” worshippers were free to engage in African religious rituals such as spiritual possession, speaking in tongues, and shuffling in counterclockwise ring shouts to communal shouts and chants. It was there also that enslaved Africans further crafted the impromptu musical expression of field songs into the so-called "line signing" and intricate, multi-part harmonies of struggle and overcoming, faith, forbearance and hope that have come to be known as "Negro Spirituals."

The Orange Blossom Special was the first streamline train to be seen in Florida in 1939. While the awesome marvel was parked at Union Station, two young men took the promotional tour through the entire train. Both of these gents were well-polished fiddlers. They went straight home, and within about 30 to 40 minutes, they wrote a new song. They called it Orange Blossom Special. Their fiddle music was geared to the sounds and rhythm of the train. Their names were Ervin Rouse and Chubby Wise. The Rouse Brothers published the song that same year, and it was recorded by RCA Records.

In 1941, Bill Monroe intertwined the bluegrass sound into Orange Blossom Special. He had a major hit. In 1965, the “Man in Black” stepped up to the mic and added his “chick-a-boom, chick-a-boom” sound. Johnny Cash also earned a number one hit from Orange Blossom Special.

Notes kindly supplied by Time for Three

Program notes © 2009 by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and its respective annotators. All Rights Reserved. Program notes may not be printed in their entirety without the written consent of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra; excerpts may be quoted if due acknowledgment is given to the author and to the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. For reprint permission, contact D.T. Baker, Music Resource, by email, dave.baker@winspearcentre.com.
 
These notes appear in galley files prepared for Signature magazine, official publication of the ESO, and may contain typographical or other errors, or may differ from the final print version. Programs and artists subject to change without notice.