Transcript Presentation – alice

David Del Tredici
Final Alice
“Acrostic Song”
About Del Tredici
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Prominent neo-romantic composer
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“recognized as the father of the neo-romantic
movement”
Has composed in many genres, including:
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Orchestral works, chamber works, piano works,
melodrama/theater
What others say about Del
Tredici
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Copland:
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[Del Tredici] is that rare find among composers — a creator with
a truly original gift. I venture to say that his music is certain to
make a lasting impression on the American musical scene. I
know of no other composer of his generation who composes
music of greater freshness and daring, or with more personality.
New York Times (of a performance of ‘Child
Alice’)
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“To ask Mr. Del Tredici to moderate his excesses would be to
request a falsification of his basic purpose. Excess is the point.
The musical substance matches: it is Mahlerian excess squared.”
Some neat people.
The “Alice Works”
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1968: Pop-Pourri
1969: An Alice Symphony
1969: Illustrated Alice
1969: In Wonderland
1972: Vintage Alice
1975: Final Alice
1980: Child Alice
1984: Virtuoso Alice
1994: Heavy Metal Alice
Why Alice in Wonderland?
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“Del Tredici has already shown his fondness
for surprising juxtapositions of seemingly
unrelated material in Pop-Pourri; with
Gardner's book, he had a wealth of highly
contrasting material, all of which related
directly to the Wonderland world.”
-from daviddeltredici.com
(maintained by Boosey & Hawkes)
Performances of Acrostic
Song (from “Final Alice”)
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Harry Christophers and the
Sixteen (vocal recording)
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No version that matches the score
is readily available (there is an
instrumental version on Del
Tredici’s website scored for wind
ensemble.
Interesting Features
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Acrostic – “Whisper Chorus” spells Alice’s full
name, matching the first letter of each line of
text.
Scoring oddities – Piano and tubular bell do
not follow the tonality of the rest of the piece.
Piano/Bell ‘chimes’ get longer, then shorter to
match the climax of the piece
Gradual drift from tonality into increased
dissonance – following text.
Score example – acrostic (whisper chorus, soprano, piano, tubular bells)
Text of “Acrostic Song” from
Final Alice
A boat ‘neath a sunny sky
Ling’ring onward dreamily
In an evening of July
Children three that nestle near
Eager eye and willing ear
Pleased a simple tale to hear
Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and mem’ries die:
Autumn frosts have slain July,
Still she aunts me, phantom-wise
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.
Children yet the tale to hear
Eager eye and willing ear
Lovingly shall nestle near.
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream
Ling’ring in the golden gleamLife what is it but a dream?
Issues using just MIDI
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Whisper chorus/vocal line are unreproducible
Many special effects in score (harmonics, use
of mutes, etc.)
Incredibly detailed phrase shaping in the
score
Irregular score printing in original text
Excerpt from available score.
(note performance directions,
irregular time signature
placement. Also of note – the
entire score is in concert
pitch…)
Solutions
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Cubase – adding whispered/sung parts is far
more simple in Cubase than in Finale (using
the Place Audio tool)
Exporting MIDI data from Finale would give a
passable framework when working in
Cubase.