ArtsCriticATL.com: Alvin Singleton 'has adapted three of Dove’s poems into musical compositions'

[Alvin Singleton, Rita Dove]

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Conversation at Emory: Rita Dove, Alvin Singleton and Robert Spano on the pleasures of artistic collaboration

by Parul Kapur Hinzen | Mar 25, 2011

“Dove, a Pulitzer Prize winner and former U.S. poet laureate, visited Emory University earlier this week for a three-day residency encompassing several readings and musical performances of her work. She was joined in a public conversation about the relationship between literature and music by Robert Spano, conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and distinguished Atlanta composer Alvin Singleton, with whom Dove has collaborated in the past.

“Like the musician, the poet is conscious of measure as she writes, Dove explained. In 'Sonata Mulattica,' her latest collection of poems, music shines through as the center of an imaginary biography. Dove traces the unexpected life of George Bridgetower, an 18th-century mulatto violin prodigy whom Beethoven championed in Vienna until the two fell out over a woman, resulting in Bridgetower’s quick slide into obscurity.

“Singleton, who has adapted three of Dove’s poems into musical compositions, attributes the success of their collaborations to their shared temperament of restraint. His earliest venture with Dove, 'Between Sisters,' is based on her poem 'The House Slave,' about a young slave awakening in the master’s house to the horn summoning less privileged field slaves to work. While the words make clear that Dove 'dislikes that institution [slavery], she never raises her voice,' Singleton observed. 'And that guided me.' So there were no runs on the flutes in his composition, no flamboyancy in the piano playing. Instead, silence became a strong feature of the piece. An excerpt from this mournful song, marked by the trilling sound of a slave cry, was played, and Dove listened with eyes closed in contemplation, as though trying to gain its full meaning.”

“Singleton recalled the pleasure of growing up among jazz musicians in Brooklyn. Though he was made to study classical piano, he was so infatuated by the neighborhood sound, he said, that he composes to this day thinking in jazz structure.” [George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower (1780-1860) is featured at AfriClassical.com on a page researched and written by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma of Lawrence University Conservatory in Appleton, Wisconsin.]

Ursula Oppens in N.Y. Premiere of Alvin Singleton's 'BluesKonzert' at Carnegie Hall Oct. 15

[TOP: The Singing Rooms; PraiseMaker; TelArc. CENTER: Alvin Singleton. BOTTOM: Ellington & The Modern Masters; BluesKonzert; Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Järvi and Leslie B. Dunner, conductors; Ursula Oppens, piano; DSO-1003 (1999)]

EAMDLLC.com

European American Music Distributors, LLC

“Ursula Oppens Performs New York Premiere of Alvin Singleton's BluesKonzert with the American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall

As one of the many highlights of his 70th birthday year in 2010, Alvin Singleton sees his BluesKonzert debut in New York City on October 15 in Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall with the American Composers Orchestra led by George Manahan. A 17-minute concerto for piano and orchestra, BluesKonzert was composed in 1995 following the death of Singleton's long-time friend and noted jazz saxophonist and composer Julius Hemphill. Dedicated to Hemphill, BluesKonzert was commissioned by a consortium of the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Kansas City Symphony for Hemphill’s long time companion, pianist Ursula Oppens.

“Oppens recorded the work live in 1999 for the Orchard label with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Leslie B. Dunner during Singleton’s residency there. Jack Sullivan writing in American Record Guide comments on the recording: 'The most beautiful and original piece [on the disc], Alvin Singleton’s BluesKonzert floats on a mysterious impressionist cloud. A delicate piano solo played hypnotically by veteran pianist Ursula Oppens sings and trills high above dreamlike orchestral chords that gradually fade into infinity. It's a haunting and elegant piece…'

“Singleton’s work is regarded as an eloquent fusion of contrasting compositional elements, a style fully evident in BluesKonzert. The Brooklyn native seamlessly welds jazz with contemporary technique, uniquely exploring both harmony and structure within the realm of his concerto. Composer Carman Moore writes on BluesKonzert: 'Very carefully-crafted, the work presents a series of contrasting sections and mood changes, leading inexorably one into the other, each intensifying in its own way—sometimes through dogged repetition, sometimes by subtle instrumental and harmonic additions... but the listener is always kept in rapt tension, wondering “what’s coming?”'

“Singleton's 70th birthday has been celebrated all around the country this season and last with events that include: the Carnegie Hall debut of his 2008 work Brooklyn Bones for tenor, chorus and ensemble; the world premiere of Almost A Boogie by the Walden Chamber Players; and composer residencies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Columbia University for their first ever Jazz Composers Orchestra Workshop.

“This fall Alvin Singleton’s monumental work for chorus and orchestra PraiseMaker was released on a new Telarc recording by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Robert Spano: '[PraiseMaker] is homophonic but uses that simplicity as a virtue, building up a raw and concentrated spiritual intensity, with flashes of rage. Singleton’s music here makes a potent impact from a limited palette.' – Pierre Ruhe, Atlanta Journal Constitution 'The real choral winner is Alvin Singleton’s PraiseMaker, a piece of extraordinary depth and emotion. The work intends on being a universal secular celebration of accomplishments and learning. This it indeed does, and I found it enthralling from first to last…' – Steven Ritter, audiophileaudition.com

For more information on the New York premiere of BluesKonzert, visit http://www.americancomposers.org. Learn more on Alvin Singleton at
http://www.schott-music.com and http://www.alvinsingleton.com.

Purchase the Telarc CD here.

Carnegie Hall Premiere of Alvin Singleton's 'Brooklyn Bones' April 26

[Alvin Singleton]

New York City Department of Parks & Recreation
Prison Ship Martyrs Monument
Fort Greene Park
“The monument marks the site of a crypt for more than 11,500 men and women, known as the prison ship martyrs, who were buried in a tomb near the Brooklyn Navy Yard.”

MacDowellColony.org
Peterborough, New Hampshire
American Opera Projects and The MacDowell Colony invite you to help celebrate MacDowell Colony Fellow Alvin Singleton's 70th birthday with a special event:
THE MUSIC OF GEORGIA SHREVE and ALVIN SINGLETON
Monday, April 26, 2010
Performance: 7:30 p.m.
Reception: 9:30 p.m.
Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall
881 Seventh Avenue
New York, New York
This program will feature the World Premiere of Georgia Shreve's Triptych -Trio - Oratorio: Portraits of the 20th Century and the Carnegie Hall premiere of Alvin Singleton's Brooklyn Bones: Requiem for the Revolutionary War Prison Ship Martyrs.

Come for the music, stay to meet the composers.
The purchase of a ticket and reception package includes a full, premium open bar and a gathering with Georgia Shreve and Alvin Singleton directly following the performance. Ticket Information at http://www.carnegiehall.org

Chamber Players of Los Angeles Perform Alvin Singleton's 'Intezar'

[Alvin Singleton]

AfriClassical has received this news from John Malveaux of Long Beach, California:

“John Malveaux attended the Chamber Players of Los Angeles concert Saturday, November 14, 2009 at The Lutheran Church of the Master in Los Angeles. The concert opened with Alvin Singleton's 'INTEZAR' (viola, cello, double bass). Long sustained notes and the expectation of movement defines the composition. 'Intezar' is Arabic for 'expectation.'”

The works list at http://www.alvinsingleton.com/ says “INTEZAR” is a 1994 work which is 19 minutes long, was commissioned by Goethe-Institut Atlanta and was premiered by “Trio Basso” of Cologne, Germany.

Comment by email
Dear Bill, Thanks for forwarding this to me. I am always happy to hear about performances of my music. INTEZAR means "waiting" in the Urdu language of India and Pakistan. I did not know that the word existed in Arabic too. All best wishes, Alvin Singleton

Sequenza21.com: “Alvin Singleton’s 'After Choice' was simpler in design, but eloquently so”

[Sing to the Sun: Chamber Music by Alvin Singleton, Troy 902 (2007)]

AfriClassical has published two posts on the premiere of Alvin Singleton's After Choice by the new Orchestra of the League of Composers: “Orchestra of the League of Composers Debuts With 'adventurous music, Alvin Singleton Says” and “New York Times: 'After Choice' by Alvin Singleton 'was an engaging work for string orchestra'”. Today we present an excerpt from a review by Dr. Christian Carey at Sequenza21.com:

Sequenza21.com
League of Composers/ISCM: Concert Review
June 14, 2009
Dr. Christian Carey
"Alvin Singleton’s After Choice was simpler in design, but eloquently so. A string orchestra piece, it consisted of intertwining arco melodies and pizzicati, often in two-part counterpoint or – even starker – played in unisons or octaves. Written in homage to jazz violinist Leroy Jenkins, it didn’t feature anything so overt as jazz inflections. Rather, Singleton based the piece on string parts from a previous orchestral work that Jenkins had admired.”

New York Times: 'After Choice' by Alvin Singleton 'was an engaging work for string orchestra'

[Sing to the Sun: Chamber Music by Alvin Singleton, Troy 902 (2007)]

The New York Times
June 12, 2009
Music Review Orchestra of the League of Composers
The Debut of the Players Who Honor the Writers
By ANTHONY TOMMASINI
“The debut of an orchestra during bad economic times is good news. So there was much to celebrate at the Miller Theater on Wednesday night when the Orchestra of the League of Composers gave its inaugural performance. The League has been promoting contemporary music for 85 years and has long sponsored a sizable chamber ensemble. With this concert, it introduced a 37-piece orchestra and got back into the business of commissioning works.”

“The orchestra, conducted expertly by the composer Louis Karchin, sounded terrific in this varied and demanding program. It began festively with Britten’s 'Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury,' a short work for three trumpets and a lesson for young composers in how to write an interesting piece for a public occasion. Mr. Dietz’s 10-minute 'Gharra' was an elemental, atmospheric score in which slinky themes and combative voices struggle to break free of an engulfing, dense, harmonically murky orchestral maze.

“Alvin Singleton’s 'After Choice,' one of two commissioned premieres on the program, was an engaging work for string orchestra in which mysterious yet playful plucked lines are juxtaposed with fitful, spiraling yet oddly calm legato lines. Julia Wolfe’s 'Vermeer Room' is inspired by Vermeer’s painting 'A Girl Asleep,' which depicts a young woman sitting at a table, dozing, her head propped up by her hand. But from Ms. Wolfe’s agitated, harmonically gnashing, brightly colorful score, the sleeping girl is having fitful daydreams. The concert ended with the premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s 20-minute 'Synaxis,' a boldly complex and texturally transparent work for four solo instruments and orchestra. In its uncompromising way, the music recalls the concertato pieces of Stravinsky. The soloists played brilliantly: Robert Ingliss (oboe), Alan R. Kay (clarinet), Patrick Pridemore (horn), and Timothy Cobb (double bass). That the orchestra dispatched Mr. Wuorinen’s challenging piece with such vibrant authority boded well for the future of this new ensemble.” [Full Post]

Orchestra of the League of Composers Debuts With 'adventurous music', Alvin Singleton Says

[Alvin Singleton (b. 1940)]

The day after the brand new Orchestra of the League of Composers premiered Alvin Singleton's After Choice, the composer took time out for an interview with AfriClassical before returning to Yaddo, the artist colony in Saratoga Springs, New York. This post covers the first part of the interview. The Brooklyn native said “I live in Atlanta and I am currently also a resident at Yaddo. I just came down this week for my premiere. I was supposed to be at Yaddo for the whole month.” We asked about the concert. The composer replied: “It was very successful," then added "We had a sell-out crowd and a program of really adventurous music.” “My piece was the only piece that was commissioned, but it wasn't the only premiere. There was a Charles Wuorinen premiere.” Critics were in attendance. The composer said he was expecting very favorable reviews.

We asked the origin of After Choice, his commissioned work. “After Choice, I wrote a piece for the American Composers Orchestra in 2004 for their Improvisation Festival.” “The orchestra piece was called When Given A Choice.” Part of the composition was “kind of a riff”, he said, “And so because I quoted something from that I named the new piece After Choice, and it's for string orchestra.”

Singleton dedicated the piece to a late friend of many years, “Leroy Jenkins, the composer, violinist and master improviser.” “He was such a decent person too, and we were very close.” Leroy Jenkins (1932-2007) dated and then married Linda Harris, a friend of Singleton, “...and by then, Leroy and I had developed a relationship, you know, he looked at my music and I looked at his music. We looked at scores together and we listened to recordings, went to concerts." The interview also touched on Alvin Singleton's trip to Albania in the Fall of 2008; Through It All, his recent commission from the Imani Winds; and his various composer residencies

Orchestra of the League of Composers Premieres Alvin Singleton's 'After Choice' 8 PM June 10

[Alvin Singleton (b. 1940)]

European American Music Distributors

EAMDLLC.com
June 2009
“The Orchestra of the League of Composers/ISCM Performs World Premiere of Alvin Singleton's After Choice in Inaugural Concert
The newly-formed Orchestra of the League of Composers, led by conductor Louis Karchin, celebrates its inaugural concert on June 10, 2009, with the world premiere of Alvin Singleton's After Choice. This event, hosted by WNYC Radio host John Schaefer, also features works by Elliott Carter, Christopher Dietz, Julia Wolfe, and Charles Wuorinen. Singleton's piece represents the first work the 85 year-old organization has commissioned in several decades.

“Composer Carman Moore writes of After Choice: 'Commissioned by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at Brigham Young University for the Orchestra of the League of Composers, Alvin Singleton's 8-minute After Choice is a true gem-one of his most resourceful pieces. This extremely listenable work for string orchestra utilizes licks from the late violin master Leroy Jenkins in a manner at once austere and opulent. This work, in memory of Mr. Jenkins, juggles and juxtaposes a recurring pizzicato phrase against arco lines as it relentlessly grows. The elements of sudden silences and suspense are, of course, major players, but simply flat-out writing renders this work a true keeper.'

“Louis Karchin leads the Orchestra of the League of Composers in the world premiere of After Choice at Columbia University's Miller Theatre on Wednesday, June 10. Visit http://www.schott-music.com and http://www.alvinsingleton.com for more information on the music of Alvin Singleton. Go to http://www.leagueofcomposers.org to learn more on the Orchestra of the League of Composers debut performance.” The website of the League of Composers says: “As the longest-serving American organization devoted to new music, the League is proud serve its mission to present new music written by emerging and established living composers alongside masterpieces from the 20th and 21st centuries.”

'Ellington & The Modern Masters' (1999) Still Available from Detroit Symphony Orchestra

[Ellington & The Modern Masters; Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Järvi and Leslie B. Dunner, conductors; Ursula Oppens, piano; DSO-1003 (1999)]

Ellington & The Modern Masters was issued in 1999, “Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the DSO UNISYS African-American Composers Residency”. We contacted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and asked if the CD was still available. The Retail Sales Manager, Paul Yee, replied in an email: “The CD retails for $12.99 and we have plenty on hand. If you like, I can take your order over the phone and mail a copy to you. We accept all major credit cards for payment.” Mr. Yee's email address is pyee@dso.org and his phone number is 313-576-5115.

Olly Wilson (b. 1937) was Unisys Composer-in-Residence for 1997-98. His work on the CD is Shango Memory (8:33). Michael Fleming says in the liner notes, “The composer provided the following note for the world premiere of Shango Memory, performed on February 5, 1995, by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Neeme Järvi: 'Shango Memory is inspired by the Yoruban deity Shango, the god of thunder and lightning...'” Anthony Davis (b. 1951) was Unisys Composer-in-Residence for 1995-96 and composed Notes From the Underground (9:11). He says in the liner notes that the work was commissioned by the American Composer's Orchestra and Francis Goelet, and was composed in 1988. Davis elaborates: “The work premiered in April of that year at Carnegie Hall, and is dedicated to Ralph Ellison (1913-94), the author of the landmark novel Invisible Man.”

Jonathan Holland (b. 1974) was Unisys Protégé Composer for 1995-96. Michael Fleming writes that Fanfares & Flourishes on An Ostinato (3:44) was commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Neeme Järvi in cooperation with the 1995 Unisys African-American Composers Residency. He adds that Martha's Waltz (5:20) was inspired by the two couples dancing at the start of Act II of the play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, by Edward Albee.

Alvin Singleton (b. 1940), Unisys Composer-in-Residence for 1996-97, wrote BluesKonzert (14:37). In the liner notes, Michael Fleming says: “Alvin Singleton's BluesKonzert was a triple commission by the Detroit, Houston and Kansas City symphony orchestras, made possible by a grant from the Meet the Composer/Reader's Digest Commissioning Program, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund.” The piano soloist is Ursula Oppens, while the conductor is Leslie B. Dunner, of whom the liner notes say: “Between 1988 and 1998, Dr. Leslie B. Dunner held the posts of assistant, associate and resident conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.” Michael Fleming and Tiffany Dziurman Stozicki provide an overview of the many compositions of Duke Ellington (1899-1974), whose work on the recording is Three Black Kings (17:55). Its movements are: I. King of Magi, II. King Solomon, and III. Martin Luther King.

Revised Program of Ritz Chamber Players at Juilliard Friday, Feb. 13

On January 26, 2009 AfriClassical posted “At Juilliard, Ritz Chamber Players Play Alvin Singleton, Jonathan Bailey Holland & George Walker”. Today we present a poster for the revised program, which includes Alvin Singleton and George Walker.

The Juilliard School presents:

Ritz Chamber Players

Kelly Hall-Tompkins, Violin

Amadi Hummings, Viola

Kenneth Law, Cello

Terrence Wilson, Piano

Terrance Patterson, Clarinet

Friday, February 13 at 6 PM
Morse Hall, 155 West 65^th Street

"The nation's first chamber music ensemble series comprised solely of accomplished musicians spanning the African diaspora, brings a fresh, new energy to the classical music genre.

ALVIN SINGLETON Helga

PAQUITO D'RIVERA Habanera

BEETHOVEN String Trio in C Minor, Op. 9, No. 3

GEORGE WALKER Sonata for Cello

FREE, no tickets required"  [George Walker is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

EAMD: 'Alvin Singleton Receives Commissions from Barlow and Fromm Foundations'

February 2009

European American Music Distributors
We are pleased to announce that Alvin Singleton has been selected as a recipient of the next round of commissions from the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at Brigham Young University and the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University. As recipient of the Barlow commission, Singleton receives a grant to compose a new work for the Orchestra of the League of Composers, to be premiered during the 2009/10 season. As a result of the Fromm commission, Mr. Singleton will write a new work for chamber ensemble. Fellow Schott Music composer Chaya Czernowin is also one of the recipients of this year's Fromm commissioning round.

On February 13, the Ritz Chamber Players perform Singleton's work Helga for violin, viola and cello at The Juilliard School. Singleton's work Eine Idee ist ein Stueck Stoff also sees performances this month in Finland by conductor Harvey Felder and the Finnish ensemble Mikkeli City Orchestra. Next month Singleton's work PraiseMaker for chorus and orchestra sees a run of performances at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra beginning March 5 under the baton of ASO music director Robert Spano.

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To learn more on the music of Alvin Singleton, visit http://www.alvinsingleton.com and 

http://www.schott-music.com.

“You have to put down what you feel...” says Composer Alvin Singleton

[Sing to the Sun: Chamber Music by Alvin Singleton, Troy 902 (2007)]


On March 1, 2008 NewMusicBox.org, The Web Magazine from the American Music Center, published a cover story “Alvin Singleton: Intuitions and Reminders”, “In conversation with Frank J. Oteri January 18, 2008 – 1:00 p.m." A brief videotaped segment includes musical fragments and is followed by a written interview in which Alvin Singleton says, for example:

“I can't speak for all of the music that I write, but I write music commissioned for that setting. When I sit down to write a piece, I think of the instrument that I'm writing for at the moment. I don't plan; I create spontaneously. In fact, I rarely do sketches. I sit down and I have material: it could be notes, it could be shapes. Then I improvise at the piano and everything grows from that. If it communicates, I'm happy. If it doesn't, I'm not unhappy because I've just followed my own instincts. I don't think you can create with somebody else in mind. You have to put down what you feel, what motivates you at the moment.”