Sheltering Sky John Mackey

[EN]

Commissioned by Traughber Junior High School Band (Rachel Maxwell, director), and Thompson Junior High School Band (Daniel Harrison, director).

World premiere April 21, 2012.

The wind band medium has, in the twenty-first century, a host of disparate styles that dominate its texture. At the core of its contemporary development exist a group of composers who dazzle with scintillating and frightening virtuosity. As such, at first listening one might experience John Mackey's Sheltering Sky as a striking departure. Its serene and simple presentation is a throwback of sorts – a nostalgic portrait of time suspended.

The work itself has a folksong-like quality – intended by the composer – and through this an immediate sense of familiarity emerges. Certainly the repertoire has a long and proud tradition of weaving folk songs into its identity, from the days of Holst and Vaughan Williams to modern treatments by such figures as Donald Grantham and Frank Ticheli. Whereas these composers incorporated extant melodies into their works, however, Mackey takes a play from Percy Grainger. Grainger's Colonial Song seemingly sets a beautiful folksong melody in an enchanting way (so enchanting, in fact, that he reworked the tune into two other pieces: Australian Up-Country Tune and The Gum-Suckers March). In reality, however, Grainger's melody was entirely original – his own concoction to express how he felt about his native Australia. Likewise, although the melodies of Sheltering Sky have a recognizable quality (hints of the contours and colors of Danny Boy and Shenandoah are perceptible), the tunes themselves are original to the work, imparting a sense of hazy distance as though they were from a half-remembered dream.

The work unfolds in a sweeping arch structure, with cascading phrases that elide effortlessly. The introduction presents softly articulated harmonies stacking through a surrounding placidity. From there emerge statements of each of the two folksong-like melodies – the call as a sighing descent in solo oboe, and its answer as a hopeful rising line in trumpet. Though the composer's trademark virtuosity is absent, his harmonic language remains. Mackey avoids traditional triadic sonorities almost exclusively, instead choosing more indistinct chords with diatonic extensions (particularly seventh and ninth chords) that facilitate the hazy sonic world that the piece inhabits. Near cadences, chromatic dissonances fill the narrow spaces in these harmonies, creating an even greater pull toward wistful nostalgia. Each new phrase begins over the resolution of the previous one, creating a sense of motion that never completely stops. The melodies themselves unfold and eventually dissipate until at last the serene introductory material returns – the opening chords finally coming to rest.

Program note by Jake Wallace
Please credit Jake Wallace when reproducing or excerpting this program note

[DE] Das Medium der Blasmusik hat im einundzwanzigsten Jahrhundert eine Vielzahl unterschiedlicher Stile, die seine Struktur dominieren. Im Zentrum seiner zeitgenössischen Entwicklung steht eine Gruppe von Komponisten, die mit schillernder und erschreckender Virtuosität brillieren. Daher könnte man John Mackey's Sheltering Sky auf den ersten Blick als markante Abkehr erleben. Seine heitere und schlichte Darstellung ist ein Rückblick auf ein nostalgisches Porträt der Zeit.

Das Werk selbst hat eine vom Komponisten beabsichtigte volksliedhafte Qualität, durch die ein unmittelbarer Vertrautheitsgrad entsteht. Sicher hat das Repertoire eine lange und stolze Tradition, Volkslieder in seiner Identität zu verweben, von den Tagen von Holst und Vaughan Williams bis zu modernen Behandlungen von Persönlichkeiten wie Donald Grantham und Frank Ticheli. Während diese Komponisten noch vorhandene Melodien in ihre Werke integrierten, nimmt Mackey ein Stück von Percy Grainger. Graingers Koloniallied setzt scheinbar eine wunderschöne Volksliedmelodie auf bezaubernde Weise (so bezaubernd, dass er die Melodie in zwei weitere Stücke umarbeitete: Australian Up-Country Tune und The Gum-Suckers March). In Wirklichkeit aber war Graingers Melodie ganz originell sein eigenes Gebräu, um auszudrücken, wie er über seine Heimat Australien empfand. Auch wenn die Melodien von Sheltering Sky eine erkennbare Qualität haben (Andeutungen der Konturen und Farben von Danny Boy und Shenandoah sind wahrnehmbar), sind die Melodien selbst originell zum Werk und vermitteln ein Gefühl dunstiger Distanz, als wären sie aus einer Hälfte - erinnerter Traum.

Das Werk entfaltet sich in einer geschwungenen Bogenstruktur mit kaskadenartigen Phrasen, die sich mühelos ausbreiten. Die Einleitung stellt weich artikulierte Harmonien dar, die sich durch eine umgebende Ruhe stapeln. Von dort entstehen Aussagen jeder der beiden volksliedhaften Melodien zum Ruf als seufzender Abstieg in Solo-Oboe und ihre Antwort als hoffnungsvoll ansteigende Linie in Trompete. Obwohl die markante Virtuosität des Komponisten fehlt, bleibt seine harmonische Sprache erhalten. Mackey vermeidet traditionelle triadische Klangfülle fast ausschließlich und wählt stattdessen undeutlichere Akkorde mit diatonischen Erweiterungen (besonders siebte und neunte Akkorde), die die dunstige Schallwelt erleichtern, die das Stück bewohnt. In der Nähe von Kadenzen füllen chromatische Dissonanzen die engen Räume in diesen Harmonien und erzeugen eine noch größere Anziehungskraft für die wehmütige Nostalgie. Jede neue Phrase beginnt mit der Auflösung der vorherigen Phrase und erzeugt ein Gefühl von Bewegung, das nie ganz aufhört. Die Melodien selbst entfalten sich und verflüchtigen sich schließlich, bis schließlich das heitere Einführungsmaterial die sich öffnenden Akkorde zurückkehrt.

Besetzungsliste / Instrumentation:

Commissioned by Traughber Junior High School Band (Rachel Maxwell, director), and Thompson Junior High School Band (Daniel Harrison, director).

World premiere April 21, 2012.

The wind band medium has, in the twenty-first century, a host of disparate styles that dominate its texture. At the core of its contemporary development exist a group of composers who dazzle with scintillating and frightening virtuosity. As such, at first listening one might experience John Mackey's Sheltering Sky as a striking departure. Its serene and simple presentation is a throwback of sorts – a nostalgic portrait of time suspended.

The work itself has a folksong-like quality – intended by the composer – and through this an immediate sense of familiarity emerges. Certainly the repertoire has a long and proud tradition of weaving folk songs into its identity, from the days of Holst and Vaughan Williams to modern treatments by such figures as Donald Grantham and Frank Ticheli. Whereas these composers incorporated extant melodies into their works, however, Mackey takes a play from Percy Grainger. Grainger's Colonial Song seemingly sets a beautiful folksong melody in an enchanting way (so enchanting, in fact, that he reworked the tune into two other pieces: Australian Up-Country Tune and The Gum-Suckers March). In reality, however, Grainger's melody was entirely original – his own concoction to express how he felt about his native Australia. Likewise, although the melodies of Sheltering Sky have a recognizable quality (hints of the contours and colors of Danny Boy and Shenandoah are perceptible), the tunes themselves are original to the work, imparting a sense of hazy distance as though they were from a half-remembered dream.

The work unfolds in a sweeping arch structure, with cascading phrases that elide effortlessly. The introduction presents softly articulated harmonies stacking through a surrounding placidity. From there emerge statements of each of the two folksong-like melodies – the call as a sighing descent in solo oboe, and its answer as a hopeful rising line in trumpet. Though the composer's trademark virtuosity is absent, his harmonic language remains. Mackey avoids traditional triadic sonorities almost exclusively, instead choosing more indistinct chords with diatonic extensions (particularly seventh and ninth chords) that facilitate the hazy sonic world that the piece inhabits. Near cadences, chromatic dissonances fill the narrow spaces in these harmonies, creating an even greater pull toward wistful nostalgia. Each new phrase begins over the resolution of the previous one, creating a sense of motion that never completely stops. The melodies themselves unfold and eventually dissipate until at last the serene introductory material returns – the opening chords finally coming to rest.

Program note by Jake Wallace
Please credit Jake Wallace when reproducing or excerpting this program note