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The Raven for narrator, harp and string quartet
RSN:
70065
|
Composition Date:
2009
|
Revision Date:
2015
|
Duration:
00:14:00
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Library Record
Programme Notes
Copies
Cataloguing Information
Call Number
MI 8506 L888rav
Genre
Mixed Chamber Ensembles (1 to 9 Performers), Quintets, Plectral String(s) / Bowed String(s)
Material Type
Print-music
Acquisition Date
2015-07-10
Library Collection Publisher / Label
Unpublished, printed by CMC / Inédit, imprimé par le CMC
Preview
Additional Information
Commissioned by: Luminato Festival of the Arts and Ottawa Chamber Music Festival to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Edgar Allen Poe’s birth,
Master Location
Toronto
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Physical Description
Found 2 record(s)
Available Actions
Extent of Item
5 parts ([38] p.);
1 score (36 p.);
Instrumentation
Found 5 record(s)
Available Actions
Set No.
Category
Instrument
Number
49857
Voices
Narrator/Actor
1
49857
Strings, plucked
Harp
1
49857
Strings, bowed
Violin
2
49857
Strings, bowed
Viola
1
49857
Strings, bowed
Violoncello
1
Divided
No
Solo
No
Divided
No
Solo
No
Divided
No
Solo
No
Divided
No
Solo
No
Divided
No
Solo
No
Premiere
8 June 2009, Buddies In Bad Time Theatre, Toronto, Ontario Tom Allen, narrator; Lori Gemmell, harp; Penderecki Quartet
Written as an expression of profound grief over the loss of a loved one, most likely that of his wife, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven (1845) is an atmospheric, mysterious and emotionally powerful narrative poem. When asked by musician/broadcaster Tom Allen if I would be interested in setting it for narrator, harp and string quartet, I was intrigued by the project and began to research the poem and its meaning. The musical introduction immediately sets an empty and eerie mood. The intro?s gently rocking repetition of the interval of a third draws the listener into the mysterious atmosphere of the poet’s chamber. Over the course of the composition, this motif becomes more agitated as the narrator’s increasing distress manifests itself almost to the point of madness due to his unbearable loss. Inspired by the images of Poe?s evocative and poetic language, I used the technique of word painting throughout the piece: the raven who came “tapping at my chamber door” is evoked by col legno battuto (striking the strings with the wood as well as the hair of the bow), the “rustling of each purple curtain” implied by overlapping glissandi on the harp, “Tis the wind and nothing more!” by a whistling effect on the harp. For additional structural cohesion, I incorporated two musical themes from Schubert’s Death and the Maiden Quartet (Quartet No. 14 in D minor), whose second movement is based on a Schubert song about a woman’s struggle with death. Hints of Schubert?s well-recognized themes are woven into the fabric of my piece and support the common inspiration of a woman?s death. As in my composition, Schubert?s quartet uses the interval of a third as an important musical element. When the poet orders the raven to “quit the bust above my door!” in the penultimate stanza, the inferences of Death and the Maiden finally evolve into a direct, recognizable, forceful quotation - the opening bars of the Schubert quartet. I conclude my composition with a complete ghostly statement of the theme of the second movement of Death and the Maiden. Here the harp plays the theme in closed harmony as the strings perform ethereal artificial harmonics above it. The shattered poet is left alone to grieve in the empty room - empty save for himself and the raven.
Found 4 record(s)
Available Actions
CMC Location
Barcode
Copy Status
Circulation Status
Number of Copies
Vancouver
01VA70065
In Circulation
-
1
Montréal
01MO70065
In Circulation
-
1
Toronto
01TO70065
In Circulation
-
1
Calgary
01CA70065
In Circulation
-
1
SydneyEnterprise v4.4.0.28 - Canadian Music Centre | SydneyEnterprise (Final)