Tag Archives: The Nobility of Women

The Nobility of Women, Chestnut Hill Local

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Referring to Vespers and saying that I have made a name from  “composing new music for older instruments,” Michael Caruso in the Chestnut Hill Local calls The Nobility of Women “concisely pointed character sketches of baroque dances.”

I can’t deny that I’ve become known as someone who can write for historical instruments. Mélomanie approached me about a piece for them—which became Nobility—after they heard Vespers. The Crossing and the Baroque orchestra Tempesta di Mare talked to me about The Waking Sun after Vespers.

People sometimes ask me if I mind. I suppose McLean Stevenson was asked if he minded being Lt. Col. Henry Blake on M*A*S*H. I don’t mind. I love it. If people think that’s what I do, fine, as I love writing for all kinds of instruments, and love the challenge of releasing the gorgeous sounds of recorders, dulcians, gambas, or what have you.

But I don’t think of myself that way. I’ve composed choral music, lots of orchestral works, and songs and chamber music for decades. I’m working on many different projects now, none of which use “early” instruments. If I go back to it, I’d be delighted, though.

Caruso had nice things to say, including that “Melomanie gave The Nobility of Women a sterling reading.”

The Nobility of Women, Philadelphia Inquirer

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The “kind of musical layering that makes his choral works so entrancing” spoke to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s David Patrick Stearns in his review of The Nobility of Women, my premiere with Mélomanie this past weekend. It’s a dance suite for Baroque flute, oboe, violin, cello, and viola da gamba and harpsichord, and is about 20 minutes long in eight dances.

He said that the piece hit its stride when “a big, interesting harpsichord flourish invaded the third movement,” and continued to say that the “Sarabande had an oboe solo full of eloquent, Italianate longing, while the final-movement Ciaccona was packed with individual star turns.” He relates Nobility to the line of “works as diverse as Stravinsky’s Agon and Respighi’s popular Ancient Arts and Dances.“

There were small and not-so-small solos throughout the piece. Daughter Priscilla (the oboist) played beautifully in that Sarabande solo, as did everyone, who weaved the lovely sounds of these instruments into the ensemble. Stearns rightly singled out “the poised soulfulness of Boismortier’s Suite in D minor, played with particular depth by the wonderful viola da gamba player Donna Fournier.”

I liked the Telemann more than he did, but I realize that I may be in the minority. Telemann just doesn’t miss with me, the Dvorak of the Baroque. But lots of people, I’ve found, think of Telemann’s output as they do of much of Hindemith’s. And I can’t say I’ve ever been bored by Hindemith, either. Even the notey stuff I love.

Mark Hagerty’s clever and delightful Variations on a Theme by Steely Dan rounded out the concert, along with Couperin dances for Priscilla.

I had a blast writing for this wonderful group. Their commitment to the piece revealed little explosions of surprise that captivated me.

The Nobility of Women, first rehearsal

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Mélomanie rehearsed my new dance suite, The Nobility of Women, Monday night for the first time. More of a read-through, it gave us a chance to get to know the eight dances, lock some tempos in, and identify possible issues. The 20-minute work takes its name from the 1600 dance instruction manual Nobiltà di Dame by Fabritio Caroso.

The name of the book alone captivated me. Although there is no other significant connection between it and my music, I imagined a piece that would grow out of a work with that name. The players in Mélomanie are all skilled in Baroque and new music, and I’ve enjoyed writing for historical instruments in the past. The sound-world is entrancing, and I’ve tried to compose a work that would release the beauties of these fabulous instruments.

It was a lovely first hearing. I sat between Douglas, the cellist, and Tracy and Mark’s Christmas tree, a great way to listen to a rehearsal!

I’m delighted to have the opportunity to write for my daughter Priscilla again, this time on Baroque oboe, a first for me. Listening to her and all these wonderful players has been a joy and an enlightenment. Also a first: writing for Baroque flute, viola da gamba, and harpsichord. Baroque cello and violin I had a go at previously with The Waking Sun, the setting of Seneca which premiered this past summer with The Crossing and Tempesta di Mare.

Oh, the dances: Overture, Allemande, Branle, Musette, Canario, Sarabande, Branle Reprise, Ciaccona. Among the other music on the program is some Telemann Tafelmusik and a work by Mark Hagerty inspired by Steely Dan’s “Babylon Sisters” (Priscilla’s playing modern oboe on that).

I’m looking forward to the performances, which are on January 14th and 15th in Wilmington and Philadelphia. More later as we get deeper into it.