Akropolis Reed Quintet

Program

Marc Mellits (1966) – Splinter (2014)
Movements selected from the following:

• Scarlet Oak
• Sugar Maple
• Linden
• Black Ash
• Cherry
• River Birch
• Weeping Willow
• Red Pine

Derrick Skye (1982) – A Soulful Nexus (2023)

2. The Fifth Place
3. Within
4. A Soulful Nexus

INTERMISSION

Ryan Lindveit (b. 1994) – Venus of Willendorf (2024)

George Gershwin (1898-1937) – An American in Paris (1928) arr. Raaf Hekkema

Program Notes

Splinter

Splinter, by Chicago-based composer Marc Mellits, is probably the most performed work of the reed quintet repertoire. Composed in 2014, Mellits delivers a work suitable for introducing the reed quintet to ears which may never have heard it before. Splinter is comprised of short “miniatures,” each with their own personality. Combined, they each express unique emotional qualities through hocketing rhythms and colorful orchestrations. Mellits often composes for amplified acoustic instruments, including percussion, piano and strings. Rhythmic drive and development is a major component to his music, but does not overshadow his use of elongated phrases, subtle and effective harmonic motion, and beautiful textural creations. 

A Soulful Nexus

From the composer:

A Soulful Nexus is a five movement reed quintet tracing the pathways of a musical language shaped by deep study and genuine love of several of the world’s melodic traditions. At the center of that language is ornamentation: the way a melody breathes around a note rather than simply landing on it. For me, that impulse, which I first heard in the ornamentation of solo sung Gospel music and recognized again in Persian classical music, Indian classical music, and Eastern European vocal traditions, is the connective tissue of this entire work.

From Persian classical music, the suite draws on Dastgāh-e Mâhur and Dastgāh-e Râstpanjgâh as its primary modal worlds, with Morakab-Navazi, the practice of weaving between modal areas, guiding the music through Gushé Shekaste and Darâmad Dastgāh-e Mâhur. Central to the harmonic language is the E koron, a pitch that to the Western-trained ear may initially sound like a flat microtone, but in Persian classical music is understood as its own note, unique, complete, and precise (not “between” two other notes). That distinction is not merely technical. It reflects something the suite asks of its listeners throughout: that what sounds like an imperfection from one perspective can reveal itself, over time, as an aspect of a different kind of perfection.

The movements in A Soulful Nexus each explore a convergence of musical languages through distinct rhythmic, polyphonic, groove-based or meditative approaches, while sharing the concept that musical traditions, no matter how geographically distant, are driven by a common impulse, to make a note sing.

A Soulful Nexus has been made possible by the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program, with generous funding provided by The Mellon Foundation. 

Venus of Willendorf

From the composer:

I first learned about the Venus of Willendorf, a 30,000-year-old, 4.4-inch carved limestone figure found in Austria, in an art history class in 2014, and so it was with tremendous sense of anticipation and excitement that I approached visiting the Natural History Museum Vienna, where the figure is currently exhibited, 10 years later. In the same spirit of joyful enthusiasm, I composed Venus of Willendorf for the Akropolis Reed Quintet, a group of musicians who eagerly tackle every musical challenge with artistry and aplomb. The origins of the Venus figurine are mysterious, as is its meaning, though some scholars theorize that it is associated with fertility, growth and vitality. In response to this theory, I composed exuberant and vigorous music for these talented musicians. Additionally, the Venus is both quite tiny and amply voluptuous, so I often simultaneously feature high notes in the oboe with low notes in the bass clarinet to reflect metaphorical mappings of high sounds with small things and low sounds with large things. 

An American in Paris 

In An American in Paris, Gershwin aimed to create one of his more serious works despite his natural affinity for frivolity. He consulted Ravel about this conundrum, who wisely instructed that if Gershwin was making more money than Ravel (which he was), he shouldn’t change how he writes his music. He sought advice from Nadia Boulanger, the great teacher of Aaron Copland and others. She also wisely suggested to Gershwin try to be no one but Gershwin. And so, using complex motivic development which is constantly modulating and changing form, Gershwin manages to create his most accessible, but simultaneously most complex, piece of music. Among the challenges Dutch saxophonist Raaf Hekkema faced in arranging the work was how to convey these ideas with only five instruments. Hekkema brilliantly takes a smaller color palette and combines the instruments to create more textural possibilities than the listener could ever predict. In ways, while Gershwin's orchestration maximizes the orchestra's capabilities, the listener might find Gershwin's ideas even easier to deduce in the chamber music format. The continually repeating and evolving motives make for a challenging but thrilling performance which Akropolis is delighted to bring to the stage. 

SPECIAL THANKS

Department of Music 

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