FINE ARTS PERFORMANCE NIGHT - OCTOBER 23, 2020
Welcome to the First Fort Zumwalt West
Fine Arts Night
Friday, October 23, 2020
5:30pm
Hoekel Field
Orchestra Program:
directed by Daniel Mieloch
The Jaguar Chamber Players
4th & 5th Hour Orchestras
Minuet in G …….Beethoven, arr. Siennicki
Curse of Tutankhamun …….Story
Adirondack Sleighride …….Stephan
Minuet in G Ludwig van Beethoven, arr. Edmund J. Siennicki
George Washington dancing a minuet
The minuet was a popular stately dance from the mid-1600s until it fell out of style in the early 1900s. Being ubiquitous to courtly life, many composers wrote many minuets for piano and small ensembles, and the minuet style eventually was turned into the Minuet and Trio that would often be the 3rd movement of a full-scale symphony.
This famous “Minuet in G” was composed by Beethoven in 1796, most likely for orchestra, but no original score has been found. Instead, the piano version is what survives and is what has made this piece so charming and famous. The tune has been used in many movies, television shows, commercials, and even plays a major role in the musical The Music Man: “in order to play the “Minuet in G”, you must THINK the “Minuet in G”!
It is a prim and proper piece to begin our evening as a way of celebrating an evening of music as well as Beethoven’s 250th birthday.
Curse of Tutankhamun Michael Story
Images of King Tutankhamun's sarcophagus
The curious circumstances surrounding the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter has literally been the stuff of legend. “The curse of the mummy” is directly attributed to the mysterious deaths that befell most of the archaeological party that discovered the tomb. While we now know that the deaths were most likely brought on by ancient bacteria, making poor decisions while interacting with local venomous critters, and horrible timing, the fear of a curse has persisted and has made for many great movies and stories.
This piece is directly inspired by the discovery of King Tut, and unlike Steve Martin’s classic SNL skit, focus more on the mystery and curse. The first section is slow and is dubbed “The XXXXX”; it leads directly into “The Discovery” where the violas start a minor figure that is both driving and eerie. Each section takes the melody, a ‘snake-charmer-like’ melody that could be found in the likes of Aladdin and makes use of the music interval the augmented 2nd (a new favorite amongst our orchestra members). It ends with the general sense of wonder and a hint of speculation about what might be lurking around the corner.
Adirondack Sleighride Richard Stephan
A sleighride in the Adirondacks
From Egypt, we venture to the mountains of upstate New York for our final piece. With a jaunty melody and accompaniment, Mr. Stephens takes us a somewhat bouncy horse-drawn cantor through the snowy mountains of the northeast. The staccato accompaniment is reminiscent of the horse’s hoofs and the perky melody bespeaks of warm cocoa on cool nights. This boisterous melody is interrupted by smooth legato sections, as if taking time to enjoy the placid scenery before coming to a fitting end.
The Jaguar Harmonia Players
6th & 7th Hour Orchestras
Legend of Sleepy Hollow …….Meyer
Ode to Joy …….Beethoven, arr. Hopkins
Legend of Sleepy Hollow Richard Meyer
1974 Stamp from North Tarrytown, NY
Based on Washington Irving’s short story from 1820, this piece tells the story of Ichabod Crane, a small town’s school teacher who is plagued by a mysterious and terrifying Hessian ghost. This famous story introduced the world to the character of the Headless Horseman and has been made into a Disney short as well as few feature films.
Drawing on the intriguing story and larger-than-life personalities in the story, Richard Meyer depicts each character with a melody of their own: we hear the ominous horseman’s theme, first simply then like a horse’s charge; the pompous Mr. Crane; and the chirpy melody of the “country coquette” Katrina Von Tassel. They intertwine with each other as we hear them at an introduction, then in the fall party dancing a waltz before Ichabod is scared by “tales of ghosts and goblins”. We hear his nervous whistling as he starts to travel home before he is attacked and chased by the Headless Horseman…
Ode to Joy Ludwig van Beethoven, arr. Michael Hopkins
One of the most well-known melodies ever composed, this simple tune is introduced by the cello and bass before Beethoven sends us on a musical journey with his theme and variations. Taken from the final movement of his epic and ground-breaking Symphony No. 9, this melody earned immediate fame at its premiere and has remained a beloved melody in one of the most-performed symphonies. Beethoven combines the largest orchestra of its time with a full choir, the first time done in a symphony, and sets a poem by Friedrich Schiller to this heroic and uplifting melody.
Known the world over as the “Ode to Joy”, it was made the anthem of the Council of Europe in 1974 and was used by American conductor Leonard Bernstein with a multi-national orchestra on Christmas Day in 1989. He famously changed the word “joy” to “freedom” for this performance to help commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall. (the score pictured above is Bernstein's own score.)
“Joy, beautiful spark of Divinity,
Daughter of Elysium,
We enter, drunk with fire,
Heavenly one, thy sanctuary!
Thy magic binds again
What custom strictly divided;
All people become brothers,
Where thy gentle wing abides.”
The first verse of Schiller’s poem
We perform this arrangement here today with the joy of knowing that after months of quarantine, we are able to come together to create music and share our love of performing with you.
Thank you for your constant support and may you stay healthy and happy as we enter the holiday season!