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Kile Smith |
Four French Carols, for string orchestra
| Instrumentation | strings |
| Length | 12 minutes |
| Difficulty | medium-easy |
| Comments | 1. A Cry Went Up at Midnight
2. Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
3. Saw You Never
4. O Come, Divine Messiah |
| Sources | Fleisher Collection, fleisher@library.phila.gov, also the composer, kilesmith@earthlink.net, http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kilesmith |
| Extras | |
| History | Movements 1 and 4 premiered 12 Dec 2004, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Abington, Pa. |
| Contributor | the composer |
| Other | |
Alabanza
| Instrumentation | solo mezzo, vn, pno, 3 latin perc, db-2222-4331-timp.2perc-str |
| Length | 7 minutes |
| Difficulty | medium-easy |
| Comments | Latin pop, written for a Latin band and singer in front of an orchestra. Text in English and Spanish, based on Psalms 147 and 148, and the poem "Morning Song and Evening Walk" by Sonia Sanchez. |
| Sources | Fleisher Collection, fleisher@library.phila.gov, also the composer, kilesmith@earthlink.net, http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kilesmith |
| Extras | Tonite in need of you
and God
I move imperfect
through this ancient city.
Quiet. No one hears
No one feels the tears
of multitudes
Alabanza. Alabemos al Se�or.
[Praise. Praise the Lord.]
The silence thickens
I have lost the shore
of your kind seasons
who will hear my voice
El sana � los quebrantados de coraz�n, y liga sus heridas,
El cuenta el n�mero de las estrellas.
[He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.
He tells the number of the stars.]
Alaben el nombre de Jehov�, porque s�lo su nombre es elevado;
Su gloria es sobre tierra y cielos.
[Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is excellent;
his glory is above the earth and heaven.] |
| History | Commissioned and premiered 8 Nov 2003, Latin Fiesta with Pottstown (Pa.) SO, Rosalind Erwin cond. |
| Contributor | the composer |
| Other | |
Four French Carols, for orchestra
| Instrumentation | 3*3*22-4331-timp.2perc-str |
| Length | 12 minutes |
| Difficulty | medium-easy |
| Comments | 1. A Cry Went Up at Midnight
2. Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
3. Saw You Never
4. O Come, Divine Messiah |
| Sources | Fleisher Collection, fleisher@library.phila.gov, also the composer, kilesmith@earthlink.net, http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kilesmith |
| Extras | |
| History | Commissioned and premiered 7 Dec 2002, Susquehanna (Md.) SO, Sheldon Bair cond. Further performances Susquehanna, Musica 2000 (Pa.), Conway (Ark.) SO |
| Contributor | the composer |
| Other | |
Psalm 46
| Instrumentation | solo bar-2222-2231-timp.1perc-SATB-str |
| Length | 12 minutes |
| Difficulty | medium-hard |
| Comments | for program notes:
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kilesmith/id10.html |
| Sources | Fleisher Collection, fleisher@library.phila.gov, also the composer, kilesmith@earthlink.net, http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kilesmith |
| Extras | God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be moved, though the mountains fall into the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah. There is a river, whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her when morning dawns. The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved: he lifted his voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he has made in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two, he burns the chariot with fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. |
| History | Commissioned by Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, and premiered 18 May 2004, Verizon Hall, Philadelphia, Todd Thomas, Baritone, Tenth Presbyterian Church Choir, Chamber Orch of Philadelphia, Paul Jones cond. |
| Contributor | Kile Smith |
| Other | |
Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins
A Song of Sonia Sanchez
| Instrumentation | solo mezzo, violin, piano, 3 latin perc, db--2222-4331-timp.2perc-str |
| Length | 7 minutes |
| Difficulty | easy-medium |
| Comments | Written originally for Latin band and singer, this version with an orchestrated accompaniment behind the band and singer. This is a companion piece to "Alabanza." |
| Sources | Fleisher Collection, fleisher@library.phila.gov, also the composer, kilesmith@earthlink.net, http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kilesmith |
| Extras | ayyy
i have cried all night
tears pouring out of my forehead
sluggish in pulse
tears from a spinal soul
that run in silence to my birth
am i born?
i cannot peel the flesh.
i hear the moon daring to dance these rooms.
O to become a star.
stars seek their own mercy and sigh the quiet like gods. |
| History | Commissioned by Latin Fiesta. This version premiered 13 Feb 2000, Latin Fiesta, Philadelphia Classical Sym, Karl Middleman cond. Further performances Delaware SO, Grand Rapids SO, Jackson (TN) SO, Pottstown (PA) SO |
| Contributor | Kile Smith |
| Other | |
Symphony: Lumen ad revelationem
| Instrumentation | 2222-2200-1perc-str |
| Length | 22 minutes |
| Difficulty | medium-difficult |
| Comments | This work is a meditation on the day of The Presentation of Our Lord, the 2nd of February, a festival of the Church close to the dates of the premiere. Though nothing is sung, the music follows texts associated with the day. For the first movement I was drawn by the beauty of the chant in Latin which is the antiphon repeated throughout the singing of the Gospel in Luke 2, the story of Simeon: "Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuae Israel," ("A light to lighten the gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel"). For a variety of reasons, not least among them being the events of September 11th, 2001, I decided on a literal "setting" of the entire text in Latin of verses 22-32, using the syllables and accents of the words as well as the punctuation itself, as generators of the musical material.
Continuing with the Latin, verses 3 and 4 of the Psalm for the day, Psalm 84, become the second movement, which can be translated as: "Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in thy house; they will still be praising thee."
The third movement comprises the remainder of the Psalm, although here the musical setting is of the text in English. The entire text is followed, including a brief percussion solo at the indication of "Selah," a word which is believed to be a break or a musical instruction of some sort to the original singers of the Psalms. The movement begins with its own antiphon, which is verse 11: "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." |
| Sources | Fleisher Collection, fleisher@library.phila.gov, also the composer, kilesmith@earthlink.net, http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kilesmith |
| Extras | |
| History | Commissioned and premiered 9-11 March 2002, Lehigh Valley Chamber Orch (PA), Donald Spieth cond. |
| Contributor | Kile Smith |
| Other | |
Three Dances, for orchestra
| Instrumentation | 2/222-2200-1perc-str |
| Length | 12 minutes |
| Difficulty | medium |
| Comments | The melody in the Introduction is the first half of the German chorale "Eins ist Not, ach Herr, dies Eine." In the Country Dance, the recurring melody, carried mostly by the lower voices, is a variant on an early American fuguing tune called "Eternal Day." The entire ensemble, including conductor, stomps their feet at one time or another.
The Waltz is actually a passacaglia employing six pitches: D, F#, G, G#, A, C#. Every note in the movement is from this group. Whether the pitches create a scale or give the impression of the outline of a scale is debatable, but the large gaps and the reliance on the tritone abet the feeling of absence and longing.
The beginning of the Fuguing Tune repeats the truncated chorale of the Introduction, leaving the long 6/8 section as the fuguing part. The melody here is a variant of the English carol "A Virgin most Pure." The second half of the German chorale appears as the repeating bass line in this movement at, for example, measures 21-25.
Also a version for string orchestra with percussion. |
| Sources | Fleisher Collection, fleisher@library.phila.gov, also the composer, kilesmith@earthlink.net, http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kilesmith |
| Extras | |
| History | Commissioned and premiered 9, 10, 11 March 1995 by the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra, Donald Spieth, cond. |
| Contributor | Kile Smith |
| Other | |
Three Dances, for string orchestra and percussion
| Instrumentation | 1perc-str |
| Length | 12 minutes |
| Difficulty | medium |
| Comments | The melody in the Introduction is the first half of the German chorale "Eins ist Not, ach Herr, dies Eine." In the Country Dance, the recurring melody, carried mostly by the lower voices, is a variant on an early American fuguing tune called "Eternal Day." The entire ensemble, including conductor, stomps their feet at one time or another.
The Waltz is actually a passacaglia employing six pitches: D, F#, G, G#, A, C#. Every note in the movement is from this group. Whether the pitches create a scale or give the impression of the outline of a scale is debatable, but the large gaps and the reliance on the tritone abet the feeling of absence and longing.
The beginning of the Fuguing Tune repeats the truncated chorale of the Introduction, leaving the long 6/8 section as the fuguing part. The melody here is a variant of the English carol "A Virgin most Pure." The second half of the German chorale appears as the repeating bass line in this movement at, for example, measures 21-25.
Also a version for small orchestra. |
| Sources | Fleisher Collection, fleisher@library.phila.gov, also the composer, kilesmith@earthlink.net, http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kilesmith |
| Extras | |
| History | Commissioned and premiered 8 November 1998 by the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Marc Mostovoy, Music Director, performed without conductor |
| Contributor | Kile Smith |
| Other | |
The Three Graces
| Instrumentation | solo oboe, horn, cello-str |
| Length | 12 minutes |
| Difficulty | virtuosic solo parts, medium-difficult strings |
| Comments | The Three Graces is laid out as a jazz piece. The music is based on Richard Rodgers' "Wait Till You See Her"; I stripped out the tune, kept the chord changes of the chorus, and composed a new tune over it. After the introduction and the statement of the tune, the soloists take turns on the choruses, at first two choruses each, and then trading off.
It was my intention to write the solos to sound like improvisations. The strings take the role of the rhythm section, and I hoped to capture the excitement of something that sounded like it was being made up on the spot. (The Graces refer to my daughters, and each of the soloists takes on the character of one of the girls. Priscilla, the oldest, is the oboe. Nellie, then the soulful six-year-old, is the horn. Martina, four years old and full of beans, is the cello, and jumps in before her turn.) |
| Sources | Fleisher Collection, fleisher@library.phila.gov, also the composer, kilesmith@earthlink.net, http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kilesmith |
| Extras | |
| History | Commissioned and premiered 2-3 April 2001 Gerard Reuter, ob, Karl Kramer, hn, Wolfram K�ssel, vc, The Jupiter Sym, Jens Nygaard cond. |
| Contributor | Kile Smith |
| Other | |
Variations on a theme of Schubert
| Instrumentation | solo piano-2222-2100-timp.1perc-str |
| Length | 17 minutes |
| Difficulty | medium |
| Comments | The theme is from Schubert�s song "An mein Klavier," or "To my Piano." Following the theme are seven variations, each exploiting significant intervals or rhythmic gestures of the song, and each making use of the tune in some way.
Variation 5 also quotes "Beneath the Cross of Jesus," a favorite hymn of Samuel Hsu's, the dedicatee of the original version for solo piano. In this variation, the middle register sings the first few notes of that tune, while the left hand assays the Schubert tune in the extreme low register, extremely slowly.
Variation 6 leads into the final variation without a break, and the Schubert tune is treated as a three-part invention, leading into a chorale. |
| Sources | Fleisher Collection, fleisher@library.phila.gov, also the composer, kilesmith@earthlink.net, http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kilesmith |
| Extras | |
| History | Commissioned and premiered 20-21 Sep 1999, Makiko Hirata, pno, The Jupiter Sym, Jens Nygaard cond. Further performances Samuel Hsu with Newtown Chamber Orch, Reynaldo Reyes with Susquehanna SO |
| Contributor | Kile Smith |
| Other | |
The Voice of One Who Spoke
| Instrumentation | 3*222*-4231-timp.3perc-str |
| Length | 21 |
| Difficulty | medium-difficult |
| Comments | This work is based on the vision of the prophet Ezekiel, as recorded in the first chapter of his book. His account of the four creatures, the wheels, how they looked and moved, the sounds they made, and his response, inspired this musical depiction. The Hebrew letters of the text have been manipulated to generate musical pitches, and those have become the basis for the composition. Martin Luther's "Holy, holy, holy" from his Sanctus setting is the basis for the Coda.
Longer program notes:
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kilesmith/id10.html
My system for converting Hebrew text into pitches:
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kilesmith/id13.html |
| Sources | Fleisher Collection, fleisher@library.phila.gov, also the composer, kilesmith@earthlink.net, http://www.home.earthlink.net/~kilesmith |
| Extras | |
| History | Commissioned and premiered 22 Feb 2003, Musica 2000 (PA), Rosalind Erwin, cond. Further performances Musica 2000, Sofia Philharmonic (Bulgaria) |
| Contributor | Kile Smith |
| Other | |
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