D.J. Sparr - Zephyr Roaring Thunder скачать в хорошем качестве

D.J. Sparr - Zephyr Roaring Thunder

The LSU Wind Ensemble, under the direction of conductor Damon Talley, presents ‪@DJSparrMusic‬'s "Zephyr Roaring Thunder", a groundbreaking-contemporary piece that features the composer as a soloist on electric guitar. // Zephyr Roaring Thunder is a concerto for electric guitar and wind ensemble that fuses the spirit of the rock arena with the sonic possibilities of the concert hall. Spanning five movements and running just over twenty minutes, the work embraces an unlikely collision of traditions: electric guitar showcase, theatrical spectacle, and affectionate nod to the rituals of band culture. It unfolds as a collage mixtape: Berio’s Sinfonia meets the 1980s Monsters of Rock tour. The opening movement, Back to the Thunder, begins with overlapping metronomes, a surreal texture of pulses phasing in and out of sync. Echoes of Ligeti’s Poème Symphonique mingle with a soundscape of narrow “landline telephone-EQ” synthesizer sonorities, which then fuse with delicately plucked guitar wisps. The movement closes with a nod to wah-wah guitar gods and carries a personal dedication to my uncle, Rodney Sparr (June 21, 1953 — June 10, 2013), who always gifted me the coolest guitar gear for birthdays and Christmas. The second movement, Two Ears and a Heart, continues the narrow, filtered sound world of the opening before bursting into a songlike reflection underscored by percussion and electronica. In this movement, melodies win the day, a kind of Yacht Rock Barcarolle, with the sound expanding from a shoebox tape recorder to full-spectrum high-fidelity. In Interlude Interruption, punk classroom energy powers forward around the guitar. The fourth movement, Zephyr Röaring Thunder II, slows the pace, opening with a halo of shimmering guitar sonorities. Freeze pedals, delay, and 12-string emulation turn the guitar into a cathedral of sustain before the ensemble joins in with overlapping harmonies. This is the rock anthem of the set, complete with added metal umlaut. Time to pull out your lighters… or cell phone flashlights. The finale is a whirlwind medley of three sections: Drill Practice reprises the phasing pulses of the opening before The Chimes explodes with ringing metal sonorities. A toccata finishes the movement and embraces the unabashed joy of the heavy riff. Written for the LSU Wind Ensemble and conductor Damon Talley, Zephyr Roaring Thunder was imagined with the spirit of LSU at its core. Tabasco, swamp-rock guitars, and an actual live roaring tiger that resides on campus all helped shape the energy of this piece. This concerto was commissioned by a consortium of wind ensembles led by Damon Talley and the Louisiana State University Wind Ensemble, and including Baylor University, Brevard College, Cornell University, Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, Kennesaw State University, Michigan State University, University of Arkansas, University of Cincinnati, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, University of Missouri–Kansas City, University of Wisconsin, and Texas Tech University. -Program note by composer // Composer and electric guitarist D. J. Sparr, hailed by Gramophone as “exemplary,” is one of America’s leading composer-performers. His eclectic voice has been praised as “pop-Romantic…iridescent and wondrous” and perfectly suited to “the boundary erasing spirit of today’s new-music world.” The Los Angeles Times calls him “an excellent soloist,” and the Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote that he “wowed an enthusiastic audience.” Sparr was the electric guitar concerto soloist on the 2018 GRAMMY Award–winning recording with JoAnn Falletta and the London Symphony Orchestra. In 2011 he was named one of NPR listeners’ favorite 100 composers. He has composed for and performed with ensembles including Houston Grand Opera, the Cabrillo Festival, and the New World Symphony. From 2011–14 he served as Young American Composer-in-Residence with the California Symphony. His music has received awards from BMI, New Music USA, and the League of Composers/ISCM, and appears on Naxos, Innova, Albany, and Centaur Records. He is on the faculty of the Walden School’s Creative Musicians Retreat. A Maryland native, Sparr began guitar at age five and was soon performing at his music store. He later studied jazz guitar at the Baltimore School for the Arts, where immersion in classical music sparked his passion for composing. He attended the Walden School, earned a BM from the Eastman School of Music, and MM and DMA degrees from the University of Michigan, studying with William Bolcom, Michael Daugherty, and Christopher Rouse. He lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with his wife Kimberly, son Harris, and their boxer, Bundini.