Woodcuts for String Orchestra (1971; rev. 1997)

Dur: 8'

strings: 6 6 3 3 3 (minimum)

1. Mirage

2. Suppliants

• First Performance: April 25, 1971, Student Union Ballroom, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, UNLV String Symphony Orchestra, William Gromko, conducting.

Materials on Rental TNP 1001

Sacred Monuments: Symphony No. 1 (chamber orchestra version -1997)

Dur: 41'

1d(pic/a.fl) 1d(E.hn) 1d(b.cl) 1d(c.bn)

1 - 2 1 1 1 -2 perc., hp, 2

pf(cel/hpchd/synth.)

strings: 2 2 2 2 1 (minimum)

• The Hour of the Wolf (9')

• Duma, a soliloquy (13')

• Agnus Dei (12')

• Postludium (7')

• Commissioned by New Julliard Ensemble (Parts I and II) and Cleveland Chamber Symphony (Parts III and IV)

• First Performance: Parts I and II on September 23, 1997, the Julliard Theatre, Lincoln Center, New York, New York, New Julliard Ensemble, Joel Sachs, conducting. Parts III and IV on February 2, 1998, Drinko Recital Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Virko Baley, conducting. 

Materials on Rental TNP 1010

Agnus Dei Program Notes

Extracts from notes written by John Schaefer, American writer on music and program director of WNYC, one of the largest classical radio station in USA. These notes were written for the release on TNC Recording (TNC CD-1505) of Virko Baley’s Symphony No. 1, Sacred Monuments performed by the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the composer conducting.

Agnus Dei is the third part of Virko Baley’s Symphony No. 1, Sacred Monuments. Beginning in 1985 with the original version of Duma, a soliloquy, now the symphony’s second movement, Virko Baley set out to build an aural monument of sorts, a symphony that offered a personal view, through the filter of time and one man’s memory, of a distant homeland. (In the process, Duma underwent some major revisions, and now shares some important melodic and rhythmic elements with the other, later parts of the piece.)

Baley realized that the grand scope of a symphony required ideas on a similar scale. Since Duma was written as a tribute to the Ukrainian composer Artem Vedel (c. 1770 – 1808), Baley decided to use as his starting point a set of four movements, each commemorating the life and death of a Ukrainian composer: Maxym Berezovsky (1745 – 1777), Artem Vedel, Dmitri Bortniansky (1751 – 1825), and Boris Lyatoshynsky (1895 – 1968). In the process, his monument became a musical Mount Rushmore, or as the composer himself puts it, “a ziggurat, a kind of pyramidal edifice consisting of successive structures, topped with a shrine.”

When it was finally completed, in 1999, Baley gave his first symphony a telling subtitle. Sacred Monuments suggest both the spiritual and the structural elements of the work. There are gargoyles here – evocative textures, dense yet transparent layers of sound, but they are reached in a much more intuitive way. Each sound, Baley says, “must come from the pit of one’s stomach and not from formal demands.” Nevertheless, the formal structure of the piece is necessary to understand what those sounds mean. Recurring rhythmic figures, melodic rows, sonic textures and instrumental signals tie together the symphony’s four movements; Baley refers to them as the work’s “stylistic fingerprints (a kind of musical DNA).” And they allow him to play with the formal aspects of the piece. One of Baley’s favorite devices is to set up a rhythmic pattern, only to immediately layer over it all sorts of intricate syncopations, hockets, counter-rhythms, and triplet and quintuplet figures. These multiple layers of percussion might be reminiscent of Indonesian gamelan or West African drum ensembles if they weren’t so carefully, at times subliminally, painted into the backdrop of this sonic landscape.

Virko Baley’s Symphony #1 describes a great arch. Berezovsky and Vedel met untimely ends, while Bortniansky and Lyatoshynsky died after long and successful careers; so the music builds from a troubled, dramatic first movement, through a lamenting second, to a jubilant scherzo in the third, and concludes with a Postludium that comments on the previous movements, weaving some of their thematic elements into new patterns. The finale also alludes to living Ukrainian composers associated with Lyatoshynsky, suggesting the continuation of a rich (and in the West, largely unexplored) musical tradition… 

The third movement serves as a kind of scherzo for the Symphony #1. And it seems to sum up the whole Slavic approach to death: “life is tragic; now shut up and dance.” Dancing and singing celebrate life but also express sorrow; there is no contradiction. The repeating dance theme is marked Allegro Jubilate, but is always played in a minor key. Only in this movement does Baley quote extensively: parts of Dmitri Bortniansky’s Choral Concerto #15 are woven into the fabric of the Agnus Dei. However, the dance refrain is not a quote from Bortniansky, nor a folk song. It is simply one of Baley’s most memorable creations…

The Agnus Dei begins with the dance theme, accompanied by pealing bell-like sounds in the keyboards. It alternates with reflective chorale sections, first in the winds, later in the strings, and later still in the brass, which quotes from the Bortniansky concerto. For the musicians, it’s a case of never a dull moment, as a seething current of sound runs throughout the movement. The percussionists frantically shift from one set of instruments to another; the harpsichord occasionally adds a tiny glimmer of Baroque keyboard music that makes no attempt to blend in; and the choral interludes are increasingly changed, extended, and re-voiced. Like a conventional Scherzo (which this is certainly not), Baley’s movement has a trio section in the middle. Here the dancing becomes more frenzied, almost dervish-like, and although an actual folk song is briefly quoted, the main folk-like material of the trio is again original. As with the main dance refrain, the melody of the trio is built up of complex layers of tied and dotted rhythms, triplets, and the alternating duple and triple meters that practically define the Eastern European dance tradition.

Given the celebratory quality of this Agnus Dei, the choice of title is a curious one. It’s a question Virko Baley has been asked frequently. His usual response is evasive but somehow typically Slavic. “I generally refuse to give a concrete answer, except a variation on ‘we are all lambs of god on the way to the slaughter.’ Ah, they say, Slavic angst. We all laugh - I do too, because I do laugh a lot, and I find a lot in life very funny.”  Humor in music is a dicey thing, but it’s easy to imagine the composer chuckling softly to himself as he penned this passage for the long-suffering percussionist: in the space of three bars, the percussionist, playing a trap set, is asked to maintain a jazz waltz feel over three different time signatures – none of them in the triple time of a waltz. The next few bars bring a tour of 3/4, 4/4, and 15/16 meters. This is part of the return, after the Trio, to the main Scherzo section of the movement. The dance refrain, which had previously raced through such odd meters as 17/16 and 23/16, begins to show the effects of the “death signal” and eventually breaks apart, as if broken pieces of rhythm have spun off. The comforting sounds of the Lutheran hymn tune in the strings suggest that this too is death: not a terrible misfortune or a crime, but a natural conclusion to even the most exhilarating life.

— John Schaefer, American writer on music and program director of WNYC

Partita, a Concerto Grosso for Trombone, Trumpet, Violect* Electronics and Orchestra (1995)

Dur: 26'

3 2 3d1(b.cl) 2 - 4 2 3 1

4 percussion, hp, pf(cel)

strings: 10 10 6 6 4 (minimum)

soloists: trombone, trumpet, electric violin

1. Intrada

2. Variations

3. Dances

4. Duma

• Commissioned by International Trombone Festival and Dr. W. Howard Hoffman 

• First Performance: May 30, 1995, Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada, Nevada Symphony Orchestra, Caravan (Miles Anderson, Walter Blanton, Erica Sharp), Virko Baley, conducting.

 Materials on Rental TNP 1009 

Orpheus Singing for Oboe and Strings (1994)

Dur: 12'

strings: 6 5 3 2 1

Recitative-Aria-Cabaletta: Kolomyikas

• Commissioned by Dr. W. Howard Hoffman

• First Performance: February 26, 1994, Summerlin Performing Arts Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, Nevada Symphony Orchestra, Stephen Caplan, oboe, Virko Baley, conducting.

Materials on Rental TNP 1008

*1995 version available as well.

Duma, a Soliloquy for orchestra (1985, rev. 1988)

Dur: 13'

(Part II of Sacred Monuments, full orchestra version)

2 2 2d1(b.cl) 2 - 4 2 3 1 - 3 perc, hp, pf1(,pf2cel)(amplified hpchd)

strings: 10 8 6 6 4 (minimum)

• Commissioned by Nevada State Council on the Arts and Dr. Robert Meger

• First Performance: May 7, 1985, Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada, Nevada Symphony Orchestra, Virko Baley, conducting. 

Materials on Rental TNP 1002

Concerto No. 2, favola in musica for violin and orchestra (1998; rev. 1989)

Dur: 29'

2 2 2 2 - 4 2 3 1 - 3 perc, pf(cel) hurry-gurdy or synth (optional)

strings: 6 5 4 3 2 (minimum)

I. Intrada

II. "Kolomyika, a dance..."

III. Parastas

IV. Cadenza

V. Hallelujah

• Commissioned by Project 1000 and Dr. W. Howard Hoffman

• First Performance: October 30, 1988, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Yuri Mazurkevich, violin, Winniped Symphony Orchestra, Virko Baley, conducting.

 Materials on Rental TNP 1005

Concerto No. 1, quasi una fantasia for violin and orchestra (chamber version 1987)

Dur: 26'

1 1 1d(b.cl) 1 - 1 1 1 1 - 2 perc, hp, pf(cel/amplified hpschd)

strings: 1 1 1 1 1 (minimum)

Movements

• Lacrymosa

• Dies Irae

• Lux Aeterna

• Agon

• Commissioned by Dr. W. Howard Hoffman

• First Performance: January 15, 1989, Drinko Recital Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, Yuri Mazurkevich, violin, Cleveland Symphony, Virko Baley, conducting.

Materials on Rental TNP 1003

Program Notes

Concerto No. 1 for Violin and Orchestra, quasi una fantasia (1987)

Commissioned by Dr. W. Howard Hoffman, and dedicated to the memory of his father, W. Howard Hoffman, senior.

I. Lacrymosa

II. Dies irae

III. Lux aeterna

IV. Agon

The idea of the concerto is that of a requiem mass, a reflection on death.  The first three movements are in sonata-allegro form, spread throughout those movements.  The Lacrymosa is the exposition, Dies irae the development and Lux aeterna the recapitulation.  Although each movement is different, certain relationships exist between them.  For example, movements II and III mirror each other - darkness into light, anger into acceptance and chaos into order - but are still colored by a pervasive feeling of loss.  The fourth movement (the coda) is a wake; it is a joyful remembrance of a life well-lived and well remembered.  The other element that pervades the work as a whole is its "Ukrainianism".  The melos of Ukrainian folk music is evident in the intervallic and rhythmic structure of the concerto.  For some time I've wanted to write a work in which the building blocks would be melismas based on folk figures (authentic and/or facsimiles).  The inspiration to act on this came out of hearing Leonid Hrabovsky's "Concerto misterioso" for nine instruments (1977).  It is a work I admire very much and one in which is found a very original solution to the problem of abstract (non-nationalistic and non-narrative) use of ethnographic materials.                

The Lacrymosa comprises a set of thirteen verses, the overall character of which is that of a lament (as the title suggests).  Each verse is separated by a ritornello - a chant or "alleluia" of sorts.  For most of the movement, the chant is distinct and different from the solo lament of the violin.  Yet near the end, both are joined, leading the movement attacca into the Dies Irae.

The Dies Irae is in five parts:  A B1 B2 C A .  In it are developed the emotional, although not necessarily structural, motives first heard in the Lacrymosa.   But the Dies Irae is full of fury: the opening drumbeats (heartbeats amplified) are overlaid by screams of anguish.  The violin entrance is a toccata.  The orchestra follows the violin, at times scrambling to keep up; there is ritualistic raising of hands, elegiac gestures, and then the drums return.  The work ends with the opening repeated.  This movement makes use of materials from two earlier works: the "etude" section from the first movement of "Partita No. 1 for Three Trombones and Three Pianos" (1970; 1976) and the fourth movement from "...figments" (1981) for solo violin.  The reuse of older material in a different context is one that has always fascinated me and is historically a common practice (since at least the time of J.S. Bach).  The principal interval employed in the movement is that of a tritone -- D to A-flat.  This interval is picked up in Lux Aeterna and eventually resolved.

The Lux Aeterna is a hymn for the solo violin and thirteen players.  It is the pacification of Dies Irae, an epiphany, a smile wiping the tears away.  The tritone (now D to G-sharp) moves gradually into the area of resolution as it shifts into a pure fourth, one of the primary "perfect" consonant intervals.

The Agon is a wake, a reaffirmation of life inspired by the wake in the book (and film) "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors".  It is in this movement that a patchwork of "tunes" is formed, creating a lamination of various abstract dances that occur simultaneously as a result of canonic chasing.

For this concerto, the orchestra is divided into 2 groups: concertino (a small group) and tutti (the full orchestra).  The soloist is both the leader and the connecting link between the two groups.  The work was written for the wonderful violinist Yuri Mazurkevich. This Concerto is available in two versions, for full orchestra or chamber ensemble.

Concerto No. 1 for piano and orchestra (1990 - 1993)

Dur: 28'

Reflections on art works by Rita Deanin Abbey

1 1 1+1(b.cl or bar sax) 1 - 2 1 1 0 - 3 perc, hp, cel

strings: 6 5 4 3 2 (minimum)

I. Introitus

II. Nocturnals

III. "Suddenly, they take wing"

• Commissioned by Dr. Robert Belliveau

• First Performance: October 2, 1993, Kiev Music Fest 93, Kiev, Ukraine, Elissa Stutz, piano, Kharkiv Symphony Orchestra, Virko Baley, conducting.

Materials on Rental TNP 1006

*Adam's Apple, prelude for orchestra (1991)

Dur: 3'

2 2 2 2 - 2 2 1 0 - 2 perc, pf(cel)

strings: 6 5 4 3 2 (minimum)

• Commissioned by Dr. W. Howard Hoffman

• First Performance: February 21, 1992, Lexington, Kentucky, Lexington Philharmonic, Virko Baley, conducting.

Materials on Rental TNP 1007