Tracks:
1 BALLAD NOCTURNE [12:53]
Emanuele Arciuli, piano
2 I. KiraÕs Journey [9:18]
3 II. Snow World [9:50]
4 III. Battling Oligarn
Batrone [10:19]
5 LANDING INSIDE THE INSIDE OF
AN ANIMAL [14:32]
Total [56:52]
BULGARIAN
NATIONAL RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Grigor Palikarov, conductor
Emanuele Arciuli, piano
Publishing:
All works by Ann Millikan (ASCAP) Sword Dance Publishing Co.,
www.annmillikan.com
BALLAD
NOCTURNE for
piano and chamber orchestra (2009)
flute (piccolo), oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 2 horns, Bb trumpet,
percussion, strings
Ballad
Nocturne was
commissioned by Orchestra
Filarmonica di Torino for Italian virtuoso pianist Emanuele
Arciuli. Mr. Arciuli is very rare in that he has a
close connection to jazz without being an improviser. Though I left the jazz
world 20 years ago to become a classical composer, it never left me. It is part
of how I hear, influencing the lines, sonorities, and rhythms that I write. The
idea came to me to write him a composition that had both the expressive feel of
a jazz ballad and the flowing, lyrical style of a nocturne for orchestra.
Nocturnes typically have an ABA structure, containing
a development section of the material, offset by a contrasting middle section,
before a reprise of the opening material. Ballad
Nocturne follows this form, building
and developing from a simple melody and accompaniment typical to the nocturne
style, with modal jazz harmony. Then for the ballad and the nocturne music to
grow from that little seed and become a "third thing" was my goal. By
exploring these two genres together I discovered a synergy that felt completely
natural. It is my great honor to place this music in the hands of such an
extraordinary pianist as Emanuele Arciuli.
TRILHAS DE
SOMBRA (2009) I. KiraÕs Journey
II. Snow World
III.
Battling Oligarn Batrone
piccolo, 2
flutes, 2 oboes, 2 Bb clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 Bb trumpets, 2
trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, 3 percussion, celesta, strings
Trilhas de
Sombra,
ÒShadow Trails,Ó is a three-movement work based on a story written for my
Brazilian niece, Gabriela. Each movement amplifies
major events in the story. Kira, a girl from a river town in the Amazon,
suddenly finds herself in another world, the Snow World, where she is called
upon to do something only she can do. Entering the deepest layers of the Snow
World through Shadow Trials, Kira experiences the place from where all sound
originates and where it must return every winter in order to survive.
Story Excerpt:
All the while the sound grew in intensity to where Kira could almost feel it on her skin. They were inside it, like a thick cloud of tiny vapor particles. Below her was a valley, and beyond it more mountains. She called out, but unlike fading echoes, the sound grew louder as it approached from the distance, as if her own voice was running up to her. Then it became even more complex like a chandelier of sparkling colored glass that held together in the air around her. She began to sing into it and felt the sound vibrating in her skull. Kira pointed her sword again, this time straight down into the mountain. Everything changed. Now the sounds were much more varied – high sounds and low sounds – like a roomful of people all talking and singing at once. There were even sounds she recognized – birds, frogs, raccoons, also water, river rocks clunking, wind in trees. It was the most beautiful sound sheÕd ever heard. –Ann Millikan
LANDING
INSIDE THE INSIDE OF AN ANIMAL (2008)
piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 Bb clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 Bb trumpets, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, 3 percussion, strings
Landing
Inside the Inside of an Animal, is a story of initiation. It begins in darkness, full of
anticipation, and quickly takes off like a swirling storm. The energy builds
and bursts forth as the trumpets call out with drums responding. There is a sense that something is
about to begin. But it is interrupted and pulled back into the swirling energy
that grows and then dissipates into the underworld. Within this complex
constantly shifting place, the challenge is to find a way out. When the Ôdrum
and pipeÕ are finally heard, the opening is near, and soon the swirling picks
up and bursts forth again. This time we move forward, the trumpets and drums
calling everyone out into the streets. A procession begins that leads into a
huge celebration – with a samba, contest dances, and a fanfare.
ANN MILLIKAN
Ann MillikanÕs music has been described as Òtonally challenging
yet emotionally involvingÓ (Joseph Woodard, LA Times), Òpacked with propellant
polyrhythmic texturesÓ (New Sounds, WNYC), and Òcharacterized by high energy
and a quirky inventiveness that defies easy categorization...Her scoring is
clean and transparent and her felicities of orchestration are among the most
attractive elements in her work.Ó (Stephen Eddins, All Music). Millikan
composes concert music for orchestra, chamber ensembles and choir, as well as
interdisciplinary projects involving theatre and dance. Rhythmic vitality is a
powerful force in her music, stemming from previous years playing jazz, African
and Brazilian music. Her music is expressive and colorful, moving freely
between atonal and tonal/modal languages depending upon the overall desired
effect. She creates rich orchestral textures that are characterized by
layering, rhythmic juxtaposition, and complex counterpoint. Millikan received
her MFA in Composition from the California Institute of the Arts where her
mentors were Mel Powell, Morton Subotnick, and Stephen L. Mosko, and her BA in
Music–Jazz Concentration (jazz piano, voice and composition) from San
Jose State University. She has studied West African percussion from Senegal and
Ghana, and many years of classical voice. Her works have been performed by
Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino, Emanuele Arciuli, California EAR Unit,
Zeitgeist, Citywinds, New Century Players, Oregon Repertory Singers, Grace
Cathedral Men's Choir, and Joan La Barbara, among others. She has garnered
awards from the California Arts Council, American Music Center, ASCAP, American
Composers Forum, Meet The Composer, Argosy Foundation, Jerome Foundation,
Zellerbach Family Fund, Berkeley Civic Arts Program, and Waging Peace Through
Singing (Highest Honors). Millikan's debut album, "The Music of Ann
Millikan featuring the California EAR Unit" is available on the Innova
label.
CREDITS &
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I
will never forget the ecstatic sound of swifts whizzing between buildings in
downtown Sofia, our daily Shopska salads, and the
flow of people moving about cobblestone streets and side walks in that
fascinating 7,000 year-old city. My
heartfelt thanks to Grigor Palikarov and the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Emanuele Arciuli, Nickolai Kolarov, the funders, and my partner Brent Michael
Davids for all of the hard work and support that went into this project.
BULGARIAN
NATIONAL RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Grigor Palikarov, conductor
Emanuele Arciuli, piano
Sound
Recording Engineer: Sava Lavsov
Recording/Editing
Engineer: Valentin Ivanov
Studio
Engineer: Marin Marinov
Technical
Personnel: Krassimir Petev
Executive
Producer: Vladimir Hristozov
Manager:
Darina Galova
Contractor:
Nickolai Kolarov
Yavor
Jelev, flute solo (tracks 2, 4)
Hristo
Tanev, cello solo (tracks 2,4)
Milen
Kehayov, piccolo solo (track 5)
Guest artist: Fernando Meza, percussion (tracks 1-4)
Producers:
Ann Millikan and Brent Michael Davids
Executive
Producer: Ann Millikan
Music
Editing & Mastering: Brent Michael Davids, Blue Butterfly Theatre
CD
Design: Ann Millikan and Brent Michael Davids
Photoshop
& Photography: Brent Michael Davids
Cover
Art, Sword Dance Publishing Co. Logo: Ann Millikan
All
works recorded June 29, 30, July 1, 2, 2009 at Studio 1 of The Bulgarian
National Radio
Innova Director: Philip Blackburn
Operations Manager: Chris Campbell
Innova is supported by an endowment from the McKnight Foundation
:
Supported by the Jerome
Foundation, and
Argosy Foundation
Contemporary Music Fund