Hussy
Trevor Grahl
Ensemble: Chamber Winds
Duration: 07:00
Year of Composition: 2010
Commissioned by: Orkest de Ereprijs
Publisher: self-published
Available: Yes
How to Acquire: Composer
Links:
Piccolo
Flute
Clarinet
Soprano Sax
Baritone Sax
Trumpet
Horn
Trombones 1,2
Tuba
Electric Guitar
Bass Guitar
Piano
Percussion (1 player)
Program Notes:
Hussy is a free transcription of “Shipoopi”, a song and dance number from Meredith Wilson’s American musical comedy The Music Man from 1957. I had a close association with this musical since my childhood, and felt compelled to create this work not only out of an old love for the original music and dance, but also since I’ve recently been re-visiting various musical experiences of my youth in order to ponder possible connections to my musical language and interests today. The transcription incorporates various kinds of material from both Broadway and film versions: direct, unambiguous quotation drawn directly from the source material; material in which the source has been has been used as a basis for transformation into another type of material; and finally, freely composed material inspired by, but not necessarily related to the source. Through these different articulations of material, I wanted to create a dramaturgy which would capture and in some sense, pervert the glorious extravagance and excess gesture so abundant in this number.
I found my creativity remarkably stirred by encouragement from my teacher Richard Ayres, constantly urging students to undergo musical self-examinations and, put simply, to ‘do what they want’, without fuss. Additionally, early discussions about the idea of composition as transcription with Michael Finnissy proved extremely rich, leading to new possibilities affecting my musical thought and the way I perceive musical form. Finally, (and perhaps most importantly), I was intensely stimulated by the sharing of hilarious, albeit serious, observations with Matthew Ricketts on the nature of excess and extravagance inherent in the dramaturgy of "Shipoopi". It is to him that I dedicate this work.
(Program note by Trevor Grahl)
