Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web.
In 2000 David Maslanka said, “The 371 Four-Part Chorales by J.S. Bach have come a focal point for my study and meditation. These chorales are the models for counterpoint and harmonic movement used by every beginning music theory student. I had my first encounter with them as a freshman at the Oberlin Conservatory in 1961. Ten years ago I returned to singing and playing them as a daily warm-up for my composing time. Since then the chorales have become a deep well for me, a huge access to dream space. The feeling is one of opening an unmarked door in a nondescript building, and being suddenly thrust into a different world. The chorales are this mysterious door to other worlds.”
Durch Adams Fall (Through Adam’s Fall) from The 371 Four-Part Chorales by J.S. Bach
This week, we look at two pieces of David’s music that were inspired by the chorale prelude Durch Adams Fall: Symphony No. 5, and Recitation Book, Mvt. V, “Fanfare/Variations on Durch Adams Fall.” Watch below to see this melody as it was harmonized by J.S. Bach.
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Symphony No. 5
According to Maslanka, “Much of the music of this Symphony is urgent and insistent. I have used the words ‘aggravated,’ ‘angry,’ and ‘overwhelming’ by way of description. But for all its blunt and assertive force, the Symphony is not tragic. It is filled with a bright and hopeful energy. The music…continually speaks to the theme of transformation – the transformation of tears into power, and the victory of life over death.” The chorale melody Durch Adams Fall appears throughout Movement I. Watch below as Stephen Story leads the Carnegie Mellon Wind Ensemble in a thrilling performance of this music.
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- Carnegie Mellon University School of Music
- Symphony No. 5 @ davidmaslanka.com
Recitation Book, Mvt. V, Fanfare/Variations on Durch Adams Fall
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- Oasis Quartet
- Recitation Book @ davidmaslanka.com
We would love to hear from you! If you know of any outstanding performances of David Maslanka’s music on the web, please email us at maslankaweekly@maslanka.org.
