THE VOCAL MUSIC OF
ALAN BEELER
OVERVIEW
The music of Alan Beeler (1939-2016) is frequently a compact, tightly focused one, presenting sharp contrasts of color and mood in the context of clear, direct compositional structures. Although noticeably influenced by artistic movements in Europe and America during the first half of the 20th century, Beeler’s musical voice is an identifiable one – crisp, bold, and pointedly quirky.
This voice is on full display in the THE VOCAL MUSIC OF ALAN BEELER, a new collection of recent works for ensembles both small and large.
THE SUTTON SONGS sets the poetry by Dorothy Sutton, Beeler’s former colleague at Eastern Kentucky University, performed by pianist Karolina Rojahn and soprano Aliana de la Guardia. Angular melodies and tart harmonies are effectively juxtaposed against gentle, lilting duets in this 7-movement work.
SYMPHONY NO. 3 is an orchestral and choral exploration of well-known Shaker hymns as experienced through Beeler’s own musical prism. Conducted by Ovidiu Marinescu and performed by the Filarmonica de Stat Târgu Mureş, the piece is an earnest, plaintive treatment of these cultural touchstones, given a reading filled with both force and grace by the orchestra and choir.
Two works which revel in the eccentric close out the album. The impish humor of Lewis Carroll has always been a favorite of Beeler’s, and the composer’s setting of the beloved JABBERWOCKY proves the match is a good one; a much more obscure piece of literature, INHUMAN HENRY by A.E. Houseman, forms the basis for the last work on the album. Scored for tenor and orchestra, the piece is a fable about the importance of accepting the unusual and unexpected – something to which Alan Beeler, composer and teacher, can most certainly attest.
HIGHLIGHTS
Beeler’s works have a “rigorously mathematical underpinning … belied by their emotional vividness” (Lucid Culture)
His full album THE REAL BEELER was released in 2014 on Navona Records, and his works have been featured on MOTO PERPETUO (2013), QUADRANTS (2012), and SLICES (2012)
Beeler has also released on Ravello Records, including QUINTESSENCE (2011) and VANGUARDS VOL. 1 (2014), available through PARMA Recordings
“Beeler here shows his command of orchestral forces as well as solo instruments … not hesitating to produce works in a standard number of movements and with traditional tempo indications, but communicating through the pieces in ways designed to bring listeners into an atonal universe” (Infodad)
Beeler has taught at Eastern Kentucky University and Wisconsin State University at Stevens Point
BIOGRAPHY
Alan Beeler completed his graduate study in theory and composition at Washington University, where he received an M.A. and Ph. D. He studied composition with Robert Wykes, Robert Baker, and Harold Blumenfeld, theory with Leigh Gerdine, and musicology with Lincoln Bunce Spiess and Paul Amadeus Pisk.
Beeler has taught music at Wisconsin State University at Stevens Point and Eastern Kentucky University, where he was Professor of Music Theory and Composition. His many compositions include works for solo piano, chorus, chamber ensemble, string orchestra, full orchestra, and voice.
ALSO ON NAVONA RECORDS
Alan Beeler
Release Date: July 8, 2016
Catalog #: NV6049
TRACK LISTING
The Sutton Songs
Aliana de la Guardia, soprano; Karolina Rojahn, piano
1 After He Died
2 Cold Iron Bars of Winter
3 A History of Laughter
4 Bybee Pottery
5 Kentucky Racetrack
6 Relatively Speaking
7 When we Got Married
Symphony No. 3: “Shaker Hymns”
Orchestra and Chior of the Târgu Mureş State Philharmonic
Ovidiu Marinescu, conductor
8 I. Allegro
9 II. Andante
10 III. Scherzo - Allegretto
11 IV. Finale - Broadly
12 Jabberwocky
Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra | Jiří Petrdlík, conductor
Brian Church, baritone
13 Inhuman Henry
Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra | Petr Vronský, conductor
Eric Christopher Perry, tenor
CREDITS
After He Died, Cold Iron Bars of Winter, and A History of Laughter
recorded May 14, 2014 at Futura Productions in Roslindale MA
Recording Session Producer Andy Happel
Recording Session Engineer John Weston
Bybee Pottery, Kentucky Race Track, Relatively Speaking, and
When We Got Married recorded December 7, 2015 at
Futura Productions in Roslindale MA
Recording Session Producer Andy Happel
Recording Session Engineer John Weston
Symphony No. 3: “Shaker Hymns” recorded June 24, 2015
in Târgu Mureş, Romania
Recording Session Producer Bob Lord
Recording Session Engineer Mircea Dragan
Jabberwocky recorded January 10, 2015 at Reduta Hall in
Olomouc, Czech Republic
Recording Session Producer Pavel Kuncar
Recording Session Engineer Aleš Dvořák
Jabberwocky vocal recorded February 10, 2016 at MixOne
Studios in Boston MA
Recording Session Producer Matt Konrad
Recording Session Engineer Adam Weiss
Inhuman Henry recorded March 3, 2015 at Reduta Hall,
Olomouc, Czech Republic
Recording Session Producer Pavel Kuncar
Recording Session Engineer Aleš Dvořák
Inhuman Henry vocal recorded March 18, 2016 at MixOne
Studios in Boston MA
Recording Session Producer Matt Konrad
Recording Session Engineer Adam Weiss
Executive Producer Bob Lord
Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
Recording Session Manager Matt Konrad
Audio Director Jeff LeRoy
Editing & Mixing Andy Happel, Shaun Michaud
Mastering Shaun Michaud
Production Engineer Nate Hunter
Art & Production Director Brett Picknell
Graphic Design Emily Roulo
Marketing Morgan MacLeod
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