Cascadia Composers
present

Double Entendre

The Music of Art Resnick
8pm, Saturday, November 19th, 2011
Portland Community Music Center



- P R O G R A M -
(see program)(see program notes)

Bassoonette (2011) Mitch Limori, Bassoon (mp3)

I’ve always loved the sound of this very expressive instrument. There
are a couple of jazz devices (licks) in this piece. One is the quick triplet
which is often an embelishment in a jazz melody. Another is the “selfaccompaniment”
effect in the adagio section which is an homage to
the great saxophonist Sonny Rollins.

New Found Truth (1972*-2010) Maria Choban, Piano (mp3)

Last year while rummaging around in a box of old jazz lead sheets I
wrote in the 70’s I found one page of something I had started as a
jazz solo piano piece. What I had written was 9 measures of melody -
which occurs right after the introduction in the current piece. I decided
to extend the melodic idea and create a piece that somewhat
resembles a ternary piece (basically A-B-A) but doesn’t follow the
tonal rules. Here, after the second introduction of the opening bars,
the B section develops and builds until the third statement of the
opening bars returns. Then the altered version of A is again stated and
the piece ends dramatically.

Distance (2010) Nova String Trio (mp3)

Distance was a project where I was interested in replicating the
Doppler effect. For example when an object making a sound
approaches (like a train whistle at a train crossing) how the pitch and
volume changes and then changes back after passing. I chose strings
because of their ability to create smooth glissandi (slides). In this case
I did have a structure in mind-the sound and volume building to
exactly half-way through the piece and then receding in the same way.



Brief Moments (2010) Nancy Wood, Soprano, Paul Safar, Piano (mp3)

I had never written music for voice before nor had I much inclination
to do so. After attending many Cascadia Composers concerts and
hearing different singers I realized the interpretive possibilities that
particular singers could produce and I decided to try writing a piece for
a vocal and piano. I have writtten poetry for many years and I
remembered a poem I wrote in 2004 that was close to my heart.
I wanted to do something different than simple piano accompaniment
so I decided to make it more like a duet.

Brief Moments
In the brief moments that fall between the cracks in reality
Where I look into the eyes of love
and find the innocence I once barely knew
Before it was stolen,
My heart shatters into a million fragments
that fall to the ground like fruit beyond its time
and there begins to glow.
I feel the loss so terribly until the ashes cool
And one of those many seeds begins to grow my new heart,
Only then, am I able to venture another peek into that narrow chasm.
March, 2004

Toccanata (1970*-2011) Maria Choban, Piano (mp3)

The first page of this 3 movement piece is the same story as “New
Found Truth”. Originally started as a solo jazz piano piece scratched
out in pencil on a yellowing sheet of music paper. It inspired me to
play with the idea and it just took off.
I. Allegro is a quasi-sonata form where after pretending to go back for a
repeat of the 1st theme it goes to an altered 2nd theme and directly into
a development section. The recapitulation starts with the 2nd theme
and ends the movement with a brief quote of the 1st theme.
II. Adagio rather contemplative and moody all the while slowly builds
toward a very forceful anti-climax and then settles back into a
somewhat doleful ending.
III. Allegro con Brio This is the fiery toccata part of the piece which while
having a continuous ostinato in the midrange of the piano has a
“conversation” between the bass and treble. Ultimately there are
quotes from the other movements as it comes to its aggressive finish.

Experimentality (2010) Nova String Quartet (mp3)

This is my first string quartet (thus the name). It begins and ends with
a 12 tone row but is unsystematic for the most part. There is a main
theme that is interspersed between episodes featuring different
textures and colors. It always comes back somewhat transformed and
the sections are set off by short pauses (silence).

Jazz Sonata for Soprano Sax & Piano (1985*-2009-
2010) Blake Lyman-sax, Art Resnick-Piano

The exposition of the 1st movement was a separate jazz piece I
performed in 1985. I had also a jazz waltz I had written around the
same time that I rewrote as the 2nd movement. As it turns out this has
been a major collaboration. The numbers 5 and 3 hold a special role in
all the movements. All three movements contain sections of
improvisation over a harmonic base.

I. Allegro non troppo alternates between 5/4 and 3/4 time, the 1st
theme in 5 and the 2nd in 3. While giving the impression of having
tonal centers, they are but brief respites that quickly move on. (mp3)

II. Waltz Adagio is entirely in 3/4 time but the ostinato in the in the first
few bars is a compound rhythm of 5 against 3 beats. (mp3)

III. Allegro con Brio alternates between aggressive chaos and calm.
Again 5 in the rhythm is the time signature of the intense sections and
4/4 time in the reflective parts. 2/3rds of the way through we hear a
return to the ostinato figure at the beginning of the 1st movement-then
the coda containing quotes from both the 1st and 3rd movements and a
quiet fading out of the original figure with improvisation. (mp3)


- I n t e r m i s s i o n -


The Jazz Trio Pieces with the Art Resnick trio
Featuring Dan Schulte-bass, Jonas Oglesbee, drums

Beneath the Sea (1982) (mp3)

This is one of the few programmatic pieces I’ve ever written. Changing
rhythms and colors give me the impression of shifting currents. While
not specifically influenced by Ravel, as one of my favorite composers, I
dedicate this to him.

Monkeyshines (2002) (mp3)

Sort of a smile in the direction of Thelonius Monk who forged his own
way all the way. I wrote this after getting inspired by a song that
pianist Mcoy Tyner wrote about Monk.

Perry Mason Loses a Case (2004) (mp3)

I’ll never forget that Perry Mason theme. It was that “noirish” sound
that I kind of thought of for the intro. And I wanted to write
something where the bass played unison figures with my left hand.

Ala Ornette (2005) (mp3)

In this case I was attempting to imitate Ornette Coleman’s style of
writing. He was an alto saxophonist and composer that worked with
colors and textures in improvisation instead of the more traditional
melodic ideas over a set of chord changes. Some of the first “free”
playing. The idea here is to improvise using melodic fragments from
the written part (the song itself) without referring to any specific
harmony weaving them together in some sort of cohesion. Since there
is no written harmony each player blends with the others to create a
tapestry that fuses together.


Cascadia Composers