Among the repertoire presented in Mito City, Japan for the 2024 International Women’s Brass Conference were two new works for solo brass by Joanna Ross Hersey. Mountain of the Cloistered Mind was composed for tuba and electronic track for Dr. Gretchen Renshaw James, as part of her Diverse Voices in Music Project, supported by the Odyssey Professorship from Hendrix College. Dr. Renshaw’s work supports the creation of music of modest difficulty, approachable for a variety of players. The title is taken from lyrics which Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) wrote to honor one of her favorite saints, and the founder of the order at Disibodenberg, where she spent much of her life. Her hymn “O presul vere civitatis” or “Bishop of the True City,” a sequence for St. Disibod which served as inspiration for this composition, is found in her Symphonia Armonie Celestium Revelationum (Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations). This collection of Hildegard’s compositions forms part of the Riesencodex (c. 1175-1190), a large volume which contains sets of musical works, together with her musical play Ordo virtutum, her life story, and various writings and letters. Surviving today, the Riesencodex is part of the collection at the Hochschul-und Landesbibliothek RheinMain in Wiesbaden, Germany. The book itself has a fascinating history, being removed for safekeeping during the second world war and briefly lost. Hildegard’s lyrics honor the heights to which humanity can reach, with their rightful focus on God.
St. Disibod (c. 619-700) provided the inspiration for the electronic accompaniment, which centers a feeling of calm such as he might have experienced as he arrived to settle atop a hill in rural Germany, after leaving his native Ireland. Set in a patch of forest in the quiet and peaceful Glan and Nahe River valley, a church and community was built in harmony with the surrounding farmland. When, as a child, Hildegard arrived there more than 400 years later, she flourished under the creative atmosphere which welcomed her. She stayed on in service to the church, wrote books, composed music, and led her thriving community of nuns. The work of St. Disibod provided the foundation for all that was to come. Through her music, Hildegard honored his adventurous spirit, and his value of community in harmony with nature. Renshaw presented the premiere on August 16, 2024 in Mito City, Japan.
August 18th brought a new work for horn, Musicians of the National Gallery, commissioned by Stacey Eliason and funded in part by the Meir Rimon Commissioning Assistance Program of the International Horn Society. This fund supports new works for the horn in honor of Meir Rimon (1946-1991), former Vice-President of the International Horn Society and Principal Horn of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The program sponsors approachable pieces which can be enjoyed by a range of players. Stacey’s love of museums served as inspiration, and sound elements of her visits to favorite locations are incorporated into the electronic accompaniment.
The work is presented as a graphic score, with artwork was created by Qiudi Zhang. Graphic scores are sets of musical instructions which are not presented in traditional musical notation format, but rather involve pictorial and artistic elements, and often leave much to the improvisation and imagination of the player. In the twentieth century, graphic scores became a way to share the compositional process more equally between the composer and the performer, and involve concepts of improvisation and chance elements in the musical presentation. The performance of Musicians of the National Gallery involves the player making choices between elements of melodic material paired with four paintings. The performer can visit the paintings in any order, and choose from the musical elements found at each place along their journey through the exhibition.
The gallery presented includes a portrait of famed Italian musician Lucia Bonasoni Garzoni, painted by Lavinia Fontana in 1590, paying homage to the contributions of women as artists, performers, and composers across history. Two 19th century works, Standing Musician, credited to painters in the circle of Mariano Fortuny Marsal in 1870, and The Banjo Lesson, painted by Mary Cassatt in 1893, represent activity in both the home and public spheres. The Musician, painted by Louis Casimir Ladislas Marcoussis in 1914, illustrates new styles and directions. These works celebrate past creativity in a global context, providing a backdrop for fresh new musical inspiration.
Both works are composed to be playable by those at a variety of levels, providing flexibility and choice for beginning and intermediate solo repertoire. The optional electronic accompaniment allows players to experiment with improvisation in an approachable way, and in both works the addition of light percussion is also welcome. Both pieces are available for purchase from the composer’s website, with Mountain of the Cloistered Mind available as a paper score or for instant download, and Musicians of the National Gallery available exclusively in paper score format, to allow the beauty of the artwork to best represent the original paintings. Free shipping is available for all items in the store.
The International Women’s Brass Conference works to provide inspiration and opportunity for female brass musicians, brings networking and mentorship opportunities, and supports the creation of repertoire which is representative of the full scope of our musical world. The organization was founded by Susan Slaughter in 1992, with the goal of hosting events with a place for everyone to connect and learn, and remains true to this vision with the first event held outside of the United States. Much appreciation to host Kana Maderame and her team in Mito City for their dedication bringing the International Women’s Brass Conference to Japan, providing a setting for new works such as these to be shared with a global audience.
Stacey Eliason
https://www.mrs-eliason.com/about
Dr. Gretchen Renshaw James
https://www.gretchenrenshaw.com/