Matthew H. Fields

Origami Symphony

Instrumentation3 flutes (3.=picc);2 ob.;cor ang.;3 Bb clarinets (3.=Bb bscl.) 3 bssns (3.=cbn)
4 Hn in F; 3 tpt in C; 2 ttbn; btbn; tuba
perc 1: 4 timp; glsp.; crash cymb.
perc 2: 3 different gongs; 2 different triangles; crotales; sn.drm.; 4 temple blocks; glsp.
perc 3: huge tamtam; susp.cymb.; xylo; 2 triang.; sn.drm;
perc 4: tubular chimes; finger cymbals; vbph.; glsp.; 4 toms.
perc 5: bs drm.; rivet/sizzle cymbal; marimba (down to low A); claves; susp.cymb. tambourine
harp, piano (= celeste), strings
Percussion instruments can be shared. String parts call for 4 soloists from each violin section, and 2 soli from each of va.,vc.,cb., plus at least two more of each---ideally at least 12/12/10/8/5.
Length15 minutes.
DifficultyUndergraduate.
CommentsStyle =~ Berg Meets Debussy...
SourcesScores available from me: email fields@eecs.umich.edu or Snailmail 1310 Packard St. No. 2, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 USA. Phone 313-936-7935 days, 313-769-4836 eves. Parts - write to me if you want parts, and we'll work it out. [See my tape at SKR Classical Records, AA, MI]
ExtrasI've extracted some miniatures from this for string quartet, and can e-mail a midi file of that on demand, but I wrote this piece on vellum.
HistoryThe string quartet version has been played a couple of times to good effect; the symphony is unpremiered. 4 movements to the symphony: "Basic Folds"---a Berg-ish ABA form; "Grasshopper", a jumpy dance; "Spider", a misterioso; and "Soaring Bird", a lyrical waltz. All four are "folded out of" the same basic materials.
Contributorthe composer, Matthew H. Fields, A.Mus.D.
OtherMatt's Home page http://www-personal.umich.edu/~fields/

Crossroads

InstrumentationSoprano and Early Chamber Orchestra: tenor recorder, harpsichord, guitar, 2 violins, viola, cello.
Length23 minutes
DifficultySinger's part bottoms out on a, and climaxes on d'", with a high-ish tessiture. Chromatic writing, quite within the reach of typical college players.
CommentsStyle=~Monteverdi meets Mahler. Tonal in the sense that Gesualdo Book 5 is modal. Texts by A.J.Cannaday. Each movement in a single tempo and meter. 3 movements: 1. Solsticetide, 2. Selena Walked, 3. Spring Came. Completed November 1994.
SourcesScore and parts available from me: fields@eecs.umich.edu or Snailmail 1310 Packard St. No.2, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA. Phone 313-936-7935 days, 313-769-4836 eves.
Extrasrough midi file available from me in e-mail.
HistoryWritten for the voice of Nancy Leinonen Howells at MIT, completed 28 November 1994. Premiered 18 May 1996 by Nancy Leinonen Howells, soprano, with Mannheim Steamroller's Roxanne Layton, recorder; Ms.Howells' accompanist Brian Moll, harpsichord, Brazilian guitarist Tom Noren; and MIT students Kay Anne Chen and Max Chen, violins, Jennifer Grucza, viola, and Edward Wu, cello; at Massechussetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massechussetts, USA.
ContributorThe composer, Matthew H. Fields, A.Mus.D., fields@eecs.umich.edu
OtherMatt's Home page http://www-personal.umich.edu/~fields/

Sages of Chelm

InstrumentationSeparate parts for 2 oboes, 2 horns, 8 violins, 3 violas, 2 violoncellos, contrabass
Length3 movements totalling 60 minutes
DifficultyHard
CommentsThe movements (I: 30 min; II: 15 min; III: 15 min) can be performed in isolation, and they also link with each other through cyclic motifs. This is a dramatic and joyous work in a post-romantic tonal language (think Mahler...), with some material overtly based on torah trop, haftarah trop, and klezmer music. The first movement has been recorded, but this recording has not been released.

At this writing (18 November 2001) I am hosting the web page http://www-personal.umich.edu/~fields/sagedemo.html which gives some sample pages in PDF, a sample of the recording in MP3, a rough take of the entire piece in MIDI (this is over 1MB), and the score in SCORCH (Sibelius) format.

SourcesScores, parts, and tapes from:
Matthew H. Fields
1310 Packard St. Apt 2
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-3849
USA

tel 734-769-4836
e-mail fields@umich.edu

ExtrasWith some advance notice I can also arrange to transmit to a conductor either the whole recording of the first movement in MP3 format (27 Mb), or the whole score and set of parts in PDF (approximately 12 Mb).
HistoryThis was originally requested by members of an ensemble which could not arrange to commission it. Thus it took a long time to write as I couldn't afford to work on it as constantly as I would have liked. When it was finished, I learned that the ensemble had entered into contracts that procluded their playing it. A pick-up group in Houston, Texas, USA recorded the first movement. I am trying to arrange funding to record the whole thing, but most of the applicable funding is designated for ensembles and not for composers.
Contributorthe composer
Other

Hubble Space Telescope Views

Instrumentationpicc+2 fl, 2ob+eng hn, 2 cl + bscl, 2 bssn+cbn, 4hn, 3 tpt, 2 tbn + bstbn, tuba, timp, 3 perc, hp, str.
Length10:35
DifficultyCollege+
CommentsImpressionistic-romantic prelude in honor of the science and mindbending images retrieved by orbiting instruments.
SourcesScore and parts (PDF) and MP3 available from composer at http://personal.www.umich.edu/~fields/complist.html
Extras
History-
Contributorthe composer
Other

Sunset

InstrumentationOrchestra 3-3-3-3 4-3-3-1 timp+3 hp str
Length14
DifficultyMedium
CommentsA gentle romantic adagio, Sunset will ultimately be the opening movement of a set of more movements concluding with Hubble Space Telescope Views.
SourcesPDF and MP3:
http://www.matthewfields.net/Works/Orchestral/Sunset

Further information:
http://www.matthewfields.net/Contact
Extras
History-
ContributorMatthew H. Fields, composer@matthewfields.net
Other

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