Project: Jazztrio and symphonic orchestra

Jazztrio and symphonic orchestra

 
Project “Jazztrio and symphonic orchestra”

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Jazztrio and symphonic orchestra 

 

The idea to commission a work from Markus Stockhausen and his jazz trio resulted from an initial cooperation between the group and the Bergische Symphoniker in 1999. This ambitious borderline projekt, including five first performances of pieces for Jazz Trio and Orchestra, was realized with the support of the Nordrhein-Westfalia Foundation for Art and Culture.

„Dream music stormed the hearts and ears“ was the Remscheider Generalanzeiger's headline on 22nd March 2002 after the first performance of CHORAL and SEHNSUCHT for Jazz Trio and Orchestra. The performance had „torn the completely ecstatic audience out of their seats with enthusiastic bravos and shouts of joy. The ovations lasted a good ten minutes … Even tears of joy could be seen as Romely Pfund put down his baton to let an applause begin which had seldom been experienced by the orchestra and guest soloists. With this concert, containing two first performances by the remarkable soloists Markus Stockhausen (trumpet, piccolo trumpet and flugelhorn), Arild Andersen (bass) and Patrice Héral (percussion, voice), Jazz achieved a triumphant entry into Remscheid's Teo Otto theatre, storming both ears and hearts.“

(Since then, CHORAL and SEHNSUCHT have often been performed, and always enthusiastically received.)

Inspired by this great success, his third piece for this combination, SONNENAUFGANG (SUNRISE), was performed in Switzerland by the MAP Jazz Trio and the Musikkollegium Wintherthur. „It was a remarkable performance, rewarded by a storm of applause. The MAP Trio, consisting of the composer (trumpets), Arild Andersen (bass) and Patrice Héral (drums), proved to be ideal performers of this technically very demanding work, in which the soloists were given ample opportunity to show what they could do. Stockhausen's craft was completely convincing […] he achieved a clever blend of symphonic and jazz music […] MAP generated a powerful drive, which also inspired the orchestra. Stockhausen shone with his high Bach trumpet, muted ordinary trumpet and with his flugelhorn in breakneck soli. The bass player and drummer were no less brilliant; incredible, what they conjoured out of their instruments. The public's excitement knew no bounds.“ (Aargauer Zeitung 23rd March)

Here's what the composers say about these pieces:

Arild Andersen: S. Now – Signal – Awakening

These three new pieces were commissioned by the Bergischen Symphoniker in December 2001 and January 2002. They were written for Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Trio: Markus Stockhausen (trumpets), Arild Andersen (bass) and Patrice Héral (percussion and voice).

S. Now begins with Patrice Héral's voice. After this „opening“, I join in with a few electronic effects on my bass, and then fade over into string harmonies. This piece has a „walking bass groove“ with a triplet feeling, while the percussion plays a rhythm in sixteenths.

Signal is a memory of Spain. Horn and side drum against a bass solo, with beautiful harmonies and full strings. This is not about lots of notes, but about sound! The leader of the orchestra is also a soloist here.

Awakening is a piece built around a chromatic motiv in the tonal space between E and A. It begins with fragments of this theme played by the brass and woodwind, while the trio improvises freely above it, creating a „chaotic“ sound. The melody is then presented by the flugelhorn before transforming into solo improvisations: first for flugelhorn, then for bass. All built on the chromatic motive between E and A.

Markus Stockhausen: CHORAL – SEHNSUCHT

CHORAL: I wrote the theme of this movement for the now deceased „jazz pope“ Joachim Ernst Berendt's 75th birthday. It is a movement for brass in my version for orchestra.

Arild Anderson, Patrice Héral and I have played it in many concerts, often followed by a rhythmically intense bass improvisation. Here too, the bass and percussion begin, but they are soon joined by a „riff“ on the trombones and then trumpets and strings.

The solo trumpet then plays a second theme in a triplet rhythm together with the strings, continuing the improvisation. The piece ends with the ostinato bass/percussion figure which previously introduced the bass improvisation. All that remains after that is a static sound in the violins and bases, which leads into the following piece.

SEHNSUCHT: The passacaglia-like theme occurred to me all at once. I was looking for a moving melody. Something which didnt scream and shout. The title (LONGING) describes the feeling I have myself, when listening to this theme.

The piece builds up slowly. This time it is the woodwind who begin, accompanied by sympathetic bass improvisations. The solo flugelhorn then leads for a short time into a first melodic theme, making things more lively, before playing a second theme in a longer improvisation which increases the tension, until it culminates in a lively unison passage in the whole orchestra.

The climax is a percussion solo, „heated up“ by short interjections from the orchestra. Going into reverse order, the solo flugelhorn then calms down with the shortened second and first themes. The piece ends as it began with „longing“ passacaglia lines in the woodwind, in garlands of soft improvisations by the solo instruments. (Markus Stockhausen, 14th February 2002)

The concert series „Impulse“ portrayed the composer Markus Stockhausen – Whereby Markus Stockhausen, who took part in the concert, celebrated...

An exciting, madly gripping listening experience – the audience were completely deranged, applauding with enthusiastic...(Remscheider Generalanzeiger)

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Examples from our press review:

	Die Konzertreihe "Impulse" porträtierte den Komponisten Markus Stockhausen – Dabei feierte der bei dem Konzert mitwirkende Markus Stockhausen...
	ein aufregendes, wahnsinnig spannendes Hörerlebnis – das [...] das völlig aufgelöste Publikum mit begeisterten... Remscheider Generalanzeiger

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