A gift for Het CONSORT

[John Craton]

As a small token of my appreciation for the members of Het CONSORT who made my visit to the Netherlands in April such a wonderful experience, I composed a collection of variations for solo mandolin based on themes from Jakob van Eyck’s Der Fluyten Lust-hof. Each set of variations is dedicated to an individual member of the CONSORT. Alex was kind enough to present the members their copies earlier this week, so now I would like to share them with the Café.

Alas, my method of demonstrating appreciation will, I fear, lead to a great deal of frustration for those who actually attempt to play these pieces — but what can one do? #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif #My visit with the CONSORT was made a truly memorable experience because of the warm welcome and hospitality I was shown by everyone there. I felt I had to do something to express my gratitude, but unfortunately (for them) this was the best I could devise.

Nevertheless, for anyone interested in these little ditties (at least the original themes are notable), you can find both Scorch sound files and PDFs suitable for viewing and printing here (http://www.craton.net/music/vaneyck.htm).

Thanks to Alex and Het CONSORT and to all the members of the Café who have contributed so much to making my life a tad more interesting over the last few years. And Victor, Richard, Linda (you know who you are), my special thanks for putting up with me as I continually endeavor to offend the muses with my paltry offerings.

[Linda Binder]

Thank you John!!!! Wow! It's such an interesting idea to compose a set of variations for the actual individual members of an ensemble. It's very generous of you to share your music with the rest of us. I'm looking forward to spending time listening and playing this music.
--Linda

[Linda Binder]

John, I've been listening to the files and following along on the scores. These are really great! They look very "mandolinistic" and fun to play-the word "delightful" keeps coming to mind as I listen, but they're all very substantive and interesting as well. Thank you!!!! I'm so glad it's raining heavily today -- I'm just going to stay inside and play! I hope I get to meet everyone in Alex's group, Het Consort, someday. They've inspired some wonderful music!
--Linda

[John Craton]

I hope I get to meet everyone in Alex's group, Het Consort, someday. #They've inspired some wonderful music! #
I hope I'm not stealing Alex's thunder by telling you that the CONSORT is planning for an American tour next summer. (I believe Victor has already mentioned this here at the Café, so maybe I won't get in trouble #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif #) As I recall, they have venues planned in Providence and NYC so far, so hopefully we can all get together soon!

Thanks so much for your kind words about the variations, Linda. If your weather is anything like ours this afternoon, you'll be lucky to hear yourself play. I just gave a lesson to the accompaniment of a tremendous thunderstorm that was most impressive — almost Wagnerian in its intensity.

[vkioulaphides]

Thunder... well, there HAS been rumbling for a while, John. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

!Saludos!

Victor

(writing from the balmy, stormy Caribbean)

[vkioulaphides]

Another note in haste, from said locale. As usual between us composer-friends, John was gracious to have offered me a sneak preview of his latest offspring. I realize, all too late, that I had, most INgraciously, failed to respond with all the laud due this lovely, new work. I hope and trust that John, knowing the, ehm... heightened level of madness in my life right now, will understand and excuse.

Pick on, mando-brethren!

[Alex Timmerman]

Hello John and all,


First of all, and be sure I'm speaking on behalf of all The CONSORT members, a big 'Thank you!' John, for everything that you did for us! We feel very honoured and blessed with all the fine music you composed.

I think it all started with a simple question whether the arrangement for String Orchestra that John had made of Victor’s ‘Variations on a Basque Melody’ could also be nice in a setting for Mandolin Orchestra. I believe John had first heard the Variations played by Ferdinand Binnendijk - for whom Victor had composed the piece - in its original setting for solo mandolin, and that he simply loved it. So much so that he had asked Victor if it was OK for him to orchestrate the work. And we all know Victor, don’t we; there was no problem whatsoever! #
(The video can still be viewed; click here and make the choise that works best for your computer (http://www.archive.org/details/VariationsOnABasqueMelody)).


Back then I never could have expected that our mutual passion for music and the friendship that this brought about between us would be so fruitful.

The 1st original composition John composed for us was ‘The Legend of Princess Noccalula’; a really wonderful work for Mandolin solo & Mandolin Orchestra that was premiered by us (in the presence of the composer!) on the 1st of April this year. At the same concert we premiered also Victor's ‘Variations on a Basque Melody’ in John's orchestration for Mandolin Orchestra. Both works were very well received by a large public that had come to the concert in Scherpenzeel. An event organized by my friends Hendrik van den Broek and his wife Marja.

In the meantime I had found out that John had already written 3 Concertos for Mandolin solo and Orchestra. The Mandolin Concerto No. I in d-minor looked very nice to me because it was written for Mandolin accompanied by a String Orchestra.
Since I am always on the look for new contemporary music for my students, I thought this was the piece for Ferdinand to study and eventually perform it at a music school concert. A nice coincidence was that exactly this Concerto was dedicated to Victor Kioulaphides, something that Ferdinand liked very much since the two had met in Holland in March 2005 and therefore knew each other.

Ferdinand got the music in the beginning of January, and if I remember well, I informed you here at the Mandolin Café about his performance with Eva van den Dool on Piano of the 1st and 2nd movements on the 13th of February 2006. Of course John was informed about the success of his Concerto and the performances of it by Eva and Ferdinand and it was perhaps because of this that somewhere in the 2nd week of March US mail addressed to Ferdinand was received. In the package Ferdinand found a composition for Solo Mandolin that was, much to his own surprise, especially written for him!
John had composed a set of Variations on a Dutch Renaissance song called ‘Doen Daphne d´Over Schoone Maeght’ that he had taken from ‘Der Fluyten Lust-hof’ (The Recorder's Pleasure Garden); a two volume collection of music printed in Utrecht (Netherlands) in 1644, originally compiled and completed with virtuosic variations by the blind recorder player and composer Jakob van Eyck (±1590/91-1657).
This certainly was a great present and Ferdinand, eager to do something in return, started studying ‘his’ Daphne Variations right away. It must have amazed John when he witnessed it already being performed by Ferdinand at a special concert at our Music school on March 31.
Besides this work, all movements of the 1st Mandolin Concerto were played as well as Victor’s Rhapsody for Mandolin & Piano by Sebastiaan de Grebber and Sarah Beernink.

Talking about mandolin in combination with piano; John had brought with him on his visit to the Netherlands a set of five concert pieces he composed for this instrument combination. He had named the collection ‘Dioses Aztecas’ (Aztec Gods) and dedicated them to Sebastiaan de Grebber.
Wonderful music for two virtuoso performers and it was very interesting to see Sebastiaan and John go over the score. For Sebastiaan to find out exactly the meaning behind the notes and for John to see that almost anything is possible on a mandolin. #

As mentioned above, the next day, on the 1st of April John’s ‘The Legend of Princess Noccalula’ was given its first public performance by Het CONSORT with Sebastiaan as the mandolin soloist. After the concert we had diner and John, Jorge (guitarist), Anahi (violinist) and I talked a lot about music, composing, the mandolin and its music etc. etc. and it is likely that John generated some nice ideas for future compositions here.

This must have been so because not long after John had returned to the US Eva, as Ferdinand’s accompanist in the Mandolin Concerto, was presented a brand new 13 minutes lasting composition called ‘Sonata Colloquia For Marimba & Piano’ for her and her duo partner Christiaan Saris. It is not a combination with mandolin, but believe me a lot of tremolo is being asked from the marimba player!

After this short separation from the mandolin John orchestrated the Sonata Representativa by Heinrich Biber (1644-1704) for Het CONSORT, a work that will most likely be on our concert program next year.
I don’t know for sure, but it was during his work on the Biber Sonate that the idea was born to compose new Variations for mandolin solo on themes from van Eyck’s ‘Der Fluyten Lust-hof’. One for each of the plectrum players of Het CONSORT.
About one and a half month ago from today John finished this project (assuring me that he hadn’t forgotten the guitarists; ‘something would also come their way’) and if it wasn’t because of problems with the post/custom that caused a delay of a month (!) before the package arrived at my place, the members of the orchestra would not have received them last week but much earlier. And not as simple A4 sheets ejected by my computer, but as real music books containing all 8 Variations sets!
Fortunate John’s post package, we had almost given up hope that it would surface (somewhere), did arrive a few days ago so we all have our copy first rehearsal after the summer holiday.


Still this is not all. Because of my e-mail correspondence about Ferdinand's performances in John's 1st Mandolin Concerto with the Orkest van het Oosten and the Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra I knew that John had, with Sebastiaan’s virtuosic fingers in mind, already started composing another work of interest. This time a demanding piece for unaccompanied mandolin in a more contemporary idiom based on George MacDonald’s ‘The Gray Wolf’. #


My biggest surprise however came with an e-mail in which John said he composed a Double Mandolin Concerto. Now you must know that this is, no was (!) always one of my biggest wishes… And here it was. A very substantial three movement work for 2 mandolins and String Orchestra! The score looks great and from what I hear through the Scorch file CD that accompanied the score, I am sure this concerto will become a major work within the repertoire for Mandolin and Orchestra. An absolute fantastic work; wonderful orchestra writing and solo parts that both are equally interesting.
The ‘Concerto for 2 Mandolins & Orchestra in G Minor’ with the subtitle "Rromane Bjavela" ("Romani Evenings") is, and this makes it very special for me, dedicated to my wife Marianne and composed for Sebastiaan and Ferdinand.

Preparations for the premiere of the Double Mandolin Concerto are already being made and if any structural progress is being made with regard to this you will be the first to know! #


And that would make the circle round, for a lot of these wonderful compositions were not even ideas when we talked and had diner in Scherpenzeel…



Many, many thanks John!

Alex


PS 1. For all those who like to hear John Craton’s orchestration of the ‘Variations on a Basque Melody’ composed by Victor Kioulaphides as it was performed by Het CONSORT on the 1st of April this year, #
click here and enjoy. (http://falseblue.com/temp/Kioulaphides_-_Basque_Variations.mp3) Since it is a large file the downloading of the music will take a few minutes.


PS 2. For info about John Craton, his Mandolin Compositions and the performers of his mandolin music visit the CONSORT composers Webpage by clicking here. (http://www.mandolineorkest.nl/informatie/encomponist05.htm)

Photo: Diner with John and Het CONSORT in Scherpenzeel...

[John Craton]

Thanks for your very kind remarks, Alex, Victor, et al., though I fear you are too generous with your compliments about my music. My little scribblings are simply the only way I know to try to repay all the kindnesses everyone extended to me on my journey (and both before and after).

Alex must take most of the credit (or blame http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif ) for the double concerto. As we were walking together to my hotel one evening from downtown Zwolle, he mentioned hoping someday to have someone compose a concerto for two mandolins as he was in the rare and enviable position of having two world-class mandolinists in his ensemble at present (Sebastiaan and Ferdinand). The idea of writing a concerto for two mandolins had never before entered my mind, but his offhand remark got the ball rolling on the concept. For better or worse, I managed to get some ideas together for that and came up with the "Rromane Bjavela" concerto. As I also wanted to do something to express my gratitude to Marianne (who put up with me for far longer than most would have endured), I was happy to dedicate the work to her. (It also allowed me to avoid the challenge of having to come up with a Van Eyck variation for chittarone solo! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif )

Should anyone at the Café get the opportunity to visit Zwolle and meet with the members of Het CONSORT personally, you will quickly understand the inspiration that the meeting will engender. A kinder, friendlier group of people you'll never meet (and that said by a son of the Old South, a confederacy of people who pride themselves on their own warm hospitality).

Thanks again, Alex, for your indefatigable work in promoting our wonderful instrument. And Victor, enjoy your well-deserved holiday (though we eagerly await your return).

Best to all!