“Beat it… beat it…. beat it….” Hmm, not sure what the rest of the words are. Let’s try another. “Thriller…. thriller…. dum dum dum da da da de…” Hmm, don’t remember those words either. Let’s try “Billy Jean.. doo doo doo” Oh dear, I don’t seem to be remembering any of the words. Wait! I remember another: “We are the world, we are the doo doo..” I can’t remember that one either. Oh drat!

I couldn’t help out as I could never understand the words either.

Young Maurice Ravel

My Dear Rufus

I heard your preview aria from your new opera and am quite pleased at your new direction.

Might I remind you to please not be overly influenced by Philip Glass, and his habit of getting “stuck” in one register when composing for the keyboard. Look at the piano music I have written and especially Claude’s brilliant Preludes. In fact, I encourage you to set aside some time to compose your own set of preludes, much like Billy Joel did.

I hope that your entire opera does not “hover” as much as this little jewel does. I encourage you to explore textures that you have never worked in. Learn how to compose a scherzo; a vivace section, like Vivaldi would; a gripping allegro; a captivating fugato (I don’t care about fugues for the most part), but especially get away from the omnipresent homophonic writing that exemplifies so much of your attempts at bridging classical music. You have a terrific sense of melody and harmony, but only a so-so sense of counterpoint. Learn how to make harmonic motion turn into a sea of individual voices. Discover other strong textures besides the Kleinian “wall of sound.”

Critics may tar you with the same brush that they did with Claude’s “Pelleas” — complaining about a lack of action. Be strong, my boy, be strong. Don’t let good reviews get you fat, and bad reviews get you down. Trust your momentum.

Best of luck with the premieres of your new opera. A very exciting time, indeed!

Hugs

Maurice Ravel

PS: And I love the new beard!

Paul Monette and Roger Bourland

Paul Monette heard the premiere of HIDDEN LEGACIES in Royce Hall and rushed up to me afterwords to thank John and me. I saw him socially a few times later and asked him whether he was interested in providing lyrics for a piece for GMCLA. His energy was limited at this time and though he said he wanted to, I didn’t think it was ever going to happen. I later suggested finding something from his extant works, and he like the idea. I excerpted part of the introduction from ELEGIES FOR ROG and set it for unaccompanied men’s chorus, calling it “All there is is love” which is the final line in the text.

Paul and Winston, and Bruce and I went to the premiere. Three if us went in black tie (Paul’s idea); Winston was in full leather. It was a lovely evening and a lovely memory. This performance is from the April 4, 1993 performance in the Wiltern Theater, Jon Bailey conducting.
Download audio file (allthereisislove.mp3)
All there is is love
Music: Roger Bourland
Text: Paul Monette
Jon Bailey conducts the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles
Published by Yelton Rhodes Music, Los Angeles.
Chuck White, recording

“The story that endlessly eludes the press is the death of a generation of gay men. [Amen] What is written here is only [We are talking about] one man’s passing and one man’s cry, a warrior burying a warrior. May it fuel the fire of those on the front lines who mean to prevail, and of their friends who stand in the fire with them. We will not be bowed down or erased by this. I learned too well wht it means to be a people, learned in the joy of my best friend what all the meaningless pain and horror cannot take away––that all there is is love. Pity us not.”

The piece got a warm reception at the premiere but has never been performed since. All the original synthesizers are no longer in production, so the work would have to be re-orchestrated to get it back on its feet. The recording you will hear here is problematic because of the enormous auditorium (Medinah Temple) we played in and what I assume was the air conditioning on a very hot day. Nonetheless, you’ll get an idea of how the piece goes.

LETTERS TO THE FUTURE (1993)
1. Song of God B (Merrill)
Download audio file (letters1.godb.mp3)
2. Symmetrical Companion (Swenson)
Download audio file (letters2.symcom.mp3)
3. Distressed (Gunn)
Download audio file (letters3.distressed.mp3)
4. Spring Spell (Alarcon)
Download audio file (letters4.springspell.mp3)
5. the last song (hooks)
Download audio file (letters5.the_last_song.mp3)
6. Years from Now (McClatchy)
Download audio file (letters6.years.mp3)
7. Now and forever (Ginsberg)
Download audio file (letters7.now-and_forever.mp3)
8. Something in mind (Rich)
Download audio file (letters8.something.mp3)

Music: Roger Bourland
Poetry: James Merrill, May Swenson, Thom Gunn, Francisco X Alarcon, JD McClatchy, bell hooks, Allen Ginsburg, Adrienne Rich
Richard Garrin conducts the Windy City Gay Chorus (June 1994)
Published by Yelton Rhodes Music, Los Angeles

LETTERS TO THE FUTURE (the poems)

(1) Song of God Biology

IVE BROTHERS HEAR ME
BROTHERS SIGNAL ME
ALONE IN MY NIGHT
BROTHERS DO YOU WELL
I AND MINE
HOLD IT BACK
BROTHERS I AND MINE
SURVIVE
SISTERS HEAR ME
SIGNAL ME
DO YOU WELL
I AND MINE
HOLD IT BACK
I ALONE IN MY NIGHT
SISTERS I AND MINE
SURVIVE
SISTERS DO YOU WELL
I ALONE IN MY NIGHT
I HOLD IT BACK
I AND MINE
SURVIVE
BROTHERS SIGNAL ME
IN MY NIGHT
I AND MINE
HOLD IT BACK
AND WE SURVIVE

O O O O O O O O O O

© 1980 by James Merrill

(2) SYMMETRICAL COMPANION

It must be
there walks somewhere in the world
another
another namely like me

Not twin
but opposite
as my two hands are opposite

Where are you
my symmetrical companion?

Do you inhabit
the featureless fog
of the future?
Are you sprinting
from the shadows
of the past
to overtake me?
Or are you camouflaged
in the colored present?
Do I graze you every day
as yet immune to your touch
unaware of your scent
inert under your clance?

Come to me
Whisper your name
I will know you instantly
by a passport
decipherable to ourselves alone

We shall walk uniformed
in our secret
We shall be a single reversible cloak
lined with light within
furred with dark without

Nothing shall be forbidden us
All bars shall fall before us
Even the past shall be lit behind us
and seen to have led
like two predestined corridors
to the vestibule of our meeting

We shall be two daring acrobats
above the staring faces
framed in wheels of light
visible to millions
yet revealed only to each other
in the tiny circular mirrors
of our pupils

We shall climb together
up the frail ladders
balancing on slender
but steel-strong thongs of faith
When you leap
my hands will be surely there
at the arc’s limit
We shall synchronize
each step of the dance upon the wire
We shall not fall
as long as our gaze is not severed

Where are you
my symmetrical companion?

Until I find you
my mouth is locked
my heart is numb
my mind unlit
my limbs unjointed

I am a marionette
doubled up in a dark trunk
a dancer frozen
in catatonic sleep
a statue locked
in the stone
a Lazarus wrapped
in the swaddling strips
not of death
but of unborn life

a melody bound
in the strings of the viol
a torrent imprisoned
in ice
a flame buried
in the coal
a jewel hidden
in a block of lava

Come release me
Without you I do not exist

© 1991 The Literary Estate of May Swenson

(3) DISTRESSED

San Francisco winter weather:
kid distressed much like his leather
sitting back from people’s feet
on his long bag in a doorway
– I across the rainy street
thinking “that boy’s in a poor way
he’s
got no take on the future.”

Trying still to take it easy
isn’t easy, grubby, greasy
when the going gets too rough,
not quite cute unless to someone
for whom this not cute enough
down-and-out and damp and dumb one
would
be one take on the future.

Yet he glances up alertly
neither servilely nor pertly
mutely and with interest
at each heedless man who passes
– smiling up although distressed
at the feet and knees and asses
of
those fast takes on the future.

What’s he up to? what’s he doing?
I can’t guess what thoughts are brewing
in that lowered mind of his,
see him fumble in his jacket
looking for whatever it is
urgently — as if to track it
would
be some take on the future.

Now his hand is hovering, see it,
round his mouth. Why?… That must be it:
in the margin underneath
this low life he has been brought to,
I can see him brush his teeth
up and down as he was taught to
just
like a take on the future.

© 1993 by Thom Gunn

(4) Spring Spell

Tahui! Tahui! Tahui! Tahui!

Jaguar! Jaguar! Burning bright
In the forest of the night;
Break my heart, smash my hopes,
I still will sprout as the grass on the slopes.

Ay mi hermano, ay mi hermana,
Hoy, ayer viene después de mañana.
O my sister, O my brother,
Today, yesterday comes after tomorrow.

No more closets! No more lies!
No more hatred! No more shame!
Mo more purges! No more raids!
No more deaths! No more silence!

From the snakes to the stars
Let the rain drops from the sky
Be our tears not of sorrow but of joy
Laughing with the branches of the trees.

We are the flying fish of the sea,
The exuberant birds of the flock.
We are now as numerous as the stars:
Rich and poor, Black, Brown, Yellow and White

We speak in all the tongues of the world
Our flag waves the colors of the rainbow.
¡Viv el amor! ¡Viva la vida!
¡Muera el dolor! ¡Muera la muerte!

Vive la diffèrence! Vive la diffèrence!
May each bed turn into a true nest,
May each cloud reflect our best smile,
May each flower remind us of our love.

I cam touch, kiss this dream,
Afer a long Winter always comes Spring.
Jaguar! Jaguar! Burning bright.
In the forest of the night…

© 1993 By Francisco X. Alarcón

(5) the last song

within my hands
i hold the magic seed
let us eat and drink together
our time will not be long

within my voice i carry
the magic sound
our song of sorrow
our dance of praise

within my heart
i house the hidden flower
fragrance of morning
dew of nightfall

that we may sleep sound
remembering always
this time together

Copyright © 1993 by bell hooks

(6) YEARS FROM NOW
ears from now, when you look back
On nights in tears, on days well-spent,
On what you thought before you dreamt,
On where it was the passion went,
On everything it was you meant
To buy or say or do,
On what it was you meant
Them all to think was you –
What will you think of yourself, my friend?
What will you think of yourself,
Years from now, when you look back?

With a little more luck,
A little more love,
A little more time
To make something more of
Yourself – -
Who knows how
You would look,
Years from now,
When you look back?

Years from now, when you look back
On deadly serious escapades,
On years of discos and crusades,
On years of funerals and parades,
On why it is you’re still afraid
Of lies that pass as true,
On why you’re still afraid
Of what they’ll think of you–
What will you think of yourself, my friend?
What will you think of yourself,
Years from now, when you look back?

With a little more luck,
A little more love,
A little more time
To make something more of
Yourself – -
Who knows how
You would look,
Years from now,
When you look back?

Years from now, when you look back
On what you have
And what you don’t
On what you’ve missed
And whom you won’t,
On how you’ve lied
And how you’ve tried,
On what you’ve lost
And what it’s cost–
Remember

The one who didn’t get away was you.
The one who’s here,
and here to stay is you.

No one told you how
But here you are, here right now.
No one explained why
It’s true, but look at you–my oh my,

The one who didn’t get away was you.
The one who’s here,
and here to stay is you.

It took all those years,
The closet-door fears,
Smiling through the tears,
And seven different careers,
But finally it came clear

The one who didn’t get away was you.
The one who’s here,
and here to stay is you.

So sing it out,
And sing it loud,
You’re one in a million,
Not one of the crowd,
And now your here and proud
That’s how
To look back,
When you look back,
Years from now.

© BY J.D. MCCLATCHY

(7) Now and Forever

I’ll settle for Immortality––
Not thru the body
Not thru the eyes
Star Spangled high mountains
waning moon over Aspen peaks;
But thru words, thru the breath
of long sentences
loves I have, heart beating
still,
inspiration continuous, exhalation of
cadenced affection
These immortal survive America,
survive the fall of States
Departure of my body,
mouth dumb dust
This verse broadcasts desire,
accomplishment of Desire
Now and forever boys can read
girls dream, old men cry
Old women sigh
youth still come.

© 1992 by Allen Ginsberg.
June 19, 1992

(8) Something in Mind

Dear Adrienne:

I’m calling you up tonight
as I might call up a friend
as I might call up a ghost
to ask
what you intend to do with the rest of your life.

Sometimes you act as if you have all the time there is.
I worry about you when I see this.
The prime of life, old age aren’t what they used to be;
making a good death isn’t either,
now you can walk around the corner of a wall and see a light
that already has blown your past away.

I’m calling you up tonight
as I might call up a friend
as I might call up a ghost
to ask what you intend to do
with the rest of your life.
What would it mean to live
in a city whose people were changing
each other’s despair into hope? –
You yourself must change it. –
what would it feel like to know
your country was changing?–
You yourself must change it. –
Though your life felt arduous
new and unmapped and strange
what would it mean to stand on the first
page of the end of despair?

I hope you’ve got something in mind.
I hope you have some idea
about the rest of your life.

In sister hood,
Adrienne

© 1991 by Adrienne Rich. Adapted from “Contradictions: Tracking Poems”

Roger Bourland (1991) Photo © Victoria Mihich

GMCLA’s performances of HIDDEN LEGACIES
March 29, 1992 — Royce Hall
April 11, 1992 — Wiltern Theater
April 12, 1992 — Bridges Hall of Music, Pomona College
June 27, 1992 — Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas
July 2, 1992 — Boettcher Concert Hall, Denver (GALA IV)
July 3, 1992 — Temple Buell Theater, Denver (GALA IV)
October 30, 1992 — First Congregational Church, Long Beach
November 1, 1992 — Westwood United Methodist Church
November 2, 1992 — All Saints Episcopal Church, Pasadena
November 7 & 8, 1992 — Recording sessions, Capital Records Studios

Composer Roger Bourland Talks about “Hidden Legacies”

Background: Roger Bourland is the Chair of the Composition program at the UCLA Department of Music. In September of 1990, he was commissioned by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles to compose a major choral work that dealt with the AIDS crisis. The lyrics were written by his UCLA colleague, John Hall.

The commission
Jon Bailey, the artistic director and conductor of the chorus, stipulated that for this commission he did not want a requiem, or a work that only dealt with grief and despair, but rather a work that was truly life affirming. My friend and colleague John Hall agreed to write the lyrics but realized what an enormous responsibility it would be to try to speak for the 165 men in the GMCLA, who have already lost over 70 members to AIDS. The collaboration that took place over the next year evolved into “Hidden Legacies” – a 40 minute cantata in seven movements scored for four synthesizers, bass guitar, drums, and men’s chorus.

The story
Hidden Legacies is a tribute to those who are living with HIV, those left behind, and those who have offered help in times of intense sorrow. The first two movements are historically based upon what occurred just before and just after the discovery of “the gay cancer.” The following five movements are from the various points of view of the chorus itself.

The work opens with “Before the Storm” which paints a picture of the sexual liberation movement of the late ’70s. In the second movement, “The Nightmare,” the virus enters the picture and all everywhere gays are mysteriously dropping dead. The media latches on to the new “gay cancer” and spreads the news with all its journalistic bravado. Politicians try to sweep it under the rug. The third movement, entitled “Give us a death undiminished,” are the angriest lyrics of the piece which is ironically set in an almost sacred musical setting: “…So give us death with dignity. A final breath, infinity awaits. We’re at the gates; and with our death please signify that we were here. No need to cry, just look us in the eye!”

“Left Behind” is the fourth and middle movement of the cantata. It is a poignant look at those people who have been left behind and a salute to those who have helped us in times of need. The fifth song, “Dinosaur,” is a kind of scotch and soda, smoky voiced solo reminiscence of a man who has lost all of his old friends who knew him when he was young, kind, witty, “even pretty.” And now they are gone. The only thing that the world sees now is a bitter, tired, overweight queen. Swirling the ice in his drink, and exhaling a lungful of smoke, he laments: “…I know how she felt, that last brontosaurus.”

The penultimate movement is the composition’s namesake: “Hidden Legacies (Lullaby).” It is set at the bedside of a dying lover who is told of the legacies that he has left behind, and that although they may not be visible, they are nonetheless life changing for the survivor. Although the lyrics are devastatingly sad, we are profoundly touched by the strength of the consoling companion. It is exactly this strength that is the foundation upon which our emotional and spiritual survival depends. The final movement, “We Sing,” is a song of hope, strength, and courage. The chorus acknowledges that although its songs can not bring health, strength, or peace, “…our songs have changed us. If our songs can change us, could they change you?”

The question of style
In that my musical intention in “Hidden Legacies” was to speak to as wide of an audience as possible, I took a post-modernist stance, and a definite risk by incorporating influences from a variety of musical languages. Acculturation (the embracing of aspects of another aesthetic or culture by an outsider) taught me that when one culture (or artist) imitates or borrows from another, it rarely sounds like the original. So even when I draw on a musical aesthetic outside the mainstream of contemporary classical music, it never really sounds like the source. If it does, then it degenerates into style composition. What follows is a list of influences that I drew upon while composing “Hidden Legacies.”

The opening movement, “Before the Storm” draws on Stravinsky’s incessant major-minor sparring, rips into something vaguely reminiscent of the Jets music in West Side Story, strolls into a Mexican waltz (but in 5/8), and closes with a good old rockish climax. The opening of “The Nightmare” has its roots in Morton Subotnick’s Four Butterflies. What then follows is mostly Bourland, but draws on the energy of Cream’s famous “Spoonful” jam. The song closes like a gamelan. The next two movements are both examples of ironic text settings. The models for “Give us a death undiminished” were Beethoven’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage and Randall Thompson’s Alleluia. This is ironic in that the text is extremely angry, whereas the music sounds like a sacred anthem. “Left Behind” is one of the saddest lyrics of the work. Rather than reinforcing the sorrowful lyrics with a sorrowful song, I set it as country two-step. This setting left even my most modernist colleagues in tears.

“Dinosaur” begins with a kind of Kurt Weill-on-acid-at-the-circus type feeling and closes in an impassioned Crosby Stills and Nash flavor. “Lullaby” is pure Bourland, but draws on the contrapuntal technique of the Baroque chorale prelude tradition. “We Sing” returns to the harmonic language of the opening and rallies to a finale that draws on Steve Reich’s Six Marimbas.

Although a few critics slammed me for embracing this post-modernist aesthetic, the response of the director, the chorus, and the audience (gay and straight) confirmed for me that the risk was well worth taking.

Instrumentation and Performance Practice Challenges
Having heard several of my “Portable Rhapsodies” for solo instruments and tape, Jon Bailey specifically requested that “Hidden Legacies” include synthesizers. I suggested that dealing with tape would be a less-stress option that he should consider. He flatly said no and insisted that the work have live synthesizers. Realizing I was about to discover the technological challenges that Philip Glass and Daniel Lentz had already faced, I decided that I would use two Yamaha TX802s, a Roland D50, and a Korg M1. The TX802s offer the whole sonic realm that had been opened up by FM synthesis technology, and the D50 and M1 were both strong and widely available hybrid synthesizers. What I was not interested in was using samplers to replace acoustic instruments. So many synthesizer sounds I hear on television and in movies use the factory sounds that came with the original synthesizer. Although I confess that I used a few factory sounds, I spent three months last summer auditioning some 30,000 sounds for these instruments, out of which I chose a palette of around 300 from which to work. Of these 300 sounds, I only used about 50 – and it is these sounds that give “Hidden Legacies” its unique color.

In an instrumentation such as this, the problem of monitoring is significant. All six instrumentalists need to hear themselves, but also the conductor and the chorus. Budget is usually a primary consideration, but two setups worked quite well. In an ideal setup, the six instrumentalists all have their own monitor. Each synth has a monitor of its own sound, and the conductor, bass and drummer all have a mono mix. The chorus has two stereo monitors on high stands on stage left and stage right — and optimally, two monitors behind it. The house system is then plugged into for the stereo mix of the ensemble. In the best of all possible worlds, the chorus is miked so that its sound can blend with the ensemble’s.

With a low budget setup, four monitors can be used: two that face the chorus (angled to the center) and two that double as house monitors as well as the monitors for the ensemble. In this situation, the chorus is most likely unmiked, so it is imperative that the acoustic sound of the chorus not be overpowered by the synthesizer ensemble.

Responses to Hidden Legacies
Of the six sold out concerts, the piece received standing ovations that would not stop. After the performance the audience was exhilarated, devastated, sobbing, smiling through tears, embracing, consoling, and changed. Never in my life have I had a reception like this. Absolute strangers would come up to me, embrace me and sob on my shoulder. The chorus was overwhelmed. The work had become theirs. They sang it with powerful conviction, and they thanked me for giving them a vehicle in which to express their anger, sorrow, despair, strength, and hope.

Of all the hundreds of stories that I heard about people’s response to the piece, one stood out. A man in the chorus in his late thirties told a story about his father’s response. His father was a bigot of the highest order. “Kike,” “faggot,” and “nigger” were everyday words in this family. The father was, to say the least, not thrilled when his son admitted that he was gay. Begrudgingly, he consented to come and hear Hidden Legacies. After the concert, the father greeted his son with arms outstretched, and hugged him for the first time, sobbing, and asking for forgiveness for ever having hurt him.

Hidden Legacies clearly has changed many people. It has most assuredly changed me.
[Fall 1992] ]]> http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2009/07/04/bourland-choral-music-hidden-legacies-1992/feed/ 0 http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2009/07/03/bourland-choral-music-alarcon-madrigals-bk3-2007/ http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2009/07/03/bourland-choral-music-alarcon-madrigals-bk3-2007/#comments Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:57:32 +0000 Roger Bourland http://rogerbourland.com/blog/?p=3433 Because Vox Femina so loved “Both page and pen” and its erotic imagery, I decided to turn up the erotic flame just a tad in Alarcon Madrigals, Book 3. Commissioned again by Vox Femina, this set was written in Hawaii and you can find diary entries for working on the piece within this blog. You’ll hear some country twang in “Like a crazed flower,” and a reference to the final number of book 1 (”I learned Spanish from my grandma…”) closes Book 3, and bookends the set of three books.

Presently (July 2009) I am finishing a new set of madrigals for Vox based on the poetry of Eloise Klein Healy that turns up the erotic flame even higher.

Download audio file (alarmad3.0.mp3)

Alarcon Madrigals, Book 3 (2007)

Music: Roger Bourland
Poetry: Francisco X Alarcon
Iris Levine conducts Vox Femina -LA
Published by Yelton Rhodes Music – Los Angeles

We have developed a marvelous relationship since then. They commissioned two more pieces after this one. Their favorite piece of this set has been “Both page and pen” — an erotic number that is fun to sing. This set is a bit less Spanish sounding, carrying on the language set in motion in the Dickinson Madrigals.

Download audio file (alarmad2.0.mp3)

Alarcon Madrigals, Book 2 (2002)

Music: Roger Bourland
Poetry: Francisco X Alarcon
Iris Levine conducts Vox Femina
The Tolerance Project June 22, 2002

Vox Femina

The outer pieces are about two of his family members: his grandmother (1) and his magical memories of her; and his sister (5) who stood up to their father refusing to do the dishes. The inner three are less peppy character studies, but are more color pieces that celebrate the Mexican-American flavor I get from Alarcon’s poetry.

I call Francisco my Mexican Buddha.

Download audio file (alarmad1.0.complete.mp3)

Alarcon Madrigals Book 1 (1994)

Music: Roger Bourland
Poetry: Francisco X Alarcon
Vance Wolverton conducts the CalState Fullerton Women’s Chorus
Published by Yelton Rhodes Music, Los Angeles.

Francisco X Alarcon (image by geminipoet from Flickr)

In the Hart Crane poem, the intoxicating hook for me was the image of Eve looking at the apple with great desire and lust; that hovering, dreamlike, and almost uncontrollable feeling one gets.

This was the last gnarly piece for chorus I composed. After this, I switched to the language of the Dickinson Madrigals (see below).
Download audio file (GardenAbstract.mp3)
Garden Abstract (1976)
SSSAAA
Music: Roger Bourland
Poetry: Hart Crane
Conductor: Thomas Toscano; NEC grad students
Publisher: Yelton Rhodes Music, Los Angeles

I can’t guarantee all will like this piece, but for the record, here it is.

Download audio file (Three_Clouds.mp3)

Three Clouds for chorus (1975)

Music: Roger Bourland
Unpublished
Christopher McGann, directs UW Madison Chamber Singers