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Selection: Gavotte, from Puppet Dances by Shostakovich (arr. Johanson)

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(GR 604-CD)

Program Notes by Bryan Johanson

Puppet Dances.  Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) is a towering figure in twentieth century music. His monumental symphonies are repertoire staples of virtually every major symphonic orchestra. He composed operas, concertos, chamber music, songs and song cycles, solo piano works, ballets, film scores, and dozens of incidental and occasional works. The Puppet Dances were collected from various sources and arranged for piano in 1951 by Shostakovich. The music was extracted from the four Ballet Suites, which had, in turn, been arrangements of music from his ballets The Golden Age, The Bolt, and The Limpid Stream, as well as the film Machurin and the incidental score for The Human Comedy. Though Shostakovich was a master of the grand gesture, it is revealing to see what he does with the miniature.

Fantasy on a Plainchant.  This work is based on a fifth century A.D. hymn in praise of martyrs, Aeterna Christi munera. This tune became one of the most famous hymns of the thirteenth century when it was adapted for the newly instituted feast of Corpus Christi (1264). This newly created chant was titled Pange lingua, and it is this adaptation that I have used as the foundation of my own composition. The use of a Plainchant for the basis for an instrumental or vocal work was common practice during the Renaissance. And though J.S. Bach continued this procedure in many of his organ works, the general compositional practice fell out of fashion during the baroque period. In my own work, the melody is woven throughout the fabric of the duo, making occasional important appearances here and there.

Three Spanish Folk Songs.  In 1914, while living in Paris, Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) was commissioned to harmonize a few popular Spanish melodies for voice and piano. The resulting Seven Spanish Folk Songs are among his most beloved works. The three songs presented here are transcriptions for cello and guitar from that set of seven.

The Girl with the Flaxen Hair.  Claude Debussy (1862-1918) wrote two books of Preludes for the piano. The first was published in 1910, the second in 1913. The Girl with the Flaxen Hair is from the first book and is a gentle, evocative work, composed in mostly soft dynamics and muted colors.

Elegy.  This brief piece was written in the spring of 1995 in response to the death of my brother Marc. It was originally written to be performed at his funeral, but I lacked the courage to play it at that time -- the premiere had to wait for almost two years. It is an instrumental requiem that is, at least for me, both sad and joyful, providing an overall sense of peaceful resignation.

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