Learning and making music with Cris Derksen

by SSO Principal Oboe Erin Brophey

“When you meet Cris Derksen for the first time, you are so aware of her infectious energy. She is a force.” Erin Brophey Principal Oboe- SSO 

Through a Canada Council Grant, our woodwind quintet Mistral 5 commissioned a ten-minute work from composer, Cris Derksen. I was a fan of her hip-hop cello music and I felt a little bit like a fan-girl the first time I met her.

She came to this project with a huge international reputation.

In the fall of 2018, we received a piece from Cris that was called Ideal Winds. We read through it in a rehearsal and sent her some musical feedback via email. Our comments included things that are specific to our particular combination of instruments. (Things like the flute down low paired with the oboe down low can’t be heard…….the oboe is rather impolite in that range.)

A couple months later, Cris came to Saskatoon to workshop the piece. When you meet Cris Derksen for the first time, you are so aware of her infectious energy. She is a force. 

The piece that we played in the fall was just a bare outline of what was to come. ‘Ideal Winds” had changed a great deal. It had more detail and was twice as long. While in Saskatoon, she worked feverishly and to watch her create and refine her work was fascinating.

During the workshop, we had three sessions with Cris over two days, every time we rehearsed, Cris came with different parts for us to play.

Some of the changes included changing the name to from ‘Ideal Winds’ to ‘Five Bucks a Head’. She decided to change the Clarinet part to a Bass Clarinet part. As well, she created an electronic track as our partner in the piece. For the electronic part, she spliced together archival recordings from the CBC and CFB of white settlers journalists talking about Treaties.

Towards the end of the last session, when we finally played the piece with the electronic track, I found the work very moving and powerful. I think that the cornerstone of the composition is the electronic track and we (the Woodwind quintet) provide the emotion and pathos of what Cris feels about the archival recording.

 It was a joy to watch Cris and her process.

Hear her Five Bucks a Head at our Paris of the Prairies concert

Watch Party Ideas for the Prairies

We loved seeing all of the folks watching Postcards from Paris at home, with family, even from their campsite!

We wanted to help with ideas for how you can turn your live streaming experience into more than just watching the stream. So for each concert this year we’ll be curating a few suggestions on things that the SSO would pair together to make your concert night at home pretty magical.

For Paris of the Prairies…well this one is easy. Support LOCAL!

We are so lucky here in Saskatoon to have such incredible businesses and products that celebrate what it means to from Saskatoon. When you think Saskatoon/prairies what do think of? Go on, get creative!

Beverages:

Being in Saskatoon, its impossible to ignore our amazing craft beer landscape….BUT in just two weeks we have our Oktoberfest concert which is all about beer….so let’s give something else a try.

For this concert we highly recommend the Haskap Gin from Black Fox Distillery – its delicious, complex, smooth, and prairie forward!

There’s also a ton of great drink ideas connected to wine and more!

 

FOOD!

So the question is…order in or start from scratch? Well, we’ll give you a great suggestion for both.

Processed with VSCO with kc25 preset

If you’re ordering in for this concert, everyone at the SSO recommends Hearth Restaurant. Local. Amazing. Can’t go wrong.

If you’re looking to get creative in the kitchen…here’s a few things you need to try your hand at:

Bannock – if you haven’t had this prairie delight, you’re missing out. And its something you can make if you just follow the recipe. This First Nations dish is a must try and as Saskatchewan as the skies.

Then why not explore Bison Meatballs with Saskatoon berry BBQ sauce for dipping – click here for the meatballs and here for the Saskatoon Berry BBQ Sauce.

And what about some ultimate prairie homecooked magic – Cabbage Rolls. Ok, not the easiest thing in the world to whip up just for a Saturday night, but it will totally be worth it – and if you’ve never tried them before, its a great step towards your goal of mastering prairie cuisine. Click for more

 

Now…for dessert….there’s soooo many amazing options (including just having more bannock honestly!). And you can decide for yourself about the age old argument about what is the ultimate prairie dessert….Butter Tarts or Saskatoon Berry Pie.

 And why not give Berry Bannock Pudding a try….(can you tell we like our bannock??)

No matter how you enjoy Paris of the Prairies make sure you take time to reflect on how awesome it is to be prairie people!

Meeting Murray Adaskin

Growing up in a Jewish and Latvian household, Murray Adaskin was taught from a very early age to strive for excellence and persevere towards his passions. As a young man, Adaskin showed promise on the violin, and studied with Alexander Chuhaldin at the Toronto Conservatory of Music.

Using his talents to provide music for silent film presentations in Toronto, Adaskin dedicated himself to his work with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1923 to 1936.

Two years after leaving the TSO, Adaskin played with the Royal York Hotel trio and continued to serve as a member of the group until 1952. Six years into playing with the Royal York Hotel Trio, Adaskin pushed himself to pursue education as a composer. He studied for seven years with John Weinzweig, Charles Jones, and Darius Milhaud of the influential French composer group known as “Les Six”. Particularly in Adaskin’s early compositional works, Igor Stravinsky was a major inspiration.

Attending the Music Academy of the West in 1950, Adaskin began his tenure as head of the Department of Music at the University of Saskatchewan in 1952 and remained in that position until 1966. He played an instrumental role in bringing the Amati Instruments to the University.

He then became the Composer-in-Residence until 1972. This was the first position of its type ever created at a Canadian university. His training as a violinist imbued his sense of melody with an abstract feel, and through his music one can feel the presence of landscapes, birdsongs and different local surrounding sounds.

During his time in Saskatoon, Adaskin served as the Music Director of the SSO from 1957 to 1961. His time with the SSO further cemented the orchestra during its artistic growth, and continued the organization’s passion for new music.

It was only after his decorated career as a musician and educator came to close that Adaskin fully committed himself to composing music. More than half of his output of 130 compositions were penned after his retirement to Victoria in 1972. In December of 1980, Adaskin was awarded the Order of Canada, and he was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada the following year.

Despite losing his wife (the soprano Frances James) in 1988, Adaskin found love again with Dorothea Larsen, who was instrumental in helping him to record his final compositions: “Divertimento No.9” for string trio (1998), “Finki, Where Are You?” for 2 violas (2000) and “Musica Victoria” (2000).

Having lived a life rich in musical pursuits and achievements, one that spanned most of the 20th century, the renowned composer passed away surrounded by family at 96.

As he moved westward across the Prairies to his final resting place in British Columbia, Murray Adaskin left a legacy of musical passion whose vibrancy continues to burn bright at our University and in the hearts of all he taught.

We’re thrilled to feature Murray Adaskin’s Rondino for Nine Instruments as part of our concert Paris of the Prairies.

The Music of Jocelyn Morlock

Over the last few years, Jocelyn Morlock’s music has become an audience favourite at the SSO. We’ve been so fortunate to play a number of her works, most recently the March 7th performance of Oisieux Bleu et Sauvages. 

A couple of years ago, we performed her work Solace for string orchestra – it was an instant favourite. So we have been looking for the right time to bring it back. The work centres around the comfort need to regenerate after loss – its beautiful and sweet, warm and inviting.

Born in Saint Boniface, Manitoba, Jocelyn Morlock began her musical training under the piano tutelage of Robert Richardson, Sr. After completing her Bachelor of Music in piano performance at Brandon University in 1994, she pursued a master’s degree and a subsequent Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of British Columbia. Studying with the likes of Stephen Chatman, Keith Hamel, and Nikolai Korndorf, she received international acclaim for her 1997 composition “Bird in the Tangled Sky” at the 1999 International Society for Contemporary Music’s World Music Days. 

Her composition “Amore” was written as an imposed work for the 2005 Montreal International Music Competition, and her “Involuntary Love Songs” was composed for the 2008 Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition. After serving as inaugural Composer-in-Residence for Vancouver’s Music on Main, she became the first female Composer-in-Residence for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (2014-2019). Her tenure as the co-host of the ISCM World New Music Days 2017 was punctuated by her victory at the SOCAN Jan V. Matejcek New Classical Music Award one year later. 

In 2018, Morlock received a JUNO for Classical Composition of the Year for her powerful orchestral composition entitled “My Name Is Amanda Todd”.

Morlock’s music has been defined as “airy but rhythmic, tuneful but complex“ , and takes an eccentric approach to post-modernism. Her compositions are quirky, but always derived from a musical language that is deeply rooted in emotional experience. 

She describes her music as being inspired by “birds, insomnia, nature, fear, other people’s music and art, nocturnal wandering thoughts, lucid dreaming, death, and the liminal times and experiences before and after death.” In each of her compositions, her use of colouristic effects and extended techniques bring her incredibly specific musical vision to life. Her composition for cellist Rachel Mercer and violinist Akemi Mercer-Niewohner can be found on their 2019 album “Our Strength, Our Song”. 

Other recent premieres include “Stone’s Throw” for internationally renowned new music sextet Standing Wave, “Io, Io!” written in celebration of the Vancouver Cantata Singers’ 60th anniversary, and “Serpentine Paths” which celebrates sisterhood and music by Canadian women. 

You can hear Morlock’s Solace as part of our Paris of the Prairies.

A Picasso Suite for the SSO

Harry Somers’ “Picasso Suite” was commissioned by the SSO in 1964 and received its premiere performance in Saskatoon. Since that first performance, it has gone on to be one of Canada’s most loved orchestral suites, and an audience favourite across the country!

Harry Somers was one of the most influential and innovative contemporary Canadian composers of the past century. Possessing a charismatic attitude and rather dashing good-looks, as well as a genuine talent for his art, Somers earned the unofficial title of “Darling of Canadian Composition.”  A truly patriotic artist, Somers was engaged in many national projects over the course his lifetime.

Each of the movements in this suite provide musical interpretations of the many artistic phases which defined the life and art of Pablo Picasso. An invigorating blast of musical color begins the suite, recalling all the sights and fragrances of Paris at the turn of the 20th century.

Picasso has struck the Parisian art scene, a meteor of brilliance brimming with raw potential, and the world of classical art will never be the same. Just as suddenly as he arrives, the Spanish-born artist’s captivating colors are musically withdrawn into themselves.

What emerges from the silence are Somers’ sonic representations of the paintings which represent Picasso’s Blue Period. Somers utilizes the oboe’s potential for melancholy to full effect in this second movement. This is a movement that plays with the listener’s other senses, and which invites them to delve into the textures belonging to these paintings: the smooth pallid skin of his “Old Guitarist”, the warmth of the steam that is central to “La Soupe”, and the stale taste of dust that lingers in the air of his “La Vie”.

Transfixed by this rich introspection, we are caught off guard as the rolling thunder of percussion ushers in a new artistic phase: The Rose Period. Titled “Circus” by Somers, this movement conjures all the delight experienced by a child under the Big Top. This musical calliope spins us through the cheerful orange and pink hues of Picasso’s Rose Period, while broad-nosed figures from his African-Influenced Period dance vibrantly into focus. Somers uses this playful romp to tremendous effect, recalling the youthful vitality of Picasso’s painted women in “Les Demoiselles D’Avignon”.

One by one they strike a pose and skip away, as the musical calliope grinds slowly to a halt and a dissonant chord contorts the face of one lingering woman. Somers then begins to interpret the most iconic phase of Picasso’s life as an artist, one which owes a considerable debt to the stylized features of traditional African masks: his Cubist Periods. As we soar through the decade spanning 1909 to 1919, clusters of bent notes rain from the sky. Out of the mist, there seeps a sense of dread which culminates in a symphonic homage to one of the most prolific depictions of atrocity ever put to canvas: the infamous black and white mural “Guernica”.  

Left in silence once more, the fifth movement’s plaintiff melody explores Picasso in the years immediately following World War One. Picasso’s muse returns in a new form, voiced by a soothing oboe melody, and spurs his artistic mind onward to bathe in the clean bright light of the Neoclassical style. Excitement bubbles forth as Somers falls into a fascination with lyrical spins and flourishes, illustrating the more bizarre offerings of Picasso’s Surreal Period.

Riding on the crest of this wave, we feel Picasso grow introspective once more. Stirring in the listener a longing for the innocence of the third movement, the brass call out to echo the valor of those who lost their lives on the field of battle. A delicate voice from a music box lulls Picasso into a deep slumber, and he dreams of a project that will consume most of his waking moments for the next four years: The Vollard Suite.

Art historians believe that many of the figures depicted in the Vollard Suite’s 100 etchings were inspired by Honore de Balzac’s 1831 short story “The Unknown Masterpiece”. The story revolves around a painter who attempts to capture life itself on canvas through depictions of feminine beauty, and Somers tasks the erotic lilt of the flute alone with capturing the sensual and manic devotion of the artist rendering his muse.

As did the style of the etchings themselves, Picasso’s temperament shifted wildly over the period spanning 1933 to 1937, with the spread of fascism through Europe darkening those clouds that had been cast over the artist’s mind. The virtuosity of the sixth movement trickles away to reveal one of the final images in the series: the once virile minotaur, now blind and impotent, being led to safety by a young girl.

The seventh movement, oddly titled “Temple of Peace” may be musically comforting in its initial majesty, but a glance outside of its pristine chamber betrays the arching shapes of strange architecture peeking from an even stranger garden. Picasso is still troubled, still searching to reclaim his youthful innocence. Punctuated by an unsettling violin motif, Somers creates in this movement a sense of motion towards something important while utilizing precious little melody.

The return of the music box signals the arrival of the eighth movement, as well as an epiphany crystalizing in the mind of the aging Picasso. He abandons the cold safety of the temple for the warm rain of the lush garden. Pushing his way through ever-thickening foliage, the garden eventually gives way to jungle. Emerging into a clearing at last, Picasso meets his alter-ego: the faun. Playing his double-flute with unbridled ease, the faun guides Picasso deeper into the wild and teaches him how to find peace within himself. The melody of his Rose Period “Circus” days come back in flashes, and Picasso is finally at home with himself again after so many years.

In the final movement, Codetta, Pablo Picasso can finally revisit his first few bombastic years in Paris unencumbered. As Picasso once remarked, “It takes a long time to become young.” Unconventional and riveting to its core, Harry Somers’ “Picasso Suite” is among the finest of artistic tributes to a man whose life’s work birthed whole new possibilities of creation for artists worldwide.