Crosscurrents image

CFAMC Listening Page #84

First issued October 23, 2011

A monthly musical offering by a composer member of the Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers.
Both your listening and comments are encouraged.

Jan Mittelstaedt

Crosscurrents

Performed by

Erin Furbee & Emily Cole, violin
Marissa Winship, viola
Diane Chaplin, cello

To view a PDF copy of the score while you listen, first download the score.

Program Notes

The title, Crosscurrents, refers to the conflicts in life: the temptations that we face daily and our reactions to them. The four movements reflect a progression from birth to maturity, with the goal of living a spiritual life and trusting in God.

I. Dawn: When a healthy child is born, there is often joy and excitement. The world is bright and everything is beautiful. The music of this movement opens with the first three notes of the song, “I Feel Pretty” by Leonard Bernstein. The first violin has this motive. Another Bernstein motive, featuring repeated 16th notes, is introduced by the viola and the two instruments form a duet. The cello accompanies the higher instruments with a waltz figure and the second violin joins with a counter motive. This movement also features random sounding pizzicatos which actually form a 12-tone row. Dawn is light hearted music depicting the joy of birth or the innocence of a baby’s life.

II. Contemplation: The music in this movement contrasts to the lighthearted quality of the first. Here we have deep contemplation about the meaning of life. Is it all about pretty girls or is there something more? A few notes from the main motive of “Memory” from the musical, Cats, by Andrew Lloyd Webber are used throughout this movement. The opening texture is stark with the thin textures of the high violins and viola in octaves against the cello. Thus, these memories are not just frivolous ones about dresses and beautiful hair styles. The meditation in this music is close to prayer.

III. Koinonia: I believe that friends are very important in a person’s journey through life. This movement reflects my gratitude for friends who are willing to really listen. Interspersed throughout the movement are quotation fragments from “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” by Paul Simon and “Friendship” by Cole Porter. The mood is joyful and dance like. A triplet, containing an eighth note, eighth rest and another eighth note is featured. However, Koinonia, goes beyond joy and dancing. Koinonia has to do with deep friendships where one friend is truly seeking what is best for the other.

IV. Transformation: The inspiration for this movement was a rhythmic motive from a string quartet by Shostakovich. Through music, I am attempting to paint a picture of the great joy one feels when he/she is transformed by God. Hidden within the energetic music is a quotation from the hymn, “Just as I Am”. What excitement results when we realize that God accepts us as we are.

Composer’s Statement of Faith

I believe in one God, the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To me, The Holy Spirit lives inside every Christian and is with each of us all the time. I believe that God makes his presence known in many ways: through the words of the Bible, through nature, and through other people, and through events which many of us call coincidences. I believe that God created the world, Jesus rose bodily from the grave, Jesus is the Son of God, and God is spirit. I believe that evil is real but I don't call it Satan, because, for me, that word conjures up an image of a figure in red with horns etc.

I did not have a specific “religious experience.” My faith has grown gradually over the years. I was brought up in a Methodist church by parents who were active members. I went to Sunday School every week and later to church. I sang in the children’s choir and was in the youth group.

When I was a teen, I attended a Billy Graham Crusade and went forward. However, that experience did not change my life and by the next day, I decided that I had been caught up in an emotional experience because of the music and evangelistic message which had frightened me. Since then, I have believed that there are different ways of coming to the Christian faith. I have always been an active member of a Christian church, now Presbyterian, and though I have questioned certain aspects of Christianity, I have always considered myself to be a Christian.

Composer Biography

Jan Mittelstaedt holds a BS in education from Bucknell University, a BA in music from Marylhurst University, and a MM in composition from The University of Portland. She studied composition Sister Ann Cecil Daigle at Marylhurst and Dr. Walter B. Saul II at the University of Portland and Warner Pacific College. She continues to study with Dr. Saul who is now at Fresno Pacific University.

In 1993, Jan participated in the Ernest Bloch Composers Symposium, and in 1994, she was chosen Composer of the Year by the Oregon Music Teachers Association (OMTA). She has also won ASCAP special awards since 1994, and her biography is included in Who’s Who of American Women and Who’s Who in America. Jan is a member of the Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers (CFAMC) and Cascadia Composers, the local chapter of the National Association of Composers, USA (NACUSA).

She has written extensively for piano (levels elementary to advanced), and her piano music is available through Alberti Publishing Company (http://www.albertipublishing.com/contact-alberti/), Music Sales America, and Schaum Publications. She also composes sacred and chamber music.

A teacher of piano and composition, Jan Mittelstaedt has an active studio in Portland, Oregon. Currently she is teaching 24 students. A member of the OMTA piano syllabus adjudicating staff, she also adjudicates student compositions, is a program presenter for OMTA, chair of OMTA’s pilot program, Extended Study of Musicianship and Repertoire (ESMAR), coordinator of the Cascadia/OMTA “In Good Hands” Portland International Piano Festival concert, and is in charge of scheduling her districts Junior Festival (OFMC).

She and her husband are parents of two sons and a daughter and grandparents of eight grandchildren.

- - -  SOLI DEO GLORIA!  - - -

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