CFAMC LISTENING PAGE #24: Carson Cooman

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

OCTOBER 15, 2006

"Foresight Spinning" Meditations for Contrabass & Ensemble performed by Douglas Balliett, contrabass Callithumpian Consort Stephen Drury, conductor

PROGRAM NOTES

"Foresight Spinning: Meditations for Contrabass and Ensemble" (2004) was commissioned by the Broeker Fund for New Music and was written for bassist Douglas Balliett to premiere with the Callithumpian Consort, Stephen Drury, director. The work is dedicated to composer Bernard Rands on the occasion of his 70th birthday.

This work is a piece about looking forward. Each section of material looks primarily forward to the one that follows it. The bass throughout acts as the focal point -- its gestures and material spread out to engage the rest of the ensemble. The subtitle "meditations" comes from the generally subdued character of the work.

The work is cast in five brief movements which play without break. The opening movement, Prologue, casts the bass in the foreground as it brings the ensemble alive. In the second movement, Glimpses, the bass moves back and forth between an accompanying and featured role. The third movement, Canto, is a long-breathed song for the bass in the upper register while the ensemble explores a variety of commentaries on the material.  These commentaries threaten to overwhelm the melody.  The fourt movement, Realities, is a moto perpetuo for the bass.  Out of the material of the bass's moving runs comes the ensemble's bizarre and seemingly disorganized interjections.  The final Epilogue recalls material from the earlier movements, bringing the work to a slightly enigmatic ending.

STATEMENT OF FAITH BY THE COMPOSER

As a professing Christian, my faith cannot help but be of paramount importance to my work and calling as a composer.  Psalm 96:1-2 exhorts us: "Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. / Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day."  For me, I take that as a Biblical imperative -- a charge to the creation of something new.  Since composing is my vocation, I approach it with the same focus and whole-hearted approach that we should approach whatever it is that we do.  "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." (Colossians 3:23)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE COMPOSER

Carson Cooman is an active American composer, with over six hundred musical works in many forms, ranging from solo instrumental pieces to operas, and from orchestral works to hymn tunes. He is in continual demand for new commissions, and his music has and continues to be performed on all six inhabited continents. His work is published primarily by MMB Music, Inc. and Musik Fabrik (orchestral/instrumental music) and Wayne Leupold Editions, Inc. (organ/choral music) Recordings of Cooman's music appear on over seven record labels and his music appears in the collections of most music libraries in the United States. Cooman's primary composition studies have been with Bernard Rands, Judith Weir, Alan Fletcher and James Willey. As an active concert organist, Cooman specializes exclusively in the performance of new music. Over 120 new works have been composed for him by composers from around the world, and his performances of the contemporary composers can be heard on a number of CD recordings. Cooman is also a writer on musical subjects, producing articles and reviews frequently for a number of international publications. He is currently the editor of Living Music Journal and has edited musical works of other composers for numerous music publishers. For more information about Cooman's music, visit his website at: http://www.carsoncooman.com

- - -  SOLI DEO GLORIA!  - - -

For personal comments, you may e-mail Carson directly at: carson@carsoncooman.com

Visit Carson's website at: http://www.carsoncooman.com

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If you are a member composer interested in submitting a composition for this monthly CFAMC listening page, please contact Bill Vollinger at: WilliamVollinger@aol.com

For further information, to become a member of the Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers , to renew your membership, or to participate in the CFAMC e-mail discussion group, visit the CFAMC website at http://www.cfamc.org

To read and listen to recent CFAMC Listening Pages, go to the following links:

September 2006: Gregory Pascuzzi:
"Vocalise for Novgorod", "Easter Prelude"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cfamc/message/1629

August 2006: John Akins:
"A Symphony of Praise"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cfamc/message/1599

July 2006: Andrew Sauerwein:
"String Quartet No. 2" (2nd Movement)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cfamc/message/1594

June 2006: Clive Davis:
"Songs from Turtle Island - War Song"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cfamc/message/1570