It is no everyday experience for a handbell ensemble to be asked to be part of a contemporary music festival, but the inventive imagination of composer Joseph Waters conjured the sound of bells as he wrote Dragon, a sparkling work for nine chamber players—including solo saxophone, violin and vibraphone—as well as a pulsing electronic source and handbells. Oh, and the piece also requires two melodica players dressed in traditional Chinese dragon costumes!
A member of the San Diego State University music faculty and Artistic Director of the NWEAMO and Tribeca new Music Festival, Joe contacted me in December to see if Las Campanas, the handbell ensemble I direct at First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, would be interested in participating in the festival and his new composition. Without having seen the score or knowing how challenging it might be to learn, I immediately agreed to collaborate, and Joe agreed to stop by the church and learn a bit more about handbell technique and its sonic possibilities.
The result is a 10-minute work filled with jaunty, syncopated themes colorfully layered and etched with the vibrant accents of harp, percussion and handbells. Joe says he was inspired by the sax artistry of Charlie Parker and the vocal audacity of Lady Gaga, and his virtuoso sax solo, executed with astounding verve and finesse by Todd Rewoldt, makes the piece a kind of saxophone concertino.
The handbell part is really an independent percussion part that gives luster to some of the clangorous chord progressions and reinforces various rhythmic motifs. We were fortunate that British conductor Matthew Rowe agreed to conduct the piece; he was quite adept at bringing in the bells after 40 or 50 measures of rest, or following an extravagant sax cadenza.
Joe designed
Dragon around his virtuoso quartet SWARMIUS, comprised of violinist Felix Olschofka, percussionist Joel Bluestone, saxophonist Rewoldt and Joe as composer/elecgtronics wizard. Members of the SDSU music faculty, graduate students, and Las Campanas filled out the rest of the ensemble.
Part of our agreement provided a reprise of
Dragon at services of the Unitarian Universalist Church the next morning, Feb. 27. Not only did we perform
Dragon as the postlude to each service, but SWARMIUS provided several other pieces of music throughout the services. All of Joe’s music was received with exuberant approval at both the SDSU festival and the church. He calls his style “a sonic fusion of hip-hop: house-lounge-techno meets modern-classical.”
This is contemporary music that catches the casual listener with an easy beat and melodic allure, but draws in the perceptive auditor with its subtle and rich inner complexity. My handbell players were at first daunted by the difficulty of their part, but by the end of our collaboration, they too were jubilant with the vibrancy of the music and their own sense of accomplishment in making it happen.
