DEREK BERMEL: ELIXIR (2006)

for full orchestra with theremin and two harps

comments on the piece, and conversation with the author by Sonia Megias Lopez

New York University December 2011

0. INDEX:
1. ABOUT COMPOSER DEREK BERMEL ...................................................................................... pg. 2 2. BASIC INFORMATION ON ELIXIR ........................................................................................... pg. 5 3. INSTRUMENTATION .................................................................................................................. pg. 5 4. GRAPHIC SCORE OF THE PITCHES............................................................................................ pg. 6 5. SOME ANALYTICAL COMMENTS ON THE PIECE .................................................................. pg. 18 6. CONVERSATION WITH THE AUTHOR .................................................................................... pg. 22 7. BIBIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................... pg. 28

1. ABOUT COMPOSER DEREK BERMEL:

Described by the Toronto Star as an "eclectic with wide open ears"_, Grammynominated composer and clarinetist Derek Bermel has been widely hailed for his creativity, theatricality, and virtuosity. Bermel's works draw from a rich variety of musical genres, including classical, jazz, pop, rock, blues, folk, and gospel. Hands-on experience with music of cultures around the world has become part of the fabric and force of his compositional language. Currently serving as Artist-in-Residence at the Institute for Advanced Study, Composer-in-Residence with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and Creative Adviser to the American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, Bermel has received commissions from the Pittsburgh, National, Saint Louis, New Jersey, Albany, and Pacific Symphonies, Los Angeles and Westchester Philharmonics, the New York Youth Symphony, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, WNYC Radio, eighth blackbird, the Guarneri String Quartet, Music from China, De Ereprijs (Netherlands), Jazz Xchange (U.K.), Figura (Denmark), violinist Midori, electric guitarist Wiek Hijmans, cellist Fred Sherry, and pianists Christopher Taylor and Andy Russo, among others. His many awards include the Alpert Award in the Arts, the Rome Prize, Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships, the Trailblazer Award from the American Music Center, the Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Paul Boylan Award from the University of Michigan, the Quinto Maganini Award, the Harvey Gaul Prize, the Lily Boulanger Award, the Brian Israel Prize, commissions from the Koussevitzky and Fromm Foundations, Meet the Composer, and the Cary Trust, and residencies at Yaddo, Tanglewood, Aspen, Banff, Bellagio, Copland House, Sacatar, and Civitella Ranieri. Last season Bermel performed as soloist alongside Wynton Marsalis in his Migration Series, a work commissioned by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and ACO. He also appeared as clarinet soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in conductor/composer John Adams' Gnarly Buttons, and as soloist in his own concerto Voices at the Beijing Modern Music Festival. The Philharmonia Orchestra in also produced an all-Bermel concert as part of its Music of Today series at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Highlights during this season include the Pittsburgh Symphony's premiere of The Good Life for chorus and orchestra, Golden Motors, a music-theatre collaboration with librettist/lyricist Wendy S. Walters, and a return to Carnegie Hall for two premieres: a Koussevitzky Commission for ACO conducted by Maestro Dennis Russell Davies, and as soloist in the world premiere of 2

Fang Man's clarinet concerto. The recent CD of his orchestral works on BMOP/Sound was nominated for a 2010 Grammy, and a new CD of his large ensemble works is due to be released in 2010 by Alarm Will Sound. Bermel has collaborated with artists in a wide variety of genres, including playwright Will Eno, filmmaker Kevin Jerome Everson, installation artist Shimon Attie, landscape architect Andy Cao, choreographer Sheron Wray, performance artist Kim Jones, composer/sound designer David Reid, poets Wendy S. Walters, Mark Halliday and Naomi Shihab Nye, and Albert Bermel. As an educator, he founded the groundbreaking Making Score program for young composers at the New York Youth Symphony, and regularly leads masterclasses at universities, conservatories, and concert venues worldwide. Bermel holds B.A. and D.M.A. degrees from Yale University and the University of Michigan. His main composition teachers were William Albright, Louis Andriessen, William Bolcom, Henri Dutilleux, Andr Hajdu, and Michael Tenzer, and he studied clarinet with Ben Armato and Keith Wilson. He also studied ethnomusicology and orchestration in Jerusalem with Andr Hajdu, later traveling to Bulgaria to study Thracian folk style with Nikola Iliev, to Brazil to learn caxixi with Julio Ges, and to Ghana to study Lobi xylophone with Ngmen Baaru. His music is published by Peermusic (North/South America & Asia) and Faber Music (Europe & Australia). I extract an info from an interesting interview that Derek had by David Bruce at Composition: Today on February 2007: David.- You are known for drawing on a wide range of musical styles and influences. Which musics have influenced you the most? Derek.- I've been especially influenced by Jazz (Thelonious Monk, Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, Sarah Vaughan, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane) and a capella music (Sweet Honey in the Rock, Take 6, Trio Bulgarka), West African music (Fela Kuti, Kakraba Lobi, Miriam Makeba, Thomas Mapfuma), Bulgarian - especially Thracian - instrumental music (Ivo Papasov, Nikola Iliev, Boris Karlov), Brazilian (Jobim, Joo Gilberto, Joyce), Afro-Cuban Music (Machito, Beny Mor, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente), Irish traditional music, some pop music (Earth Wind & Fire, the Beatles, the Jackson Five, George Clinton, Prince, Tears for Fears, Peter Gabriel, the Neville Brothers, Curtis Mayfield). As for concert music composers, I'm more influenced by particular compositions, and those are too numerous to mention. Here are a few: Claude Debussy: La Mer Ludwig van Beethoven: late string quartets Gyrgy Ligeti: Le Grand Macabre Olivier Messiaen: Des canyons aux toiles William Bolcom/Arnold Weinstein: various pieces Meredith Monk: Dolmen Music John Zorn: Naked City Louis Andriessen: Hout 3

Peter Maxwell Davies: Eight Songs for a Mad King Morton Feldman: String Quartet Duke Ellington: Far East Suite Bla Bartk: Mikrokosmos Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique Charles Ives: various pieces John Cage: Sonatas and Interludes Conlon Nancarrow: Studies for the Player Piano John Adams: Shaker Loops Carlo Gesualdo: various madrigals Igor Stravinsky: Les Noces Leo Janek: Sinfonietta Benjamin Britten: Winter Words Steve Reich: Different Trains Giuseppe Verdi: Rigoletto Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Clarinet Concerto Claudio Monteverdi: various madrigals Grard Grisey: Modulations Henri Dutilleux: Ainsi la nuit Frank Loesser: Guys and Dolls Frederic Rzewski: De Profundis Claude Vivier: Lonely Child Henry Cowell: piano works Silvestre Revueltas: Planos Toru Takemitsu: Twill By Twilight Alban Berg: Wozzeck Kurt Weill/Berthold Brecht: Three Penny Opera George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin/DuBose Heyward: Porgy and Bess Since this is a class to learn how composers dear with the orchestra, I found interesting to add some comments from the author about this issue: The orchestra continues to hold a great attraction for me because it is an unusual example of collective humanity in our digital era; it is, after all, the largest musical community. Each work [...] addresses the daunting challenge of sharing a particular concept or experience with seventy or eighty musicians; playing in and writing for- orchestra demands neighborliness, an acute awareness of other beings, and embrace of timbral diversity, a wide expressive range, a sensitivity to nuances of color and texture. The orchestras very improbability as a mode of contemporary expression demands transformation physically, psychologically, and spiritually- an essential component of the compositional process. I recognize that, as I attempt to render my fanciful dreams to an audience, something vital will surely be lost in translation. However, nestled within this very failure is the seed of creation; from it grows an abstract piece of music that transcends my original intentions to become an independent, breathing entity. In this way, the orchestra continues to be a magical starting point for my impossible dreams. As Samuel Beckett wrote, Fail again. Fail better. I embrace that compelling, unending quest.

I agree with Derek. Even if Im not religious but very spiritual, I could find a big Truth in a text by catholic Pope John Paul II, in which he told: you [artists] have admired the work of your inspiration, sensing in it some echo of the mystery of creation with which God, the sole creator of all things, has wished in some way to associate you. He talks about the moment of inspiration, and how we humans fail when we try to transcribe all these ideas that are sent to our minds and hands. But thats the act of creation. In my opinion, imperfection is the clue. It is the sign that says that something was made with love, with organicity, with Truth, by accepting our limits.

2. BASIC INFORMATION ON E LIXIR :

Commissioned by patron Betty Freeman for the ACO, having Steven Sloane as the music director, Robert Beaser as the artistic director and Dennis Russell Davies as the conductor laureate. Co-commissioned by the Westchester Philharmonic, with Paul Lustig Dunkel as the music director. Premiered on May 3rd 2006 by the American Composers Orchestra conducted by John Adams at the ACO season-finale concert at Carnegie Hall. Originally written for strings, harp, and theremin. The theremin was an afterthought, but its distant quality proved to be the magical seductive ingredient in the sonic portion. Duration approx.: 8 minutes

3. INSTRUMENTATION:
3 Flutes, 2 Oboes (2nd oboe English Horn), 2 Clarinets in Bb (2nd Clarinet = Bb Bass Clarinet), Bassoon, Contrabassoon 4 Horns in F, 2 Trumpets in C, 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, Tuba Percussion (3 or 4 players): 1) Chinese Cymbal, Sizzle Cymbal, Rainstick 2) Deep Nipple Gong, Mark tree (metal Wind chimes), Wind chimes (bamboo or glass), Rainstick 3) Vibraphone, Rainstick, Mark tree, Wind chimes 4) Mark tree, Wind chimes, Rainstick (this part can be taken over from Players 2 & 3) 2 Harps, Theremin, Electric Bass Guitar (6 String Fretless) Strings 5

They must be located as the following graphic indicates:

As youll read in the conversation, the instruments on the stage have a different function as the ones at the balconies, basically because the stage represents the orchestration of a piano part, and the balconies represent the orchestration of a flute (left) and a clarinet (right). I find really interesting how rich the orchestration of this piece is... how carefully it is done...

4. GRAPHIC SCORE OF THE PITCHES:

When I started taking a look at Elixir, I noticed that its divided in 11 phrases of 8 bars each, with a little adding at the last one. I used a vectorial software to make a graphic score of the pieces pitches in hertzs. I used three colors: red for the on-stage core part, played by the harps, strings, vibraphone, theremin and electric bass, colored by the winds; orange for the overtones, articulated by three violin parts of two instruments per part; and green for the birds, fanfares and frullati that come from the balconies 6

Phrase I: bars 2-9

Phrase II: bars 10-17

Phrase III: bars 18-25

Phrase IV: bars 26-33

10

Phrase V: bars 34-41

11

Phrase VI: bars 42-49

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Phrase VII: bars 50-57

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Phrase VIII: bars 58-65

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Phrase IX: bars 66-73

15

Phrase X: bars 74-81

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Phrase XI: bars 82-92

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5. SOME ANALYTICAL COMMENTS ON THE PIECE

All the pieces melodies are eight bars long (except for the final one, which adds a concluding three measures). They are quite simple and similar, so I labeled them with A, B, derivates of these letters. Actually, B also comes from A, but even if both melodies have an arch shape (release-low, tension-high, release-low), the main difference is that A has the tension in the 6th bar and B has it in the 5th one. Since theres not functional-tonal harmony, these functions dont depend on the degrees of the key anymore... just in the intervallic relationships, both in vertical and horizontal directions. Here we have melodies A, B, and their derivates:

B is a B transposed a minor 3rd up with a little variation at the end; B is a B with little transpositions by sections. A just adds A two bars in the middle, and maintains the last note. The order in which they appear within the piece is the following: A B | A B B B | A B B B | A We see, then, that the melodic structure is very clear: Phrases I & II are a presentation of both melodies, then, from III to VI theres a repetition with variations from VII to X we have the same repetition with variations XI is just an extension of A, to conclude 18

Im not focusing on the percussion, since it seems to serve mainly to provide atmosphere. But by analyzing the dynamics, the intervals and timbres, I could find the explanation to the interesting changes of texture that Elixir has. Lets take a look at the dynamics: a big arch from niente to fortissimo, and then to niente again. I write between brackets the number of bars that each dynamic takes: perc. intro: I (mel. A): II (mel. B): III (A): IV (B): V (B): VI (B): VII (A): VIII (B): IX (B): X (B): XI (A): pitch end: perc. end: pp (1) pp (4) | < (2) p | > (2)

pp (2) | < (2) | mp (2) | > (2) p (4) | < (2) mp | > (2)

p (2) | < (2) | mf (2) mf (2) | < (2) | f (3) | > (1) mf (2) | < (2) | f (2) | > (2) p (4) | < (2) mp | > (2)

p (2) | < (2) | mf (3) | < (1) f f (2) | < (2) | ff (2) | > (1) mf | < (1) f > (1) | mf (2) | < (1) | f (2) | > (2) p (3) | < (1) | mf (1) | > (1) p | < (2) mp | > (1) p | > (2) pp > (2) pp (1)

We can see that the dynamic climax is in the 5th and 6th bars of phrase IX, what means bars 70-71 at the score. In those bars, everyone on stage and the balconies is playing forte. In order to understand the progression of timbres throughout the piece, I found it helpful to look at the graphic transcription of the score and trace the following evolution: I (A): II (B): harps unison and strings, no percussion the texture remains the same

III (A): vibraphone and some percussion colors enter. Harps split, theremin appears and the three solo voices of the overtone-violins separate from the rest, becoming a glittering sound that will remain for the rest of the piece IV (B): from bar 28, some tremolos at the medium-register in the strings give a sense of vibration, of trembling. All the strings groups make divisi

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V (B): electric bass appears doubling the double basses (harp 2 continues playing the lowest pitches). The lowest strings join the tremolo, that is supported by the rainstick VI (B): the texture remains the same VII (A): the theremin disappears, leaving space for the birds from the balconies to enter. The tremolo returns to dtach bowing. At bar. 54, the winds on-stage appear, supporting the strings. VIII (B): the off-stage instruments grow more present. They begin a bird-like dialogue. At bar 60, the tremolo re-appears at the medium-range strings. At bar 64, left balcony makes a fanfare-like sound. IX (B): tremolo at the medium and low-register strings. Theremin re-appears, and the birds from the balconies have such a boisterous movement that it almost hides the mantra coming from the stage. Then, at bar 70, fanfare again that grows up until bar 74. X (B): new sounds at the balconies, now with a frull ato timbre. This vibrating / granulated sound supports the tremolo from the strings. At bar 77, the frullato becomes fanfare at the left balcony, then birds in both balconies at bars 78 and 79, to explode in long notes at the two last bars of the phrase. XI (A): the frenetic activity in the balconies continues in the shape of birds, then fanfare, then birds again to end with a solo bassoon-bird at bars 90-91. Meanwhile, the overtone-violins decided to maintain their pitches until the end of the piece, and the rest of the strings and other on-stage fauna return to the initial phrases behavior, to disappear, allowing the percussion to close the piece. Thus, Elixir finishes circularly, with the same sounds that began it.

The harmony of the piece is practically composed by 8ths, 4ths and 5ths, the only pure intervals of our tempered system. On stage, these intervals are used vertically, and from the balconies, melodically. Im taking an example of the vertical treatment of these intervals on-stage, just phrases X (B) and XI (A), per bars: X (bb. 74-81): 8 8 8 4 4 4 4 4 4 maj7 maj7 maj3 5 4 5 5 4 5 8 8 5 8 5 5 5 5 5 5 8 5 5 5 maj6 4 4 4 8 5 5 5 5 5 8 8 5 5 5 maj2 5 5 8 8 4 4 trit maj6 5 8

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XI (bb. 82-92): 8 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

4 4 maj6 5 5

4 4 maj3 min3 maj3 5

4 4 maj3 5 5

5 5 maj3 5 min6

5 5 5 maj3 trit 4

5 5 maj6 5 5

5 5 maj6 5 5

If we take a look at the melodic intervals played from the balconies, they appear independently of the on-stage pitches and usually in the structure of a canon, combining mainly of 4ths and 5ths. Lets see an example of each of the three ways of rhythmic-melodic patterns: - Bird-like sounds. Oboe 1, bb. 60-63:

Every grace note is a 5th above or below the following pitch. - Fanfare-like sounds. Flute 1, bb. 71-73:

Alternations of 5ths and 7ths. - Frullato sounds. Clarinet 1, bb. 74-75:

The short interventions in frullato are more free in intervallic terms. They have less presence regarding speed, and just serve as an adding in color and vibration.

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6. CONVERSATION WITH THE AUTHOR:

Ive known and admired Derek for some years. So when our professors at NYU asked us for orchestral essays, I thought this would be a great excuse to dive into Dereks music, and nourish myself through it. Here is the conversation that I had with him about his orchestral music, particularly on Elixir, a musical meditation full of delicious aromas and shines. --------New York, December 12th 2011, 4:30pm, already evening! winter time... I meet Derek Bermel talking on his phone at the front door of Grumpy bar, in Chelsea. Hes wearing a beautiful purple shirt. I go inside and wait for him. We ask for a couple cappuccinos and just talked... Sonia.- Oh, Derek, this piece is sooo beautiful... you know it obsessed me for a period of time... now Im very glad to analyze it. Its actually more complex that I was thinking by just hearing it! Some questions came to my mind while taking a look at the score... Derek.- Great! Lets go for it. S.- Ok! Lets begin with the harmony... Did you think about any structure for it? Did you think about the verticality of the piece in chords? D.- The harmony comes in 4ths and 5ths. There's not a sense of functional harmony, but the chords have a function. There's only one exception of a 3rd instead of a 4th. You need to have a system, and then, when you break it, you need to take a look again at the whole piece and adjust it, so that the piece is consistent. It's like when you're talking in Spanish: you can add some words in English, but then you're using two systems instead of just one, in other words, you're expanding your system. S.- The "kind of melody" that is repeated in all of the 11 phrases of the piece, came as a part of the harmony? D.- It just came together... S.- I read that the piece was a commission from John Adams for the American Composers Orchestra (ACO). D.- Oh, yes. I can say one thing that was quite interesting, which is that John commissioned it and he found the money for it. He found the patron and got the money for the piece, which was very generous of him! He didn't have to do that, so I feel very thankful... Then, the concert got postponed, and then, when they re-instated the concert, it was all his music. So then, my piece was finally conducted by a different conductor, who was Steven Sloanne. This was the first of three commissions that I did for the ACO. Oh, no! Actually, it was the second... the first one was in 1997, a long time before. I wrote this one in... 200... 4, or 2005... 22

S.- 2006... D.- Oh, yes, I couldn't remember... But this was the first of three, while I was in residence1. The second one was the big piece I did for Wynton Marsalis with his band, which had improvisation in it, also with orchestra. And then, the third one I did was based on an idea about Bartok, from when he was living in New York. So Elixir was the first one. So I had this idea, and I ended up adding a theremin... S.- Oh, yes... the theremin sounds very special... D.- But, interestingly, most people put the theremin in the forefront, because they want it to be very loud, but I wanted it to be like a color that you can't really hear. Almost like a voice, like a ghostly voice that you cannot quite hear. So I wanted it to be right behind the strings and the winds in the texture, but still audible... that's a tricky thing with the balance... S.- I can see that the piece doesn't seem to have any pre-conceived rhythm, or melody... it seems to have come as a mass of sound... I'd like to ask you how the piece came to you? I can see that the harps carry the core... Did at least that part come to you by trying sounds at the piano? I'm curious about that... D.- Well... the original version of this piece is a trio that I wrote for piano, clarinet and flute2: the clarinet and flute were like the little birds twittering, and the piano was this solid thing... I'm a very big fan of Messiaen's music, so I had that in mind and that's why the piano part is representing something more... eternal? And then something with a totally different mood and tempo above that. So, the piano became the orchestra, and the clarinet and flute became the players in the balcony. S.- Oh... very interesting! It's true that I could see some birds from the balconies... or maybe some breezes of wind... and I could recognize the presence of Messiaen also in the stillness of the harmonies... I don't know why, but some moments reminded to me his Louange l'ternit de Jsus 3... D.- Harmonically, I wouldn't say that the piece is like Messiaen's, but the tempo, or the mood, is slow and continuous... S.- It's interesting to follow the harps while we listen to the piece and look at the score, since they have almost every played note... and they even double the extreme notes an octave higher and lower, respectively... D.- Oh, yes, they split the chord...
1

He worked as the composer-in-residence for the ACO during the years 2006-2009. During these years, he wrote two other pieces: Migrati on S eries (2007) concerto for jazz band and orchestra, and A shout , a whi sp er , an d a trac e (2009) for chamber orchestra. 2 Named Twin Trio (2005). At the following link, you can listen to the movement in which the piece is based: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqoDJLtpVBI 3 From le Quatuor pour le fin du temps (1940-41)

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S.- It specially took my attention the fact that you assigned to the harps the lowest pitches in the piece... usually an octave lower than the double basses and the electric bass... D.- Well... when you use two harps it's a very different situation that when you have one: you need two harps in some situations when things are very chromatic... I wanted the harps to play throughout their whole range, and I also thought about these two sides... S.- Oh, yes, you put the lowest instruments at the very right and the highest at the very left on the stage... I see that you wrote the extreme high pitches to the harp that you put on the left side, and the extreme lower ones to the one that you placed on the right side. D.- I wanted to write something that felt idiomatic for the harp... If you notice, Debussy uses two harps when he wants the harmony jumping around... two harps give a big pillow to the general texture, they add a very soft sound underneath... they make the sound more full. S.- Do they add transparency? D.- Oh, no... the transparency is added by the six solo violins, that are playing overtones during the whole piece. S.- Oh, yes! When I made the graphic copy of the pitches, I painted them orange... different from the rest of the strings that are red. I felt that they were "adding something" to the strings orchestral sound, same as the rest of the instruments onstage. I'm curious about these six violins (making three voices, actually)... are they playing real overtones from any other voice in the orchestra, or they are playing anything more organic? D.- Sometimes they are, but they are also a group of three sounds that... well, by that time I was studying some pieces by Grard Grisey, specially three pieces of Les Espaces Acoustiques: Partiels (1975), Modulations (1976-77) and Transitoires (1980)... I love those three scores...4 and I found that the sonorities that I really like are the ones where overtones were themselves in chords... so that's what I tried to do: of course, some microtonal chords, but just quartertone... its not just the large vertical relation that works well, but this chord at the top gives a shine to the sound. I was less concerned the relations between each overtone and a lower note, more with the way the overtones relate to each other. It creates a brilliant kind of sound. Elixir is a piece that I wouldnt like to call decadent, but in some sections its supposed to shine... and one of the tools to get this shining feeling is the relations among the overtones themselves. If I had related each overtone to a lower note, it would maybe be interesting conceptually, but it wouldnt work so well. As you know, to write this piece I departed from some of the French spectralists, because I think that some of them are quite literal... theres this joke about the British and the French: they are building the Channel Tunnel, and the British guy says to the French guy
4

In the booklet of his cd Voices (pg. 5), he comments: I strove to incorporate some of Griseys spectral techniques into a sensual piece that involved instruments dispersed throughout the hall

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[he talks with British accent] Well, we studied your design and we find thats its very interesting, but it doesnt work very practically, and then, the French guy says Well, we have also studied your design and it works very well practically, but in theory it is terrible! [laughs]. So, to me, this is the thing... sometimes, those spectral pieces work very well in theory, but actually, sometimes the sound is very poor. Les Espaces Acoustiques, however, is a piece that I really love, because I think that it produces beautiful sounds with the orchestra, and my favorite moments are when those chords are on top. Its almost like the polytonality in Milhaud... but here its different, because you dont have the world of C and the world of F#, but the world of C and the world of a quarter tone below F#. S.- I remember when I was attending painting classes and my acrylic teacher used to forbid us to use the colors as they came from the tins... we had always to make a little mix with any other one, in order to add a nuance. Maybe youre talking about something similar... D.- Yes... it could be even more than that. It would be putting the color and then adding some glitter on it. Its not really another color, because I feel that these chords are already very mixed colors, and they are composed from flat colors since every interval are 4ths and 5ths. These intervals dont add a lot of edge to them, a lot of brilliant to them... they are not bright but muted. It is a little bit like Ravel does in his Bolero: you have the melody [he sings it], but then, all the way up, you have the piccolo, but not in the 8ve, instead the piccolo is playing on the major 3rd, and you dont hear it as an independent pitch, you hear it as a result, like in an organ you add the stop and it sounds as part of the melody5. So, consequently, I wanted these overtones to be felt as part of the chord, as an outline of the chord itself. S.- I see... and what about the percussion? I didnt analyze it since I thought that its just outlining the moods that the piece evocate. Did you follow any kind of system, or structure, for the percussion? D.- You know... the idea of the piece is that its sensual... so I use the percussion in the way that you use incense, or something like that... Theres a sense of overload to the ears that aspires to be luxurious S.- I had some other questions related to the score itself... I dont know if youre interested in the notation stuff... for instance, I saw that for the abbreviation of violoncello, you write Vcl instead of the traditional Vlc. Actually I like your way, it seems more clear to me! D.- Oh! I dont know why, I always do that! ...humm... I think the other way just seems to me so similar to Vln [violin], or to Vla [viola]... its probably technically incorrect, but... thats funny! I didnt realize that it was wrong!
5

Im not surprised, since the piece seems to be a tribute to the musical history of France, that another French composer, Claude Debussy, used this same concept for his mixtures, that are melodies in chords that moved parallely, the same as in the organ when you add the stops.

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S.- Oh, no! It doesnt seem wrong to me! just different from the traditional! Im thinking that I only know you as an orchestral composer, but Im not sure if the orchestral sound is your favorite one to bring your music out to the audience. Is the orchestra your preferred sound? D.- I have written a lot for orchestra, but Ive done a lot of chamber music too, and now some films... If I can choose, my favorite instrument is the trombone, definitely... I love the orchestra, although I do feel that one needs to really consider nowadays whether to write for orchestra or not, because you think What can I really say?, the same as What can I really say with the piano?... you know, there exist some conventions, and we need to find the way of dealing effectively with them to be innovative, and say something new. So every time I start a piece for orchestra I need to find a challenge, a challenge that actually I know from before that I will fail at this effort, but in a way, through failing you find something new. Ive had this idea for a long time, but it became concrete when I read Samuel Beckett saying: Fail again. Fail better. This phrase is very interesting, because to me, making a work of art, the innovation comes because you take a leap: you try to do this, though you know that its not possible. For example, when I was writing my clarinet concerto I was thinking: well, I want to make the orchestra sound like the human voice, but you cant make the orchestra sound like the human voice, or the clarinet either... but you say: Im gonna do this and you start thinking about ways to make this into that... so you take a look at your materials: well, this is wood and thats glass... Im going to carve them in the same shape, so that they have the same function, or Im gonna make these feel the same, or smell the same, or something... You need to think of all the ways in which things can become different... but you know that you actually cant change them, because theyre two different materials, theyre made from different things... but then, youll end up with something that is a hybrid, something that is not this and is not that, but somewhere in the middle. Youll never make this into this, because they are fundamentally different... But the challenge is: do something that you know you cant achieve; and then, along the way, you come half way to a place where you say well, I didnt do that, but what I got is this thing in the middle. And its a failure, but its a happy failure. And then, the success will come from that feeling... when you feel that youre finished, then thats your success: I went as far as I can through this method, I developed a system, I moved within that system, and now I cant go anymore to that place, so Ill never get to that place. Its an imperfect system, but it made the piece become its own thing... it became a new species... and thats good! you made something new and interesting... If we can do that just a few times in our life, we can be happy to achieve that in a way that is very satisfying... we never know how long we have to wait till we have the work done, but... S.- You know? These last years Im working that way too! For the last piece I finished I wanted to make the ensemble sound for 14 minutes as the tides of 6 points of the planet did for 14 days! So I begun with just tables of tides, and every version I wrote of the piece was more musical and less conceptual... a very interesting and natural evolution... the piece slowly came by itself... D.- So you made like a tribute to the tides... and even if you dont achieve that, the result will be somewhere else... I think the scientists also work like that. For instance, Einsteins work is

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so interesting because of his ability to take a leap and fail, and then the next leap, and this attitude leads you to places in which you need to make something else. And Im sure he knew that there were inconsistencies in his theory, but its ok... people could build on that, and then come with something else... so were still looking for the answers that he didnt find... I think that theres where scientists and mathematicians sometimes come up with similar ways of operating to the artists: they try something that seems impossible, and that it actually is impossible, but they search really a lot and eventually they find themselves in a place which is not the place they had intended, but that its still an interesting place... so thats it... Other people have looked at this work and they think that its influenced by a piece it Charles Ives called The Unanswered Question, and I understand why people hear that... but I never heard that when I was writing, until after... because you know that in America were so absorbed by the spirit of Ives that we dont even notice when were conjuring it. For instance, the idea of people playing from the balconies is similar to this piece, and also the sonorities, but actually he uses major chords. Do you like Ives? Have you heard his orchestral music? S.- I dont know him very well... D.- Another piece that you might like is Three Places in New England... S.- Do you know? In Europe we just study a few American composers: Feldman, Cage, Copland, Gershwin... D.- Oh, I know... maybe Steve Reich of Philip Glass... S.- Oh yes... the Minimalist School as well... I had another question about the performers that play from the balconies... You know I wrote this graphic transcription of the pitches because I wanted somehow to understand the harmony of the piece. I was curious whether the green notes, played from the instrumentalists from the balconies, were related in any way to the on-stage group. D.- Oh, yes! They play 4ths and 5ths too... The difference is that they play a melody made from these intervals, I mean, horizontally, and the group on-stage plays these intervals vertically. If you mean whether they play the same pitches as the others... I just put them in some spots that I was interested to fill... some of them coincide with the others, and some dont. As I told you before, Elixir is based on the second movement from this trio for clarinet, flute and piano. The trio is composed in three movements, and it has a different intervallic treatment in each of them: the 1st movement is all written in major 2nds and minor 7ths; the 2nd movement are these, all 4ths and 5ths; the 3rd one is based on major and minor 2nds; and the 4th movement is all made in major 3rds and minor 6ths. S.- I see... then, Elixir is based in the slow movement of your trio.

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D.- Yes! I was gonna show you where theres the only third in the score... oh, look! here it is! At bar 30, played by the violas. Theres your major 3rd, because its a G# instead of an A... thats where I broke the rule, because I just liked the sound! S.- Oh, thanks! D.- Listen, I should go! S.- Oh. Thanks so much for this inspiring conversation!! D.- Ok, just e-mail me if you have any other questions. S.- Great! D.- Bye! S.- Bye!

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
VV. AA.: Booklet of cd Voices, edited in 2008 by BMOP Sound. Derek Bermels website http://www.derekbermel.com Score of the piece, edited by Peer Music Interview at Composition: Today: http://www.compositiontoday.com/interviews/derek_bermel.asp Some interviews to the author on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmCb5oO3d-o&NR=1, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHbbGBJfAm4

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