Michael Udow

Oboe and Two Percussion

Composer's Note:

Enchanted Land was commissioned by William Banovetz, principal oboist with The Santa Fe Opera, where we worked together for many years. Bill was also a member of the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra until he passed in 2001. New Mexico is known as the Land of Enchantment. The high desert landscape colors are highlighted by brief summer monsoon showers at various times of the day. Thirty years earlier, I had composed a work based on poems by Native American children. Thematic materials from that work form the basis of this composition.

American modernist painter Georgia O’Keeffe, living in Abiquiú, captured the essence of the Northern New Mexican landscape. I aimed to capture specific moods from her paintings reflected in these musical settings. I would often sit contemplating the ever-changing color stratification of the mesas. I find it therapeutic to step back slowly and experience the world of landscapes and soundscapes at a slower pace than my typical daily routine. I hope that these soundscapes provide an opportunity for you to pause, listen, and reflect.

Percussion Needed:

Percussion 1. Vibraphone (F3-F6), Xylophone (notated F3 - C7)
Percussion 2. 32 inch Timpano, ca. 18 inch thin suspended cymbal, Marimba (4 1/3 octave low A), Glockenspiel