Skip to product information
1 of 4

Elliott Schwartz

CHAMBER CONCERTO VI: MR JEFFERSON

CHAMBER CONCERTO VI: MR JEFFERSON

Violin solo, chamber orchestra 1-(Picc)-1 (E.H.)-1 (Bass Clar)-1 (CBsn), 1-1-1-0, Percussion (1 or 2 players), piano (doubles on harpsichord & celesta), strings.

Chamber Concerto VI: Mr. Jefferson for solo violin and chamber orchestra is built on references to, and associations with, the figure of Thomas Jefferson. It is dedicated to violinist Peter Sheppard Skaerved, who first stimulated my interest in Jefferson's musical connections. In composing the work, I focused on four specific links to Jefferson.
(a) The formal structure, in five connected movements, is meant to reflect Jeffersonian architecture: the symmetrical balancing of components on either side of a central structure. Thus the middle (third) movement is balanced on either side, with movements I-V, and II-IV, of identical durations.
(b) The piece makes use of motives based on musical spellings, using the letters A through G plus the German H and S and solfege syllables. The most prominent motive of this type is based on the pitches THOMAS EFFERSO. There are musical spellings of many other names as well -- including that of violinist Peter Sheppard Skaerved.
(c) There are many quoted fragments of 18th century music associated with 7 Jefferson -- works that he kept in his music library, works that he performed, and/or works which were composed by a person very close to him. (d) The five movements -- all connected -- provide programmatic commentaries on this remarkable historic figure. In order, the movements are:
(1) The Inventor, which celebrates TJ's remarkable skill at designing machines. Among the many objects he either created or improved upon: the swivel chair, plow, automatic writing polygraph, clock, dumbwaiter and sundial. This movement introduces the Jefferson-spelling motive, reference to Bach Inventions, and a four-note motive"”the motive of "Uranus the Magician" in Holst's The Planets.
(2) The Violin, honoring TJ's passion for music and his devotion to the violin. He owned several instruments (one of which was a 17th century Amati), practiced three hours a day as a young man, and maintained a large library of scores including works by Vivaldi, Corelli, Handel and Haydn. This movement places the violin soloist in sharp focus; near its close, the soloist plays fragments from works which were in Jefferson's library.
(3) Garden, reflecting Jefferson's devotion to horticulture. In typical Enlightenment fashion, he was insatiably curious about the workings of nature, and cultivated a great variety of fruits, vegetables, trees and flowers at Monticello. The music becomes "flowery," with special emphasis on ornaments, embellishments and tiny motives that undergo a growth process.
(4) The Letter, which refers to TJ's correspondence with Mariah Cosway, the great love of his later life. Cosway was an accomplished painter, flutist and composer -- and (unfortunately) married. Here the concerto becomes more overtly Romantic in style -- chromatic, orchestrally lush and curiously Wagnerian. Fragments of Cosway's own music for flute and harpsichord surface within the texture.
(5) The Portrait, last of the five connected movements, stands for Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Jefferson which hangs in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art. James Bowdoin III commissioned the Jefferson portrait and then willed it to the newly founded College which bore his family name. This movement serves as the Recapitulation of all that has gone before --culminating in an emphatic return of Holst's four-note "magician" figure, a fitting epitaph for a remarkable man. ---Elliott Schwartz


Authored (or revised): 2007

Duration (minutes): 16

Book format: conductor's score


SKU

ACA-SCHW-001
Regular price $45.50
Sale price $45.50 Regular price
Sale Sold out
Format
View full details

Chamber Concerto VI: Mr. Jefferson for solo violin and chamber orchestra is built on references to, and associations with, the figure of Thomas Jefferson. It is dedicated to violinist Peter Sheppard Skaerved, who first stimulated my interest in Jefferson's musical connections. In composing the work, I focused on four specific links to Jefferson.
(a) The formal structure, in five connected movements, is meant to reflect Jeffersonian architecture: the symmetrical balancing of components on either side of a central structure. Thus the middle (third) movement is balanced on either side, with movements I-V, and II-IV, of identical durations.
(b) The piece makes use of motives based on musical spellings, using the letters A through G plus the German H and S and solfege syllables. The most prominent motive of this type is based on the pitches THOMAS EFFERSO. There are musical spellings of many other names as well -- including that of violinist Peter Sheppard Skaerved.
(c) There are many quoted fragments of 18th century music associated with 7 Jefferson -- works that he kept in his music library, works that he performed, and/or works which were composed by a person very close to him. (d) The five movements -- all connected -- provide programmatic commentaries on this remarkable historic figure. In order, the movements are:
(1) The Inventor, which celebrates TJ's remarkable skill at designing machines. Among the many objects he either created or improved upon: the swivel chair, plow, automatic writing polygraph, clock, dumbwaiter and sundial. This movement introduces the Jefferson-spelling motive, reference to Bach Inventions, and a four-note motive"”the motive of "Uranus the Magician" in Holst's The Planets.
(2) The Violin, honoring TJ's passion for music and his devotion to the violin. He owned several instruments (one of which was a 17th century Amati), practiced three hours a day as a young man, and maintained a large library of scores including works by Vivaldi, Corelli, Handel and Haydn. This movement places the violin soloist in sharp focus; near its close, the soloist plays fragments from works which were in Jefferson's library.
(3) Garden, reflecting Jefferson's devotion to horticulture. In typical Enlightenment fashion, he was insatiably curious about the workings of nature, and cultivated a great variety of fruits, vegetables, trees and flowers at Monticello. The music becomes "flowery," with special emphasis on ornaments, embellishments and tiny motives that undergo a growth process.
(4) The Letter, which refers to TJ's correspondence with Mariah Cosway, the great love of his later life. Cosway was an accomplished painter, flutist and composer -- and (unfortunately) married. Here the concerto becomes more overtly Romantic in style -- chromatic, orchestrally lush and curiously Wagnerian. Fragments of Cosway's own music for flute and harpsichord surface within the texture.
(5) The Portrait, last of the five connected movements, stands for Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Jefferson which hangs in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art. James Bowdoin III commissioned the Jefferson portrait and then willed it to the newly founded College which bore his family name. This movement serves as the Recapitulation of all that has gone before --culminating in an emphatic return of Holst's four-note "magician" figure, a fitting epitaph for a remarkable man. ---Elliott Schwartz

Shipping

We ship world-wide using US International Postal Mail - Priority, First Class International Mail, or UPS Global. In the US, we usually use US Priority Mail or Media Mail or UPS Ground services.

Return Policy

Orders received damaged will be replaced immediately at no additional charge. Refunds requested will be issued back to the original payment
method. 

PDF files are not refundable and are considered permanent loan rentals licensed to the customer who purchased.

Purchasing any digital PDFs from American Composers Alliance grants you an unlimited license for your personal use only. ACA grants permission for you to duplicate the score and files as needed for performance.

Any other use of the PDF files may require additional permission from ACA. Purchase and download of PDFs does not automatically include performing and recording rights.

PDF files are not refundable and are considered permanent loan rentals licensed to the customer who purchased.

Contact us / inquire about this work