FRANK STEMPER, COMPOSER
Last Words (2010)
A few excerpts from an American Hero’s final speech
for unaccompanied mixed choir [5.5 mins.]
Premiere Pending: A Triple World Premiere was to occur in Seattle, Denver, and New York City, but permission from the American Hero Foundation was not granted.
Opus 68 — A.S.C.A.P. work I.D. 883473989
SCORE
Opus 68 — A.S.C.A.P. work I.D. 883473989
SCORE
NOTES
This is an interesting story. From early 2007 until mid-2009 I composed eleven new compositions – about 117 minutes of music. This included two orchestral works, five solos, and the rest for various sized chamber ensembles. About half of these compositions were commissioned with deadlines. The others were self-initiated pieces that interrupted the paid activity, because they “just had to be written.” Musically, I was on fire.
Then I decided to take a little break. The break lasted two years. This was the first time in over 30 years that I had let more then six months pass without completing a piece. Normally, even going a couple of weeks without composing would have me ranting to myself that I was either lazy and worthless, or that my musical initiative had finally dried up. But I didn’t seem to be concerned about this exile from writing music. I was very relaxed, concerning myself with the normal, day-to-day responsibilities in my life, except for an intermittent gnawing in my gut that I probably should get back to work. It seemed as if I had retired from composing.
Exactly one year into this hiatus, I mysteriously wrote a short acapella choir piece. I had thought when I composed Last Words, that its ethereal sound was inspired by an American hero's final speech, which eluded to his assassination the very next day. The chilling legacy of the American hero's prediction had haunted me since the late sixties, and, in this piece’s opening statement, quoted from his speech, the American hero seems to beacon us from somewhere up “above.” The piece goes on to use a mosaic of quotes from his speech, including his own quoting of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. My thought was that the American hero's initiatives continue to teach, guide, inspire, and mend us as a Nation, long after his death.
And so simultaneously I finally realized this project and returned to composing – or so I thought, for my exile continued, and I ended up not completing a major piece for almost another year. What had happened to bring this strange circumstance to my professional/artistic life? Was it a mid-career vacation? The “vacation” is finally over, and I’m now back to composing.
Epilogue
There was one other event that occurred, which has something to do with this story: In April 2009, while I was composing the eleventh piece at the end of that very productive period, my mother died. She was my mother, a great friend, and I loved her. I still do, and how can a guy compose if his mother’s dead? After completing that eleventh piece, I must have gone into mourning for two years, stopping only briefly to let this American hero remind me that although someone dies, they are still there to comfort and influence us long after they are physically gone.
This is an interesting story. From early 2007 until mid-2009 I composed eleven new compositions – about 117 minutes of music. This included two orchestral works, five solos, and the rest for various sized chamber ensembles. About half of these compositions were commissioned with deadlines. The others were self-initiated pieces that interrupted the paid activity, because they “just had to be written.” Musically, I was on fire.
Then I decided to take a little break. The break lasted two years. This was the first time in over 30 years that I had let more then six months pass without completing a piece. Normally, even going a couple of weeks without composing would have me ranting to myself that I was either lazy and worthless, or that my musical initiative had finally dried up. But I didn’t seem to be concerned about this exile from writing music. I was very relaxed, concerning myself with the normal, day-to-day responsibilities in my life, except for an intermittent gnawing in my gut that I probably should get back to work. It seemed as if I had retired from composing.
Exactly one year into this hiatus, I mysteriously wrote a short acapella choir piece. I had thought when I composed Last Words, that its ethereal sound was inspired by an American hero's final speech, which eluded to his assassination the very next day. The chilling legacy of the American hero's prediction had haunted me since the late sixties, and, in this piece’s opening statement, quoted from his speech, the American hero seems to beacon us from somewhere up “above.” The piece goes on to use a mosaic of quotes from his speech, including his own quoting of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. My thought was that the American hero's initiatives continue to teach, guide, inspire, and mend us as a Nation, long after his death.
And so simultaneously I finally realized this project and returned to composing – or so I thought, for my exile continued, and I ended up not completing a major piece for almost another year. What had happened to bring this strange circumstance to my professional/artistic life? Was it a mid-career vacation? The “vacation” is finally over, and I’m now back to composing.
Epilogue
There was one other event that occurred, which has something to do with this story: In April 2009, while I was composing the eleventh piece at the end of that very productive period, my mother died. She was my mother, a great friend, and I loved her. I still do, and how can a guy compose if his mother’s dead? After completing that eleventh piece, I must have gone into mourning for two years, stopping only briefly to let this American hero remind me that although someone dies, they are still there to comfort and influence us long after they are physically gone.
LAST WORDS
a few quotes from MLK's final statement
•••
I may not get there with you.
Somewhere I read of the Freedom of Speech.
The issue is Injustice.
We are determined to be people
Freedom to be People.
If I were standing at the beginning of time,
I would take my flight through the wilderness,
On t’ward
Across the Red Sea to Mount Olympus,
On t’ward the Promised Land.
I may not get there with — you.
On t’ward the Promised Land.
I would turn to the Almighty and say
If you allow me to live — just a few years,
If you allow me to live
I will be happy just to live.
Well, I don’t know what will happen now.
Somewhere I read of the Freedom of Assembly.
We’ve got some difficult days ahead,
Somewhere I read that the GREATNESS of America
But it doesn’t matter to me now, because I’ve been to the Mountain Top.
Is the right to protest for RIGHT
Only when it’s dark enough can you see the stars.
We’ve got to see through to see the stars.
I just want to do God’s will,
And he’s allowed me to go up to the mountain.
I may not get there with you,
But I’m happy tonight.
I want you to know tonight
I’m not worried about anything.
That we as a people will get to the Promised Land.
I’m not fearing any man.
MINE EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE COMING OF THE LORD
a few quotes from MLK's final statement
•••
I may not get there with you.
Somewhere I read of the Freedom of Speech.
The issue is Injustice.
We are determined to be people
Freedom to be People.
If I were standing at the beginning of time,
I would take my flight through the wilderness,
On t’ward
Across the Red Sea to Mount Olympus,
On t’ward the Promised Land.
I may not get there with — you.
On t’ward the Promised Land.
I would turn to the Almighty and say
If you allow me to live — just a few years,
If you allow me to live
I will be happy just to live.
Well, I don’t know what will happen now.
Somewhere I read of the Freedom of Assembly.
We’ve got some difficult days ahead,
Somewhere I read that the GREATNESS of America
But it doesn’t matter to me now, because I’ve been to the Mountain Top.
Is the right to protest for RIGHT
Only when it’s dark enough can you see the stars.
We’ve got to see through to see the stars.
I just want to do God’s will,
And he’s allowed me to go up to the mountain.
I may not get there with you,
But I’m happy tonight.
I want you to know tonight
I’m not worried about anything.
That we as a people will get to the Promised Land.
I’m not fearing any man.
MINE EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE COMING OF THE LORD
And here’s another interesting story:
As stated above, this piece has yet to be performed. Permission was not granted in time for the three premieres that were planned in NYC, Denver, and Seattle. I was warned by a composer colleague NOT to set anything by the American hero, if I ever wanted to actually hear it. He was right.
Upon completion of LAST WORDS, I did dutifully contact the American hero's foundation requesting permission. About three months later, I received a form that I was told to fill out and return. So I did it. It was quite a long form, somewhere between 10 and 20 pages. I did it right away and mailed it back – express mail. The process had already taken 3 months, and the conductors of the choirs were getting antsy. I waited. And waited. Nothing happened. I tried to call the foundation but didn’t receive any assistance. I was wondering if I should just go ahead and get the performances happening without permission from the American hero's Foundation. After all, I only quoted about 2% of the American hero's speech, and that was fragmented and out of order. One might even say it was an original text, the way I had “rewritten” it to suit the music. But after hearing stories of other composers getting sued by the American hero's offspring, I hesitated. That was scary. Meanwhile the clock was ticking, and my opportunity for the piece to be heard was thinning out.
A student of mine, actually a 75-year-old female composition student of mine, was acquainted with the copyright professor in the our university's Law School. She urged me to get in touch with him – and ask him about the 2%. I did. He told me a few things, but I was still unsure of what to do. The Law Professor at SIU told me that he was going to ask his former teacher, Paul Goldstein, a copyright Law Professor at Stanford U., and apparently the top guy in his field. I quickly received an email from the Prof. Goldstein. He said he’d like to talk to me by phone. We arranged a time. At the appointed time, my phone rang, and he introduced himself to me. Then he told me that my problem was very interesting, and that he wanted his class to take it up: apparently, the phone call was being piped into the Prof’s classroom in Palo Alto, and LAST WORDS was being discussed!
Although it was very interesting to listen to the law students discuss my problem, nothing was gained, at least for the performance of LAST WORDS. In the end, the guy said that I should go ahead with the performance, after I get some certain kind of insurance – for around $2,000. That was that.
EPILOGUE: Well, I wasn’t about to pay $2K for insurance, and if the insurance was $2K - if I was sued I'd probably lose my home!!! And anyway, by then the opportunity to hear the piece performed in three US cities had passed. I just let it go, and continued composing.
About two years later, two years after I sent questionnaire to the American hero's foundation, I received a letter from them. They had granted permission for LAST WORDS to be performed. It would cost me $100 for each performance PLUS $100 from each choir per each performance – for each subsequent performance. The opportunity had passed, but I wasn’t interested any more. I was onto other things. LAST WORDS would just have to sit in the closet, in my sock drawer, lining the bottom of the bird cage – or wherever. I had learned one final thing from the American hero: Just because you’re a cool guy, an American hero, doesn’t necessarily mean that your offspring are going to be cool.
I hope you enjoy the recording of LAST WORDS as performed by my computer. If you read the score, you can imagine how the words of the American hero might sound, especially at the very end, when the American hero plagiarizes Lee Greenwood's BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC.
As stated above, this piece has yet to be performed. Permission was not granted in time for the three premieres that were planned in NYC, Denver, and Seattle. I was warned by a composer colleague NOT to set anything by the American hero, if I ever wanted to actually hear it. He was right.
Upon completion of LAST WORDS, I did dutifully contact the American hero's foundation requesting permission. About three months later, I received a form that I was told to fill out and return. So I did it. It was quite a long form, somewhere between 10 and 20 pages. I did it right away and mailed it back – express mail. The process had already taken 3 months, and the conductors of the choirs were getting antsy. I waited. And waited. Nothing happened. I tried to call the foundation but didn’t receive any assistance. I was wondering if I should just go ahead and get the performances happening without permission from the American hero's Foundation. After all, I only quoted about 2% of the American hero's speech, and that was fragmented and out of order. One might even say it was an original text, the way I had “rewritten” it to suit the music. But after hearing stories of other composers getting sued by the American hero's offspring, I hesitated. That was scary. Meanwhile the clock was ticking, and my opportunity for the piece to be heard was thinning out.
A student of mine, actually a 75-year-old female composition student of mine, was acquainted with the copyright professor in the our university's Law School. She urged me to get in touch with him – and ask him about the 2%. I did. He told me a few things, but I was still unsure of what to do. The Law Professor at SIU told me that he was going to ask his former teacher, Paul Goldstein, a copyright Law Professor at Stanford U., and apparently the top guy in his field. I quickly received an email from the Prof. Goldstein. He said he’d like to talk to me by phone. We arranged a time. At the appointed time, my phone rang, and he introduced himself to me. Then he told me that my problem was very interesting, and that he wanted his class to take it up: apparently, the phone call was being piped into the Prof’s classroom in Palo Alto, and LAST WORDS was being discussed!
Although it was very interesting to listen to the law students discuss my problem, nothing was gained, at least for the performance of LAST WORDS. In the end, the guy said that I should go ahead with the performance, after I get some certain kind of insurance – for around $2,000. That was that.
EPILOGUE: Well, I wasn’t about to pay $2K for insurance, and if the insurance was $2K - if I was sued I'd probably lose my home!!! And anyway, by then the opportunity to hear the piece performed in three US cities had passed. I just let it go, and continued composing.
About two years later, two years after I sent questionnaire to the American hero's foundation, I received a letter from them. They had granted permission for LAST WORDS to be performed. It would cost me $100 for each performance PLUS $100 from each choir per each performance – for each subsequent performance. The opportunity had passed, but I wasn’t interested any more. I was onto other things. LAST WORDS would just have to sit in the closet, in my sock drawer, lining the bottom of the bird cage – or wherever. I had learned one final thing from the American hero: Just because you’re a cool guy, an American hero, doesn’t necessarily mean that your offspring are going to be cool.
I hope you enjoy the recording of LAST WORDS as performed by my computer. If you read the score, you can imagine how the words of the American hero might sound, especially at the very end, when the American hero plagiarizes Lee Greenwood's BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC.