FRANK STEMPER, COMPOSER
Trylongenesis (1988)
for concert organ [13 mins.]
Commissioned by Robert Roubos
Premiered 11 May 1988 by Robert Roubos at Pannonhalma in Budapest, Hungary.
12 additional performances in Romania, Poland, Austria and various cities of the United States.
Opus 21 — A.S.C.A.P. work I.D. 504028395
SCORE
Premiered 11 May 1988 by Robert Roubos at Pannonhalma in Budapest, Hungary.
12 additional performances in Romania, Poland, Austria and various cities of the United States.
Opus 21 — A.S.C.A.P. work I.D. 504028395
SCORE
NOTES
TRYLONGENESIS was commissioned by pipe organist, Robert Roubos. He premiered it in Budapest at Pannonhalma Concert Hall, and made subsequent performances in several European cites, as well as across the United States. The recording is from the Polish premiere in Łódź, Poland. My grandmother Irena Tomkiewicz Stemper, born Warsaw, 1887, would have been proud.
When Bob asked me to write it, he said, “write anything you want – I’ll play it.” And he followed through with his promise. He was an excellent musician and dedicated to playing what I had written. The rhythms are as arrhythmic as the lines are disjunct, and the music is continuous, leaving the performer and listener little space to regroup his/her thoughts. In addition to that, I tried to make the most of the contrasting timbres that were possible on the four organ keyboards (including the foot pedals). Throughout the piece I used all four simultaneously, so the different sounds would be exposed and exploited. This created quite a four-limb ballet for the performer, who would often jump from one keyboard to another, several times per beat.
In order to compose the piece, I needed to have Shryock Concert Hall to myself, so I could experiment and play the piece as it progressed on the Shryock tracker organ. I had to often work in the middle of the night, or very early in the morning. The ghost of Henry Shryock became a distraction at times!
TRYLONGENESIS is a fictitious word meaning absolutely nothing, unless you derive your own meaning. In that case it means anything. (Kind of like music.)
TRYLONGENESIS was commissioned by pipe organist, Robert Roubos. He premiered it in Budapest at Pannonhalma Concert Hall, and made subsequent performances in several European cites, as well as across the United States. The recording is from the Polish premiere in Łódź, Poland. My grandmother Irena Tomkiewicz Stemper, born Warsaw, 1887, would have been proud.
When Bob asked me to write it, he said, “write anything you want – I’ll play it.” And he followed through with his promise. He was an excellent musician and dedicated to playing what I had written. The rhythms are as arrhythmic as the lines are disjunct, and the music is continuous, leaving the performer and listener little space to regroup his/her thoughts. In addition to that, I tried to make the most of the contrasting timbres that were possible on the four organ keyboards (including the foot pedals). Throughout the piece I used all four simultaneously, so the different sounds would be exposed and exploited. This created quite a four-limb ballet for the performer, who would often jump from one keyboard to another, several times per beat.
In order to compose the piece, I needed to have Shryock Concert Hall to myself, so I could experiment and play the piece as it progressed on the Shryock tracker organ. I had to often work in the middle of the night, or very early in the morning. The ghost of Henry Shryock became a distraction at times!
TRYLONGENESIS is a fictitious word meaning absolutely nothing, unless you derive your own meaning. In that case it means anything. (Kind of like music.)
PRESS NOTICE
TRYLONGENESIS
—Performed by Robert Roubos
3 July 1990, Feldkirk Austria
“Trylongenesis” des jungen Americaners Franz Stemper faszinierte nicht nur durch technischw und klangliche Brillanz, sondern auch durch das unüberhörbare Amüsement des Komponisten am Ausspielen der verschiedensten Klangregionen der Orgel, woran offensichlich auch der Interpret seine Freude hatte.
Vorarlberger Nachrichten 5 July 1990
(Translation)
“Trylongenesis,” by the young American Frank Stemper, fascinated the listeners not only with its technical intensity as well as the brilliance of sound, but also by the unmistakable fun the composer had in using the most divergent sound registers of the organ, a facet which obviously gave much joy to the performer, too.
TRYLONGENESIS
—Performed by Robert Roubos
3 July 1990, Feldkirk Austria
“Trylongenesis” des jungen Americaners Franz Stemper faszinierte nicht nur durch technischw und klangliche Brillanz, sondern auch durch das unüberhörbare Amüsement des Komponisten am Ausspielen der verschiedensten Klangregionen der Orgel, woran offensichlich auch der Interpret seine Freude hatte.
Vorarlberger Nachrichten 5 July 1990
(Translation)
“Trylongenesis,” by the young American Frank Stemper, fascinated the listeners not only with its technical intensity as well as the brilliance of sound, but also by the unmistakable fun the composer had in using the most divergent sound registers of the organ, a facet which obviously gave much joy to the performer, too.