Orchestra

*12*12/2100/ 1 perc. Jazz bass, solo clarinet/strgs

This work was commissioned by The Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound Ontario, one of Canada’s finest chamber music festivals, for their 2006 summer season. Artistic Director James Campbell asked for a piece for chamber orchestra that would feature him on the clarinet and include as many of the musicians who were performing at the Festival during the week of the premiere. The orchestra that we formed ended up being an all-star cast of Canadian and International chamber musicians.

Jim originally suggested an arrangement of West Side Story. This is hands down one of my favorite pieces, and one of the great works of the 20th century, but I wanted to have more flexibility with the material so we agreed on the idea of a fantasia. The fantasia is a loose musical form where the composer has freedom to adapt the source material in anyway their imagination takes them. This allows the work to move far beyond arrangement to become what I like to call re-composition. My Fantasia on themes from West Side Story is a piece with completely original sections, sections that are arranged and sections that are re-orchestrations. The result, I hope, is a work that stands on it’s own where is hard to tell when Bernstein ends and Gilliland begins.

The form of reflects that of the musical. It begins with material from the prelude and ends exactly as the musical does. In between I focus more on the instrumental music rather than the “big” tunes. The familiar melodies that do get used include Tonight, One Hand, One Heart, and Somewhere.

This work marked my third collaboration with James Campbell and we have continued to collaborate on many small and large projects. He is a great supporter of my music and one of the finest clarinetists in the world.

0000/4331/timp., 2 perc., org.,/strgs

This piece was commissioned as part of the celebrations surrounding the installation of the Davis Concert Organ. When we decided that I would compose a new work for the organ I new immediately that I wanted the title to include some kind of recognition of Stuart Davis' incredible donation. When Elaine Calder told me the following story, I knew I had my title.

Stuart Davis endowed seat B16 in the Terrace Left section in honor of his late wife, Winnie. The plaque has her name and the phrase "Always Be True." This is why: after she died, Stuart was going through her papers and found her travel diary. In the front she had written her name, address, etc. but where it said "policy" (presumably for an insurance policy number) she had written "Always Be True."

He says she always was.

The piece is a 5-minute overture for brass, percussion and organ. It has two contrasting moods. The first is celebratory, to reflect our excitement over this incredible new instrument, and the other peaceful, in recognition of the great love Stuart Davis had for his wife.

*2*2*22/4331/timp., 2 perc., hp./strgs

Allan Gilliland's Loch na Beiste was premiered by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra on Thursday, November 1^st, 2002 at Winspear Centre.

Around the time I began thinking about this piece my wife had returned from a trip to Great Britain. While there she had bought a cute little book for our children about the Loch Ness Monster. It was in this book that I found the Gaelic name Loch na Beiste, which means Lake of the Monster. Loch na Beiste is loosely based on the story found in that children's book.

The book begins by explaining how, at one time, there had been two land masses that came together to form Scotland. At the point where the two pieces of land met there was a gap which created the loch (lake) and also trapped a monster. The book then goes on to describe the various times in history that "Nessie" had been seen and chased. Since the first documented sightings in AD 565 "Nessie" has been pursued with greater and greater vigilance.

Loch na Beiste is divided into two sections:

• The first represents the coming together of Scotland and the trapping of the monster
• The second represents the life of "Nessie" beginning peacefully and then becoming more and more frantic as people try, in vain, to catch her.

Winner of the 2002 Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s Canadian Composers Competition
*2222/4231/timp., 2 perc., hp./strgs

I came across the phrase "on the shoulders of giants" a few years ago while reading an article on the current generation of jazz musicians. The article pointed out that these young musicians were gaining much of their attention by standing on the shoulders of the giants who came before them. At the time I thought this was a very "catchy" phrase that might someday make a good title for a work, so I filed it away for an appropriate occasion.

Three years ago my father retired and as we sat around celebrating this event, the conversation naturally turned to some of the jobs he and my mother had done. As they described these jobs it occurred to me that each one had its own rhythm and as they moved on in their lives the rhythm of each job got faster. It was then that I began to think about a piece that would reflect this increasing rhythmic activity. It also occurred to me that I had found the "giants" whose shoulders I had been standing on my entire life.

The piece is divided into three sections, each representing a different occupation:

• The first section paints the picture of working in the coal mines of Scotland, which my father did early in his life. It starts with a gesture representing the sound of a work whistle that is followed by a series of chords that descend to the lowest end of the orchestra. The rest of this section is a slow ascent out of those depths.
• The second section was inspired by a job both my parents had. The town in Scotland where I was born produced lace as its main industry and one of the images I liked was that of the "shuttle," a large needle-like device used to weave the thread, flying back and forth on the looms. During this section a rising figure re-occurs to illustrate this gesture.Both my parents' last jobs had a high degree of speed associated with them. My father took vibration readings from large machines and my mother worked in the fastest of all fields, telecommunication.
• The last section of this piece focuses on this speed by creating a sense of perpetual motion.

Finally, in the first and last sections a melody appears, entitled "Valentines Lament," which pays homage to Scotland, our place of birth.

As you may have guessed, this work is dedicated to my parents, Ian and Margaret Gilliland.

Audio Samples:

*2222/4331/timp., 2 perc., pn., hp./strgs

Some pieces have a very straight and logical development and others take a more twisted path. Shadows & Light belongs to this latter category. The piece has three main sections which I composed in the order two, one, three. After completing this material I felt the first section needed its own introduction. After composing this busy string texture I felt the whole work needed a slow introduction (see, I told you it was twisted).

This all leads to a piece that has the form slow introduction, fast string transition, 3 main sections and coda:

• The material for the first main section comes from a single chord. The chord consists of a series of open fifths with the addition of a dissonant note. When I found this sonority I thought it would make a nice flashy series of repeated brass chords, and that's exactly how I use it. The upper brass and winds repeat this chord while the lower instruments interject with a base line. The notes of the bass line are chosen so that each note alters the function of the repeated chord.
• The second section is also harmonically based. The original material is taken from a choral piece of mine entitled The Cloths of Heaven. I open that work with the choir singing a series of chords using a closed- to open-mouthed syllable. This was always one of my favorite moments in this piece so I decided to adapt and modify it to an orchestral texture. Now the progression takes on a minimalist feel. On top of this texture I add a long, sweeping melody in the cellos and horns. This section builds to a bold climax that then winds down into the third section.
• This slow section changes the musical focus from harmony to counterpoint. Here I wanted alternate long lines in the string section with some of the gestures from the introduction. This slow section then leads into the coda.
• The coda begins with some more of the minimalist texture and then finishes with the bright brass chords.