These ‘Shadows” are meant to inspire.
As the state recovers from the historic cold snap, ROCO is delivering added warmth to homes in a fortuitously timed program of musical color.
On Feb. 27, the chamber orchestra — led by guest conductor Ward Stare in his ROCO debut — will continue its virtual season with “Shadows,” streamed live from the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman. Exploring the interplay between light and darkness, the performance will feature Patrick Harlin’s dynamic “Shadow Dancer,” Haydn’s Symphony No. 101 , “The Clock” and Luigi Dallapiccola’s Baroque-inspired “Tartiniana Seconda.”
The centerpiece of the hourlong concert will be the world premiere of “Tlapalli Tlahuilli,” the last commission in a triptych of new works by ROCO’s composerin-residence, Alyssa Morris, that is based on Gerald McDermott’s “Musicians of the Sun.”
The children’s book is a retelling of an Aztec myth, in which music brings joy back to a gloomy, colorless world. In the wake of burst pipes and power outages — not to mention the ongoing pandemic that has cast a cloud of fear and uncertainty over the world for the past year — a program built around such a tale proves pertinent to the times and provides hope for the future.
“It’s about unity in the end,” says Morris, who serves as assistant professor of oboe and music theory at Kansas State University, as well as principal oboist of the Topeka Symphony Orchestra and the Wichita Grand Opera. “Everybody comes together to make something more beautiful, to make color and light in the world.”
Upon discovering McDermott’s acclaimed picture book through a fellow oboist several years ago, Morris immediately recognized its potential to be the subject of a composition. The prospect of capturing its expressive illustrations
through sound, which has rested in the back of her mind ever since, was reawakened when ROCO founder and artistic director Alecia Lawyer approached her with the same exact idea for a piece that would stand as the focal point of this weekend’s “In Concert” performance.
“I felt like it was meant to be,” says Morris, who initially envisioned an outcome along the lines of the narrated childhood classic “Peter and the Wolf” before deciding its impact would be greater received as more of an evocative tone poem, a concept pioneered by Franz Liszt in the mid-1800s and later popularized by Richard Strauss. “It’s almost like when you read the book, there’s a sound world that you can hear in your mind with all of the different characters, and they have very distinct qualities.”
Lasting about 20 minutes, the work, which highlights ROCO’s principal winds — flutist Brook Ferguson, oboist Alecia Lawyer, clarinetist Nathan Williams and bassoonist Kristin Wolfe Jensen — closely follows the sequence of the book. Opening with an ethereal sound that represents the Lord of the Night, the music descends into a moan as he details the gray world he sees through his magic mirror.
Determined to change the dreary circumstances, he sends wind on an epic quest to rescue the four musicians — named Red, Yellow, Blue and Green — who are being held captive by the sun. To accompany this journey, Morris wrote a wispy passage of optimism, which grows into a menacing melody as the wind draws nearer to the blazing sun. Ultimately, the musicians are liberated, and with the sound of a conch shell that leads into a joyful ballad, they begin to fill the Earth with happiness and harmony.
Prior to the world premiere of the musical work, ROCO will present a reading of the book with
audio recorded by Abuela M’api Rainflowa, co-founder of the Calmecac Indigenous Organization, and members of her family — Citlalmina Quiroz, Azrael Villarreal, Quetzal Villarreal, Kim Villarreal, Jason Colunga and Aline Curiel.
“I’m so grateful that there are innovative organizations like ROCO that are finding a way to bring music to people, regardless of the challenges that are presented with the day that we live in right now,” Morris says. “Whenever we can find opportunities to cling to hope and to cling to optimism, that’s really impactful and helps people to make it through and to continue looking forward. So my hope is that this piece can be a message of spreading goodness and seeking for unity.”