NOTES ON THE PROGRAM

Three pieces for French Horn were composed at two separate times, during the years 1984-86, as a result of commissions from Robert Hoyle. La Chasse, from September 1984, was premiered by Mr. Hoyle in the spring of 1985 at the Hartt School of Music. Lauda and Apotheosis, from early 1986, were premiered by Mr.Hoyle - together with La Chasse - in the fall of 1987 at Trinity College. For the premiere, Geoffrey Greene wrote:

" ... Lauda, as the name implies, is a majestic song of praise, which is in three sections, fast - slow - fast. Apotheosis is a slow funeral song, giving the sense of the deification and glory of the dead. It was written just after Mr. Barker had finished a Requiem for Orchestra [sic]. La Chasse is a piece which creates the experience of the hunt. It is divided into four sections: the first is a fast movement depicting the ride into the country' as the hunt begins. This is followed by the slowly moving action of stalking the prey. Next follows the gunfire in a slow movement, and the piece concludes with the quickly-moving, victorious return from the hunt. An interesting detail to note is that each piece is based on the same twelve-tone row. Through clever use of inversion, retro-grade and other devices, the works are masterfully related."

Ruger, one of five woodwind quintets that Barker wrote, wascommissioned by author Joseph Machlis in 1981. Whereas thefirst two quintets were primarily inspired by Bach fugues, Ruger refers to the firearms Barker most admired, produced by the gun manufacturer Sturm, Ruger & Co. This is the first in a series of pieces (Blackhawk, CCI, 10/22, R681.7[subtitle of 10/22], etc.) of varying instrumentation to which Barker gave as titles either the names or dimensions of particular guns, and where features or proportions ofthese guns functioned as part of the compositional source material.

Gairdnerii, it has been said, is a latin name for the species rainbow trout. This piece was written for Ben Whittenburg who gave it its first performance in 1984. The work is the outgrowth of Barker's close friendship with Ben, as well as the activity the two were most likely to pursue together: fishing. It's difficult not to hear in this work programmatic content reminiscent of that described in the Three Pieces for French Horn. There is the quiet approach, not unlike that a supplicant makes upon an altar, or a fisherman upon a trout stream. And then, there is the casting and to which wading through thigh-deep water that conceals the prey - to which most fishermen, including Tom, in all manner of wild conjecture, attribute the most fantastic traits of intelligence and predilection (on a level of absurdity nearly equalling that of the programs and legendary anecdotes that attach themselves, ad infinitum, to the works of great composers.) Let it just be said that in this work, as in numerous others on this program, Barker honored a meaningful friendship with a piece which in some inchoate way expresses its character and unique basis.

Dyad refers to the interaction of two performers, two instruments and a prevailing harmonic principle. Rather than concentrating on harmonic diversity, however, this technically challenging piece explores rhythmic contrast within the timbral similarity of the vibraphone and marimba. Sustained, bowed pitches in the prelude and postlude frame the middle movement, which is comprised of a multiplicity of dyadic possibilities. The work is dedicated to Daniel Druckman and Mark Sherman who premiered  it at Lincoln Center in 1980.

Xenofugis, subtitled "Four Short Fugues," range in mood from capricious to sombre and melancholy. They were inspired by germs of harmonic, melodic and rhythmic material drawn from several fugues of Bach's in The Well Tempered Clavier. Xenofugis were written for Lee Coker, who gave their first performance at the Juilliard School in 1984.

Single Six was composed for Ted Schoen who gave the premiere at Carnegie Recital Hall in October 1982. It is among Barker's more playful works. The following are Barker's remarks from the notes for the premiere:

"... Single Six was composed in Dayton, Ohio in August, 1982.The work falls into six sections - which has nothing to do with the title, mind you - based on a common hexachord. This hexachord suffers several mathematical abuses in each section,but all of these manipulations come from the same source."

Of Stabat Mater, Barker wrote:

"I was first attracted to the works of Palestrina as a young boy singing in church choirs in Atlanta, Georgia. At that time, I was quite moved by Palestrina's pureness and clarity of writing. Later on, I was attracted to the contrapunto osservato (species counter-point) usage and harmonic decisions in his compositions. I chose to re-compose/arrange Palestrina's Stabat Mater, not only because it is one of his larger works, hut because of the compositional ideas and harmonic content it contains. After discovering this work for myself, it seemed to me that it would be well suited if set for string orchestra and in light of the fact that Palestrina composed no instrumental music, I decided to rework the piece.My re-composition of the work holds very true to the original but I have made changes in tempi, registration, and, in a few places, harmonic progression. However overall, the work is in-tact."

Three Sets for Chamber Orchestra, commissioned by the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra, was composed in 1986. For the premiere, Barker wrote, in part:

"The work is in three movements which are individually titled Esox, Orenac, and Nyctea Scandiaca.* However, these individual titles have no programmatic significance. The first movement, Esox, is divided into three sections and the last of these sections is divided into three parts. The second movement, Orenac, is a slow movement divided into three sections as well. Although the second section may seem quite fast because of rapid note succession, the tempo only changes slightly. Nyctea Scandiaca, the last movement, is a finale. The movement is quite fast (138 to the quarter) and it contains six sections. There are some tempo variations among the six sections, but the intensity of the movement remains constant. The work is scored for double winds, two French horns and strings ..."

Chorales were composed in the summer of 1987 and are the last music Barker was to put to paper. The six he completed form only part of a projected set of fourteen. Each chorale is the outgrowth of his meditation upon texts of particular significance to him. Through the process of their composition, he allowed the text to indicate an appropriate musical form or structure. Barker had previously reckoned his own style of writing as being unsingable and for that reason had written very little for voice. Their composition, however, alludes to his recent interest in writing music of a spiritual nature, as well as his acknowledgement of the unique ability of the human voice for expressing religious themes. In Chorales, however, Barker developed a lyrical style that sensitively tempers the dissonance of the vertical sonorities.

* Northern Pike, some type of deer, and Snowy owl, respectively

Program notes by Joel Hulsey and Susan Harding.