In the mid 1960’s, John Darnall arrived in Nashville from west Kentucky, preparing for a career in university music education. Plans were diverted by calls to play guitar, viola, sing, arrange and produce for several decades. His list of artists toured and recorded for include, Johnny Cash, Elvis, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, in studios and on stage from London, Germany, NYC, LA and Nashville. Self produced solo guitar recordings have earned ten Gold records and a Grammy Certificate. Darnall is founder and Director of Nashville Composer Collective.

Imprimis, a publication of Hillsdale College, in Latin translates, “In the first place”. Describing its’ composition, Darnall says:

I was reaching for a mood of optimism, a sense of motion. One means of getting there was to put each instrument in its most playable range, to feature each instrument, and show them connecting and relating to each other. Mozart is known to have composed for this combination, though its popularity among writers first became well established in the early 19th century.  Each instrument is recognizable by its unique tone, yet placed properly, each one blends well with the other four, in many combinations.

Scored for the standard wind quintet, Imprimis is cast in four movements with each movement being shorter than the last. The first movement, making up the large majority of the runtime, sets the mood immediately with extended harmonies and strongly syncopated figures. Though strongly influenced by jazz, this piece is rooted in a more traditional ‘classical’ setting - a reflection of Darnall’s own musical heritage and interests. The opening measures of the first movement present most of the melodic and rhythmic ideas and the resulting music is a fleshing out of those ideas. Frequently each instrument is treated as a soloist with the other four providing background interjections. The second movement is similar in tone to the first but with the addition of triplet figures that had not previously appeared in the piece. These figures seem to smooth out some of the rougher syncopations in preparation for the slower third movement. The third movement is a melodic adagio giving each instrument a turn at extended melodic phrases that overlap with each other. The third movement segues into the last movement which lasts only about 45 seconds and is a compact statement of all of the major themes of the entire work ending in a unison syncopated line.

Kurt Weill is one of classical music’s forgotten stars. Born Germany in 1900, Weill studied in Germany and his early music is reflective of his Post-Strauss Romantic education. After completing his studies in the early 1920’s, Weill turned towards musical theatre. This brought him success throughout Germany and won the admiration of Alban Berg, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Darius Milhaud, and Stravinsky. Arnold Schoenberg and his pupil Anton Webern both sneered at Weill’s music, though one can safely assume jealousy had its hand in forming their opinions.

During the 1920’s Weill became interested in leftist politics, which introduced him to his greatest collaborator Bertold Brecht. Weill considered himself a socialist, but he was not radical enough for Brecht. Their relationship ultimately came to an end in the 1930’s over these political differences. Weill commented to his wife Lotte Lenya that he was unable to “set the Communist Manifesto to music.” His collaborations with Brecht produced some of his most popular work, especially the Threepenny Opera, with the song “Mack the Knife.” Once loved by Germany, Weill was officially denounced in 1933 by the Nazi party for the dual crimes of being Jewish and socialist. He first moved to Paris before settling into New York to write for Broadway, even winning the inaugural Tony Award for Best Original Score. He became an American citizen in 1943 and died in 1950 after a heart attack.

Frauentanz Op. 10 is one of only five chamber pieces that Weill wrote in his lifetime, all of which were written early in his career: between 1918 and 1923. Frauentanz was written in 1923, and the subject matter is Minnelieder – songs of young courtly love. It is not known how Weill chose the texts for Frauentanz, but they date from the medieval period. It was premiered to positive reviews and Universal Edition published the score in 1924. This piece was his most frequently performed until his later success in musical theatre overshadowed it.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his Serenade No. 10 in 1781 or 1782. It is Mozart’s most famous Serenade and perhaps the most famous wind ensemble piece ever written. It is known by the name Gran Partita that was written on the title page by an unknown hand at an unknown date. During Mozart’s time, Serenades and Partitas were written as lighthearted compositions meant to entertain either at outdoor parties or social evening dinners. They were mainly composed of dances and last about an hour. They were not considered “serious” music like sonatas. Mozart scored this serenade for pairs of winds: oboes, clarinets, bassoons, basset horns (a lower sounding version of a clarinet), 4 horns, and a double bass. It consists of seven movements:

1. Largo. Molto allegro

2. Menuetto

3. Adagio. Andante

4. Menuetto. Allegretto

5. Romanze. Adagio

6. Tema con variazioni. Andante

7. Finale. Molto allegro

The music is quintessential Mozart – lovely melodies crafted and transformed in the most glorious ways. The first movement opens in Bb with a slow introduction before moving into an energetic Allegro. The second movement is a Minuet  For the middle trio sections Mozart chooses to highlight the clarinet family and solo oboe and bassoon players. The third movement is a slower movement and was made even more famous by the movie “Amadeus.” When Salieri hears Mozart’s music for the first time it is this movement of the Gran Partita. Though fictional, his description of the music is apt:

“On the page it looked like nothing – the beginning simple. Almost comic. Just a pulse. Bassoons, basset horns, like a rusty squeeze box. And then suddenly – high above it – an oboe. A single note hanging there, unwavering. Until a clarinet took it over…. This was a music I’d never heard. It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of God.”

The fourth movement is another minuet, short and exquisite and almost impossible not to want to dance to. The fifth movement is a slow Romanze with an animated middle section featuring the oboes. The sixth movement, the longest, is a Theme with six variations. Every instrument family gets a turn at the theme in a variety of combinations. The last movement is a very fast Rondo, which means that the opening theme comes back throughout at several places. This movement is a personal favorite of mine and sends the party off with quite a show!