Christina's World
Idyll for Winds, Brass, and Percussion
“When Andrew Wyeth completed the tempera, he was hesitant to show it to Christina for fear she might not understand his feelings for her and her life, so he brought it back from Olsons’, where it was painted, and hung it in our house. Several days later we invited Christina and Alvaro for dinner. Alvaro carried his sister into the living room and almost deliberately placed her on the couch directly under the painting, so that it was impossible for her to see it. When time came to serve dinner, I moved a small table into the room and sat her facing the picture. Not one word was mentioned about the painting during the entire meal. Later that evening, after they had left, my husband told me that while we were all out of the room, clearing the table, he came back and found Christina staring at the painting. He summoned up his courage and asked her how she liked it. She reach out with her crippled hand, caught his, and brought it to her lips....” — Betsy James Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth’s haunting image of Christina Olson, resting solitary in an open field, her back to the viewer, her body twisted toward the family homestead, provided the inspiration for this musical composition. It is her world of sea and pasture, of yearning for home, and a sense of loss and fulfillment, that I have attempted to evoke in music. A brief introduction of two mysterious and hushed trill-chords sets the sonic tone of this work. These minor and major thirteenth chords, made up of seven different pitches each, form the basis of the modal harmonic language from which the entire work evolves. The exposition begins with Christina’s theme, a long and twisting melancholy melody sung by the flute, oboe, and a muted trumpet. The principal intervals of the melody include a minor second up and down, a perfect fifth down, and a minor seventh up. This is followed by Christina’s hymn, a brief chorale presented by the English horn, French horn, baritones, and tubas. The development section of the work unfolds with an undulating sixteenth-note figure in the flutes and clarinets. This fi gure, made up of a minor second and a perfect fifth up, is contemplative, suggesting the passage of time. This figure reappears in various formations throughout the section, and during its entire length, all instruments of the ensemble sing Christina’s theme and hymn in various choirs and combinations. The coda is buoyant, pulsating with optimism, and the work concludes in a triumphant fulfillment of all the musical materials, affirming the force of nature, will, home, and the power of the spirit.
Christina’s World was composed at the invitation of my friend and mentor William Hipp, Dean of the University of Miami School of Music. I composed this work especially for the Wind Ensemble and their conductor Gary Green, whose enthusiasm, advice, and encouragement during the composition of this work were truly inspiring. I wish to thank Ken Moses, one of my earliest friends at the School of Music, for his unfailing friendship and support.
- Notes by Kenneth Fuchs
Copyright © by Piedmont Music Company; Edward B. Marks Music Company: Sole selling agent. For more information about the music of Kenneth Fuchs, please visit: www.kennethfuchs.com
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