S022600

A BRIGHTON SERENADE

The Mercury Ensemble
Thomas A. Blomster, Music Director

Catalog #S022600CD [DDD]

THOMAS A. BLOMSTER A Brighton Serenade for Jazz Pianist and String Orchestra*
WOJCIECH KILAR Orawa for Strings
JEAN BERGER Sinfonia di San Petronio for Three Trumpets and String Orchestra
PHILLIP GLASS Arioso No. 2 for String Orchestra
C. HOWARD TREIBITZ Agnostic for Tenor, Choir and String Orchestra *

* world premiere recording

Program Notes

A Brighton Serenade was commissioned by family friend Ann Mills in memory of her father. As David Thomas of the underground rock band Pere Ubu recently stated: "Nowadays you get a song about a song." Originally begun as a serial piece for string quartet during Thomas A. Blomster's residency at the Ucross Foundation in 1988, the composition remained unfinished until Ms. Mills shared how her father used to play pop tunes of his time. Blomster used three of these songs ("Begin the Beguine", "Moonlight Serenade", and "Kitten On The Keys") to breathe heart and soul into an otherwise intellectual exercise on four chords.

Blomster says: "I have always been a believer in cross-over projects and America is still a melting pot. A Brighton Serenade is a summation of my interests, including Frank Zappa, Igor Stravinsky, King Crimson, Bela Bartok, the Beatles, Miles Davis, Steve Reich, Ornette Coleman and J. S. Bach. Many thanks to Chicago blues woman Joanna Connor for letting me borrow her song 'Meditations' as the backdrop for Mr. Hank Troy's piano solo during "Barr Lake Blues".

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