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Abstract

'Presidents and Vice Presidents and the U.S. Elections of 1796 and 1800...' well, probably not the first subject when you think of modern art song in 2016. The second and third elections produced interesting results: in 1796, a President and Vice President from differing parties; in 1800, the President had to campaign against his own running mate. So, the twelfth amendment was introduced to the constitution, changing the electorate and defining elections in the future. This amendment was worked into a new art song (a musical composition featuring solo voice with accompaniment), inspired by the history involving the U.S. elections of 1796 and 1800.

'Amendment XII' is a new composition for baritone and fixed media (sometimes called electro-acoustic). In this work, a live performer sings with fixed (pre-recorded) elements. These elements are not able to be presented live with other performers, because the performer will sing with pre-recordings of themselves or other heavily manipulated recordings.

This lecture/demonstration, with performance, will feature (as presented by the composer):

  1. The artistic process and creation of the musical composition. We will define some of the textual/story elements and abstract ideas that were used to generate the core creative concepts, exploring the text from the constitution and how they led to structures and choices for musical elements.
  2. How the music was realized - from monophonic notated sheet music, a recording of that music, using the recording as source material, adding synthesizers to augment the accompanying texture, and bringing the live performer back to interact with the resulting fixed electronic accompaniment. There will be live demonstrations to show the electronic manipulations used in the fixed accompaniment and how a commercial product (primarily used for film composition) was flipped into a tool for creating this art song.
  3. A live performance of 'Amendment XII' by vocal artist, Benjamin Schoening.

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  • Subject

    • Visual Arts

  • Date submitted

    19 July 2022

  • Keywords
  • Additional information

    • Author Biography:

      David: David R. Peoples, originally from Southern California, is a composer of traditional, experimental, jazz and rock styles. His music has been featured on numerous albums and performed throughout the world. Recently, David was a GMTA/MTNA commissioned composer, American Prize semi-finalist, Luxembourg Prize 3rd place winner, and the International Jazz Arranging Competition winner. Recent premieres and commissions include the Westpoint Band, Argento Chamber Ensemble, and Luna Nova Chamber Ensemble. Additionally, he has enjoyed jazz premieres by the Jazz Surge with Randy Brecker, David Sanchez, Rufus Reid, and Gary Foster. Dr. Peoples teaches at the University of North Georgia, where he has taught courses in composition, theory, class piano, and appreciation. He studied composition at The University of Memphis and the University of Texas at Austin under the direction of Kamran Ince, Jack Cooper, Jim Richens, Donald Grantham, and John Mills (and additional studies with composers in residence John Adams, John Corigliano, and Joseph Schwantner). His music is published by Bluesilhouettes Music and UNC Jazz Press and distributed by J. W. Pepper. More information, including upcoming releases, events, and catalog can be discovered at the composer's website davidpeoples.com. Benjamin: Gifted with a rare and beautiful lyric baritone voice, Benjamin Schoening has enjoyed much success as a recitalist throughout the United States and Europe. Having started his career as a Horn player and conductor, Benjamin’s combination of talents and unusual abilities has allowed him to gain a unique insight into the music he performs. He has garnered much acclaim for his performances of Art Song and is in particular is a champion of the American repertoire. In addition to his song recital performances, Benjamin has made appearances with the Symphonia da Camerata (Illinois), White Mountain Symphony Orchestra (Arizona), and Northeast Georgia Chamber Symphony as a vocal soloist. He has also been active in opera, most recently as Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Falke in Strass' Die Fledermaus, and the Sacristan and Sciarrone in Puccini's Tosca. Along with performing, Benjamin is also a devoted teacher and has served as a guest clinician and judge for many events in the United States. He is currently Director of Vocal Studies and Chair of the Music Department at the University of North Georgia.