A Mystic Valley

By Asher Raboy

A Mystic Valley is a set of nine pictures, snapshots of the Napa Valley, composed between the spring 1999 and October 2002, and commissioned by Donald and Lonne Carr. The Piano Concerto was commissioned by Al and Nancy Schleicher.

The Napa Valley is a huge subject, bigger than one can capture in a piece of music. How can one distill the essence into half an hour? The search for ideas followed a circuitous route.

There are nine historic stone bridges in the valley, built by Chinese workers in past two centuries. The Heritage Society commissioned watercolor paintings of these nine bridges as well as a set of black and white photographs by Ron Rogers. These paintings and photos are fascinating, and the original intent was to write a suite in which each movement was inspired by a picture. Quickly that idea was dropped, and only a few oddities remain from this original conceit. A Mystic Valley is in nine movements, and the section called “Children of the Valley” was sparked by David Huddleston’s “ Milliken Creek Bridge”.

Indirectly, it was the search for the essence of these paintings that ultimately guided the composition. Fascinated by the story of the Chinese laborers who built these bridges, the composer traveled to the Chinese cemetery in St. Helena, a tragic scene of neglect. It became clear that a community is the sum of its history, remembered and forgotten. The Napa Valley is a spectacular place. Much of the joy of the valley comes from those who live here, but just as much comes from the Forgotten Ones who lived before our time. “The Forgotten Ones” is the movement around which the rest of the composition revolves.

A Mystic Valley alternates between scenes of nature, and scenes of communal life. The valley is famous for its wine, but its real heart is in the stories of those who once made Napa their homes, and those who live here today. It is their stories that this composition attempts to capture in song.

Program Notes for

Orchestral Dances

By Asher Raboy

Western music has been greatly enriched over the past centuries by collections of dances written for Orchestra. Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances and Kodály’s Galanta Dances are two of the most famous, and these works, among others, certainly provided inspiration for Mr. Raboy’s Orchestral Dances.

The melodies are lively, with syncopated rhythms. They have a folk-like quality, and contain an echo of the Jewish world and of Eastern Europe, the land of the composer’s grandfather.

Despite the title, however, the composition’s form is more like a concert overture than a dance suite. As one would expect, there are three tunes which are developed in a middle section and repeated at the end. The classical structure is interrupted, however, by a more majestic melody, reminding one of a hymn or other song of praise. This regal melody returns at the end of the movement in order to make a final statement about the work and the world.

Program Notes for

Piano Concerto

By Asher Raboy

The original inspiration for this concerto was the pastoral artwork of a Napa Valley resident, Nancy Schleicher. Touched by her bucolic vision, Mr. Raboy began the first draft of the work with sections of peaceful music, with woodwind colors that dominate the quieter moments, and a main theme that is built on triplet meters (such as 9/8 and 12/8), traditional meters in pastoral composition.

It wasn’t long before the concerto grew beyond these original kernels. As in real life, calm and benign nature merely masks a more complex and powerful drama. Tranquility explodes in a very theatrical manner, and the concerto is infused with energy and driving force. One can choose to find a philosophical underpinning to this pairing of repose and power, quiet with tumult, order with chaos. Or, instead, one can appreciate the drama as a thing by itself. The composer takes no point of view on this issue.

The concerto is tuneful and tonal, yet clearly music of our time. The piano part is very flashy, rich and sonorous. It is a perfect vehicle for a great artist, showing off his technical skills, his ability to make the piano dance, and his gift for making it sing. This piece is written for Leon Bates, a brilliant artist, and fully exploits his remarkable abilities.

The first movement is the largest, with the most complex form. The piano part is full of arpeggios, giving an opulent sound to the work. It opens with piano alone in an introspective moment. The orchestra picks up the mood for a short period of time, but then takes us into a more disheveled world. After much play between solo and orchestra, the piano returns to the original, thoughtful idea. This time, the cadenza quickly grows into a very exciting blaze of notes, in a torrent that seems impossible for human hands. The orchestra returns in an optimistic and exhilarating finish.

The second movement begins as a simple song, first for woodwinds, then for piano. The song alternates with a more forceful melody, replete with horn calls and soaring strings. Finally, the movement returns to its roots and the naïve song is played nostalgically by the piano one last time.

The third movement begins with driving rhythm in the piano. The perpetual motion is hypnotic as the music unfolds. The rhythms grow more complex as the movement continues, giving an exciting set of accents over the powerful repeated chords in the piano and strings. The movement never slows, and builds to a heroic and thoroughly satisfying conclusion.