Spaniola Joseph T Escapade
Release Date: June 28, 2019
Catalog #: BR8957
Format: Digital & Physical
21st Century
Chamber
Clarinet
Large Ensemble
Trombone
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Escapade

Music For Large And Small Ensembles

Joseph T. Spaniola composer

As a composer, Joseph T. Spaniola has written works for band, chamber ensembles, orchestra, solo instruments, voice, choir, and electronic tape. That astonishing versatility is on full display on ESCAPADE, his first release with Big Round Records. ESCAPADE opens with its title track, performed by The US Air Force Academy Band, which launches into an unrestrained musical exploration inspired by the composition’s first four pitches.

The power of music to evoke memory and meaning propels the three movements that make up Klempirik Farms, performed by the Solar Winds clarinet quartet. Together those movements, light-hearted or solemn, capture the full range of emotions that Spaniola’s family farm, an “ideal, a radiant place, a boundless source of peace, joy, and quiet strength…,” have come to represent.

Blow, Eastern Winds, commissioned by and performed on this album by the Eastern Wind Symphony, metaphorically expresses the dynamic, irresistible energy of the musicians, utilizing the sensation of winds both gentle and turbulent: soft and restrained breezes, a collision of violent crosscurrents resulting in fierce storms, or an exhilarating, free-flowing stream that leaves small whirlpools in its wake.

Spaniola was commissioned to write Dream for euphonium player Danny Helseth, whose technical prowess and interpretive abilities radiate throughout this high-energy piece. This is followed by the reemergence of the Solar Winds on The Winds of the Quadrumvirate, performing this time in a symphonic setting with the US Air Force Academy Band. In this piece, the “Quadrumvirate” refers to the four clarinetists working together as one, combining their diverse styles into a distinct whole. The album closes with the joyously unrestrained and enthusiastic Der Heyser Bulgar, a klezmer-style piece written for xylophonist Steve Przyzycki. This uplifting, memorable conclusion deftly tops off Spaniola’s successful Big Round Records debut.

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"This uplifting, memorable conclusion deftly tops off Spaniola’s successful Big Round Records debut. Overall, this is a diverse and wonderfully presented collection of intricate and beautiful tracks."

Darren Rea

Track Listing & Credits

# Title Composer Performer
01 Escapade Joseph T. Spaniola The US Air Force Academy Band | Lt. Col. Philip C. Chevallard, conductor 7:47
02 Klempirik Farms (Version for Clarinet Quartet): I. Shine On Joseph T. Spaniola Solar Winds | Noelle Little, George Roach, Heike Gazetti, Bb clarinet; Kariann Voights, bass clarinet 2:31
03 Klempirik Farms (Version for Clarinet Quartet): II. Fertile Ground Joseph T. Spaniola Solar Winds | Noelle Little, George Roach, Heike Gazetti, Bb clarinet; Kariann Voights, bass clarinet 2:47
04 Klempirik Farms (Version for Clarinet Quartet): III. Playful Hearts Joseph T. Spaniola Solar Winds | Noelle Little, George Roach, Heike Gazetti, Bb clarinet; Kariann Voights, bass clarinet 3:40
05 Blow, Eastern Winds Joseph T. Spaniola The Eastern Wind Symphony | Todd Nichols, conductor 6:39
06 Dream Joseph T. Spaniola Danny Helseth, euphonium; Mark Dorosheff, Nathan Wisniewski, violin; Bryce Bunner, viola; Christine Choi, cello 16:44
07 The Winds of the Quadrumvirate Joseph T. Spaniola The US Air Force Academy Band | Lt. Col. Steven Grimo, conductor; Solar Winds | Noelle Little, Eb clarinet; Crystal Proper, Bb clarinet; Scott Richardson, basset horn; Claudia Weir, bass clarinet 9:49
08 Der Heyser Bulgar Joseph T. Spaniola Stellar Brass | Steven Przyzycki, xylophone; Steven Kindermann, Tim Allums, trumpet; John Gohl, trombone; Gary Poffenbarger, tuba; Gary Stephens, tambourine 4:12

ESCAPADE
Recorded in 2003 at the Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs CO
Session Producers Matthew Henry, Michael Mench, Michael Willen
Session Engineer Bruce Leek

KLEMPIRIK FARMS
Recorded in 2001 at the Sunrise United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs CO
Session Producer Matthew S. Henry
Session Engineer Bruce Leek

BLOW, EASTERN WINDS
Recorded in 2018 at Roxbury High School in Succasunna NJ
Session Producers Joseph T. Spaniola, Adam Warshafsky
Session Engineer Robert Bullington

DREAM
Recorded in 2006 at Omega Recording Studios in Rockville MD
Session Producers Chris “Snappy” Quade, Joey Bello, Danny Helseth
Session Engineer Caleb Keiter

THE WINDS OF THE QUADRUMVIRATE
Recorded in 2005 at McCormick Hall in Peterson AFB CO
Session Producers Michael J. Willen, Joseph T. Spaniola, Steven Grimo
Session Engineers Janusz Masztlerz, Daniel Kenemore, Michael Riley, Jeffrey Valentine

DER HEYSER BULGAR
Recorded in 2000 at Village 7 Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs CO
Session Producer Matthew Henry
Session Engineer Bruce Leek

Executive Producer Bob Lord

Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
A&R Danielle Lewis

Vice President, Audio Production Jeff LeRoy
Production Engineer Lucas Paquette
Mastering Shaun Michaud

Art Director Brett Picknell
Design Ryan Harrison, Edward A. Fleming

Publicity Patrick Niland

Artist Information

Joseph T Spaniola

Joseph T. Spaniola

Composer

Joseph T. Spaniola is a composer on a passionate quest to engage the hearts and minds of audiences and performers through the communicative powers of music.

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Notes

The title track for this album is Escapade. The word elicits the idea of an action or journey that leads to an undetermined outcome. The music presented — each piece or taken as a whole — is a journey. Open your heart and mind to the music, and let your thoughts and experiences guide your path. Your participation will determine your own unique destination. Music is a collaboration between composer, performer, and listener. Thank you for joining us.

— Joseph T. Spaniola

My initial concept for this piece was to freely explore a simple idea and let it lead wherever it might. In my search for a clearer vision of the work, I came across the word “escapade,” defined as an adventurous action or journey that runs counter to the norm and often leads to unexpected results or destinations. This word captured the spirit of the unrestrained approach I had in mind and it propelled me into the work. I started with four pitches, the first four of the piece, and simply followed where they led. The result of this exploration is Escapade.

— Joseph T. Spaniola

“The Farm” was where my mother was raised and my grandparents resided. Prior to that it was where my grandfather was raised and my great-grandparents resided. It is a humble piece of ground that, like its residents, is warm, welcoming, nurturing, prosperous, and kind. In my youth I saw it as a place of wonder and discovery, labor and laughter, dreams and exploration, rambunctiousness and responsibility. The farm was the dirt on my hands after planting in the garden, the water in my shoes after falling in the creek, the wheat in my pockets after combining, the sweetness of the air after a summer’s rain, the melodious sound of Grandpa working in the shed, and the heavenly smells coming from Grandma’s kitchen. The farm is this and so much more; it transcends the physical place. It is a great gift that was cultivated by my ancestors, an ideal, a radiant place, a boundless source of peace, joy, and quiet strength given to my generation. It is a place that lives on in the hearts of me and my kinsfolk waiting to be cultivated, to be nurtured and nurturing, reaped and sown, and passed on. These are the Klempirik Farms. This work is dedicated to all the givers of this great gift, especially my grandparents, Ted and Alice, and my mother, Carol.

— Joseph T. Spaniola

Blow, Eastern Winds was commissioned by and for the Eastern Wind Symphony. It is a vibrant group in delightful motion — the Eastern Winds in delightful motion. Simply stated, sound is air in motion. To make sounds, something must set the air into motion. Blowing is the way most members of the wind ensemble set the air into motion. Rather than the ominous, ill-wind of yore, imagine blowing winds from the east — winds both gentle and turbulent, an exuberant flow of invisible streams of air with the confluence of currents and crosscurrents. Be it a soft, restrained, yet powerful breeze, a collision of violent crosscurrents resulting in fierce storms, or an exhilarating, free-flowing stream that leaves whirls and swirls in its wake, they all are, like the Eastern Wind Symphony, dynamic, full of energy, and unstoppable.

— Joseph T. Spaniola

A series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring during sleep, or a state of mind marked by abstraction or release from reality. This piece was commissioned by Danny Helseth. I set out to write an engaging musical work that reflects Danny’s technical and interpretive abilities; he shines on high-energy, intense, and emotion-filled pieces.

— Joseph T. Spaniola

The Winds of the Quadrumvirate was written to feature the Solar Winds clarinet quartet in a symphonic setting. The “Winds” refers to Solar Winds and the four cardinal points of the compass: North, South, East, and West. The “Quadrumvirate” is a group of four working together as one. The work highlights the technical and musical diversity of each of the “four winds” individually, and then combines their diverse styles together into a distinct whole.

— Joseph T. Spaniola

Percussionist Steve Przyzycki asked me to write a virtuosic xylophone piece for him in a traditional klezmer style. He requested Der Heyser Bulgar, a traditional Yiddish folk song. This piece is, like Steve, joyously unrestrained and enthusiastic.

— Joseph T. Spaniola