John Gordon Armstrong Improvisations and interludes for clarinet and guitar Cmc CANADIAN MUSIC CENTRE CENTRE DE MUSIQUE CANADIENNEBorn in Toronto in 1952, John Armstrong studied composition at the University of Toronto where he received a Bachelor or Music in Theory and Composition in 1975. After a year of study with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, he continued his formal studies at the University of Michigan where he received both a Masters, Degree and a Doctorate in Composition. Dr. Armstrong has won prizes in both the William St. Clair Lowe and Sir Emest MacMillan competitions sponsored by the Composer's, Author's and Publisher's Association of Canada and has received grants and commissions from the Laidlaw Foundation, the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council, Alberta Culture and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Performed and broadcast throughout Canada, his music has also been played in Belgium, France, Great Britain, Norway and the United States. He is the author of a umber of solo, chamber and orchestral pieces, many of which have received wide exposure. His music has been published by Alberta Keys Music Publishing (Calgary), New Art Music Editions (Winnipeg) and also distributed by the Canadian Music Centre (Toronto). Although primarily a composer of concert music, he has also written for film, dance and theatre. Having taught at a ‘number of universities in Canada and the United States, John Armstrong is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa. CAPAC, Canadian League of ComposersImprovisations and Interludes for Clarinet and Guitar by John Gordon ArmstrongJohn Gordon Armstrong Born in Toronto in 1952, John Armstrong studied composition at the University of Toronto, the University of Michigan and the Ecole d'arts Américains in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. He has won prizes in both the William St. Clair Lowe and Sir Emest MacMillan competitions sponsored by the Composer's, Author's and Publisher's Association of Canada and has received commissions from the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council, Alberta Culture and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. ‘Performed and broadcast throughout Canada, his music has also been played in the United States, France and the United Kingdom. He has written a number of pieces for guitar, in solo, chamber and orchestral contexts, many of which have received wide exposure. His music is published by New Art Music Editions (Winnipeg), Alberta Keys Music Publishing (Calgary) and also distributed by the Canadian Music Centre (Toronto). Improvisations and Interludes Improvisations and_ Interludes was inspired by an exhibition of Australian Aboriginal Art at the Seay Gallery, Harvard University in the Spring of 1990. In these pieces I have tried to capture the same expression of intensity with minimal tools. The music, like the art is highly recursive but no gesture is repeated exactly. I have also tried to avoid the "pleasant — one might say banal — diatonicism" characteristic of much minimal music; the language is highly chromatic and, at times, almost "Babbitt-like" in its precompositional complexity. ‘The title ts somewhat misleading. There is no real improvisation in this music but textures used are ones with which I have experimented while improvising. The interludes are miniatures which act both as transitions and reflections of the larger movements. Improvisations and Interludes was commissioned by Robert Riseling and Alan Torok and premiered Jan. 22, 1991, in the Recital Hall at the University of Western Ontario.for ‘Robert Riseling and Alan Torok Improvisations and Interludes 1 "Fanfare" J John Gordon Armstrong Constrained ( = 66 ) (1990) Clarinet inBb —_— Cp) Match guitar throughout /decay with guitar simile Guitar SF rwtxing where possible Copyright © 1990 by John Gordon Armstrong,Interlude 1 Very free, quasi cadenza ( dew) Clarinet inBb Guitar z PP o—#o let ring where possible2 "Perpetuum mobile" Anxious, mechanical ( eee )Interlude 2 Strong ( d. eo) rh Whispered, seductive rb re = Clarinet inB P ‘2 Guitar -10-3 "Meditation" Meditative, serene ( Jee ) Clarinet inBh nat. harm, PP Guitar 20 © let ring. os Gen Dh —<> Slightly slower ( dese) “75 tel Te aool? P60 CO -u-of & ye— Ae’ . “wm “4 SlowerInterlude 3 Nervous, agitated ( A ) ti Clarinet inBb Pp pizz. Guitar Pe -14-4 "Trading breaks" Tentative ( d =60) Clarinet inBb is Guitar PP c]som dim. Ny —— PP Pm PP JO aw 23.12 s0fe 14 @ : o ie dee te pom oO tet 3: 3 2 ber f Cobo 2a) fsInterlude 4 Climactic ( dees ) Clarinet inB} cle Fas Guitar let notes ring -7-5 "Lullaby " Strong, resolved ( Jen ») Clarinet inBb feel AY. Guitar os f "| 0 0 2 ® 3 rx Reflective, serene ( ee ) 6 aoe Very freely a _ PS erring fe -18-314 4).—_—__——_ -19--20-THE CANADIAN MUSIC CENTRE Created for Canadian composers, by Canadian composers FIND SCORES Search, sample and borrow scores for over 2,000 works through our library DISCOVER CANADIAN COMPOSERS. 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