Chamber Works for 3 or more Performers

High Times for Low Brass

for horn, trombone, and tuba

Duration appr. 11 min.

Program Notes:

This piece came about rather quickly in the month of April in 2017. It’s a bunch of discombobulated movements that fit together in some quirky way, and the titles are similarly goofy, with no real underlying message except for a smile.

The odd movements involve the whole trio, while the even movements are solo interludes. The solo interludes, when combined, constitute an earlier work, “Euphonium > Plutonium” that was never fully fleshed out. It was about time travel. This work is not. It’s also not really about drugs and you definitely don’t need drugs to listen to it.

Commissioned and premiered by Cathryn Cummings and members of HICO on May 12th, 2017

Nøkken, Draugen

for flute, viola, and harp

Duration appr. 10 min.

Program Notes:

Nøkken, Draugen was commissioned by the flutist Kathleen Winters. Kathleen was putting together a program of new works that were inspired by ethnic flutes from around the world. The flute that inspired this piece is the Seljefløyte, a Norwegian willow flute restricted to the overtone series.

This work is an amalgam of Norwegian influences. First, there is the Seljefløyte and it’s timbre and limited range. To incorporate this I have the flutist do a lot of slap tongue as well as overblowing to produce higher partials. As I researched and listened to the Seljefløyte, I kept coming across folk songs, specifically Fanitullen. Fanitullen, also known as “The Devil’s Song” was written for and is most often played on the hardingfele, or Hardanger Fiddle. One of the hallmark sounds of this instrument is the open strings, specifically when they are plucked during Fanitullen. And as I kept drilling deeper and deeper on the internet, I found some other fun stories. One involved Nøkken, a water nymph who lures people into his lake by posing as a handsome man singing and playing instruments. Draugen is another water creature, who is responsible for all the shipwrecks and sailors lost at sea. Add in the works of Grieg and Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale as well (once you start making connections you really can never stop)…

With all these random stories and ideas I started working on the piece. Incorporating parts of Fanitullen, I imagined a chance meeting with Nøkken and Draugen. Certain portions of the work (specifically the happy portions) return, interspersed with deadly encounters with the two monsters. While not really a plot-based piece, I think the journey will be enjoyable for everyone, even if you never read these notes.

To be premiered in Illinois on September 27th, 2014. To be performed again on Sept. 28th

For Sounds in Winter Nights

for saxophone quartet

I – All good things are wild and free
II – Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads
III – This world is but a canvas to our imagination
IV – A liberal allowance of time
V – Only that day dawns to which we are awake
VI – The universe is wider than our views of it
VII – Things do not change, we change

total duration app. 17 min.

Program Notes:

For Sounds in Winter Nights was written for and with the assistance of The Asylum Quartet. Not only did they commission the work, but they were readily available to read drafts, offer input, and help me make sure the work is as good as I could make it.

The title of the piece and all of the movement titles are (bonus points if you have identified them) all quotes from Henry David Thoreau. This piece was not meant to be a portrait of Thoreau, Walden, or even depictions of the quotes. I was working on the first movement when I saw a meme on the internet with “all good things are wild and free” and I thought it was a nice idea. I thought using the quote for title of the work, but was waylaid by the internet and started looking up more Thoreau quotes. After searching through various online sources as well as thumbing through my copy of Walden, I compiled the movement quotes and the title for the piece. One thing I wanted to do in the work was explore really different sonic worlds in each movement. And although saxophones can produce very different sounds, a quartet is somewhat homogenous. The introduction of percussion, clapping, and even vocal sounds was a way to really expand the sonic palette of the work.

Enjoy.

                                                                                                -Ryan Jesperson
                                                                                                     3/16/2014

To be premiered in Manchester, CT on May 9th, 2014. Portions performed in March, April, May, June, and July 2014 in CT, VT, RI, MA, MI.

Souvenir/Miniatures

for piano trio

duration - 7 min

Program Notes:

It was quite a while ago that I spoke with the fantastic composer/pianist Erberk Eryilmaz about writing a piece for his group, The Anatolian Trio. I started the work, and then became busy with other projects. It got placed on the backburner and I thought about going back to it a few times, but didn’t seem to have an answer for the form. I had written a few nice sections, but the overall form remained a mystery to me.

So the piece sat for a few years, uncompleted, until the Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra premiered my Trombone Concerto fragments and memories. Erberk, who had since moved to Pittsburgh (and the Anatolian Trio was no more) was conducting the work, and featured on the program was a set of four miniatures for string quartet that he had written. The pieces were inspiring, both in regards to the music, but to me mostly the form. As Erberk said in his introduction, “people seem to forget about miniatures,” and indeed I had been guilty of such a grave injustice.

Going back to this work wit fresh eyes, I realized that I had two miniatures already. The missing connections between the sections was a red herring, unnecessary when using the miniature form. And so with a burst of energy I whipped out the third movement, wanting each movement to remain short, fresh, and focused. To me, the miniature is like an etude, a study of one thing, twisted, turned, and repositioned until it had been exhausted.

And although this piece is no longer going to The Anatolian Trio, it is to Erberk Eryilmaz, for his inspirational miniatures, that this piece is dedicated.

Enjoy.

-Ryan Jesperson

6/1/2013

This work was premiered at the June in Buffalo festival on June 6th, 2015.

Hebdomas Squatinae

[shark week]

for flute, alto saxophone, and piano

Duration: 9 min.

Program Notes:

Hebdomas Squatinae was originally written for flute, violoncello, and piano. This current version was reworked for the Verismo Trio, and thus is dedicated to them.

Hebdomas Squatinae was written under the influence of George Crumb’s Vox Balaenae. But at the same time it is a completely original piece, and very little direct correlation should be made between it and the Crumb. I was just inspired to write the piece after talking to a flutist who had recently performed the Crumb and had created a trio to tour with the piece. I thought a companion piece on the topic of sharks would be interesting, and that led me to the Latin title and the reference to the Discovery Channel’s vaunted “Shark Week”.

And if you listen closely at the end you might find a reference to another famous shark...

Enjoy.

Hebdomas Squatinae won the 2010 Beethoven Club/Belvedere Festival Composition Contest. It was originally premiered at the 2010 Belvedere Festival by the Luna Nova Ensemble, June 26th, 2010. This version won the 2013 Verismo Trio/WMTA Composition Contest, and was premiered at the 2013 Wyoming Music Teachers Association conference in Fort Collins, CO on June 7th, 2013.

Getz Going
A Suite for Eddie Sauter

for alto saxophone and string quartet

Total Duration - approx. 45 minutes

I - Goodnight Margeaux
II - The Harlem Dancer
III - Not That America
IV - Rhapsody II
V - ...and love called love...
VI - A Night Like This
VII - A Funk for the Bunk
VIII - Follow Me

Program Notes:

Getz Going was written for Sheri Brown. It is inspired by Stan Getz and Eddie Sauter, and their classic album Focus.

So first off...I know Stan Getz played the tenor sax and this piece is written for alto. I wrote it for Sheri, and at the time the concept and music started gestating I had just finished a work for her on alto. So these pieces came out for the alto, and probably for the best, because this is not a copy of the Focus, but merely inspired by it. These works are all original, and I have really attempted to keep this from sounding like just a jazz homage. Also, unlike Focus, which was a combination of written strings and improvised sax, this work is entirely written, although the saxophone and strings are allowed a little bit of leeway when it comes to swinging the rhythms.

And although there are a few moments of cohesion between the separate movements, they are meant to be considered as tracks on an album, not a cohesive unit. Many of the “tunes” were written long before this project, I just had never found the proper place for them. And now I have.

Enjoy!

-Ryan Jesperson 6/21/2012

 

Premiered on a Hartford Phase Shift concert on August 23rd, 2012. Performed on a Central CT Composers Circle concert Oct. 14th, 2012, and portions performed at the Mishi-maya-gat series on Oct. 18th, 2012.

Not Death, but Love

for saxophone quartet (version for string quartet also available)

Duration - approx. 16 minutes

The title of this work, Not Death, but Love is taken from Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s collection of poems, Sonnets from the Portuguese. The title comes from the end of the first sonnet:

And a voice said in mastery, while I strove,—
’Guess now who holds thee?’—‘Death,’ I said. But, there
The silver answer rang,—‘Not Death, but Love.’

The work is a sort of meditation on love. It is melancholy, yet hopeful, serene and sublime. For the movement titles I found fragments in sonnets X through XIV that contained the word “Love”. I don’t want to say too much more about the work, as I’d hope it speaks for itself. Enjoy, and if you are near a loved one, hold him/her tight.

-Ryan Jesperson 6/4/2010

Portions of the string quartet version read by the West End String Quartet in Dec. 2010. The saxophone quartet version will be premiered by the Ineo Saxophone Quartet in the spring of 2011.

Hebdomas Squatinae

[shark week]

for flute, violoncello, and piano

Duration: 9 min.

Program Notes:

Hebdomas Squatinae was written under the influence of George Crumb’s Vox Balaenae. But at the same time it is a completely original piece, and very little direct correlation should be made between it and the Crumb. I was just inspired to write the piece after talking to a flutist who had recently performed the Crumb and had created a trio to tour with the piece. I thought a companion piece on the topic of sharks would be somewhat interesting, and that led me to the latin title and the reference to the Discovery Channel’s vaunted “Shark Week”.

And if you listen closely at the end, you might find a reference to another famous shark...

Enjoy.

 

Hebdomas Squatinae won the 2010 Beethoven Club/Belvedere Festival Composition Contest. It will be premiered at the 2010 Belvedere Festival by the Luna Nova Ensemble, June 26th, 2010.

Little Tokoyo

Incidental Music

for brass quintet and piano

duration app. 16 min.

Program Notes:

Little Tokoyo was written as incidental music for the film/show of the same name. The project was undertaken by the composer, Maria Creyts, and Spencer Musser for the UMKC/KCAI ArtSounds concert series. The work was premiered on Oct. 13th, 2009.

The work is inspired by the story, The Dream of Akinosuke, a Japanese folktale translated and made famous by Lafcadio Hearns. The story involves a farmer falling asleep and dreaming of a wonderful land. The dream last twenty-four years, but upon awaking the dreamer finds he has only been asleep a few minutes. After telling his friends of the marvelous dream they uncover an ant colony nearby which carries a strong semblance to the dream world of Akinosuke.

The music for Little Tokoyo was written to invoke a feeling of surreal-dreaming. Unlike traditional concert music, this piece was not initially intended to stand on its own. The work is intrinsically linked to the drama and the visual world created by Creyts and Musser. Themes and motives do not develop as much as create connections between various events, and the restricted use of certain instruments at certain times is akin to the sudden use of color in The Wizard of Oz. You are being taken to a world that is not your own, and I wanted the music to reflect that. Enjoy.

-Ryan Jesperson
9/17/2009

 

Little Tokoyo was premiered on Oct. 13th, 2009 as part of UMKC/KCAI ArtSounds.

Little Tokoyo Performance

Quatrain - for string quartet

for 2 violins, viola, violoncello

Duration - approximately 24 minutes

Program Notes:

The four movements of Quatrain originally appeared in whole or in part as movements in The Hercules Quartets, a collection of three string quartets that served as my Master’s Thesis. Although I was happy with the collection of work, over time I found that the size and scope of the composition made performances unlikely. I also was not satisfied with all the movements (especially the second quartet), and felt that the best work was scattered through the three quartets. This piece is a revision and re-imagining of the entire collection reduced to a smaller, single work. From the three quartets I chose the best material and went back through and cleaned it up. Some of the movements remain relatively unchanged, but some have substantial revisions.

Instead of keeping the original title, I thought with rebirth came the chance to rename the work. A quatrain is a short poem or a stanza of a larger poem that consists of four lines with some sort of rhyming scheme. I liked the idea of a quatrain because it had four lines to go with the four parts and the four movements of this string quartet, as well as for the obvious wordplay on “quart”. In order to connect with the title I wrote a quatrain that both connects to the original inspiration and serves as subtitles for each of the four movements.

The man-god chases beasts of penitence
Labors through pain to rinse caked blood away
His actions speak straight through his reticence
And rise and fall with Eurystheus’ sway

Enjoy.

 

Ryan Jesperson
3/22/2009

 

The second movement was read and recorded by Aaron Packard (vln), Sarah Washburn (vln), Russ Podgorsek (vla), and Katie Kennedy (vc), on Oct. 6th, 2006. An early version of the third movement was recorded by the West End String Quartet in December, 2006. The fourth movement was read and recorded by the Miami String Quartet in April, 2006.

I Await Your Urgent Response

for four players

Dur: TBD

Program Notes:

I Await Your Urgent Response is a piece culled from junk mail.  More specifically, the junk mail that I received in my student account from July, 2008 to February, 2009 at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  Because of the rarity of receiving junk mail on that account, I would be duped each time to open the message and read it.  That they were a bit amusing is an understatement.  In my limited knowledge of the internet and programs designed to remove junk mail, it seemed that the authors were doing their best to insert standard phrases (or at least what they thought would be standard) in order to trick programs into delivering the message.  That certain words were misspelled intentionally to avoid detection I have no doubt, but out of the chaos of translation and deception came something that at times seemed to be the same jumbled mush of those that purport to speak in tongues.  So I started keeping the emails with the idea that at some point they would be incorporated into a piece. 

But rather than organize the chaos and misdirection that the words are meant to imply, I felt that a certain freedom should be inherent in the rendering and imagining of the music.  So instead of writing out every note, I felt it would be better if the work was improvised.  Occasionally the performers are given ideas or symbols, but for the most part they are simply to react to the text with as much jocularity as possible.  This piece is written for four performers (or parts), with no indications as to which instruments they should play (or even if they have to play instruments).  Each part will recite all or portions of the emails and the rest is going to probably be as unusual and interesting to me as it will be to you.

Contained in this piece are the best of the emails I received, ranging from Nigerian money offers to Viagra pushers to “work at home” scams.  There’s one for online gambling, and even one where halfway through the email the lady starts dropping plot twists like Tommy Wiseau.  But that’s enough from me, let’s get started.  Enjoy…  I Await Your Urgent Response.

-Ryan Jesperson
     2/20/2009

Performance Notes:

All parts are to be improvised.  Each player may perform on any and/or all instruments.  No rehearsal is needed to “sync” up parts that are playing off identical directions.  The written directions should influence the improvisation, but not dictate it.  A few cursory rehearsals to outline the sections of the piece should be satisfactory, but don’t go in with a game plan, or else you’ll ruin all the fun…

The emails should be read as written, exaggerating misspellings and random Acts of capitalization.  Impressions or alternate voices should be encouraged.  Many names and words are fabricated, so no need to work on pronunciations before performing, just wing it and have a good time…

Any other performance questions are left to the discretion of the performers…  When in doubt, improvise…

The Emails:

1.
from: Remmele Devillier
subject: CChristmas

Christmas gifft for your wiffe or girlfriend CLICK HERE

The space of six hour, dry it with a clean cloth, might perhaps borrow the money on the prospect although he frowned at toni’s description of miss along, gazing into some of the shop windows as and only allowed her very small sum for housekeeping.

2.
from: Mr. Adama Sawadogo
subject: Urgent Reply For More Information

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:

This e-mail message is from Mr. Adama Sawadogo This message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information.  Any review,use,distribution or disclosure by others is strictly prohibited.If you are not the intended recipient (or authorized to receive for the recipient),please contact the sender by reply email and delete all copies of this message.

Greetings to you,

This letter must come to you as a big surprise, but I believe it is only a day that people meet and become great friends and business partners.My name is Mr. Adama Sawadogo, the present branch Manager of a bank here in Burkina faso West Africa.  I write you this proposal in good faith, believing that I can trust  you with the information I am about to reveal to you.  Like I said, I have a transaction that will benefit both of us, as your assistance is required as a foreigner.

I use to head the Accounts department in my bank head office, but last December I was asked to take position of a Manager of our branch in Ouagadougou who passed on,so that was how I became the present Manager and discovered a fortune.  As I resumed duty, I discovered an account with total sum of $10.6 million that has not been operated on for the past 4 years.From my investigation, I found out that this account belongs to one Late Mr. Shadi Aribi Monther  a Lebanon big time Oildealer, who unfortunately lost his life in the Air France Concorde on July 26, 2000.  You will read more news about the crash on visiting these site;

I have kept a close moitoring of the account since then and nobody has come forward to claim the money as next of kin to the late Mr. Shadi Aribi Monther meaning that no one is aware of the account.  I can not directly take out this money without the help of a foreigner and that is why I am contacting you for an assistance to claim the funds and share it with me.  As the Manager of my bank branch, I have the power to influence the release of the funds to any foreigner that comes up as the next of kin to the account, with the correct information concerning the account, which I sahll give you.I am seeking your co –operation to present you as the next of kin to the account.

There is practically no risk involved, the transaction will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law.If you accept to work withme, I want you to state how you wish us to share the funds in percentage, so that both parties will be satisfied.  Contact me as soon as you receive this message if you feel.

Thank you in advance and may God bless you.

Please, reat with utmost confidentiality.

I await your urgent response.

Regards,
Mr. Adama Sawadogo

3.
from: Stallons Beydler
subject: YYour account was blocked!

Give woman the first thing she expects froom you – the unforgetable pleasure
More information HERE

Lived here for many years and she and her husband wetterma a slowly. He’sdifferent.  Yes. Ican’t o. J. Hollingsworth.  He excelled himself, and , they laughed loudly. Pete put down a bottle with and for vice president edward everett of massachusetts..

4.
from: Lora Parker
subject: Part time job

Dear Student,

Going to school requires a serious commitment, but most students still need extra money for rent, food, a nice car, new clothes, cell phone, computer, plus gas, tuition, pleasure and a whole list of other things.
So what do you do?  “Find some sort of work”, but the problem is that many jobs are boring, have low pay and rigid/inflexible schedules.
So even if you get a job, you are in the middle of mid-terms, finals or a term paper and you need to study, but you have to be at work, so your grades and education suffer at the expense of your “College Job”.

Sit Back, Relax, and Get Paid for What You Think!!

Taking a simple, easy online survey - $5 to $55 per survey!
Participating in an online focus group - $20 to $80 per hour!
Trying out new products, everything from shoes to stereos – Keeping the products and getting paid!
Previewing Movie Trailers Online – Then answer a yes/no questionnaire (did I like it) for $12 to $25

Now you can do flexible work that fits your schedule!  Our company and several nationwide companies with your help.
We are looking to expand, by using independent workers we can do so without buying new buildings and equipment.
This type of work is great for Students who are seriously looking for extra income!

If you are interested please email me at: contact@polosurv.com
Hope to hear from  you soon,

Lora Parker

5.
from: Rounds Lobban
subject: :(

ON LINE CASI NO! REG I ST ER AND GET $ ! *)) F OR FRE E !! !
Click here

By familiarity with these low people.  He did not seeing how tightly she still still grasped the tought luxuriant growth, and at last covering the tree approaching me whose arms and weapons never go sortthose few hardworking wives or women on their.

6.
from: Arico Villafuerte
subject: Order dettails

Make your girlfriend happy.  We know solution yoou are looking for!
More information HERE

Put them all together.  Crach the bones, put them that the doctor was not wholly satisfied about one problem agitated, tormented him, and left now ended.  But the puzzle is still there, it seems.  Her arms round me and held me with convulsive.

7.
from: Perrin Caamano
subject: Brothel has speciial deals for virgin clients

Halloha,

Brinng your wife We’ll ffuck her? That’s right we’ll ffuck your wife! :)

Click here

Doubt it.  Acheres and recloses still wait a pioneer you were afraid for yourself.  And you see where the tragedy of the birthday party.  No need to that it was time to go to bed.  next noontide saw a hired car. A kindly thought to take an elderly him cowardly.  Why, you know I was sent up here became a sort of holiday, and the tall private minutes later we were standing before a little was off his guard.saw all the malice and anger ithave I got to have one?’ sir stafford ney picked to be no less than thy valour.  Now do thou follow fools in a jury box, and god knows what they can.

8.
from: Barella Haughton
subject: Italian jailed for emailing nude photos of ex-lover

FEMALE VIA G R A  - your new re ali t y!

WW W .V O VET .NET

Be kept secret, that the hours should be regular, power of his keen satire, and step by step he assistant commissioner I understand what m. Poirot people who have committed crimes are walking about old life is dead, and we start our lives in this.

9.
from: idrissa alice
subject: PLEASE GET BACK TO ME SOON

Dear friend

Compliment of the day to you, iam written this mail to you with heavy tears in my eyes and great sorrow in my heart.  My name is Alice Idrissa and am contacting you from my country Tunisia I want to tell you this because I don’t have any other option than to tell ou as I was touched to open up to you,I am married to Mr. Idrissa Toyo who worked with Tunisia embassy in Mali for nine years before he died in the year 2005.

We were married for eleven years without a child he died after a brief illness that lasted for only five days since his death I decided not to remarry,When my late husband was alive we deposit a Box that contains (4.2 Million Dollars) Cash, with a guide security company for safe keeping there in Bamako the capital city of Mali in west Africa, And we registered the box as African artwork belonging to my husband friend in abroad.

For security of the money inside the box,Presently the box still in the security company,my Doctor told me that I would not last for the period of seven months due to cancer problem.

The one that disturbs me most is my stroke sickness having known my condition I decided to hand you over this money to take care of the less-privileged you will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct herein I want you to take 30 Percent of the total money for your personal use While 70% of the money will go to charity organization and helping the orphanage.
I grew up as an Orphan and I don’t have anybody as my family member, just to endeavor that the house of God is maintained am doing this so that God will forgive my sins and accept my soul because this sickness have suffered me too much, as soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the security company in Mali.

I will also instruct my lawyer to issue you an authority letter that will prove you the present beneficiary of the Box, that is if you assure me that you will act accordingly as I stated herein have a great day

Hoping to receive your reply.
Mrs. Alice Idrissa

10.
from: Hilgefort Sherwin
subject: :)

Nei Ho,

How to get any womaan Into Bed?  Try our…

VIAGRA

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Weak, vindictive nature to press it to a decision.  You’ve not seen her name in the papers?  His throat near for blessings.  visitors  used to stand listening been cultivated.  We threw down our loads at once and of kings: but three hundred generations of a man of a sad brow and severe eye, place, managed and looked after in a country like brazil.  About two months, the bulldog sloop of war came billy.  I know it will please the children.  The which are not unseemly, in public: no woman is a fresh batch of natives from the caves, and we when he teases me so that I detest him?  Said octavia, bank dropped a willow, and a wide spreading cedar lies, her vain attempts to clear herself byhe coils.  Then it slowly drew inwards and disappeared.  Yolk of an egg, some verjuyce, the slice of an steps between.  Dost tremble for thy lover? Thus mrs. Dave dyer flattered her with questions about of the laws of physics to get a temperature and about.  And why?  And how? Not just people’s silly.

This piece was premiered in Kansas City, MO on a UMKC GUILD Concert March 5th, 2009. It has also been performed at the SCI Region V conference and on a Butler Composer Orchestra Concert.

Pretentious [Title]

for a sx, tpt, tbn, cl, vln, vc, pno, bs, and d.s.

Duration - approx. 9 min.

Program Notes:

This piece was written for a mixture of jazz and classical players at UMKC. The title is meant to evoke a mocking tone toward many of the other pieces written in the 21st century that try and encompass many varied and enormous philosophical and poetic meanings in a single piece. Often, I think, composers forget that the most important aspect of their composition is the music (this critique can occasionally be applied to my own pretentious titles), and try and make programmatic elements take the “form” of the piece. This is an existential question that must be asked about all music, and whether titles create a simplistic symbolist syllogism that defines a piece before it is performed. And if the piece is predefined, then can it really be new? To posit that the finite combinations of the English alphabet and the chromatic scale inhibit the possibility of creating a truly original composition creates the latent meaning of this piece. This train of thought obviously brings us to the universal language “Esperanto” and the possibility of discovering a link between different cultures and different tone combinations and…I’m just kidding. It’s exactly that sort of academic dribble that I wanted to avoid in this piece. Just relax and have a good swinging time.

 

-Ryan Jesperson
Jan. 4th, 2008

This piece was premiered March 6th at UMKC. It was a finalist in the 2008 UMKC Chamber Composition Competition.

...and those seven dwarfs

for 2 violins, viola and violoncello (with optional narrator)

Duration - approx. 20 minutes

Program Notes:

…and those seven dwarfs was written for and with the assistance of the Honors String Quartet, the premiere ensemble of the Hartt School Community Division.

...and those seven dwarfs is a retelling of the classic “Snow White” story. Although most are familiar with the 1937 Walt Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the tale itself is found in many forms in many cultures throughout history. Mostly it is seen as a Freudian oedipal fight between a child and her mother, with nameless dwarves simply a side-product of the story. In fact, it was the Disney film that actually named the dwarves and give them distinct personalities (Grimm’s tale often refers to them in a collective sense, or by number).

In this version, I have decided to focus on the dwarves rather then Snow White.  She’ll still be in the story, but will not be the central character. I have also kept the unique personalities that were presented in the Disney film. Although much of the story remains faithful to the film version, the piece should not be looked at as an adaptation, but rather as a synthesis of all the versions I have encountered. It is a tale for children and adults, and hopefully will be enjoyed by all.

-Ryan Jesperson
Feb. 17th, 2007

 

Narrator Text

Each number corresponds to a circled number in the score (not to be confused with box-enclosed measure numbers). If the double-dotted fermata is over a rest for all instruments, then the text should be performed before the music continues. For the few spots where double-dotted fermatas are placed in measures containing continuous music, the cue should be read in a natural fashion, even if the music continues before the text is concluded.

Text written by Ryan Jesperson
sources consulted: The Brother’s Grimm’s “Snow White”, Anne Sexton’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, and Walt Disney’s film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

1. Once upon a time (as these stories sometimes go), in the seventh valley of the seventh mountain, there lived seven dwarfs.

2. The dwarves lived in a small cottage, and spent their days mining the steep mountain for gold and jewels. Each day, they would return to rest, eager for another day of work.

3. One of the dwarves sneezed often.

4. One, was always tired, which angered the one that was always grumpy.

5. The grumpy dwarf would complain and groan, but this never brought down the spirit of the happy dwarf.

6. One of the dwarfs had a face that would turn as red as a ruby when embarrassed. The other dwarfs liked to tease him and point and giggle.

7. And of course, there was one who didn’t talk, and the others called him “Dopey”.

8. Doc, the leader of the group, had a slight stutter, but otherwise was the most wise and learn-ed of the bunch. He was their leader.

9. Everyday, the dwarves would wake at sunrise, eat breakfast, and then climb the steep mountain to mine it for valuable jewels.

10. One day, upon returning to their home, the dwarves found that a young girl had let herself in.; She said she was in trouble. Her name was… Snow White.

11. Snow White asked the dwarves to let her live with them. The dwarves discussed it, and decided to let her stay. She thanked them and kissed each on the forehead. This caused Sneezy to break out into a fit of sneezes.

12. She told her new friends that she was running away from an evil queen. The queen was jealous of Snow White’s beauty and wanted her dead. She had tried once to kill Snow White, but a huntsman had taken pity on Snow White and allowed her to escape.

13. After a long supper, the seven dwarfs took a nap (led by sleepy) while Snow White did the dishes.

14. After their nap, the seven dwarfs danced and sang for Snow White. Dopey led the group since he was the best dancer. Eventually Snow White joined in and they all had a good time.

15. One of the dwarves wanted to dance with Snow White but was too embarrassed. Now which one could that have been?

16. Of course, the evil queen had used her mirror and knew of the huntsman’s deception. She started thinking of ways to kill Snow White.

17. Back at the home of the seven dwarfs (and now Snow White), all were happy. One of the dwarves, the one who was always in a good mood, gathered every one around and told a wonderful bedtime story. They all went to bed happy.

18. While they slept, the evil queen was preparing a disguise, and a poisoned apple for Snow White.

19. The next morning, after breakfast and before the dwarves had left to mine, the dwarf who was always grumpy tried to warn Snow White about the evil queen. “Be careful,” he said, “she will certainly try to hurt you. Don’t let anyone in the house.”

20. After the dwarves had left, Snow White heard a knock at the door. It was an old woman offering to give her an apple. Being young and trusting, Snow White ignored the dwarves warning and took the apple. As she took a bite the old woman threw off her disguise. It was the evil queen, and she had poisoned Snow White.

21. Snow White fell to the floor. The dwarves returned home to find her appearing dead. They felt she was too beautiful to bury in the cold ground, and built for her a glass coffin. They placed it on top of the steep mountain and always kept vigil. One day a lost prince stumbled upon the coffin.

22. Having read of it in stories, the prince opened the coffin and kissed her on the mouth, accidentally dislodging the piece of poisoned apple. Snow White awoke, and all the dwarves jumped for joy. The prince took Snow White to his kingdom and they were married.

23. And they all lived happily ever after. The End.