Regina Harris Baiocchi

Two Piano Etudes. By Regina Harris Baiocchi

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 16:37:09 +0000

Two Piano Etudes. By Regina Harris Baiocchi Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 03/18/2021 - 10:37

Fuweiyu Li

These two piano etudes are both intellectually challenging and technically demanding. Both compositions are atonal. With a five-notes cluster in the left hand that reaches the lowest key and another five note-cluster in the right that reaches the highest key on of the piano, the intro of the first etude is rather bold. This etude has a relatively thick overall texture and features at least three voices most of the time. There are often polyrhythms in both hands, though not as challenging as the second etude's. The etude is also heavily syncopated.

These compositions are not listed in the composer's website.

"Regina is a poet, author, and composer whose music has been performed by Detroit and Chicago Symphony orchestras, US Army Band, and internationally-acclaimed artists. Performances include concerts in Paris, Rome, and Bari, Italy, as part of Festival Incontri Musicali di Musica Sacra, and in Turkey and Unna, Germany at the Women Composers’ Library. Regina has written music for symphony orchestra; a libretto and one-act opera; hand drum concerto; marimba concerto; ballet; chamber music; liturgical and secular music; and vocal and instrumental, including for pipe organ." (3arts.org)

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"Jazzed-up Circumstance" by Regina A. Harris Baiocchi

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 01:04:15 +0000

"Jazzed-up Circumstance" by Regina A. Harris Baiocchi Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/10/2020 - 18:04

Fuweiyu Li

"Jazzed-up Circumstance" was composed in 1992 and commissioned by the St Elizabeth School – the school which the composer once attended as an elementary student - and for the school’s 8^th graders’ graduation. The composition was dedicated to composer’s nieces, Nique & Pebbles (née Aminah Hanan & Lanzie Howard).

As some might have been able to guess, "Jazzed-up Circumstance" is an arranged jazzy version of Sir Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance Military Marches, Op. 39 No.1. Elgar's piece has been nicknamed “Pomp and Circumstance March” and is played at the graduation ceremonies of most U.S high schools and colleges. "Jazzed-up Circumstance" uses the slow melodic theme from the original march’s trio section as its only melodic material, and results in its more strophic structure in comparison to the other adaptation, which is the duplication of the trio section. To accommodate for the potential abruptness of the more “stripped” Jazz-up Circumstance, the composer wrote two four-measure chordal progressions over the dominant F to serve as intro and closing material. The most noticeable feature of the composition is the extensive use of 7^th chord harmonies and other extension tones.

There are several challenges in "Jazz-up Circumstance." First is the technical handling of the occasional 8th-note melody on top of the thick chords in the right hand: to pedal the piece with clarity, the players must hold the chord with the "stronger" fingers while playing the top line with "weaker" fingers. Young students with smaller hands may not be entirely equipped to play this composition. The thick chords of the right hand also bring nuance to the composition. Since the composer used great voice leading between harmonies, it is possible to identify the chords as the manifestation of multiple voices and bring out some of these voices to create more interest. Despite being jazzy, the rhythmic figures of the composition adhered to the original march’s simple rhythm and sound equally formal. However, the only new rhythmic element of quarter note triplets may be tricky to execute.

Musically, one of its challenges is to create a spacious, broad orchestral sound without harshness, and to manage the big range of dynamics with clarity while balancing the thick chordal texture. I recommend first listening the original version “Pomp and Circumstance March” and its derivative, the British patriotic song Land of Hope and Glory as examples for desired tone quality and sound projection. Then, I recommend singing out the melodies of this composition. It also could be quite helpful to connect personal memories to different sections of this composition to solidify and support interpretation. From the more technical aspects, besides imagining longer phrases/lines, using more arm weight with flatter fingers and slower articulation would allow a rich sound. The wrists need to be firm but not tense during the attack on the key and more relaxed during the release.

Additional note: since for a while it was ambiguous for me, I want to point out that the composer instructed all the left-hand part to be played an octave lower than written except for the spots she indicated loco.

Interestingly, the piece is not included in the composer's website.

��Ĺ��ý the Composer:

Born in 1956, Regina Harris Baiocchi is an American musician, music educator, composer and writer of short stories and poetry. Her musical outputs include blues, chamber music, choral music, concert music, gospel, opera, and what she considers as her tour de force: Farafina.

Regina Baiocchi "is a poet, author, and composer whose music has been performed by Detroit and Chicago Symphony orchestras, US Army Band, and internationally-acclaimed artists. Performances include concerts in Paris, Rome, and Bari, Italy, as part of Festival Incontri Musicali di Musica Sacra, and in Turkey and Unna, Germany at the Women Composers’ Library. Regina has written music for symphony orchestra; a libretto and one-act opera; hand drum concerto; marimba concerto; ballet; chamber music; liturgical and secular music; and vocal and instrumental, including for pipe organ." (3arts.org)

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"Jazzed-up Circumstance" by Regina A. Harris Baiocchi. Performed by Fuweiyu Li.

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"Azuretta" by Regina Harris Baiocchi

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 00:57:34 +0000

"Azuretta" by Regina Harris Baiocchi Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/10/2020 - 17:57

Fuweiyu Li

"Azuretta" by Regina Baiocchi is a rather sentimental and romantic piece in its outer sections, with a contrasting, harsh and dissonant middle section. The composition is notated "rubato" and "dolce". It's tempo is quarter note = 60 in 3/4 meter. "Azuretta" is both "bluesy" and "jazzy"; though the composition is in F major, the numerous accidentals and extensions greatly weaken the tonal feeling; these two factors make the piece relatively dissonant, especially in the middle section.

Accoding to pianist Samantha Ege, the composer described the piece as a "musical reaction to a debilitating stroke Dr. Hale Smith suffered in 2000. It was unbearable to witness my mentor, friend and master composer rendered mute and paralyzed. Hale was such a vibrant man who loved to talk, hold court; and he had the goods to do so. Unfortunately, Hale subsisted in a mute, paralyzed state until he passed 24 November 2009. Fortunately, Hale’s incredible legacy speaks for him and itself.” This may explain the nostalgic character of the outer sections, and the anguished dissonances in the middle.

"Azuretta" is a late intermediate composition in terms of difficulty. There is no fast or technical demanding passage in the composition, but performers have to deal with the accidentals, syncopations and dissonant or complex harmonies. The performers also have to learn to execute the composition in the exact way the composer intended to. The composer's website includes a sample of the first two pages of the composition.

��Ĺ��ý the Composer:

Regina Harris Ba is a poet, author, and composer whose music has been performed by Detroit and Chicago Symphony orchestras, US Army Band, and internationally-acclaimed artists. Performances include concerts in Paris, Rome, and Bari, Italy, as part of Festival Incontri Musicali di Musica Sacra, and in Turkey and Unna, Germany at the Women Composers’ Library. Regina has written music for symphony orchestra; a libretto and one-act opera; hand drum concerto; marimba concerto; ballet; chamber music; liturgical and secular music; and vocal and instrumental, including for pipe organ." (3arts.org)

Sources:

Biography: Regina Harris Baiocchi
Image source: Regina Harris Baiocchi
Samantha Ege's video: Azuretta Regina Harris Baiocchi performed by Samantha Ege

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"My Husband is not a Hat" by Regina A. Harris Baiocchi

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 00:24:15 +0000

"My Husband is not a Hat" by Regina A. Harris Baiocchi Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 09/27/2020 - 18:24

Fuweiyu Li

"My Husband is not a Hat" by Regina Baiocchi (listed in the composer's website as "Liszten, My Husband is Not a Hat," probably a revision made in 2009, and probably a wordplay with word "Liszt") is a unique three-movement piano piece. In addition to being atonal, the composition features a variety of rhythms, wide sonic range, wide dynamic range, occasional three-voice texture and cross-hands playing, and different time signatures. Though the composer gave no specific tempo, she expected the performers to make the duration of the composition around seven minutes.

The composition is at the early advanced level. Its main challenges include tempo accuracy in different time signature and rhythms, playing polyrhythms, and making accurate leaps. We could infer that the composition is not fast-paced from its duration and length.

Though the composition may seem overwhelming to amateur musicians, students should be able to have great fun reflecting on the meaning of the title from within the composition and improve their rhythmic skills playing the composition.

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Regina Harris Baiocchi

Two Piano Etudes. By Regina Harris Baiocchi

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"Jazzed-up Circumstance" by Regina A. Harris Baiocchi

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