Alyssa Reit is a composer, arranger, harpist, and storyteller based in New York. Her works span a wide variety of genres, from musicals and ballets to solos like Miniatures for Unaccompanied Horn. Storytelling is intrinsic in even her non-theatrical work, and can be seen in this piece. The four miniatures are richly evocative, each unique but tied together by subtle motives and gestures. She provides the following notes on the pieces:
Opening
The intent of this music is to capture the spirit of a simple Prologue, a new beginning, an opening into new thoughts.
Rubenstein
This piece was inspired by the way the great pianist Artur Rubenstein played the repeated note at the end of the Andante movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto #23 in A K488 (as recorded by Wallenstein with the RCA Victor Symphony). It is arguably one of the most beautiful moments in all of recorded music, and certainly the most astonishingly profound performance of a series of repeated notes that I have ever heard.
Nevertheless, He Continued...
One of my favorite moments in the tradition of folklore comes in the Grimms' tale The Golden Bird: The King has asked the Prince (the hero of the story) to remove a hill outside the King's window. If he succeeds, he wins the King's daughter. If he fails, he loses everything. He has been given eight days to complete the task; he shovels and shovels without stopping. Near the end of the eighth day, he realizes it is as if he has done nothing, and he loses all hope. Nevertheless, he continues to shovel, and at that moment the magic occurs that removes the hill and wins him his prize.
Taming the Wild Beast
For a good number of years, the Jan Hus Church in New York City hosted a series of concerts sponsored by Vox Novus/Composer's Voice. One of the regular events was a presentation named "Fifteen Minutes of Fame" --a set of fifteen one-minute pieces, played back-to-back. These were chosen by the featured performer, based on a call for scores. This piece was one of those selected and performed by hornist and educator Michelle DeQuist on March 11, 2012.
Knowing that storytelling is such an important part of Mrs. Reit's career, I found that pacing was perhaps the most important aspect of performing these miniatures. There's a lot of room for creativity and individuality in them, and I thoroughly enjoyed the process of experimenting with tempo and pacing as I worked on them. I found her notes about the pieces gave me an excellent place to begin to think about interpretation. Where did I see certain aspects of the story or anecdote in the music? What places called for greater emphasis in regards to the story they told? In particular I enjoyed experimenting with the final miniature Taming the Wild Beast, and deciding the extent to which I felt the "beast" was (and ought to be) tamed.
When I reached out to Mrs. Reit about recording her work, I asked if she wanted to listen to my interpretation at all before the final recording. She replied "I do believe that any genuine music is like a living thing, and that nuances come through a combination of the performer's understanding of the ideas as well as the spirit of the moment," and encouraged me to form my own interpretation. I would encourage anyone interested in performing these miniatures to do the same.
–Hannah Messenger