Christopher Rountree on working with Scott Walker on Rubato (lt: Stolen Time)
Saturday November 18
Walt Disney Concert Hall
8:00pm
wild Up
Christopher Rountree, conductor
Erin McKibben, flute
Breana Filcher, oboe
Brian Walsh, clarinet
Archie Carey, bassoon
Lizzie Upton, horn
Dan Rosenboom, trumpet
Matt Barber, trombone
Weston Olencki, trombone
Richard Valitutto, piano/keyboard
Matt Cook, percussion
Jodie Landau, voice/keyboard/percussion
Greg Uhlmann, electric guitar
Andrew Tholl, violin
Adrianne Pope, violin
Kate Outerbridge, violin
Emily Cal, violin
Paul Cartwright, violin
Maiani da Silva, violin
Mona Tian, violin
Linnea Powell, viola
Diana Wade, viola
Melinda Rice, viola
Derek Stein, cello
Ashley Walters, cello
Jennifer Beweise, cello
April Guthrie, cello
Stephen Pfeifer, bass
BJ Johnson, bass
Christopher Rountree, conductor on “Rubato (It: Stolen Time)”
Unlike its title, Rubato (from the Italian meaning "stolen time") marches forth with a screaming siren pulsing out a ceaselessly even interval for the majority of its duration. The strings form a phalanx wall of sound glissinging with vibrato while trombones sing their highest possible notes from the parapets. At first it is a mix of this siren, the brutal reality of a sound of war; a disturbing hum that shakes the concert hall, not like an embrace but rather a provokation; the powerful romanticism of a string orchestra playing at maximum volume without a breath; the trombonists playing longer and louder than they can, reaching always a state of endeavoring that is palpable but also a state of failure that is audible -- and then in an instant: all of it breaks and the orchestra begins to sing, not using the instruments that they have trained toward mastery for 20 plus years each, but with their human voices, mostly untrained. The sound of the orchestra becomes the sound of a children's chorus, as players of all ages sing a childlike canon (Autumn Roundelay) with a simple sound:
Here I sit and wait for you,
'neath the spreading branches.
Cool the grass with shades and dew,
Sunlight 'round me dances.
Hi lully olee olay,
How my heart is ringing.
Hi lully olee olay,
Songs to you I'm singing.
”It is my favorite piece that has been written for Wild Up. And an honor to be part of Scott's opus and legacy.”Christopher Rountree
About collaboration with Scott
I remember the first conversation with Scott's managers, they mentioned that he only takes phone meetings while in London every few months, but that one of those times might be sooner than later. I thought it was such a charming way to engage with creative output and inbound requests for new work (one I'd love to replicate when I can). Our subsequent conversations were lovely. Scott was so curious and had listened to all the recordings Wild Up had made to date. Most of his questions were about our boundaries - he asked about how experimental our trombone players were and if they were comfortable playing with effects pedals. He saw a video of all of us singing, and asked what it's like to be an orchestra that sings. In hindsight, even in our first conversation, it is clear to me that his plan for the piece was already formed. When he passed, I found myself feeling immediately so deeply grateful to have connected with him during his last years. I think about Rubato now with the light of that context shining on a piece that has the tireless marching forward of time, toward an end, and a return to childlike wonder.
