Chimeric Fantasy
Allen Brings
About this work:
From the Classical period through the Romantic, the fantasy has increasingly relied less on an exclusively musical logic and more on composers' insights into human psychology. Freed from the constraints imposed by the expectations of classical forms, composers have introduced into these pieces unexpected juxtapositions of seemingly unrelated materials, often appearing in apparently unprovoked and unmotivated sequences. My Chimeric Fantasy contributes an additional element distinctly twentieth-century in origin, that of illusion: things are not always what they seem to be, and whatever one hears at one moment may unpredictably become something altogether different a moment later. The music may seem to progress willfully, even perversely at times. It is not so much the nature of the materials themselves but rather their bizarre treatment that one will notice. Because it is not intentionally Gothic, the character of this piece probably cannot be appreciated by a Western listener unable to place it in the context of the Western tradition. Ironcially, it might more likely provide pleasure to a non-Western listener who is unacquainted with that tradition.
Chimeric Fantasy was composed in 1993 and first performed at The University of Massachusetts during a regional meeting ot The Society of Composers on October 7, 1995, by Lynn Klock, Eric Roth and Nikki Stoia. It has been recorded by Cynthia Sikes, Leo Grinhauz and the composer on Capstone Records CPS-8644. Score and parts available from Mira Music Associates. Contact: miramusic@aol.com
Review: "Allen Brings's chamber music [Capstone CD, "Music da camera by Allen Brings"] is an expression of late 20th Century romanticism—sincere, honest, and tough-minded. His music relies on traditional materials in traditional forms, but there is something about it—a knowingness perhaps—that makes the overall effect more than backward-looking. It may be the particular kind of consciousness of the past that made our own age, when composers can combine elements of several different eras. Does it work as art? Or nostalgia? I don't know yet, but honorable efforts like his (and his fine, understanding interpreters) make me believe the answer may yet be a positive one." Stephen D. Hicken
American Record Guide
July/August, 1998
Version: alto saxophone, cello & piano
Year composed: 1993
Duration: 00:09:37
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 2-5 players
Instrumentation: 1 Alto Saxophone, 1 Piano, 1 Cello