Hommage à Messiaen (violin, clarinet, cello, and piano) (2000)   [21’]
          Elegy (violin and piano) (1999)   [19’]
          Río de llantos (flute, violin, viola, cello, and piano) (1998)   [22’]
          Tri Chairde (Three Friends) (flute, viola, and harp)  (1994)    [6’]
          Thamar y Amnón (flute, viola, and harp or piano) (1991)    [10’]
          Tientos (flute, string trio) (1991)  [23']
 
 
 

       Hommage à Messiaen (violin, clarinet, cello, and piano) (2000)  [21’]

Commissioned and premiered by Pacific Serenades, Martin Chalifour, violin, Gary Gray, flute, Cécilia Tsan, cello, Joanne Pearce Martin, piano, UCLA Faculty Center, UCLA,  Los Angeles, California, March 21, 2000.

Score and parts available from the composer. P.O. Box 117, 23705 Vanowen Street, West Hills, CA 91307

    Score                                 $25.00
    Parts                                  $100.00
    Score and parts rental        $250.00

Program notes and performance history:

Hommage à Messiaen was begun on January 12, 2000 and completed in about four weeks.  Despite its title, it is neither programmatic nor referential, though some of the music in the center of the piece is based upon one of Messiaen’s "modes of limited transposition."   It seems to me that it would be next to impossible to compose a work for this combination without thinking of Messiaen’s landmark work, so I did not even attempt it.  Notwithstanding the fact that I made no conscious attempt to quote, or evoke Messiaen’s highly personal  sound world,  I am equally sure that, on some subliminal level, there is something of the French composer’s presence in my work.

As with most of my works since Tientos, the work takes the shape of a continuous long movement, though it certainly falls into readily discernible sections.  Unusual aspects of the work would have to include  the very late entrance of the violin;  the prolonged extreme altitude of much of the cello writing (it wanders up to a B-flat above the staff);  the split personality of the clarinet, which at times consorts with one string instrument before moving on to the other;  and the obsessive, perpetuum mobile of the rather difficult piano part.

Requested and premiered by Searmi Park, violin, Dennis Doubin, piano, Schoenberg Auditorium, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, May 5, 1999.

Published by Peer-Southern Music.

Program notes and performance history:

The Elegy for violin and piano was completed in the Spring of 1999, after undergoing a lengthy gestation period.  Though it got off to an uncharacteristically slow start, the last five minutes of the piece was written in a single day just one week before the work’s premiere.  The first performance took place May 5, 1999, at UCLA’s Schoenberg Auditorium by Searmi Park (a student of Mark Kaplan) and Dennis Doubin (a student of Vitaly Margulis).

It was written in memory of the composer’s father, Philip C. Krouse, who, after a long struggle, succumbed to the ravages of cancer, three days after his 73rd birthday, March 7, 1997.
 

       Río de llantos (flute, violin, viola, cello, and piano) (1998)  [22’]

Premiered by Sheridon Stokes, flute, Mark Kaplan, violin, Evan Wilson, viola, Barry Gold, cello, Walter Ponce, piano, Schoenberg Auditorium, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, January 20, 1999.

Published by Peer-Southern Music.

Program notes and performance history:

Río de llantos (River of Laments) began as an elaborate fantasy for flute and guitar.  Unfortunately, and despite the greatest sincerity on my part, I produced a work that, while theoretically possible, is all but unplayable by mortal musicians!  (Not the first time this has happened.)  This was greatly troubling to me as I believed in the work and thought that it should be heard.  So began a search to recast the idea in a more practical form.  Essentially, the new version is a trope of the original work (in the medieval sense), in that I added new lines, enlarged the textures, redistributed parts, lengthened some sections, and completely recomposed the ending.  The greatest challenge was to find ways to translate the highly idiomatic guitar techniques to the related but very different world of the bowed string instruments.  In the main the guitar material has been spread between the piano and the three strings.  Obviously, I took full advantage of the additional possibilities provided by the enlarged color palette!  As with many of my works from this period, I was highly influenced by the supercharged melismatic style of flamenco singing called ‘cante jondo’ or deep song (heard mainly in the flute part), as well as the violent, earthy style of guitar playing that accompanies it.  In this respect, the work has much in common with my earlier works Tientos, for flute and string trio, and Bulerías, for guitar quartet.  All of the essential materials of Río de llantos  are derived from Federico García Lorca’s arrangement of De los cuatro muleros, a traditional Spanish song, which, in its cameo appearance towards the end, provides, I would think, a welcome oasis in an otherwise brooding landscape.
 

       Tri Chairde (Three Friends) (flute, viola, and harp)  (1994)  [6’]

Written for the Debussy Trio.  Premiered by the Debussy Trio, Healdsburg, California, January 28, 1995.

Score and parts available from the composer. P.O. Box 117, 23705 Vanowen Street, West Hills, CA 91307

    Score        $15.00
    Parts         $15.00

Program notes and performance history:

Tri Chairde, Gaelic for "three friends," is an arrangement of Da Chara for flute and guitar, written in the traditional Irish style.  Da Chara, which means, of course, "two friends" was commissioned by guitarist Anisa Angarola and flutist Valarie King.  The trio version was written on the occasion of the wedding of Marcia Dickstein (harpist for the Debussy Trio) and Fred Vogler.  It has since been performed around the world by the Debussy Trio, which often uses the brief work as an encore.  Written in a form largely inspired by Paddy Maloney of the Chieftains, it begins with an air in free style, followed by another air in ¾ time.  Next, the original air returns as a march, which gradually picks up energy until it bubbles over into a wild reel.  At the end of the reel, the first air returns one last time as a cantus firmus.

Premiered by the Debussy Trio, Angela Weigand, flute, Keith Greene, viola, Marcia Dickstein, harp, Festival of New American Music, Cal State University, Sacramento, California, November 13, 1991.

First recording by the Debussy Trio, ‘Ian Krouse’, Koch International Classics, Koch 3-7482-2 HI, released February 22, 2000.

Version for flute, viola, and piano premiered by 20th Century Consort, Sara Stern, flute,  Daniel Foster, viola, Lisa Emenheiser Logan, piano, directed by Christopher Kendall, Hirshorn Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C, November 8, 1997.

Published by Peer-Southern Music.

Reviews:

"…the simplicity of arpeggiated figures, viola trills and fluent melodies by the flute – coupled with Krouse’s sense of timing – produced an attractive framework for a highly evocative piece."

Charles McCardell, THE WASHINGTON POST, November 10, 1997

"Thamar y Amnón developed striking colors in  a single, fast-paced 10-minute movement – a valuable addition to the repertoire for this seductive instrumental combination."]

Luca Sabbatini, CLASSICS TODAY, April, 2000.
 

Program notes and performance history:

Thamar y Amnón (1991), was commissioned by the Los Angeles based Debussy Trio, which has since performed it many times throughout the United States.  It has also been performed by Christopher Kendall’s Twentieth Century Consort in a version with piano. Thamar y Amnón is a chamber tone poem based on one of García-Lorca’s Three Historical Ballads.  The Spanish poet’s paean to illicit eroticism, a transformation of the biblical story of the rape and humiliation of Tamar at the hands of her half-brother Amnon, is soaked with sexual imagery and symbolism, and often relies on richly evocative musical metaphors.  Not only the form and musical content are derived from the poem, but even the instrumentation itself.  Thus, the nervous athleticism and complexity of the flute melodies embody Amnon’s tortured struggles with lust, while Tamar’s thinly veiled seductiveness is given a lyric outlet through the potent vehicle of the viola.  The role of the harp is significantly more complex.  On a purely symbolic level, it represents one of antiquity’s most illustrious harpists, King David, the distraught father of the troubled protagonists, who, in the final lines of the poem "took his scissors and cut the strings of his harp," but, on a deeper level the harp is much more than this.  It is at once "moon-shaped zithers" and "waterless lands".  It is the singing of the "uncoiled cobra" and the whinnying of the "hundred horses of the king".  As both witness and catalyst to the tragedy, the harp is not merely the fiber of the work, but its very soul.

In the biblical version of the story from Samuel II, Chapter 13, Amnon pretends to fall sick as a pretext for luring Tamar, his half-sister, to his room.  Despite her earnest protestations he takes her by force, and, overcome with sudden revulsion, expels her from the room, multiplying her shame.  Lorca’s transformation of this story is far more sympathetic to the "enraged violator", Amnon.   In the second stanza of the poem, the lines "Her nakedness on the eaves, due north of the palm, begs snowflakes on her belly and hailstones on her shoulders," suggest that Tamar, perhaps unwittingly, brings about her own fall.  In Lorca’s version, it seems as though Tamar comes to Amnon’s tower entirely of her own volition.  Although she says "Leave me in peace brother", her admonishments are strangely elliptical and ambiguous: "Your kisses on my shoulder are wasps and little winds in double swarm of flutes." In the end, fearful of the inevitable retribution, "Amnon flees upon his nag", while "All around Tamar virgin gypsies cry and others gather the drops from her martyred flower."

Thamar y Amnón

    La luna gira en el cielo                The moon turns in the sky
sobre las tierras sin agua             over waterless lands
mientras el verano siembra         while the summer sows
rumores de tigre y llama.             murmurs of tiger and flame.
Por encima de los techos             Over the rooftops
nervios de metal sonaban.           nerves of metal resound.
Aire rizado venía                          Undulating air comes
con los balidos de lana.                with the bleating of wool.
La tierra se ofrece llena               The earth offers herself covered
de heridas cicatrizadas,                with healed wounds,
o estremecida de agudos              or shudders with sharp
cauterios de luces blancas.           cauteries of white lights.

    Thamar estaba soñando              Tamar was dreaming
pájaros en su garganta,               birds in her throat,
al son de panderos fríos               to the sound of cold timbrels
y cítaras enlunadas.                     and moon-shaped zithers.
Su desnudo en el alero,                Her nakedness on the eaves,
agudo norte de palma,                 due north of the palm,
pide copos a su vientre                begs snowflakes on her belly
y granizo a sus espaldas.              and hailstones on her shoulders.
Thamar estaba cantando             Tamar was singing
desnudo por la terraza.                naked on the terrace.
Alrededor de sus pies,                  At her feet,
cinco palomas heladas.                five frozen doves.
Amnón, delgado y concreto,        Amnon, slender and hard,
en la torre la miraba,                   was watching from the tower,
llenas las ingles de espuma           his loins filled with spume
y oscilaciones la barba.                and his beard trembling.
Su desnudo iluminado                  Her nude body illuminated
se tendía en la terraza,                 was spread out on the terrace,
con un rumor entre dientes          with a murmur between her teeth
de flecha recién clavada.              of a recently struck arrow.
Amnón estaba mirando                Amnon was watching
la luna redonda y baja,                 he round and low moon,
y vio en la luna los pechos            and he saw in the moon the
durísimos de su hermana.             firm breasts of his sister.

    Amnón a las tres y media             Amnon at half past three
se tendió sobre la cama.               lay down upon his bed.
Toda la alcoba sufría                   The entire chamber suffered
con sus ojos llenos de alas.           with his wing-filled eyes.
La luz, maciza, sepulta                 The light, matured, buries
pueblos en la arena parda,           villages in the tawny sand,
o descubre transitorio                   or discoverers a fleeting
coral de rosas y dalias.                  coral of roses and dahlias.
Linfa de pozo oprimida                 Lymph of oppressed well
brota silencio en las jarras.           gushed silence in the jars.
En el musgo de los troncos            In the moss of the trunks
la cobra tendida canta.                  the uncoiled cobra sings.
Amnón gime por la tela                 Amnon  moans on the cool
frequísima de la cama.                   fresh sheets of his bed.
Yedra del escalofrío                        Ivy of feverish chills
cubre su carne quemada.               overs his scorched flesh.
Thamar entró silenciosa                Tamar entered silently
en la alcoba silenciada,                  into the silenced chamber,
color de vena y Danubio,               color of veins and Danube,
turbia de huellas lejanas.               unquiet of distant footprints.
Thamar, bórrame los ojos             Tamar, cleanse my eyes
con tu fija madrugada.                  with your fixed dawn.
Mis hilos de sangre tejen               My blood-threads weave
volantes sobre tu falda.                  flounces over your dress.
Déjame tranquila, hermano.          Leave me in peace, brother.
Son tus besos en mi espalda          Your kisses on my shoulder
avispas y vientecillos                      are wasps and little winds
en doble enjambre de flautas.        in double swarm of flutes.
Thamar, en tus pechos altos,         Tamar, in your high breasts,
hay dos peces que me llaman,        are two fishes calling me,
y en las yemas de tus dedos            and in the buds of your fingertips
rumor de rosa encerrada.               murmur of enclosed rose.

    Los cien caballos del rey                The hundred horses of the king
en el patio relinchaban.                  whinny in the courtyard.
Sol en cubos resistía                       Sun in cubes resisted
la delgadez de la parra.                  the slenderness of the vine.
Ya la coge del cabello,                   Now he grasps her by the hair,
ya la camisa le rasga.                     now her camisol is torn off.
Corales tibios dibujan                    Tepid corals draw
arroyos en rubio mapa.                  rivulets on the fair map.

    ¡Oh, qué gritos se sentían              Oh, what cries were heard
por encima de las casas!                on the rooftops!
Qué espesura de puñales               What thickets of daggers
y túnicas desgarradas.                   and tunics in disarray.
Por las escaleras tristes                 On the sorrowful stairways
 esclavos suben y bajan.                slaves go up and down.
Embolos y muslos juegan              Pistons and thighs play
bajo las nubes paradas.                 under the motionless clouds.
Alrededor de Thamar                    All around Tamar
gritan vírgenes gitanas                  virgin gypsies cry
y otras recogen las gotas               and others gather the drops
de su flor martirizada.                    from her martyred flower.
Paños blancos enrojecen               White cloth turns red
en las alcobas cerradas.                 in the locked chambers.
Rumores de tibia aurora                Murmurs of tepid dawn
pámpanos y peces cambian.          exchange tendrils and fishes.

    Violador enfurecido,                      Violator enraged,
Amnón huye con su jaca.               Amnon flees upon his nag.
Negros le dirigen flechas                Blacks shoot arrows
en los muros y atalayas.                 from the walls and parapets.
Y cuando los cuatro cascos            And when the four hooves
eran cuatro resonancias,                were four echoes,
David con unas tijeras                   David with his scissors
cortó las cuerdas del arpa.             cut the strings of his harp.

Text by Federico García-Lorca
(from ‘Tres Romances Historicos’)

Translation by Ian Krouse *Music by Ian Krouse. Words by Federico García Lorca. Copyright © 1996 by Ian Krouse and Herederos de Federico García Lorca. Original Spanish Language texts by Federico García Lorca © Herederos de Federico García Lorca. English Language translations by Ian Krouse © Ian Krouse and Herederos de Federico García Lorca. Used by permission.
 

       Tientos (flute, violin, viola, and cello) (1991)    [23’]

Commissioned and premiered by Pacific Serenades, Mark Carlson, flute, Connie Kupka, violin, Michael Nowak, viola, and David Speltz, cello, Biltmore Hotel, conducted by Jonathan Stockhammer, Los Angeles, California, April 14, 1991.  Additional performances by 20th Century Consort, Christopher Kendall, director; Mexico City Chamber Orchestra, directed by Benjamín Juárez, others.

Semi-finalist Kennedy Center Freidheim Awards, 1991.

First recording by Dinosaur Annex, Sue-Ellen Hirshman-Tcherepnin, flute, Cyrus Stevens, violin, Anne Black, viola, Reimar Seidler, cello, ‘Ian Krouse’, Koch International Classics, Koch 3-7482-2 HI, released February 22, 2000.

Published by Peer-Southern Music.

Reviews:

"In Ian Krouse’s passionately melancholy "Tientos," flamenco music becomes the focal point of an attractive five-part fantasy for string trio and flute.  From its relentless  opening rhythmic ostinatos, to more sustained and contrapuntal sections, through an extended flute cadenza and then a recapitulation of the first part, the 22-minute work explores flamenco riffs and the melismatic improvisations of a flamenco singer.  The score also favors the darker, mystical mood of the folk style.  Krouse, a guitarist as well as composer, carefully blends the tonal Spanish idioms with Stravinskyan dissonances and harmonies.  The neoclassical, quasi minimalist result is pleasantly unpredictable as well as inventive, fresh and tightly organized."

Gregg Wager, LOS ANGELES TIMES, April 17, 1991

"…Tientos explores the same improvisatory paths and energetic moods of the three previous pieces, even though somewhat softened by the mixing of flute and string trio.  All performers show a clear affinity for Krouse’s violent but seductive sound world…"

Luca Sabbatini, CLASSICS TODAY, April, 2000

Program notes and performance history:

Since its premiere in 1991, by California based Pacific Serenades, Tientos has been played numerous times by such groups as the 20th Century Consort of Washington, D.C., Dinosaur Annex of Boston, the USC New Music Ensemble, flutist Stephanie Jutt, and Marisa Canales with the Mexico City Chamber Orchestra.  It is part of a series of works that reflect my continuing preoccupation with the traditional music of Spain.

Although the tiento is one of Spain’s earliest surviving forms, its meaning and social function have changed radically throughout the five hundred years of its existence.  The fifteenth century Spanish vihuelists used the term tento for pieces that, by virtue of their unspecified form and improvisatory nature, were like informal cousins to the more highly involved and more contrapuntally rigorous fantasia.  The form survives today not only as a medium for serious composers – often of works for the guitar – but, perhaps surprisingly, as a flamenco guitar form.  My Tientos reflects all of these influences, and many of the formal dynamics are derived from the inherent tensions resulting from the juxtaposition of such disparate languages.  I chose the unusual plural form of the word precisely for this reason:  my piece is not a tiento so much as it is about the tiento.

In my earlier work Bulerías, a piece for guitar quartet also highly influenced by flamenco music, my principle concern was rhythm.  In Tientos, I chose to focus on the supercharged melismatic style of flamenco singing.  The instrumentation of flute and string trio may seem a far cry from the world of flamenco, but I hope something of the profound intensity of that highly complex vernacular idiom survives here.

Tientos is essentially through-composed but, like many of my works, it contains a ‘found object,’ in this case a haunting 16th century villançico, "Con qué la lavaré."  Although hinted at in the opening measures of the work, it makes a late appearance in a recognizable, if somewhat surrealistic manner, during the wild presto section that culminates the first large group of the work.  In this first incarnation it is troped by the flute with darting melismas over a quiet, propulsive drone in the strings.  Later it appears in fragmentary fashion as the main idea of a brooding adagio section.  Near the end of the flute cadenza it is heard, once again in fragments,  but otherwise fully fleshed out in a 15th century setting by Juan del Encina, with the strings imitating the sound of a consort of viols.  At the very end of the work the song appears in the style of the opening bars of the work.  The text and my translation are as follows:
 

¿Con qué la lavaré          With what shall I wash
la flor de la mi cara?        the flower of my face
¿Con qué la lavaré          With what shall I was
que vivo mal penada?      away my sorrow?

Lavo me yo cuitada         I wash myself to take away
con ansias y dolores.       the anguish and sadness.
¿Con qué la lavaré          With what shall I wash
que vivo mal penada?      away my sorrow?

¿Con qué la lavaré          With what shall I wash
que vivo mal penada?      away my sorrow?
Lavan le las casadas        Married women wash
con agua de limones.       with lemon water.