Concerto #1 in E minor for Guitar and String Orchestra
The Concerto #1 in E minor consists of four movements: Prelude, which is a spirited Allegro in a style reminiscent of Bach, Intermezzo, a contrastingly introspective mood with a Spanish accent, Mazurka, a Polish dance in menuetto da capo form, and an Italian Tarantella that brings the suite to a lively conclusion. The concerto is an arrangement of the first Suite for Guitar Solo , which , having been composed at age 14 is the earliest of the extant compositions by James Domine. The concerto can be performed either with string orchestra or string quartet, and is effective as an entrée in chamber music programs. This piece has been performed many times featuring the composer himself as guitar soloist.
Concerto #2 in D major for Guitar and Orchestra (Mission Suite)
The Concerto #2 in D major is cast in four contrasting movements. The opening movement, Introduction begins with a ritornello that sets the tone for the piece. This is followed by a stately Renaissance style dance in ¾ time, followed by a restatement of the ritornello, this time leading to an episode that modulates to the relative minor key. This sequence unfolds melodiously through a variety of keys, arriving at a dominant cadence that forms a transition to a passage in the relative minor. This is followed by a kind of cadenza using artificial harmonics. This moment of peaceful tranquility is consummated by a final return of the ritornello, bring the movement to its conclusion.
The second movement entitled Romance is set in the form of a da capo aria. A bipartite introspective opening section frames an arching sentimental theme based on the ritornello of the first movement. The return of the introspective theme rounds out the movement, bringing it to a slightly bittersweet end.
The third movement, Interlude is a calm moment of serene tranquility with shades of solitude. It is followed by the Finale, a rondo which uses a happy, upbeat opening theme to frame a contrastingly slow section, reminiscent is the sentiment of the second movement, and an episode in the relative minor from the first movement the leads back to the final statement of the rondo theme. The piece ends with a joyous dominant-tonic cadence.
The concerto is an arrangement of the Suite #2 for Guitar Solo and in 1985 was the vehicle for a music video entitled Mission Suite, produced for cable television directed by Alan Popkin and choreographed by Melody Stevenson. This video was nominated for ACE and Emmy awards for local origin production. The concerto has been performed by the composer as soloist leading the orchestra, as well as by other guitarists.
Concerto in E major for Flute and Harp and String Orchestra (Four Questions)
The concert suite Four Questions by James Domine is written in the manner of a concerto for Flute and Harp with string orchestra accompaniment. The piece is programmatic in that each of the four contrasting movements is interpretive of a philosophical or rhetorical question. There is no implied or implicit connection to the four questions associated with the Jewish Passover seder, other than simply the numerical sum of the constituent parts.
The first movement is entitled Enigma, and as such denotes an obscure riddle posed in cryptic tones represented by two opposing melodic ideas, one ascending and one descending, neither of which gains precedence over the other. The parallelisms in the harmonic structure suspend any sense of resolution, and the riddle is thus left unsolved.
The second movement, entitled Mystery freely unfolds as a sequence of gradually shifting clouds of harmony that slowly change color while floating above a rhythmic ostinato played in the harp and echoed in the strings. This imaginary procession never quite arrives at any specific destination and seems to ask a musical question: where is all this leading? The answer is, of course, a mystery.
The bold, decisive majesty of the opening section of the third movement is in stark contrast to the preceding movements, and establishes a mood of enthusiastic optimism that is counterpoised by a second theme of a lyrical character. This transitory passage seems to ask, which of these will you choose? The answer, of course, is a Quandary.
The final movement, entitled Religion, juxtaposes the confidence of faith with the uncertainty of death. The eternally mysterious enigmatic quandary of religion is represented by a chorale theme that seems to ask for guidance in the dark night of spiritual turmoil. No response is ever given, just an unresolved subdominant minor 6th chord that wells up from the depths as it fades into oblivion, giving voice to the austere silence that is the answer to prayer.
Concerto in A minor for Viola and String Orchestra (also arr. for guitar solo)
The “Viola Concerto” by James Domine was composed at the request of the late Dr. Maurice Riley of East Michigan State University for performance at the International Viola Congress held at the University of Michigan in 1987. Domine subsequently revised the concerto for Nancy Roth, who gave the first performance of the final version in September of 2000 at a subscription concert of the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra with the composer conducting. The work is cast in the traditional fast-slow-fast three-movement format associated with Baroque concerti, and is scored for viola solo with string orchestra accompaniment. The first movement is based on an Aeolian motive which shifts metrically between 4/4 and ¾ time, and features not one, but two solo cadenzas for the solo viola. The second movement is a graceful Renaissance dance with some rather unusual harmonic variations. The third movement is an expository juxtaposition of two main themes which are intertwined in a dialogue incorporating rhythms more commonly associated with Rock music of the 1960’s. The overall harmonic language has a modal rather than tonal feel and gives the piece a curiously modern sounding character within the context of the antique formal structure.
Concerto in F minor for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra (also arr. for sax & string orch.)
The saxophone has a repertoire unique among the pantheon of musical instruments. From its beginnings in the late 19th century as an auxiliary band and wind ensemble member to its occasional use in orchestral scores providing a rich earthy quality, an instrumental color not provided by the other woodwinds, the saxophone eventually found its home on the American streets of jazz, evolving into the instrument of choice for contemporary popular music. As such, it can span, when it chooses, the distances between stylistic barriers, breaching the firewalls segregating serious composition from its more secular counterparts in the pop music realms. In its inclusiveness, the saxophone challenges the artificial separations composers have traditionally imposed upon the diverse artistic musical elements that are nonetheless unified by the inextricable relationship of popular and classical music. One emerges from the other as apples emerge from trees. In a period when even the most rigid aesthetic and ideological borders are increasingly permeable, maintaining a state of artistic apartheid is a disservice to the explorative possibilities contemporary music can offer. It is in this context that the saxophone, as protagonist, sets out to reveal the affinities and confluences that comprise and inform the nature of its expressive capabilities.
Composed in 2003, the Concerto for Alto Saxophone was written for saxophonist Geoff Nudell who gave its inaugural performance with the San Fernando Valley Symphony with the composer conducting. Originally scored for saxophone solo with strings, the orchestration was expanded the following year to include flute, oboe, 2 clarinets, bassoon, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, and bass trombone, harp and timpani parts. It is this more colorful version that was performed by the same soloist and ensemble in the following year. The concerto embodies elements of contemporary popular music such as jazz and rock, tempered by romantic themes guided by classical formal structure. These opposites of musical style are not exploited for novelty sake, nor juxtaposed for commercial potential, but are cunningly wrought into an integrated whole, using the expressive contrasting powers of the instrument as the main motivation. The overall feeling of the piece is one of mystery and intrigue, involving a wide spectrum of musical expression.
The concerto is cast in the traditional 3-movement format. The first movement, Allegro con brio, is a fully extended sonata form .The exposition begins with an orchestral tutti, introducing the aggressive principal theme, suggestive of an angry blues melody, which is then answered in the tonic key by the saxophone, followed by the subordinate, contrastingly lyrical theme in the relative major key, a gentle discourse reminiscent of a scene on the beach, with umbrella drinks. The development section is a fugue built on the main motive that after an exhaustive sequential tour of contrapuntal harmonic episodes wends its way back to the recapitulation, where the main theme is expanded in an elaboration of new melodic adventures. The movement climaxes with a solo cadenza by the soloist followed by the coda, where a new contrapuntal episode brings the piece to an exciting conclusion.
The second movement, Andante espressivo, is an amalgamation of two romantic ballads entwined in a love story with dark overtones of foreboding. The orchestral introduction is reminiscent of a 1940s movie scene, played in the strings with harp accompaniment, leads directly into the sentimental first theme, a rounded bi-partite song form played by the saxophone solo. After a dark transition that conjures up an image of rainy city streets by night, a romantic ballad in the big band style marked Andante poco appassionato is heard. This haunting melody wends its way through various metamorphoses, eventually returning to a restatement of the main theme. The movement ends enigmatically on a minor seventh chord giving the mysterious and dangerous feeling of cold-war espionage.
The third and final movement, Allegro energico, is an up-beat, almost agitated excursion into the realms of rock-meets-classical music. The principal theme builds out of an extended orchestral ostinato with the saxophone solo floating over the top. The harmonic texture expands to the point where it can seemingly grow no farther, then transitions to the subordinate theme, giving the impression of a motorized blues passage. The codetta concludes the exposition section on the three main chords of the principal theme. These chords form a progression that is subsequently treated in the development section as an harmonic ostinato underpinning a quasi-improvvisando passage in the solo part. As the strings gradually fade away, a transition full of bittersweet melancholy built on a sustained dominant seventh pedal, brings the movement full circle by the restatement of the main theme in the saxophone solo part. An extended coda brings the concerto to its dynamic conclusion.
Concerto in G major for Violin and Orchestra (Grand Solo)
Composed in 1979, the Concerto in G major is cast in one long movement and is written in strict classical style. The piece embodies elements of the composer’s favorite violin concerti, and one may discern reminiscences of the Italian school of playing as exemplified by Viotti, Tartini, and others, but even so it remains a unique setting in the genre. The form is characterized by an opening orchestral passage based on the principal theme, subsequently taken up by the solo violin, leading into a lyrical subordinate theme in the dominant key. The sonata form unfolds in an unhurried sequence representing the best virtuoso style of the 18th century. The climax of the piece is reached in a final orchestral tutti that culminates in not one but two fully extended cadenzas. The piece was given its initial performance in 1993 by violinist Kirstin Fife in concert with the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra, the composer conducting.
Concerto quasi improvvisando for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra (also arr. for concert band)
While the Concerto Quasi Improvvisando embodies the essential elements associated with a concerto in its traditional generic form, it occupies an uneasy space in the repertoire because it is at home in the contemporary styles of rock and jazz music. The saxophone, because of its unique affinity for these popular genres, is the perfect choice as protagonist for the piece. Historically, improvisation had been an important element of musical style in the Baroque and Classical periods, particularly in cadenza passages of concerto movements, but this practice eventually dies out. Later composer, possibly fearing what might become of their work in the hands of others, allowed no such latitude to the performer, preferring to meticulously complete all such solo passages, leaving nothing to chance. This concerto, while it is fully worked out in all its structural parts such as form, orchestration, and harmonic language, leaves ample room for the skilled virtuoso to display his art in passages specially composed for that purpose.
The Concerto Quasi Improvvisando is cast in the traditional three-movement form. The first movement, Allegro assai, is a medium-fast sonata-allegro form in 12/8 time. The principal theme of the exposition is a jazzy melody stated in the solo sax and woodwind parts floating over a 12-bar blues pattern in the strings. This theme is followed by an episode that leads to the subordinate theme, an ensemble section that is reminiscent of a rock band featuring the violins framed by scale passages in the solo part. A codetta ensues, in which the orchestra and solo sax follow each other in alternating dialogue until reaching a cadence in the dominant key. The development is built on an ostinato bass pattern that is used as a point of departure for an extended saxophone solo. This is followed by a transitional harmonic sequence leading back to the main theme via a solo passage in the saxophone. In the recapitulation, the principal and subordinate themes are stated in the orchestra, this time juxtaposed against an improvised sax solo. The coda features two extended cadenzas allowing the soloist to demonstrate his virtuosity and control of the instrument.
The second movement, Andante mesto, is a bittersweet, sometimes melancholy melodic journey through a series of related keys. After an orchestral introduction, the saxophone plays the theme, simply at first, and gradually develops to a climax culminating in an orchestral tutti followed by a cadenza in the saxophone that closes the movement on an introspective note.
The last movement, Allegro vivace, uses thematic material associated with contemporary Hispanic music. The main theme launches into a characteristically rhythmic ritornello bases on parallel minor seventh chords, followed by a lyrical melody stated in the saxophone part. An episode leads to the codetta in the relative major key. The development that follows is an orchestral passage in 5/4 meter, strongly evocative of certain streets in Los Angeles. A transitional episode leads back to the main theme, this time involving extended improvisation in the solo part. The movement climaxes with an unresolved final statement of the ritornello in full orchestral color, bringing the concerto to an exciting finale.
The Concerto Quasi Improvvisando was first performed in concert on Nov.6, 2004 by saxophonist Gary Herbig with the composer conducting the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Herbig has also performed the concerto in an arrangement for concert band with Steve Piazza conducting the Los Angeles Symphonic Winds.
Mr. Herbig has made these comments regarding the piece: “Although I'm a musical prodigy and a professional member of The American Federation of Musicians since I was 14, and have enjoyed a long and if I may say illustrious career in the music business, no one ever wrote a Concerto for me, booked me on a symphony orchestra concert or requested my biography until the composer James Domine came into my life! The Concerto Quasi Improvvisando that Maestro Domine wrote for me is a perfect fit for my style of solo saxophone playing. Since it's premiere I have performed it for enthusiastic audiences of over 50,000 people at Warner Park in Woodland Hills, California, also the California State Music Educators Conference in Fresno, and in my hometown with the Missoula, Montana City Band. It's a wonderful piece of music in three movements, and I feel a great personal connection to the Concerto and Maestro and Composer James Domine.” Gary Herbig has been recognized as BILLBOARD MAGAZINE TOP-TEN JAZZ ARTIST. For more information about Herbig, visit his web site at www.garyherbig.com,
Concerto in C minor for Violin and String Orchestra (Ceremonial Dance)
(Also transcribed for Clarinet)
The Concerto in C minor for Violin and String Orchestra is based on the same Native American ceremonial dance as the first movement of the Symphony in C minor, a larger and more extended work. Originating with the Maidu tribe of Northern California, the Hesi is the principal dance in the Maidu form of the Kuksu religion, and is to be performed in the fall. The Hesi represents the reenactment of a myth, and the dance is said to have continued all night to the ritual drinking of an elixir composed mainly of juices extracted from psychotropic plants.
The Concerto is cast in one movement in which two main songs of the Hesi ritual are used as the principal and subordinate themes in an extended sonata form. In the opening passage, all the harmonic permutations implicit in the principal theme are woven into an almost minimalist texture that operates on three rhythmic levels of relative augmentation and diminution. These rhythmic groups ranging from fast to slow and high to low form a kind of mosaic sequential texture that gradually unfolds, making a transition to the subordinate theme, in which the antiphonal quality of the two singers is maintained as the motive is passed from one instrumental group to another in a responsive dialogue. A tripartite codetta built on elements of both themes concludes the exposition. The development section is a musical sequence of three parts, each following a pattern of musical ideas that lead gradually upward, unfolding like a landscape on a journey over land. The recapitulation is reached with the return of the principal theme, leading directly to the subordinate theme, this time treated contrapuntally as the antiphonal motive is shared by diverse groups of instrumental colors. This passage culminates in a tutti montage of the two Hesi dances followed by the coda, bringing the Concerto to its close.
The concerto was first performed in concert by violinist Nancy Roth with the composer conducting the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra. A transcription of the piece was later performed by clarinetist Steve Piazza with the same ensemble.
Concerto in D minor for Bassoon and String Orchestra
The Bassoon Concerto by James Domine is set in the traditional 3-movement format associated with concerti from earlier style periods. It is scored for bassoon solo with string orchestra accompaniment. Each of the three movements depicts a mood of the protagonist, who is cast as a nefarious character, full of wiles and evil schemes that play out in the course of the music. While the bassoon, because of its penchant for low comedy, reputation as a swindler, sleazy behavior, drunken buffoonery and surly demeanor is considered an ideal instrumental choice for this enterprise, it should be duly noted that the bass clarinet is equally suited in these regards, and for this purpose an alternate transcription of the piece has been made available by the composer.
The first movement is to be thought of as an evening spent in the company of a stalker as he pursues his quarry. A stealthy undulating ostinato in the lower parts represent the inexorable sound of footsteps in a dark alley on a rainy night, with the bassoon following close behind, alternately hiding or chasing as the pace of the movement moseys along through a labyrinth of disturbing sonorities fraught with danger and apprehension.
But even bad guys can get depressed, and the second movement is a melancholy meditation as the protagonist ponders the complexities of the low estate to which he has been brought by “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” The bittersweet sadness of the melodic line belies the rough character of the first movement, and gives the protagonist a sympathetic dimension heretofore unsuspected.
The dichotomy of these extremes is brought together in the Finale, where a transcendent opening theme is balanced by a contrastingly aggressive subordinate theme in 7/8 time, leading to layered strata of energetic rhythms that form the codetta of the exposition. The development section is an harmonic sequence built on a motive derived from the opening theme that is treated in an imitatively contrapuntal style reminiscent of baroque or classical concerti. This passage wends it way through a logical sequence of keys, arriving eventually at the recapitulation. In true sonata form, the principal and subordinate themes are played in their final form, followed by a coda that brings the concerto to a triumphant, if somewhat savage conclusion.
The concerto was first performed in concert by bassoonist Steve Ades with the composer conducting the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra. A transcription of the piece was later performed by bass clarinetist Steve Piazza with the same ensemble.
Concerto for Bass Clarinet (transcription from Bassoon Concerto)
The Bass Clarinet Concerto by James Domine is set in the traditional 3-movement format associated with concerti from earlier style periods. It is scored for Bass Clarinet solo with string orchestra accompaniment. Each of the three movements depicts a mood of the protagonist, who is cast as a nefarious character, full of wiles and evil schemes that play out in the course of the music. While the Bass Clarinet, because of its penchant for low comedy, reputation as a swindler, sleazy behavior, drunken buffoonery and surly demeanor is considered an ideal instrumental choice for this enterprise, it should be duly noted that the bassoon is equally suited in these regards, and for this purpose an alternate transcription of the piece has been made available by the composer.
The first movement is to be thought of as an evening spent in the company of a stalker as he pursues his quarry. A stealthy undulating ostinato in the lower parts represent the inexorable sound of footsteps in a dark alley on a rainy night, with the Bass Clarinet following close behind, alternately hiding or chasing as the pace of the movement moseys along through a labyrinth of disturbing sonorities fraught with danger and apprehension.
But even bad guys can get depressed, and the second movement is a melancholy meditation as the protagonist ponders the complexities of the low estate to which he has been brought by “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” The bittersweet sadness of the melodic line belies the rough character of the first movement, and gives the protagonist a sympathetic dimension heretofore unsuspected.
The dichotomy of these extremes is brought together in the Finale, where a transcendent opening theme is balanced by a contrastingly aggressive subordinate theme in 7/8 time, leading to layered strata of energetic rhythms that form the codetta of the exposition. The development section is an harmonic sequence built on a motive derived from the opening theme that is treated in an imitatively contrapuntal style reminiscent of baroque or classical concerti. This passage wends it way through a logical sequence of keys, arriving eventually at the recapitulation. In true sonata form, the principal and subordinate themes are played in their final tonic forms, followed by a coda that brings the concerto to a triumphant, if somewhat savage conclusion.
Concerto for Violin, Viola and String Orchestra
After having composed the Piano Concerto #2 and Legend for Orchestra, the composer wished to write something more easily assimilated and programmable, not on the gigantic orchestral scale of the major pieces of the preceding period. The Concerto for Violin, Viola and String Orchestra, composed in the Fall of 2007, is conceived in terms of an unassuming practicality, and should be played in a straightforward manner. The concerto is patterned in the traditional fast-slow-fast three-movement form. The opening movement, Allegro assai un poco pesante borrows the theme from Mountaineer in Act I of the opera Luke and Sarah. Following an introductory tutti section, the violin and viola are set in a dialogue that is not in opposition but rather complementary in a unified texture that unfolds through the exposition. A contrastingly lyrical second theme introduced by a sequence of seven tranquil chords in the orchestra is answered by the solo parts and gradually builds up until it cascades over an harmonic arch that returns sequentially to the recapitulation. After a duo-cadenza, the movement concludes with a statement of the main theme that dissipates unresolved into the sub-mediant key. The second movement, Adagio con moto, is a baroque-style interlude in which the duet passages are framed by orchestral ritornelli. A duo-cadenza provides a transition from the second movement to the finale, marked Allegro vivace. This final movement is a sonata-rondo in which the main theme is given different melodic variations and permutations as the sequence develops. The overall character of the movement is one of comparative lightness and delicacy, ending with appropriate simplicity on a dominant-tonic resolution in the higher register.
Concerto #1 in Bb minor for Piano and Orchestra
The Piano Concerto #1 in Bb minor by James Domine is cast in the traditional 3 movement sequence and represents a living struggle between the apparent mystery of life, its obscure meaning and destiny, rife with tragedy and adversity, the subsequent striving for balance and tranquility that arrives finally at a state of comparative balance and purposefulness. These three philosophical modes are represented in the 3 movements, the first being full of dramatic conflict, the second a yearning desire for peaceful resolution, and the third an uneasy truce between the two that objectifies a sense of triumph over despair. Sketches for the piece were begun as early as 1972, and the composer worked on it for a period of study with Roy Harris. Many subsequent revisions were made in the intervening years and it was presented in its final form by pianist Dr. Lorraine Kimball, who was instrumental in making many valuable suggestions regarding the realization of the piano part, at a concert given with the composer conducting in 1986. The concerto is scored for piano solo with standard symphony orchestra accompaniment.
The first movement, Misterioso piu Agitato, begins with a slow introduction that juxtaposes two opposite harmonic realms represented by the interval of a diminished fifth. As the opening sequence drifts aimlessly through a cloud of amorphous sonorities, the principal theme is suddenly and aggressively thrust center stage by an angry orchestral tutti marked Agitato. The piano solo takes up this theme and wends its way to the contrastingly quiet subordinate theme. An episode of melancholic discourse between the piano solo and the various instruments of the orchestra ensues, creating an air of confidential intimacy. The exposition ends with an elided dominant cadence which is left unresolved and that leads directly to the development section. Chord clusters built on hexachords provide the piano accompaniment while a serialized variation on the principal theme weaves through the instrumental texture. This tripartite antiphonal sequence works toward a culmination as the theme is expanded in rhythmic layers, finally reaching a cacophonic explosion. The piano leads a retransition based on the slow introduction to the recapitulation, this time with the piano and orchestra alternating variations on the principal theme. After the lyrical restatement of the subordinate theme, the coda confronts us with a starkly bleak musical atmosphere that concludes with a fiery flourish.
The second movement, entitled Soliloquy begins with a tranquil melody in the flute accompanied by the harp and cello, setting up the romantic principal theme stated by the piano solo. This rhapsodic passage with Spanish overtones leads to a post-impressionist fantasy with a feeling of uncomplicated, childlike simplicity. The dream unfolds, leading us back eventually to a restatement of the main theme, presented in its final form, ending with a calm quietude in direct opposition to the conflicting emotions of the preceding movement.
The Finale attempts to reconcile the strife of the first movement with the serenity of the second by tempering despair with hopefulness. This movement is a cathartic expression of the transcendence of the human spirit over adversity. The exuberant opening theme is introduced in the trombones with a stratospheric obbligato of high strings and winds. An agitated passage in the piano reminiscent of the principal theme of the first movement dissolves into the subordinate theme, an hypnotic meditation with the piano providing a jazz-like accompaniment to a variation played by a solo cello. A scherzando section follows, a kind of satire of the first movement using the bass drum, piccolo and trumpet as comedic characters in an offbeat parody. An harmonic sequence of gently unfolding chords leads gradually upwards, forming a transition back to the main theme. A plaintive restatement of the subordinate theme ensues, and for a moment the piece seems to be losing itself in darkness as it spirals downward into a new dimension of melancholic depression. Just as the piano can seemingly descend no farther, the strings turn a corner and a resurgently aggressive main theme is used as the vehicle for the final ascent. The orchestral and harmonic textures expand as the music moves inexorably upwards, leading to a freshly exuberant coda where the main theme is counterpoised against memories of the first movement, quoted in the piano solo like last vestiges of a cold winter, melting away into the triumphant final statement of the main theme, bringing the concerto to a brilliant conclusion in the key of Bb major.
Concerto #2 in C minor for Piano and Orchestra
After the first rehearsal of James Domine’s Piano Concerto #2 in C minor, one of the musicians in the orchestra was heard to remark that “the concerto sounds like a cross between Tchaikovsky and the Blues Brothers.” This comment is not quite an accurate observation insofar as it is an incomplete assessment of the scope of the piece.
In the post-modern era music remains as a simple expression of the people who created it, in this case, a composer steeped in the European symphonic tradition tempered by all sorts of contemporary influences, as we all are, deluged by a cacophonic confluence of myriad streams of musical style. The various influences contained within the concerto are unimportant in and of themselves but find their true meaning within the context of the piece. The goal is to give expression to a variety of moods in a way that can be best accomplished in the piano concerto form.
The first movement, Allegro maestoso, is set in a traditional sonata form, opening with a dramatic fanfare setting the stage for what feels like a romantic tragedy. This first theme wends its way through a sequence of keys, leading into a bittersweet episode of reflection. This mood is interrupted abruptly by a jagged second theme of a rock music character providing a jarring contrast like the sudden changing of channels in the middle of a program. This section concludes with a statement in the relative major key that seems to signal the momentary triumph of artificial joy over the void of despair. In the development, the conflict between emotions expressed in the piano solo part and the interjections of the orchestra depicts the cacophonic disconnection inherent in the age of electronic media. The piano perseveres like an ancient camel across the vacant desert in a quest for the resolution of unspoken desires. In the recapitulation, the unavoidable consequences of this search are brought to bear.
The second movement, entitled Nocturne, is a melancholic expedition into an almost forgotten memory with overtones of hope as well as resignation and deep regret. It has been described as the feeling one has on a cold winters’ day when the sun almost shines for a brief moment, then is gone forever into the frozen darkness of night, never to return.
The Finale is a bright scherzo set in stark contrast to the second movement in that it is very light and delicate of feeling. The impression it gives is one of a warm day outdoors with gentle breezes playing softly across open fields. The rhythmic energy is at once animated and untamed, giving way finally to unrestrained exuberance, bringing the concerto to a close in a blaze of fiery brilliance.
Fanfare for Orchestra
The Fanfare for Orchestra was composed in 2006 as an all purpose opening number for almost any sort of concert program, and was conceived in response to a critical observation that most of James Domine’s compositions tend to be quite long. The Fanfare is of an endurably and gratefully short duration and is therefore easily programmable. An earlier version of the work for smaller orchestra was used as the overture to a music video with rock band Vanilla Fudge in 2003. The piece was first performed in concert on April 26, 2006 with the composer conducting the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra.
Symphony in D major
Composed in 1978, the Symphony in D major is a reasonable facsimile of a classical period piece written in the style of Haydn. The four movements are the traditional Allegro, Andante, Menuetto and Finale and every attempt has been made to avoid any twentieth century affectations of harmony or instrumentation that might mar the effect of this very straightforward latter-day model of a classical symphony. The piece was performed at a concert given in 1979 at the Bernardi Community Center in Van Nuys with the composer conducting the Van Nuys Civic Orchestra.
Symphony in C minor (Ceremonial Dances)
The Symphony in C minor, subtitled Ceremonial Dances is James Domine’s most extended piece in compositional scale and orchestral resources. Spanning more than one hour in duration, it can be performed in its entirety or in excerpted form as separate movements. The symphony is cast in four movements each representing a specific ceremonial dance from an ancient liturgy of rituals associated with the Kuksu religion of the ancient tribes who lived in what is now California.
Thomas Jefferson once remarked, “A poet is as much a product of environment as an apple or orange.” In this sense, the Symphony in C minor is a product of a uniquely Californian cultural atmosphere, imbued with the geography, climate and early history of the Pacific coast, inland valleys, mountains, deserts and plains. Searching as it does for its sources in the primordial wellspring of an anthropological tradition all but forgotten in the misty veil of time, something remains of the heat of summers past, the haunting winds of autumn, the cold driven snows of winter, and the warm breath of spring that long ago embraced the world with rebirth of new life.
The concept of the work is to depict scenes from the cycle of nature dances in seasonal order as they were performed in prehistory by native tribes as recorded by A.L. Kroeber in his monumental compendium Handbook of the Indians of California. The purpose of these ceremonies is to invoke the spirits of different times of year, led by shaman dancers representing specific supernatural entities. In ancient times the proper execution of these rituals was thought necessary to the well-being of the tribe, bringing assistance with hunting and gathering of food, favorable weather and climatic conditions, general beneficence and palliative intervention. It should be duly noted with caution that any improper action that could be construed as unseemly to the dignity and respect of the spirits in the observance of the ceremony could have dangerous or even disastrous consequences, resulting in earthquakes, fires, storms, famine and pestilence of all kinds. It is therefore essential that every care be taken to preserve the integrity of each performance, making it an acceptable offering to the guardians of the other world, their displeasure to be avoided at all costs.
The Symphony in C minor derives much of its inspiration from the ceremonial dances and music of the Maidu tribe, whose ancestral territory is in the Northern California region near the modern-day college town of Chico. In Kroeber’s book the annual cycle of tribal ceremonial dances is described in elaborate detail. Frances Densmore’s monograph entitled Music of the Maidu Indians provided additional source material and background information for the realization of the piece. Throughout the expanse of the Symphony the integrity of the indigenous thematic material is carefully supported both in terms of rhythm and melodic motives associated with each dance.
The first movement, entitled Hesi, is the principal dance in the Maidu form of the Kuksu religion, and is to be performed in the fall. The Hesi represents the reenactment of a myth, the meaning of which is a mystery known only to those initiated into the Kuksu cult, and shall therefore not be disclosed here. Two men perform the dance, the leader wearing a headdress of yellowhammer feathers and woodchuck fur, while the other wears a wig of tule grass onto which meadowlark feathers are mounted, purposefully obscuring the dancer’s face so that he can not be recognized, yet he can see all that goes on around him, as befits a spirit impersonator. Both dancers wear short skirts of layered grass. Two principal singers provide songs recalling the mythological narrative of the dance accompanied by a whistle made of the leg bone of a swan, and the rhythmic striking of an hollow deer bone against a wooden plank, in an atmosphere of strict seriousness. The Hesi dance is said to have continued all night to the ritual drinking of an elixir composed mainly of juices extracted from jimson weed.
In the first movement of the Symphony, the two main songs of the Hesi are used as the principal and subordinate themes in a hugely extended sonata form. In the opening passage, all the harmonic permutations implicit in the principal theme are exhaustively woven into an almost minimalist texture that operates on three rhythmic levels of relative augmentation and diminution. The fastest moving of these levels is voiced in the highest pitched group of instruments, flutes and oboes alternating with a quartet of solo violins, the middle pace is heard in the clarinets and strings, and the slower moving group consisting of the lowest pitched instruments, trombones, bassoons and horns with contrabass. These rhythmic groups ranging from fast to slow and high to low form a kind of mosaic sequential texture that gradually unfolds, making a transition to the subordinate theme, in which the antiphonal quality of the two singers is maintained as the motive is passed from one instrumental group to another in a responsive dialogue. A tripartite codetta built on elements of both themes concludes the exposition. The development section is a broad expansive musical sequence of three parts, each following a pattern of musical ideas that lead gradually upward, unfolding like a landscape on a journey over land. The recapitulation is reached with the return of the principal theme, this time played by solo woodwind voices shaded gently by the strings. This contrastingly tranquil mood is sustained until the entrance of the brass ensemble provides a final majestic statement of the theme, leading directly to the subordinate theme, this time treated contrapuntally as the antiphonal motive is shared by diverse groups of instrumental colors. This passage culminates in a tutti montage of the two Hesi dances, brought to a cadence by four monumental chords followed by the coda, bringing the movement to its close.
The second movement, dedicated to the Grizzly Bear spirit, called Pano-ng-kasi, is to be performed in the winter. This is a dance of secondary importance in the Kuksu religion because the bear does not himself occupy a place in the pantheon of supernatural beings who inhabit the spirit realms, rather he exists with us in the temporal, but has powers that transcend our own abilities. Some of the old medicine men say that when the weather grows cold and food becomes scarce the bear goes to visit his grandfathers in the world of dreams, and that is why he is never seen during that time. The bear has no natural enemies in the wild, and the proper execution of his songs protects the tribe with his healing medicine, his knowledge of the natural world, hunting prowess, sense of smell and great physical strength. In this ceremony the spirit impersonators imitate the actions as well as the appearance of the animal. Each enactor has as an assistant an initiate who is his student and successor, who pays for the instruction received and the right to ascend to membership in the society. The ritual is performed by a shaman wearing the costume of a bear skin crying wuk-wuk or chu-chu as women wearing fancy headbands and carrying bunches of tule provide the chorus of singers.
The movement opens with the principal theme evoking a blast of cold wind from the depths of the caverns where the bear spirit dwells. Like an act of conjuration, the melody weaves its enchanting spell as the bear, slow to rise from his winter slumbers, begins to stir. The theme grows in strength and power through a series of variations until finally awakened and aroused by the music of voices chanting his sacred song, the spirit of the bear begins his sojourn. The second theme is used as the subject for a number of episodes depicting specific places associated with the bear spirit. There are mountains, valleys, rivers and streams, trees, rock outcroppings such as the Marysville buttes, animal spirits as well as other secret places and things that although they are known to the initiates, for sanctity’s sake must remain for our purposes undisclosed. The exposition concludes with a scene under a waterfall, where a cool pool of fish reflects the sun off its surface in a million rainbow-colored beams of refracted light. The development is a labyrinthine passage of contrapuntal events using the two themes, their inverted and retrograde forms in a tapestry of sound culminating in a triple sequence played by the brass choir that resolves into the recapitulation, where the principal theme returns stratified in stretto. The shaman’s rattle can be heard as the dance proceeds to the lyrical strains of the second theme. A memory of waterfall music brings us to the coda as the bear begins a downhill run over two separate but equally long paths until he arrives at the final statement of the main theme in full orchestral colors. This moment of serene majesty fades away as the bear wanders off on his mysterious journey.
The third movement is the ceremony of the Waima-ng-kasi, or Duck dance. This movement is structured like a scherzo, or minuet and trio in that the order of musical events follows a similar scheme. According to tradition recounted by Kroeber, the Waima is held “about in May,” and occupies the second rank of significance in the ancient religion. The dance can be visited by a variety of spirits, but possesses none peculiar to it. Only men participate in this dance, shouting hat-hat-hat in imitation of ducks. The first strain is an almost comical theme of antiphonal character with a rhythmically bouncy announcement of the motive in a compound meter answered by two interpolated off-beats representing the right and left foot movement of the chorus as it advances forward and recedes back in the course of the dance. The second strain can be described as scherzando, a contrastingly fast tempo passage imbued with a feeling of urgency and haste. This section relaxes into the third strain, a pastoral episode depicting the calmness of floating upon water as the clouds glide effortlessly overhead and the colors of day shift almost imperceptibly toward evening. The first and second strains then return, as a kind of da capo restatement, but in reverse order with the first strain metamorphosing at the end into a broader treatment of the melody, forming a transitional bridge to the concluding movement of the symphony.
The final movement, Aki, last of the great ceremonies, is celebrated in April when the grasses are tall. The ritual observance begins as a kind of trapeze exhibition in which a spirit-intercessor called Lali, fantastically arrayed in feathers and paint, wearing a woodpecker scalp headdress of the Du spirit, climbs a pole and hangs his head downward, swinging by his feet from a roof beam. This performer functions as the pe-i-peh, leading the singing as prompter or repeater while a company of women dances hard underneath. A wooden clacker and bone whistle accompany the singing. This acrobatic dance is considered very dangerous and it is said that the women often cried, fearing some accident. No stated admission fee is charged to observers of this sacred ritual dance, but the audience is expected to give the performers presents, such as shell-money, painted arrows, and ear ornaments.
In the final movement of the symphony, the music to the Aki dance is treated as a theme and variations set. A harmonic cycle of all 12 diatonic keys is traversed, in which the theme undergoes various rhythmic, melodic and instrumental transformations, leading inexorably back to a great fanfare-like concluding passage in the brass and percussion. Quotations from the preceding three movements can be discerned highlighting certain moments in the passage of time reflected in the course of the musical journey. An extended coda builds gradually from a tranquil passage in the solo flute with harp accompaniment to a frenetic climax, bringing the symphony to a mighty conclusion.
The piece is scored for a large orchestra consisting of three flutes with the second doubling on piccolo and the third doubling on alto flute, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets and a bass clarinet, two bassoons and a contrabassoon, three trumpets, four horns, three trombones, a tuba, timpani with extensive percussion battery, harp and strings. The work was composed over a 13-year period, was completed and first performed in 1995 with the composer conducting the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra. The fourth movement was used as the subject for a classical music video produced by Time-Warner, directed by Alan Popkin and choreographed by Melody Stevenson, received several cable television awards.
Legend for Orchestra (Complete Ballet in 12 tableaux)
On an island made of erupting volcanic fire in the middle of a vast, stormy frozen lake in the center of the world there dwelled Grandfather Time, named Chronos, and his ancient wife, Coronis the Crone of Crows, or She-Who-Sees-Where-He-Goes, in the language the sacred hierophantic bards. They have a daughter and a son who are set by their parents to govern the Earth in alternating seasons and between them balance the evil onslaughts of Autumn degeneration, cruel Winter and death with the regeneration of rebirth brought in by Spring and the abundance of harvest in the late Summer.
Their daughter is called Xystalwynde, the White-haired Witch of the Winter Snows, who changes her shape with the waxing and waning of the moon, dwells high up in rocky crags where eagles dare not nest, and who rides on the winged black spectral horse called Night Mare. With her eyes that flash with blue flame and her lips red as rowanberries, she is the most beautiful woman in creation, but the most intemperate and prone to anger and violence, especially when she seeks to wreak vengeance. Some have heard her cries by night on baleful winds, a sound that causes the skin to crawl, the eyes to water, hair to stand on end, sending shivers of fear down the spine, freezing motionless those who witness her presence into a paralysis of fear. The brother of Xystalwynde is the Sun God, who for all his apparent brilliance acts only in darkest mystery. He is master of mystery, wisdom, and is sagacious, deliberate and well-tempered in all things. His true name is not known, he is referred to only in silent, reverent meditation. He appears in the flesh as the ugliest man in existence, bent of frame and form into a shape most unnatural. He rides the chariot of the sun, none can survive the overpoweringly hideous sight of his celestial procession.
The music of the Invocation calls upon these entities to hear the entreaties of the supplicant masses, and to prepare for the reenactment of the myth of the Sun King, whose life and subsequent sacrifice is executed to placate the wrath of the Moon Goddess, and whose blood fertilizes the Earth in the name of the Sun God to bring beneficent providence into the world of mortal men.
High upon a mountain within sight of the Frozen Lake of Fire, above the misty clouds and torrential rains, past where trees or even grasses grow and where only the raging winds of time inhabit deep caverns of ice, there is set the Singing Cauldron of Inspiration, heated by an inextinguishable fire brought from the heart of the Earth. An old witch named Cerridwen with hooked nose, bent back, haggard visage and a scraggly many-colored tangle of live snakes for hair tends this cauldron, which must be kept on the simmer for a seven years and a day, without which all knowledge would vanish from the world. Season by season, certain magical herbs must be gathered and added to the brew in their correctly appointed planetary hours. At the end of seven years, the cauldron begins to sing. It is the song of the old King as his reign draws to its end and the funeral march of his dirge as he is put to death. The child Gwion, chosen as heir apparent, is given the task of stirring the cauldron as it heats to a boil. Towards the end of the cycle, three burning drops fly out of the cauldron and fall on Gwion’s thumb as he stirs the cauldron. He instinctively thrusts his thumb into his mouth to ease the burning pain, and at once understands the nature and meaning of all things, past, present and future. He then also knows that unless he can escape, it will be his destiny to die on the sacrificial pyre as all who have preceded him on the Sun King’s throne.
Gwion fled away, as fast as he could, pursued by the screaming ancient old hag. Through The Chase that ensues, by summoning the powers drawn from the cauldron, he changes himself into a rabbit, upon which she changes herself into a wolf. He plunges into a river and became a trout, but she changes into an otter fast upon his tail. He flew up into the air as a bird, as she changes into a hawk. Finally he changes into a single grain of winnowed wheat on the threshing floor of a barn. Silently he lay, at first undetected, when she transforms herself into a black hen, and scratching the wheat over with her feet, finds him and swallows him at once.
When the witch Cerridwen returned to her own shape, she found herself pregnant of Gwion, and nine months later bore him as a child. Upon The Rebirth of Gwion, Cerridwen could not find it in her heart to kill him, because he was very beautiful, so she laid him high on a cliff at the altar of the Moon Goddess, tied in a leather bag, where the winds of time blew him off into the sea. Gwion remained Adrift At Sea until two days before May Day when carried by dolphins, he came into the weir of Prince Elphin of Aberystwyth. There upon the shore, to the astonishment of the Prince, he recited a secret incantation, conjuring up a magical wind that whispered mysterious rhyme with an invisible voice. Finding him thus possessed of magical powers, Elphin renamed him Taliesin, the title by which he was evermore known.
Hearing of the miraculous magical powers of Taliesin, and recognizing him as the child-heir to the Sun King’s throne and therefore a mortal threat to himself, King Maelgwyn of Gwynedd sent his soldiers to capture Taliesin. This they did to the cadence of the Processional March. They led him off in chains to the dungeon at Dyganwy where along with Prince Elphin he was imprisoned. Knowing that it was prophesized that his reign would end in his own death after a period of seven years, King Maelgwyn determined to offer Taliesin in his stead as a surrogate sacrifice, hoping by this means to placate the Moon Goddess and thereby
cheat death. He caused a great sacrificial funeral pyre to be built, stacked high with wood and stoked by burning embers taken from a fir tree, still smoldering from a Winter’s storm lightning strike. The people of Gwynedd leapt in a furious Sacrificial Fire Dance as Taliesin was brought enmeshed in a wicker cage to the edge of the pyre.
Just as the flames reached their highest intensity, and he was about to be tossed like a piece of kindling on the burning fire and be engulfed by the ferocious heat, Taliesin uttered some magic words, conjuring the Winds of Time. The searing flames were instantly extinguished as the wind blew through the great pyre, and all the people were frozen in place as they stood. The sycophantic bards of the Council of Elders attempted to dispel the enchantment but could only muster meaningless noises.
The High Priest alone was able to move amid the spell that was cast, and knowing what he must do, threw his staff on the ground in front of Taliesin. It thereupon changed into the shape of a great snake, coiling threateningly, and rearing up with a fearful hiss, spoke to Taliesin in words only he could hear, “Can you answer The Riddle of the Oracular Serpent?” As soon as Taliesin answered the correct mysterious formula in secret words only audible to the snake, the flames of the pyre roared back into life, and the serpent disappeared into fire to the sound of drums pounding an inexorable rhythm. King Maelgwyn was seized by his own soldiers and thrown without ceremony on the burning maelstrom, and led by the High Priest and the Council of Elders, Taliesin was proclaimed Sun King, who will reign for a period of seven years. All join in a great Bacchanal in celebration of the preservation of order in the Universe.
The first full-length performance of the Legend was given in Nov. 2007 with the composer conducting the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra.
Technologos: Palindrome for Orchestra
Originally undertaken as a composition assignment at USC while the composer was studying with Dorrance Stalvey, Technologos: Palindrome for Orchestra is a musical synthesis of architectural principles. Based on a twelve-tone row, (as were most party-line academic pursuits of the 1970s and early 80s) the piece gyrates through permutations of the row as it undergoes complex orchestral machinations, growing larger and larger in texture like a great oceanic flowering of toxic algae or the virulent spread of a viral epidemic expanding until it can go no farther, having exhausted both the tonal material and orchestral resources, then begins a gradual process of decomposition as it retreats through the retrograde forms of the row, going backwards until we end where we began. The piece is a structural palindrome, that is, it is the same shape forwards as is it is backwards, and describes a huge semi-circular orchestral arch. The piece was first performed in 1983 with the composer conducting the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra.
Symphonic Dances Suite #1 (Eastern of the Danube)
The symphonic dance suites by James Domine are orchestral arrangements of dance themes that are related by their cultural source of origin. The first of these is the East of the Danube Suite, a collection of folk dances from Russia, Hungary, Romania, and Armenia. The tunes are authentic examples of ethnic music and every effort has been made to preserve the regional character of each selection. The suite opens with a Russian tune entitled Polyanka that begins with a slow introduction in which the strings imitate balalaikas followed by a spirited dance sequence. The second movement is the Zhok, a lively Armenian dance in which the modal colors of the Near East are featured. Next, a slow melancholy Russian dance called Ya Seezhu na Kameny (I am seated upon a stone) provides contrast to the fast tempo of the opening movements. This is followed by a lovely, wistful Moldavian waltz that opens with a traditional flourish in the clarinet that is echoed nowadays in certain Klezmer ensembles. The suite concludes with the familiar Romanian tune, Circiorlia, (the Cuckoo) once a favorite among borscht-belt violinists and made famous as part of Enesco’s Roumanian Rhapsodie.
Symphonic Dances Suite #2 (Serenata de Jalisco)
Mariachi is a type of folk music originating in the Mexican state of Jalisco, the most important center of which is the coastal city of Guadalajara. Most historians agree that mariachi descends from 17th century dance forms called jarabes. Through a process of gradual innovation jarabes were woven into longer compositions called sones. Through the 18th century sones incorporated satirical lyrics most often aimed at the foibles of church and state. Interestingly, lyrics for sones were often controversial in their comparisons of the mating rituals of barnyard animals and rural fauna with the actions of people who attended them or lived in proximity. Mariachi as we hear it today was brought to the American southwest by migrant farm workers and los vaqueros, or ranch hands. This accounts for the general subject matter of the lyrics, or text of the songs, and the guiding attitude and philosophy they express. The large majority of mariachi songs are sung by men who have traveled far from home (El Ausente) and have feelings either of missing their homeland (Guadalajara) or the girl they left behind (La Negra). While there are female members of the contemporary mariachi band, this is a relatively new development since the whole style is originally conceived as a male, even macho enterprise. After all, women didn’t go wandering off far from home looking for work, at least not in the old days. Consisting in its pristine form of a single voice accompanied by a solo guitar, the complete mariachi ensemble will expand to include three or four violins, two trumpets, a guitar and a smaller guitar-like instrument that is strummed like a guitar but is pitched a minor third higher, and the Mexican bass guitar called the chitarrone. This latter instrument may have three of four strings and is plucked either with a plectrum or with the thumb. Any and all of the instrumental performers will sing in the vocal ensemble that has as many as five distinct parts, but is more commonly performed with two or three. The traditional mariachi band will be festively arrayed in toreador-style costumes, each with a broad sombrero. The mode of performance is either to play on a band stand where the audience can gather around, or to stroll from place to place, taking up stationary positions while a song is played. No written music is used during a live performance rather it is all committed to memory. This enables them to move about freely without dragging music stands or other paraphernalia.
In an orchestral context, in order to play mariachi arrangements, the music will need to written out in standard western notation because learning through a rote process of enculturation will be impractical in a symphonic setting. Also the style entails relatively complex layers of harmony in the winds, strings, trumpets and vocal parts that will be difficult to achieve without written arrangements, especially for non-Hispanic musicians not imbued with a cultural awareness of the mariachi sound. In a concert setting, the orchestra may wish to dispense with the costumes associated with mariachi pageantry as this is peripheral to the musical goals and is likely to be impractical as well.
The Serenata de Jalisco orchestral suite consists of six movements, La Negra, El Mariachi, Las Olas, Guadalajara, El Ausente and concluding with El Norteno. The first five of these are exitos autenticos de mariachi selected by the composer for the special formal, harmonic or rhythmic characteristics they display and every attempt has been made to preserve the authentic mariachi sound and to enhance it by means of orchestral coloration. The last movement, El Norteno, is an original composition that also serves as the third movement of the Concerto quasi improvvisando for saxophone and orchestra.
Mariachi is a viable living tradition in Los Angeles and throughout the southwest where practitioners are to be heard in restaurants, bars, public parks, beaches, social events and many other functions. That is why mariachi is a most likely choice for inclusion in the symphonic repertoire.
Symphonic Dances Suite #3 (Tomahawk)
The Symphonic Dances Suite #3 contains orchestral arrangements of rock music from Tomahawk, a musical play by James Domine that mixes elements of tragedy and comedy in a realistic treatment of contemporary life in suburban Los Angeles. The selections in the suite are the Tomahawk Title Theme, I Used You, Come Visit, Curse of a Woman, Sometimes, The Stalker Love Song, Fantasy Woman, Canoga-by-the-Sea and the Ceremony of the Bottle. Each of these numbers is arranged in such a way to allow improvised solos by individual members of the orchestra.
Symphonic Dances Suite #4 (Mountain Scenes)
The fourth Symphonic Dances Suite is composed of selection extracted from the opera Luke and Sarah, specifically the Train Song, Tavern Mens’ Dance, Interlude and Hoedown. The Train Song from Act I takes place in the Tavern where railroad men, loggers, miners and bar girls congregate for the purpose of drinking, dancing and carousing. The revels generally become somewhat unruly and occasionally degenerate into a drunken brawl. We are introduced to the ringleader of the girls, Miss Dixie, who sings a raucous, bawdy tale of how fortune has brought her to this particular tavern. Each verse is answered by a rowdy chorus of men and girls, singing “she’s our darlin’ Dixie, the Belle of the ball!” Soon enough they are carried away by the music and go into a dance. The rough nature of the setting and characters is reflected in both the words and the music, which is based on an authentic old smoky mountains banjo tune. The driving rhythm of the railroad permeates the orchestration, providing a colorful atmosphere for the Tavern scene. The Interlude is a gradual unfolding harmonic sequence that depicts the changing of the seasons. The Tavern Mens’ Dance from Act II focuses on the men who patronize the bar. They are loggers, miners, and railroad men who in the preceding chorus tell us of their labors. Since these types of laborers are historically Irishmen, the music is based entirely on authentic Irish dances arranged and orchestrated in a way that is rhythmically compelling and full of bittersweet memories of the land they left back home. The final dance in the suite is the Hoedown, in which a battle of the bands leads eventually to a drunken brawl.
Three Moments and For Simon Rodia (Soprano and orchestra)
Composed in 1981, these songs are set to texts by Leonard Michael Koff. Three Moments is a triptych of disaffection and loneliness of contemporary society. For Simon Rodia is a tribute and benediction to the builder of the Watts Towers in Los Angeles, California. The songs were performed by soprano Diane Demetras accompanied by pianist Gary Clark in recital at the Arnold Schoenberg Institute on the campus of the University of Southern California in 1982. The songs were later orchestrated and performed by Ms. Demetras with the San Fernando Valley Symphony conducted by the composer. For Simon Rodia was the subject of an award winning music video
produced in 1983 by Time-Warner directed by Alan Popkin with choreography by Melodie Stevenson.
Magnificat
This English language setting of the twelve verses of the canticle of the Virgin Mary uses the traditional Gregorian psalm tune as cantus firmus. The Magnificat is scored for Choir SATB, string orchestra with organ continuo. During the course of the piece vocal soloists are featured and a double antiphonal choir is used in the final Glory to the Father chorus at the climax of the work. The Magnificat was first performed as part of a Christmas concert in 1985 at the Woodland Hills Presbyterian Church where the composer was serving a tour of duty as Choir Director.
Requiem
Composed in 1976, this setting of the Missa da Requiem represents the composer’s first foray into a larger scale form. The five movements in the piece are the Introitus, Kyrie, Sequentia, Benedictus-Agnus Dei and Lux Aeterna. The piece is scored for choir SATB, string orchestra with organ continuo, flute and harp, and was first performed at a UCLA Music Department concert with Roger Wagner conducting the A Capella Choir on May 10, 1977 at Schoenberg Hall on the UCLA campus. The piece was enthusiastically received with a standing ovation. The composer subsequently made revisions to the score and orchestration, and conducted the piece himself in concert with the Pierce College Premiere Chorale and San Fernando Valley Symphony in 1994.
Psalms 6 and 94 for Choir SATB
These Psalm settings are straightforward works in antique style appropriate for liturgical use. They can be sung as choral numbers with organ accompaniment or expanded to include a string ensemble. Composed during the period of 1978-9 when the composer was employed as choir director at the First United Methodist Church of Van Nuys, they reflect the nature of the job and the capabilities of the local choir.
Luke and Sarah: An American Opera in Two Acts
Luke & Sarah is an American opera in two acts composed in 1996. The musical score is strongly imbued with the rich tradition of American folk music. A variety of musical styles are brought into play. Instrumental colors also play an important role in painting a picture of life in the backwoods, using the music of the banjo, fiddle, guitar and mandolin in their characteristic modes. Square dances, country songs, Irish fiddle tunes and dances as well as sacred harp choral music serve as the melodic source material taken from Appalachian and Smoky Mountain regions. Each lends expression to the story’s pioneering spirit.
The original libretto by Dr. James R. Murphy consisted essentially of a frontier version of Romeo and Juliet set against a background of agrarian-industrial conflict between mountain folk and invading railroads. Considering the plot too spare and the parallels between Shakespeare and the opera too obvious, Domine suggested the addition of Miss Dixie to the story, lending the appeal of a bad-girl Carmen-type character to the otherwise pale story. Thus enriched, the story is infinitely more engaging.
Luke and Sarah: SYNOPSIS
It is 1890s America and the railroads are penetrating the heart of the Mountains. The gandy dancers and the accompanying timber men and coal miners are “bringing civilization” to the domain of the mountain people. The province of the mountaineers is not always a tranquil one. The territorial feud between Pa McBeam and Pa McDaniels over the location of a still has been going on for years and recently has been escalating in intensity and violence. The animosity between the families is recognized but not understood by sweet and chaste little Sarah, a beautiful 15-year-old member of the McBeam clan. Sarah loves the world and everything in it, especially her secret beau, Luke, the handsome, young, untainted son of Pa McDaniels. Asa and Ira, Luke’s younger twin brothers encourage each other to be as vile and despicable as possible, especially in their relationship with outsiders. Bent from years of hard labor and poverty, the clan Mothers are the most wise and prudent.
Each time the end of the new railroad is extended a few miles, the Gandy Dancer Tavern moves with it so as to always be near the workers every day at quitting time. Miss Dixie, owner and “operator” has a special yen for youthful, attractive men like Luke but Luke loves only Sarah. All of the hardened tavern patrons attest to Miss Dixie’s expertise which she doesn’t need to teach the twins a lesson on love-making.
Periodic prayer meetings bring salvation to the clans and a pint-or-two to the preacher. Miss Dixie visits and drops a significant contribution in the collection plate. The preacher and the congregation are agog. Miss Dixie is instantly saved from all sins. The preacher is instantly in love. Dixie teases Luke as she leaves the chapel, unwittingly setting up a confrontation with Sarah.
Pa McDaniels steals an outhouse from the railroad. It is the only painted building in the county. Pa says he only borrowed it but Ma and Luke believe he sinned. Pa tells Ma to shut up, pretty up and get ready for the hoe-down. The clans try to out-do each other with their unique skills, abilities and talents. At first, the rivalry is limited to musical instruments, but, as usual, it degenerates into a brawl. A visiting Dixie gets involved in the feud between the clans, Luke and Sarah. Sarah has had enough and goes to see Dixie at the tavern. Dainty little Sarah has become a mountain lioness.
Asa and Ira have set the trap carefully and Sarah gets caught. The twins forcefully have their way. Later, Sarah sobbingly decries her sad situation. “Ah have sinned and there’s no hope for me.” The twins go to the tavern to brag of their conquest and to demand a refund from Dixie. In the ensuing fight with the railroad men, Asa and Ira accidentally and deservedly kill each other. Luke visits Dixie to inquire about his brothers’ deaths. Dixie, still outraged over Sarah’s visit to the tavern tells Luke that Sarah has been made pregnant by the railroad men. A distraught Luke leaves and the preacher arrives. Dixie gets her money back.
Pa McBeam demands to know who made Sarah pregnant but Sarah does not – honestly – know – and therefore can not honestly tell! Pa accuses Luke and goes searching for him. Sarah comes crashing through the woods and flings herself into Luke’s arms. The truth is revealed. Pa aims his rifle at Luke’s chest and pulls back the hammer. Just as Pa pulls the trigger, Sarah quickly leaps in front of Luke and puts her arms around him. Pa shoots Sarah in the back. Luke has his arms around Sarah’s waist. The bullet which has passed cleanly through Sarah pierces Luke’s chest. Luke and Sarah sink to the ground. Pa has killed them both with a single shot.Ma McBeam and Ma McDaniels visit the gravesites. With flowers and a ribbon, they decorate the twin graves. There will never be an ending to their sorrow and pain.
The original libretto for Luke and Sarah is by James R. Murphy, later adapted by James Domine. The full orchestral score, vocal score, choral parts and performance/rehearsal recording available is available. Parts of the opera have been performed in excerpted concert version by the composer conducting the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra.
Tomahawk (Musical Play in 2 acts)
Tomahawk, a musical play by James Domine, mixes elements of tragedy and comedy in a realistic treatment of contemporary life in suburban Los Angeles. Based on the novel The Naked Man, it is written in a pithy vernacular, the characters act out a true-to-life millennial drama that is both philosophical and farcical in equal measure. Episodes of love, war, lust and betrayal are woven into a counterpoint of governmental conspiracy, police brutality, missing beer and drunken buffoonery as the conflicting emotions of youth evolve into the delusional quandary of middle-age. The main theme of Tomahawk is a quest for truth, and what happens as a result of its absence, obscurity and elusiveness. The musical numbers in the play are the Tomahawk Title Theme, Policeman he Your Friend, I Used You, Curse of a Woman, Drunk Ag’in, Fantasy Woman, The Stalker Love Song, Come Visit, Sometimes, Canoga-by-the-Sea and the Ceremony of the Bottle. The play was first produced at the Dow Arena Theater at Pierce College in January 2008, then moved to the Actors’ Forum Theatre in North Hollywood, California in May and June of the same year. Some of the musical numbers in the play are arranged and orchestrated in the Symphonic Dances Suite #3. The original score is for rock band consisting of electric guitar, keyboard, bass and drums. The script, vocal score and instrumental parts are available for rental.
Suite #1 in E minor for guitar solo
The four Guitar Suites by James Domine comprise a kind of musical diary of the composer’s earliest efforts in the compositional arena. All four suites were composed with a three year span beginning in 1968 when the composer was 15 years old and had begun to study classical guitar. They were first performed in recital by the composer himself.
The Suite #1 in E minor consists of four movements: Prelude, which is a spirited Allegro in a style reminiscent of Bach, Intermezzo, a contrastingly introspective mood with a Spanish accent, Mazurka, a Polish dance in menuetto da capo form, and an Italian Tarantella that brings the suite to a lively conclusion. The composer has arranged this suite for guitar solo and string orchestra under the title Concerto in E minor. This version can be performed either with string orchestra or string quartet, and is effective as an entrée in chamber music programs.
Suite #2 in D major for guitar solo
The Suite #2 in D major is cast in four contrasting movements. The opening movement, Introduction begins with a ritornello that sets the tone for the piece. This is followed by a stately Renaissance style dance in ¾ time, followed by a restatement of the ritornello, this time leading to an episode that modulates to the relative minor key. This sequence unfolds melodiously through a variety of keys, arriving at a dominant cadence that forms a transition to a passage in the relative minor. This is followed by a kind of cadenza using artificial harmonics. This moment of peaceful tranquility is consummated by a final return of the ritornello, bring the movement to its conclusion.
The second movement entitled Romance is set in the form of a da capo aria. A bipartite introspective opening section frames an arching sentimental theme based on the ritornello of the first movement. The return of the introspective theme rounds out the movement, bringing it to a slightly bittersweet end.
The third movement, Interlude is a calm moment of serene tranquility with shades of solitude. It is followed by the Finale, a rondo which uses a happy, upbeat opening theme to frame a contrastingly slow section, reminiscent is the sentiment of the second movement, and an episode in the relative minor from the first movent the leads back to the final statement of the rondo theme. The piece ends with a joyous dominant-tonic cadence.
The second suite has been arranged by the composer for guitar and chamber orchestra under the title of Mission Suite, and as such has been performed by the composer as soloist leading the orchestra, as well as by other guitarists. In 1985 this piece was the vehicle for a classical music video produced for cable television directed by Alan Popkin and choreographed by Melody Stevenson. This video, entitled Mission Suite, was nominated for ACE and Emmy awards for local origin production.
Suite #3 in A minor for guitar solo
The Suite in A minor, the third of the cycle, is cast in the traditional fast-slow-fast three movement format associated with Baroque concerti. The first movement, marked with a tempo indication Fast is based on an Aeolian motive which shifts metrically between 4/4 and ¾ time, and features not one, but two solo cadenzas. The second movement, given with the tempo marked Moderately, is a graceful Renaissance dance in ¾ time with some rather unusual harmonic variations. The third movement, marked Moderately fast, is an expository juxtaposition of two main themes which are intertwined in a dialogue incorporating rhythms more commonly associated with Rock music of the 1960’s. The overall harmonic language has a modal rather than tonal feel and gives the piece a curiously modern sounding character within the context of the antique formal structure.
At the request of the late Dr. Maurice Riley of East Michigan State University, this suite was arranged for viola and string orchestra as a concerto for performance at the International Viola Congress held at the University of Michigan in 1987. Domine subsequently revised the Viola Concerto for Nancy Roth, who gave the first performance of the final version in September of 2000 at a subscription concert of the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra with the composer conducting. A transcription of this concerto for guitar and strings has been performed by the composer as soloist leading the orchestra.
Suite #4 in E major for guitar solo
The Suite #4 for Guitar Solo, is not written in a given diatonic key, but ranges through some rather curious harmonic territory, generally centering on a modality surrounding an E minor quasi-Dorian feeling. This gives the piece a darker mood than its companion suites in the cycle, and is programmatic in that each of the four contrasting movements is interpretive of a philosophical or rhetorical question. The first movement is entitled Enigma, and as such denotes an obscure riddle posed in cryptic tones represented by two opposing melodic ideas, one ascending and one descending, neither of which gains precedence over the other. The parallelisms in the harmonic structure suspend any sense of resolution, and the riddle is thus left unsolved. The second movement, entitled Mystery freely unfolds as a sequence of gradually shifting clouds of harmony that slowly change color while floating above a rhythmic ostinato. This imaginary procession never quite arrives at any specific destination and seems to ask a musical question: where is all this leading? The answer is, of course, a mystery. The bold, decisive majesty of the opening section of the third movement is in stark contrast to the preceding movements, and establishes a mood of enthusiastic optimism that is counterpoised by a second theme of a lyrical character. This transitory passage seems to ask, which of these will you choose? The answer, of course, is a Quandary. The final movement, entitled Religion, juxtaposes the confidence of faith with the uncertainty of death. The eternally mysterious enigmatic quandary of religion is represented by a chorale theme that seems to ask for guidance in the dark night of spiritual turmoil. No response is ever given, just an unresolved subdominant minor 6th chord that wells up from the depths as it fades into oblivion, giving voice to the austere silence that is the answer to prayer. This suite has been arranged by the composer under the title of Four Questions for Flute and Harp with String Orchestra.
Suite for Violin and Guitar (Eastern European Dances) (also arr. for violin and piano)
The Eastern European Dances Suite by James Domine is a collection of folk dances from Russia, Hungary, Romania, Poland and Armenia. The tunes are authentic examples of ethnic music and every effort has been made to preserve the regional character of each selection. The suite opens with a Russian tune entitled Polyanka that begins with a slow introduction in which the strings imitate balalaikas followed by a spirited dance sequence. The second movement is the Zhok, a lively Armenian dance in which the modal colors of the Near East are featured. Next, a slow melancholy Russian dance called Ya Seezhu na Kameny (I am seated upon a stone) provides contrast to the fast tempo of the opening movements. This is followed by a Russian waltz that opens with a traditional flourish echoed nowadays in certain Klezmer ensembles. This is followed by a Polish mazurka in menuetto da capo form. The suite concludes with the familiar Romanian tune, Circiorlia, (the Cuckoo) once a favorite among borscht-belt violinists and made famous as part of Enesco’s Roumanian Rhapsodie. While originally written for violin and guitar, the suite has also been arranged for violin and piano.
Sonata for Violoncello and Piano
The Sonata for Violoncello and Piano was composed during the Fall of 1983. The sonata is cast in one movement, beginning with a slow introduction followed by an aggressive theme, later balanced by a contrastingly lyrical second theme. The entire piece is based (as most pieces were in those days) on a single tone row which serves as the harmonic and melodic motivation for the compositional aspects of the music. It is however not an atonal piece, drawing from the various modal implications contained within the row as it unfolds, and which is never treated as a theme itself. The sonata was first performed by ‘cellist Karen Patch and pianist Gary Clark in recital at the Arnold Schoenberg Institute at the University of Southern California on April 5, 1984.
Trio for Violin, Violoncello and Piano
The Trio for Violin, Violoncello and Piano was composed during the winter months of 1981-2. The trio is cast in three movements, and the entire piece is based on a single twelve-tone row which serves as the basis for the harmonic and melodic structure of the music. The first movement is entitled Agitato, alternates between a nervously expanding wedge theme and a cantando passage that provides momentary episodic relief before returning to another outburst of the agitato mood. The Interlude is a comparatively tranquil scene of relaxation in which the theme is allowed to quietly expand through various permutations. The movement is shaped like a da capo aria. The final movement is a Rondo marked Animato, and is a series of playful variations on the theme in triple meter. Having gone as far as it can go, the piece seemingly unravels in the coda, and concludes with a powerful final statement of the theme. The Trio was first performed by violinist Darius Campo, ‘cellist Karen Patch and pianist Gary Clark in recital at the Arnold Schoenberg Institute at the University of Southern California in May of 1982.
String Quartet (Thesis)
The String Quartet was composed during the summer months of 1982, underwent considerable revisions in the fall and winter of that year under the supervision of a faculty committee chaired by Ellis Kohs and was first performed at the recital in partial fulfillment for the Masters Degree at the Arnold Schoenberg Institute at the University of Southern California in May of 1983. The Quartet is cast in one extended movement, and the entire piece is based on a single twelve-tone row which serves as the basis for the harmonic and melodic structure of the music. The piece constitutes James Domine’s thesis for the masters degree.
Serenata de Jalisco: 12 Mariachi arrangements for string quartet or string orchestra
On an excursion to Mexico in 1988, after an infusion of sufficient quantities of cerveza and other libations, the composer became enamored of the music performed by the street mariachis as they wandered from place to place. He jotted down a number of the tunes he heard on several napkins procured in a cantina, and upon returning home went to work on this suite.
The Serenata de Jalisco as it exists in these arrangements is less of a suite than a collection, and consists of twelve movements, El Norteno, La Negra, Guadalajara, El Tren, Las Olas, El Mariachi, Las Copetonas, La Madgrugada, Camino Real de Colima, El Carretero, Pajarerito, concluding with the lively and spirited El Ausente. The style of string writing is meant to be pure, straightforward and uncomplicated like a Mozart divertimento. As presented here, the suite constitutes a more complete version of the more expanded arrangements in the orchestral suite of the same name.
The various movements can be played together as a group or extracted for single performance. These exitos autenticos de mariachi were selected by the composer for the special formal, harmonic or rhythmic characteristics they display and every attempt has been made to preserve the authentic mariachi sound as it is heard in Los Angeles and throughout the southwest where practitioners are to be heard in restaurants, bars, public parks, beaches, social events and many other functions.
Woodwind Serenade (Amsuite)
This suite for woodwind ensemble is a collection of nine American folk dances from the Appalachian mountain region selected for their unique peculiarities with regard to melodic line, harmonic language, formal structure, and/or metrical construction. The movements are: Prelude, Processional, March, Variation, Dance, Reel, Interlude, Bridal March, and River Music (theme and variations). The instrumentation includes flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons and horns in pairs with cello and contrabass. Composed in 1985, the piece received its inaugural performance at a concert given by the San Fernando Valley Woodwind Ensemble at the Bernardi Community Center in Van Nuys in April, 1986. The suite won the American Heritage Award presented by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1989.
Woodwind Quintet
The Woodwind Quintet was composed during the spring of 1982 while the composer was studying with Ellis Kohs at USC. The Quintet is cast in three movements, and the entire piece is based on a single twelve-tone row which is not treated atonally and serves as the basis for the harmonic and melodic structure of the music. The first movement is entitled Animato, and is a version of the sonata form. The Second Movement is a comparatively tranquil scene of contemplation in which the theme is allowed to quietly expand through various permutations. In the center of the movement is an eight-bar arioso framed by chord structures that are horizontal forms of the intervals contained within the row. The final movement is a Rondo marked Fast, and is a series of gradually accelerating variations on the theme in shifting meters. The piece concludes with a powerful final statement of the theme. The Quintet was first performed in recital at the Arnold Schoenberg Institute at the University of Southern California in May of 1983.
Three Moments and For Simon Rodia (Soprano and Piano) (also orchestration)
Composed in 1981, these songs are set to texts by Leonard Michael Koff. Three Moments is a triptych of disaffection and loneliness of contemporary society. For Simon Rodia is a tribute and benediction to the builder of the Watts Towers in Los Angeles, California. The songs were performed by soprano Diane Demetras accompanied by pianist Gary Clark in recital at the Arnold Schoenberg Institute on the campus of the University of Southern California in 1982. The songs were later orchestrated and performed by Ms. Demetras with the San Fernando Valley Symphony conducted by the composer. For Simon Rodia was the subject of an award winning music video
produced in 1983 by Time-Warner directed by Alan Popkin with choreography by Melodie Stevenson.
Cosmologica (Soprano and Piano)
Cosmologica is a song cycle set to astrological texts by Leonard Michael Koff an amateur ‘cellist and acquaintance of the composer. Each of the twelve houses of the sun is treated in poetic and musical colors. Due to the ferociously difficult vocal part, the songs were essentially abandoned after an initial performance by soprano Diane Demetras and pianist Gary Clark at the Arnold Schoenberg Institute on the campus of the University of Southern California in 1984.
Ceremonial Dance for Two Percussionists
The Ceremonial Dance for Two Percussionists is a version of the Aki dance, last of the great ceremonies in the annual cycle of dances in the Kuksu religion of the Maidu tribe if northern California, and is celebrated in April when the grasses are tall. The ritual observance of the Aki begins as a kind of trapeze exhibition in which a spirit-intercessor called Lali, fantastically arrayed in feathers and paint, wearing a woodpecker scalp headdress of the Du spirit, climbs a pole and hangs his head downward, swinging by his feet from a roof beam. This performer functions as the pe-i-peh, leading the singing as prompter or repeater while a company of women dances hard underneath. A wooden clacker and bone whistle accompany the singing. This acrobatic dance is considered very dangerous and it is said that the women often cried, fearing some accident. No stated admission fee is charged to observers of this sacred ritual dance, but the audience is expected to give the performers presents, such as shell-money, painted arrows, and ear ornaments. The Aki dance is said to have continued all night to the ritual drinking of an elixir composed mainly of juices extracted from jimson weed.
In this version, two drummers are outfitted each with seven drums of different pitches ranging from high to low, representing the seven levels of the spirit world. These spirits are invoked as the music proceeds as an act of supernatural conjuration. If performed properly, the dance will be deemed an acceptable offering of gratitude and propitiation, and will result in the beneficent intercession of nature spirits in the world.
The Ceremonial Dance for Two Percussionists was first performed in recital by Teresa Rogers and Marie Matson at the Bernardi Community Center in Van Nuys, California in 1986.
Piano Sonata #1 in C major
The piano sonatas by James Domine are cast in one movement and follow the traditional sonata-allegro form. The first of these, marked with the tempo indication of Animato, is a light, entertaining piece with a lively opening theme in C major sweetened by the interpolation of a recurring f#, followed by a contrastingly sentimental cantabile theme that has something of a jazz-ballad flavor in the dominant key.. These two themes are cunningly entwined through the development in an harmonic sequence that emerges into the playful recapitulation. The piece ends with an open-spaced quartal figuration that implies the tonic key of C major but without implicitly spelling it out in its common triadic form. This sonata, although begun at an earlier date, was completed in 2005 at the request of Joanna Ezrin, pianist and pedagogue as vehicles for her students.
Piano Sonata #2 in Db major
The Piano Sonata #2 in Db major by James Domine was written in emulation of the keyboard sonatas of Scarlatti, and is intended to embody something of the lightness of touch, quickness of harmonic progress, wittiness of melodic character and bipartite formal structure associated with that great master of the harpsichord repertoire. The sonata is cast in one movement and follows the traditional sonata-allegro form, with repeats. The opening theme is a spirited Allegro energico that keeps the listener off-balance by shifting the meter from triple to duple almost by a sleight-of-hand. This melody is matched by a Spanish-sounding theme reminiscent of the chromatic colors of the Baroque period. These two themes are engagingly deployed through the development sequence, evolving seamlessly into the recapitulation. The piece culminates with an almost Haydnesque coda that delicately dissolves into the final resolution. This sonata, transposed up a semitone to D major, served as the foundation for the finale of the Concerto for Violin and Viola.
Piano Sonata #3 in A minor
The Piano Sonata #3 in A minor was written as an expansion of a rock song entitled Wind of Time, composed in 1973 when the composer was the lead guitarist with the Molay Band, a group that regaled the bars and frat parties of Westwood during those tumultuous years. Recorded by the same group in 1993, the composer returned to the song in order to develop the harmonic peculiarities and improvisational qualities the Wind of Time theme offers. The tempo of the sonata is Allegro maestoso ben marcato, and is cast in one movement following the traditional sonata-allegro form. The opening theme is characterized by a sustained rhythmic ostinato that is elaborated with unresolved suspended 2nd and 4th harmonies. This is followed by a contrastingly lyrical passage that unfolds through a series of sequential gyrations. The development is a fantasia that employs improvisational techniques associated with rock music, and lends the piece a sense of freshness and spontaneity. The sonata returns in the recapitulation to the athleticism of the principal theme, concluding in a powerful unresolved suspension that seems to ask an unanswered question, the answer to which may someday be found in blowing on the Wind of Time. This sonata was first performed by fifteen-year old pianist Sarah Knauer in a contemporary music competition sponsored by the Music Teachers’ Association of California West San Fernando Valley Branch, in which she took first place. Ms. Knauer subsequently performed the piece in recital at Pierce College on April 13, 2008.
Piano Sonata #4 in B minor
Composed in 2008, the Piano Sonata #4 in B minor is a lengthier and more extended work than its predecessors in the genre. The principal theme is a march-like pesante with an upward motion that reaches its zenith in a chromatic passage that swells up from the depths, subsiding into the flowing tranquillo of the transitional episode. The gentle warmth of the subordinate theme grows into a romantic rhapsody that fades away like a dream. The first section of the development is a sequence built upon the pesante theme that erupts into an arpeggiated fantasia using the tranquillo episodic motive. The recapitulation is reached after a frenzied cadenza, and the sonata concludes in a dramatic if tragic mode.
Twenty-four Contrapunctae
The Twenty-four Contrapunctae is a collection of four-part preludes and fugues in all diatonic major and minor keys for piano solo alternately arranged for string quartet or string orchestra performance. Patterned after the great Well-Tempered Klavier of Bach, these pieces are intended for use in recital and as teaching vehicles.
Nocturne for piano solo
The Nocturne is a melancholic expedition into an almost forgotten memory with overtones of hope as well as resignation and deep regret. It has been described as the feeling one has on a cold winters’ day when the sun almost shines for a brief moment, then is gone forever into the frozen darkness of night, never to return. Originally written with orchestral accompaniment as the second movement of the Piano Concerto #2 in C minor, this arrangement for solo piano was made at the request of Joanna Ezrin, pianist and pedagogue, and has been recognized at the MTAC annual convention in 2007.
Soliloquy for piano solo
The Soliloquy begins with a tranquil melody in the flute accompanied by the harp and cello, setting up the romantic principal theme stated by the piano solo. This rhapsodic passage with Spanish overtones leads to a post-impressionist fantasy with a feeling of uncomplicated, childlike simplicity. The dream unfolds, leading us back eventually to a restatement of the main theme, presented in its final form, ending with a calm quietude. Originally written with orchestral accompaniment as the second movement of the Piano Concerto #1 in Bb minor, this arrangement for solo piano was made at the request of Joanna Ezrin, pianist and pedagogue, and has been recognized at the MTAC annual convention.
Ancient Scenes: Concert Suite for Piano Solo
Based on the myth of Taliesin, the Ancient Scenes concert suite is made up of five piano solo arrangements extracted from the Legend complete ballet. These are the Invocation, Procession, Fire Dance, Snake Dance and Bacchanal. The music of the Invocation prepares for the reenactment of the myth of the Sun King, whose life and subsequent sacrifice is executed to placate the wrath of the Moon Goddess. King Maelgwyn determined to offer Taliesin in as the sacrificial victim, and led him off in chains to the cadence of the Processional March to the dungeon at Dyganwy where along with Prince Elphin he was imprisoned. The King caused a great sacrificial funeral pyre to be built, stacked high with wood and stoked by burning embers taken from a fir tree, still smoldering from a Winter’s storm lightning strike. The people of Gwynedd leapt in a furious Sacrificial Fire Dance as Taliesin was brought enmeshed in a wicker cage to the edge of the pyre. A great snake appeared before the fire, coiling threateningly, and rearing up with a fearful hiss, spoke to Taliesin as the Snake Dance unfolds: “Can you answer the riddle of the oracular serpent?” As soon as Taliesin answered the correct mysterious formula in secret words only audible to the snake, the flames of the pyre roared back into life, and the serpent disappeared into fire to the sound of drums pounding an inexorable rhythm. King Maelgwyn was seized by his own soldiers and thrown without ceremony on the burning maelstrom, and led by the High Priest and the Council of Elders, Taliesin was proclaimed Sun King, who will reign for a period of seven years. All join in a great Bacchanal in celebration of the preservation of order in the Universe.
Piano Book (Short easy pieces for piano solo)
This collection of short easy pieces for piano solo was originally composed in 1998 as a Christmas present for the composer’s son James, then ten years of age and taking piano lessons, albeit somewhat unwillingly. The pieces are entitled: A French Noel, the Music Box, Little Pamplemousse, the Kitty Cat Goes Meow, Mommy’s Polka, Prelude, Irish Jig, Train Song, Hiking Tune, Chorale, Russian Song, March and Sonatina. It should be duly noted that young James having no special desire to play piano, and finding the violin equally unsuited to his taste, eventually became quite an accomplished guitarist. Some of these pieces have been used effectively for teaching purposes.
Literary Works
The Naked Man (novel)
The Naked Man, the first novel by author James Domine, mixes elements of tragedy and comedy in a realistic treatment of contemporary life in suburban Los Angeles. Written in a pithy vernacular, the characters act out a true-to-life millennial drama that is both philosophical and farcical in equal measure. Episodes of love, war, lust and betrayal are woven into a counterpoint of governmental conspiracy, police brutality, missing beer and drunken buffoonery as the conflicting emotions of youth evolve into the delusional quandary of middle-age. The main theme of the Naked Man is a quest for truth, and what happens as a result of its absence, obscurity and elusiveness, questions asked but not answered.
The Shadow Game (Cycle of Poetry)
The Shadow Game, first in a series of long poems written between 1971 and 1976, is a dark metaphor for contemporary society viewed through a chronological kaleidoscope of technological and mythological imagery. It is composed of five parts each exploring different aspects of the main theme. The technique of cascading groups of lines is employed to give a visual sense of flow, an aid to rhythmic accent and emphasis of key words.
The Preamble sets the stage for what is to come by confronting us with the main concern of the poem; establishment of social order in a savage world of violence and degradation symbolized as city streets by night. The Revelation exposes forces of vice and decadence as purveyed by media legions in an orchestrated technological manipulation aimed at social control and maintenance of order by exploitation of basic needs. Pseudo-religious language is used to depict the nefarious nature of this conspiracy. The Pantheon is a mosaic of mythological images that form a sub-stratum of historical antecedents which are the underpinnings of the Shadow Game. Immortality, worship, ritual, and their contemporary forms are juxtaposed. The Coven extrapolates a derivative message by comparing and contrasting terminology of mystical significance through a morass of conceptually obscure dogma, the meaning of which is willfully concealed from all except the initiated.
The poem ends with a Benediction the purpose of which is to exorcise the forces of evil seeking to possess and control the minds of humanity. It admonishes the individual person to remember the reality of their own uniqueness, and be aware of the value and worthiness of life itself as distinguished from the illusory deceptions played out in the Shadow Game.
Song of Summer (Cycle of Poetry)
The Song of Summer deals with the imbalance of natural forces and urban decay, human society and its conflict with nature. The narrative is entwined with a love story which is not explicitly told, but is implied in the discourse. Structural concerns are rhyme and rhythmic balance, the use of musical devices such as repetition schemes, variation forms and modal coloration. The poem is cast in four movements, consisting of a Prelude and three canti of differing subject matter and texture. The Prelude begins with a scene of suburban doldrums in the summer heat, a middle-class equilibrium characterized by boredom and inertia. A contrasting nightmarish vision is introduced in Canto I, a conjuration of apocalyptic images of destruction which haunt the remainder of the poem with a feeling of impending disaster. We are removed in Canto II to the foothills and oak savannahs which comprise what is left of the natural environment on the outskirts of the city. The brush-fire symbolizes the inherent contradiction of nature and humanity, and continues to burn unabated, even now. The final part, Canto III, depicts the end of summer and the rise of darkness, a feeling of foreboding and impending doom. Nonetheless, the tone of this hymn-like section is invested with a lightness and airy delicacy, with a touch of melancholy but without remorse which brings the Song of Summer to its conclusion.
Nova Caligula (Cycle of Poetry)
Nova Caligula is an apolitical diatribe comprising a collection of reactions and responses to events associated with the Vietnam War and Watergate era controversies. Its strophic construction lends a stream-of-consciousness quality to the line which is integral to the style and tone of the narrative. Nova Caligula provides a dimension of politically charged overtones to the socio-technical themes sounded in the preceding poems, Shadow Game, and Song of Summer. It also heightens the concept of religion as a bait-and-switch metaphor for governmental control over peoples’ lives. Elements of the Vietnam war era zeitgeist such as paranoia, fear and trepidation have left an indelible charge in the atmosphere surrounding Nova Caligula. The sentiments expressed in this poem take new meaning and renewed validity in light of events surrounding the Iraqi War and the Patriot Act.
Abelard and Heloise (A Medieval Romance)
If the proper subject of poetry is love, as Ovid states, then Abelard & Heloise is the most poetic of all the poems by James Domine. The cycle is divided into four sections each depicting a scene using a style of dramatic narrative reminiscent of Browning. The voices of three personae; a Poet, an Old Priest and Abelard as he writes to his beloved, explore regions of love revealed to each in his own way by the Sacred Muse, the Goddess of Love. The body of the narrative employs the tragic love story as a gothic setting and is principally concerned with the pursuit of artistic vision couched in antique terms. While this poem exploits some interesting affectations of language that are calculated to yield a picturesque effect, it also embodies some very beautiful moments which are best left in their pristine context, undisturbed in situ. Originally intended as a libretto for operatic treatment, several parts of this poem have been adapted in musical form and can be heard on the CD recording Through Your Window. This poem is markedly different in content, style and structure from other works by the same author. By evocation of antique devices, it seeks to create a haunting atmosphere of mystery and enchantment as well as a hollow feeling of melancholy sorrow for time that has not been.
A Western Dream (Cycle of Poetry)
The cycle of poems entitled A Western Dream, composed between 1975 and 1976, comprise an epic saga dealing with the meaning of life in an age of technological intrusion. The poem’s imagery and symbolic content echo contemporary interpretation of ancient mythology, with a recurring preoccupation with Love as the Goddess of Desire. A Western Dream is a swiftly moving montage of colliding imagery which brings its many central themes into contrapuntal focus. It is at once playful and severe, free and disciplined, expressing a spectrum of moods ranging from tenderness to violence. Unlike it’d predecessors, the Shadow Game and Song of Summer, A Western Dream is not divided into sectional movements, but rather unfolds in a continuous sequence like waves breaking on the beach. Technical concerns are strophic construction based on internal linear rhythm, interaction and balance between contrasting themes. Its structural integrity makes it all-the-more fluid in its elasticity. The poem ends with a gentle vision of truth transcending the turmoil of mankind.
Default Mode (Cycle of Poetry)
Default Mode is a collection of thoughts on the themes of alienation, solitude, reflection and regret as well as resignation to the seemingly random consequences of inexorable fate. It is noteworthy that the author was moved to create this cycle after not having written any poetry at all for an interval of more than twenty years. “I was occupied with other things, besides I didn’t have any ideas suited to poetic genres until certain events that transpired in April 1999 made me think.” Default Mode is related in some respects to the novel entitled The Naked Man, also conceived at this time.