Satsang
Solo Double Bass
William Coble
Centennial Commission
About
A “satsang” is a spiritual gathering, promoting experiential depth: There’s Sanskrit chant, scripture, a talk, meditation, and typically a sitar raga.
While the contrabass is not attempting to overtly imitate the sitar, I was drawn to the fire and drama of the sitar, the spirit and power of the raga – always seeking ways for the bass to enter this world to convey the intensity of the raga, the energy of the satsang.
The 2-movements, similarly titled Recitative I and Recitative II, reference ‘Sliding Doors,’ a movie in 2-parts. Each half starts identically until both diverge to their contrasting destinies.
Performance
William Coble |
Satsang I. Recitative I II. Recitative II |
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Duration
08:30 |
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Commissioning Year
2024 |
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Premiere
January 31, 2025 Symphony Hall, Boston, MA |
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Recording
November 1, 2023 Symphony Hall, Boston, MA |
Artists
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William Coble Composition
William Coble’s premieres include the Richmond Symphony, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Syracuse Symphony, Moravian Philharmonic, Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra, Composers Conference Chamber Orchestra, Contempo Chamber Orchestra, eighth blackbird, New York New Music Ensemble, Alea III, and the Pacifica String Quartet. He has been performed by Matt Albert, David Tanenbaum, Scott St. John, Steve Harlos, Charles Mokotoff, Daphne Gerling, Susan Synnestvedt, William Hite, Jay Morrissey, Walter Huff, Elizabeth McNutt, Sharon Garvey-Cohen, Chuong Vu, Janelle Ott, Lisa Kaplan, Judy Pannill, and Heran Yang. Conductors performing his music include Mark R. Smith, Kazuyoshi Akiyama, JoAnn Falletta, Louis Biava, Randall Fleischer, Christopher Dean, and Theodore Antoniou.
Coble’s commissions include musicians from all of the top 6 orchestras in the country. His works have been heard at such venues as Merkin Hall, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, CAMI Hall, Harvard Group for New Music, the Chicago Symphony’s Chamber Music Series, Northwestern University’s Music Marathon, Syracuse Society for New Music, Cincinnati’s Music ‘04 Festival, Spectrum Series, Tanglewood, Florida State University Festival, MGMC-Conferences, Brandeis BEAMS, and more.
Coble’s honors include the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Columbia’s Bearns Prize (orchestra), Rockefeller Foundation, Davenport Prize (‘90, ‘02), BMI, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Illinois Arts Council, MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, Kennedy Center Friedheim (orchestra, top-10), and 1st Prize in SCI-ASCAP’s 2012 contest (V) for his Awakening Captive (chamber orchestra with computer). He is published by G. Schirmer/associated and recorded by PARMA. His studies were at Boston University, Curtis Institute of Music, University of Chicago, Roosevelt University, and Harvard University. Principal teachers include Ned Rorem, Marta Ptaszynska, David Del Tredici, Mario Davidovsky, Gunther Schuller, Steve Albert, Robert Sirota, Bill Karlins, John Eaton, Howard Sandroff, and Kotoka Suzuki.
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Todd Seeber Double Bass
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