The Turnip, Clock and the Kid
This work was written for a small ensemble and narrator. As the three stories are read, the music joins the storytelling by giving musical themes to the playful characters and events, or describes scenes to capture the imagination. All the instruments have different qualities, which lend themselves to telling different parts of the story. In this piece, there are wind, string and percussion instruments.
The wind instruments, from high to low, are the oboe, the clarinet, and the bassoon (these are the woodwinds), then the French horn, the trumpet and the trombone (the brass). The string instruments are the violin and the double bass. The percussion instruments (which are played by striking them) are the glockenspiel, temple blocks, snare drum, suspended cymbal and tom-toms.
In "The Turnip" the musical themes of all the characters are introduced from the grandfather (the bassoon) to the dog and cat (the French horn and violin) to the little mouse (the glockenspiel), trying to life the huge unmoveable turnip, which has struck a drone-like theme
In "The Wonderful Counting Clock" we hear how each hour is described and the wonderful mood it creates. The smooth bassoon represents the handsome harlequin, the violin is the foot-tapping fiddler, the elegant oboe portrays the quiet queen, and the jolly jester is the jaunty French horn.
In "Odds 'n' Ends Alvy," Alvy's invention takes him on a thrilling adventure all over town, running into various characters, all during his recess period. How are the instruments used to suggest the recess bell, the beeping car horns, Mr. Stone the principal, the speeding motorcycles and the thundering rain?
Tales Told in the Winds
Tales Told in the Winds recreates folk & fairy tales from around the world in a whimiscal way, painting scenes with a vivid palette of sounds from the different instruments.
"The Lion and the Mouse," Aesop's beloved fable, opens with the snores of the lion, portrayed by the deep-throated contrabassoon. The lion is soon disturbed by a scurrying mouse (the piccolo). Other musical effects portray the sound of hunting horns, the lion's roar, and the mouse's tiny teeth chewing through the net to set the lion free. With danger past, the lion and the mouse harmoniously combine.
In "The Fisherman's Son," a story from the country of Georgia, the oboe takes the part of the boy while the father is heard in the bassoons. The flute becomes the fish, the deer runs on the wind of the clarinet, the oboe reappears circling the air as a crane, and the bassoon returns as the little red fox. Listen carefully as the characters pursue their exciting adventures together.
"The Pancake" is an hilarious tale of speed and wit. Close your eyes and imagine the pancake being chase by a man (bassoons), a hen (the flute), a cock (a clarinet), a duck (the oboe), a goose (the French horn), and a gander (flute and clarinet). The pig (the flute again), fools them all. If you pay close attention, you can hear how it develops.
Finally, in a tale from the Pacific Northwest Native American legends, mischievous "Raven" finds a way to bring light to all people. Shifting musical textures and rhythmic patterns whisk this story towards a happy conclusion.
There are very few works in the classical music repertoire composed especially for young children, and so the Rainier Chamber Winds commissions works for children, in response to the need for new quality musical compositions to engage them. Original music played at the children's concerts is accompanied by narration in the manner of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. Our Tales Told in the Winds CD features two original compositions, "The Turnip, Clock and the Kid" and "Tales Told in the Winds," commissioned by Rainier Chamber Winds and published by MMC Recordings, Ltd. in 1998.
by Roupen Shakarian
by Huntley Beyer
The Composers
Roupen Shakarian is the music director of Philharmonia Northwest and an active composer. He has appeared as guest conductor with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Symphony Chorale, Orchestra Seattle, the Seattle Youth Symphony, the Belle Arte Festival, Oregon's Peter Britt Festival Orchestra, the Northwest Mahler Festival and the California Youth Symphony. Mr. Shakarian and Philharmonia Northwest released their first compact disc recording in October of 1996.
A published composer, his works include Whimsy and Chamber Symphony, both written for Philharmonia Northwest, Five Bagatelles for woodwind quintet, Suite Miscellany for flute and guitar, and choral works. His most recent work, Concertino a Duende, for flute, guitar and orchestra, received its premiere in December, 1997. He has been commissioned to write a work for organ and brass quintet for the American Guild of Organists' Seattle 2000 national convention.
Huntley Beyer received his Doctorate in composition from the University of Washington in 1975, and an MA in Theological Studies from School of Theology at Claremont in 1979. Besides Tales Told in the Winds, Mr. Beyer has written a St. Mark Passion, four symphonies, an Easter cantata, an opera, three flute sonatas, and other chamber works. He has been commissioned and his works have been performed by the Rainier Chamber Winds, Orchestra Seattle, the Seattle Chamber Singers, the Shangrow-Cohen Duo, and the Kronos String Quartet. Mr. Beyer is an oboe player, choir director, and teacher. He currently lives with his wife and three children in Redmond, Washington.
The Stories
All the stories on this CD are in books you may find in your library. Many have marvelous illustrations which add another dimension to the recording. We encourage you to seek them out. Of the stories in The Turnip, Clock and the Kid, two - "The Wonderful Counting Clock" by Cooper Edens and "Odds 'n' Ends Alvy" by John Frank, were published by Simon & Schuster. "The Turnip" is illustrated by Pierr Morgan in a book published by Philomel Books.
Aesop's Fables, the source of "The Lion and the Mouse," can be found in many versions, as can the Native American story "Raven." The text in the recording is by the composer, Huntley Beyer. "The Pancake" is found in One Hundred Folk and Fairy Tales, chosen by Stiff Thompsen, and published by Indiana University Press. "The Fisherman's Son" is in Folk and Fairy Tales of Far-Off Lands, edited by Eric and Nancy Protter, published by Duell, Sloan and Pearce.
Rainier Chamber Winds' children's CD, published by 
MMC Recordings, Ltd. in 1998, includes both Huntley Beyer's "Tales Told in the Winds" and "The Turnip, Clock and the Kid," by Roupen Shakarian. The CD may be ordered directly from Rainier Chamber Winds (see Order Form for details) or through Amazon.com or the publisher, MMC Recordings, Ltd..
Rainier Chamber Winds
PO Box 10009
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110-0009
Phone: (206) 780-1021 or 1-800-956-WIND (Western WA only)
email: rcwinds@aol.com