Daniel Steven Crafts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Daniel Steven Crafts (born September 22, 1949, in Detroit, Michigan) is an American composer.
Contents |
[edit] Composition Style
Crafts has chosen to oppose what he considers unjustifiably dissonant formalism prevalent in late 20th century classical music. Instead, Crafts emphasizes tonality in a dialectic between form and content.
Known for his strong sense of melody, the composer has written a variety of styles including operas, orchestral works, chamber music, concertos, and satirical pieces. Among Crafts' most well-known works is The Song & the Slogan, a collaboration with opera star Jerry Hadley. Written for voice and orchestra, the piece is based on the poetry of Carl Sandburg. The work was made into a TV program for the PBS network and was aired nationally in 2004 with host David Hartman. The Song & the Slogan was awarded an Emmy Award in 2003 for Best Music by the Mid-America Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
[edit] List of Works
[edit] Operas
- La Llorona An opera in three acts, based on the play by Rudolfo Anaya. Libretto by the author.
- The Pig Opera An opera in three acts. Original story and libretto by Lesly Fredman and Rhonda Reno. Black comedy about xenotransplantation of pig organs into humans.
- Bartleby, The Scrivener An opera in two-acts, based on the short story by Herman Melville. Libretto by Erik Bauersfeld. Baritone, tenor, baritone, bass and medium orchestra.
- Diary Of A Madman One-act opera based on the story by Nikolai Gogol. Libretto by Erik Bauersfeld. Tenor, baritone, soprano, bass and medium orchestra.
- Goblin Market One-act opera based on the poem by Christina Rossetti for mixed chorus, soprano, mezzo-soprano, baritone with bassoon and piano. Duration: 45 minutes.
- Under A Halogen Sun An opera in three acts. Original story and libretto by D. S. Black. Soprano, mezzo-soprano, 2 tenors, 2 baritones, 3 basses, chorus (with short solos roles for chorus members), and medium orchestra.
- The Furnished Room An opera in one long act, based on the short story by O. Henry. Libretto by Richard Kuss. Tenor, 2 sopranos, mezzo soprano; 2 contraltos, boy soprano, baritone, bass and medium orchestra. Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes.
- The Pied Piper An opera in one act based on the poem by Robert Browning. Libretto by Adam Cornford. For mixed chorus, soprano, tenor, baritone, piano and flute. Duration: 1 hour.
[edit] Works for Solo Voice
- Six Wordless Arias for voice and piano (written for Deborah Benedict)
- Kubla Khan A setting of the poem by Samuel Coleridge for bass and orchestra.
- The Song and the Slogan A setting of poetry by Carl Sandburg. For orchestra with harmonica, solo cello. Version for flute, oboe, French horn, harmonica, banjo, cello, piano and tenor. Commissioned by Jerry Hadley for performance in 2000. Duration: 35 minutes.
- Illinois Farmer Setting of a poem by Carl Sandburg for voice and piano. Commissioned by Jerry Hadley for performance in 1998. Duration: 4 minutes.
- La belle dame sans merci Setting of a poem by John Keats for tenor and orchestra.
- Music, when soft voices die... Setting of a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley for voice and piano.
- To His Coy Mistress Setting of a poem by Andrew Marvell for tenor and piano.
- Bittersweet Dreams Three poems by Christina Rossetti for soprano and piano. (Written for Deborah Benedict.)
- The Houses of Iszm Setting of a poem by Adam Cornford for tenor and orchestra (or piano). (Written for Jerry Hadley.)
- Ozymandias Setting of a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley for male voice and piano.
- Jabberwocky Setting of a poem by Lewis Carroll for male voice and piano.
- Lines to a Reviewer Setting of a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley for voice and piano.
- Contemporaries for voice Setting of found texts for voice and piano.
- Songs of Innocence & Experience A complete setting of the poem cycles by William Blake for four voices and orchestra.
- The Songs of Innocence-- "training songs" for singers.
- Songs of Experience--excerpt for tenor and orchestra “Little Girl Lost / Little Girl Found / The Tyger”
- Three Blake Songs For soprano and string orchestra. Version for soprano and piano; and for soprano and string quartet (arrangement made for Deborah Benedict).
- Annabel Lee A setting of the poem by Edgar Allen Poe for tenor and piano. (Written for Jerry Hadley.)
- She Walks in Beauty A setting of the poem by Byron for tenor and piano.
- Vocalise No. 3 Virtuoso work for soprano and piano, or mezzo and piano.
- In proud and glorious memory Setting of anti-war poems by Siegfried Sassoon for baritone and string orchestra with snare drum and tympani.
[edit] Choral Works
- There was a naughty boy... Setting of a poem by John Keats for mixed chorus and piano.
- The Jumblies Setting of a poem by Edward Lear for unaccompanied mixed chorus.
- Hyacinth Moon Reflections Setting of 6 poems by Abbot Small, for unaccompanied mixed chorus.
- The Shepherd's Story Christmas work--Setting of a poem by William Morris. (Arrangements for solo singer and piano, and mixed chorus and piano). Duration: 3 minutes
- To a Strange Land for children's chorus, based on poems written by elementary school children under the tutelage of Adam Cornford. Duration: 20 minutes
- Vocalise No. 2 For male chorus. Duration: 8 minutes
[edit] Works For Orchestra
- Symphony No. 6 (four movements). (2,2,3,2,/4,3,3/tym,perc/strings)
- Tale of the Otter an original satire for narrator / comedian and orchestra, written with Adam Cornford (2,2,2,2,/4,3,3,/perc,tym/strings)
- Symphony No. 4 (four movements). (2,2,3,2,/4,3,3/tym, perc,/strings)
- Symphony No. 3 (four movements). (2,2,2,2,/4,3,3/perc,piano/strings)
- Symphony No. 2 (one continuous movement). (2,2,2,2,/4,3,3/perc/strings)
- Symphony No. 1 (four movements). (2,2,2,2,/4,3,3/perc,piano/strings)
- Contemporaries for Orchestra A set of eight relatively short individual works with satirical titles. (3333/4331/3perc,piano,tym/strings)
- Total Duration: 35 minutes
- Sound Bites Ripping Through the Fabric of Time
- The Blue Sky Will Remain Grey Until it is Reinvented
- Opera Without Words‑‑No Singing! Just the Music!
- Traces of Relationship Having Fallen Among Office Machines
- Still Looking for a Way Out of the Nightmare that is the 20th Century (A Re‑Viewing of "The Scream" by Edvard Munch)
- Helpless Amusement at the Recurrence of One's Own Obsessions
- Advertising is the Worst Form of Graffiti
- Fallen Angels Sipping Diet Soda
- Orchestral Suite (2222/423/2 perc,piano,tym/strings) Duration: 25 minutes
- Prelude
- Hip Hop
- Funky Chicken
- Slam Dance
- Truckin
- Too Breezy for Funk
- Finale
- Theater Of Operations (3332/433/3 perc,piano,xyl,tym/strings) Duration: 13 minutes
- The Battle Hymn of Everyday Life
- Isn't this the promised future in which all drudgery would be done by machines leaving leisure time for all?
- Let's play with matches on company time
- Ode To The Furies (3332/433/3 perc,piano,xyl,tym/strings) Duration: 7 minutes
- Alienation A setting of a poem by Adam Cornford for speaker and orchestra. (2322/423/perc,harp/strings) Duration: 15 minutes.
- Songs of Experience Instrumental excerpts from larger vocal work. (2333/4331, perc,tym/strings) Duration: 14 minutes
- Southwest Sinfonia--in four movements (3333/4331/perc,tym/strings) Duration: 30 minutes
- Entrance from the East
- Angel's Landing
- The Narrows
- The Great Arches of Kolob.
- My Mistress Suite--in 4 movements. Based on music of Johannes Ockeghem. Flute, oboe, English horn (or clarinet), two horns, strings. Commissioned by Kent Nagano for the Berkeley Symphony
- The Persistence of Amnesia for big band ensemble. Commissioned by Jaap Derchsen for De Volharding Orchestra of Amsterdam
[edit] Concertos
- Bssoon Concerto in three movements (2,2,2,2/4,2,3/strings)
- Bassoon and Orchestra in three movements (2232/4,2,3/tym,perc/strings)
- Piano Concertino No. 2 in three movements (2,2,2,2/3,1,0/perc,tym/strings) (written for student performer)
- Piano Concertino No. 1 in three movements (2,2,2,2/3,1,0/perc,tym/strings) (written for student performer)
[edit] Solo Piano
- Fantasia in no particular key Duration: 5 minutes.
- Rhapsody on Russian-Jewish Folk-Themes Duration: 10 minutes. Written for Rozalina Gutman.
- Contemporaries for Piano
- Man attempting to work with a computer whose program is faulty.
- Three Tel-Evangelists on wings.
- 'It's fantastic! The entire spinal cord is missing!'
- Child frustrated from watching too much TV.
- Clouds whose shadows form the shapes of inviting erotic objects.
- Woman deciding whether grocery coupons are worth cutting out of the newspaper.
- Waiting in line to correct a mistake that is not your own.
- The horror of shopping malls. Duration: 25 minutes
- Piano Suite Duration: 25 minutes
- Prelude
- Hip Hop
- Funky Chicken
- Slam Dance
- Truckin'
- Too Breezy for Funk
- Finale
[edit] Chamber Music
- Prairie Mother Suite for cello and piano (written for Barbara Hedlund)
- Info Babe Answers the E-Mail
- BSH in her studio late at night with a cup of decidedly NOT decaffeinated coffee
- Super Xerox Woman makes a Midnight Run
- Gig Mama Sets the Schedule Duration: 8 minutes
- In Memoriam for cello quartet or cello ensemble Duration: 6 minutes
- Contemporaries for flute and piano Duration: 25 minutes
- A Meter maid attempts to give a parking ticket to an aggressive alcoholic who has just arrived with three more dimes.
- Studies show people feel happy under blue light.
- On discovering the joys of designer latex.
- A game‑show contestant talks about her deepest desires.
- Overhearing a real estate deal while talking on a cordiess phone.
- Modular living offers something for everyone.
- Tropopause‑that quiet feeling above all turbulence at 35,000 feet.
- On the fast track to a questionable destination.
- Contemporaries for viola and piano
- Dance of the Spin Doctors
- When the teleprompter fails, a newscaster is forced to improvise
- Driving under the influence of a bad-hair day
- A software engineer dreams of floating in a sea of decaffeinated coffee
- After losing the fight to save an ancient tree from the teeth of a new housing development
- Throwing a rock through the “window of opportunity”
- When the “bottom line” hits rock bottom Duration: 20 minutes
- Contemporaries for clarinet and piano (Arrangement of Contemporaries for viola and piano)
- Soap Opera Septet for flute, violin, cello, electric keyboard, bass, percussion and tape recorder. Based on actual TV soap opera broadcasts.
- Vocalise No. 1 for vocal soloist and computer controlled piano
- Fantasia for violin and computer-controlled piano Same work as Vocalise No. 1 rescored for violin instead of vocal soloist
- Ghouls for French horn and Tuba. Arrangement for Cello and Double Bass, or 2 Cellos. Duration: 4 minutes
- Trio for flute, viola, guitar. Arrangement for violin, viola and cello.
- Fanfares for Vernal Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumnal Equinox, Winter Solstice for brass quintet. Duration: 3 minutes each.
- In Memorium--Christopher Cornford for string quartet or string orchestra. Duration: 5 minutes
[edit] Works for Tape Recorder
- Snake Oil Symphony
- Soap Opera Suite
- Tape Composition No. 5 “The Society Of The Spectacle”
- Tape Composition No. 4 “Tortured By Demons”
- Tape Composition No. 3
- Tape Composition No. 2
- Tape Composition No. 1
