Instrumentation: Flute and Piano
Duration: 9:00
Commission: Julia Bogorad and the Upper Midwest Flute Association
Premiere: 4/1/90
Flutist Julia Bogorad and Pianist Robert Shannon
The Ordway, St. Paul, MN
Program Note:
Gabriel’s Wing was inspired by the Biblical Gabriel, one of the Archangels, a messenger of God. The music features resonant harmonic series that are associated with the music of the spheres as well as soaring melodic lines that embody images of flight. The flute represents Gabriel, the piano the medium through which the angel moves and speaks. This one-movement, nine-minute work won the National Flute Association’s Newly Published Music competition and was presented at the Washington D.C. convention in 1992. It was recorded by Patricia Spencer on the Neuma label, on a CD titled Narcissus and Kairos, featuring music by Thea Musgrave and Judith Shatin. –JS
Press Quotes:
“Gabriel’s Wing (1989)… is an intense, dramatic piece primarily for solo flute, supported by the piano. It is one of the most gripping flute pieces I’ve heard….”
–Todd Gorman, American Record Guide (Vol.77#5)
“Judith Shatin’s Gabriel’s Wing, for flute and piano (1989), likewise conveys in its nine minutes a well-crafted sense of ecstatic climax…Much of this program makes difficult demands, and I hear no tentativity, reach, or strain; a strong sense, rather, of Patricia Spencer’s skillful empathy. If it’s a rapturous mood you’re after, this well produced Neuma provides it in high-quality abundance.” –Michael Silverton American Record Guide (Vo. 21, #3)
“…The works by Shatin are more challenging technically, but are worth the extra effort for their unusual and attractive atmospheres. Gabriel’s Wing won the National Flute Association’s Published Music Competition in 1992. …Judith Shatin (b.1949) is an American composer and flautist familiar with the possibilities of the instrument in both traditional and extended techniques. She is known equally for her dramatic acoustic compositions and for her imaginative use of computer-generated sound. Gabriel’s Wing (1989) for flute and piano. In a tightly constructed piece, the angelic flute takes flight through the piano’s evocative medium. By clever use of pedalling, chords rich in overtones and other harmonic effects, the piano provides an exciting backdrop for the flute’s soaring phrases which are enhanced by singing with the flute tone.” –Pan, The Journal of the British Flute Society
“Judith Shatin is a highly accomplished composer, whose music deserves to be better known than it is. She is also a talented wind player and her familiarity with the flute makes her compositions for this instrument particularly effective..” –Steve Benner, Stonegnome