The Gallery

Words by Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, and Michelangelo, music by Christopher Fox

SATB

Transform your choral stage into a canvas for imagination with this innovative piece for concert or festival. The words of Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, and Michelangelo come together to form an inspiring collective work. The ever-changing palette of musical colors reflects the time periods in which each of these artists lived. Discover more at alfred.com/thegallery .

Continue reading for performance suggestions and background information on the music and arranger Christopher Fox.

The Gallery began with the idea to make a “gallery” of musical movements incorporating quotes from famous artists, as well as representing the time period in which they lived. What if, as we walked through a museum of fine art, the “master” who had created the work was whispering words of wisdom, and possibly, the very thoughts running through their heads as they were creating the works we were viewing? As I contemplated the composition, the concept of artists’ inspiration became a “through-line” that excited me.

The first section (mm. 1–38) begins with chimes in the accompaniment, indicating the early morning hours. The chimes quickly begin to mimic the “Westminster chimes,” and the accompaniment begins to come alive with an aural representation of the blurry stars in van Gogh’s painting, “The Starry Night.” What better way to muddy the post-impressionistic waters than with chimes swirling through the air, not to mention their importance throughout history in keeping time? Another concept in this section was to inspire the audience to hear things in the music (“Art is what you make others see”). The chimes are a key component to this, but so is the accompaniment in mm. 18–31. The idea was for the audience to “see” the wind, a rider on horseback, or whatever else might come to mind. The initial chimes/dream theme makes a brief return, and the section is jarred to a close by an “alarm clock” of dissonant chimes beginning as part of the dream but startling the singers awake with a great GASP!

The idea of the second section (mm. 29–66) was “simple.” I found quotes dealing with “simplicity” and “childlike” art. Picasso worked with “childlike” shapes as he led the charge of the Cubism movement. I asked myself, “What is the equivalent of geometric shapes in music?” I settled on the pentatonic scale (used in many nursery rhymes and folk songs) and quickly realized that would be another thread I would sew between all three movements. I composed a partner song between the “simplicity” and “every child” melodies. As it began to take form, I felt that it became more and more complex, which fit perfectly into the narrative that it’s hard to remain childlike. As the section comes to a close, the unison statement followed by the final, simple progression stating the obvious is meant to be a “gentle slap in the face” from a child saying, “No, Daddy. Like THIS!”

The final section (mm. 67–end) attempts to recreate the frantic and unbridled energy that artists often feel as they begin to “unleash their art.” The opening accompaniment is meant to mimic the chiseling of marble while the vocal parts create a “pacing” effect (up and down) as the artist “chisels” and then steps back to see where the next move needs to occur. Utilizing compositional and mathematical concepts popular during the Renaissance period, I began writing. For the melody, I used the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21 … ) and assigned each number a pitch in the diatonic scale (then converted to minor). Coincidentally, the first seven numbers correspond to pitches in the pentatonic scale, a device I utilized throughout the three movements. As the frenetic energy intensifies, the canon at the fifth is utilized to create momentum. I wanted to incorporate something from one of the other sections and quickly settled on the “Westminster chimes,” but this time, I disguised them a bit using octave displacement, a minor tonality, and augmentation.

As the angel “emerges” from the marble, I called on the “Passamezzo Antico,” a famous progression of the time, and adapted a melody from famed composer Le Jeune, but also placed this in minor. The angel wriggles free (tenor represents the light peeking out from the marble as the first crack forms) and eventually dances in hemiola (again, Le Jeune) until the ritardando and Picardy Third on the final “Alleluia,” signifying the completeness of the work. It is worth noting that the original intention was for the last word of the song to be “Amen.” This was not for an overtly religious reason but rather to signify the completion of the work. Feel free to substitute the last two syllables in each voice with “Amen” if you prefer.

And thus, through the three sections of this piece, you see a typical “life cycle” of art—DREAMS/IMAGINATION, SIMPLICITY, & POTENTIAL—and the release of that potential into works of art.

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About Christopher Fox

Christopher Fox (b. 1975) is the Director of Choruses at Glenelg High School in Howard County, MD. An in-demand composer, conductor, and clinician, he has been a part of more than one hundred projects over the last decade. Recently hailed as “a new, bright star in the sky of choral arranging for children” (Crocker), his compositions are distributed internationally with Alfred Music, Hal Leonard, and Santa Barbara and have earned multiple “Editor’s Choice” awards. He has been commissioned by the VCDA Junior All-State Treble Choir (also conducted), Virginia Organization of Kodály Educators (VOKE), Fairfax Choral Society, Penn State University, Central PA/ACDA’s Boyz Noyz, as well as several Tri-State District Honors Choirs.

Mr. Fox served for eight years as adjunct faculty for the University of Mary Washington Theatre Department and has twice been awarded “Teacher of the Year.” He received his Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and his Master’s in Education from The University of Loyola, Baltimore, where he also received his Kodály certification from The American Kodály Institute.