13 January, 2020
The LeBaron Trio performed Dr. Alan Goldspiel’s piece, Sometimes Y, in its entirety at an evening concert in the University of Montevallo’s LeBaron Recital Hall to an enthusiastic audience.
Although the LeBaron Trio has performed Goldspiel’s piece publicly before, this was the first time the piece had been performed in full since Goldspiel and his collaborator, Barry Marks, had added two new sections – AEIO UY and Beneath a Sky.
Sometimes Y is the result of a collaboration between Goldspiel and poet Barry Marks. Goldspiel states that he was “amused by the notion of a proud parent boldly announcing to all that his child was to perform as the ‘sometimes Y’ in a school play illustrating the vowels”. Goldspiel goes on to say, “as I mentioned these ruminations to a poet, we began discussing the various associations we had with each vowel, the various roles that the vowels play in English, and then we even discussed at great length the actual appearance and shape of those six letters.”
When asked about the finished piece Goldspiel stated, “Each song musically represents the emotional qualities of the letters as expressed by the poetry and the aims of the poet. The forms and/or musical lines often abstractly and sometimes overtly represent the vowel shape. The tonal is also frequently juxtaposed against the less tonal in a manner not unlike the various effects and pronunciations of the vowels. Ultimately, this is about how the letters make us feel.”
Sometimes Y was written with the LeBaron Trio in mind and they have voluntarily and enthusiastically played the piece all over the United States in the past year, adding each new section as Goldspiel and Marks delivered them. To read the complete lyrics of Sometimes Y, click here.
The LeBaron Trio consists of Goldspiel’s University of Montevallo colleagues, Dr. Lori Ardovino (clarinet), Dr. Laurie Middaugh (piano), and Dr. Melanie Williams (soprano). They have been playing together since 2010. Follow the LeBaron Trio on Facebook here!