Death and Disfigurations
$250Death and Disfigurations is a “time capsule” tone poem where the music also serves as an historical marker of our current time. An early influence on Scott McAllister’s music was Karel Husa’s Apotheosis of this Earth. Like Husa’s composition, McAllister hopes to illuminate and continue Husa’s idea of “Man’s brutal possession and misuse of nature’s beauty-.” This work will also draw inspiration from Richard Strauss’ Death and Transfiguration where the death of an artist is the story of the composition, but in McAllister’s composition, the death will be humanity. The loss of hope in humankind will be the central focus of this work until the final movement, when hope will be somewhat restored. Like many of Scott McAllister’s compositions, this work will also be inspired by the sound worlds of popular genres and bands like Pink Floyd, Radiohead, and Nirvana as they are woven into the fabric of an eclectic musical quilt of original music for the concert stage.
For You
Not SoldFor You is inspired by TikTok. This work emulates the fast-changing, eclectic nature of this platform. Composed for the Florida All-State Band, McAllister weaves musical inspirations from the time he was in high school as a member of the Florida All-State Band which played music by Holst, Grainger, Mahler, and Bartok. Modern influences such as Charli XCX, Justin Bieber, video game music, iconic TikTok themes like “Oh No,” and a few fragments of McAllister’s own compositions connect the music with quick bites of sounds within traditional compositional structure.
Music from the Southern Songbook II
$250Music from the Southern Songbook II is a multi-movement work inspired by the composers’ childhood memories of growing up in the south. The first movement, Full Pull, emulates the mechanical precision and power of a tractor pull. A “full pull” means when a tractor or other vehicle pulls a given amount of weight to the finish line. The second movement, In the Pines, is inspired by the southern folk song “In the Pines” that the composer used in his clarinet concerto X and also many other artists have used this tune including Kurt Cobain and Muddy Waters. This movement is in variation form and portrays the story of a mother who found her son’s head deep in the piney woods near a railroad track, but never found his body. Wilt, the third movement is inspired by the oak wilt disease that has devastated many of the great live oaks in the south. Once the tree gets the fungus it shuts its root system down and by doing so kills itself. An optional pedal steel guitar is used in this movement and the Hank Williams (senior) song, “I’m So Lonesome I could Cry” was a particular influence on this movement. The last movement Cage Match is inspired by the old WWF wrestling league in the 1970’s and early eighties. The legacy of Rick Flare (Nature Boy) and Dusty Rhodes in a match where a cage is placed over the ring was one of the earliest memories of the composer. The beginning fanfare emulates the over-the-top, flamboyant entrance that Ric Flare would do before a match. Dusty Rhodes was known for his ending blow, the Bionic Elbow move, which the composer uses the first four notes from the old seventies television series, The Six Million Dollar Man to portray this move musically
AMP
$250By itself the title, AMP, could denote several different things. In this case it is actually an abbreviation for “amphetamines.” Amphetamines are substances taken to boost energy, mood and confidence, as well as to suppress appetite. AMP was written “in memory of Brian,” who was a much beloved, talented, and accomplished student of the composer who died of a drug overdose. AMP begins with a wall of chaos representing the climax of an addicted episode. Then the first statement of “Brian’s” theme is stated in the clarinets with a two-note motive emulating the two syllables in his name while small cluster chords emulate the constant temptation of addiction. In fact, every time this two-note theme is heard one can readily imagine the emotions behind them. The middle section uses a famous chord progression from Radiohead’s Creep, which was one of Brian’s favorite songs. The second chaotic episode occurs again which is followed by the return of the earlier driving section and leads to the fullest and loudest statement of Brian’s theme using the optional organ part with the full ensemble. The composition ends solemnly with the solo piano (which was Brian’s instrument) stating the theme in its most plain form. AMP was not written for Brian only, but also for “any others suffering from addiction.”
Love Songs
$250Love Songs is a work inspired by three different types of love. Agape, also called parental love, is one of several Greek words translated into English as love. Many have thought that this word represents divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, and thoughtful love. Although the word does not have specific religious connotation, the word has been used by a variety of contemporary and ancient sources, including Biblical authors and Christian authors who explain that this love is the greatest love. Philia is the brotherly love, a love of friendship and one’s love and dedication to a profession. This movement was especially inspirational to the composer and inspired by Philip Wharton, who was McAllister’s high school band director. Eros in Greek mythology was the primordial god of physical love, beauty and chaos. The music emulates fast, wild and disjunct gestures along with a 12-tone theme McAllister used in many works during high school and early college. This work is in one movement starting with the Agape music, Philia, Eros and back to Agape.
Xanadu
$250XANADU was commissioned by The Florida State University College of Music for the grand reopening of the Ruby Diamond Concert Hall and the 100th anniversary of the College of Music. XANADU is a work inspired by the 80’s, the era in which the composer attended Florida State University as an undergraduate performance and composition major. Like this composition, the 80’s movie with the same title is inspired by the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The poem was an opium-influenced dream describing a stately palace. This work is influenced by 80’s hip-hop culture, TV themes and other pop culture music of the late 70’s-80’s. The first three notes of the 80’s song Xanadu play an important thematic role in the work. This work also has an optional Turntablist (DJ record scratching) part for the percussion.
