Album Notes

Equestrian Quadrille is a group of riders and their horses performing maneuvers in synchrony. Competition teams are made up of four riders, however, any number may be used for exhibition purposes. Quadrille is judged on the spacing from horse to horse, synchrony of the movements performed and alignment of the horses. Competitions include Compulsory Test (music optional) and Freestyle (with music). Writing music for quadrille poses many challenges. The first is having to use fixed tempos to match the three gaits the horses will be using: Trot, Canter and Walk. Second, the music is timed to match a video of the routine and along with the tempo restrictions, must somehow come together as a cohesive and inspirational musical statement. The riders must be able to follow the music and pace their progress in the routine. Each quadrille composition starts with an introduction that underscores the riders entering the ring and coming to a stop to acknowledge the judging stand. After the pause, the routine begins. In an ideal performance, the riders and horses flow to the music in a breathtaking display of agility, finesse, balance and control. By popular demand (from those who have seen and heard the quadrille performances) I have created an album based around the two quadrille pieces recently written. The other nine original selections were created for various projects as outlined below: 1. Finnish Lapland This main title theme was written for "Spellbound in Darkness in the Land of the Midnight Sun," a documentary by filmmaker, Susan Stroh. It takes us to Lapland in the far north of Finland where a unique film festival is held each year during the season when light is absent nearly 24 hours a day. 2. Caribbean Carnivál This was my first composition written for Michele Purpora-Tardi's equestrian quadrille team: The Riding Company at Robele Farms. Michele commissioned me to create something Caribbean, fun and rhythmically engaging that would get the audiences clapping in time as the piece drew to a close. The riders, the horses, the instructors, the routine and the music all contributed to a National Championship for The Riding Company for 2001! (A professional video of this routine with music as performed at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center is available from Robele Farms.) 3. Wide Open Spaces My sister Maureen and her boyfriend Thomas have written some exciting movie scripts. After reading one of them, I decided to write several music cues for the "movie" that I envisioned. This cue takes us on a road in Montana where our hero is driving through a great expanse on the way to the town where he starts his new life. Is that a galloping herd of wild mustangs in the distance? 4. Cirque - Prelude, Adagio In 1987, Cirque du Soleil touched my life and the lives of many of our friends. We've seen nearly every show ever since! Susan Stroh (see #1) wrote a poem inspired by her experience at the Cirque's first show and asked me to score music under it. This music-only version helps create the space in which you can imagine yourself anticipating the show, living vicariously through the daring of the performers and finally, talking about it with your family and friends as you leave the crowded parking lot and drive away. 5. Olivia In 1999, composer and friend, Sherry Hackney, asked a few of her composer friends to write music for string quintet, celebrating her wedding to Alan Cade. That music was recorded at Theta Sound Studio and CDs were made and given to all of the wedding guests. When her first child was about to be born, she asked us once again to compose, this time for flute and piano. Olivia is my offering on this album of "Music in Celebration of the Birth of Olivia Hackney Cade!" (Karin Hoesli - flute) 6. One When Olivia turned one, Sherry (and Olivia) beckoned us once again to create an album of music in celebration of the event, this time, for jazz quartet. One is a funky little number that features Larry Co