Alumnus composes melody for Choir Tour in Scotland

March 20, 2008
Kristin Brewer, Communications Assistant
865.981.8085; kristin.brewer@maryvillecollege.edu

They perform in tartan sashes and kilts, know the story of the Andersons, Crawfords and McTeers in the founding of Maryville College and have studied the works of Robert Burns in classrooms. But if members of Maryville College’s Concert Choir were asked a year ago to sing the complete lyrics of one Scottish folksong, their attempts would have been, in the words of the Scots, “nae worth a docken.”

Thanks to Dr. James Laster, an alumnus of the College and professor emeritus of Shenandoah Conservatory, tunes like “Comin’ Through the Rye,” “Charlie is my Darling,” “Put Off and Row Wi' Speed,” “The Campbell’s are Coming,” and “Scotland the Brave” are now a part of the choir’s repertoire. Including these in a medley that he composed for the 50-member group to perform on its tour of Scotland in May, Laster said he hopes the folksongs will help the American students and the Scottish people feel an immediate connection.

Friends, family, alumni and members of the wider community are invited to join the MC campus community at 8 p.m., May 4 at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Maryville to hear the medley that will be performed on the Choir’s concert tour to Scotland (May 22-31) and wish them safe travels.

Laster, who sang with the Concert Choir during the early and mid 1950s, was on campus for the Farewell to Wilson Chapel Alumni Choir Concert back in May of 2007 when he began a conversation with Stacy Wilner, coordinator of choral music, about the selections of the Concert Choir’s upcoming trip to Scotland. At that time, no selections had been made, so Laster volunteered to arrange a Scottish piece for the trip.

Laster admits that part of the reason he volunteered for this project was nostalgia.

“The MC Choir was a major influence on my life and a big part in my going into music as a profession,” he explained. “When I learned about the tour, I told Stacey I thought she needed a medley of Scottish folksongs for her program. She didn't say 'no,' which I took as a 'yes,’ so, I decided I would try my hand at putting something down on paper.”

Considered an authority on choral music for women’s voices, Laster has seen many of his compositions published, as well as a book entitled So You’re the New Musical Director. His composition “A Madrigal for Spring” was selected as one of the “compulsory three pieces” for the women’s chorus division of the Schubert International Choral Competition held in Vienna, Nov. 10-13. (The other pieces were written by Schubert and Kodaly).

Composing “A Scottish Medley” (Laster’s working title) was challenging, the composer said, because of the dilemmas about song selection and order. Ultimately, he decided to approach the piece like a storyteller.

“I knew some Scottish songs and made a list. I started with ‘Loch Lomand’ and the text ‘You take the high road and I'll take the low road and I'll be in Scotland afore ye’ because of the association with travel and touring,” he explained. “Contrast in mood/texture is always good, so it seemed the next song should be something more lyrical, so ‘Comin' Through the Rye’ worked nicely as the next piece.”

Selecting the following folksongs – “Charlie is My Darling” and “Put Off and Row Wi’ Speed” – Laster created arrangements that highlighted the female and male voices separately. Paying a small publisher’s fee to include “Heather on the Hill” from the popular Broadway musical “Brigadoon,” Laster added one of his personal favorite lyrical songs to the medley, making it the center of the arrangement.

“Then I was stuck,” he remembered. “How do you end the piece?

“For contrast, after ‘Heather on the Hill,’ I thought ‘The Campbells are Coming’ would be a good change of pace and gave the melody to the oboe. The unofficial national anthem of Scotland is ‘Scotland the Brave,’ and this seemed to go along with the ‘Campbells’ song.”

Striving for a meditative piece with which to close the medley, Laster chose “Auld Lang Syne.”

“This is a song about friendship, which is what the tour is all about,” he explained. “And then there is a touch of how the piece begins to close it off.”

Medley stretches the chior

The oboe is heard in all folksongs and is played by another alumna, Assistant Director Jenny Olander ’05. Composing the medley, Laster said he wanted an instrumental element but not the piano. Wilner told him that flute and oboe musicians were available.

“I ruled out using two treble instruments together and selected the oboe as it would give a more bagpipe-like sound when used in the lower register,” said Laster. “The oboe is very important as it gives the starting pitch, provides transitions by modulating to different keys and tempi, as well as serving as a solo with the choir accompanying it, and finally as an obligato instrument to the voices.”

According to Wilner, the choir usually performs a cappella or with piano accompaniment, so Laster’s arrangement is different from what they normally present.

“We don't usually perform medleys either; most of our compositions are through-composed or chorus/verse form,” she said.

Ashley Marshall, a senior member of the choir, admitted that the medley has stretched herself and her fellow choir members, musically.

“The medley is interesting. It’s different because it is a short excerpt from many traditional Scottish songs,” she said. “It’s been difficult to pick up because we haven’t heard these tunes before, but now that we’re learning more of the piece, it’s getting easier.”

Laster said he was not surprised that students were unfamiliar with the folk songs; he himself had never heard “Put Off and Row Wi' Speed” before he began to search for Scottish folk songs that would be appropriate male voices, and he had heard only the melodies for “The Campbell’s are Coming” and “Scotland the Brave” before conducting his research. But “Loch Lomand” and “Comin’ Through the Rye” were songs that were a part of his childhood, so he had assumed more familiarity among current students.

Rehearsal with the composer

In February, Laster, who lives in Winchester, Va., made a trip to the campus to attend a choir rehearsal and assist Wilner in directing for a day.

“I was delighted to attend a bit of a rehearsal, and I can't wait to hear the whole medley,” he said. “I feel that I'm going to be making the trip with the choir, although not in person, at least in spirit!”

Wilner and Marshall agreed that rehearsing with the composer was a rare treat and that the time spent with Laster helped choir members better understand the music.

“The rehearsal went very well. The students were receptive and [Laster] seemed to enjoy working with them,” Wilner said. “He gave his interpretations of what he had in mind when writing the arrangement, which gave us a clearer picture of the melody.”

Even after months of preparation, Wilner admitted that the Choir is feeling some pressure about performing Scottish folk songs in front of a native Scottish audience.

“I felt it would be dangerous to try to duplicate a Scottish brogue when we don't have a good resource for the proper Scottish diction when it comes to singing, so we aren't even going to try and are hoping they will be kind to our American/English accents,” she said.

Laster hopes the Scottish audiences of his medley will have a pleasant, enjoyable experience.

“I hope the audiences will not judge my attempt too harshly but will see that this is a piece that uses popular and familiar melodies that are known throughout the world that are set in a style and in sequence that pays high tribute to Scotland with integrity,” the composer said. “I had great fun writing this. I tried to make it an enjoyable choral experience. And, if the choir enjoys it, then I think the audiences will, too.”

Photos by David Styles ‘63

Maryville College is ideally situated in Maryville, Tenn., between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Knoxville, the state's third largest city. Founded in 1819, it is the 12th oldest institution of higher learning in the South and maintains an affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Known for its academic rigor and its focus on the liberal arts, Maryville is where students come to stretch their minds, stretch themselves and learn how to make a difference in the world. Total enrollment for the fall 2009 semester is 1,103.