Double Rainbow (2021)
Double Rainbow is a progression of piano music performed by Michael Shinn & Jessica Chow Shinn. It moves from solo piano to piano four hands to two pianos to a double piano concerto, all by composer Thomas Cabaniss, created especially for this gifted (married) duo.
The collaboration among these three artists began as a Cupid’s arrow. Early in Michael and Jessica’s relationship, Thomas suggested to Michael that one obvious way to amp up the romantic temperature would be for them to play piano four hands together, and so he wrote Mechanicals (2009), a propulsive set of pieces based on music originally written for dance. The arrow struck home, and the two played together more and more. The immediate musical result was what they call their first child: pianoSonoma, the music festival they run each year that brings together young professional artists and adult amateurs for inspiring collaborative experiences. (On the personal front, they are now married and have two actual children.)
Michael and Jessica have continued to champion Thomas’ piano music. In 2012 they premiered Tiny Bits of Outrageous Love (piano four hands, written for Thomas’ wife Deborah); in 2017, they debuted Double Rainbow (a double piano concerto), a commission from the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra; and in 2021 they performed Trinity Pass (for two pianos), a pianoSonoma commission. This album is a celebration of their decade long collaboration.
DOUBLE RAINBOW would not have been possible without the support of two other cupids: Jun and Sandy Lee, whose love for music and generosity helped to bring this album into being.
THE MUSIC – notes by the composer
Tracks 1- 5 SKETCHES OF VENASQUE
Venasque is a beautiful hilltop village in the south of France, just east of the Rhone. It was the nearby summer home to the Popes of Avignon during their reign in the 14th and 15th centuries; it overlooks groves of olive and cherry trees and the vineyards and villages of the southern valley of Mont Ventoux. I composed these pieces in a hilltop studio there, inspired by the daily rhythms of the village and the surrounding vistas.
I. Bells of St. Siffrein - The single church bell of Venasque signals evening vespers. It is echoed by bells from distant villages at dusk.
II. Jean and Vincent - Two boys use a large pot and its lid for a drum, singing as they explore the town's winding streets.
III. The Blue Hour - There is a moment, called l'heure bleue by the French, when the night sounds of bats and crickets stop, and just before the first morning bird erupts in song, when there is an absolute and eerie silence. This piece doesn't end after its brief andante; the silence is “l'heure bleue.”
IV. The Abbey of Senanque - A meditation inspired by a nearby Cistercian abbey.
V. The Mistral -The relentless and sometimes dangerous wind of Provence, which is said to "purify the heavens."
VI. Mont Ventouxˇ - The mountain whose white-capped peak is forever coming in and out of sight, sometimes hiding for weeks, and other times dominating the valley with strength and brilliance. Petrarch scaled its summit to proclaim his love for Laura.
Recorded July 21, 2019 at Schroeder Hall, Green Music Center, Rohnert Park, CA. Audio engineer: Anthony Barfield.
Tracks 6- 12 TINY BITS OF OUTRAGEOUS LOVE
for Deborah
TINY BITS OF OUTRAGEOUS LOVE (15')
for piano, four hands
premiered by Michael Shinn and Jessica Chow Shinn,
May 2012 at The Juilliard School, NYC
1. one and one
2.flutter flutter
3. lovesong
4. chase
5. respite
6. crossings
7. two
The collaboration among these three artists began as a Cupid’s arrow. Early in Michael and Jessica’s relationship, Thomas suggested to Michael that one obvious way to amp up the romantic temperature would be for them to play piano four hands together, and so he wrote Mechanicals (2009), a propulsive set of pieces based on music originally written for dance. The arrow struck home, and the two played together more and more. The immediate musical result was what they call their first child: pianoSonoma, the music festival they run each year that brings together young professional artists and adult amateurs for inspiring collaborative experiences. (On the personal front, they are now married and have two actual children.)
Michael and Jessica have continued to champion Thomas’ piano music. In 2012 they premiered Tiny Bits of Outrageous Love (piano four hands, written for Thomas’ wife Deborah); in 2017, they debuted Double Rainbow (a double piano concerto), a commission from the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra; and in 2021 they performed Trinity Pass (for two pianos), a pianoSonoma commission. This album is a celebration of their decade long collaboration.
DOUBLE RAINBOW would not have been possible without the support of two other cupids: Jun and Sandy Lee, whose love for music and generosity helped to bring this album into being.
THE MUSIC – notes by the composer
Tracks 1- 5 SKETCHES OF VENASQUE
Venasque is a beautiful hilltop village in the south of France, just east of the Rhone. It was the nearby summer home to the Popes of Avignon during their reign in the 14th and 15th centuries; it overlooks groves of olive and cherry trees and the vineyards and villages of the southern valley of Mont Ventoux. I composed these pieces in a hilltop studio there, inspired by the daily rhythms of the village and the surrounding vistas.
I. Bells of St. Siffrein - The single church bell of Venasque signals evening vespers. It is echoed by bells from distant villages at dusk.
II. Jean and Vincent - Two boys use a large pot and its lid for a drum, singing as they explore the town's winding streets.
III. The Blue Hour - There is a moment, called l'heure bleue by the French, when the night sounds of bats and crickets stop, and just before the first morning bird erupts in song, when there is an absolute and eerie silence. This piece doesn't end after its brief andante; the silence is “l'heure bleue.”
IV. The Abbey of Senanque - A meditation inspired by a nearby Cistercian abbey.
V. The Mistral -The relentless and sometimes dangerous wind of Provence, which is said to "purify the heavens."
VI. Mont Ventouxˇ - The mountain whose white-capped peak is forever coming in and out of sight, sometimes hiding for weeks, and other times dominating the valley with strength and brilliance. Petrarch scaled its summit to proclaim his love for Laura.
Recorded July 21, 2019 at Schroeder Hall, Green Music Center, Rohnert Park, CA. Audio engineer: Anthony Barfield.
Tracks 6- 12 TINY BITS OF OUTRAGEOUS LOVE
for Deborah
TINY BITS OF OUTRAGEOUS LOVE (15')
for piano, four hands
premiered by Michael Shinn and Jessica Chow Shinn,
May 2012 at The Juilliard School, NYC
1. one and one
2.flutter flutter
3. lovesong
4. chase
5. respite
6. crossings
7. two
The story of Tiny Bits:
In 2011 I was contemplating writing a new piano four hands piece for Michael and Jessica Shinn. That Fall they performed a benefit concert for their wonderful summer festival, PianoSonoma at the Yamaha Salon in New York City. I heard them perform the Brahms Waltzes, and when they got to #15, I was deeply moved. I thought to myself, “What a gem! What a tiny little piece with such a big heart!”
As I was walking back across town to get on a train home, that internal mantra turned into a new title: “Tiny Bits of Outrageous Love.” Yes, a little bit of a play on “A Staggering Work of Heartbreaking Genius” by Dave Eggers, which I had just read and loved, but just different enough to make it my own. I decided I would try to compose a series of gems, and on the train ride home I jotted down the seven movement names, which never changed:
It was obviously going to be a piece about my relationship with my wife, Deborah, and I was going to dedicate the piece to her. We premiered the work at the Juilliard School in May 2012. Michael and Jessica and I worked together before, but this piece brought us even closer. They played the pieces in a variety of house concerts and intimate spaces, and we are delighted to be releasing the recording on Valentine’s Day 2021!
A guide to Tiny Bits:
In 2011 I was contemplating writing a new piano four hands piece for Michael and Jessica Shinn. That Fall they performed a benefit concert for their wonderful summer festival, PianoSonoma at the Yamaha Salon in New York City. I heard them perform the Brahms Waltzes, and when they got to #15, I was deeply moved. I thought to myself, “What a gem! What a tiny little piece with such a big heart!”
As I was walking back across town to get on a train home, that internal mantra turned into a new title: “Tiny Bits of Outrageous Love.” Yes, a little bit of a play on “A Staggering Work of Heartbreaking Genius” by Dave Eggers, which I had just read and loved, but just different enough to make it my own. I decided I would try to compose a series of gems, and on the train ride home I jotted down the seven movement names, which never changed:
It was obviously going to be a piece about my relationship with my wife, Deborah, and I was going to dedicate the piece to her. We premiered the work at the Juilliard School in May 2012. Michael and Jessica and I worked together before, but this piece brought us even closer. They played the pieces in a variety of house concerts and intimate spaces, and we are delighted to be releasing the recording on Valentine’s Day 2021!
A guide to Tiny Bits:
one and one – before the relationship has started - about separateness…rather than playing together, the pianists are each assigned phrases to play in dialogue with each other in the key of D major. When they do play together, the parts are independent, with brief bursts of activity but before long, they are once again asserting their individual phrases, taking turns, keeping their own space and time, only touching in an E major chord at the end.
flutter flutter – the feeling of being smitten – all the ways you can shake and vibrate inside – it is all trills and tremolos and ends on a suspended chord, dying away to nothing.
lovesong – as advertised, a seductive pitch from one lover to another – in B minor, the more settled answer to “one and one” – encoded in this movement is a melodic theme that I created especily for Deborah when we were college students. I still whistle it to her in a crowd to let her know I am there.
chase - the “Deborah theme” is now employed in a canonic romp around the keyboard, ending in an “I caught you” affirmation in D major.
respite – a moment of contemplation and breath after the chase, this movement is where I started composing, directly referring to the Brahms Waltz No. 15 in A major.
crossings - a musical spat between two pianists who have had to share a bench for too long, an argument that involves crossing into each other’s territory and all the confusion it brings.
two - many themes return in the final movement: “respite,” “lovesong,” the “Deborah theme” and finally one wink back at the separateness of “one and one” before the end.
Recorded July 21, 2019 at Schroeder Hall, Green Music Center, Rohnert Park, CA. Audio engineer: Anthony Barfield.
Tracks 13- 16 TRINITY PASS
Trinity Pass is a road that snakes its way between the hills of Pound Ridge, NY, where my wife Deborah and I have an antique barn and studio that serves as a retreat from our busy lives in New York City. Over the past decade there, I have had time to immerse myself in the wonders of the woods, and this piece is based on four poems I wrote that attempt to capture some of those observations.
13. SWOOP
My heart falls with you
As you make your daredevil drop
From nest to ground.
It all happens too fast to calculate.
Unknown to me,
I must believe you will die.
In that division of the secondhand
Lost now in the flight path
Away from the point of impact,
I must believe you will not save yourself.
Why else lose breath?
Why else step backwards
To make room for a tragic end?
Once balance is regained,
I marvel in the beauty of your swoop,
Admire the steadfast attention to your young
As you circle, dipping from branch to branch,
Singing nervously, as if that will make me behave,
Keep me from the ruin of your home.
As it is, I am little threat,
But how would you know?
In that precipitous drop
Do you know the angle of escape by heart?
Or is it an improvisation,
A brilliant misdirection
Fueled by panic,
Tempered by pure aeronautic talent?
I want to reassure you,
Let you know I mean no harm.
But you do not listen,
You circle and sing,
Circle and sing.
14. BROOM
The tool is temporary –
Disappears with use,
Loses itself to earth,
Clears.
The surface is temporary, too –
Erodes with time,
Surrenders to water,
Holds.
The man is foolish –
Shrinks with age,
Aligns with fire,
Dreams.
He is the sweeper of the forest floor
But there is no clearing,
Only a momentary parting
Of the canopy’s afterthoughts,
Enough to see what falls next:
Petal to leaf to seed to nut,
Snow to ice to fallen branch –
Only the rain cleanses,
Only the rain sweeps, too.
15. GAMES OF CATCH
a chain of tiny agreements
holds us together
released when those
fragile bonds give way
all is air
there is no effort in descent
but there are no clear paths either
freefall
updraft
turn
spin
new resting place, caught,
who has me now?
who holds my changing form
until the next searching breeze
sets me free?
hundreds of upside down umbrellas
perched on as many branches –
whoever thought that trees
only held their own?
perhaps the solitary copper beech
stays pure
the rest of us play catch
the parts of myself i discard
you keep longer than i know
the leaves of you i gather
i won’t let go
16. CATHEDRAL CEILING
Look up – see where there is still sky.
Soon the forest will converge
On all that blue,
Trading the sun high branches for grass.
Years ago a clearing was made,
A neat oval drawn with compass-like precision
Around a barn,
Trees cleared, grass seeded,
Human claim in modest form.
The trees stood at attention,
Eager for their new assignment,
Guarding the clearing,
Standing in definition,
Making place.
Now they bend, the oval closing –
Not from below but from above,
A heliotropic dance:
Hundreds of arms, decked with leaves
Stretch to find the light,
Inch by inch they yearn for discovery,
Year by year they move closer.
Like a circle of Matisse dancers,
They are seen with multiple foregrounds
And in every season,
Still nearer, still in seeming motion,
Fueled by longing,
Time on their side.
And so love of light
Creates its scarcity.
So love of one another
Diminishes freedom.
We grow in our longing
Still closer,
Still reaching,
Ever more tightly knit,
Always longing to touch,
Aching to trade the space between
For communion.
Recorded July 31, 2021 at Schroeder Hall, Green Music Center, Rohnert Park, CA. Audio engineer: Anthony Barfield.
Tracks 17-19 DOUBLE RAINBOW
DOUBLE RAINBOW is based on an experience I had with my family on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina about 20 years ago. On this particular August day, there was a huge rain in the early afternoon, many dark clouds, thunder (but no lightning). After the storm, from the porch of our beach rental house, we saw not one, but two rainbows. My sister-in-law is an avid photographer, and so she coaxed us all down onto the beach so she could get a pristine angle. That alone might have been enough inspiration for a piece of music, but when we got to the water's edge, as Julia was snapping her photos, a dolphin jumped out of the water in a vertical launch, the tail clearing the water's surface. It was one of those moments that seemed so unbelievable that none of us said a word.
I have always been fascinated by the search for the elusive "perfect moment," and DOUBLE RAINBOW is a sort of study of that kind of exploration. It is all bound up in the idea of "doubleness," represented by the two pianos. It is divided into three movements: (Track 18) "Surfaces" (exploring the accumulation of drops of water from tiny, atomized particles), (Track 19) "Disturbances" (exploring imbalances and the storms that result from them), and (Track 20) "Revelation" (of the Double Rainbow). Not surprising in a double concerto, there is a great deal of dialogue between the pianos, and the orchestra has more of an accompanying role in the first two movements. The final movement is different, though. Everybody is in, and the music pulses with magic. The movement seems to be headed for a big climax, but at the last moment, it suddenly slows down and there are stars.
Recorded March 21/22, 2019 at The Capitol Theater, Madison, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Andrew Sewell, conductor
CREDITS
Album partners: Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, pianoSonoma, Thomas Ray Cabaniss Music, Musicreate Publications. All music © 2012-2021 by Thomas Cabaniss.
Project manager: Ashley Baier
Audio and video producer: Anthony Barfield
Thanks to: Jun and Sandy Lee, Joe Loehnis, Andrew Sewell, Jacob Yarrow, Yamaha Artist Services: Bonnie Barrett, Hilary Jansen, Makia Matsumura; Rami Kim, Michael Dahlberg, Kara Dugan, Peter Dugan, Emi Ferguson, Doori Na, Tristan Teo, Katsuya Yuasa, Angie Zhang, Philip Rothman.
Tracks 13- 16 TRINITY PASS
Trinity Pass is a road that snakes its way between the hills of Pound Ridge, NY, where my wife Deborah and I have an antique barn and studio that serves as a retreat from our busy lives in New York City. Over the past decade there, I have had time to immerse myself in the wonders of the woods, and this piece is based on four poems I wrote that attempt to capture some of those observations.
13. SWOOP
My heart falls with you
As you make your daredevil drop
From nest to ground.
It all happens too fast to calculate.
Unknown to me,
I must believe you will die.
In that division of the secondhand
Lost now in the flight path
Away from the point of impact,
I must believe you will not save yourself.
Why else lose breath?
Why else step backwards
To make room for a tragic end?
Once balance is regained,
I marvel in the beauty of your swoop,
Admire the steadfast attention to your young
As you circle, dipping from branch to branch,
Singing nervously, as if that will make me behave,
Keep me from the ruin of your home.
As it is, I am little threat,
But how would you know?
In that precipitous drop
Do you know the angle of escape by heart?
Or is it an improvisation,
A brilliant misdirection
Fueled by panic,
Tempered by pure aeronautic talent?
I want to reassure you,
Let you know I mean no harm.
But you do not listen,
You circle and sing,
Circle and sing.
14. BROOM
The tool is temporary –
Disappears with use,
Loses itself to earth,
Clears.
The surface is temporary, too –
Erodes with time,
Surrenders to water,
Holds.
The man is foolish –
Shrinks with age,
Aligns with fire,
Dreams.
He is the sweeper of the forest floor
But there is no clearing,
Only a momentary parting
Of the canopy’s afterthoughts,
Enough to see what falls next:
Petal to leaf to seed to nut,
Snow to ice to fallen branch –
Only the rain cleanses,
Only the rain sweeps, too.
15. GAMES OF CATCH
a chain of tiny agreements
holds us together
released when those
fragile bonds give way
all is air
there is no effort in descent
but there are no clear paths either
freefall
updraft
turn
spin
new resting place, caught,
who has me now?
who holds my changing form
until the next searching breeze
sets me free?
hundreds of upside down umbrellas
perched on as many branches –
whoever thought that trees
only held their own?
perhaps the solitary copper beech
stays pure
the rest of us play catch
the parts of myself i discard
you keep longer than i know
the leaves of you i gather
i won’t let go
16. CATHEDRAL CEILING
Look up – see where there is still sky.
Soon the forest will converge
On all that blue,
Trading the sun high branches for grass.
Years ago a clearing was made,
A neat oval drawn with compass-like precision
Around a barn,
Trees cleared, grass seeded,
Human claim in modest form.
The trees stood at attention,
Eager for their new assignment,
Guarding the clearing,
Standing in definition,
Making place.
Now they bend, the oval closing –
Not from below but from above,
A heliotropic dance:
Hundreds of arms, decked with leaves
Stretch to find the light,
Inch by inch they yearn for discovery,
Year by year they move closer.
Like a circle of Matisse dancers,
They are seen with multiple foregrounds
And in every season,
Still nearer, still in seeming motion,
Fueled by longing,
Time on their side.
And so love of light
Creates its scarcity.
So love of one another
Diminishes freedom.
We grow in our longing
Still closer,
Still reaching,
Ever more tightly knit,
Always longing to touch,
Aching to trade the space between
For communion.
Recorded July 31, 2021 at Schroeder Hall, Green Music Center, Rohnert Park, CA. Audio engineer: Anthony Barfield.
Tracks 17-19 DOUBLE RAINBOW
DOUBLE RAINBOW is based on an experience I had with my family on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina about 20 years ago. On this particular August day, there was a huge rain in the early afternoon, many dark clouds, thunder (but no lightning). After the storm, from the porch of our beach rental house, we saw not one, but two rainbows. My sister-in-law is an avid photographer, and so she coaxed us all down onto the beach so she could get a pristine angle. That alone might have been enough inspiration for a piece of music, but when we got to the water's edge, as Julia was snapping her photos, a dolphin jumped out of the water in a vertical launch, the tail clearing the water's surface. It was one of those moments that seemed so unbelievable that none of us said a word.
I have always been fascinated by the search for the elusive "perfect moment," and DOUBLE RAINBOW is a sort of study of that kind of exploration. It is all bound up in the idea of "doubleness," represented by the two pianos. It is divided into three movements: (Track 18) "Surfaces" (exploring the accumulation of drops of water from tiny, atomized particles), (Track 19) "Disturbances" (exploring imbalances and the storms that result from them), and (Track 20) "Revelation" (of the Double Rainbow). Not surprising in a double concerto, there is a great deal of dialogue between the pianos, and the orchestra has more of an accompanying role in the first two movements. The final movement is different, though. Everybody is in, and the music pulses with magic. The movement seems to be headed for a big climax, but at the last moment, it suddenly slows down and there are stars.
Recorded March 21/22, 2019 at The Capitol Theater, Madison, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Andrew Sewell, conductor
CREDITS
Album partners: Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, pianoSonoma, Thomas Ray Cabaniss Music, Musicreate Publications. All music © 2012-2021 by Thomas Cabaniss.
Project manager: Ashley Baier
Audio and video producer: Anthony Barfield
Thanks to: Jun and Sandy Lee, Joe Loehnis, Andrew Sewell, Jacob Yarrow, Yamaha Artist Services: Bonnie Barrett, Hilary Jansen, Makia Matsumura; Rami Kim, Michael Dahlberg, Kara Dugan, Peter Dugan, Emi Ferguson, Doori Na, Tristan Teo, Katsuya Yuasa, Angie Zhang, Philip Rothman.