Dead Elvis For Small Chamber Ensemble by Michael Daugherty Chamber Music - Sheet Music

SKU: PR.620097910

UPC: 680160431762.

(1993)Performed by bassoonists all over the world, Dead Elvis for solo bassoon and small chamber ensemble has become one of the most frequently performed works for bassoon. In this highly original work, Daugherty explores the "Sturm und Drang" of the hip, young, genius rock-and-roll Elvis versus the vulgar, fat, stoned Las Vegas Elvis. For performance of Dead Elvis, it has become a tradition for bassoonists to wear an Elvis "Las Vegas" white jumpsuit (easily rented from a local costume store). Duration - ca. 9:00ßChamber ensemble instrumentation:ß Eb soprano clarinet, trumpet, bass trombone, violin, string bass, percussion.
Dead Elvis (1993) was commissioned by Boston Musica Viva and Chuck Ullery, principal bassoonist with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. It is more than a coincidence that it is scored for the same instrumentation as Stravinsky's "Histoire du Soldat" (1918) in which a soldier sells his violin and his soul to the devil for a magic book. In "Dead Elvis," the bassoon is Elvis (or perhaps an Elvis impersonator). Does this rock star sell out his Southern folk authenticity to the sophisticated professionalism of Hollywood movies, Colonel Parker and Las Vegas in order to attain great wealth and fame? "Dead Elvis" goes far beyond this romantic Faustian scenario. For me, the two clashing Elvis images (the hip, beautiful, genius, thin, rock-and-roll Elvis versus the vulgar, cheesy, fat, stoned, Las Vegas Elvis) serve as a sturm und drang compositional algorithm. Further, my use of the dies irae (a medieval Latin chant for the Day of Judgement) as the principal musical theme of "Dead Elvis" signifies yet another aspect of the Elvis myth: some people believe Elvis is dead, while others believe he is alive and well in Kalamazoo. Perhaps the question is not whether Elvis is alive or dead, but why the phenomenon of Elvis endures beyond the grave of Graceland. Elvis, for better or worse, is part of American culture, history and mythology. If you want to understand America and all its riddles, sooner or later you will have to deal with (Dead) Elvis.