Interview with composer Kile Smith
Lyric Fest's publicist Inna Heasley interviewed composer Kile Smith about his new work, Two Laudate Psalms, which will be premiered by Pennsylvania Girlchoir (Mark Anderson conductor) and mezzo-soprano Suzanne DuPlantis on October 30 and November 1, 2009.
IH: Please tell us about your musical background and how you started writing music.
KS: I came to music composition fairly late, as I didn't get started until the end of high school. Even though I always had been involved in singing in choirs, and was good enough to get into the New Jersey All-State Chorus, I didn't know how to read music. I had a pretty good ear but no idea what I was doing. And I didn't know anything about classical music!
My older sister was in the same choir earlier and she sang in Nänie, a rarely done piece by Brahms. I fell in love with this piece and went to find a recording of it. But all I found by Brahms was his Requiem. So I got that recording instead and was thunderstruck from the first notes. I knew I had to do that. I wanted to write the Brahms Requiem again! But I couldn't even read music, so I would get a blank paper and draw staff lines by hand, write the notes and plunk things on the piano.
From there, they took me in at Philadelphia Biblical University on probation since I didn't know anything in music. Soon, I learned basics pretty quickly and found that I really enjoyed it. I ended up composing all the time while in college. I also did a lot of transposing and arranging at people's requests. Eventually, I became a fairly good copyist. There were no computers yet, so all the music was copied by hand. That's when I got hired at the Fleisher Collection where I've worked ever since, eventually becoming Curator.
I am the happiest when I am writing something. I got my B.Mus. in 1980 and M.Mus. from Temple in 1983, and I've worked at the Fleisher Collection full-time since 1983.
IH: What is the history of the Two Laudate Psalms creation?
KS: "Laudate" means praise. These two particular psalms (113 and 150) are praise psalms. When Lyric Fest founders talked to me about commissioning a piece on the theme of spirituality throughout the world, psalms seemed to be perfect because they are a very ecumenical and broad way of praising in general.
Since the invitation came fairly late in the process, there was not much time. I asked if it would be OK to re-use and re-work an older piece for a part of it. I took the Psalm 113 movement from Vespers and rewrote it for this project. For the second movement, Psalm 150, I did a brand new setting.
Psalm 113 was not easy to transcribe from the original Vespers, as it was originally written for SATB choir, a harp and 2 sackbuts (early trombones). For the Lyric Fest piece, it is written for a mezzo-soprano (Suzanne DuPlantis), a girl choir (Pennsylvania Girlchoir, directed by Mark Anderson) and a piano (Laura Ward). It took quite a bit of work to get to the new version, but it was certainly a lot of fun.
Another attractive thing for me was the collaboration with Pennsylvania Girlchoir. I heard them in the past, but never wrote for a girl choir. The concert comes early in the season so I thought I'd write it in just two parts, since they wouldn't have a lot of practice time. The total length of the piece is about 10 minutes.
Psalm 113 is a slow chant-like movement. So, I thought that the Psalm 150 part ought to be faster. Fast music has its challenges, there are a lot of notes and lots of labor. This piece is very energetic and rhythmical, it moves along very fast.
Every ensemble is a little bit different working with music, and I like to go with what they like. I don't mind changing things if something sounds too goofy or complicated. You want to create the best project with a certain effect. I love incorporating people's suggestions.
IH: What has been your experience working with Lyric Fest?
KS: We worked together in the past. Last year Lyric Fest did a song of mine, performed by Timothy Bentch. I am fortunate to work with these nice people. They are amazingly talented, they created a wonderful ensemble of people who do different things very well. The performances are exciting, it is a unique offering in Philadelphia, and the audiences just love them. They are doing very important work on the highest level. This is a fantastic opportunity for me.
When working in music, you want to work with good musicians, and you want the musical experience to be on its highest level. But the most important thing is making music together and going into music with the idea that you are creating something with another person. That's the greatest thrill for me in making music. Being on the same page with these people, working with those who love the same things as you do, being excited about communicating with fantastic people. Otherwise, music can be just a struggle.
IH: What would you say to the Lyric Fest audiences about this upcoming premiere?
KS: The psalms are some of the greatest literature ever written, they reflect the deepest emotions of people, they mean a whole lot to me. Wonderful text of praise, these psalms take us outside ourselves.
If the piece is successful, it is because it touches a real emotion in me. I hope it comes across and is communicated to the audience whose emotions will be also touched in the same way. I think it will be a tremendous experience.
About Kile Smith:
The frequently performed music of Kile Smith has been highly praised by audiences and critics for its emotional power, direct appeal, and strong voice. Many of his works are featured on the recordings and broadcast nationwide.
Smith's Vespers was written for Piffaro, The Renaissance Band and the new-music choir The Crossing and released in 2009 on the Navona label. Gramophone Magazine hailed Vespers as "spectacular." The Philadelphia Inquirer found it "breathtaking" and "ecstatically beautiful," The Buffalo News called it "altogether gorgeous and haunting" and "stunning," and the Philadelphia City Paper raved that it is "almost preternaturally beautiful." The Broad Street Review called the 2008 premiere "one of the major events of the music season." His recent works also include Exsultet for horn and string orchestra, written for Jennifer Montone, Principal Horn of the Philadelphia Orchestra, American Spirituals, Book One for violin and piano, written for and recorded by David Kim, Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra, American Spirituals, Book Two, for Anne Martindale Williams, Principal Cello of the Pittsburgh Symphony, the string quartet The Best of All Possible Worlds, and The Bremen Town Musicians for narrator, violin, and cello. Where flames a word, for The Crossing choir on the poetry of Paul Celan, was selected for performance at the 2009 Annual Conference of Chorus America. He continues to add to his many liturgical works. Kile Smith (born in 1956) is Curator of the Fleisher Collection of Orchestral Music in the Free Library of Philadelphia, and is co-host of Discoveries from the Fleisher Collection and of and host of the contemporary American music show Now is the Time on WRTI 90.1 FM in Philadelphia, and is a substitute classical host there.
Kile Smith has been Resident Composer for both the Jupiter Symphony in New York City and Musica 2000 in Bucks County, Pa. He is President of the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia Foundation, and among his awards are a grant from the Philadelphia Music Project, a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Composer Fellowship, and grants from Meet The Composer and the Argosy Foundation. He is a popular pre-concert lecturer.
In addition to the premiere of Two Laudate Psalms by Lyric Fest October 30-November 1, the 2009-10 season will see a performance of Exsultet, performances of Now ys the tyme of Crystymas by the Virginia Chorale and the Bucks County Choral Society, and a commission for the Newburyport Chamber Music Festival.
Kile lives in Philadelphia with his wife, the soprano Jacqueline Smith, and their daughters. Read more about Kile Smith and his works at kilesmith.com.