Alec Wilder:
"For the Friends of Alec Wilder"
Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Conductor: Rchard Auldon

Clark Newport Classics (NPD 85570)
Released 1994

Originally published in Cosmik Debris, August 1996.
© 1996 by Paul S. Remington. All Rights Reserved.

Influenced heavily by the jazz innovators of the 1920s, 30s, 40s, and 50s, Wilder's compositions borrow much of their style from the harmonic development of early jazz masters, and popular songs of the time. These compositions are by no means stylistically jazz, they are very much in the classical tradition. What makes them unique are the heart warming melodies, lush chordal and harmonic content, and sophisticated presentation that establish a very unique approach to orchestral composition. Eight compositions are featured, the earliest composed in 1945, the latest composed in 1979, a year before Wilder's death.

Wilder lived much of his life out of a suitcase, choosing the residence of a hotel rather than a formal apartment. He was always ready to pick-up and leave at any given moment. Although his personality had a vagabond quality, and he never became emotionally fixed to any one place, he was a man of great passion and feeling. He had many very close friends that all understood the quality of this man. He gave through his music, frequently writing compositions for them when he felt prompted.

Jazz Pianist Marian McPartland recalls meeting Wilder at a gig she performed in Rochester, NY. The following evening Wilder returned to deliver a piece especially composed for her. Some of the largest archive of Wilder's works are stored in the Eastman School of Music and Margun Music. Both these locations archive reams of pieces and full-blown compositions written for Wilder's closest friends.

Completely self-taught, Wilder's education in the art of composition began in the 1920s, while hanging around Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. He learned through interacting with the staff and students of the school, and practicing his gift of composition. His approach to music composition was as unique as the final product he'd pen. While other composers write and re-write compositions, slowly polishing their work, Wilder would rely on emotional spontaneity, penning his works while under the influence of the emotion that motivated him to produce the work. This is the key to much of Wilder's work, and is what makes them so personal. They are not worked and reworked, they are created under the spontaneity of the moment, and then left alone.

Visiting Wilder's catalog gives an interesting glance at his life, and those that affected him. Each composition is a reflection of the person it was written for. Listening to a composition gives an aural sense of the essence of Wilder's feelings towards the person he penned it for. For the Friends of Alec Wilder features Wilder's work for many of his friends and associates.

Works included on the 68 minute CD are The Carl Sandburg Suite, composed primarily in the lobby of a small hotel in Bluefield, West Virginia in 1960. The suite was written for poet and novelist Carl Sandburg who published The American Songbag, a collection of folk songs that greatly influenced music at the time Wilder wrote this suite. Five pieces composed in 1945, featuring clarinet, flute, saxophone, and bassoon wrapped around orchestral accompaniment. These works were originally heard by Frank Sinatra, and so impressed him, he directed the recording of these five pieces with the Columbia String Orchestra. Suite No.2 for Tenor Saxophone and Strings, composed in 1966, was written for Jazz saxophonist Zoot Simms. Serenade For Winds, written for the Eastman Wind Ensemble and their director Donald Hunsberger, was compose in 1979, but remained unperformed until 1991.

Hopefully, time will uncover Wilder's extensive body of work, and performances will expose a wider audience to Wilder's work. There are many instances in the history of compositional music where a composer is not readily appreciated during his lifetime, yet decades or centuries later his works suddenly become part of standard repertory. These recordings for the friends of Alec Wilder are for everyone that appreciates his music. Wilder expressed himself best through music, and reached those he loved through this gift. I implore anyone not familiar with these works to purchase them. The performance is good, the recording is excellent, and the music is an absolute must hear.