Julius Hemphill : Composer

Large-scale works

Wind/Rhythms

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Multi-movement work for saxophone quartet with percussion. This suite was written for a concert featuring the World Saxophone Quartet and Max Roach & M’Boom, called “The Grand Collaboration,” at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City, on June 26, 1981, although it was evidently not performed at that concert. The individual movements of “Wind/Rhythms” are “Fixation“; “Flair“; “Ji-Ji Tune“; “Another Feeling“; and “Stick.” Several of these movements were later performed or recorded as separate pieces.

From Marty Ehrlich: In addition to the full score in Hemphill’s hand, there are two pages on which Hemphill outlines an intricate structure for performing these works with percussion ensemble.

Water Music for Woodwinds

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Multi-movement work for seven saxophone players, with doubling on flute and clarinet. The Julius Hemphill Papers has the instrumental parts used in the original performances, on which are written the names of the original performers, as well as materials used in the preparation of the edited score by Marty Ehrlich. The work also appears on archival audio recordings.

The four movements of “Water Music for Woodwinds” are:
I. Mr. Neptune
II. Ms. Catherine
III. Kinspawn
IV. Backwater

From Marty Ehrlich: The archival audio collection includes two performances of this work, in which we first hear Hemphill’s conception of a saxophone choir. Soon after those performances, he formed the World Saxophone Quartet with Hamiet Bluiett, Oliver Lake, and David Murray. About a decade later, Hemphill returned to composing for a six-saxophone choir with Long Tongues: A Saxophone Opera and with the formation of the Julius Hemphill Saxophone Sextet.

Found on: One Atmosphere.

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Ralph Ellison’s Long Tongue

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Multimedia theater piece developed by Hemphill with Malinké Elliott, first performed in November, 1978, in Washington, D.C., at the Corcoran Gallery. A new version was performed at the Kitchen in New York City in January, 1981. Some material from this performance was later incorporated into “Long Tongues: A Saxophone Opera.”

The Julius Hemphill Papers includes a score  in Hemphill’s hand featuring the movements “Sketch 1,” “Sketch 2,” “Sketch 3,” “Sketch 4,” and “Sir Preacher.” The instrumentation includes alto and tenor saxophone, trumpet, flute, French horn, and cello, though it varies by movement. There are parts in Hemphill’s hand for “Carnival Barker” and “Orator,” both of which were also part of the performance at some point. There is also archival audio of the work for solo percussion called “Bells,” developed by Hemphill and Malinké Elliott and incorporated into this theatrical work.

The Julius Hemphill Papers includes a video recording of the performance from The Kitchen on January 2, 1981.

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Plan B

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An arrangement for saxophone soloist and orchestra by Christopher Bankey of three Hemphill compositions, “Bordertown (San Antonio)“, “Dogon A.D.,” and “What I Know Now.” The Julius Hemphill Papers includes working materials used in the preparation of this arrangement, likely in Christopher Bankey’s hand, as well as computer printouts of the full score. “Plan B” was published by Subito Music.

From Marty Ehrlich: The Richmond Symphony originally commissioned Hemphill to compose a work for full orchestra and his Sextet. Sadly, his health did not allow him to take on such a large project. The decision was made to go to Plan B and have another composer arrange three of his pieces, with his oversight. This work premiered in concert in November 1993, with Julius in attendance. The commission was made possible with the support of Meet The Composer and its longtime director, John Duffy.

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Long Tongues: A Saxophone Opera

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Large-scale theatrical work by Hemphill which went through many different versions, with work-in-progress presentations beginning in 1987. The piece was written for saxophone sextet with strings (two violin, two viola, two cello, double bass), winds/brass (piccolo, two trumpet, two trombone, French horn), and rhythm section (piano, bass, drums, percussion). The world premiere was in Washington, D.C. in 1989, with performances at the Apollo Theater in New York City and the Strand Theatre in Boston in 1990. (See Timeline for more details). The archive contains extensive material related to this piece, particularly scores and parts related to the full performances in Washington and New York. Long Tongues incorporated several pre-existing compositions by Hemphill.

Performance Order

The individual sections of “Long Tongues” have been reconstructed by Marty Ehrlich as follows:

New York City (Apollo Theater) and Boston version
Sketch I
Sketch II
Sketch III
Mask Dance
Ballad #1-Blues
Band Theme
Georgia Blues plus Sketch IV
Sketch IV
R&B
Dogon A.D.
For Andrew
Otis Groove
Soulo
Overture

Washington, D.C. and New York City (Lincoln Center) version
Lento (Prayer Like) / Tribute
Sketch I
Sketch II
Sketch III
Sketch IV
Overture: Riot Scene
Band Theme
Bop Scene-K.C. Line
Soulo
Dogon A.D.

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