What Every Woman Ought to Know (2016)
mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, cello, two martial artists
I. Invocation and Overture
II. Two Examples
III. An Anonymous Aside
IV. Mrs. Garrud's Thoughts on the Press
V. DAMSEL vs. DESPERADO
I. Invocation and Overture
II. Two Examples
III. An Anonymous Aside
IV. Mrs. Garrud's Thoughts on the Press
V. DAMSEL vs. DESPERADO
Pre-concert remarks from 2/2/2017:
"Good evening to everyone here in Bates Recital Hall and to everyone joining us from the comfort of their homes over the internet. These Pale Blue. events reach back to 2011 and have always been about making partnerships. At first we hoped to partner with the conductors and wind players at UT towards a more abstract goal: that of creating and performing new music for large wind ensemble. This year, however, especially in light of recent political and social events, our goal has shifted: each piece programmed tonight amplifies the voice of an underrepresented population, bringing to light the particular difficulties, injustices, and ignorance they have suffered. We believe that no time is better than the present to use music to illuminate the missteps of the past. Whether we composers, performers, or conductors are members of any affected minority or not, it is our responsibility as people and as artists to use our voices to call attention to these problems and contribute in whatever way we can to bring about change towards a more egalitarian and accepting society. Each composer on tonight’s program will speak directly to the issue that their piece confronts but first I’d like to take a moment to thank some of the partners you’ll not see on this stage who’ve made this event possible:
Mary Ellen Poole, Director of the Butler School of Music (BSOM)
Frank Simon and the staff of the BSOM Recording Studio
UT University Bands headed by Jerry Junkin and the studio faculty of the Butler School of Music
The UT Composition Department
Master Ben Johnson of Aim and Focus Karate
Christopher Field Sensei of Austin Iwama Aikido
Lastly, though you’ll see them all night, we’d like to thank the performers who’ve volunteered their time, attention, and effort to bring our music to life.
What Every Woman Ought to Know is based on the writings of Margaret Garrud, an English instructor of Japanese jujutsu who taught suffragettes to defend themselves in the early part of the 20th century as women both here and in the UK struggled to win the right to vote. Not only am I using Mrs. Garrud’s words, but some of the techniques we’ll be showing tonight she also dictated. My program notes touch on a few more details about the history I’ve drawn from but I’d like to say a word about how martial arts, music, and equality. While the superficial aspects of each pursuit couldn’t seem more different both rely on trusting your partners and acknowledging that everyone is on the same journey, on the mat and in the practice room, and so to most of us it goes without saying that we’re all valued contributors, regardless of our demographic. That makes it all the more obscene that just 100 years ago women physically had to fight for the right to vote, and that 50 years ago the same went for African Americans and other racial minorities in the United States. We now, today, see on the news every night the same old fears mongered and the shadiness of discrimination ever more confident in the light, so while this piece will be entertaining, and funny at times, it should also be a reminder that we have to be vigilant against misogyny specifically (and discrimination in general) even in our own backyards – and relentlessly hold ourselves and our neighbors to the highest standards."
(more succinct program note below)
Text:
I. Invocation and Overture
A woman who knows jujutsu,
even though she may not be physically strong,
even though she may not have a parasol,
she is not helpless;
she may bring great burly cowards nearly twice her size to their knees
and make them howl for mercy!
II. Two Examples
The Incredulous Reporter:
“I rose convinced of the efficiency of Jujutsu, and, aching in every limb, crawled painfully away, pitying the constable whose ill-fortune it should be to lay hands on Mrs. Garrud.”
Protesting outside Parliament:
"Now then, move on, you can't be making an obstruction…
I said, move on, you can’t be making an obstruction, here!”
"Excuse me, it’s you who's making an obstruction…here!"
III. An Anonymous Aside
That drunken loafer in the gallery says,
"Down with the petticoats."
I say "Up with the petticoats and down with the pants."
Then things will be seen in their true light.
We must unify,
for as long as we women are split up as we are,
the men will always be on top.
IV. Mrs. Garrud’s Thoughts on the Press
The daily papers, by their witticisms, smart or otherwise,
have certainly helped to popularize that mode of self-defense,
at the expense of the Suffragette who goes in for jujutsu,
in order that she may foil her natural enemy,
the man in blue…
The daily papers, by their witticisms, smart or otherwise,
have certainly helped to popularize that mode of self-defense,
whether they clamour for the vote or not.
V. DAMSEL VS. DESPERADO
A lady is returning home along a lonely country road.
It is growing dark, but the lady saunters carelessly,
enjoying the fragrant summer breezes…
Suddenly, from behind a hedge, a rascally hooligan rushes forward.
He is powerful, unscrupulous, a thief.
He has cast avaricious eyes there upon her satchel.
But not so fast, my friend;
It’s not so easy as it seems.
You’ve encountered a woman who knows a thing or two.
He cannot move,
he dares not move,
for if he does his shoulder or elbow, or both, will be dislocated.
Believing that he’s had enough
now that she’s shown him what she can do,
she gives him a severe twinge that makes him squeal,
and throws him off as a "thing" beneath contempt.
A moment afterwards she regrets her magnanimity…
Program note:
Edith Margaret Garrud was an English instructor of Japanese jujutsu who trained the bodyguard unit of the Women's Political and Social Union (a group of sometimes militant suffragettes lead by Emmeline Pankhurst) prior to World War I. She popularized jujutsu in England through exhibitions, magazine articles, and semi-theatrical works such as the 1911 play "What Every Woman Ought to Know" - from which the title of this piece is borrowed.
I chose the texts from various writings by Mrs. Garrud (and added an anonymous commentary on suffrage for the third movement as it was absolutely appropriate to the dramatic arc of the piece) both for their narrative qualities (II and V) and their polemic (I and IV). Mrs. Garrud is sharp-witted and her commentary incisive, and I have no doubt that the techniques she taught her fellow women for use in protecting themselves from police abuse were likewise.
In the spirit of her promotional plays and the illustrated articles she offered, this piece is designed to be played along with martial arts demonstration. Tonight the mezzo-soprano will "play the part" of Mrs. Garrud, narrating and taking part in one of the demonstrations (most of which were dictated by Mrs. Garrud in notes and photos), while Nicole Vaughan, an aikido practitioner, will perform most of the demonstrations. I, the composer, will be, fittingly, the unfortunate assailant.
"Good evening to everyone here in Bates Recital Hall and to everyone joining us from the comfort of their homes over the internet. These Pale Blue. events reach back to 2011 and have always been about making partnerships. At first we hoped to partner with the conductors and wind players at UT towards a more abstract goal: that of creating and performing new music for large wind ensemble. This year, however, especially in light of recent political and social events, our goal has shifted: each piece programmed tonight amplifies the voice of an underrepresented population, bringing to light the particular difficulties, injustices, and ignorance they have suffered. We believe that no time is better than the present to use music to illuminate the missteps of the past. Whether we composers, performers, or conductors are members of any affected minority or not, it is our responsibility as people and as artists to use our voices to call attention to these problems and contribute in whatever way we can to bring about change towards a more egalitarian and accepting society. Each composer on tonight’s program will speak directly to the issue that their piece confronts but first I’d like to take a moment to thank some of the partners you’ll not see on this stage who’ve made this event possible:
Mary Ellen Poole, Director of the Butler School of Music (BSOM)
Frank Simon and the staff of the BSOM Recording Studio
UT University Bands headed by Jerry Junkin and the studio faculty of the Butler School of Music
The UT Composition Department
Master Ben Johnson of Aim and Focus Karate
Christopher Field Sensei of Austin Iwama Aikido
Lastly, though you’ll see them all night, we’d like to thank the performers who’ve volunteered their time, attention, and effort to bring our music to life.
What Every Woman Ought to Know is based on the writings of Margaret Garrud, an English instructor of Japanese jujutsu who taught suffragettes to defend themselves in the early part of the 20th century as women both here and in the UK struggled to win the right to vote. Not only am I using Mrs. Garrud’s words, but some of the techniques we’ll be showing tonight she also dictated. My program notes touch on a few more details about the history I’ve drawn from but I’d like to say a word about how martial arts, music, and equality. While the superficial aspects of each pursuit couldn’t seem more different both rely on trusting your partners and acknowledging that everyone is on the same journey, on the mat and in the practice room, and so to most of us it goes without saying that we’re all valued contributors, regardless of our demographic. That makes it all the more obscene that just 100 years ago women physically had to fight for the right to vote, and that 50 years ago the same went for African Americans and other racial minorities in the United States. We now, today, see on the news every night the same old fears mongered and the shadiness of discrimination ever more confident in the light, so while this piece will be entertaining, and funny at times, it should also be a reminder that we have to be vigilant against misogyny specifically (and discrimination in general) even in our own backyards – and relentlessly hold ourselves and our neighbors to the highest standards."
(more succinct program note below)
Text:
I. Invocation and Overture
A woman who knows jujutsu,
even though she may not be physically strong,
even though she may not have a parasol,
she is not helpless;
she may bring great burly cowards nearly twice her size to their knees
and make them howl for mercy!
II. Two Examples
The Incredulous Reporter:
“I rose convinced of the efficiency of Jujutsu, and, aching in every limb, crawled painfully away, pitying the constable whose ill-fortune it should be to lay hands on Mrs. Garrud.”
Protesting outside Parliament:
"Now then, move on, you can't be making an obstruction…
I said, move on, you can’t be making an obstruction, here!”
"Excuse me, it’s you who's making an obstruction…here!"
III. An Anonymous Aside
That drunken loafer in the gallery says,
"Down with the petticoats."
I say "Up with the petticoats and down with the pants."
Then things will be seen in their true light.
We must unify,
for as long as we women are split up as we are,
the men will always be on top.
IV. Mrs. Garrud’s Thoughts on the Press
The daily papers, by their witticisms, smart or otherwise,
have certainly helped to popularize that mode of self-defense,
at the expense of the Suffragette who goes in for jujutsu,
in order that she may foil her natural enemy,
the man in blue…
The daily papers, by their witticisms, smart or otherwise,
have certainly helped to popularize that mode of self-defense,
whether they clamour for the vote or not.
V. DAMSEL VS. DESPERADO
A lady is returning home along a lonely country road.
It is growing dark, but the lady saunters carelessly,
enjoying the fragrant summer breezes…
Suddenly, from behind a hedge, a rascally hooligan rushes forward.
He is powerful, unscrupulous, a thief.
He has cast avaricious eyes there upon her satchel.
But not so fast, my friend;
It’s not so easy as it seems.
You’ve encountered a woman who knows a thing or two.
He cannot move,
he dares not move,
for if he does his shoulder or elbow, or both, will be dislocated.
Believing that he’s had enough
now that she’s shown him what she can do,
she gives him a severe twinge that makes him squeal,
and throws him off as a "thing" beneath contempt.
A moment afterwards she regrets her magnanimity…
Program note:
Edith Margaret Garrud was an English instructor of Japanese jujutsu who trained the bodyguard unit of the Women's Political and Social Union (a group of sometimes militant suffragettes lead by Emmeline Pankhurst) prior to World War I. She popularized jujutsu in England through exhibitions, magazine articles, and semi-theatrical works such as the 1911 play "What Every Woman Ought to Know" - from which the title of this piece is borrowed.
I chose the texts from various writings by Mrs. Garrud (and added an anonymous commentary on suffrage for the third movement as it was absolutely appropriate to the dramatic arc of the piece) both for their narrative qualities (II and V) and their polemic (I and IV). Mrs. Garrud is sharp-witted and her commentary incisive, and I have no doubt that the techniques she taught her fellow women for use in protecting themselves from police abuse were likewise.
In the spirit of her promotional plays and the illustrated articles she offered, this piece is designed to be played along with martial arts demonstration. Tonight the mezzo-soprano will "play the part" of Mrs. Garrud, narrating and taking part in one of the demonstrations (most of which were dictated by Mrs. Garrud in notes and photos), while Nicole Vaughan, an aikido practitioner, will perform most of the demonstrations. I, the composer, will be, fittingly, the unfortunate assailant.
