Frank Retzel

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Frank Retzel (* 1948 in Detroit / Michigan ) is an American composer.

Retzel had piano lessons from the age of six and later also organ lessons. At the age of eleven he played the organ in various Detroit churches and took lessons from Noël Goemanne and Lode Van Dessel . At the age of sixteen he became an organist in Michigan.

He studied at Wayne State University with Ruth Shaw Wylie and completed postgraduate studies at the University of Chicago by 1978 . Here he also took composition and conducting lessons from Ralph Shapey .

As a composer, Retzel received an award from the International Society for Contemporary Music and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts , the Fulbright Commission and the Mellon Foundation, and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 . He has also published articles on music history and scholarly topics, is professor of music at Fordham University and St. John's University, and organist and choir director at the Church of Mary's Nativity in Flushing.

Works

  • Two Pieces for Piano , 1969.
  • Cables 87 for soprano and eight instruments, 1970.
  • Two Segments for string quartet, 1970.
  • 24 modules for eleven instruments, 1972.
  • Laminar Flow for instrumental ensemble, organ and percussion, 1973.
  • Symbiosis for electric cello and amplified piano, 1974.
  • Schism I for string quartet, 1975.
  • Anamnesis: The City of God ( Dispersion ) for organ, 1977, 1980.
  • Swamp Music for ten instruments, 1978.
  • One for soprano, viola and harpsichord, 1978.
  • Amber Glass for mezzo-soprano and four instruments Texts: Thomas Merton , 1979–80
  • Klage ('Lament') for flute and piano, 1980.
  • Line Drawings and Earthen Clay Figures for piano, 1980, 1985.
  • Poem for violin solo, 1981.
  • Hymn for mixed choir and organ, 1981.
  • Canticles for soprano and baritone or bass, mixed choir and fourteen instruments, 1981–83
  • Lumen for six instruments, 1983.
  • Movements for four instruments, 1984.
  • Break Forth: A Motet for Christmas for mixed choir and organ, 1984.
  • A Bestiary for high voice and piano (texts by Theodore Roethke and others), 1985
  • Spare Us, O Lord for three soloists, mixed choir and organ, 1985.
  • Horae for organ, 1986.
  • Chansonnier for orchestra, 1988.
  • Sekem for wind quintet, 1989.
  • Acclaim with Joy for baritone, mixed choir, percussion, wind quintet and organ, 1990.
  • O Sons, O Daughters for flute and piano, 1992.
  • Jam sol recedit igneus for choir and bells, 1992.
  • Tamarind for orchestra, 1993.
  • Trinity for eight instruments, 1993.
  • Trinity: A Secular Liturgy for three actress-singers and instrumental ensemble , 1993.
  • Daughter of Dawn for soprano and piano, 1993.
  • Love Divine - Hymn Setting of 'Hyfrydol' for choir and orchestra, 1995.
  • Crucifer for choir and orchestra, 1995.
  • Blue-Line Strophes for seven instruments, 1996.
  • Summer Songs for soprano and piano (texts by Edna St. Vincent Millay , Seamus Heaney and others), 1996
  • Portrait in Fantasy for soprano, flute and electric piano, 1997.
  • Landscapes for piano, 1998.
  • Reflections for soprano and piano (texts by John Hollander ), 2002
  • Duets for soprano and piano (texts by Seamus Heaney), 2003.
  • Night Neon: Images for Orchestra , 2004.
  • Mosaic for octet , 2005.
  • Lyric set for flute and harp, 2006.

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