Instrumentation:

Woodwind Quintet

Duration:

12 to 15 Minutes

Premiere Performance:

January 9, 1976, Toronto, ON (York Winds)

Performances:

October 31, 1977, St. John's, NF

November 1, 1977, Corner Brook, NF

February 28, 1982, Halifax, NS

October, 1983, Cairo, Egypt

June 2, 1985, Amsterdam, Holland

July 24, 1985, Victoria, BC

Broadcasts:

Numerous (CBC)

Awards:

Fourth Prize, Canada Council/CBC National Competition for Young Canadian Composers, 1975

First Prize, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letters Competition, 1977

Recording:

FOLIA (Canadian Music Centre)

Sample Performance on CD

York Winds (FOLIA)

Sample Performance Quality:

Excellent

Commission Details

Commissioned by ARRAY (Ontario Arts Council)

Cholê is the Greek word for "anger" and the piece could be considered as a musical expression of that emotion, although only on an incidental level.

All of the material in the work is derived from the contents of the first few seconds of music, with the Horn providing the most important material.

In form, the work is an alternation between violent outburst and reflective calm. In turn, each of the five instruments is given a prominent role, either in solo or in combination with the other instruments.

1. The Premiere Performance, Toronto, Ontario, January 9, 1976

a) Globe and Mail, January 10, 1976: Barry Edwards

There followed the premiere performance of Chole, by Michael Parker, a Classics student turned composer. Though represented most frequently on Array programmes as a violist, Parker has had his own compositions premiered there as well. Chole, which means in Greek, anger, or more precisely bile, is on all counts an impressive accomplishment, and was the work to which the audience responded most warmly. Musically, the piece seemed well laid out and effectively contrasted passages of "violent outburst and reflective calm". Cadenza-like passages for solo instruments often placed the performers at a disadvantage, for I sensed a number of rough edges, which more practice would have eliminated.

b) Toronto Telegram, January 10, 1976: Michael Shulman

Michael Parker's Chole gave the York Winds the chance to play their first fortes of the night, presumably to illustrate the anger of Parker's Greek title, though the composer says in his notes that it is anger "only on a very incidental level", whatever that means. Chole is bloodless and pulseless, music on a very incidental level indeed.

2. Adjudication, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letters Competition: Donald Cook

...it is obvious immediately that the composer has a command of the technical resources of each instrument and also, that he is able to control and utilize his musical ideas.

My compliments on the imaginative score. The work appears to have been thought out over a period of time. It deserves a performance by players skilled enough to negotiate the score.

3. The Performance of October 31, 1977, St. John's, Nfld.

The Evening Telegram, November 1, 1977: Paul Bendzsa

On the whole, the programme aimed at the kind of variety radio broadcasts seem to favor - short, tuneful, crowd-pleasing fare. The notable exception, and centre piece of the evening, was Chole, a 1976 composition written for the quintet by Michael Parker. A classics scholar, composer and violist, Michael Parker is currently teaching at the Regional College in Corner Brook.

The work is a single movement, highly charged and well-crafted composition, of immense challenge to the virtuosity of the players. The quintet's performance was convincing and sincere. It was justly awarded honours by the CBC and the Newfoundland Government's Arts and Letters Competition of 1977.