In late 2011 composer Mark Lackey (b. 1966) revised his original work Fairy Tale for flute, guitar, cello and percussion and produced a recording session to document the work. Performers on the recording are dedicatee Marissa LaBant, flute; Mark Edwards, guitar; Caleb Vaughn-Jones, cello; and Patrick Roulet, percussion. The recording session took place in the Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall at The Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland, with Edward Tetreault as recording engineer.

Recording Date: August 8, 2012
Recording Location: The Peabody Conservatory, Baltimore, Maryland
Ensemble Type: mixed quartet
Duration: 0:12:47
Performers: Marissa LaBant, flute; Mark Edwards, guitar; Caleb Vaughn-Jones, cello; and Patrick Roulet, percussion

About the Music

Composer: Mark Alan Lackey
Instrumentation: flute, guitar, cello, percussion
Place of Composition:  Baltimore, MD
Date Composed: 2005, rev. 2011
Place First Performed: The Peabody Conservatory, Baltimore, Maryland
Date First Performed: April 27, 2005
Music Styles: Neo-tonal

Fairy Tale was written at the request of flutist Marissa LaBant, who was interested in extended techniques. In working together and exploring the capabilities of the flute, we noted the possibility of a “kiss” sound. Through further experimentation, LaBant discovered that a gutteral trill, with the lips enclosing the mouthpiece, created a sort of “croak” sound. The coincidence of these two sounds led to the idea of using the fairy tale as a form for the piece.

Rather than follow a specific fairy tale, I chose to work with hints of key elements of the fairy tale genre (once upon a time, a wicked witch, happily ever after) as jumping-off points for the five movements, though in hindsight I realize I was thinking of the modernized version of the frog prince story.

While the notion of a fairy tale led to a bright, light-hearted tone and a degree of accessibility, we also wanted a substantial piece. The thematic materials of the work include the set [0,1,4,6] developed freely, and extended techniques are requred of all the performers.

Fairy Tale

I. Once…
II. Wicked…
III. Frog…
IV. Kiss…
V. Happily…