P. Kellach Waddle: Upon Further Examination of The Contents of The Vampire's Cabinet of Cleaning Products

About the Composition

Sonatina in Five Movements for Bass and Piano Op. 634 
   
I. Vampire Furniture
II. Vampire Detergent Pods (No, not to be eaten upon notification of her death): Recitative
III. The Vampire's Bleach (Scherzo)
IV. Vampire Turpentine
V. The Vampire Reminded Us that that which Cleanses the Deepest Stains; Is also the Most Poisonous

This piece, commissioned by my wonderful colleague Svetozar as the centerpiece of his 2019 ISB concert, reflects a recurring theme in much of my work: irony.

Many of my compositions appear lighthearted at first glance because of their unusual titles or unexpected inspirations. A composer writing pieces about vampires, beverages, or detergent might seem to be creating satire or parody.

But that isn’t the case.

The irony lies in the contrast between the inspiration and the music itself. I often begin with something mundanely ridiculous—even silly—yet the music is entirely sincere. There is no parody in the sound or presentation; instead, these pieces frequently explore darker emotional territory and aim to uncover something deeper beneath the surface.

This work is indeed quite dark. As suggested by its title—particularly the final movement—it was inspired by the idea that the things which “clean” something can also be toxic. Extending that metaphor, I was thinking about how the storms of life—loss, death, breakups, and other hardships—can “clean” our psyches and prepare us to face future challenges.

There is another irony behind the piece. Although I keep thousands of potential titles in notebooks and in my phone, when Svetozar and I finalized the commission I had absolutely no idea what the piece should be about. Normally an idea comes immediately, but this time nothing surfaced, and the longer it went on the more it drove me crazy.

Then one day, while taking a break from composing to clean my kitchen, I opened a cabinet to grab some cleaning supplies—and suddenly it hit me. Looking at the shelf of cleaning products, I had a true “Eureka!” moment: there it is—that’s the Svetozar bass and piano piece.

Within a few days, the musical material came quickly and ultimately became the work presented here.

About the Composer

P. Kellach Waddle enjoys an extremely active career as a composer, orchestral and chamber music bassist, solo bassist, conductor, writer, and concert curator. His prolific output as a composer, with opus numbers now over 760 includes pieces (concertos/sonatas/prominent chamber music parts) for every single standard orchestral instrument except timpani, as well as a number of pieces for such non-standard instruments as carillion (bell tower), almglocken, and chimes. His output features hundreds of solo and chamber works as well as several concertos and works for large orchestra and chorus. He is especially known for his large and ongoing contribution to the repertoire of his instrument (over 400 pieces for solo bass, bass with accompaniment, chamber music with bass as of late 2022) as well as continuing to write a significant amount of double reed music (especially contrabassoon) and saxophone music. His music has been heard in 39 states and in dozens of foreign countries as well as being featured more than 20 times on NPR and in venues from Carnegie Hall to the White House. His many accolades as a composer include an Austin Critics’ Table award for outstanding new composition of the year (for his String Quartet #2 commissioned by the Miro Quartet), three citations as possible finalist for The Pulitzer Prize, four nominations as State of Texas Musician of The Year, and ten nominations for The American Prize, nine as a semifinalist and one as a finalist.

PKW has held many festival and professional orchestra positions throughout his orchestral career beginning at the age of 17 including his current position as a tenured member of The Austin Symphony which he won in 1992. Waddle has curated some of “the most interestingly conceived” chamber music concerts in the U.S. (one of his concert company PKWproductions many press accolades) since launching PKWproductions in 2006. His busy guest conducting schedule has taken him to venues such as Lincoln Center as well as many universities and conservatories and he also served as the Music Director of The Austin Philharmonic for two-and-a-half seasons.

As a soloist he has been a featured recitalist at many International Society of Bassists conventions where he has been hailed as “…one of the most thrillingly creative bass soloists in the world.” He continues to post many solo performances on his social media, specializing in his own music, works from the Baroque and Neo-Baroque, and music by other living composers.

Waddle’s perhaps most flattering press quote about his music and performing comes from the writings of one of the individuals who commissioned one of his works for chamber orchestra: “…Waddle may be a bass virtuoso instead of being a pianist… yet still with all of these luxurious harmonies and melodies… PKW may very well be our American Rachmaninoff…”

PKW’s diverse career includes his prolific work as a writer. He was a full-time entertainment journalist for sixteen years and is an industry-renowned TV historian having published over 3000 articles and book contributions about game shows, soap operas, commercials, primetime 50s and 60s television as well as articles on Americana and Blues music. He is also an award winning poet with a book of his poetry now targeted to be published in first quarter 2024, and for ten years he worked in private casinos as a licensed table games dealer and roulette croupier.