Words Like Blades
Celebration of the Sunrise in the Desert - Francis Kayali
cond. William Reeder
The text of Celebration of Sunrise in the Desert is excerpted from the book The Poet in the Desert which depicts a poet who ventures alone into the desert to speak to Truth, which appears to him personified and converses with him. At this point in their conversation, the Poet and Truth are observing the desert wildlife just as dawn is approaching. The excerpted text is the Poet remarking on the contrast between the sleeping Earth and its restless inhabitants, who scurry in darkness only to be arrested by the sight of the sun rising above the horizon.
Musically, this text is represented by irresolute harmonies and phrases that end on chords that seem to want to resolve further but instead jump in unexpected directions, giving each line a sense of propulsion to the next. Rhythmically, every entrance is off the dominant beat. Then, as the skirts of Dawn shine over the horizon, the music very suddenly begins to intensify, with striking dissonance in the bottom voices, and grace notes that recontextualize tidy resolutions into something seemingly more sinister. This latter repeating two-note descending motif that becomes more prevalent in the second portion of the piece evokes the famous opening movement of the tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spake Zarathustra) by Richard Strauss, another work depicting a man searching for meaning in the wilderness (the movement itself is even named “Einleitung, oder Sonnenaufang” (Introduction, or Sunrise.)
Just as this moment reaches its climax, the tone of the music changes. We hear the final sentence of the excerpted poem, which is spoken by Truth (“And the red bird, dipped in sunrise…”) The harmony begins to settle into a key and the voices, which were rhythmically linked to one another, are suddenly freed to dance in triplets. In a manner fitting for absolute truth, the piece ends with its first and only unequivocal resolution.
Musically, this text is represented by irresolute harmonies and phrases that end on chords that seem to want to resolve further but instead jump in unexpected directions, giving each line a sense of propulsion to the next. Rhythmically, every entrance is off the dominant beat. Then, as the skirts of Dawn shine over the horizon, the music very suddenly begins to intensify, with striking dissonance in the bottom voices, and grace notes that recontextualize tidy resolutions into something seemingly more sinister. This latter repeating two-note descending motif that becomes more prevalent in the second portion of the piece evokes the famous opening movement of the tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spake Zarathustra) by Richard Strauss, another work depicting a man searching for meaning in the wilderness (the movement itself is even named “Einleitung, oder Sonnenaufang” (Introduction, or Sunrise.)
Just as this moment reaches its climax, the tone of the music changes. We hear the final sentence of the excerpted poem, which is spoken by Truth (“And the red bird, dipped in sunrise…”) The harmony begins to settle into a key and the voices, which were rhythmically linked to one another, are suddenly freed to dance in triplets. In a manner fitting for absolute truth, the piece ends with its first and only unequivocal resolution.
Text
The skies are listening to Earth’s silence
The Desert sleeps, but her children
Stir upon her bosom.
All shy things, breathless, watch
The thin, white skirts of Dawn,
The dancer of the sky.
And the red-bird, dipped in sunrise,
Cracks his exultant whip above the silver world.
The skies are listening to Earth’s silence
The Desert sleeps, but her children
Stir upon her bosom.
All shy things, breathless, watch
The thin, white skirts of Dawn,
The dancer of the sky.
And the red-bird, dipped in sunrise,
Cracks his exultant whip above the silver world.
About the composer: Francis Kayali is a French-American composer currently living in New England. His music has been performed by the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the North/South Consonance Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), ETHEL, the What’s Next? Ensemble, the West Point Woodwind Quintet, the Portland Piano Trio, the Parhelion Trio, and the Bateira Trio.
His music appears on CDs by pianist Martin Jones and flutist Rebecca Jefferys. His intermezzo for flute and piano has been broadcast on radio stations throughout Canada and the US. Kayali has served on the music faculties of Solano Community College (Fairfield, CA) and Saint Anslem College (Manchester, NH) He is currently composer-in residence with the Karger College Prep Division at the Portland Conservatory for the 2017-18 season.
His music appears on CDs by pianist Martin Jones and flutist Rebecca Jefferys. His intermezzo for flute and piano has been broadcast on radio stations throughout Canada and the US. Kayali has served on the music faculties of Solano Community College (Fairfield, CA) and Saint Anslem College (Manchester, NH) He is currently composer-in residence with the Karger College Prep Division at the Portland Conservatory for the 2017-18 season.
once on never recur over - Patrick behnke
cond. David Rentz
once on never recur over is an exploration of slowly discovering a piece of music from its fragments. The music is comprised of a single vocal line that is sung only partly until the full line is heard in toward the middle of the work. This vocal line then begins diminishing again into fragments until the music ends. For the text, I worked with the constraint that the words would contain no letters with stems or dots above or below the character: the letters q,t,y,i,p,d,f,g,h,j,k,l, and b do not appear in the verses. However, these stemmed letters do appear when they are sung by the tenors and basses in quiet interjections. Most of the words come from a single day’s newspaper copy and were chosen to create a poem.
TEXT
once on never recur over lltttffflllllllllllmgggggghhhhh
sonerous answer moon same gmmmqqqqqqiiilllllllllllllllllpp
sane am women men caw tttyyyytttthhhhffffllllllldddddd
soon an un ear cause dxdcdydtttyyyyyyyggggllllllllt
came meso-room muse qqqqgggmmuuuiiiiiihhhhhlllll
succor am æ æ æ non hhhhtttiiiiimmmmgggqqqpp
————————————- + —————————————--
ppqqqgggmmmmiiiiittthh new seam seen un verse
lllllhhhhhiiiiiiuuummgggqqq as an avenue worn over
tllllllllgggglyyyyyyyttdydcdx more as cure nervous was
ddddddlllllllffffhhhhttttyyyyttt ever re recur meme
ppllllllllllllllllliiiqqqqqqimmmg sore ever seems we am sea
hhhhhggggggmlllllllllllffftttlllll arm couscous now see our ease
About the composer
once on never recur over lltttffflllllllllllmgggggghhhhh
sonerous answer moon same gmmmqqqqqqiiilllllllllllllllllpp
sane am women men caw tttyyyytttthhhhffffllllllldddddd
soon an un ear cause dxdcdydtttyyyyyyyggggllllllllt
came meso-room muse qqqqgggmmuuuiiiiiihhhhhlllll
succor am æ æ æ non hhhhtttiiiiimmmmgggqqqpp
————————————- + —————————————--
ppqqqgggmmmmiiiiittthh new seam seen un verse
lllllhhhhhiiiiiiuuummgggqqq as an avenue worn over
tllllllllgggglyyyyyyyttdydcdx more as cure nervous was
ddddddlllllllffffhhhhttttyyyyttt ever re recur meme
ppllllllllllllllllliiiqqqqqqimmmg sore ever seems we am sea
hhhhhggggggmlllllllllllffftttlllll arm couscous now see our ease
About the composer
About the composer: Patrick Behnke is a violist, composer, improviser, and multimedia artist born in San Bernardino, California and raised in the metropolitan Detroit, Michigan area. Behnke holds a Master’s degree from the California Institute of the Arts where he studied composition with Eyvind Kang and Vinny Golia, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, where he studied viola with Rebecca Albers and David Holland. Currently living near Los Angeles, Behnke regularly performs with a community of composers and improvisers both in Los Angeles and Detroit, and is an active member of the new music ensembles the Desert Quill Quartet, the Pashan Ensemble, the Matsumoto/Behnke Duo, In Transit, and the electroacoustic ensemble Ice Water Tea. Behnke’s compositions have been performed by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra at Benaroya Hall in Seattle, at Trinosophes in Detroit, and at The Zebulon Cafe in Los Angeles.
Stillness - jocelyn scofield
Lauren Buckley Schaer, voice
Joceyln Scofield, piano
Joceyln Scofield, piano
Stillness was born from our current emotional climate. It searches for inner peace amid the stress and fear in the news and politics. Lyrically, the song is a journey through achieving stillness. It starts with conflict and the need for separation from stress, then moves to finding a place where one can reach peace within. The “I am” section is introduced once the space for stillness has been made. It is in that space where we have profound knowledge and find peace. Musically, simplicity was essential to maintain the message that stillness is accessible to everyone. In the A sections, the accompaniment dances around the simple melody. In the B sections, the accompaniment is sparse creating a space for stillness to grow. In the C or “I am” section, the melody is primarily C’s and C sharps. I focused on that note because of the connection between the note C and the word see. To see is to have clarity. Overall, this piece is both an art song and a meditation.
TEXT
Around me is a storm of chaos and pain
Around me is a battle of hate and blame
And I am lost in this war
I am search desperate for
Stillness, stillness
Inside me is a space where chaos can not breathe
Inside me is a grace where hate can not feed
When I close my eyes
When I calm my weary mind
I am breath
I am body
I am peace
I am
Stillness, stillness
About the composer: Jocelyn Scofield is a Los Angeles singer, songwriter and composer whose piano-driven writing combines her greatest influences of pop, jazz, and classical. She has recorded, produced, released three original albums and dozens of singles, garnering over 35 millions plays of her music. As a songwriter, Jocelyn has co-written songs with Grammy Award winners and hit country songwriter and been chosen to participate in the Johnny Mercer ‘Power of a Song’, the ASCAP Pop Songwriter’s workshop, and the Lester Sill Songwriter’s workshops. She was also one of 17,000 singer/songwriter chosen to be a finalist in the first Guitar Center Whooznxt Competition. As a singer, Jocelyn is actively involved in the Los Angeles singing community. She has sung with will.i.am, John Legend, Patti LaBelle, Mary J. Blige, and Herb Alpert. She can be also heard on the score of Suicide Squad and has performed with the Echo Society, Women Who Score, DesertX. Jocelyn is incredibly thankful for her fans, friends, and family for continuing to support her creative endeavors.
Oublier (to forget) - tj sclafani
I. Rosemonde
II. Hotels
cond. Saunder Choi
Diana Woolner, soloist
Diana Woolner, soloist
"Oublier (to forget)" was originally written with the idea of combining the dense harmonic language of Poulenc, Milhaud, and Ravel with modern compositional techniques inspired by the work of Sylvano Busotti, Abbie Bettinis, and fellow C3LA composers. During this time, I was also listening to a lot of downtempo 90s R&B, particularly Jodeci, Erykah Badu, Groove Theory, and Brown Sugar era D’Angelo, and I have been deeply inspired by these artists’ use of melody, embellishment, and extended voicing, creating an air of sensuality and tenderness in all of their work. With this goal in mind, I decided to adapt three poems from Apollinaire's Alcools, since I felt that the vivid, surreal imagery would serve the soundworld I was aiming to produce. Yet, I was also drawn to these poems because of their narratives surrounding the relationship between love, loss, and memory.
TEXT & TRANSLATION
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Rosemonde
Longtemps au pied du perron de La maison où entra la dame Que j’avais suivie pendant Deux Bonnes heures à Amsterdam Mes doigts jeterent des baisers Mais le canal était désert Le quai aussi et nul ne vit Comment mes baisers retrouvèrent Celle à qui j’ai donné ma vie Un jour pendant plus de deux heures Je la surnommai Rosemonde Voulant pouvoir me rappeler Sa bouche fleurie en Hollande Puis lentement je m’en allai Pour quêter la Rose du Monde
|
Rosemonde
Long at the foot of those stairs Where I lost Her whom I spent two Hours pursuing in Amsterdam My fingers blew kisses Canal was forsaken Embankment too, no one saw If my kisses had found One who took from my life More than two hours I named her Rosemonde Lest I forget Mouth flowered in Holland Then slowly I took my way Seeking the rose of the world
|
About the composer: TJ Sclafani is a composer, vocalist, and actor currently based in Los Angeles. His work has been premiered by gnarwhallaby, the New Millennium Brass Ensemble, Flux Quartet, and the Moravian Philharmonic, among others. TJ is a member of HEX, a Los Angelesbased vocal sextet that specializes in new music, and has performed with Ember, the New York Choral Society, the CalArts Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, and numerous chamber groups. TJ will graduate in May with his MFA in Music Composition from the California Institute of the Arts.
Mehretu Construction - amy golden
cond. David Harris
Construction After Mehretu was originally commissioned by another chorus with the request that I incorporate "African elements" into the work. Ultimately our visions did not align and the piece was never performed, but I am grateful for the impetus to research and draw inspiration from contemporary African artists, and especially to dive deep into the work of Julie Mehretu.
Mehretu is an Ethiopian American visual artist. Her giant murals address urban landscapes and their histories, combining layers of architectural line-drawings, highly gestural illustrations, and abstract colors, shapes, and textures. The result is a dense and dynamic world rich movement (somehow) and meaning to be mined. This structure functions as a kind of grammar and the varied individual elements as vocabulary. She has said, "I think of my abstract mark-making as a type of sign lexicon, signifier, or language for characters that hold identity and have social agency."
Construction is not a "translation" of any one of her works, but rather an attempt to utilize the visual language she has developed. In this piece, the content is pre-determined and the large-scale structure established by the composer, but the ordering, combination, and treatment of that content, those building blocks, are largely determined by the singers and conductor. The goal is a sort of auditory, multi-layered mobile set in motion by the place, time, and ensemble makeup involved in any given performance. I hope to explore the myriad relationships and structures (and the resultant implications) possible inside a closed environment with a specific and limited vocabulary.
All the text is drawn, in small pieces, from various books and articles about Mehretu and her work.
Mehretu is an Ethiopian American visual artist. Her giant murals address urban landscapes and their histories, combining layers of architectural line-drawings, highly gestural illustrations, and abstract colors, shapes, and textures. The result is a dense and dynamic world rich movement (somehow) and meaning to be mined. This structure functions as a kind of grammar and the varied individual elements as vocabulary. She has said, "I think of my abstract mark-making as a type of sign lexicon, signifier, or language for characters that hold identity and have social agency."
Construction is not a "translation" of any one of her works, but rather an attempt to utilize the visual language she has developed. In this piece, the content is pre-determined and the large-scale structure established by the composer, but the ordering, combination, and treatment of that content, those building blocks, are largely determined by the singers and conductor. The goal is a sort of auditory, multi-layered mobile set in motion by the place, time, and ensemble makeup involved in any given performance. I hope to explore the myriad relationships and structures (and the resultant implications) possible inside a closed environment with a specific and limited vocabulary.
All the text is drawn, in small pieces, from various books and articles about Mehretu and her work.
About the composer: Amy Golden is a composer, sound artist, and vocalist based in East LA. She creates works for choir, orchestra, and chamber ensembles in addition to site-specific performances and installations, largely focusing on the relationship between sound and object. As a vocalist, Amy specializes in 20th century and contemporary works, experimental music, and improvisation. She holds a BA in music from the University of North Texas and an MFA in composition and vocal performance from the California Institute of the Arts. She is a founding member of C3LA.
From I to We - molly pease
Elsa Lund, voice
Drew Corey, piano
Drew Corey, piano
“From I to We” is a setting of a poem written by my father, Randall Pease, and is part of a series called “Inner Astronomy”. Throughout his years battling cancer, severe depression, addiction and later, dementia, my father was extremely prolific, documenting his experience through his writing. One of his favorite themes to explore was flight, often comparing humans to birds. In this poem, he references “the bird in us”, which feels like a hopeful statement - suggesting that we can fly out of ourselves, escaping the darkness within us. The climactic moment in the piece is meant to imitate the exorcism of that darkness, as the voice inhales and exhales rhythmically as if cleansing the body of an inner demon, chanting the lyrics “But if spirit speaks”. There is also warmth in the poem and music, during a cappella moments, when the voice softly yodels, meditating on the idea of love for others as a way out of depression.
About the composer: Molly Pease is an eclectic vocalist and composer with an MFA in Jazz Studies from California Institute of the Arts and a BA from The New School. Molly leads experimental rock band ACKLAND and creates works for voices, strings and other combinations. Currently, Molly is part of the Contemporary Choral Collective of Los Angeles, is a section leader and soloist at First Congregational Church of LA, and is a member of the all-women Georgian polyphony ensemble Shvidkala. Molly won two DownBeat Awards with ARC Vocal Jazz Ensemble and performed at ACDA in Chicago with contemporary choir Vox Musica.
Who Is This Boy? - fahad siadat
cond. Alexandra Grabarchuk
The nativity scene is traditionally depicted joyfully, but with modern hindsight I see the event with mixed emotions. I created this piece in three sections to convey the witnesses’ progressive understanding of what this child might represent. It begins with a hushed questioning at a miraculous event they do not yet fully understand. The second section is like a prophetic flash of what is to come, the sudden realization of what being the messiah means for the life and death of this innocent child. Finally, the piece ends with a soothing lullaby. Even if the future holds tragedy, we can focus on the present, the beauty of new life, and the more distant hope of the future. – Fahad Siadat
TEXT
Who is this boy?
Perhaps an angel of the Lord?
Perhaps a prophet?
Perhaps the messiah?
Such tiny shoulders,
So little blood
For the sins of all mankind.
Such small, slight shoulders!
He sees me weeping.
Hush now, let him sleep.
Let him sleep and dream
Of Kingdom come.
Who is this boy?
Perhaps an angel of the Lord?
Perhaps a prophet?
Perhaps the messiah?
Such tiny shoulders,
So little blood
For the sins of all mankind.
Such small, slight shoulders!
He sees me weeping.
Hush now, let him sleep.
Let him sleep and dream
Of Kingdom come.
About the composer: Fahad Siadat is a performer and composer specializing in contemporary and experimental music, particularly improvisation and the use of extended vocal techniques. He is co-artistic director of The Resonance Collective in New York, and conductor of the Contemporary Vocal Ensemble at CalArts, where he is pursuing a doctoral degree. An evangelist for contemporary choral music, Fahad is a founding member of C3LA and a board member of C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective in New York. In 2012 he founded See-A- Dot Music Publishing, Inc., a company devoted to the advocacy of new choral works and emerging composers.
Blackbirds Rise From a Field - joshua harris
cond. Jaco Wong
"When I moved to Sweet Briar College in central Virginia I was struck by the natural beauty of the 3200-acre, wooded campus. I have spent many days walking on the trails watching the blackbirds in the fields and listening to the woodpeckers in the forest. When I discovered that John Cage visited Sweet Briar in 1950, and that his experience on campus—as chronicled in his 'Lecture on Nothing'—felt so familiar to me, I was inspired to set his own words as a memorial to that visit." – Joshua Harris
About the composer: Joshua Harris (b. 1977) is a composer and music professor at Sweet Briar College. His original music is grounded in a fascination with visual art, textures, sound spectra, nonlinear narratives and extreme temporal manipulations, and has been heavily influenced by studio techniques of electroacoustic composers. He has been commissioned by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition and Akropolis Reed Quintet and has won awards from the American Composers Forum, among others. His music has been performed throughout the United States and South Korea, and is available on the SEAMUS record label. When he is not composing, he enjoys writing about art and music, traveling with his wife and two daughters, and thinking about the formal structure of sitcoms.
MAGIC - AMY GORDON
cond. David Rentz
Molly Pease and Drew Corey, soloists
Daniel Koh, piano
Molly Pease and Drew Corey, soloists
Daniel Koh, piano
“Magic” (the third and final movement of the choral song cycle As Time Stops To Rest) describes how the narrator senses the closeness of “the spirit kingdom” all around him or her, but only has fleeting glimpses of it. The piece opens with an a cappella dialogue between the altos and tenors, who are then joined by the sopranos and basses. The piece then builds to the joyous climax of the whole song cycle: “But oh, for a moment I grow flowers with my hands!”, alluding to how powerful and wondrous these brief glimpses of the spirit kingdom are. The texture then drops down to lulling a cappella chords in the lower voices as two featured soprano soloists “dance on wings uplifted”. The narrator then finally enters “the kingdom of all” he or she has been sensing, possibly through death. The movement concludes peacefully as the narrator “enter[s] the kingdom of all and AM”. The piano concludes with a peaceful postlude recalling motives used throughout the movement.
As Time Stops To Rest is a three-movement song cycle for SSAATTBB Choir and Piano, with featured soprano and tenor soloists. The cycle is dedicated to the composer’s late aunt Susan Jordan. The works sets three poems from a larger set of poetry entitled As Time Stops To Rest, also written by Susan Jordan. The song cycle has an overall arch form of peace followed by tragedy and loss, ultimately giving way to a final sense of peace.
TEXT
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Not far from me
Decked in light Glowing with warmth The spirit kingdom Of all Lives Forever close Forever Strong Sometimes Not often Not enough |
But oh
For a moment I grow flowers With my hands And dance On wings Uplifted With all beauty Mine As I enter The kingdom Of All, and AM |
About the composer: Amy Gordon is a composer, arranger, singer-songwriter, and vocalist in Los Angeles, CA. She is the composer-in-residence for Nova Vocal Ensemble and has been commissioned by many choirs including the Los Angeles Belles, Graham Middle School Vocal Ensemble, and various other ensembles. In addition to composing classical and choral music, she is also an active film composer. She teaches Music Theory and Composition at Musicians Institute, a contemporary music college in Hollywood, CA. She received her M.M. in Composition from California State University, Long Beach and her B.A. in Composition from Loyola Marymount University. For more information, visit www.amygordonmusic.com.
Pretty Words Like Blades - allen w. menton
cond. Daniel Koh
Emily Dickinson’s poetry furnishes composers with great opportunities for musical setting, but her poetry also presents a special challenge. Her densely concentrated syntax hinders an effective marriage of music and meaning. This poem (text reproduced below) describes a vicious small-town gossip. At first, the speaker reacts to the gossip’s subtle malevolence by retreating into a pained silence, but after the encounter, her anger bursts forth in the stormy deprecations of the poem. To illustrate the speaker’s emotional reaction and gradually formed response, I chose syllables of stammering, as if the speaker were struggling to let her words break free of the rigid small-town conventions restricting what she could say in public.
TEXT
She dealt her pretty words like Blades,
How glittering they shone,
And every One unbared a Nerve
Or wantoned with a Bone.
She never deemed, she hurt,
That is not Steel’s Affair;
a vulgar grimace in the Flesh,
How ill the Creatures bear.
To Ache is human, not polite,
The Film upon the eye
Mortality’s old Custom:
Just locking up to die.
She dealt her pretty words like Blades,
How glittering they shone,
And every One unbared a Nerve
Or wantoned with a Bone.
She never deemed, she hurt,
That is not Steel’s Affair;
a vulgar grimace in the Flesh,
How ill the Creatures bear.
To Ache is human, not polite,
The Film upon the eye
Mortality’s old Custom:
Just locking up to die.
About the composer: Allen W. Menton teaches Composition and Theory in the Music Department at California State University, San Bernardino. As a choral singer, he has performed with many conductors, including Dana Maiben, William Dehning, Lynn Bielefeld, Joseph Huszti, John Alexander, and Esa-Pekka Salonen.
