Vocal and Choral music
vocal
An die Musik [Rilke], for mezzo and piano (2015)
Commissioned by Julia Bentley, Chicago, IL. Premiered at Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL.
A setting of the poem by Rainer Marie Rilke.
Performances:
Three Nordic Songs: “Min Själ, du maste nu glomma,” “Oravan Pesa,” “Vem Kan Segla” (2013)
Published by Subito Music in Midnight Sun: an anthology of Nordic songs, Mimmi Fulmer, editor.
Ma Mignonne, voice and Pierrot ensemble (2010–11)
This is a set of six songs containing settings of twelve translations of the same short poem, a "get well card" to a little girl written by Clément Marot, one of the darkest poets of the 16th century in France. Found in the book Le Ton Beau de Marot by Douglas Hofstadter, the poems explore the challenges of translation. The set includes a song that makes audible all of the grammatical implications of the original French (gender, case, possessives, etc.), another that reproduces an early attempt at automated translation where French words that are untranslatable (by the machine) are marked with "@@" (which is of course sung "At! At!"), and a full Elizabethan-style sonnet, as well as three more settings.
Performances: Jennifer Lien, soprano, and ensemble (Spring 2011)
un(bee)mo, for two sopranos, unaccompanied (2008)
A setting of e. e. cummings' short poem by the same name, that interweaves two phrases,"unmoving are you asleep" and "bee in the only rose." Written for Mimmi Fulmer and Judith Kellock to be the last piece on my CD project.
Performances: Mimmi Fulmer and Judith Kellock (January 2009 and on agevolmente, Albany Records, 2011)
Prayers and Meditations, for soprano, violin, and cello (2005)
Meditation 1/Prayer 1: Sea mi goza en el llanto [Sta. Teresa de Avila]
Meditation 2/Prayer 2: O viridissima virga [Hildegard von Bingen]
Meditation 3/Prayer 3: Ya illehi [Rabia al-Adawiyya]
“Prayer” and “meditation” commonly evoke only associations of stillness, quiet and passivity. For the devout, however, they can also suggest images of action, disquiet and distress, even sudden and jarring insight. Prayers and Meditations was written with this second set of notions in mind.
The texts are from mystics from diverse traditions, and taken together describe a kind of arc. Because Teresa of Avila couches her prayer in the subjunctive mood, the prayer sets forth a path yet to be travelled. The prayer of Hildegard of Bingen is filled with images of fulfillment and abundance, and reflects the mystic's intense engagement with a present moment. The night prayer of Rabi'a al-Addiwaya, the spiritual mother of the Sufis, closes the piece. It describes the cessation of the business of the world yet, for Rabi'a, marks the beginning of a night of prayer.
Performances: zero theorem (Laura Wolk-Lewanowicz, sop, Chris Goodman, cl, Patrick Tapio Johnson, vcl, Lyme Regis, UK, October 2014); Judith Kellock & chamber ensemble; Wichita, KS (Mar 2007); Catherine Verrilli, sop., & chamber ens.; St. Cloud, MN (Apr 2006); Evanston, IL: Jury-selected for CMS Great Lakes Regional Conference (Mar 2006); UW–Madison Contemporary Chamber Ensemble; Madison, WI (fall 2005); Christine Buckstead, sop., & chamber ensemble; Madison, WI (spring 2005)
Reference (Collection): on Books & Libraries, for soprano, flute, oboe, viola, and cello (2004)
Commissioned for the 50th Anniversary of Memorial Library, UW–Madison.
This piece was commissioned for the fiftieth anniversary of the Memorial Library at UW—Madison. In the earliest stages of the piece, as I was struggling to find texts, I was thinking of randomly selecting quotes from books throughout the library, but was agonizing over the process of 'randomly' selecting the books. Mimmi Fulmer suggested turning to Bartlett's Book of Familiar Quotations; so, ultimately the songs were composed of seventeen quotes about books and libraries.
The original program notes:
When I think about the Memorial Library, I am struck by an inescapable impression of the vastness of its collection. This piece attempts to capture that sense through the use of many quotations from a variety of sources. Most of the quotations comment on the value of books and libraries, but the set includes others as well—a curse against book stealers, the secret thoughts and desires of librarians, a wink from the composer, and an invitation to solace in the library. In the end, I think of the piece not so much as a monument to the Memorial Library but as a constellation—a constellation in the form of a library that itself offers comment on the variable places that books and libraries hold in our lives.
Performances: Julia Bentley and Anaphora ensemble (Live from WFMT, October 2013); Mimmi Fulmer with Elizabeth Marshall, flt., Pavel Morunov, ob., Andrew Waid, vla., and Jan Kolar, vcl.; Madison, WI (Fall 2004)
Lorca Songs, for soprano and cello (2002)
Cancioncilla de la primer deseo / Casida del llanto
These songs are settings of two poems by the Andalusian poet Federico García Lorca, Cancioncilla del primer deseo and Casida del llanto. The two settings evoke different musical traditions from Spain, flamenco and arabic music, yet the evocation avoids simple imitation. In the first song, the cellist plays without a bow, using many techniques which evoke flamenco guitar (particularly rasgueado and knocking on the body of the cello). In the second song, the striking use of unison helps create a highly emotional piece, representing a scene of distress and weeping.
Performances: Judith Kellock, sop., & Jakub Omsky, vcl.; Wichita, KS (Mar 2007),Queens, NY (May 2006), Manhattan, NY (May 2006),Wichita, KS (Winter 2006), Lenox, MA (Fall 2005)
Denise Ritter, sop. & Stephanie Fresonke, vcl.; Norman, OK (Oct 2006)
Judith Kellock, sop., & Heidi Hoffman, vcl.; Ithaca, NY (spring 2004)
choral
Psalm 51, for unaccompanied choir (1997)
A setting of two verses from the psalm that is associated with Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent. It was written for an enthusiast choir, diatonically dissonant, but approached through mostly stepwise motion. I have performed it countless times with a variety of church choirs.