Patricia Ann Repar

for oboe, viola, and tape

ca. 9'45"

Commissioned by Kimberly Fredenburgh and Kevin Vigneau

it's endless weeping

one slowly descending tear at a time

carefully hidden from view

with a hint of tenderness

hovering in the sweet echoes of lullaby

but mostly it's thunder and rigor and passionate commitment

for nothing more than a

single moment of connection

and an unremarkable knowing

that somewhere the weeping has stopped

Special thanks to the artists and producers of the CD The Thula Project: An Album of South African Lullabies. The digital accompaniment for Alex includes short excerpts from 3 of the cuts on the CD: Homolela Ngwanaka, Umlolozelo, and Rhaliwent.

Click here to view the score.

Patricia Ann Repar

for flute, oboe, B-flat clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, violoncello, ocean drum, and voice

ca. 14'00"

There is the blue we feel

in the presence of human suffering and separateness

[stylish, solo voices, self-important melodies interrupting, competing]

And there is the blue we see from above

peaceful, swirling speck of beauty on the soul of our universe

[gentle voices reminding, connecting us to life before and beyond]

There are those who carry us from the one blue to the other.

I have written this piece in honor of them–

it is time to share in and realize their Vision of Blue

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Patricia Ann Repar

for flute, oboe, alto saxophone, vibraphone, violoncello

ca. 10'15"

(out)(in)...the OPEN is written in honor of the legendary jazz singer/songwriter Billie Holiday. On the liner notes of Billie's 1956 recording The Essential Billie Holliday–Carnegie Hall Concert, Gilbert Millstein wrote that "Billie was the victim of a world which really could not have cared much less–either for her or for any artist whose talent might be grudgingly acknowledged or eagerly exploited, but who made society uncomfortable or uneasy." Billie's way of singing defiantly exposed herself and her listeners–an experience they yearned for and resented all at the same time. As a way of highlighting Billie's courage to be open, to say it and sing it how it is (not how we might want to hear it), (out)(in)...the OPEN is structured entirely around breath sounds. It is hoped that concentration on breath, by both performers and audience, will evoke some of this vulnerability that Billie and her listeners longed to experience.

Click here to view the score.