- Mother of Exiles (2023)
-
Linda Dusman
for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, double dass, harp, percussion, and piano
ca. 11'00"
What must our Lady Liberty be thinking? Staunchly guarding the NewYork harbor, sending a beacon of light still, but now a museum, what are her sonic memories of mothers singing to comfort their children? Mother of Exiles, your huddled masses are now at our southern borders, where there is a wall instead of a beacon of hope. How do we create a more perfect union, when we are faced so dramatically with the imperfections of our past and our present? What would that union sound like?
I want to express my appreciation to the cultures that created the lullabies quoted in this work: Syria, Nigeria, and the Andes region. My hope is that our shared concerns of caring for the young might bring these disparate voices together to forge a sustainable future. Any royalties resulting from performances of this work will be donated to Unicef, the United Nations agency for children.
The performance was recorded by the Inscape Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Richard Scerbo.
Click here to view the score and listen to the recording.
- De Nacht: Lament for Malcolm X (1983)
-
Anna Rubin
for soprano, flute, oboe, Bb clarinet, bassoon, horn in F, piano, violin, viola, violoncello, and contrabass
De Nacht was written while I was studying in Amsterdam with Ton de Leeuw in 1983. I composed it for a competion run by the Delta Ensemble and was awarded first prize. I assembled the text, which is an impressionistic collage drawn from several sources including Near Eastern mythology and Malcolm’s X’s own life. Words from several languages are used. I was very influenced by the mythological works of Joseph Campbell and his concept of the hero’s journey. The piece is in two broad sections. Melodic fragments are set against fast, pizzicato and staccato accompanimental figures in the first part. It builds to a dramatic climax and is followed by a serene closing section which is a setting of a Hawaaian creation song.
At a time when the earth was hot,
At a time when the heavens turned about,
At a time when the sun was darkened to cause the moon to shine,
The slime, the source of the earth, the source of the night, that made the night,
Intense darkness! The deep darkness, the darkness of the sun, darkness of the night, the night gives birth.
The piece premiered at The Icebreaker (Het Ijsbreker), Amsterdam, in 1983 was performed several times after by the ensemble.
- The Mystical Moon (2010)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for orchestra
ca. 10'00"
- Symphony No. 3 (1983)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for orchestra
ca. 14'34"
Click here to listen to the recording.
- The solitary voice (1979, rev. 2008)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for orchestra
ca. 12'00"
Everything in Life is Vibration (Albert Einstein). Everything has its own unique vibration, frequency, and sound. It means everything has a unique voice that is an expression of its vibrations and frequencies. Everything...snowflakes, crystals, flowers, take on their shapes according to their particular vibrations and responding to multiple vibrations, sounds, and voices of the universe. The universe is a choir of the myriad of voices. Each voice has to find the shape and expression to resonate with the universe. Each voice, if it is out of the connection with the choir of voices of the universe, is the solitary voice.
The Solitary Voice was premiered by the symphony orchestra of University of Maryland Baltimore County on November 22, 2015. Conductor: E.Michael Richards
Click here to listen to the recording.
- Second Symphony (1977)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for orchestra
ca. 19'00"
- I Hear (2010)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for choir and chamber orchestra
ca. 7'00"
This music was inspired by a poem by Jamila Asgar:
The snow is painting white on gray,
The sky brings angels out to pray;
The snow is painting white on brown,
The sky is gently falling down.
I hear the whispers in the play,
I hear the sweetest ever sound,
As sky is falling gently down,
The snow brings angels' prayers today.
- Yurt (2013)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for orchestra
ca. 8'46"
- First Symphony (1976)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for orchestra
ca. 21'00"
- Extinct Volcanoes (2018)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for double bass and piano
ca. 15'00"
Scientists considered extinct volcanoes as cold, dead volcanoes because centuries beneath them there is no underground activity. They would be ones that nobody expects to ever erupt again. But new research turned all these definitions upside-down: extinct volcanoes are waking up. Getting hotter, they finally would be ready to burst out. There have already been a number of eruptions from extinct volcanoes. Yes, volcanoes thought to be dead have erupted or have visible signs of geological changes all around the world: Yellowstone, Yosemite, Campi Flegrei, Changbaishan, Krakatoa, Popokatepetl, Eyjafjallajokull... Extinct volcanoes break silence. Maybe the Earth has something to tell us?
- Eos-Helios (2013)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for orchestra
ca. 15'30"
Click here to listen to a YouTube recording of this piece.
- Leaning Into and Away (trio)
-
Eleanor Hovda
for soprano, contrabass, and percussion
ca. 12'51"
- Journeymusic (1981)
-
Eleanor Hovda
for flute, clarinet in Bb, violin, contrabass, piano, and percussion
ca. 8'00"
Commisioned by the Jerome Foundation for the Orchestra of Our Time, Joel Thome, music director
Click here to view the performance notes.
- Borealis Music (1987)
-
Eleanor Hovda
for flute, oboe, bassoon, piano
ca. 10'30"
For the Sylmar Chamber Ensemble
Commissioned by the MCF/CCP Program funded by the Jerome Foundation
Borealis Music suggests energy which moves but doesn't go anywhere. The Aurora Borealis is seen as curtains or ribbons of active energy, but not a travelling form. There is also the perception of the aurora being a series of super-imposed "after-images" – the idea that what is seen is the resultant of a field of reflected/refracted electrical impulses.
The energy fields are achieved by introspective probings of the "sound around the sound" of strings and winds. Sonic ribbons emerge, and lengths of time taken to excavate and articulate resonance fields.
An important aspect of performance is to be able to work with very soft dynamic levels with intense concentration and energy. A theatrical metaphor is the Noh drama of Japan, where the slow unfolding of infinitesimally distilled material serves to heighten and sustain focus and attention.
- De Laguna (1991)
-
Mercedes Otero
for mezzo soprano, flute, oboe, harp, and contrabass
ca. 16'15"
The poems used in “De Laguna” are from the book Laguna, by Alberto Arvelo Ramos, a contemporary Venezuelan poet. Translations by Mercedes Otero.
- Timberline (1991)
-
Lois V Vierk
for piano/synthesizer, flute, clarinet, bassoon, viola, contrabass, and percussion
ca. 16'14"
Hiking a trail to high altitudes takes you through an ever changing landscape. The dark closeness of the forest gradually gives way to increasing spaciousness. Light shimmers in as hints of the grandeur ahead draw you up the mountain. Arriving at the timberline and then at the mountain top gives you a spectacular view of the land below and the sky all around you.
This work is in two continuous sections. The first section begins with winds and strings in the mid range, playing held notes and slow glissandi. Simple grace notes are added. Little by little a dense texture is built as grace notes are transformed into ascending pentatonic scale passages in winds and strings. This is overlaid contrapuntally with a piano texture of ornate grace notes, tremolos and trills, gradually moving up over the full range of the keyboard. Cymbals roll at the climax.
The second section begins under the ringing cymbals with slow, open fifths in the lowest register of the winds and strings. The sounds are dark and languid, with many sliding tones. Very gradually more percussive sounds are added. Phrases are becoming shorter, notes are getting faster, shifting from whole notes to half notes to quarters. The piano begins a bright and rhythmic punctuation of the phrase, introducing 16th notes. The development of this rhythmic and harmonic figure gradually moves the piece to its climactic conclusion. Finally all the instruments combine to form one texture--dynamic, rhythmic, covering the entire instrumental range.
Timberline was commissioned for the Relâche Ensemble of Philadelphia by Kobrand, Inc., importer of Champagne Taittinger.
A CD recording was released on New World Records -- Lois V Vierk: Words Fail Me, New World 80766.
Recording is by the Relâche Ensemble of Philadelphia, conducted by Lloyd Shorter, from CD:
New World Records 80766 "Lois V Vierk: Words Fail Me"
Click here to view the CD on New World Records.
Click here to view the score and listen to the recording.