Ayres and Madrigals
Updates on several fronts:
- The song cycle commission for John Warren is now finished! I set four anonymous Renaissance texts (three famously set by Dowland and one by Morley): ‘Can she excuse my wrongs’, ‘By a fountain where I lay’, ‘Flow, my tears’ and ‘Sing we and chant it.’ I struggled for a bit with the title; for a time I leaned toward ‘Mr. Warren his Galliards’ or something Dowland-esque like that, but I decided not to attach the first performer’s name to them, since the only people who seemed to ever do that were Cage and Feldman… and a few others. Anyway, I wanted the title to sound like somebody found the set in a dusty old library and put a modern spin on the songs – and hopefully they’ll sound that way. I couldn’t help but quote some of the old settings; the first two songs quote their original settings pretty blatantly, but a few other references are hidden deeper within the music. I’m excited by how the set turned out, and am looking forward to the August 17 premiere!
- I’ve sent the newly-written ‘Four Essays on Four Poets’ to a small ensemble in New York, where (cross your fingers!) there’s a possibility of it being performed.
- ‘Holy, Mighty, Worthy’, the hymn by Chris Anderson and Greg Habegger (which I subsequently arranged) is due to be recorded within the next few weeks; look for it before long on churchworksmedia.com
- I’ve started to set the first of five Latin texts in a group of motets, premiering this March in my recital. Now that I think about it, I suppose they’ll complete that Renaissance dichotomy begun in the ‘Ayres and Madrigals’: some secular, dance-oriented settings in contrast to this stark, open sound in the motets. I’m assembling a chamber choir (no more than 15 singers) whom I’ll instruct to sing with that bright sound you’d expect in Tallis or Byrd. I wonder if this Neo-Renaissance kick will turn into anything interesting…
And that’s about all for now; I’m still working hard on recital music. More on that later!