Helicon

For Flute, Clarinet In Bb, Harp, and String Quartet. Par LASH HANNAH. Form and Postlude is a piece in one continuous movement but with a distinct postlude which ends the work. I play throughout with the idea of pacing on many levels: the largest level is the idea of proportion of sections to one another, then harmonic rhythm (in the broad sense), then harmonic rhythm on a more local level, and of course then on the surface of the music there is instrumental texture and how fast the notes go by. Along with this sense of play in terms of the pacing and motion is the idea of color. I love this ensemble, and its palette of color has been part of my DNA, as it were, for many years, because Ravel’s wonderful work Introduction et Allegro is such a cornerstone in the harpist’s repertoire. While composing, I found myself feeling that I was entering into this colorful world that is possible with this combination of instruments, almost as if it were possible to step into a painter’s palette in a real and visceral way, physically interacting with all the different colors. The title Form and Postlude nods to Ravel’s Introduction et Allegro, although my piece lives in its own very distinct space apart from Ravel. – Hannah Lash/ Répertoire / Flûte Traversière, Clarinette, Harpe et Quatuor à

for flute and guitar. Par BEASER ROBERT. / Répertoire / Flûte Traversière et Guitare

For Solo Piano. Par LASH HANNAH. Pianist Lisa Moore has an extraordinary charisma and energy at her instrument, with a kind of musical laser focus that I find tremendously inspiring. I wanted to write her a set of pieces that would play to her wonderful range and character as a performer. So I decided to write pieces in the spirit of etudes: each focuses on a different type of playing or technique or pianistic color. There is one odd piece out: the 'dream,' which is in no way an etude. This 'dream' came about when I was looking after Lisa's petunias while she was away from home. Unfortunately, her petunias languished and died. Feeling very bad, I wrote a piece to commemorate the poor flowers that had perished in my care. The set of pieces as a whole is playful, energetic, and sometimes dark and contemplative. It is a work which reflects my deep admiration for Lisa's musicianship and playing. Hannah Lash/ Etude / Piano

Par RANDS BERNARD. This string quartet is in one continuous movement of fifteen sections, with each section being a ’transcription’ of the music in a previous section. In these transcriptions the changes can be somewhat minimal – a slight altering of register, dynamics, rhythms, or more radical resulting in new harmonic and contrapuntal relationships. With this compositional method Rands aims to create a continuous self-referential musical discourse that allows for recall and even repetition. String Quartet No. 3 was commissioned for the Ying Quartet by the Institute for American Music at the Eastman School of Music./ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes

from Fantastic Mr. Fox. Par PICKER TOBIAS. / Répertoire / Mezzo-Soprano et Piano

Par SPEARS GREGORY. The Tower and the Garden is a setting of three poems for choir and string quartet. The texts juxtapose the dangers of technological hubris (the tower) and the need for a place of refuge (the garden) in a world threatened by war and ecological disaster. Each text suggest ways in which Catholic thought and imagery might challenge the status quo. The first text, poem 80 from the collection “Cables to the Ace,” was written by Trappist monk and social activist Thomas Merton. It is an eschatological meditation on the garden of Gethsemane, where Christ’s disciples slept on the eve of his crucifixion. Merton compares their slumber to society’s indifference to the destruction of our natural world by potentially dangerous new technologies and war. The second text was written by poet and Catholic activist Denise Levertov. It is a meditation on the Tower of Babel and the tendency for technology in the information and nuclear age to serve only its own growth and to potentially destroy our lives in the bargain. The third poem, written by Keith Garebian, is an homage to queer filmmaker Derek Jarman and his cottage garden at Dungeness on the English coast. Situated precariously between a towering nuclear power plant and the sea, the garden was Jarman’s austere refuge during the final months of his struggle with AIDS. While an atheist and highly critical of the church, Derek Jarman was intrigued by the role religious and hagiographic narratives could play in his filmic indictments of Thatcher-era Britain. This is most notable in his film The Garden, which was shot on location in Dungeness. – Gregory Spears / Niveau : Avancé / Répertoire / Chœur Mixte SATB et Quatuor à Cordes

for harp. Par LASH HANNAH. Stalk’s organic structure and dreamlike material reflect its inspiration: a nightmare in which the composer was trapped in a garden of beautiful white flowers—each turn in the path leading deeper into a maze of fragrant but dangerous beauty. - Hannah Lash/ Répertoire / Harpe