Ink - Merz Trio - Album Booklet

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1

, Account of Charles Peguy's Last Day in Paris (excerpt)

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Sous les Ponts de Paris

3 Summer Evening (excerpt) 4 D’un Vieux Jardin 5 Kiosks (excerpt) ,

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6 Piano Trio in A Minor - I. Modere 7

Preamble (A Rough Draft For An Ars Poetica)

8 Zortziko / Fandango 9 Piano Trio in A Minor - II. Pantoum: Assez vif 10 Now the Rain (excerpt) 11 Matin, Op. 76 12

Heures ternes

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13 Piano Trio in A Minor - III. Passacaille: Tres large ,

14 The Prose of the Trans-Siberian (excerpt) 15 Piano Trio in A Minor - IV. Final: Anime 16 La Petite Auto (excerpt) 17 I Write for the Day (excerpt) 18 La plus que lente, L.121 Tracks 2,4,12,+18 Arranged by Merz Trio

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Merz Trio is: LC Dionne - piano Brigid Coleridge - violin Julia Yang - ceEo

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Merz Trio’s debut album "Ink" centers around Ravel’s iconic piano trio interwoven with the trio’s new arrangements of works by Lili Boulanger, Nadia Boulanger, Josephine Baker, and Claude DebuBy. ROUNDING OUT THE ALBUM IS THE MUSIC OF MÉLANIE BONIS, A RAVEL-INSPIRED COMPOSITION BY MERZ PIANIST LEE DIONNE, AND READINGS OF POEMS AND DIARIES OF PARISIAN WRITERS OF THE ERA.

Composers/Authors:

VINCENT SCOTTO / JOSEPHINE BAKER (2); ANNA DE NOAILLES (3,17); LILI BOULANGER (4); LÉON-PAUL FARGUE (5); MAURICE RAVEL (6,9,13,15); JEAN COCTEAU (7); LEE DIONNE (8); ALAIN-FOURNIER (10); MÉLANIE BONIS (11); NADIA BOULANGER (12); BLAISE CENDRARS (14); GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE (16); CLAUDE DEBUSSY (18)

Texts and Translations:

ACCOUNT OF CHARLES PÉGUY'S LAST DAY IN PARIS, TRANSLATED BY MARJORIE VILLIERS

SUMMER EVENING BY ANNA DE NOAILLES (EXCERPT), TRANSLATED BY ANTHONY HOWELL KIOSKS BY LÉON-PAUL FARGUE (EXCERPT), TRANSLATED BY LOUIS SIMPSON NOW THE RAIN BY ALAIN-FOURNIER (EXCERPT), TRANSLATED BY ANITA MARSH AND ANTHONY COSTELLO THE PROSE OF THE TRANS-SIBERIAN BY BLAISE CENDRARS (EXCERPT), TRANSLATED BY RON PADGETT LA PETITE AUTO BY GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE (EXCERPT), TRANSLATED BY RON PADGETT I WRITE FOR THE DAY BY ANNA DE NOAILLES (EXCERPT), TRANSLATED BY ANTHONY HOWELL ALL TEXTS PERFORMED AND RECORDED WITH PERMISSION.

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Artist Note INK IS AN ALBUM ABOUT LISTENING DIFFERENTLY. IT IS AN ALBUM ABOUT MUSIC AND WORDS SHARING THEIR DARK, UNTIDY MEDIUM, SPILLING ONTO THE PAGE AS NOTES AND LETTERS AND SPOKEN INTO THE WORLD BY VOICES AND INSTRUMENTS: THEIR RESONANCES AND DISSONANCES. IT IS ABOUT HOW WE PUT OUR EAR TO A DISTANT TIME AND WHAT WE MIGHT HEAR THERE, AS WELL AS HOW WE BRING THESE VOICES INTO THE PRESENT, HOW THEIR CONVERSATION CREATES MEANING AND SPACE FOR US TO REFLECT AND TO HEAR DIFFERENTLY IN OUR OWN TIME. INK BEGAN WITH RAVEL’S TRIO: WE WANTED TO KNOW THE VOICES THAT WERE IN THE AIR AND ON THE STREETS IN 1914 WHEN MAURICE RAVEL WAS WRITING. WE WANTED TO HEAR THE CONVERSATION. SUCH LISTENING MAKES SENSE TO US BECAUSE IT IS HOW WE UNDERSTAND OURSELVES AS MUSICIANS. OUR WORDS, OUR INTERESTS AND INFLUENCES ARE CONSTANTLY IN DIALOGUE WITH OUR MUSIC-MAKING. THIS ALBUM IS OUR OWN INK SPILL, AN INDELIBLE MARK OF OUR LISTENING: RAVEL SPEAKING TO THE BOULANGERS, TO MEL BONIS, VINCENT SCOTTO, JOSEPHINE BAKER, DEBUSSY, BUT ALSO TO APOLLINAIRE, FARGUE, ANNA DE NOAILLES, PÉGUY, COCTEAU, CENDRARS. AND TO US. THE CONNECTIONS ARE RIFE, NOT ONLY IN OUR LISTENING, BUT IN THE WAY THESE ARTISTS MIGHT HAVE INFLUENCED EACH OTHER. THE ALBUM BEGINS WITH A MEMORY OF CHARLES PÉGUY, A NOTABLE PHILOSOPHER, WRITER AND SOCIALIST, FAREWELLING PARIS AND THE WORLD AS HE KNOWS IT, THE MEMORY OF HIS “LAST DAY” ACTING AS AN UPBEAT TO FRENCH RESISTANCE AGENT JOSEPHINE BAKER'S RENDITION OF VINCENT SCOTTO'S SONG FROM 1913, "SOUS LES PONTS DE PARIS" (UNDER THE BRIDGES OF PARIS).

NEXT WE DIVE INTO EXCERPTS OF ANNA DE NOAILLES' "SUMMER EVENING" AND LILI BOULANGER'S "IN AN OLD GARDEN," BOTH WORKS REDOLENT WITH A SENSE OF THE OUTDOORS, BOTH WORKS FORMING AN EXQUISITE BRIDGE INTO RAVEL'S COLORISTIC WORLD. BRIEFLY BEFORE THE RAVEL WE HEAR THE BEGINNING OF LÉON-PAUL FARGUE'S POEM, "KIOSKS," WITH HIS IMAGE OF LAPPING WAVES PERHAPS CARRIED OVER INTO THE TRIO'S OPENING LINES. WE ALSO DRAW ATTENTION TO RAVEL'S BASQUE INFLUENCES IN LEE'S SHORT COMPOSITION, "ZORTZIKO-FANDANGO." THE WORK PLACES THE MELODIC MATERIAL OF RAVEL'S THEMES WITHIN A TRADITIONAL BASQUE "ZORTZIKO": AN UNUSUAL, CHARACTERISTIC DANCE IN A 5/8 METER THAT LEAVES ITS TRACE IN THE TRIO'S OPENING TIME SIGNATURE OF 5/8 + 3/8 = 8/8. THE WHIMSICAL NATURE OF LEE'S ZORTZIKO IS PREFIGURED BY A TONGUE-IN-CHEEK EXCERPT FROM JEAN COCTEAU'S "ROUGH DRAFT FOR AN ARS POETICA." "GREETINGS," COCTEAU WRITES. "I DISCARD ELOQUENCE," CLEARLY DISCARDING NOTHING OF THE SORT.

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WHERE IS SHE? WHERE IS SHE?

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' 1 Account of Charles Peguy's Last Day in Paris ( excerpt ) YOU REMEMBER ALL HIS JOURNEYS, HOW HE SPENT HIMSELF…HE DIDN’T ASK US TO MEET HIM, NO, HE WENT FROM ONE TO ANOTHER...HE WANTED TO CARRY AWAY A LAST IMPRESSION OF EACH OF US, TO LEAVE EACH OF US A LAST IMPRESSION OF HIMSELF. HE WAS HAPPY, FULL OF LIFE. THAT DAY, PERHAPS FOR THE FIRST TIME, HE WAS NOT THINKING ABOUT THE NEXT CAHIER. ALL HE HAD WRITTEN, HE WAS NOW ABOUT TO LIVE. TRANSLATION: MARJORIE VILLIERS

2 Sous les ponts de Paris

Under the bridges of Paris

TOUT'S SORT'S DE GUEUX SE FAUFIL'NT EN CACHETTE

ALL KINDS OF WRETCHES STASH THEMSELVES AWAY

ET SONT HEUREUX DE TROUVER UNE COUCHETTE,

AND ARE HAPPY TO FIND A SLEEPING PLACE:

HÔTEL DU COURANT D'AIR, OÙ L'ON NE PAIE PAS CHER,

THE HOTEL OF THE OPEN AIR, MOST INEXPENSIVE,

L'PARFUM ET L'EAU C'EST POUR RIEN MON MARQUIS

WHERE PERFUME AND WATER ARE FREE MON MARQUIS

SOUS LES PONTS DE PARIS.

UNDER THE BRIDGES OF PARIS.

POUR ALLER À SURESNES OU BIEN À CHARENTON

TO MAKE ONE’S WAY TO SURESNES OR BETTER YET CHARENTON

TOUT LE LONG DE LA SEINE ON PASSE SOUS LES PONTS

THE WHOLE LENGTH OF THE SEINE WE PASS UNDER BRIDGES

PENDANTS LE JOUR, SUIVANT SON COURS

THROUGHOUT THE DAY, FOLLOWING ITS COURSE

TOUT PARIS EN BATEAU DÉFILE,

ALL OF PARIS PARADES PAST OUR BOAT,

L' CŒUR PLEIN D'ENTRAIN, ÇA VA, ÇA VIENT,

THE HEART IN HIGH SPIRITS, COMING AND GOING!

MAIS L' SOIR LORSQUE TOUT DORT TRANQUILLE

BUT AT NIGHT, AS EVERYONE GENTLY SLEEPS…

SOUS LES PONTS DE PARIS, LORSQUE DESCEND LA NUIT,

(HUMMED) UNDER THE BRIDGES OF PARIS, AS NIGHT FALLS

TOUT'S SORT'S DE GUEUX SE FAUFIL'NT EN CACHETTE

ALL KINDS OF WRETCHES STASH THEMSELVES AWAY

ET SONT HEUREUX DE TROUVER UNE COUCHETTE,

AND ARE HAPPY TO FIND A SLEEPING PLACE:

HÔTEL DU COURANT D'AIR, OÙ L'ON NE PAIE PAS CHER,

THE HOTEL OF THE OPEN AIR, MOST INEXPENSIVE,

L'PARFUM ET L'EAU C'EST POUR RIEN MON MARQUIS

WHERE PERFUME AND WATER ARE FREE MON MARQUIS

SOUS LES PONTS DE PARIS.

UNDER THE BRIDGES OF PARIS.

SOUS LES PONTS DE PARIS, LORSQUE DESCEND LA NUIT,

LYRICS BY JEAN RODOR

UNDER THE BRIDGES OF PARIS, AS NIGHT FALLS

TRANSLATED BY BRIGID COLERIDGE AND LEE DIONNE

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3 Summer Evening ( excerpt ) ANNA DE NOAILLES

A LANGUOR NOW EXTENDS ITSELF ACROSS THE SPACE BETWEEN US. CAN YOU FEEL INVADING YOU THE SCENT OF DROOPING GRASS? A DAMP BREEZE TRANSLATES THE DUSK INTO SOME GARDEN OF DESPOND.

7 Preamble ( A Rough Draft For An Ars Poetica ) JEAN COCTEAU

WATER SHUDDERS, DIMPLING THE RIPPLES ON THE POND: THINGS SHARE A SENSE OF BEING WEIGHED DOWN BY FOREBODING.

LET’S GET OUR DREAMS UNSTUCK…

SAP IN STALKS SEEMS TO TAINT THE AIR WITH AN UNEASY LOADING.

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GREETINGS

THE LEAVES THAT PLAYED IN THE TREES HAVE NOW GONE COLD ON US.

I DISCARD ELOQUENCE

SEE HOW THEY TWIST AND TURN AS THE DARKNESS GROWS IN US.

THE EMPTY SAIL

THESE BLOOMS HAVE A SCENT THAT CUTS, SHARP AS A KNIFE.

AND THE SWOLLEN SAIL WHICH CAUSE THE SHIP

TRANSLATION: ANTHONY HOWELL

TO LOSE HER COURSE MY INK NICKS

5 Kiosks ( excerpt )

AND THERE AND THERE

LÉON-PAUL FARGUE

AND THERE AND

IN VAIN THE SEA MAKES THE VOYAGE

THERE

FROM THE FAR HORIZON TO KISS YOUR FEET SO SAGE. YOU DRAW THEM BACK ALWAYS IN TIME. TRANSLATION: LOUIS SIMPSON

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10 Now the Rain ( excerpt ) ALAIN-FOURNIER

THE SAVAGE WINDS OF JANUARY AND THE GLASSHOUSE WHERE I TOOK REFUGE FROM THE RAIN, THE GLASS MAKING A TINKLING SOUND − ALL DAY LONG; THE WIND BLOWING CHIMNEY SMOKE BACK DOWN FROM WHERE IT CAME, DOORS UN-FASTENING, AND THE WIND BLOWING THROUGH THE BOWERS − WHERE IS SHE? WHERE IS SHE? TRANSLATION: ANITA MARSH AND ANTHONY COSTELLO

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12 Heures ternes

Stagnant Hours

ENCOR DES SONGES DE LASSÉS,

THE WEARIED THOUGHTS,

ENCOR DES RÊVES QUI SE LASSENT;

THE DREAMS THAT FADE;

VOILÀ LES JOURS D'ESPOIR PASSÉS!

SEE THE DAYS OF HOPE GONE BY!

EN QUI FAUT-IL FUIR AUJOURD'HUI?

AND NOW, TO WHERE CAN WE FLEE?

IL N'Y A PLUS D'ÉTOILE AUCUNE;

THERE IS NOT A SINGLE GUIDING STAR;

MAIS DE LA GLACE SUR L'ENNUI

ONLY THE FROZEN FACE OF WEARINESS

ET DES LINGES BLEUS SUR LA LUNE.

AND THE BLUE SHEETS OF THE ICY MOON.

ENCOR DES SANGLOTS PRIS AU PIÈGE,

AND STILL, THE STIFLED SOBS,

VOYEZ LES MALADES SANS FEU,

THE SICK WITH NO FIRE;

ET LES AGNEAUX BROUTER LA NEIGE;

AND THE LAMB WHOSE PASTURE IS ONLY SNOW;

AYEZ PITIÉ DE TOUT, MON DIEU!

TAKE PITY ON THEM ALL, MY GOD!

MOI, J'ATTENDS UN PEU DE RÉVEIL,

AND ME, I AWAIT THAT SMALL AWAKENING,

MOI, J'ATTENDS QUE LE SOMMEIL PASSE,

I WAIT FOR SLEEP TO PASS.

MOI, J'ATTENDS UN PEU DE SOLEIL

I WAIT FOR A HINT OF SUN

SUR MES MAINS QUE LA LUNE GLACE!

ON MY MOON-FROZEN HANDS.

VOICI D'ANCIENS DÉSIRS QUI PASSENT,

TEXT BY MAURICE MAETERLINCK

HERE ARE THE OLD DESIRES THAT PASS,

TRANSLATION BY BRIGID COLERIDGE AND LEE DIONNE

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14 The Prose of the Trans-Siberian ( excerpt ) BLAISE CENDRARS I WAS HUNGRY AND ALL THOSE DAYS AND ALL THOSE WOMEN IN ALL THOSE CAFES AND ALL THOSE GLASSES I WANTED TO DRINK THEM DOWN AND BREAK THEM AND ALL THOSE WINDOWS AND ALL THOSE STREETS AND ALL THOSE HOUSES AND ALL THOSE LIVES AND ALL THOSE CARRIAGE WHEELS RAISING SWIRLS FROM THE BROKEN PAVEMENT TRANSLATION: RON PADGETT

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16 La Petite Auto ( excerpt ) GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE THE 31ST DAY OF AUGUST 1914 I LEFT DEAUVILLE A LITTLE BEFORE MIDNIGHT IN ROUVEYRE’S LITTLE CAR

WE SAID GOOD-BYE TO AN ENTIRE EPOCH FURIOUS GIANTS WERE RISING OVER EUROPE EAGLES WERE LEAVING THEIR AERIES EXPECTING THE SUN VORACIOUS FISH WERE RISING FROM THE DEPTHS POPULATIONS WERE RUSHING TO KNOW EACH OTHER INTIMATELY THE DEAD WERE TREMBLING WITH FEAR IN THEIR DARK DWELLINGS TRANSLATION: RON PADGETT

17 I Write for the Day ( excerpt ) ANNA DE NOAILLES

I WRITE FOR THE DAY WHEN I WILL NO LONGER BE HERE TO SHARE HOW PLEASURE WEPT FOR JOY – WAS AIR! TRANSLATION: ANTHONY HOWELL

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Credits: PRODUCED BY Ryan Streber + Louis Levitt Engineered, mixed + MASTERED BY Ryan Streber Photographer: Dario Acosta Cover Art + Album Package Design by Marian C. Holmes Tracks Recorded @ Oktaven Audio, Mt Vernon, NY (October 2020)

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