Robert Blocker, Dean
faculty artist series
Janna Baty mezzo-soprano Hannah Lash harp/composer
Morse Recital Hall October 29, 2016 • Saturday at 7:30 pm
Faculty Artist Series
Janna Baty mezzo-soprano Hannah Lash harp/composer October 29, 2016 • Morse Recital Hall
Claude Debussy 1862–1918
Nuit d’etoiles, L. 4 Fleur des blés (1881) Beau soir, L. 6
Benjamin Britten 1913–1976
Eight Folk Song Arrangements for Voice and Harp (1976) Lord! I Married Me a Wife She’s Like the Swallow Lemady Bonny at Morn Watching the Wheat David of the White Rock The False Knight Upon the Road Bird Scarer’s Song intermission
Franz Schubert 1797–1828
Du bist die Ruh, D. 776
Robert Schumann 1810–1856
Requiem, Op. 90, No. 7
Hannah Lash b. 1981
Les espaces du sommeil (2016) World premiere
As a courtesy to the performers and audience, silence electronic devices. Please do not leave the hall during selections. Photography or recording of any kind is prohibited.
Texts
All translations by Janna Baty unless otherwise indicated. Nuit d’étoiles, L. 4 Poem by Théodore Faullin de Banville (1823—1891) Nuit d’étoiles, sous tes voiles, Starry night, beneath your veils, sous ta brise et tes parfums, beneath your breeze and your fragrances, Triste lyre qui soupire, Sad, sighing lyre, je rêve aux amours défunts. I dream of lovers long gone. La sereine mélancolie Serene melancholy vient éclore au fond de mon coeur, Fills the void in the depths of my heart Et j’entends l’âme de ma mie And I hear the soul of my beloved Tressaillir dans le bois rêveur. Trembling in the dreaming forest. Je revois à notre fontaine tes regards bleus comme les cieux; Cette rose, c’est ton haleine, Et ces étoiles sont tes yeux.
I see again at our fountain Your eyes, as blue as the heavens; This rose, it is your breath, And these stars are your eyes.
Fleur des blés (1881) Poem by André Girod [dates unknown] Le long des blés que la brise Along the rows of wheat that the breeze Fait onduler puis défrise Ripples then straightens again En un désordre coquet, In a lovely tangle, J’ai trouvé de bonne prise I thought it a lovely idea De t’y cueillir un bouquet. To pluck a bouquet for you. Mets-le vite à ton corsage, - Tuck it quickly into your bodice-Il est fait à ton image I fashioned it in your style En même temps que pour toi... And just for you … Ton petit doigt, je le gage, I’d bet that a little bird T’a déjà soufflé pourquoi: Has already whispered to you the reason why: Ces épis dorés, c’est l’onde Those golden grains are the wave De ta chevelure blonde Of your blonde tresses, Toute d’or et de soleil; All gold and sunshine;
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Ce coquelicot qui fronde, This poppy, rebelliously springing out, C’est ta bouche au sang vermeil. Is your blood-red lips. Et ces bluets, beau mystère! And these cornflowers—mysterious beauties!— Points d’azur que rien n’altère, External daubs of azure blue, Ces bluets ce sont tes yeux, These cornflowers are your eyes, Si bleus qu’on dirait, sur terre, So blue that people say Deux éclats tombés des cieux. They are two bursts of sky here on earth. Beau soir, L. 6 Poem by Paul Bourget (1852—1935) Lorsque au soleil couchant les rivières When rivers turn to rose in the sont roses, setting sun, Et qu’un tiède frisson court sur les And a gentle shiver runs over the champs de blé, wheat fields, Un conseil d’être heureux Inspiration to be happy semble sortir des choses Seems to radiate from all things Et monter vers le cœur troublé ; And rise up towards the troubled heart; Un conseil de goûter Urging one to savor le charme d’être au monde, All the charms of existing on earth, Cependant qu’on est jeune et que le soir While one is still young and the est beau, evening lovely, Car nous nous en allons comme s’en va For we will also depart, as this wave cette onde: does: Elle à la mer, -- nous au tombeau ! It to the sea, us to the grave!
Eight Folk Song Arrangements for Voice and Harp (1976) “Lord! I married me a wife!” Folk song of English/Appalachian origin Lord! I married me a wife! She gave me trouble all my life! Made me work in the cold, rain, and snow.
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“She’s Like the Swallow” Folk song from Newfoundland She’s like the swallow that flies so high, She’s like the river that never runs dry, She’s like the sunshine on the lee shore, I love my love and love is no more. Twas out in the garden this fair maid did go, A-picking the beautiful primerose; The more she pluck’d the more she pulled Until she got her aperon full. It’s out of those roses she made a bed, A stony pillow for her head. She laid her down, no word did say, Until this fair maid’s heart did break. She’s like the swallow that flies so high, She’s like the river that never runs dry, She’s like the sunshine on the lee shore, I love my love and love is no more. “Lemady” Folk song from Yorkshire One midsummer’s morn as I were a-walking The fields and the meadows were covered with green, The birds a-sweetly singing so pleasant and so charming, So early in the morning by the break of the day. Arise, arise, go pluck your love a posy of the prettiest flowers that grows in yonder green. O yes I’ll arise and pluck lilies, pinks and roses All for my dearest Lemady, the girl I adore. O Lemady, O Lemady what a lovely lass thou art Thou art the fairest creature thatever my eye did see! I’ll play you a tune all on the pipes of ivory So early in the morning by the break of the day.
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“Bonny at Morn” Folk song from Northumbria (Scottish lowlands) The sheep’s in the meadows, the kye’s in the corn, Thou’s ower lang in thy bed, bonny at morn. Canny at night, bonny at morn, Thou’s ower lang in thy bed, Bonny at morn. The bird’s in the nest, the trout’s in the burn, Thou hinders thy mother in many a turn. Canny at night, bonny at morn, Thou’s ower lang in thy bed, Bonny at morn. We’re all laid idle wi’ keeping the bairn, The lad winnot work and the lass winnot lairn. Canny at night, bonny at morn, Thou’s ower lang in thy bed, Bonny at morn. “Bugeilio’r Gwenith Gwyn” (“Watching the Wheat”) Folk song from Wales, poetic translation by Osian Ellis (b. 1928) My sy’n fachgen ifanc ffôl Yn caru’n ôl fy ffansi, Myfi’n bugeilio’r gwenith gwyn, Ac arall yn ei fedi.
I was lonely and forlorn Among the meadows mourning; or I had wooed her oft and long, Yet others reaped her loving.
Pam na ddeui ar fy ôl Rhyw ddydd ar ôl ei gilydd? Gwaith ‘rwy’n dy weld, y feinir fach, Yn lanach, lanach beunydd.
Not to me this maid did come To cure my painful yearning Yet I had watched, the fields among, Her beauty and her blooming.
Tra bo dwr y môr yn hallt, While the seas do ebb and flow A thra bo’ngwallt yn tyfu; and minutes do not falter; A thra bo calon yn fy mron, And while my heart beats in my breast, Mi fyddai’n ffyddlon iti. My affliction ne’er will alter. Dywed imi’r gwir heb gêl, Ne’er shall I kiss her cheeks so fair A rho dan sêl d’atebion: Nor feel her arms embracing; P’run ai myfi, ai arall, Gwen, For I had watched the ripening wheat, Sydd orau gen dy galon? Yet others reaped her loving.
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“Dafydd y Garreg Wen” (“David of the White Rock”) Melody by David Owen (1709—1730) Welsh words by John Ceiriog Hughes (1832—1887) Second verse added by Osian Ellis Poetic English translation by Thomas Oliphant [dates unknown] “Cariwch”, medd Dafydd,” Fy nhelyn imi, Life and its follies are fading away Ceisiaf cyn marw roi tôn arni hi Love hath departed: why then should I stay? Codwch fy nwylo i gyrraedd y tant; Cold is my pale cheek and furrowed with care Duw a’ch bendithio, fy ngweddw a’m plant. Dim is my eyesight and snow-white my hair. Llifai’r alawon o’r tannau yn lli, Near me, in silence, my harp lies unstrung, Melys oedd ceinciau fy nhelyn i mi. Weak are my fingers and falt’ring my tongue. Neithiwr mi glywais lais angel fel hyn: Yet ere we sever, thy master would fain -- Dafydd, tyrd adref, a channa trwy’r glyn. -- Swan-like expire in a last dying strain; Delyn fy mebyd! ffarwel i dy dant. And when above him the cypress bough wave, Duw a’ch bendithio, fy ngweddw a’m plant.” Spirits shall murmur it over his grave. “The False Knight Upon the Road” Folk Song of English/Appalachian origin The knight met the child in the road. O where are you going to? said the knight in the road. I am going to my school, said the child as he stood. He stood and he stood and it’s well because he stood. I am going to my school, said the child as he stood. O what are you going there for? said the knight in the road. For to learn the Word of God, said the child as he stood. He stood and he stood and it’s well because he stood. For to learn the Word of God, said the child as he stood. O what have you got there? said the knight in the road. I have got my bread and cheese, said the child as he stood. He stood and he stood and it’s well because he stood. I have got my bread and cheese, said the child as he stood.
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O won’t you give me some? said the knight in the road. No, ne’er a bite nor crumb, said the child as he stood. He stood and he stood and it’s well because he stood. No, ne’er a bite nor crumb, said the child as he stood. I wish you was on the sands, said the knight in the road. Yes, and a good staff in my hands, said the child as he stood. He stood and he stood and it’s well because he stood. Yes, and a good staff in my hands, said the child as he stood. I wish you was in the sea, said the knight in the road. Yes, and a good boat under me, said the child as he stood. He stood and he stood and it’s well because he stood. Yes, and a good boat under me, said the child as he stood. I think I hear a bell, said the knight in the road. Yes, and it’s ringing you to hell, said the child as he stood. He stood and he stood and it’s well because he stood. Yes, and it’s ringing you to hell, said the child as he stood. “Bird Scarer’s Song” (originally: “Bird Starver’s Cry”) English folk song from Somerset Shoo all ’er birds you be so black, When I lay down to have a nap. Shoo arlo arlo arlo arlo arlo arlo arlo arlo birds. Hi shoo all ’er birds! Out of master’s ground into Tom Tucker’s ground, Out of Tom Tucker’s ground into Luke Coles’s ground Out of Luke Coles’s ground into Bill Veater’s ground. Shoo arlo arlo arlo arlo arlo arlo arlo arlo birds. Ha! Ha!
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Du bist die Ruh, D. 776 Poem by Friedrich Rückert (1788—1866) Du bist die Ruh, You are repose, Der Friede mild, Placid peace; Die Sehnsucht du You are longing, Und was sie stillt. And that which satisfies it. Ich weihe dir I dedicate to you, Voll Lust und Schmerz Full of joy and pain, Zur Wohnung hier As a home here Mein Aug und Herz. My eyes and heart. Kehr ein bei mir, Come live with me, Und schließe du And softly close Still hinter dir Behind you Die Pforten zu. The gates. Treib andern Schmerz Drive other pain Aus dieser Brust! Out of my breast! Voll sei dies Herz May this heart be filled Von deiner Lust. With your joy. Dies Augenzelt The cathedral of my eyes Von deinem Glanz by your radiance alone Allein erhellt, Is illuminated; O füll es ganz! Oh, fill it completely! Requiem, Op. 90, No. 7 Poem by Leberecht Blücher Dreves (1816—1870) Ruh’ von schmerzensreichen Mühen Aus Rest from deeply painful struggles und heißem Liebesglühen; And from love’s hot glow; Der nach seligem Verein He who longed to be united Trug Verlangen, with bliss Ist gegangen has gone Zu des Heilands Wohnung ein. To the Savior’s dwelling place. Dem Gerechten leuchten helle For he who is righteous, Sterne in des Grabes Zelle, The stars shine brightly in the tomb; Ihm, der selbst als Stern der Nacht For him, who is himself like a star in the night,
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Wird erscheinen, They will shine Wenn er seinen When he beholds Herrn erschaut im Himmelspracht. His God in Heaven’s splendor. Seid Fürsprecher, heil’ge Seelen, Intercede, Holy Spirits, Heil’ger Geist, laß Trost nicht fehlen; Holy Ghost, let there be no lack of compassion; Hörst du? Jubelsang erklingt, Do you hear? A song of joy rings out Feiertöne, With a celebratory sound, Derein die schöne In which the beautiful Engelsharfe singt: Angels’ harps can also be heard: Ruh’ von schmerzensreichen Mühen Aus Rest from deeply painful struggles und heißem Liebesglühen; And from love’s hot glow; Der nach seligem Verein He who longed to be united Trug Verlangen, with bliss Ist gegangen has gone Zu des Heilands Wohnung ein. To the Savior’s dwelling place. Les espaces de sommeil (2016) Poem by Robert Desnos (1900—1945) from Corps et biens Reprinted with permission of Éditions Gallimard Dans la nuit il y a naturellement les sept merveilles du monde et la grandeur et le tragique et le charme. Les forêts s’y heurtent confusément avec des créatures de légende cachées dans les fourrés.
At night, there are of course the seven wonders of the world and grandeur, tragedy, and charm. Forests collide confusedly with mythical creatures hidden in the underbrush.
Il y a toi. There is you. Dans la nuit il y a le pas du promeneur At night there are the steps of walkers, et celui de l’assassin and those of murderers et celui du sergent de ville and those of the town police officer et la lumière du réverbère and the light from the streetlamp et celle de la lanterne du chiffonnier. and the light from the rag man. Il y a toi. There is you. Dans la nuit passent les trains At night trains pass by et les bateaux and boats et le mirage des pays où il fait jour. and the illusion of countries where it’s daytime.
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Les derniers souffles du crépuscule The last breaths of dusk et les premiers frissons de l’aube. And the first tremors of dawn. Il y a toi. There is you. Un air de piano, A piano tune, un éclat de voix. A shout. Une porte claque. Une horloge. A door slams. A clock. Et pas seulement les êtres et les choses And not only beings and things et les bruits matériels. and physical sounds. Mais encore moi qui me poursuis But also me pursuing myself ou sans cesse me dépasse. or forever outrunning myself. Il y a toi l’immolée, toi que j’attends. There is you, the sacrificial victim, you for whom I wait. Parfois d’étranges figures Sometimes peculiar shapes naissent à l’instant du sommeil are born at the moment of sleep et disparaissent. and disappear. Quand je ferme les yeux, When I close my eyes, des floraisons phosphorescentes phosphorescent blooms apparaissent et se fanent et renaissent appear and fade and are reborn comme des feux d’artifice charnus. like fleshy fireworks. Des pays inconnus que je parcours Unknown countries which I traverse en compagnie de créatures. in the company of animals. Et y a toi sans doute, And there is you without doubt, ô belle et discrète espionne. oh beautiful and discreet spy. Et l’âme palpable de l’étendue. And the palpable soul of infinite space. Et les parfums du ciel et des étoiles And the fragrances of sky and stars et le chant du coq d’il y a 2000 ans And the song of the rooster from 2000 years ago et le cri du paon dans des parcs en flamme And the cry of the peacock in burning parks et des baisers. And kisses. Des mains qui se serrent sinistrement Hands that clasp in sinister handshakes dans une lumière blafarde in an ashen light et des essieux qui grincent and axles that grind sur des routes médusantes. on paralyzing roads. Il y a toi sans doute que je ne connais pas, There is you, without a doubt, whom I do not know, que je connais au contraire. Who, on the other hand, I know.
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Mais qui, présente dans mes rêves, But who, here in my dreams, t’obstines à s’y laisser Insists on being perceived deviner sans y paraître. without appearing. Toi qui restes insaisissable You who remain incomprehensible dans la réalité et dans le rêve. in reality and in dream. Toi qui m’appartiens de par ma volonté You who belong to me by my will de te posséder en illusion to possess an illusion of you mais qui n’approches ton visage but who won’t allow your face du mien que mes yeux clos close to mine unless my eyes are shut, aussi bien au rêve qu’à la réalité. Whether in reality and in dream. Toi qu’en dépit d’une rhétorique facile You who in spite of facile rhetoric où le flot meurt sur les plages, Where the waves die on the beach, où la corneille vole dans des usines ruine, Where a crow flies inside the ruins of factories, où le bois pourrit en craquant Where wood rots crackling sous un soleil de plomb. Beneath a blazing sun. Toi qui es à la base de mes rêves You who are at the root of my dreams et qui secoues mon esprit and who shake up my spirit, plein de métamorphoses full of metamorphoses, et qui me laisses ton gant and leave your glove behind quand je baise ta main. when I kiss your hand. Dans la nuit il y a les étoiles At night there are stars et le mouvement ténébreux de la mer, and the somber undulation of the sea, des fleuves, des forêts, rivers, forests, des villes, des herbes, cities, grasses, des poumons de millions et millions d’êtres. and the lungs of milions upon millions of beings. Dans la nuit il y a les merveilles du monde. At night there are the wonders of the world Dans la nuit il n’y a pas d’anges gardiens, At night there are no guardian angels, mais il y a le sommeil. But there is sleep. Dans la nuit il y a toi. At night there is you. Dans le jour aussi. During the day, too.
Notes on the Program
claude debussy Nuit d’etoiles, L. 4 Fleur des blés (1881) Beau soir, L. 6 In 1880, the eighteen-year-old Claude Debussy was already in his eighth year of music school and was like many young composers looking for ways to make ends meet. He found himself in the employ of a Madame Moureau-Sainti, accompanying a singing class she taught to “les jeunes filles du meilleur monde” (young ladies of the upper classes). Among these young ladies was Emilie Deguingand, for whom an enchanted Debussy wrote Fleur des blés. But his real infatuation was with another student, Marie-Blanche Vasnier, who was a great beauty, an angelic-voiced coloratura soprano, fourteen years Debussy’s senior, and married. His first published composition, Nuit d’étoiles was written for her, as were numerous other songs that eventually became known as the Recueil (Collection) Vasnier. Debussy wound up in an eight-year-long love affair with Vasnier, and she and her husband provided Debussy with muchneeded early financial and emotional support. Beau soir was written several years prior to Nuit d’étoiles, but alongside the other early songs in this grouping it helps paint a portrait of teenaged composer with a distinct gift for colorful and evocative text setting.
benjamin britten Eight Folk Song Arrangements for Voice and Harp (1976) Benjamin Britten’s contributions as a composer of instrumental and operatic music are justly renowned. Less known but of enormous importance are his 61 folk song settings, published in seven collections, the first of which appeared in 1942 (when Britten was 29) and the last of which—these Eight Folk Song Arrangments for Voice and Harp—were completed in June 1976 and were among his last compositions before he died in December of that year. When first introduced, Britten’s arrangements were met by critics with some suspicion and mild hostility: unlike Ralph Vaughn Williams and Percy Grainger, whose sweeping, nostalgic folk melody interpretations were already audience favorites, Britten’s accompaniments were astringent, angular, and utterly unexpected. Some even dared suggest that his choosing to arrange folk songs was a sneaky way of avoiding paying royalties to living poets (an assertion that is disproven when considering the authors of his many opera libretti). In spite criticism, Britten richly plumbed the subject of folk song, creating an important body of work that both highlights his own compositional voice, and serves as an important means of preserving cultural history.
Notes on the Program
franz schubert Du Bist die Ruh, D. 776 Composed in 1823, Du Bist die Ruh was a product of a comparatively fruitful and prosperous time in Schubert’s short life. The house concerts/salons known as “Schubertiaden” had begun, his works were being published and critically recognized, and his compositional voice was unequivocally in its most mature phase. Sadly, it was around this time that he began to show symptoms of the syphilis that is generally acknowledged to have killed him five years later; and he had yet to find a lasting love. But in spite of this, Schubert manages to make of Rückert’s three simple strophes a miniature universe of pure magic, saturated with the passion, reverence, and deep contentment he ironically would never find. robert schumann Requiem, Op. 90, No. 7 In August of 1850, Robert Schumann completed six settings of poetry by Nikolaus Lenau, his much-admired if quirky contemporary. (Among other endeavors, the Bohemian-born Lenau lived briefly in New Harmony, Indiana, as part of the Christian theosophy Harmony Society before becoming disillusioned with Americans.) While writing Op. 90, Schumann had heard a rumor that Lenau was dead, and stricken at the news, he hastened to add a seventh song, “Requiem,” to the end of the collection of six Lenau settings, although he later learned Lenau still lived. But prophetically, on the very day of the first performance of Op. 90
(August 25, 1850), a friend informed Schumann that Lenau had indeed finally died. Robert and Clara were shaken by this sad coincidence, and Robert saw that the published edition of Op. 90 was decorated with emblems of mourning in Lenau’s honor. —Janna Baty hannah lash Les espaces du sommeil (2016) My setting of Les espaces du sommeil reflects my reading of the poem: I am interested in the way in which the imagery winds so fluidly throughout the poem and yet certain elements are recurrent and define the form of the work. In my piece, I reflect the recurrence by the way in which I develop material, allowing it to return in varied forms throughout the piece. I also use key areas as a way of shifting colors in a way that is both schematic and dreamlike. On the harp, the flat keys are brighter than the sharp keys, because of the length of the strings causing the sound to be more brilliant when the pedals are fully released in flat position. The sharp keys are the darkest. So I begin my piece with the flat keys, cycling through until I enharmonically reinterpret to sharps, suddenly shifting to a much darker color for the poem’s central section. Through the song’s latter half, a largescale sequence brings the flat keys back with a sweeping development of material, until the return of the brightest color heralds the piece’s unexpected ending in G-flat. —Hannah Lash
Artist Profiles
Janna Baty, mezzo-soprano Praised by The Boston Globe for “a rich, viola-like tone and a rapturous, luminous lyricism,” mezzo-soprano Janna Baty has sung with Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Daejeon Philharmonic, Hamburgische Staatsoper, L’Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony, Tuscaloosa Symphony, Longwood Symphony, Hartford Symphony, the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Eugene Opera, Opera North, and Boston Lyric Opera. She has sung under the batons of James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, Michel Plasson, Carl Davis, Robert Spano, Steuart Bedford, Stephen Lord, Stefan Asbury, Gil Rose, David Hoose, and Shinik Hahm, among numerous others. As a soloist, chamber musician, and recitalist, she has performed at festivals worldwide, including the Aldeburgh and Britten Festivals in England, The Varna Festival in Bulgaria, the Semanas Musicales de Frutillar Festival in Chile, and the Tanglewood, Norfolk, Coastal Carolina, and Monadnock festivals in the United States. A noted specialist in contemporary music, Ms. Baty has worked alongside many celebrated composers, including John Harbison, Yehudi Wyner, Bernard Rands, Sydney Hodkinson, Peter Child, Reza Vali, Paul Salerni, and Paul Moravec, on performances of their music. Ms. Baty has enjoyed a long collaboration with Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and with them has recorded the critically lauded Vali: Folk Songs (sung in Persian); Lukas Foss’ opera Griffelkin; the world-premiere recording of Eric Sawyer’s Civil War-era opera Our American Cousin; and John
Harbison’s Mirabai Songs. She joined the faculty of the Yale School of Music in 2008. Hannah Lash, harp/composer Hailed by The New York Times as “striking and resourceful…handsomely brooding,” Hannah Lash’s music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, the Times Center in Manhattan, the Chicago Art Institute, Tanglewood Music Center, Harvard University, The Chelsea Art Museum, and on the American Opera Project’s stage in New York City. Commissions include The Fromm Foundation, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, the McKim Fund in the Library of Congress, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, American Composers Orchestra, Columbia University’s Miller Theatre, The Naumburg Foundation, The Orpheus Duo, The Howard Hanson Foundation’s Commis-sioning Fund, Case Western Reserve’s University Circle Wind Ensemble, MAYA, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Arditti Quartet, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, the Colorado Music Festival “Click!” Commission Program, and the Aspen Music Festival and School, among many others. Lash has received numerous honors and prizes, including the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, a Charles Ives Scholarship (2011) and Fellowship (2016) from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Fromm Foundation Commission, a Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant, a fellowship from Yaddo Artist Colony, the Naumburg Prize in Composition, the Barnard Rogers Prize in Composition, the Bernard and Rose Sernoffsky Prize in Composition, and numerous academic
Artist Profiles
awards. Her orchestral work Furthermore was selected by the American Composers Orchestra for the 2010 Underwood New Music Readings. Her chamber opera, Blood Rose, was presented by New York City Opera’s VOX in the spring of 2011.
Music, Nymphs, for the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, and This Ease, for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, as well as two concerti for harp premiered by the American Composers Orchestra (Concerto No. 1 for Harp and Chamber Orchestra) and the Colorado The New York Times music critic Steve Music Festival (Concerto No. 2 for Smith praised Lash’s work for the JACK Harp and Orchestra), both with Lash Quartet, Frayed: “Ms. Lash’s compact as soloist. Other recent premieres include sequence of pale brush strokes, ghostly God Music Bug Music (2011) with the keening and punchy outbursts was stri- Minnesota Orchestra, the monodrama king and resourceful; you hoped to hear Stoned Prince (2013) by loadbang, it again…” Esteemed music critic Bruce Subtilior Lamento (2012) with the Da Hodges lauded Lash’s piece Stalk for solo Capo Chamber Players at Carnegie harp as being “appealing…florid, and Hall, and Glockenliebe (2012), for three introspective.” glockenspiels, with Talujon Percussion. Her 2011 orchestral work, Hush, was feaIn addition to performances of her music tured in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s in the USA, Lash’s music is well known 2013 Brooklyn Festival. In 2016, Lash internationally. In April of 2008, her was honored with a Composer Portraits string quartet Four Still was performed Concert at Columbia University’s Miller in Kiev in the Ukraine’s largest interTheatre, which included newly comnational new music festival, “Musical missioned works for pianist Lisa Moore Premieres of the Season,” curated by (Six Etudes and a Dream) and loadbang Carson Cooman. In the summer of 2010, (Music for Eight Lungs). In the 2016-2017 her piece Unclose was premiered by mem- season, Lash receives the premiere of bers of eighth blackbird at the MusicX her Requiem with the Yale Choral Artists festival in Blonay, Switzerland. In 2016, as well as the debut of The Voynich her chamber orchestra work This Ease Symphony, a major large-scale orchestral was selected as “audience favorite” in work, with the New Haven Symphony. performances by the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz, conducted by Lash obtained her Ph.D in Composition Hermann Bäumer. from Harvard University in 2010. She has held teaching positions at Harvard Recent premieres include Three Shades University (Teaching Fellow), at Alfred Without Angles, for flute, viola and harp, University (Guest Professor of Comby the Boston Symphony Chamber position), and currently serves on the Players, Two Movements for violin and composition faculty at the Yale School piano, commissioned by the Library of of Music. Congress for Ensemble Intercontemporain, and a new chamber opera, Beowulf, for Guerilla Opera, as well as several new orchestral works: Eating Flowers, for the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary
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New Music New Haven
Contemporary works by award-winning Yale faculty and students, and esteemed guest composers
Norfolk Chamber Music Festival
Principal Conductor Peter Oundjian and guest conductors Yongyan Hu and Giancarlo Guerrero lead the School’s magnificent student orchestra
Student Performances
Performances of a wide variety of repertoire by the next generation of musical luminaries and cultural leaders
Yale in New York
Dynamic collaborations between Yale’s remarkable faculty, students, and alumni at Carnegie Hall
A summerlong series at the picturesque Ellen Battell Stoeckel Estate, in Norfolk, Connecticut
music.yale.edu
Upcoming Events Kristian Bezuidenhout, fortepiano october 30
Collection of Musical Instruments Dynamic fortepianist Kristian Bezuidenhout performs works by Haydn and Beethoven Sunday | 3 pm Tickets to this event are sold out. Watch a live stream of the performance on our website
Fall Opera Scenes november 4–5
Yale Opera A variety of scenes from comic and tragic operas Doris Yarick Cross, artistic director Morse Recital Hall Friday & Saturday | 7:30 pm Tickets start at $10 • Students $5
Lunchtime Chamber Music november 9
Wendy Sharp, director Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday| 12:30 pm free admission
Yale Percussion Group november 12
Yale School of Music Ensembles Works by YSM faculty composers and more Robert van Sice, director Morse Recital Hall | Saturday | 4 pm Tickets start at $10 • Students $5
Lunchtime Chamber Music november 30
Wendy Sharp, director Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday| 12:30 pm free admission
Vista: Chamber Music december 1
Yale School of Music Ensembles Student ensembles, under the direction of faculty violinist Wendy Sharp, perform and provide insight into the repertoire Morse Recital Hall | Thursday | 7:30 pm free admission
Liederabend december 6
Yale Opera An enchanting evening of Russian song. Morse Recital Hall | Tuesday | 7:30 pm free admission
Warren Lee november 15
YSM Special Events Guest pianist and Yale School of Music alumnus Warren Lee returns to New Haven days before appearing at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall Morse Recital Hall | Tuesday | 7:30 pm free admission
concert programs & box office Kate Gonzales, Lauren Schiffer communications Donna Yoo, Katie Dune, David Brensilver operations Tara Deming, Chris Melillo piano curators Barbara Renner, Brian Daley, William Harold, Robert Crowson recording services Matthew LeFevre, Travis Wurges, Eugene Kimball
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P.O. Box 208246, New Haven, CT · 203 432-4158
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If you do not intend to save your program, please recycle it in the baskets at the exit doors. Robert Blocker, Dean