New Commission commemorating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
Posted by George in Latest News on February 13th, 2011
I was sitting in my studio one recent morning when an email came in from Tom Cunningham, Music Director of the Manhattan Choral Ensemble. He had a very intriguing idea. How about composing a new work to be interspersed between movements of the Durufle Requiem? The choir was planning to present this beautiful and poignant work as a commemoration of the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in this 100th anniversary year of that tragic and horrific event. Tom had come into contact with Jonathan Fink, a writer living in Florida, who had written a beautiful poem about the fire and its victims and, in pondering the event of the fire, and the poem, and the planned performance of the Durufle, Tom had the idea of putting new works based on this poem in juxtaposition to the Requiem. It sounded like a terrific idea and I immediately accepted the commission and the challenge. And I do mean challenge. The concept of insinuating myself into this magnificent work of art was daunting, to say the least.
There were to be four new works and Tom assigned me to write a piece to be placed between the last two movements of the Durufle, that is between the Libera Me and the In Paradisum. My first task was to pare down the text that I had been assigned, as each section of the poem is quite lengthy. Jonathan had already given permission to edit the sections in any way that seemed appropriate to the music. I then decided to use solo violin and cello parts to complement the choir and to provide contrast and a certain ethereal quality that I felt was needed. And then I just sat down and began to write. The result is a dramatic, lyrical and poignant little drama with a searching and questioning quality that seems to fit uncannily in precisely the spot that it was meant to occupy. All in all a fascinating and truly satisfying endeavor.
The concert is Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 8PM at Church of the Incarnation, 209 Madison Avenue at 35th Street in NYC. Tickets are available at the Manhattan Choral Ensemble website and at the door.
Hope to see you there.
Lincoln A Poetic Opera CD Now Available!
Posted by George in Latest News on February 19th, 2010
The live, world premiere recording of
Lincoln A Poetic Opera
is now on sale here.
A CD is available with Free Shipping,
as well as the mp3 album download
and the Full Score and Parts in pdf.
Lincoln A Poetic Opera
It’s been over 2 years in the planning stages, from inception to final dress rehearsal last night at Holy Trinity Church. And what a rehearsal it was. Terrific soloists, magnificent choir and wonderful orchestra. It’s an amazing experience to hear my music realized by such a group. The performance is going to be stupendous. I had a pretty good idea when we first got together with Kristin and Elizabeth and Timothy and Tom down in Princeton for a work-through. Then just last week I heard the choral parts sung so beautifully by the Manhattan Choral Ensemble and then this week putting it all together with the orchestra. I am so glad that I stuck to my guns and proceeded through all the challenges to finally have this work completed and ready for presentation as part of the Lincoln Bicentennial. I really wanted to offer a contribution to this special year. For Abraham Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln. The idea of Lincoln has been with me all my life, as a boy just beginning to read about American history all the way to the present day. As I have read and studied, I have become more aware of what he was as a man and a figure in our history and in our imagination. With the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth coming upon us, I had the thought of creating a work of music with a dramatic and theatrical flair to explore the idea of Lincoln and his time with us. Lincoln A Poetic Opera is that work. I will be presenting it in NYC at 8PM on October 3, 2009 at Holy Trinity Church on West 82 St. Details and tickets available on my website at www.imaginationsound.com .
I will be posting ideas and thoughts on this production and other things here at blog.imaginationsound.com periodically and I welcome your comments.