Tuesday Night New Music: Bettany, D. Kim, Dempsey, Fogel, Wiese, Bian, P. Li, Lanning, Markson, J. Kim, Engelhardt, Zhong, Y. Li, Chen, Yao

Stellan Connelly Bettany | Breaking the Code (2020)

Stellan Connelly Bettany, voice, piano
Jerry Heil, voice
Trés Foster, Jonathan Fuller, Yi-Mei Templeman, Zani Lewis, cello
Kai Burns, electric guitar
Evan Haskin, electric bass
Noah Mark, drums

Program note

I have been writing music for as long as I can remember, but only in the last 8 years has my love for classical music really developed. Throughout my time at NEC I have wanted to share the other side of my musical voice that exists entirely independent of my studies here at conservatory. Breaking the Code is a song I wrote in 2020 for my album Armor. The instrumentation of the original song is voice, string choir, and electronics, but I've arranged it for a slightly more acoustic performance. The tone of this song and the rest of the album was influenced by David Bowie's Blackstar, Radiohead's Kid A, and Björk's Verspertine.                                
– Stellan Connelly Bettany

From the back I hear it sliding sometimes,
And I must been fine to live with so little time.
Even with time to waste I've got nothing to spare, no freedom to win or to lose,
Either way I'll be the bad guy.

Tell me to burn it to the ground, no remorse, no compassion
When I bring it up, beat it down, I'm sorry, I'm sorry but I'm

Breaking the code when we were so close to being safe
And when the light comes in you will carry me home tonight.

It's complicated, so hard to tell the time,
I'm slowly walking the line,
So pierce my ears and keep my voice intact.

This little itch, I've been thinking I should stop it in its tracks
teen punk, play it safe, but it's coming, I'm sorry but I'm

Breaking the code when we were so close to being safe

Breaking the code when we were so close to being safe
And when the light comes in you will carry me home tonight.

Dohyun Kim | 23 for string orchestra with piano (2023)

I.
II.
III.

Sydney Scarlett, Abby Reed, Gabi Foster, first violin
Emma Boyd, Yirou Zhang, second violin
Jowen Hsu, Philip Rawlinson, viola
Seoyeon Koo, Mina Kim, cello
Colby Heimburger, double bass
Loren Kim, piano, celesta
ChangJin Ha, conductor

Program note

This piece was written for string orchestra and piano/celesta and consists of three movements. This piece was composed in spring of 2023 and duration is 18 minutes and 20 seconds. It reflects my journey at the age of 23. This is a time of great transformation for me, marked by both youthful energy and the pain of growing up. Sometimes things didn't go as I intended, and it was completely unexpected. Music became a source of healing and solace during this time, providing a space for me to process emotions and find inner strength.
        The first movement captures the youthful energy and passion of the 23 year-old. The music is lively and playful, with quick and rhythmic passages. It represents the joy of life and the freedom of being young. However, amid the excitement, there are moments of reflection and contemplation, as I realize the complexities and challenges of adulthood.
        The second movement takes a slow tempo. Through the celesta's delicate and shimmering tones, I described accepting my pain and finding a way to heal.
         In the third movement the music becomes more energetic and lively, signifying the growth and confidence that comes with overcoming difficulty. Despite the ongoing hardships and challenges in my life, I continue to overcome them as ever.                
– Dohyun Kim

Pat Dempsey | Some New Songs for the Void (2023)

The Blind Poet Is Destroyed
Prince Arjuna Weighs His Options
“Your Whole Body Will Be Full of Darkness”

Chihiro Asano, mezzo-soprano
Philip Rawlinson, viola
Ziang Xu, piano

Program note

The Blind Poet Is Destroyed

Not totally destroyed, something still left:
Try to regain a little composure.
Certain darknesses remain unlabeled,
Without a proper singer. The word is
Light: old, approaching some end. I can't see
But feel something awful worth explaining.

Prince Arjuna Weighs His Options

Apparently we must become opponents.
Man against man is where one would think
The line should be drawn, but
Nature allows all.
The calamity was the coming here,
No choice in it—
Something threw us, and being thrown,
Must throw.

This world may not be completely evil.
It's possible; we can't know for sure. Not yet.

Proceed then, Arjuna, make at last
One decision uninformed by desperation.
Bend the nerve back and bowlike, aim
Beyond appearances and passing shows.
Time is the very source of all shallowness,
The self an old mistake we can't shake off.
Nothing must be accepted
Except death, which is nothing,
And life, which is less—
Only to fidget one's way through a bad sleep.
We will have some questions answered at least.
Now let us find out once and for all
Whether we are enemies or brothers.

"Your Whole Body Will Be Full of Darkness"

Ferry me farther, unfamiliar god;
You have only brought me to the sheer ledge.
Your hand is a shadow—let me go darker on,
No longer dangle me over the edge.

Land me along the far strand of night.
And if darkness becomes impossible,
The waves unsailable,
Make the whole body light.

Pat Dempsey

Jaden Fogel | from Violin Sonata (2023)

II. Lullaby

Isabella Gorman, violin

Program note

This is the second movement from a Violin Sonata which starts off with a quiet exposition on the piano. The chords are written as blocks and are meant to evoke the stillness of night. As the violin comes in, the piano part begins to get more complicated until it finds its way to a simple ostinato. The violin's chromaticism fights the piano's diatonicism while the conflict grows until the piano overcomes the violin mimicking its jabs. The movement then ends suddenly on an agreed A in octaves. This is a miniature in conflicting styles as an interlude between the two larger movements of the work.                                                                  
– Jaden Fogel

Ian Wiese | I Shall Find the Crystal of Peace (2022)

Megan Dillon, saxophones
Brooks Clarke, electric guitar
Doyeon Kim, percussion
ChangJin Ha, piano

Program note

I Shall Find the Crystal of Peace was composed for HYPERCUBE CubeLab4 and premiered by HYPERCUBE.                                                                       
– Ian Wiese

There Will Be Rest

There will be rest, and sure stars shining
Over the roof-tops crowned with snow,
A reign of rest, serene forgetting,
The music of stillness holy and low.
I will make this world of my devising
Out of a dream in my lonely mind.
I shall find the crystal of peace, – above me
Stars I shall find.

Sara Teasdale

Yuchen Bian | Labyrinth of Reflections (2023)

Yuchen Bian, voice, electronics

Program note

My piece is inspired by the mysterious and bewildering experience of being lost in a maze of mirrors. The ethereal background sounds evoke a sense of disorientation and intrigue, as if the listener is being drawn deeper and deeper into the labyrinth. As the music unfolds, the listener is transported through a landscape of shimmering reflections and twisting corridors, where every turn seems to lead to another dazzling vista. The vocal sound weaves in and out of the intricate patterns of light and shadow, creating a sense of both tension and wonder.                               
– Yuchen Bian

Pengyi Li | Anti-Rhythm III: Contrastive (2021)

Nikita Manin, clarinet

Program note

This is the third work of the “Anti-rhythm” series. The concept of “anti-rhythm” stems from the fact that the duration interval between two heartbeats while breathing is never the same. In spoken language, each word has different accents and lengths. Nature suggests to us that real rhythm does not entail a mechanical repetition of equal durations, but it follows a more complicated pattern of development. 
       This work represents my study and research on the clarinet, and also my exploration of the composition process of "non-linear development". "Contrastive" means a sonic state between phrases, movements, and textures, which runs through the entire work. Coincidentally, this work was completed two years ago today (2021.5.2), and today it will be performed at NEC for the first time……       
– Pengyi Li
 

Mathew Lanning | The Exquisitely Fancy Dinner Party (2023)

Erika Rohrberg, flute
Alexander Lenser, English horn
Dillon Acey, bass clarinet
Kearston Gonzales, Natalie Boberg, violin
Nicolette Sullivan-Cozza, viola
Nicholas Tsang, cello
Colby Heimburger, double bass
Doyeon Lom, timpani
Mathew Lanning, harpsichord

Program note

The golden sun began to set over the rolling hills of western Massachusetts, casting the opulent manor in a gripping shadow. Inside the dining room of this exquisitely fancy manor, preparations were underway for a lavish dinner party. Hosted by the elusive and eccentric composer Dr. Mathew Lanning, he had sent out invitations to his former conservatory colleagues.
        The evening would be filled with free-flowing conversation, the finest champagne from New Hampshire (but not Massachusetts, because it was a holiday), and a five-course dinner prepared by Gordon Ramsay. Finally, at the head of the evening, they would all gather together to premiere a brand new harpsichord concerto composed by the maestro himself.
        Little did they know that the night was about to take an unexpected turn, one that would leave them all reeling with shock and disbelief...
        … Somebody played a parallel octave!
        There was near-pandemonium as the guests and musicians shuffled and cried out in horror at the atrocity that had just been brazenly committed in front of them! Who was to blame?
        A scuffle ensued; it continued long into the night. What had begun as a fancied, elegant evening had devolved into madness; and it was all because somebody had engaged in sub-par voice leading.
        But what none of them knew, as they continued to argue as the night closed in, and the light from the candles began to die, was that no performer was to blame for the contrapuntal error… It is the composer himself! Professor Lanning had written that parallel octave in the piece willingly and knowingly - He just hadn’t bothered to fix it because Sibelius was not working properly on his new laptop.
– Mathew Lanning

Brandon Markson | Peripatetic (2022)

Dillon Acey, clarinet
Koki Renwick, trumpet
Noah Korenfeld, trombone
Jesse Dale, double bass
Doyeon Kim, percussion                                                   
Jiawei Gong, conductor

Program note

The idea for this piece arose during the summer of 2022 at the Atlantic Music Festival. While my friends and I were discussing different music theory concepts, the idea crossed my mind of creating a piece using some form of note restriction (ie. serialism). After experimenting with different note collections, I came upon the collection of 013589 (for example, this could be E F G A C and Db). This restricts the collection of notes at any given time to six notes, until the collection shifts. The process created a fun and creative way to explore melodic contour and harmonies. As I began composing, the ideas formulated vibrant imagery of a caravan crossing the desert at sunrise and battling the harsh attributes of nature, as they wandered from one town to the next. To me, this created a narrative of a nomadic group traversing a multitude of ecosystems, all representative of the different musical motifs created and their flow from one idea to the next. Peripatetic describes one who travels from place to place – this fits the character of the narrative and the music itself, thus the name feels like a perfect fit.                                                              – Brandon Markson

Jaegone Kim | Garden II (2023)

Honor Hickman, flute
Sarah Cho, clarinet
Bella Jeong, violin
Daniel Kim, cello
Jaegone Kim, conductor

Program note

Garden II is a musical piece that embodies my definition of a garden - a space that blooms amidst plants, with the surrounding plants creating a void that is referred to as “a garden.” Garden I was written for String Trio in 2020 and Garden II in 2022-3.        – Jaegone Kim

Austin Engelhardt | Dead Trees (2022)

Nozomi Murayama, Theresa Katz, violin
Nicolette Sullivan-Cozza, viola                                                       
Miruna Eynon, cello

Shiwen Zhong | Fantasy for Classical Guitar (2023)

Jiujiu Wu, guitar 

Program note

Let's imagine beautiful sceneries together...                                               
– Shiwen Zhong

Yunqi Li | The Double (2023)

Xiaoqing Yu, violin
Nick Ayala-Cerón, cello
Grace Yu, piano

Program note

Dark or Light,
Black or white,
With my choice.                                                                                                       – Yunqi Li

Linxi Chen | Intercosmos (2023)

Anne Chao, flute, alto flute
Nikita Manin, clarinet
Ben Eidson, alto and baritone saxophone
Isaac Dubow, trumpet
Dorson Chang, Xiaoqing Yu, violin
Philip Rawlinson, viola
Stephanie Yang, cello
Diego Martinez, double bass
Jiaqing Luo, Linxi Chen, piano
Efstratios Minakakis, conductor   

Program note

“Past the age of fifty Velasquez stopped painting definite things.
He hovered around objects with the air, with twilight,
catching in his shadows and airy backgrounds…
the palpitations of colour…
which formed the invisible core of his silent symphony.
Henceforth, he captured only…
those mysterious interpenetrations of shape and tone that form a constant,
secret progression,
neither betrayed nor interrupted by any jolt or jar.

Space reigns supreme.”                                                         
– History of Art by Elie Faure

Yi Yao | The Ethereal Veils of Haze (2023)

Anne Chao, flute
Nikita Manin, clarinet
Dillon Acey, bass clarinet
Xiaoqing Yu, violin
Philip Rawlinson, viola
Kei Otake, cello
Nga ieng Sabrina Lai, percussion
Efstratios Minakakis, conductor       

Program note

I wandered lonely as a cloud
that floats on high o'er vales and hills.

William Wordsworth from I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud