When the German critic Oscar Schmitz called England ‘das Land ohne Musik’ that was not true. My blog headline is similarly inaccurate. Yes, 2020-21 has been a year without live music and it’s been devastating. But there has been innovation and creativity bubbling away under the surface. Conductors, patrons, performers, researchers, composers and technicians have been working on projects with confidence that live music will come back into our lives once this blasted pandemic has passed.
Solitude does have its advantages. For some people, isolation is fuel for creative fire. I’m one of those for whom hacking out music alone is not a hardship. Antithetically, all of my pieces are dependent upon collaboration. Without the vision of engaged musical communities, my compositions wouldn’t exist. Motivated groups of people, equipped with imagination and problem solving, bring new music to life.
It’s disappointing that premieres were cancelled, but when COVID is over there will be a wave of new music waiting in the wings. Here’s a chronicle of my own creative work that awaits that post-pandemic period.
Jeff Joudrey, conductor of the Halifax Camerata Singers approached me with a beautiful text he discovered, written by a medieval, Jewish philosopher from Spain, Solomon ibn Gabirol. I set ‘At dawn I seek you’ for solo violin and SATB choir. The poem is evocative of a sunrise. The violin is in dialogue with the choir, like nature with humanity. During the final bars, the violinist walks off stage and the music fades. I’m looking forward to hearing it.
Kevin Reeves asked me to write a piece for his Ottawa choir Seventeen Voyces I wanted to set a magnificent poem ‘Night’ by Lucy Maude Montgomery. I wrote to the representatives of her estate for permission to set the poem to music. I got back a very nice, personal letter. The piece is brooding and dark, like the words of the poem. I set it for SSATB choir and a solo cello, consulting with my friend Mary-Katherine Finch about range and bowings for the instrument. I’m looking forward to hearing it.
I was in talks with conductor Ruben Valenzuela about a performance of my big piece ‘Babel: a choral symphony’. It’s a 45-minute oratorio for choir, on a long text by Cori Martin for soloists and full orchestra which can only be done by a large choral society like the one Ruben conducts in California. But alas, that concert was cancelled.
Jason Abel asked me to write a piece for the dedication of a new pipe organ in historic Christ Church, Alexandria, Virginia. Since this is the church where George Washington attended, I wanted a text that would balance our current perspectives on that slave-owning President. I was so lucky to come across the 18th-century writer Phillis Wheatley, the first African American woman to publish poetry. She met George Washington and addressed a poem to him. My setting of her poem ‘An Hymn to the Evening’ was composed with the inspiration of a spectacular sunset over Waterloo that I watched one peaceful evening with my Mum.
Recently Erik Goldstrom of Trinity Cathedral, Phoenix, Arizona has asked for a new Easter piece. This was a direct result of an article on Canadian composers written by Maxine Thevenot. We’re being cautious, estimating the premiere will be in Spring of 2022. I’ve yet to find the perfect text, so maybe you’d like to suggest something?
And finally, I am collaborating as we speak with Mark Vuorinen, librettist Paul Ciufo , and two generous patrons who have supported the creation of two new works. I will blog about those creative efforts down the road.
Have courage. We’ll meet again on the other side of this weird year, and hear the music soar once again.
Best,
Steph
