Performed by the New England Conservatory Chamber Singers for New England Conservatory's 150th Anniversary Celebration, Erica Washburn conducting. 16 February 2017, Jordan Hall, Boston, MA.

Recording engineer: Jeremy Sarna

I Hear (2016) | chorus and soprano solo

Recorded 28 April 2017, Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory
Boston, Mass.

NEC Philharmonia under the direction of Jacob Joyce, MM. '17.

Till We Have Faces (2017) | for orchestra

for flute, soprano saxophone, violin, and cello

performed 16 July 2018 by Vertixe Sonora, as part of the soundSCAPE Festival in Cesena, Italy

In the first few months of 2018, I was confronted by a series of difficult situations, requiring immense amounts of mental discipline and patience to properly process them. I often felt as if I could think of nothing other than the things that were causing me the most stress in that current moment, rather than remaining focused on the task of writing. This piece was conceived as the most direct means of exorcising some of those stresses.

The word acercarse translates into English most closely as “to approach”. In laying out this piece, I chose to use a trio of instruments (flute, violin, and cello) as a means to bring into sonic existence some of the issues I was directly facing. The soprano sax serves as some sort of intermediary on behalf of, or perhaps a conciliatory figure to, this trio. Neither the trio nor the solo ever truly form a connection, nor do they adopt the others mannerisms or expressions, as that is not how my experience of the last few months as been. Both exist purely in their own circumstances; perhaps being complimentary at times, but never cooperating. These issues can only ever draw closer together, never unifying. They can only approach.

Recorded by Jeremy Gonterman

acercarse (2018) | for small ensemble

performed by the Lucerne Festival Alumni
Luzernersaal, KKL Luzern, Switzerland
29 August 2018

Edo Frenkel - Conductor

Rafal Zoklos - Flute
Rozenn Le Trionnaire - Bass Clarinet
Ben Roidl-Ward - Basson/Contrabassoon
Ryan Little - Horn
Nicholas Indermuhle - Tuba
Xizi Wang, Jared Soldiviero - Percussion
Helga Karen - Piano
Maggie Hasspacher - Double Bass

asestarse (2018) | for 9 players

for the 150th Anniversary of the founding of New England Conservatory, and the 70th Anniversary of the New England Conservatory Choral Department

performed by ensembles from New England Conservatory
Jordan Hall, Boston, MA

soprano solo - Pepita Salim
conductor - Erica Washburn

I Hear (2016/ed. 2017) | for chorus and sinfonietta

Performed by Sophia Burgos (soprano) and Daniel Gerzenberg (piano) in the Florentinersaal, KUG Graz, Austria - 17 Nov 2018

Meine Lieder sind Keine Lieder
by Daniel Gerzenberg

Meine Lieder sind keine Lieder
Sie sind Flieder
Und der Flieder ist der Frühling
Und der Frühling ist die Liebe
Und die Liebe - das bin ich
Meine Lieder sind keine Lieder
Sie sind Liebe
Und die Liebe ist die Tiefe
Und die Tiefe ist die Trauer
Und die Trauer - das bin ich
Meine Lieder sind keine Lieder

--

das bin Ich

Flute - Jennifer Seubel
Saxophone - Mari Ángeles de Valle Casado
Violin - Veronique de Raedemaeker
Cello - Elio Herrera

Performed at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln
4 December 18

acercarse (rev. 2018) | for small ensemble

Text by Daniel Gerzenberg

Sophia Burgos - Soprano
Daniel Gerzenberg - Piano

performed 15 Feb 2019 at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin

Maktub (2019) | for soprano and piano

Reset (2018) | for soprano and piano

performed by the Tanglewood Music Center Fellows
at Seiji Ozawa Hall in Lenox, MA
14 July 2019

Nathan Aspinall - Conductor

Johanna Gruskin - Flute
Matthew Griffith - Bass Clarinet
Julianne Mulvey - Basson/Contrabassoon
Esteban Garcia - Horn
Ole Heiland - Tuba
Jonathon Wisner, David Riccobono - Percussion
Shelley Ng - Piano
Evan Bish - Double Bass

asestarse (2018, rev. 2019) | for 9 players

2019-08-17 0230PM CD1

Shading | violin & cello

Lighting | flute & clarinet

vals macizo | violin & viola

Ebb - for small ensemble
Performed by MusikFabrik

Carl Rosman - Clarinet
Christine Chapman - Horn
Axel Porath - Viola
Elio Herrerra - Cello
Dirk Rothbrust - Percussion
Ulrich Löffler - Piano

Performed at HfMT Köln, 19 June 2019

Ebb is often paired with the word “flow”, the same way “fro” is often connect to “to”, and “there” to “here”. As a concept, it relates with “that which recedes”, and provides a force in opposition to “that which intensifies”. The most common use of this word is in reference to tides. This piece is not about the tide “going out”, rather it is about what is left behind when we allow to be uncovered what has been hidden. This sort of retreat can be, in this sense, a positive and healing one. By limiting the pitch material – that is to say, allowing the attention often paid to pitch and harmony “ebb” – we can begin to more carefully focus on the parts of music that are uncovered, those more easily lost to the ear: timbre, amplitude, rhythm, orchestration.

Andrew Haig

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