Poetry by Mary Elizabeth Frye

Performed by the Clark College Women's Choral Ensemble under the direction of April Brookins Duvic at Marylhurst University on June 9, 2012.

I apologize for the poor recording quality...

©2012

Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep for SSAA choir

Written for the American Creators Chorus (dir. by Craig Hella Johnson) at the 2014 Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium.

Performed June 10, 2016 by a small group from the Clark College Chorale (dir. April Brookins Duvic)and directed by Brandon Stewart.

VVVVV

"mi amor descubre objetos" by Isabel Fraire
.

mi amor descubre objetos 
sedosas mariposas 
se ocultan en sus dedos 

sus palabras 
me salpican de estrellas 

bajo los dedos de mi amor la noche 
brilla como relámpago 

mi amor inventa mundos en que habitan 
serpientes cuajadas de brillantes 

mundos en que la música es el mundo 

mundos en que las casas con los ojos abiertos 
contemplan el amanecer 

mi amor es un loco girasol que olvida 
pedazos de sol en el silencio
----------

"my love reveals objects" by Isabel Fraire
.

my love reveals objects
silken butterflies
concealed in his fingers

his words
splash me with stars

under my love's fingers, the night
shines like lightning

my love invents worlds where
jeweled glittering serpents live

worlds in which music is the world

worlds where houses with open eyes
contemplate the dawn

my love is a mad sunflower that forgets
fragments of sun in the silence
---

More poetry written by this amazing poet can be found at isabelfraire.com

"mi amor descubre objetos" for mixed choir

Completed May 2016.
Still awaiting a premiere.

This is my response to the Gesualdo and Monteverdi settings of the same 16th century text.  I felt their settings needed more burns and wounds so mine has those in abundance.

Poetry by Ridolfo Arlotti (1546 - 1613)

Luci serene e chiare,
Voi m'incendete, voi, ma prova il core
Nell'incendio diletto, non dolore.

Dolci parole e care,
Voi mi ferite, voi, ma prova il petto
Non dolor nella piaga, ma diletto.

O miracol d'Amore!
Alma che è tutta foco e tutta sangue
Si strugge e non si duol, more e non langue.

--- English translation ---

Eyes serene and clear 
you burn me, but the heart 
finds pleasure, not sorrow, in the fire. 

Words sweet and dear, 
you wound me, but my breast 
finds pleasure, not sorrow, in the wound. 

O miracle of love! 
The soul that is all fire and blood 
destroys itself, grieves not, dies without languishing.

Luci serene e chiare for SATTB choir (midi realization)

Completed October 2015.
Awaiting premiere.
Unfortunately the midi realization leaves much to be desired...

Written as the capstone project for my MA in music composition from the University of Bristol.  

I have always been troubled by the lack of understanding, perspective, and empathy that people have regarding the biblical narrative of the global flood.  Many people choose to focus on the positive aspects of the story (an old man and his family taking an extended cruise with a mating pair of every animal) and disregard the rest of the story (the utter destruction of every other living thing).  This never sat well with me as the most prominent motif in the Genesis account is not how Noah's family managed on the ark but how those less fortunate fared amidst the waves.  As a result, I was compelled to write a programmatic piece not from the perspective of Noah but of one of the millions, possibly billions, of people who were not saved.  Regardless if you believe in the validity of the story, it is one which describes the single most cataclysmic event in the history of our planet; much more deadly than any war, genocide, plague, meteor, or natural disaster.  Genesis states that the contemporaries of our ancestors offended their god to such a degree that he was compelled to say this of them and us in chapter 6, verse 7: 

"I will wipe man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth; both man and beast, and creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for I regret having made them."

And thus, the piece was given its title: Paenitet enim me fecisse eos.

Text taken from the Latin Vulgate translation of Genesis.

PAENITET ENIM ME FECISSE EOS for orchestra and symphonic choir (midi realization)

This piece was written in honor of April Brookins Duvic on the occasion of her retirement after having taught, and later directed, vocal studies at Clark College for over 25 years.  Her wisdom and guidance has enriched the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of students thoughout her career.  It was obvious that this occasion required a gift befitting the honoree and reflected the gift she gave so many; the gift of song.

The poetry I chose to set in this piece perfectly encapsulates how April has positively affected the lives of her students.  Everyone I have spoken with has their own unforgettable moment in which April brightened a particularly gloomy day or said something which changed them forever.  It was the ambiguity inherent in the poem which enticed me the most as it can relate to each performer and each listener in the same way as they each reflect on their own personal moments.

Poetry by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Gratitude for mixed choir and piano (midi realization)

The third movement of The Infantryman Cycle.  In this piece, the facade put up by the Infantryman in movement two (A Song of Winter Weather) is shattered as he describes his experience in the trenches.  Wilfred Owen perfectly encapsulates the terror, frustration, and hopelessness he felt as one of millions in that circumstance.  My goal in writing the starkly contrasting sections was to change perspective between the Infantryman on the front and the people in relative safety back home.  To remain in the aggressive aesthetic throughout the piece would not have worked as the text becomes less abrasive.  Things to listen for include an allusion to the Westminster Quarters and a fugato section based on Taps and Last Post, bugle calls used by the American and British militaries respectively during military funerals.

"Anthem for Doomed Youth" (midi realization)

Triskaidekaphobia for viola and piano (midi realization)

A setting of Sara Teasdale's "Alone".
---
I am alone, in spite of love,
In spite of all I take and give—
In spite of all your tenderness,
Sometimes I am not glad to live.

I am alone, as though I stood
On the highest peak of the tired gray world,
About me only swirling snow,
Above me, endless space unfurled;

With earth hidden and heaven hidden,
And only my own spirit's pride
To keep me from the peace of those
Who are not lonely, having died. 
---
Premiered by Resonance Ensemble in October 2019

ALONE for mixed choir and piano (live)

Rose City Introits - 8 - CONSIDER THE LILIES (midi realization)

Rose City Introits - 5 - CHRISTUS RESURREXIT (midi realization)

Rose City Introits - 4 - ARISE AND SHINE (midi realization)

Rose City Introits - 2 - AMEN OF HOPE (midi realization)

" ...simultaneously innovative, intellectually stimulating, but most of all emotionally moving." - Maria Choban, Oregon ArtsWatch

Brandon Stewart

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