Elizabeth Pétillot, contralto
Aurélien Pétillot, viola
Russell Reed, piano

Russell Reed. Light The Lovely Candles (excerpt)

Music by Daniel Powers. Poem by Edna St Vincent Millay.


II. I know I am but summer to your heart 
I know I am but summer to your heart,
And not the full four seasons of the year;
And you must welcome from another part
Such noble moods as are not mine, my dear.
No gracious weight of golden fruits to sell
Have I, nor any wise and wintry thing;
And I have loved you all too long and well
To carry still the high sweet breast of Spring.

Wherefore I say: O love, as summer goes,
I must be gone, steal forth with silent drums,
That you may hail anew the bird and rose
When I come back to you, as summer comes.
Else will you seek, at some not distant time,
Even your summer in another clime.


The Rain Is Full Of Ghosts II. Summer To Your Heart (non downloadable)

Music by Daniel Powers. Poem by Edna St Vincent Millay.

II. I know I am but summer to your heart 
I know I am but summer to your heart,
And not the full four seasons of the year;
And you must welcome from another part
Such noble moods as are not mine, my dear.
No gracious weight of golden fruits to sell
Have I, nor any wise and wintry thing;
And I have loved you all too long and well
To carry still the high sweet breast of Spring.

Wherefore I say: O love, as summer goes,
I must be gone, steal forth with silent drums,
That you may hail anew the bird and rose
When I come back to you, as summer comes.
Else will you seek, at some not distant time,
Even your summer in another clime.

The Rain Is Full Of Ghosts III. What Lips My Lips Have Kissed (non downloadable)

Music and poem by Michael Colgrass

III. 
New People talk computer
     @%3*ç!7#+%@
They sex computer
     @$%ç&xyzz
     Gzt!
New People never die
They go for new parts
     (Sigh)

New People III. New People Talk Computer (non downloadable)

Music and poem by Michael Colgrass

V. 
Skyscrapers are trees of the city
People are fallen leaves
Changing color by economy
     Humanities up 2/3
     Communication down
I’ll buy a hundred shares of AT&T
If someone’ll please 
Communicate with me

New People V. Skyscrapers Are Trees Of The City (non downloadable)

IV. 
Earth is the theater
Of the universe
A million planets attending
Dressed in diamonds and velvet
     Sunset’s ready
     Ocean’s tuned
Moon’s lit
Tonight’s show is Science
The critics promise 
A tremendous hit

New People IV. Earth Is The Theater (non downloadable)

Music and Poem by Michael Colgrass

I. 
Baby’s eyes are chocolates
That melt when I’m bad
Baby’s mouth’s a plum
That sings when I’m sad
Baby’s heart’s a valentine
Sent a thousand miles to my bed
I’ll remember baby’s laughter
In prison till I’m dead
And after

New People I. Baby's Eyes Are Chocolates (non downloadable)

II. Bed Music
Music by Rob Deemer. Poem by Charles Simic

Our love was new,
But your bedsprings were old.
In the flat below,
They stopped eating with forks in the air.

They made the old sourpuss
Climb the stairs
And squint through the keyhole,
While we went right ahead 
Making the springs toot,

Playing “Low down on the Bayou,”
Playing “Big Leg Mama,”
Playing “Shake It Baby”
And “Carolina Shout.”

That was the limit!
They called the fire brigade.
They called the Law.
They could have brought some hooch, 
We told the cops.

Erotica II. Bed Music (non downloadable)

III. Tango Violistico.
Music and poem by Jonathan Santore

The very next time that you’re watching your local orchestra,
Please pay some very close attention to the strings ––
The section usually begins
With all those teeny violins
And moves down through the basses 
(Great big scary things – BRRRRR!)
But in the middle lies the noblest of all the instruments,
The one that balances the perfect highs and lows –– 
The one that plays the middle part 
And sends its arrows to my heart ––
In short, the section where my dear beloved goes.
The man can play viola, 
He makes me lose control-a, 
He is the Ayatollah of my bod, 
The man can play viola, 
He moves my very soul-a, 
The man can play viola like a god.
 The man can play viola 
He turns my blood to cola, 
 I’ll shout his name from Cape Town to Cape Cod
He bows from tip to fro-og,  
And I go all ago-og, 
The man can play viola like a god.
Too long I loitered all alone in romance’s waiting room, 
Too long I tarried by the turnstile to the moon ,
Too long I waited for the dance ,
Too long I never got the chance 
I needed moving, and I couldn’t move too soon.
But then I heard him, and I knew there was no more waiting game, 
I knew this yearning in my breast was heaven-sent 
All his harmonic harmonies 
Rushed in and weakened both my knees 
And his fundamental stirred my fundament.
The man can play viola, 
He makes me lose control-a, 
He is the Ayatollah of my bod … 
The man can play viola, 
He moves my very soul-a, 
The man can play viola like a god.
The man can play viola, 
From Newark to Angola, 
He plants my inhibitions in the sod 
The Germans call it Bratsche 
But all I hear is “Gotcha!” 
The man can play viola like a god.
How’d this violist get so?

Front Porch Poems III. Tango Violistico (non downloadable)

Music by Graham Reynolds. Poem by Lewis Carroll.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves 
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
 And the mome raths outgrabe. 

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun 
The frumious Bandersnatch!'”

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought ––
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood a while in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One two! One two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head 
He went galumphing back. 

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy. 

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Jabberwocky (non downloadable)

​
Chiaroscuro, the contagiously enthusiastic trio of critically acclaimed and award winning musicians is comprised of contralto Elizabeth Pétillot,  violist Aurélien Pétillot, and pianist Yuko Kato. As the only professional chamber ensemble dedicated to showcasing the great variety of works written for the magical combination of their beautiful and deep instruments, it has championed the European Romantic masterpieces of Brahms, Bridge, Loeffler and Strauss, as well as many contemporary American works, several of which are featured on its debut CD, New People, released by Albany Records.
​
The trio’s passionate performances and engaging interactions with its audiences provides a welcoming and unique concert experience akin to a conversation between good friends. Since its inception in 2010, the Chiaroscuro Trio has appeared as guest ensemble at various festivals and concert venues including The New Sounds Festival in Fredonia, NY, the Austin Chamber Music Center Festival in Austin, TX and the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts in Mount Vernon, IL. In December of 2012 the Trio performed on the Live From The Chazen radio show, which was broadcast live on Wisconsin Public Radio. The Chiaroscuro Trio looks forward to its European debut at the Walled City Music Festival in Derry Ireland, during the summer of 2013.
​