Scene 3 of 5 of Diary of a Madman (Записки сумасшедшего), an opera in English and Russian by composer and librettist Dana Kaufman, based on the short story by Nikolai Gogol

2015 Semi-Finalist for The American Prize in the Opera/Theater/Film Division

Premiered at Buckley Recital Hall, Amherst College, January 2012.

SCENE III

After obtaining Medji and Fidele's letters, the Madman begins reading to find that the dogs have used perfect punctuation, snickering that the Head of the Department does not have their writing talent. Medji's letter describes Sophie's love for her dog, saying that Sophie pets her quite often. The dogs proceed to discuss food in the letters: they drink tea and coffee with heavy cream, and Medji prefers mixtures of gravies without capers and herbs. Medji tells Fidele that Papa is a very strange person and that he presented to her a ribbon, which she licked and found a bit salty. Angered, the Madman grunts about this ridiculous correspondence. After Fidele discusses her least-favorite vegetables in a letter, Medji describes Sophie's passionate love for Teplov and how he has been courting her, saying that they are soon to be married. Shocked and pained, the Madman reads further to discover that the dogs and Sophie believe he is nothing but a fool, a lowly clerk. Horrified, the Madman questions his status as a titular councilor and remembers the vacant Spanish throne. He realizes that he is not a titular councilor, but rather King of Spain. He is King of Spain, Ferdinand VIII. The delusional Madman proclaims his royal status, asserting that Sophie is his queen.

Dana Kaufman, Composer and Librettist

Nathan Olson, Conductor

Cast:
Aksenty Ivanovich Poprishchin (Madman)....Tom O'Toole
Sophie.....Libby Maxey
Medji the Dog....Julia Moorman 
Fidele the Dog....Hilary Cullen Budwey 
Head of the Department...David Ressler 

Jesse Fried and Nicholas Shaneyfelt, piano

Diary of a Madman, Scene 3

Third Place Winner, The 2017 American Prize Instrumental Chamber Music Student Division. 
Winner of the 2017 Ensemble Ibis Competition Graduate Division; performed on 2017 Winter Heat New Music Festival and by Great Noise Ensemble, 2019. A winner of the CEMIcircles call for scores, 2019. 

Premiered on New England Conservatory Composers’ Series, Arthur Berger Memorial Concert, Jordan Hall, February 2015. Commissioned by Atlantic Music Festival. 

In "Peapõrutus (Concussion)", I aim to capture the philosophy so beautifully expressed by Leonard Bernstein: “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”

My “reply to violence” begins with a turbulent evening in Estonia.

On January 8, 2013, while on a Fulbright Student Research Grant in ethnomusicology and composition in Estonia, an anonymous attacker groped and assaulted me on a tram in Tallinn. The assailant, who punched me in the head, left the tram before anyone could stop him. 

My “post-punch” confusion and even nervous laughter would end a few hours later with nausea, blurring eyes, and a trip to the emergency room.

My brain scans and blood tests—thankfully—revealed no permanent damage, but it was clear I had a concussion. In the midst of the tests that would confirm this diagnosis, I lay on a hospital bed in the large emergency room, with a device on my finger connected to a heart monitor. Over and over, the heart monitor “beeped” out the same unsettling rhythm. I knew I had to write it down after returning home from the hospital.

That heart monitor rhythm is one of several elements related to this hospital experience incorporated in my piece, "Peapõrutus (Concussion)". The piece includes a pitch collection based on the number on my hospital bracelet (C C# D D# F F# A), an electronic tape with field recordings I later took in the hospital waiting room, a voice reading portions of my hospital report in Estonian, and so on.

Though the memory of my assailant will continue to lurk, rumination does not, and never will, yield justice. My hope, however, is that my piece serves as a response to my attacker, to this experience, and to the everyday violence far too many women often face. "Peapõrutus (Concussion)" aims to process traumatic experience through the arts, and illuminate the potential of music in 21st century womanhood.

Peapõrutus (Concussion)

"Scratch the Surface" is about—and dedicated to—a dear friend who unfortunately committed self-harm. The piece explores what they term the “open wounds” they sustain.  

Instrumentation:
	Solo Violin

Commissioned by violinist Julia Connor
Premiered in Jordan Hall, Boston, April 2015

Scratch the Surface - III. Wound

Scratch The Surface - II. Slash

Scratch The Surface - I. Slit

A halcyon, a tree kingfisher, was thought in Greek mythology to possess the ability to calm the sea. Here, "Halcyon Disquiet" alludes to a hushed lurk, and a fermenting unease.

For flute, Bb bass clarinet, alto saxophone, electric guitar and violin

Honorable Mention for the 2016 American Prize, Chamber Music Student Division. Commissioned by Charlotte New Music Festival 2015 for performance with choreography; premiered by Great Noise Ensemble at Charlotte New Music Festival 2015 in Charlotte, NC, June 2015. Performed by Great Noise Ensemble at Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C. and at the Baltimore War Memorial in Baltimore, MD, September 2015. Performed by Bob Cole Conservatory of Music New Music Ensemble at Pacific Southwest Chapter of the College Music Society’s 2016 Regional Conference, Bob Cole Conservatory of Music, Long Beach, CA, March 2016. 

Recorded at the Baltimore War Memorial, September 2015

Halcyon Disquiet

By Dana Kaufman
Poetry by Queen Lili’uokalani

2017 Morton Gould ASCAP Young Composer Awards Finalist
The 2017 American Prize Finalist, Choral Music Student Division

Commissioned and Premiered by the Nā Wai Chamber Choir, Honolulu, January 8, 2017

Be Still My Heart

Be still my heart e kapalili nei,
He aha ho’i nei hana āu?
A he hana nui kāu
Nowelo i ka Manawa.
Ua ‘ike paha i ka pua
Nani ‘a’ala o ia dale,
O ka uka ‘iu o Luakaha,
He uka ona ‘ia e nā manu.

“Na wai nō lā ho’i ka ‘ole?”
Beat iho ai kēia pliant heart.
“ ‘ A ‘ohe mea e nele ai
‘O ka makemake a loko.”
A he nani ‘oko’a nō ‘o luna,
Puapua lua i ka nahele,
Onaona hiehie lua ‘ole.
‘O ka ‘oi ‘oe o Lanihuli.

Ke ano wale mai nei nō
Ka hali’a me ke aloha
Iā ‘oe e Sunset Beam,
Dew o ka twilight hour.
‘A’ohe na’e ho’i e hihi,
Ua kauleo ‘ia mai au,
Ua kapu kēia nui kino.
Ho’omalu ana ka leo. 

Translation by Hui Hānai:

Be still my beating heart,
What is it that you do?
You have a great task
In searching through our conscience.
You must have seen that flower
So beautiful and fragrant of that dale
From the lofty uplands of Luakaha,
Heights alluring to many birds.

“Is it really possible for one to resist?”
Beats the voice of my pliant heart,
“This one has absolutely everything
That any heart could ever desire.”
But above was seen a different beauty
Blooming grandly among the trees,
A most dignified and charming sweetness.
You are the finest example from Lanihuli.

Now grow calm and quiet
My thoughts and love
For you, O Sunset Beam,
Dew of the twilight hour.
But oh, never mind, it can’t be taken
	into consideration,
For I’ve already received my request.
This entire person is reserved.
Be still, implores my voice.

Instrumentation:
	SSAA Choir

Duration: ca. 7’

Commissioned by and Dedicated to Jace Saplan and the Nā Wai Chamber Choir

Dana Kaufman

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