Kreis des Lebens (2021) 

Poetry by Rainer Maria Rilke
Music by by Felix Jarrar

Anna Kelly, mezzo-soprano
Felix Jarrar, pianist 

Recorded live in NYC on June 17th, 2022

III. Und Dennoch

II. Ich Bin Auf Der Welt Zu Allein..

I. Gott Spricht

An Afternoon of Song & Opera: a concert by Felix Jarrar & friends (selections)

Recorded live at the Jesse Lee United Methodist Church on January 15th, 2023 in Easton, CT in concert sponsored by the Wednesday Afternoon Music Club 

1) Voyelles 
Music by Felix Jarrar
Text by Arthur Rimbaud 

Caroline Spaeth, soprano
Felix Jarrar, composer/pianist

2) Queen Mary's Lament
Music by Felix Jarrar
Text by Robert Burns

Rebecca Sacks, mezzo-soprano
Felix Jarrar, composer/pianist

Queen Mary's Lament by Felix Jarrar

Voyelles by Felix Jarrar

Happiness to Dream by Felix Jarrar (2023

Justin Ouellet, viola
Felix Jarrar, piano

Recorded live at the Church of the Good Shepherd by Justin Ouellet on May 19th, 2023 as part of "Felix Jarrar & Friends present Music for a Better Tomorrow: a benefit concert for NAGLY"

Happiness to Dream by Felix Jarrar (2023)

Prelude to La Traviata by Verdi

From open reading at Church of the Village NYC 10/20/24

Felix Jarrar, pianist and music director 

Recorded by Allais media 

Prelude to Verdi's La Traviata

An idyllic in beach in Naples 
by Felix Jarrar

for violin, flute, oboe, clarinet, and piano four-hands 

Commissioned by Off the Chamber 

Sommer Altier, violin
Zach Hicks, Flute
Shoshana Klein, oboe
Ethan Usoskin, clarinet
Maxwell Hinton, piano (primo)
Ryan Jung, piano (secondo)

Recorded live September 14th, 2024 at world premiere performance at the Brooklyn Conservatory in Brooklyn, NY

An idyllic beach in Naples (2024) by Felix Jarrar

I. Prelude on Chorale 56 'Es steh'n vor Gottes Throne'
II. Fantasy on the Royal Theme from the Musical Offering (begins at 3:24)

Read by the Atlantic Music Festival Orchestra in Waterville, Maine on July 15th, 2015

Conducted by Kamna Gupta

Pastiche after J. S. Bach is a work that I began working on during the Fall of 2014 at Marlboro College. That semester, I took a course on 18th-century counterpoint with Stan Charkey, my composition teacher.  Every week he would give us chorales that were harmonized by Bach, and our homework was to harmonize them. However, we were forbidden to look at the way Bach harmonized them until we came to class the following week with our own harmonizations. One week he gave us the Chorale 56 'Es steh'n vor Gottes Throne'. I wrote two harmonizations of the chorale. The week after these harmonizations, he assigned us to write a contrapuntal piece on the Royal Theme from The Musical Offering. As I started writing my piece, I noticed that the Chorale 56 theme could be combined with the Royal Theme. These two pieces ended up serving as the basic structure for the pastiche. The work is cast into two movements. In the first movement, the chorale theme is presented with various harmonizations. The fantasy on the Royal Theme in C minor is the second movement. The moderately fast fantasy utilizes canonic imitation and various instrumental combinations as I play with the unbelievably rich material imbued in Bach's theme. As the piece unfolds, I begin introducing versions of the Chorale 56 theme in bits and pieces against the Royal Theme in various guises. By the end of the piece, the two themes are completely restated together. The piece concludes as both themes are presented together over long dominant and tonic pedal points. 

Pastiche After J. S. Bach by Felix Jarrar (2015)

String Quartet no. 1, "Mosaic of Myself: A Walt Whitman Experience", featuring baritone (2016)
by Felix Jarrar

Co-commissioned by Brendan Speltz and Andrew Janss

I. Introduction (0:02)
II. Melodrama I (1:07)
III. Instrumental Interlude I (Intermezzo)(4:15)
IV. Melodrama II (with singing)(5:20)
V. Instrumental Interlude II (Reprise)(10:55)
VI. Aria-Finale: ‘There is that in me' (12:39)

The text of the work was adapted from the work of Walt Whitman by the composer.

Musicians:
Violin I, Brendan Speltz
Violin II, Ravenna Lipchik
Viola, Celia Hatton
Cello, Andrew Janss
Baritone, Seth Gilman

World Premiere

Recorded at The Church of the Intercession (550 W 155th St NY, NY) on Saturday, December 10th, 2016.

String Quartet no. 1, "Mosaic of Myself: A Walt Whitman Experience" by Felix Jarrar (2016)

Songs of a bygone time by Felix Jarrar

a song cycle for baritone and piano featuring settings of poetry by Thomas Hardy

I. Shelley's Skylark
II. I Have Lived With Shades
III. Memory & I

Michael Kelly, baritone
Felix Jarrar, pianist

Recorded live at Brooklyn College's Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema on December 6th, 2018

Produced and mastered by Tamara Kachelmeier

Cover photography by 360 of Opera

2. I Have Lived With Shades

Excerpts from the pop-up house concert "Absolutely Fabulous: an evening of two queens", sponsored by Groupmuse

Featuring sopranos Rebecca Richardson and Victoria Davis
Felix Jarrar, piano

Social Media Song from Mother Goose by Felix Jarrar
Rebecca Richardson - Princess Talia (Sleeping Beauty)

"Ah, fuggi il traditor" from Don Giovanni, K. 527 by W. A. Mozart
Rebecca Richardson - Donna Elvira

IV. Canción de cuna para dormir a un negrito from Cinco canciones negras by Xavier Montsalvatge
Victoria Davis (soprano)

Recorded by Enrique Mancia on September 21st, 2019

IV. Canción de cuna para dormir a un negrito from Cinco canciones negras by by Xavier Montsalvatge

Ah, fuggi il traditor from Don Giovanni by Mozart

Felix Jarrar is a multidisciplinary artist, distinguished as a composer, coach and conductor. His music has been praised for its "dreamlike" quality (Boston Globe) and "delightfully cruel" edge (Operawire). Jarrar's compositions have been noted to "flow from him in the most natural and lively way" (Tom Cipullo).
Jarrar has had the privilege of collaborating with numerous esteemed organizations, including Santa Fe Opera, OPERA San Antonio, The New School, Opera Naples, Opera North, Opera Ithaca, Penn Square Opera, Hogfish, University of Memphis and the iconic Apollo Theater. For the 2024/2025 season, he will serve as Assistant Conductor with Florida Grand Opera, working on productions of Die Zauberflöte, L'elisir d'amore, and Carmen.
Jarrar's impressive compositional catalog comprises 275 works, including 235 art songs, 14 operas, 2 string quartets, and a symphony. He has received notable commissions from and been underwritten by the New England Repertory Orchestra, University of Missouri Kansas City, Prismatic Arts Ensemble, Off the Chamber, Spark Duo, Idaho Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. His operas have been produced by Landlocked Opera, Chicago Fringe Opera, /kor/ productions, Killer Queen Opera, Opera Elect, and New Wave Opera, amongst others. His song "Sun of the Sleepless" was featured on the 2024 GRAMMY-nominated album 40@40 by Laura Strickling and Daniel Schlosberg.
Felix Jarrar holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Marlboro College, where he graduated with highest honors in music composition and piano performance. He earned his Master of Music degree from Brooklyn College, receiving the Graduate Dean's Award in Music Composition. Jarrar's musical training was influenced by his studies with Jason Eckardt, Stanley Charkey, Tania León, and Robert Merfeld, as well as mentorship from piano pedagogue Burton Hatheway.

Felix Jarrar

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