Inversion Ensemble
Aether: Fire - passion/psyche
March 1, 2020
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director / Clinton Bray, Guest Conductor
Austin Haller, piano

Aether: Fire — passion/psyche

Commissioned by Seattle Pro Musica's TTBB chorus, Karen Thomas, conductor. The text is from a Shakespeare sonnet celebrating the transforming, edifying power of the intimate bonds of love. This recording is from the live premiere in Seattle in 2018. Cover art: John Munns.

Sonnet 29 (When in Disgrace)

Amata (2015)by Alexander Johnson 

Performed October 1, 2017
Inversion Ensemble
Trevor F. Shaw, artistic director
Austin, Texas

Text: Alexander Johnson

Though we are apart, love spans our divided hearts.  It will surround us until our two souls may be whole once more.

Amata — Latin, (adj.) meaning loved or beloved
In this simple musical statement of unrelenting love, what begins as anguish at being apart from a loved one transforms into optimism for an eventual reunion. This piece was composed for Amy, with love. — Alexander Johnson

Amata by Alexander Johnson October 1, 2017

"Darkness" from Beyond by Trevor F. Shaw
performed by Inversion Ensemble
Trevor F. Shaw, artistic director
October 1, 2017
Pflugerville, Texas

"Beyond" is a tribute to three of my favorite astrophysicists, Carolyn Porco, Amy Mainzer, and the late Vera Rubin. While I’ve directly set their respective words to music, my primary objective was to capture each woman’s noted individual scientific focus. I didn’t initially
intend to exclusively quote female scientists, but once I realized I had done so, I added the work title, Beyond . The name conveys not only the obvious notion of space travel, but it is a token of my reverence for the many women who went “beyond” societal barriers to make
space exploration possible.

Vera Rubin ( Darkness ) is famous for her work concerning the existence and properties of dark matter, a substance which is both invisible and abundant. The mechanical repetition of the melodic line, simply based on the natural minor scale, is followed by light,
conversational rhythms over Major harmonies. Rubin’s way of explaining mysterious, seemingly incomprehensible theories about an insidious invisible force to the general public was delightfully matter-of-fact and that, to me, was exceptionally appealing.

"Darkness" from Beyond by Trevor F. Shaw October 1, 2017

White Moon by Luke Flynn
Inversion Ensemble
Trevor F. Shaw, artistic director
Cina Crisara, guest conductor
February 25, 2018
Austin, Texas

White Moon (2017)
Program Note:
The birth of Luke Flynn's daughter happened just after he received the commission to write a new piece for Choral Arts Initiative's fifth anniversary. This new presence in the lives of Luke and his wife informed the kind of choral work he would write. When asked by Choral Artists during a visit to one of our rehearsals how and why he decided to write a piece that was relatively short and simple, he responded: "I just wanted to write a little lullaby, and I didn't want it to become this big monster. When you get a commission, you kind of have three choices: you could do something big and grand, you could do something small and light, or you could do something kinda crazy. I just wanted to do something small and light. It's a piece for a baby. If it keeps going and going, it defeats the purpose." - Choral Arts Initiative

Text:
White moon comes in on a baby face. 
The shafts across her bed are flimmering. 
Out on the land White Moon shines, 
Shines and glimmers against gnarled shadows, 
All silver to slow twisted shadows 

Falling across the long road that runs from the house.
Keep a little of your beauty
And some of your flimmering silver
For her by the window to-night
Where you come in, White Moon.

from Baby Face by Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)

White Moon by Luke Flynn February 25, 2018

Demon by Matthew Brown 
performed June 2, 2019
Inversion Ensemble
Trevor F. Shaw, artistic director

DEMON by Matthew Brown
performed June 2, 2019
Inversion Ensemble
Trevor F. Shaw, artistic director

Text: Marcus 5:9
Legio nomen mihi [Our name is Legion]
Est multi sumus [For we are many]

DEMON was written and premiered on Saturday, October 15, 2015, presented to an audience of film and video game composers as a
demonstration of novel vocal techniques. My challenge to myself was to write a piece with zero specific pitches or texts; previously, I had
experimented with such techniques only within the context of more “traditional” choral pieces, such as Pacem. As the piece began to take
shape, I realized that the addition of an appropriately spine-tingling text would complement the sound world which was emerging. The
Latin included in the piece is taken from a biblical story of demon possession. Asked for a name, the response is: “Our name is Legion, for we are many.” Although this piece may be performed with smaller choirs—perhaps even as few as eight or twelve—I imagine it becoming
increasingly effective (and impactful) with greater numbers, given the techniques employed. (A Roman legion consisted of about five
thousand men at the time of the story, for what it’s worth!)

Demon by Matthew Brown June 2, 2019

Sonnet by David Harris 
performed June 3, 2018
PerplexedMusic
Inversion Ensemble 
Trevor F. Shaw, artistic director

Sonnet
This gorgeous ode to Shakespeare was created by combining a number of different love sonnets. It combines beautiful harmonies and recitation. Recited text by Shakespeare from Sonnets 12, 18, 29, 56, 105, 109, 128 sung text from Merchant of Venice, Act V, Scene 1.

Text:
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate….. — Sonnet 18
When I do count the clock that tells the time, And see the brave day sunk in hideous night… — Sonnet 12
When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state… — Sonnet 29
Sweet love, renew thy force; be it not said Thy edge should blunter be than appetite…. — Sonnet 56
Let not my love be called idolatry, Nor my beloved as an idol show… — Sonnet 105
O! never say that I was false of heart, Though absence seemed my flame to qualify… — Sonnet 109
How oft when thou, my music, music play'st, Upon that blessed wood whose motion sounds — Sonnet 126
How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!
Here will we sit and let the sounds of music
Creep in our ears. Soft stillness and the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony.
- Merchant of Venice, Act V, Scene 1
- William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Inversion Ensemble

Sonnet by David Harris June 3, 2018

Thy Eternal Summer composed collaboratively by 
Adrienne Inglis, Alexander Johnson, Robbie LaBanca, Trevor F. Shaw 
performed June 3, 2018
Austin, Texas
Perplexed Music
Inversion Ensemble
Trevor F. Shaw, artistic director

Thy Eternal Summer
When planning this concert of music based on sonnets Trevor and I agreed that we wanted to make sure a setting of one of the most beloved and well-known sonnets by Shakespeare, Sonnet 18, was part of the program. Since many of the composers were already contributing their own works I had the idea of writing a piece together. We divided up the poem and each took a section of text, set it to music and then passed it along to the next composer without any
information about what we were doing musically and left it to them to interpret. The final product is a lush, beautiful setting of this glorious text. This musical version of a relay race resulted in a lovely, seamless piece of true collaborative music making. — Robbie LaBanca

Text:
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? 
Thou art more lovely and more temperate. 
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, 
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. 
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, 
And often is his gold complexion dimmed; 
And every fair from fair sometime declines, 
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to Time thou grow’st.
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
— William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

Thy Eternal Summer by Inglis/Johnson/LaBanca/Shaw June 3, 2018

On Resistance by Stephanie K. Andrews
I, Too, Sing America: songs of our shared history
Inversion Ensemble
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director
Adrienne Inglis, Flute
October 7, 2018
Redeemer Presbyterian Church
Austin, Texas

Text: Matthew 5:9/Saint Teresa of Calcutta/Isaiah 2:4
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
For they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not rise against
nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

Note:
On Resistance: A Prayer for Those Who Protest Peacefully was composed, as the title suggests, to speak words of encouragement to those who engage or wish to engage in nonviolent protest. As daunting as it may seem to speak out against the global war machine, it is becoming increasingly imperative that we do so, as the horrors of war seem to multiply day after day. It seems that the most vulnerable of humanity are the ones who suffer the most in the face of unending war, and it is on their behalf that we must speak out. To do so in any other way than the way of peaceful protest in the tradition of Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and Jesus of Nazareth simply escalates violence and pours fuel on the flames of war. On the
other hand, when we engage in nonviolent protest, we promote peace and become, as Jesus said, 'children of God.' Blessed are the peacemakers indeed.

On Resistance by Stephanie K. Andrews October 7, 2018

Two Palimpsests on Athena by Trevor Villwock
Inversion Ensemble
Heroes/Monsters: songs of legends & beasts
June 2, 2019
Redeemer Presbyterian Church
Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director / Rachel Davis, Guest Conductor

Text: Homer, Hymn IX ("To Athena") from the Homeric Hymns (translated by H.G. Evelyn White)
Dread is she...
It is she who saves the people as they go out to war and come back.

Note: While writing this piece, I was thinking a lot about early vocal music and the way our conception of the past is distorted through filters of conflicting historical narratives. When I was super into Greek mythology as a kid, Athena was always one of my favorite deities—it's
awesome to get to pay tribute to her in this way.

Two Palimpsests on Athena by Trevor Villwock

¡Ayúdame! (Venezuelan Plea for Life) by Carlos Cordero
World première performance by 
Inversion Ensemble Da Capo
July 13, 2019
Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, artistic director
Adrienne Pedrotti Bingamon, Da Capo director
Adrienne Inglis, bombo

Text:
Mírame, [Look at me,]
Escúchame. [Listen to me.]
Estoy sufriendo. [I am suffering]
No puedo ver, [I cannot see,]
tengo hambre, [I am hungry,]
tengo sed, [I am thirsty,]
Estoy enfermo. [I am sick.]
¡Ayúdame! [Help me!]

When was the last time you were hungry and could not immediately eat? or thirsty and could not find water for hours? This is heartbreaking: to see my country, my family, suffering. I come from Venezuela and I did go through difficult times. Since I could not do much from where I was to help, I decided to fight my pain. I asked myself all the questions and cried while working on my desk, so comfortable yet feeling so guilty and helpless. When was the last time you were sick and could not find the medicine to feel better or even to keep living? — Carlos Cordero

¡Ayúdame! (Venezuelan Plea for Life) by Carlos Cordero, July 13, 2019

Inversion Ensemble
Aether: Fire - passion/psyche
March 1, 2020
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director / Clinton Bray, Guest Conductor
Austin Haller and Joshua Chai, piano

Fire Triptych by Joshua Chai
I. 
Parva saepe scintilla contempta [Often, the littlest neglected spark]
magnum excitavit incendium. [ignites a huge conflagration. ]
- anonymous Latin proverb 

II. 
Some say the world will end in fire, 
Some say in ice. 
From what I’ve tasted of desire 
I hold with those who favor fire. 
But if it had to perish twice, 
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
- Robert Frost

III.
Doubt thou the stars are fire,
Doubt that the sun doth move,
Doubt truth to be a liar,
But never doubt I love.
- Shakespeare (from Hamlet)

These three images of fire are about passion - romantic passion, the passion of hate, and what happens if you ignore them. The first movement is a series of "neglected sparks" that erupt into conflagrations, using a quick, rhythmic setting of a Latin proverb split up into motivic "cells" that are repeated and varied in each voice. The second movement is urgent and relentless, with a four-hand piano accompaniment providing the rhythmic impetus, picked up by the choir, and clear structural parallels between "desire"/"fire" and "hate"/"ice". The third movement is more similar to a chorale that finally explodes into an effusive polyphonic joy in love.

Fire Triptych by Joshua Chai

Inversion Ensemble
Aether: Fire - passion/psyche
March 1, 2020
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director / Clinton Bray, Guest Conductor
Austin Haller, piano

The Inferno by Robbie LaBanca
Text: Dan Hoeweler from The Schizophrenic Writer

Electric waves 
Passing through my brain 
In a haphazard fashion 
Turbulent and inconsistent 
My neurons exploding 
Like firecrackers in the night 
From this blight 
Popping 
And out of sight 
My prefrontal cortex 
Burns
While my eardrums sizzle
And smoke
Suffocates my consciousness
Flames engulf and
Incinerate
My cerebrum
               Till it becomes
Embers in the night sky
Thousands of glowing
Smiles of freedom

Dan Hoeweler's text is a vivid, personal description of a psychotic episode as a result of schizophrenia. As a way of preparing to set this text, I did research into some of the symptoms of schizophrenia and came across the concept of 'disorganized thinking/speech'. Disorganized thinking is inferred from disorganized speech. Effective communication can be impaired, and answers to questions may be partially or completely unrelated. I decided to explore this feature by aligning this serious text with music that, at times, does not match the weight of the subject matter. Over the course of this piece I pair this text with various music styles including, Verdi-esque opera chorus,
Peggy Lee inspired Jazz, a quotation of a Bach chorale and more. The piece also begins and ends with an electronic track utilizing disembodied voices to reflect both an internal monologue and another feature of schizophrenia -auditory hallucinations. For too long we have silently maintained the stigma of mental illness in our society and by giving voice and music to this text I hope to do my small part to help end that stigma. 

Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that affects less than one percent of the U.S. population. When schizophrenia is active, symptoms can include delusions, hallucinations, trouble with thinking and concentration, and lack of motivation. However, with treatment, most symptoms of schizophrenia will greatly improve. While there is no cure for schizophrenia, research is leading to new, safer treatments.
Experts also are unraveling the causes of the disease by studying genetics, conducting behavioral research, and using advanced imaging to look at the brain’s structure and function. These approaches hold the promise of new, more effective therapies. The complexity of schizophrenia may help explain why there are misconceptions about the disease. Schizophrenia does not mean split personality or multiple-personality. Most people with schizophrenia are not dangerous or violent. They also are not homeless nor do they live in hospitals. Most people with schizophrenia live with family, in group homes or on their own. Research has shown that schizophrenia affects men and
women about equally but may have an earlier onset in males.. — American Psychiatric Association

The Inferno by Robbie LaBanca

Inversion Ensemble
Aether: Fire - passion/psyche
March 1, 2020
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director / Clinton Bray, Guest Conductor
Austin Haller, piano

your little voice by Anuj Bhutani
Text: E.E. Cummings
your little voice
         Over the wires came leaping
and i felt suddenly
dizzy
         With the jostling and shouting of merry flowers
wee skipping high-heeled flames
courtesied before my eyes
                        or twinkling over to my side
Looked up
with impertinently exquisite faces
floating hands were laid upon me
I was whirled and tossed into delicious dancing
up
Up
with the pale important
                            stars and the Humorous
                                                        moon
dear girl
How i was crazy how i cried when i heard
                                         over time
and tide and death
leaping
Sweetly
              your voice

My younger brother and I have often heard the story of how my parents immigrated here in the 1980s while in their early 20s. My mother had to wait for her visa for two years, so my father came first with no money, and no immediate job prospects. He worked minimum-wage jobs to make ends meet despite having completed medical school in India. 

Of course at that time, they didn’t have the internet, Skype, or cell phones. My parents wrote letters that would arrive three weeks later. One day my father scraped together every penny he had to call my mother from a phonebooth in the freezing snow. The cost for an international call was $17 for the 1st minute, and $3 for every additional minute. 

He had exactly $20. Two minutes. 

He called the medical dormitory in India where my mother lived. Someone in the common room answered the phone, and my father asked her to hurry and get my mother. My mother ran to the phone and asked “Sonu, is that you?” He said “yes”, and the line went dead. Please insert $3 to continue. Two minutes were up. That was the first time they had gotten to hear each other’s voice since my father moved to America several months earlier.

On February 20, 2020, my parents celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary. This is for them.

your little voice by Anuj Bhutani

Inversion Ensemble
Aether: Fire - passion/psyche
March 1, 2020
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director / Clinton Bray, Guest Conductor
Austin Haller, piano

My Brilliant Image by Jasper Sussman
Text: from "I Heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz" by Daniel Ladinsky
One day the sun admitted,
I am just a shadow.
I wish I could show you
The Infinite Incandescence
That has cast my brilliant image!
I wish I could show you,
When you are lonely or in darkness,
The astonishing Light
Of your own Being!

In my youth, I would settle down behind the piano anytime I was overwhelmed with emotion. I’d write mainly songs — I found the process of pairing words with music cathartic, allowing me to find resolution and understanding. This same experience occurred for me when I set Daniel Ladinsky’s translation of Hafiz’s “My Brilliant Image” to music. I had just gotten out of my most significant relationship to date, and it seemed that everything in my life was cast in shadow. Ladinksy’s words became a sort of mantra for me. They reminded me that even in darkness, I am surrounded by light. Even in our worst moments, we’re made of beauty. And even when we cannot see it, our worth is unmistakably clear.

My Brilliant Image by Jasper Sussman

Inversion Ensemble
Aether: Fire - passion/psyche
March 1, 2020
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director / Clinton Bray, Guest Conductor
Austin Haller, piano
World première performance

Fireflies by Adrienne Inglis (ASCAP)
Text: Margaret Noodin
Waawaatesiwag [Fireflies]
Aaniin ezhi-pogozid dibikigiizis?[How does one taste the moon?]
Aaniin ezhi-pogwad waasamowin? [What is the weight of wind?]
Aaniin ezhichigeyaamba [How can I understand]
ji-nisidostawaag waawaatesiwag? [the fireflies?]
Nimbagamaashi ina giizhigong [Sail kisses to heaven]
gemaa bimaakogomoyaan ode’agaming? [or row to a heart’s shore?]
Waa ninzaka’amawdiz ganabaj [Perhaps I will set myself alight]
atooyaan ishkodensan ishpiming [place the flames in the sky]
anangziibikeyaan dibikong [make a night river of light]
miidash bizaani-ayaayaan [then become as quiet as]
dibishkoo baashkaabigwan-ininiwizh. [a milkweed blossom.]

Commissioned by Inversion Ensemble for its Aether: Fire concert in the winter of 2020, Fireflies (2019) for mixed chorus, piano, and optional percussion evokes vivid imagery of Margaret Noodin’s bilingual poem Fireflies from her 2015 book, Weweni, poems in Anishinaabemowin and English. Honoring the composer’s Ojibwe ancestors, the piece sets the poem’s English text including the Anishinaabemowin word for fireflies (Waawaatesiwag). Moments of musical and whispered aleatory capture visions of fireflies on a summer night. Colorful augmented sixth chords and lush harmonies kindle visions of love and nature amidst the dreamy mixolydian modality and lilting ¾ time. The text used by permission is Fireflies by Margaret Noodin from her book, Weweni, poems in Anishinaabemowin and English, Wayne State University Press, Detroit.

Fireflies by Adrienne Inglis (ASCAP)

Tulesonad And Jannilau by Veljo Tormis

Inversion is a collection of vocal ensembles dedicated to commissioning and performing timely new works by living composers. Inversion presents themed concerts on myriad topics, including LGBTQIA+ rights, racial justice, immigration, climate change, and democratic rights as well as space exploration, philosophy, natural science, and the ancient elements. Inversion advocates for inclusion through outreach with local public schools, college partners, and annual emerging composer contests.

Fire Triptych by Joshua Chai

Inversion Ensemble

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