It's half past seven in the evening. The color of the sun is turning golden but it is still hot. It is 26 degrees outside. There are no boat owners or passengers in the harbor. There is one small building in the port where a ticket seller sits despite the fact that the last ferry of the day to Piirissaare departed half an hour ago. The water of the lake sings against the ferry's landing bridge. There are swallows nesting right under the bridge and motor boats can be heard from the lake

The sound of Lake Peipsi in Laaksaare boat harbor. Field recording. Estonia June 30, 2021

“These Are Not Estonian Flowers” was written in response to Alma Thomas’s painting “Breeze Rustling Through Fall Flowers.”

Live recording from the October 10, 2021 premiere by the Aizuri Quartet.

More info: http://lembitbeecher.com/site/music/these-are-not-estonian-flowers/

These Are Not Estonian Flowers (live)

The lyrics are adapted from Gustav Johannes Treumann's 1874 and 1876. These verses written at Risti and Harju-Madis parishes (e.g., EKM ERA, EKMS 4, 591 (7) and H I 4, 171 (29)). The melody is adapted from 1909 A song by four women from Karula parish near the Väheru poppy (EKM ERA, EÜS VI 196 (7)) collected by August Kiiss.

13 Jaak Johanson - Let Us Be Proud, Let's Stand Straight. Narrated By Hasso Krull

Lawrence Edelson, Artistic and General Director of Opera Saratoga, and Lembit Beecher, composer of the opera Sky on Swings, preview Opera Saratoga's final week.

Opera Saratoga Preview

Visiones II (2022, excerpt)

Carson Cooman, organ

There are no program notes; the meaning of the title is up to your own interpretation.

Valley of Fading Memories (Organ version)

live performance by:
James Garlick, violin
Richard O'Neill, viola

more about the piece: https://lembitbeecher.com/site/music/the-happiness-of-two-salmon-returning-home/

The Happiness of Two Salmon Returning Home

live performance by the Fidelio Trio at Ithaca College on February 26th, 2024

note | This past Fall I spent countless hours roaming the gardens of Dumbarton Oaks as their Musician-in-Residence. I took particular joy in listening to the changing soundscapes throughout the day, from colorful talkative birds to plump, overly comfortable rabbits chewing right by my feet. At dusk, the insects took over and I would make a point to join them each evening. Sometimes I would see shadows at the edge of my vision that would move with me.

Near the end of my residency I shared those experiences with other fellows, slightly jokingly. But they shared their own numerous experiences with shadows in the garden. It didn’t feel too surprising; gardens have their own memories and ghosts, especially, I’m sure, those with complicated legacies. I’m happy they felt comfortable enough to say hello.

shadow in the garden [2023] | Fidelio Trio

for solo bassoon
by Lembit Beecher
Premiere performance by Martin Kuuskmann, September 18, 2021 at the NYC Estonian House

Songs from the Family Archive

NYPR

Kalevipoeg in California

Recorded by Lydian Quartet

I – NODE: Tuning Knot  00:00-03:22
II – Recently Found Fragments: Chant Loop  03:28-11:38
III – Striding Rituals: Nocturnal Gatherings for Mass Wooing  11:44-17:30
III.5 or 5.IV – Optional habits  17:43-18:40
IV – CODEX: I know I know this (…almost remembering…)  18:44-25:04
V – Turn the Corner: Post-Rapture Celebration  25:08-28:04
VI - NODE: Ex nihilo…In nihil [-for Mary Ruth-]  28:05-35:30

Treatises for an Unrecovered Past is dedicated to the Lydian String Quartet and was composed as part of their Composition Commission Award, which was made possible by the generosity and vision of Marjorie B. and Martin Cohn. It was composed in San Francisco and Cambridge and is 35 minutes long.

Kalevipoeg in California

Lembit Beecher

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