FERNNE, IN WATER
Michael Genese

Premiered by Mannes Orchestra, December 2021
at Tishman Auditorium, The New School, NYC
Conductor: Kelly Lam

Winner of the 2020 Martinu Prize

Program Note:

I picture someone named Fernne (pronounced “fern”), up to their knees in water. Fernne was the name of my maternal grandmother who passed away in 2001. I was just getting to know her at that point, really.

Everywhere my family has ever lived is near a coastline. In this piece, I hear so many acts of nature happening at once. Tides rolling in the woodwinds, fires spreading in the strings, gusts of wind in the harp. I wrote this piece beside the daily news of Australia’s wildfires, as we entered the new decade. I worry about the places I’ve lived, and what they’ll look like after the next decade, being so close to the coast.

All of these unfamiliar and unknown things: the impending climate, a grandmother from which I feel so distant. This piece lives in those mental proximities. An image of someone I barely know, up to their knees in water, in a climate they never knew.

FERNNE, IN WATER - Mannes Orchestra [Winner of the 2020 Martinu Prize]

Beck / Schubert. With Geeta Abad on Violin and Hanna Vis Vocals

Why Did you Make me Care / Serenade

In lands of grace where cherry blossoms bloom,
Lies a soul adorned with honor’s plume.
Samurai's heart, a valorous shrine,
Unyielding, strong, in its design.

With sword in hand and spirit ablaze,
In every step, the code's guiding gaze.
Silent strength in the warrior's creed,
Resolute honor in word and deed.

Through battles fierce, in valor's embrace,
The samurai’s heart, a sacred space.
Bound by honor, a steadfast art,
In every beat, the samurai's heart.

SAMURAI HEART

Composed by Arvo Pärt. A duet with myself on piano and a mercurial synthesizer. Originally recorded at Jeffers Farm in Chesterfield, OH, July 2014

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SAMURAI HEART

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