Bagatelle 6

A setting of Hugo's poem Nuits de juin. Recorded February 2024 with soprano Isabella Panagiotou and the composer at the piano.

Nuits de juin (1837)
by VICTOR HUGO

L’été, lorsque le jour a fui, de fleurs couverte 
La plaine verse au loin un parfum enivrant ;
Les yeux fermés, l’oreille aux rumeurs entrouverte, 
On ne dort qu’à demi d’un sommeil transparent. 

Les astres sont plus purs, l’ombre paraît meilleure ;
Un vague demi-jour teint le dôme éternel ;
Et l’aube douce et pâle, en attendant son heure, 
Semble toute la nuit errer au bas du ciel.

Nuits de Juin

This musique concrète piece has a large dynamic range but is mostly quiet; so it requires a quiet environment and good headphones or speakers. As I work on complex tools, it is refreshing to reaffirm that music can also be made with simple tools.

Field 5

A little piece composed in just 36 hours for UMDCP's TEMPO New Music Concert, 72 Hour Challenge a while ago--the performers learned the piece in another 36 hours.

Recorded: 2016 09 09
Composer: Matthew Chung
Composition: CM 253, Violin - Cello - Piano Trio No. 2, Mv. 6
Performers: Sarah Barham (Piano), Anto Meliksetian (Violin), and Katie McCarthy (Cello)

Image is of the Boomerang Nebula (by Hubble Space Telescope).

Matthew F. Chung

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