Nathalie Joachim, Composer
Jaki Shelton Green, Librettist
Yvonne Lam, Viola

Blood Sister

THIS AUDIO RECORDING IS ARCHIVAL AND UNPUBLISHED. 

World premiere performed live on August 18, 2022 by Timothy McAllister (alto saxophone) and the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra.

Scores - Recordings

For Wadada Leo Smith (Adagio)

Inspired by Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944), Swansongs for cello and
piano was a commission from/for Eduard Teregulov and Albina Khaliapova,
who have featured the work on several programs.

Beyond her paintings, af Klint is especially known for her mystical thought; she
can be likened to an early-twentieth century Hildegard von Bingen. Inspired by
both of these mystic women Gibson uses quotations from Hildegard’s music
to weave a modern musical interpretation of af Klint’s approach to visual
mysticism. Af Klint’s work ran parallel to the development of abstract art (such
as Mondrian, Malevich and Kandinsky) all of whom were all inspired by the
Theosophical movement founded by Madame Blavatsky. The relationship
between the inner and outer world is important in af Klint’s work. In her
painting The Swans (1915), she directly references the Chinese symbol of yin
and yang, with their relationship highlighted by their depiction in contrasting
colors. Swans have long been a metaphor for one who takes flight from worldl
trappings. Af Klint’s swans can be understood as both locked in struggle and
as mirrors for each other, showing the interdependence of various dualities,
such as masculine/feminine, spiritual/material, and visible/invisible. The music
of “Swansongs” explores balance and imbalance, and other dualities of life.
Though Hildegard did not share af Klint’s interest in dualism, they both fiercely
sought their own truth through mysticism and were active in all-women
organizations. Through their connections with the mystical, af Klint allowed
her hand to be led by spirit (automaticism), while Hildegard believed music
was the ultimate mode of communication that most closely resembled that of
the angels.

Movement 1: Hilma’s Symmetry (and Chaos) - The Swan no. 1
Movement 2: Hildegard - The Athenaeum, The Swan no. 2, Group IX
Movement 3: Lock and Key - The Swan no. 24, group IX

Eduard Teregulov, Cello
Albina Khaliapova, Piano
Recording, Recital Hall of Concordia College, Minnesota, December 2023
Recording Engineer, Russ Peterson

Swansongs (2022)
“Swansongs is an alluring and captivating duo in three movements for cello
and piano that not only deeply explores timbral and textural relations between
two instruments, but also creates an unforgettable atmosphere of mysticism
and spirituality.

The first movement, Hilma’s Symmetry, starts from a monolith hymn-like
introduction in the piano part, which sets the feeling of mesmerizing eternal
stillness. The introduction is followed by a seemingly cold and logical fast
section. It eventually transforms into complete chaos that brings the music
into the stage of fear and anxiety reminding us of expressionistic paintings of
the beginning of the 20th century.

The forceful and ominous second movement, Hildegard, brings the tension
and intensity to the next level, implementing extremely loud dynamics and
close to violent textural and rhythmical “disagreement” between the cello and
piano parts.

The last movement, Lock and Key, is slow, almost meditative, and creates
a character arch with the introduction of Hilma’s Symmetry. Cello and piano
finally reach unity and agreement. However, the music does not bring any relief to the tension of the entire work. It is rather a brooding and distorted elegy where the flow of time seemingly halts. Hypnotizing harmonies of the
movement force the listeners and performers to detach from the fastpaced
reality and focus on their inner world.” - Eduard Teregulov and Albina
Khaliapova

Swansongs (2023 recording)

Composed for Atlantic Brass Quintet. recording 8/23, part of Unseen World

“Fight-or -flight” is a human response to stress and relates specifically to the release of hormones when the body is in danger.

Flight||fight (of the honeybees) is inspired by this metaphor, and specifically relates to the process that honeybees go through in making honey. Like brass players, honeybees are sophisticated communicators. The colony is one that depends solely on roles; there are drones, workers and a queen. After building an intricate hive made up of hexagons, they begin their work to make honey. First, a worker bee goes out to gather nectar. The bees do a dance, flapping their wings at a very fast buzz to determine where the nectar is (literally which direction from the sun). Once the worker bee gathers the nectar, she comes back to regurgitate the nectar into several cells. This process occurs several times and they flap their wings to make the serum thicker. Finally, once the honey is made, they cap it off and move on to the next cell. Bees make very little honey in their life span, which makes this process all the more impressive. Featuring Timothy Albright, Timothy Leopold, John Manning, Seth Orgel and Miki Sasaki

“Fight||Flight weaves a mesmerizing sonic tapestry that mirrors the
elegance of the natural world. A buzzing world! What I admired most about
Fight||Flight was its ability to transport me into the world of honeybees and their quest for nectar, offering a soundscape that felt both ethereal and grounded.”- Simon Alami, composer

Recording, University of Missouri – Columbia, July 2023
Audio Producer Elaine Martone, Sonarc Music
Audio Editor and Mixing Engineer Gintas Norvila, Sonarc Music
Recording Engineer David E. Myers

Fight - Flight (recording 2023)

Wayward Flicker reflects on mood/imagery, disintegration, memory and enlightenment through the blurring of timbre and the unfolding of time.  

The text is comprised of excerpts from James Joyce’s short story, “The Dead.”  All of Dubliners, but especially “The Dead,” employs the use of free indirect discourse as a narrative style, which is when the voice of a third-person narrator has begun to turn into a first-person narrator, that is one of the characters in the story.  This literary shift between observation and embodiment is analogous to the three primary musical materials in Wayward Flicker.  

1.	Three distinct sounds represent imagery from the text: breath (air), tears (keyclicks/slaps) and flickering (buzzing).  These dissolve over the course of the piece.
2.	The Irish ballad, “The Lass of Aughrim” presents itself abstractly as a memory that gradually becomes more perceptible, therefore more real, as the piece progresses.  The song tells a story of imperfection and fragility, heartbreak and death.
3.	The text is extracted from the final pages of “The Dead” and moves between spoken and sung words as the main character Gabriel reaches an epiphany which gradually takes him outside of his own thoughts and makes him view his partner and humanity in a new way.


Wayward Flicker (World Premiere), loadbang 11/5/24

Retro-future for viola solo

"A Bop for Henry," Nathan Groot, viola. Live performance. March 18, 2025, Hot Springs, AR

A Bop for Henry (2024) - solo viola

LE PLI Concert 17 Juillet 2015 Avec ANTONIN LE FAURE ( Alto),  NOE NILLNI ( Trompette)

Pointed toe for Viola and Trumpet

Live performance of the US Premiere of Chen Yi's viola concerto, Xian Shi, with Michael Hall, viola and the Chicago Composers Orchestra. Matthew Kasper, conductor.  Xian Shi is the first viola concerto written by a Chinese composer. 

Chen Yi –  "Xian Shi" Concerto for viola and orchestra. American Premiere

Written for Kurt Rohde's Farewell Tour.  Premiered in Davis, CA by Kurt Rohde and Jared Redmond in May, 2018.

Kurt Rohde

Hammer for Viola and Piano

FOR PARIS, for viola and wordless choir
Featuring Sally Chisholm and the UW Choir Choir
Music by Laura Schwendinger

FOR PARIS, for viola and wordless choir

Michael Hall has performed and taught across Europe, Asia and the United States. Described by the New Music Connoisseur as “utterly masterful,” and Chamber Music Today as having “superb technique,” he recently made his Chicago Orchestra Hall solo debut and concluded a recital tour to Vienna, Austria and Udine and Tolmezzo, Italy. Hall has been a featured performer at the Thailand International Composition Festival in Bangkok, the Positano Chamber Music Festival in Italy, the Vianden International Chamber Music Festival in Luxembourg and the Composer’s Concordance Series in New York City. 

Twice he has presented world premieres at International Viola Congresses at Minneapolis and Reykjavik, Iceland, performed at the 2014 Primrose International Festival in Los Angeles, and presented to critical acclaim the North American premiere of Chen Yi’s, Xian Shi, the first viola concerto written by a Chinese composer, with the Chicago Composers Orchestra, and earlier with the Chiang Mai Philharmonic in Thailand. 

Upcoming performances include the inaugural Ear Taxi Festival in Chicago, 2016 New Music Gathering, Bandung String Festival in Indonesia, Northwest Symphony, 2016 UMKC Summer Composition Workshop, 2016 Thailand Int. Composition Festival in Bangkok. 

Additional works written for Hall by renowned composers include Jim Mobberley, Mara Gibson, Narong Prangcharoen, Eric Moe, Mary Kouyoumdjian, Adam Greene, Matthew Burtner, Marta Ptaszynska, Yu Pengfei, Christian Ellenwood, Seth Boustead, Michelle McQuade Dewhirst, Eric Malmquist and David Kirtley. 

Composers currently writing for Michael Hall include Katherine Bergman, Amy Williams, Rob Deemer and Ilya Levinson. 

Michael loves hiking in the Grand Tetons and Wind River Ranges, chocolate ice cream, great literature, collaborating with friends and working with students in outreach settings in underfunded schools on Chicago's South Side. 

Chen Yi – "Xian Shi" Concerto for viola and orchestra. American Premiere

Michael Hall - Viola