Program note
This project originated in the spring of 2021 from Belinda Kunz and her project Un Mundo Raro, originally for mezzo, guitar and cello, on texts by Rabindranath Tagore. However I was going through a rough personal patch at that period, had zero inspiration, and somehow this project never got traction.
Then a separate project appeared in the early fall with cellist and long-time collaborator Ariane Lallemand and vocalist Els Janssens Van Munster for a performance at the Festival Musiques Démesurées in Clermont-Ferrand. This time, things were better and I felt ready to get back into the game. I settled on a poem by Alexander Search (one of Pessoa's many heteronyms) about music playing, which seemed appropriate for my renewed energy.
After the November premiere of this initial melody, I searched for more texts to complete the set, turning to Tagore for the second one, and then choosing Yeats for the last one. The set was completed in April 2022.
Computer rendering
Details
Texts
To One PLaying – Fernando Pessoa
The Invitation – Rabindranath Tagore
To a Child dancing in the Wind – William Butler Yeats
Instrumentation
Mezzo soprano (or soprano) and cello
Duration
13'
Date
2022
Commissioned by
Co-commissioned by Belinda Kunz, Ariane Lallemand, and Els Janssens Van Munster
Sheet music
Available upon request
First performance
Partial premiere: Festival Musique Démesurées, Clermont-Ferrand, 2022