PROGRAM NOTES​

Risa Harman - soprano
Lish Lindsey - flute
Thomas Piercy - clarinet, bass clarinet, hichiriki
Sabina Torosjan - violin
Ben Roberts - cello
Tengku Irfan - piano
 

Masatora Goya
“Dickinson Suite” for soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano (2024) (World premiere)
1. Bird of mine
2. A picture of the sun
3. A dying tiger
4. Happy letter
The original version of Dickinson Suite was written 17 years ago for one of my graduate recitals, for three singers and a different combination of instruments. At the time my focus was solely on musical theater, so this was my first conscious effort to expand my musical language into chamber music. I tried to preserve my younger self as fresh as possible, while updating what felt illogical and redundant. I hope everyone finds the new suite joyful.
https://www.masatoragoya.com/
 

"Bird of Mine"

I have a Bird in spring
Which for myself doth sing—
The spring decoys.
And as the summer nears—
And as the Rose appears,
Robin is gone.

Yet do I not repine
Knowing that Bird of mine
Though flown—
Learneth beyond the sea
Melody new for me
And will return.

Fast is a safer hand
Held in a truer Land
Are mine—
And though they now depart,
Tell I my doubting heart
They're thine.

In a serener Bright,
In a more golden light
I see
Each little doubt and fear,
Each little discord here
Removed.

Then will I not repine,
Knowing that Bird of mine
Though flown
Shall in a distant tree
Bright melody for me
Return.

 

"A picture of the sun"

Make me a picture of the sun—
So I can hang it in my room—
And make believe I'm getting warm
When others call it "Day"!

Draw me a Robin—on a stem—
So I am hearing him, I'll dream,
And when the Orchards stop their tune—
Put my pretense—away—

Say if it's really—warm at noon—
Whether it's Buttercups—that "skim"—
Or Butterflies—that "bloom"?
Then—skip—the frost—upon the lea—
And skip the Russet—on the tree—
Let's play those—never come!

 

"A Dying Tiger"

A Dying Tiger — moaned for Drink —

I hunted all the Sand —

I caught the Dripping of a Rock

And bore it in my Hand —

 

His Mighty Balls — in death were thick —

But searching — I could see

A Vision on the Retina

Of Water — and of me —

 

'Twas not my blame — who sped too slow —

'Twas not his blame — who died

While I was reaching him —

But 'twas — the fact that He was dead —

"Happy Letter"

Going to him! Happy letter! Tell him –
Tell him the page I didn’t write;
Tell him I only said the syntax,
And left the verb and the pronoun out.
Tell him just how the fingers hurried,
Then how they waded, slow, slow, slow;
And then you wished you had eyes in your pages,
So you could see what moved them so.

Tell him it wasn’t a practised writer,
You guessed, from the way the sentence toiled;
You could hear the bodice tug, behind you,
As if it held but the might of a child;
You almost pitied it, you, it worked so.
Tell him – No, you may quibble there,
For it would split his heart to know it,
And then you and I were silenter.

Tell him night finished before we finished,
And the old clock kept neighing ‘day!’
And you got sleepy and begged to be ended –
What could it hinder so, to say?
Tell him just how she sealed you, cautious,
But if he ask where you are hid
Until to-morrow, – happy letter!
Gesture, coquette, and shake your head!

Cheng Jin Koh
“The Sleepwalkers” for clarinet/hichiriki, cello, piano (2024) (World premiere)
1. Dream Feed
2. Cradle Song

"The Sleepwalkers"  consists of two movements, Dream Feed and Cradle Song. Written during my first few whirlwind weeks of being a new mother, the work takes inspiration from night feedings with my newborn, whose ability to actively suckle while asleep is still baffling to me, and the challenging and often never-ending task of putting him back to sleep by himself despite exhausting most options.

 

In Dream Feed, a main theme evoked by the hichiriki is reiterated, and similarly in Cradle Song, this cyclical effect is achieved through the repetition and expansion of opening harmonies in the piano. Some of the musical effects used are also subtly imitative of my baby’s sounds that I am utterly fascinated by, such as his little sighs, and cries that descend in pitch. Cradle Song is my individual attempt at serenading him to sleep during the wee hours, which often ends up in reverse as he continues to stay wide-eyed and ready for his playtime.
Commissioned by Thomas Piercy with generous support from the New York State Council on the Arts.
https://www.kohchengjin.com/


Beata Moon
“the true meaning of justice” for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano (2024) (World premiere)
Commissioned by Random Access Music and Thomas Piercy with generous support from the New York State Council on the Arts.
https://beatamoon.com/


yaz lancaster
“intangible landscapes” for flute, bass clarinet, violin, and piano (2020)
intangible landscapes deals with the growing feelings of ennui and isolation I encounter[ed] living in New York over the past six years, and how perceived landscapes of memory shift, breathe and transform over periods of time. Many people I love no longer live here. I question whether a home is a tangible, real place, or if it exists in the intangibility and quiet intimacy of created and/or remembered landscapes that can only exist ephemerally. 
https://www.yaz-lancaster.com/

​

Frances White
"falling away" for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano (2024)
Written for the RAM Players, falling, away is a tone poem that evokes a landscape of memory and loss. The story it tells is not specific in any way. Its range of moods—rage, joy, sorrow—suggest an unknown past as things fall away from us. 
http://rosewhitemusic.com/