The Phoenix Concerts
The Phoenix Concerts
The Phoenix Concerts
the phoenix concerts
Directions by subway:
B, C trains to the 86th Street stop; walk south on Central Park West to 84th street and turn right. Saint Matthew & Timothy is on the south side of 84th street between Central Park West and Columbus.

1 train to 86th street stop; walk south on Broadway to 84th street and turn left, continuing past Amsterdam and Columbus Ave. Saint Matthew & Timothy is on the south side of 84th street between Columbus and Central Park West.


 
[All concerts take place at the Church of Saint Matthew and Saint Timothy, 26 West 84th Street, New York City, at 8 PM unless otherwise indicated.]
Tickets: $10 donation at the door. FREE admission with student I.D.
 
09-10   
season   
IonSound
chamber works

Peggy Yoo, flute • Jonathan Moser, violin • Elisa Kohanski, cello
Rob Frankenberry, piano • Eliseo Rael, percussion

Jed Distler — Wakka-Chikka § (2009)
Michael Torke — After the Forest Fire (2005)
Erik Satie / Frankenberry — Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear (1903/2009)
Orianna Webb — Sequence Dreams (2000)
Libby Larsen — Firebrand (2003)
Friday, October 2, 2009



Sea Changes
new works for voices and moving image

Ruth Cunningham, voice • Gilda Lyons, voice • Elaine Valby, voice
Holen Kahn, video artist
Friday, November 20, 2009



Suite Solitude
works for solo violin

Anthea Kreston, violin
Heinrich Biber — Passacaglia (c. 1676)
Daron Hagen — Suite for Violin (1984)
Anne LeBaron — four (2009)*
Gilda Lyons — Between Dog and Wolf (2010)*
Georg Philipp Telemann — Fantasia No. 7 (1732)
Augusta Read Thomas — Incantation (1995)
Jessica Rudman— A Dark Gaze Bathed in Light (2010)*+

* World premiere
+The Phoenix Commissions
Friday, March 5, 2010



Artsong Forward: unplugged
Co-presented with the Lotte Lehmann Foundation and Beth Morrison Projects
Martha Guth, soprano • Nicole Mitchell, mezzo • Daniel Neer, tenor/baritone
Michael Fennelly, piano

Aaron Alon — Dulce et Decorum Est+
Juhi Bansal — A Line-storm Song+
Chandler Carter — O Captain, My Captain / Out of the Rolling Ocean
Stephen Dembski — Aperto Segno§*
Jesse D’Aiello — Escoge antes el morir que exponerse§
Ryan Gee — The rat is the concisest tenant+
Scott Gendel — A Song of Thanks / At Last+
Zachary Green — Youth, Day, Old Age, and Night
Daron Hagen — Youth, Day, Old Age, and Night
Jocelyn Hagen — burn+
Martin Hennessy — Kiss Me Sweet
Gilda Lyons — Songs from the F Train (Nos.1&2)**
Eli Marshall — Sons of the Fathers / I laid me down+
Russell Platt — The Dismantled Ship
Ned Rorem — Youth, Day, Old Age, and Night
Larry Alan Smith — All Music, All Delight
Martha Sullivan — Errichtet keinen Denkstein / Good Morning Midnight
Damien Top — Even as I lie
Craig Urquhart — Here the frailest
Zachary Wadsworth — The Garden by Moonlight+

* World premiere
§ The Phoenix Commissions
+ Winning composer, ASCAP/Lotte Lehmann Foundation Art Song Competition
**Commissioned by American Opera Projects, Ft. Greene Park Conservancy and The Walt Whitman Project
Thursday, March 11, 2010 — Galapagos Arts Center



The Hymn Tune Project
The Phoenix Concerts celebrates its fifth season with ten premieres commissioned for its new Ensemble-in-Residence,
Each premiere will take as its starting point a traditional work, hymn, or spiritual and will be paired in concert with the original work that inspired it, performed by vocalists Gilda Lyons and Elaine Valby, in this one-hour program.
Friday, May 28, 2010 — St. Matthew & St. Timothy, NYC
Saturday, May 29, 2010 — Hudson Opera House, Hudson, NY
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 — Salon Harlem, NYC (preview)
phoenix composers

Aaron Alon
Juhi Bansal
Brian Baxter
Leonard Bernstein
Heinrich Biber
Hayes Biggs §
Hildegard von Bingen
Chandler Carter
Theodore Chanler
Tom Cipullo
Brendan Connelly
John Corigliano
Ruth Cunningham
Chris Czubay
Jesse D'Aiello §
David Del Tredici
Stephen Dembski §
Jed Distler §
Ryan Gee
Scott Gendel
Zachary Green
Daron Hagen
Jocelyn Hagen
John Harbsion
Martin Hennessy
Edie Hill
Elizabeth Hoffman
Paula M. Kimper §
David Lang
Libby Larsen
Anne LeBaron
Elliot Z. Levine
Franz Liszt
Gilda Lyons
Keeril Makan
Eli Marshall
Eric Moe
Pauline Oliveros
Frank J. Oteri
Gregory Peebles
Russell Platt
Ned Rorem
Matthew Rosenblum
Jessica Rudman §
Erik Satie
Franz Schubert
Robert Schumann
Larry Alan Smith
Martha Sullivan
Conrad Susa
Georg Philip Teleman
Augusta Read Thomas
Damien Top
Michael Torke
Joan Tower
Craig Urquhart
Giancarlo Vulcano
Zachary Wadsworth
Orianna Webb
Michael Webster
Judith Weir
Roger Zahab
Joseph / David Zellnick
Eric Malmquist


§ = phoenix commissions



10.2.2009     

IonSound
chamber works


Peggy Yoo, flute; Jonathan Moser, violin;
Elisa Kohanski, cello; Robert Frankenberry, piano;
Eliseo Rael, percussion

*Wakka-Chikka (2009) — Jed Distler*+
for chamber ensemble

Sequence Dreams (2000)— Orianna Webb
Five Bagatelles for Violin, Marimba, and Glass Instruments
I. Reverb
II. Dream Sequence
III. Melismalogue
IV. Village Dance
V. Finale

Firebrand (2003) — Libby Larsen
for flute/ piccolo, violin, cello and piano

After the Forest Fire (2005) — Michael Torke
for flute, cello and marimba

Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear (1903/2008) — Erik Satie / Frankenberry
for chamber ensemble
In Order to Begin
Prolongation on the Same
I. Slowly
II. Removed
III. Brutal
Once Again
A Gratuitous Repetition

*=World Premiere
+=The Phoenix Commissions


 



5.1.2009     

Musical Heirlooms
Some Things Old & Some Things New

Gilda Lyons & Elaine Valby, voice
Jocelyn Dueck & Daron Hagen, piano

Now let me fly —  Traditional
Over yandroTraditional

Ms. Valby; Ms. Dueck

Three De la Cruz Fragments Jesse D'Aiello
For Two Voices and Piano
1. Which contains...
2. Escoge antes el morir...
3. Sonnet
Ms. Lyons; Ms. Valby; Ms. Dueck

Atticus* — Roger Zahab
Ms. Dueck

Selected Art Songs of Daron Hagen
1. The Waking Father (Muldoon)
2. A Suite of Appearances (Strand)
3. Why did you go...? (cummings)
4. Confession (Griffin)
5. Little Uneasy Song (Hauser)
6. Holy Thursday (Muldoon)

Ms. Lyons; Mr. Hagen

AfterimagePaula M. Kimper
Ms. Dueck

Colette's HeirloomsGilda Lyons*~
Song Cycle on Poetry of Colette Inez
1. Old Woman, Eskimo
2. Skokie River Cadenzas
3. Reading Da Leaves
4. God and Gravity
5. Sylvia, Aloft
6. Elizabeth, the Rain
7. Lake Song

Ms. Lyons; Ms. Valby

Little LullabyCraig Urquhart*
Ms. Dueck

A Suite of Traditional Irish Songs**
1. The Praties — arr. Lyons
2. The Bard of Armagh — arr. Hagen
3. Little Boats — arr. Hagen
4. The Parting Glass — arr. Lyons
5. Danny Boy — arr. Hagen

Ms. Lyons; Ms. Valby; Mr. Hagen

*=World Premiere
**=NYC premiere
§=The Phoenix Commissions
~=ASCAP/Kingsford Fund Commission


Special thanks to The Seasons Fall "Side by Side" Music Festival, Daron Hagen, Artistic Director, in Yakima, Washington where tonight's premieres were developed in fall 2008.
 



3.6.2009     

minimal minimal
chamber works

Erika Rauer, voice ~ Jocelyn Dueck, piano
Roger Zahab, violin ~ Eric Moe, piano ~ Gilda Lyons, voice

Seasons Songs
Autumn Movement (2008) — Chris Czubay*
Autumn Dusk (1997) — Edie Hill
Woman with the Guitar (2008) — Eric Malmquist**
Old Meeting-House Bell (2008) — Brian Baxter**

Ms. Rauer; Ms. Dueck

Illumination Rounds (1982) — David Lang
 
Mr. Zahab; Mr. Moe

Five Songs of Solomon (2001) — Michael Torke
1.On My Bed
2. I Will Rise
3. The Watchmen Came
4. I Had Hardly Left Them
5. I Adjure You

Ms. Rauer; Ms. Dueck

Sonic Meditation I:
Teach Yourself to Fly (1974) — Pauline Oliveros

Ms. Lyons; Mr. Zahab; Mr. Moe

*=world premiere
** =New York premiere

Special thanks to The Seasons Fall "Side by Side" Music Festival, Daron Hagen, Artistic Director, in Yakima, Washington where tonight's premieres were developed in fall 2008.

 



12.19.2008     

Light and Shadow
Ruth Cunningham in concert

Ruth Cunningham, voice

with:
Gilda Lyons, voice; Elaine Valby, voice

(all works by Ruth Cunningham except where indicated)

Canam an achan o mo Bheal
Prayer of the Ceile De Gayatri Mantra
Ave Maria

Virgen Madre groriosaCantigas de Santa Maria 340

Flute song
What if
Sky

Prayer Gilda Lyons; text Elizabeth Cunningham

Psalm
O virtus Sapientie
Hildegard von Bingen
Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra

Sound Journey

Spring Song: Pipes of Pan

Dost thou in a Manger lie Ruth Cunningham;
arr. Gilda Lyons
Ave maris stella
Alma Redemptoris MaterGregorian chant
O lillium convalium

Wind
The River Stick
Peace Prayer of St Francis
Asato Ma Sad gamaya
Universal Peace Prayer
Healing Song


 



10.24.2008     

A Ned Rorem Celebration
works for violin, cello and piano


Roger Zahab, violin; David Russell, cello;
Robert Frankenberry, piano

Three Slow Pieces (1978)
for cello and piano

Autumn Music (1996/97)
for violin and piano

Spring Music (1990)
for violin, cello, and piano

 



5.30.2008     

Seraphim
Music for Voices and Cello


Gilda Lyons, soprano
Elaine Valby, mezzo-soprano
Robert La Rue, cello

Essex Songs (16th c. /2007) — Dowland / Lyons

Three Songs (2008)* — Daron Hagen

Heavenly Labials (2007)* § — Eric Moe

Manhattan Fixation (2007)* § — Faye-Ellen Silverman

* = world premiere
§ = phoenix commissions
 



3.14.2008     

Isn't it Neo-Romantic?
composer and pianist Eric Moe


Gatsby Etudes (2000) — John Harbison

Legend of the Sad Triad (2005) — Eric Moe

Widmung (1848) — Robert Schumann / Franz Liszt

Virtuoso Alice (1984) — David Del Tredici

Shadow Waltz (2002)* — Mathew Rosenblum

Tangozilla (2004) — Laurie San Martin

Gymnopedie No. 1 (My Goldberg) (2003) — David Del Tredici

Mud Wrestling at the O.K. Corral (2007)* — Eric Moe

* = world premiere
 



12.7.2007     

Wayfaring Strangers
piano trios by Daron Hagen
& the spirituals that inspired them


The Finisterra Piano Trio
Kwan Bin Park, violin; Kevin Krentz, cello
Tanya Stambuck, piano
with
Gilda Lyons, soprano & Elaine Valby, mezzo

Wayfaring Stranger (19th century)
traditional, arr. Lyons/Valby
Ms Lyons; Ms Valby

Piano Trio No. 3: Wayfaring Stranger (2006) — Daron Hagen
1. Mazurka
2. Wayfaring Stranger
3. Fandango
4. Aubade and Variations

Angel Band (19th century)
Bradbury/Haskell, arr. Lyons/Valby
Ms Lyons; Ms Valby

Piano Trio No. 4: Angel Band (2007)* — Daron Hagen
1. Morning
2. Waltz: The Violinist on the Pont Neuf
3. Rondo
4. Blue Chaconne
5. Finale: Angel Band

* = new york premiere
 



10.5.2007     

Witches, Ghosts and Fairy Tales
music for voice and piano


Elaine Valby, mezzo
Paul Sperry, tenor
Jocelyn Dueck, piano

On a Nineteenth Century Color Lithograph of
Red Riding Hood by the Artist J.H.
Tom Cipullo (Gray)

Mr. Sperry; Ms. Dueck

Ghost Chapter: A Cold Cold Kiss
O Death, Rock Me Asleeptraditional, England (Boleyn)
Mercy #62Paula M. Kimper (Gardinier)
Jimmy Whelantraditional, Newfoundland
In Memoriam: Helen CoatesLeonard Bernstein
Seven TimesGilda Lyons (Sexton)
Mona's PrayerDaron Hagen (Muldoon)

Ms. Valby; Ms. Dueck

Phantoms and Visitations*Gilda Lyons
1. Ghostly Phenomena
2. The Phantom Rat
3. Apparitions at the Moment of Passing
4. The Queen and the Countess
5. Hauntings
6. In County Wicklow

Mr. Sperry; Ms. Dueck

Three Witches
The Witch's LullabyConrad Susa (Sexton)
Song to the Witch of the CloistersJohn Corigliano (Hoffman)
Susannah FryTheodore Chanler (de la Mare)

Ms. Valby; Ms. Dueck

Tommy KaneDaron Hagen (Newspaper Article)
Der Erlkönig Franz Schubert (Goethe)
Mr. Sperry; Ms. Dueck

* = world premiere
 



4.27.2007     

Seraphim
Music for Voices and Cello


Gilda Lyons, soprano
Elaine Valby, mezzo-soprano
Robert La Rue, cello

Ancient and Baroque Suite
O Virgo Splendens — anonymous (14th century)
There Is No Rose — anonymous (15th century)
Cello Suite No. 4, Prelude — J.S. Bach (1717-1723)
arr. La Rue; Lyons; Valby (2006/07)

Phoenix Commissions
Care-charmer Sleep — Hayes Biggs (2007)*§
Skinny Marys talk about faith — Paula M. Kimper (2007)*§

Cáscaras — Gilda Lyons (2007)*

Suite of Hymns — arr. Gilda Lyons (2006)
Idumea — Praetorius/Watts (16th/18th century)
Wayfaring Stranger — traditional (19th century)
Angel Band — Bradbury/Haskell (19th century)


* = world premiere
§ = phoenix commissions
 



2.16.2007     

TimeTable
A Concert of Premieres for Percussion Trio


Matthew Gold, percussion
Joseph Tompkins, percussion
Matt Ward, percussion

MASK MEAN BUNDLE (2006)* — Brendan Connelly

Calder Pieces (2003) — Giancarlo Vulcano
I. Sea Scape, 1947
I asked Marcel Duchamp in 1931 what sort of name
I could give these things and he at once produced "mobile."

Gather (2006)* — Keeril Makan

Calder Pieces (2003) — Giancarlo Vulcano
II. Calderberry Bush, 1932
Why must art be static?
The next step is sculpture in motion.


in red weather (2006)* — Elizabeth Hoffman

* = world premiere
All works on this program were composed for TimeTable.
 



12.15.2006     

Silent Night
A Suite of Carols for Four Voices and Cello
by Daron Hagen


Gilda Lyons, soprano
Elaine Valby, mezzo-soprano
Robert Frankenberry, tenor
James Gregory, bass
Robert La Rue, cello
conducted by the composer

Lullay — SATB
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel — SATB
God Rest Ye / Emmanuel — SATB
Silent Night — SATB
Once in Royal David's City — SA
Sussex Carol  — Solo Cello
What Child is This? — SATB
At Bethlehem Proper — TB
Hosanna — SATB
 



9.29.2006     

Conversations
New Music for Two Countertenors


Mark Crayton, countertenor
Daniel Gundlach, countertenor
James Janssen, piano

I
The Quilt Song  — Craig Urquhart
Audio Visual —  Michael Webster
II
The Lake Isle of Innisfree — Elliot Z. Levine
yes is a pleasant country
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Now You Will Feel No Rain
Amor mío
III
from Sonette an Orpheus — Martha Sullivan
Zu Unterst der Alte
Errichtet keinen Denkstein
Nur wer die Leier schon hob

IV
The Wind and the Sky and the Road:
Three Theater Songs — Joseph and David Zellnik
Wind Song
I'm Not Afraid
Just True
V
Thy Lucifer* — Gilda Lyons
VI
Narcissus — Gregory Peebles

* = New York premiere
 



5.12.2006     

Celebrating the Living Trio

Roger Zahab, violin
David Russell, cello
Robert Frankenberry, piano

Trés Lent (1994) — Joan Tower
for cello and piano

Owl-Light (2004) — Gilda Lyons
for solo violin

We Happy Few (1990) — Eric Moe
for piano trio

Piano Trio Two (2003-4) — Judith Weir
I. How grass and trees become enlightened
II. Your light may go out
III. Open your own treasure house?
 



3.17.2006     

THE SPRING OF MUSIC
Solo Piano Music by Craig Urquhart


Frühling
The Dalliance of Eagles
Secret Spaces
Evocation
The Dream of Mother Earth
Soliloquy
Morning Eagle
Flow On
The Awakening
Venetian Snowfall
Poem
Streamwalker


Craig Urquhart, piano
 



12.16.2005     

Songs for Voices and Chamber Ensemble

Songs for Voice and Piano

1. No Fame, No Trace — Gilda Lyons (Khayyam)
2. Swan's Elegy — Tom Cipullo (Manrique)
3. Keeping Things Whole — Russell Platt (Strand)
4. Some Thoughts — Anne LeBaron (Crawford)
5. Acrostic Song — David Del Tredici (Carroll)
6. Emily's Aria, from Our Town*  — Ned Rorem (McClatchy/Wilder)

Gilda Lyons, soprano
Daron Hagen, piano

Intimate Lines (1997) — Roger Zahab (Whitman)
Robert Frankenberry, tenor
Roger Zahab, violin

as long as forever is (2003) — Frank J. Oteri (Thomas)
1. Process — 2. Here
3. Time — 4. Still
5. The Natural Doorway

Gilda Lyons, soprano
Robert Frankenberry, tenor
Daphna Mor, alto recorder
Jorge Taylor, alto recorder
Martha Bixler, crumhorn
Judith Davidoff, viola de gamba
Roger Zahab, handbells
Daron Hagen, conductor

* = first public performance
 



10.21.2005     

An Evening of Songs by Daron Hagen

Gilda Lyons, soprano — Robert Frankenberry, tenor
Jocelyn Dueck, piano

PHANTOMS OF MYSELF (2000)
Cycle for Soprano and Piano on Poetry of Susan Griffin
1. I Wake Thinking of Myself as a Man
2. A Story
3. Confession
4. Her Sadness Runs Beside Her Like a Horse
5. "Quiet, quiet heart"
6. Absence
7. "I wake to your gestures?"

Ms. Lyons & Ms. Dueck

LETTING GO (2002)*
Cycle for Voice and Piano
1. "A Suite of Appearances" (Mark Strand)
2. Ferry Me Across the Water (Christina Rosetti)
3. Ghost Letter (Richard McCann)
4. "I'll sing a song to my love" (Gwen Hagen)
5. Prayer to Sparrow in Two Seasons (Jeffrey Skinner)
6. The Second Law (Stephen Sandy)
7. Psalm 150

Mr. Frankenberry & Ms. Dueck

BROKEN PIECES (2003)
A Love Story in One Scene
Libretto by Barbara Grecki

Ms. Lyons, Mr. Frankenberry, Ms. Dueck

* = New York premiere
 



9.23.2005     

Seraphim
Songs for Voices and Cello
A Concert of World Premiéres


Gilda Lyons, soprano
Elaine Valby, mezzo-soprano
Robert La Rue, cello

Sappho Songs — Daron Hagen

10 of 10,000 — Paula M. Kimper

Incantations — Gilda Lyons