The Phoenix Concerts

PROGRAM NOTES

Ancient and Baroque Suite
A collection of works from the 14th to 18th centuries: O Virgo Splendens is a 14th century sacred chant associated with a pilgrimage site in Montserrat, Catalonia, where a black wooden image of the Virgin Mary resides and is reported to have performed many miracles. There is no rose is an English melody drawn from a manuscript roll of carols, and first copied out in the early 15th century. The prelude from Bach's Cello Suite No. 4 is re-imagined here in an arrangement for two voices and cello made by the trio. — Gilda Lyons

Care-charmer Sleep
Care-charmer Sleep was composed from January through April of 2007, and is dedicated to the wonderful musicians of Seraphim, with special thanks to The Phoenix Commissions that helped make its creation possible. I have long been attracted to Samuel Daniel's darkly beautiful sonnet, and it seemed to be a vehicle eminently well-suited to showcasing the talents and passions of these three artists. My setting begins with an expansive cello solo, which for me conjures up something of the fitful, anxious and lonely character of a sleepless night — or of an intensely turbulent life. The six-note musical phrase to which the words "Son of the sable Night" are set becomes an important motivic element throughout the piece. After the delivery of the first two lines of the poem by the mezzo-soprano, the soprano joins and the music becomes increasingly agitated and tempestuous, its only respite provided by a silence immediately before the words "Cease, dreams, th'imagery of our day-desires." A modified return of the cello solo, this time in a lower register, signals the final couplet's sense of ultimate surrender. — Hayes Biggs

Skinny Marys talk about faith
Who are the Marys? The first is a mosaic of the Virgin Mary, in the apse of the church of Santi Maria e Donato on the island of Murano, near Venice. It is Venetian-Byzantine workmanship from the early 13th century. Her hands are raised in blessing, palms facing us. The art makes a sound and the sound makes light. The second is Saint Mary Magdalene, carved in wood by Donatello around 1430 in Florence. She's a crone, her only covering is her own long hair wrapped about her. Her hands are raised in prayer, or in a sacred symbol for prayer which makes a sound and the sound makes light. And that light in turn goes on to make poetry and music. — Paula Kimper

Cáscaras
A set of three movements without words for voices and cello, Cáscaras (husks) is a series of musical snapshots written after my return from a recent visit to Nicaragua. "Cicada" re-imagines the chatter of beetles roosting in the thick of trees near my parents' home in Rio Mar. "Tortuga's Lament" paints a plaintive portrait of the sea-turtles there. "Bone Needles" — which began as a work for two voices commissioned by Amy Pivar Dances in spring 2006 — explores the ways that three lines might mend together; markings within the score ("summoning", "weaving" and "casting off") guide an exchange that I imagined after watching a group of women repairing nets on the beaches of Casares with long needles made from fish bones. — Gilda Lyons

Suite of Hymns
In summer 2006, upon my arrival at The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, I allowed myself the great indulgence of spending my first week in residence working through a stack of hymns with which I had for months been trying to spend time. Some new to me, some old favorites, I sang through, read, copied and explored dozens of pieces, landing on a handful that have remained close since; this set of three, arranged here for Seraphim, are among those that have remained closest. These arrangements are dedicated to the memory of Jeff Milano-Johnson, and to those whose lives he changed forever: family, friend, and wayfaring stranger. — Gilda Lyons

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Hayes Biggs (www.hayesbiggs.com) was born in Huntsville, Alabama and raised in Helena, Arkansas. He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition from Columbia University, a Master of Music degree in composition from Southern Methodist University, and a Bachelor of Music Degree in piano performance from Rhodes College. His teachers included Mario Davidovsky, Jack Beeson, Fred Lerdahl, Donald Erb, and Don Freund. Biggs has been a fellow in composition at the Composers Conference and Chamber Music Center at Wellesley, at the Tanglewood Music Center, at Yaddo and at the MacDowell Colony. He was named a recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship for the academic year 1998–99. In 2001 he was one of five composers to receive an Aaron Copland Award, which afforded him the opportunity to live and compose in Aaron Copland's home in upstate New York for five weeks during the summer of 2002. From 1991-2001 he was Associate Editor at C. F. Peters Corporation, and since 1992 he has been on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music. He also sings professionally in a number of choruses in the New York City area.

This past December his String Quartet: O Sapientia/Steal Away (2004) was given its premiere at New York City's Merkin Concert Hall by the Avalon String Quartet as part of the 2006-2007 season of the Washington Square Contemporary Music Society. Biggs is currently at work on a song cycle on religious poetry, Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs, for soprano Susan Narucki, and a new work for the Locrian Chamber Players. Pianist Amy Dissanayake has recorded his Tagrango for her upcoming Tango Project CD, currently in preparation.

His music has been heard throughout the United States, in Europe and in Latin America, in performances by, among others, the Choir of the North German Radio (Hamburg), the Gregg Smith Singers, the New Calliope Singers, the Sanctuary Choir of Marble Collegiate Church, The New Amsterdam Singers, The New York Virtuoso Singers, Kiitos, and the Florilegium Chamber Choir, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, The Riverside Symphony, the Memphis Symphony, Voices of Change, Musician's Accord, The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the Empyrean Ensemble, Parnassus, the Washington Square Contemporary Music Society and the League of Composers/ISCM. Biggs' music is published by C. F. Peters Corporation, APNM and Margun Music, Inc. He is a member of BMI.

Paula Kimper (www.patienceandsarah.com) is a composer of opera, theater, and dance music. Ms. Kimper's first opera, Patience & Sarah, received its world premiere in Lincoln Center Festival '98, with further productions in Denver, and Chicago. The Captivation of Eunice Williams, commissioned by the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association of Deerfield, MA, premiered in July 2004 as a part of the commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the 1704 attack on Deerfield. Ms. Kimper is at work on an opera based on The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder. Amy Pivar, Richard Daniels, Walt Whitman Project, Washington Shakespeare Company, and the White Barn Theater have commissioned other recent works.

Robert La Rue is a member of the Phoenix Players. To read his biography, please click [here].

Gilda Lyons is a member of the Phoenix Players. To read her biography, please click [here].

Elaine Valby is a member of the Phoenix Players. To read her biography, please click [here].

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