Silence (No. 1) from Songs of Moonlight & Shadows - Jason Thorpe Buchanan

These four songs for soprano, alto flute, cello, piano and percussion, are settings of texts by the Austro-German Expressionist poet, Georg Trakl. During World War I, Trakl served as a medical officer and suffered greatly from depression, which was compounded by his experiences attending to wounded soldiers. Trakl wrote these poems between 1909 and his death in 1914. After his first attempt at suicide, he was hospitalized and although he did seek out help, he was later found deceased, having ended his own life from an overdose of cocaine. For myself, these songs are something of an exploration into a darker psyche; the authors emotional inner conflict is exposed through the utilization of an ensemble somewhat darker in timbre as a composite organism.

I. Silence
Over the forests the moon
Gleams pale, which makes us dream,
The willow by the dark pond
Weeps soundlessly into the night.
A heart is extinguished - and placidly
The mist floods and rises -
Silence, silence!

Performance Date: April 11, 2009, 7:30pm, N.E.O.N. Music Festival, Las Vegas, NV

NEXTET Ensemble:
Arsenia Brickley, soprano
Megan Lanz, alto flute
Raymond Sicam, violoncello
Ryan Simm, percussion
Carolyn Grossmann, piano
Jorge Grossmann, conductor

For more information on the composer, please visit: http://www.jasonthorpebuchanan.com


Score and parts now available at:
http://www.melosmusic.com/jason/w_songsofmoonlight.php

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