Download song for piano and mezzo-soprano (2000)

SONG FOR PIANO AND MEZZO-SOPRANO (2000)
A short and solemn work written in 2000 by Alexandra Fol, Song for Piano and
Mezzo-Soprano is a dark, yet wonderful addition to the repertoire. The text
comes from the great poet, architect, painter and sculptor Michelangelo
Buonarroti's (1475-1564) Sonnet #127. Fol's song proceeds slowly through
dense harmonies, and triple versus duple rhythms toward the last few bars,
exquisite in their simplicity. As she also does in her Requiem, Ms. Fol
extrapolates the rhythms employed in the music from the text she works with.
Alexandra Fot's music eloquently enhances Michelangelo's prose of love and loss
rather than obliterating them, providing an articulate and concise interpretation
of this Renaissance master's work.
VIOLIN AND TROMBONE PIECE (2000)
The pairing of a trombone and a violin, while unusual, brought together the
talents of two of the composer's friends from the Boston University Tanglewood
Institute. Commissioned by the Newman twins for their high school graduation,
the work also provided them with their first opportunity to play together.
A daring pairing, the Violin and Trombone Piece plays with glissando and other
unifying techniques to create a playful and energetic dance between the two
opposing instruments. Full of humor and, especially, irony, the unconventional
duo is typical of the composer's manipulation of rhythm and special effects to
produce works that are, above all, energetic and fun.
REQUIEM (2001)
The task of setting this time-honored Mass for the Dead polyphonically (or in
this case polyrhythmically) has been a struggle compositionally and emotionally
for over 550 years. From early attempts by Renaissance masters to more recent
efforts by Henze and Stravinsky, composers have sought to balance their need to
respectfully present the sacred text with their need to express themselves in the
music.
Composed at the age of nineteen, between late May 2001 and July 5 of the same
year, Fol's inspiration is not limited to the rhythmic nature of the text, but comes
from circumstances surrounding her life as the work was written. She reports that in
early May of that year, as classes were winding down at Boston University, she
began having vivid dreams depicting her Great-Grandmother who was half a world
away in Bulgaria. Troubled by these images, she was anxious to return home to
Bulgaria as soon as her class work was completed for the year. Upon arrival back
home, her father informed her of her Great-Grandmother's passing. Fol immediately
began work on the Requiem she had felt she needed to write since April of that year.
Although the composer is not religious, in honor of her Great-Grandmother, who
was a deeply religious woman, the work owes much to the dedicatee: "She would
have enjoyed such an aggressive piece," affirmed Ms. Fol.
Fueled by the natural rhythm at the core of the text, it takes off at lightning
speed. With strong undulating rhythms, gaining in momentum, it moves from
movement to movement without rest. The opening Requiem movement begins in the
strings and when the chorus enters, the declamatory style shoots the words out at the
audience, which sets the forceful feel for the rest of the work. The frenzied pace
does give way at times, notably in the Lacrymosa movement as well as in the final
Amen sections where the use of musical quotation is effectively used. Here, Fol
proves her compositional versatility and presents clearly tonal passages surprisingly
refreshing in contrast to the shocking and breathless Agnus Dei. Quoting the first
fifteen notes of the Lacrymosa from fellow Bulgarian composer, Emil Tabakov's
Requiem of 1992-93, Fol's Lacrymosa is a poignant movement, carefully composed,
displaying wonderful use of twenty-first century choral writing techniques. The first
six measures of the soprano part in the surprising Amen section come from the
Methodist hymn, "Lead Me Lord."
Alexandra Fol provides an intensely energetic journey through the Requiem
Mass. In conclusion, like life, the work is busy, often hurried, changing
unexpectedly, and tinged with anger and even some humor. However, like life, this
work is too short and densely packed; as her teacher and mentor, Richard Cornell
commented, "It is a truly breathless piece."
- Samuel Dorf ©2001