From Poetry to Music

In the early 90s, pianist Joan Nagano had recently formed a group here in the San Francisco Bay Area called The Belmont Ensemble.  The instrumentation was voice, clarinet, french horn and piano. They were all supeerb musicians drawn from the SF opera orchestra. They asked me to write them a piece. I asked my sister Sue to send me some of her recent poems. I selected three for this song cycle that I felt spoke to each other and could tell a story. The result was Moving in to an Empty Space (1992).

When I set her poetry to music, I was also drawn to her shorter poems. They paint a picture using  words that are bubbling with motion and sound. In many ways, setting her poems to music was cathartic. Her words almost composed the music for me.

In the first poem called Hot Time, the line, “At night people scurry and run together in packs,” and, “as the music blasts into flashing strobe-lights, the walls begin to swell and breathe,” are filled with sonic gestures. The way I treat the vocal line with these words is a centuries old technique called word or tone painting. The melody and dynamics here reflect the literal meaning of the words.

The title of the second poem in the song cycle, Begging the night for change, is filled with movement and also is a stunning metaphor.

And, in the third poem, Moving in to an Empty Space, the closing existential lines, “There is no message, no sound just the silent reflection of my own face shining in the night to remind me that I have always been here,” are pregnant with music.

When I formed OCTET ensemble around 2010, I wanted to create an instrumentation that drew on my background playing in jazz ensembles. This band takes its sound from the big band music I played as a teenager: trumpet, sax, trombone, rhythm section plus vocals. When looking for repertoire, it was natural to arrange Moving in to an Empty Space for OCTET. In 2018, my sister’s poems were published in a collection called The Forest Within.

The second of three songs, Begging the Night for Change, in its original instrumentation of voice, clarinet, horn and piano.

Begging the Night for Change arranged for OCTET Ensemble.

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Album of the Week

In Seattle, the radio show Second Inversion, on KING FM 98.1 FM, selected Scatter My Ashes performed by OCTET Ensemble as their album of the week. We also received some very nice accolades, especially about our vocalist Mellissa Hughes. Here are a few excerpts:

“Hughes’ dazzling vocals soar… her voice amplifies the sorrow, hope, and drama of the poetry, making each word glow.”

“A beautiful and texturally fascinating sonic landscape which fully encompasses the listener in its sinuous melodies and jazz-infused rhythms”

“The album stands as a timeless combination of contemporary classical music, minimalism, and jazz into a profound and dynamic multidisciplinary work” – Second Inversion

Second Inversion on KING FM 98.1 FM