Tuesday, July 7, 2015 Concert at 8:30 p.m. Pre-concert talk begins at 8:00 p.m. Music from Latin America Tambuco Percussion Ensemble The Grammy-nominated Tambuco Percussion Ensemble of Mexico performs music by Central and South American composers from Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica and Argentina. Gerardo Gandini (Argentina) (U.S. premiere) Escuchando Pierrot Chez Madame Ocampo Leopoldo Novoa (Colombia) (U.S. premiere) ¿Sábe Cómo é? Jorge Camiruaga (Uruguay) Cuarteto en Chico Alejandro Cardona (Costa Rica) (U.S. premiere) Las siete vidas del Gato Mandingo Hermeto Pascoal (Brazil) (U.S. premiere) Musica para Cacerolas Hebert Vázquez (México) Livre pour 4 marimbas Tambuco Invite a Friend Program Notes

LA INTERNATIONAL NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL 2015

We recommend learning more about the concert’s composers and performers through these links:

Concert One

Tambuco Percussion Ensemble
http://www.tambuco.org/indeng.html

Gerardo Gandini
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerardo_Gandini

Leopoldo Novoa
http://www.tembembe.org/curriculum/leopoldo_novoa.pdf

Hebert_Vázquez
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebert_Vazquez

Escuchando Pierrot Chez Madame Ocampo (1992) by Gerardo Gandini
Schoenberg's music is an insistent presence in the work of Gerardo Gandini. A chord, a string or a structure become "found objects” capable of generating new consequences within new contexts. This occurs, for example, with the chord of Farben, Op. 16, in the first movement of Paisaje Imaginario (1988) with; materials from the third of Schoenberg’s Three pieces for chamber orchestra (1910) or, in one of his previous studies, for solo flute, entitled Arnold Strikes Again (1985). In this context, Pierrot Lunaire - conducted by Gandini countless times- takes a privileged place. Schoenberg’s Pierrot becomes a constant source of materials repeatedly used in Listening Pierrot chez Madame Ocampo (1993) for four percussionists. The fantastic work describes an evening at the home of the famous Victoria Ocampo, Argentina dominant figure in the intellectual society of the first half of the twentieth century. Gandini describes two musics sounding simultaneously: the famous Pierrot Lunaire by Schoenberg and one of Gandini’s favourite tangos intertwined with gestures jumping indistincltly from one music to the other.

Sábe como e'? (1997) by Leopoldo Novoa
This original quartet, which is dedicated to the Peace, is based in the performance of traditional instruments from Colombia called guacharacas of diverse texture. The traditional way of playing has been altered in order to incorporate a series of innovative techniques that allow us to appreciate a wide diversity of sounds coming from an instrument that at first view, would seem to have a very limited number of sound possibilities. Besides the instruments described above, a Marimbula (afro-caribbean instrument) is used in the middle and last section of the piece. The premieres of Sábe como e'? took place at the XXV Festival Internacional Cervantino, and at the Luis Angel Arango Hall, in Bogotá, Colombia, in October, 1997.

Cuarteto en Chico (2002) by Jorge Camiruaga
Cuarteto en Chico, fué compuesta pensando en cuatro tambores de timbre similar, e inspirada en la práctica musical, técnicas y estructuras rítmicas provenientes del Candombe uruguayo, el cual es interpretado por grandes ensambles de músicos, quienes tocan tres tipos de  "tamboriles" diferentes, llamados Chico, Repique y Piano. Esta pieza extrae del Candombe el uso polirítmico de los tambores como plataforma sobre la cual  el compositor construye ritmos que al entremezclarse tejen patrones que le dan a esta pieza un gran sentido musical. La pieza está dividida en tres movimientos contrastantes entre sí. El segundo movimiento contrasta por su tempo mas lento y por la utilización de baquetas diferentes, en este caso con punta de fieltro, lo cual cambia el timbre y suaviza el ataque contra el parche.

Las siete vidas del Gato Mandingo (1987) by Alejandro Cardona
Las siete vidas del gato mandingo or The Seven Lives of the Mandingo Cat (a character of a “disreputable background” that could be living in any neighborhood of Latin America or the Caribbean), is a percussion work based on the Genesis myths and the cosmogony of the Yoruba people. Of African origin (Benin, Nigeria), the Yoruba, who were brought to Latin America and the Caribbean as slaves, recreate their cultural and religious manifestations, many of which continue until our days. According to some of the 256 Odu of the oracle system of Ifá (which consists of a large body of literary and philosophical material), in the beginning there was total darkness, Aimá, the primeval state: the kingdom of Echu (Elegguá). Inside a transparent and microscopic “conclave” there was a nucleus of light, air, water, space, dwelling: the kingdom of Oloddumare (the principal deity or Orisha, creator and ancestor). Oloddumare ordered that the light should break out with the word “Onoyú”, and in this way the dark kingdom or Echu was illuminated. Thus, the beginning of the universe was characterized by an antagonism between light and darkness, between creativity and the inability to create (Echu, owner of darkness, does not have creative abilities), between Oloddumare and Echu. They represent the dynamic equilibrium of all existence. The movements of this piece recreate certain aspects of this Yoruban cosmogony. The first two contrast Aimá (sonority with no rhythmic reference), with the breaking out of the light, “Onoyú”(rhythmic articulation). The third movement, “Mole yakaya ochunka gueikoko” (a Yoruba saying which means “when the moon comes out there is no one who can put it out”), represents the impossibility of returning to Aimá. The fourth, “Ara ode” (let the lightning come) is dedicated to the Orisha Changó, and the fifth to the Orisha Ochún Akuara, beautiful among the beautiful, who lives in the river beds. The sixth movement is for Orichanlá (or Obbatalá), Orisha who is the intermediary between Oloddumare and human beings. (The Odu Ogbe Idí says that Orichanlá was the last Orisha to be created by Oloddumare when it was discovered that Echu had infiltrated and taken possession of the minds of the first 200 deities. Orichanlá is the incarnation of Oloddumare’s wishes.) The last movement, “Baribá” (Lucumí or Yoruban nation or land) represents the dynamic antagonism and, at the same time, equilibrium, between Echu and Oloddumare within the existence of the human creatures that inhabit the earth. Programatic music? Not at all. The myth, projects itself metaphorically and is part of a sound discourse that is self structured. This is nothing esoteric either. This kind of contradiction or dynamic tension is at the heart of all musical and artistic expression. ----- Alejandro Cardona

Música para caçerolas (1995) by Hermeto Pascoal
This piece is with no doubt, a very good example describing the main characteristic of Hermeto Pascoal's musical mind: his fascination towards sound, coming from any conceivable of source. At times his music is full of sounds inspired by, or found in nature, such as birds, dogs, pigs and all sorts of living creatures as well as natural sources such as logs, stones, leaves, seeds or water. He also explores the sound qualities in human-made objects, like car parts (horns, spring coils, wheels), plus plastic, glass and metal objects, or like in this case “caçerolas” (portuguese for mixing bowls) of various sizes, filled with seeds. Sound is produced by shaking, stirring and striking the instruments with various techniques. Four samba whistles and shakers join the well tempered caçerolas to offer you a real jewel of brazilian percussion music.

Livre pour 4 Marimbas (2002) by Hebert Vázquez
The title Livre pour 4 marimbas is inspired on the “Premiere Livre de Pièces de Clavecin” by Jean Phillippe Rameau. It is simply the gathering in a single collection of short pieces with some sense of unity. La Nancarroise I and La Nancarroise II evoke the spirit of Conlon Nancarrow’s music through the use of some of his favourite compositional resources such as imitations textures, based on popular elements (mostly jazz) and the use of simultaneous melodic lines with independent rhythmic behaviour. La Nature de l’eau evokes the fluid, almost acuatic character of the marimba sound. Livre pour quatre marimbas was premiered by Tambuco in Berlin, Germany, in 2002.

 

Gabriela Ortiz Ayana Haviv

Wednesday, July 8, 2015 Concert at 8:30 p.m. Pre-concert talk begins at 8:00 p.m. Music of Gabriela Ortiz Eclipse Quartet Ayana Haviv, soprano The Eclipse Quartet and soprano Ayana Haviv perform music inspired by the Mayan cosmos and the Mexican Day of the Dead by Latin Grammy-nominated Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz. Gabriela Ortiz Aroma Foliado Baalkah Altar de Muertos Invite a Friend Program Notes

LA INTERNATIONAL NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL 2015

We recommend learning more about the concert’s composer and performers through these links:

Concert Two

Gabriela Ortiz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriela_Ortiz

Eclipse Quartet
http://www.eclipsequartet.com/

Ayana Haviv
http://ayanahaviv.com//

Aroma Foliado
In the summer of 2005, I had the opportunity to see the work of North American visual artist Suzanne Bocanegra. I was especially intrigued by her work: All the Petals from Jan Brueghel the Elder’s Sense of Smell, 1618, 2002. As its title indicates, this work uses Jan Brueghel’s The Elder’s Sense of Smell as its source. In his painting, Brueghel presents us with a garden where a female figure is inhaling the fragrance of a large bouquet of flowers. Bocanegra captures the essence of the flowers through a series of painted petals; the number matching the number of visible petals on the Brueghel painting. Each one of the petals is tied with a black ribbon on white wall forming a floral map, with the final effect a series of textures of great expressive and visual force.

The interesting part of this work is the way in which an artist creates her work from the appropriation, interpretation or fragmentation of images of another artist to build new units, creating new languages in quite different environments. Undertaking the writing of a piece to celebrate Mozart’s 250th anniversary called for some decisions to be made, one of them whether or not to incorporate fragments of the Mozart pieces. But what was important was to have thoughts about the intersection points of his music with mine. That was the reason I decided to write my piece in a format very similar to a rondo, in which the musical language could flow with lightness and absolute freedom. So I used some fragments of the Mozart String Quartet No. 21 in D Major K. 575; these fragments link the sections, which are my memory, time and personal musical history.The process used by Bocanegra inspired me and I used it like a platform for the reinterpretation and redevelopment of another artist’s material, but it gains its own life in my music without losing its essence. The main aspect is not the musical origin in itself, but how the new composition incorporates, develops and acquires new meanings and aesthetic values.

Baalkah
Baalkah, which means “world” or “cosmos” in Maya, was inspired by the cosmological beliefs of the Maya of the Yucatan Peninsula and of other Mexican and Central American natives. For over 5,000 thousand years, these Indian peoples have conceived the world as being divided into 4 cardinal directions: east, north, west and south. In each one of these directions stands a gigantic ceiba tree that supports the sky, and each one has its particular characteristics, such as its own ruling deity, its own color, a set of related plants animals, and, more generally, its own mood or personality. The lyrics of Balkah are taken from a 17th century Maya book, the Chilam Balam of Chumayel, a priceless depository of centuries of historical and religious wisdom inherited by Maya priests and kept hidden from the prosecution of the Catholic church. Each member of the string quartet represents one the four cardinal directions, and the center is represented by the soprano. The songs, in turn, express the moods and characteristics of their corresponding cardinal point. Chac and Ek, related to dawn and masculinity, and to dusk and femininity, respectively, are static and serene. Sac and Kan, related to death and war, and to fertility and life, are dramatic and powerful. Finally, Ak’, the center, gives pride of place to the voice of the soprano, representing humankind, in an expressive melismatic chant.

Altar de Muertos
The tradition of the Day of the Dead festivities in Mexico is the source of inspiration for a work for string quartet whose ideas could reflect the internal search between the real and the magic, a duality always present in Mexican culture, from the past to this. Altar de Muertos is divided into four parts, each of these describe diverse moods, traditions and the spiritual worlds which shape the global concept of death in Mexico, plus my own personal concept of death.

First part: Ofrenda

This music describes the visit of four spirits to the altar, each one singing his/her own ofrenda (offering). Towards the end of this movement, the four spirits converge in a single chant to as the end of a funeral procession.

Second part: Mictlan

Pre-Hispanic Culture conceived death as a cycle in constant movement, a cycle where life extended towards death and vice versa, when death becomes the essence of life itself. Passage of death, and the eternal struggle between night and day, recreate, and obsessive ritual music is always in continuous movement where starting and ending points are always bonded.

Third part: Danza Macabra

"Human life is like a shadow." The advent of European culture in Mexico and Mesoamerica brought an image of death which is static, motionless, where there is only place for a constant alternative between glory and hell. This music is nourished from fantastic images taking place one after another. Phantasmagoria and magic are always present.

Fourth part: La Calaca

Syncretism and the concept of death in modern Mexico, chaos and the richness of multiple symbols, where the duality of life is always present: sacred and profane; good and evil; night and day; joy and sorrow. This movement reflects a musical world full of joy, vitality and a great expressive force. At the end of "La Calaca" I decided to quote a melody of Huichol origin, which attracted me when I first heard it. That melody was sung by Familia de la Cruz. The Huichol culture lives in the State of Nayarit, Mexico. Their musical art is always found in ceremonial life.

----- Gabriela Ortiz

 

Javier Alvarez Laura Mercado- Wright Toshio Hosokawa

Thursday, July 9, 2015 Concert at 8:30 p.m. Pre-concert talk begins at 8:00 p.m. Music from Latin America and Asia Southwest Chamber Music Laura Mercado-Wright Tambuco Percussion Ensemble Southwest Chamber Music and mezzo soprano Laura Mercado-Wright perform the West Coast premiere of The Raven by Japan’s Toshio Hosokawa. With the Tambuco Percussion Ensemble as soloists, Southwest gives the U.S. premiere of Metal de Corazones by Mexico’s Javier Alvarez. The concert opens with new percussion works from Cuba and Vietnam. Roberto Vizcaino (Cuba) Rumba Clave Vu Nhat Tan (Vietnam) (U.S. premiere) Young Rice Javier Alvarez (Mexico) (U.S. premiere) Metal de Corazones Toshio Hosokawa (Japan) (West Coast premiere) The Raven Invite a Friend Program Notes

LA INTERNATIONAL NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL 2015

We recommend learning more about the concert’s composers and performers through these links:

Concert Three

Laura Mercado-Wright
http://www.lauramercadowright.com/

Tambuco Percussion Ensemble
http://www.tambuco.org/indeng.html

Roberto Vizcaino
http://www.mediapressinc.com/pages.php?pageid=2&composer=77

Vu Nhat Tan
https://vunhattangroup.wordpress.com/

Javier Alvarez
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javier_Alvarez_composer

Toshio Hosokawa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshio_Hosokawa

Rumba Clave (1989) by Roberto Vizcaino
Cuban composer and percussionist Roberto Vizcaíno has developed a series of works in which Afro-Cuban poly-rhythmics are the central figure. His virtuosic performances are present in his challenging way of writing music. Rumba Clave (1989) was written by the Cuban composer and percussionist when he was a professor at CENSA Music Center, in Havana. Each performer plays a pair of claves and two conga drums from lowest to highest. Claves become both and instrument as well as beaters to strike the congas. The resulting sonic experience is quite exciting. Both sets of congas trace a pattern which becomes strongly melodic in the middle of an intricate polyphony woven by the 2 pairs of claves.

Young Rice by Vu Nhat Tan
Young Rice follows the world of my ancestors. The piece is written for undefined percussion instruments, no bars at all, and focuses on composing like a traditional Vietnamese music. My idea was to write a scoring plan (50%) and let the player do the rest of improvising (50%), as would happen in every Vietnamese old music. ----- Vu Nhat Tan

Metal de Corazones by Javier Álvarez
Percussion presents us with the widest of sonic horizons. At its most organic, percussion arises from within the natural world, and, in all its multiplicity, encloses most of the sounds that exist around us. At the other end, one closer to our own instrumental tradition, percussion reminds us of the inherent pulse of our own cyclical nature, inevitably linked to the passage of time. In Metal de Corazones, I have sought to exploit timbre, instrumental and gestural instances that move within these two conceptual boundaries, attempting to articulate a vivid discourse capable of sustaining the tension generated by moving from one to the other. Metal de Corazones thus features a constant exploration of eccentric sonic mixtures that result from decontextualizing certain instruments such as the berimbao, the marimbula, the blues harmonicas or the steel pans, instruments that are associated with other musical traditions. On the other hand, some more familiar instruments such as the strings are performed here using alternative techniques yet within conventional or even traditional contexts. It is my aspiration that this somewhat serpentine interplay may help the listener to make free associations and to establish unforeseen relationships in order to organise the work in his own imagination. The title, itself an oxymoron, further suggests this dichotomy, both organic and pulsating, and seeks to portray both the playful spirit and the sonic diversity that the work puts forward. Metal de Corazones was written for the French ensemble TM+ and Tambuco Percussion Ensemble on a commission from the Mécenat Musical Societe Generale. The work was given its premiere by both ensembles in Paris in April 2012. ----- Javier Álvarez

The Raven by Toshio Hosokawa
When I read The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe, it reminded me of the Japanese Noh play. The view of the world in the Noh is not anthropocentric. Some of the main characters in the Noh are animals and plants, and some are unearthly spirits. Poe describes the process of the collapse of the modern rational world, as a consequence of an invasion of the world by a weird animal ‘raven’ which lives in the other world. I considered this poem as a story of Noh and expressed it in the form of monodrama with mezzo-soprano and ensemble. ----- Toshio Hosokawa

 

Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Concert at 8:30 p.m. Pre-concert talk begins at 8:00 p.m. Music from Japan Tambuco Percussion Ensemble The Tambuco Percussion Ensemble of Mexico, winner of the prestigious Japan Foundation Award, turns its view across the Pacific towards music from young Japanese composers and the Japanese master Toru Takemitsu. Masamichi Kinoshita (U.S. premiere) Les enfants de la mer qui ont perdu la memoire de l’eau II Toshiya Watanabe (U.S. premiere) A Sign Takumi Ikeda (U.S. premiere) La Caverna (without allegory) Toru Takemitsu Rain Tree Tomoko Momiyama (U.S. premiere) Moons of Hidden Shadows Tambuco Invite a Friend Program Notes

LA INTERNATIONAL NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL 2015

We recommend learning more about the concert’s composers and performers through these links:

Concert Four

Tambuco Percussion Ensemble
http://www.tambuco.org/indeng.html

Tomoko Momiyama
http://www.newmusicsa.org.za/node/364

Masamichi Kinoshita
https://www.facebook.com/masamichi.kinoshita?fref=browse_search

Toshiya Watanabe
http://www.musicfromjapan.org/2012-bios/

Toru Takemitsu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toru_Takemitsu

Les enfants de la mer qui ont perdu la memoire de l’eau II by Masamichi Kinoshita
The title comes from a verse by Edmond Jabès, Francophone Jewish poet who was born in Egypt. In this piece, the bass drum plays the role of the strict timekeeper and is positioned in the center of the piece. The time, however, has various cuts and wounds, and therefore, is not regular and uniform. The low, deep sound of the drum also defines the space in which various sound images are introduced. It is in and around this space that the other instruments develop their sound images within the strictly managed time while maintaining relaxed relations with each other. But after a while the tempo slows down, and gradually a silence will start spinning, and the time and space begin to be corroded by the void, and all will vanish in the end. Beyond there faintly remains the framework of the time and space within which this piece humbly wishes to invite one to sense the world that lies beside there.

A sign by Toshiya Watanabe
When one composes for a percussion ensemble, he can either use many instruments from countless choices available in an ensemble, or somewhat limit himself in the use of instruments. For “A sign,” I limited the use to several wooden and metal percussion instruments, in order to accentuate the subtle differences in timbre and texture. In addition to each performer’s playing techniques, the composition asks for advanced skills in an ensemble, which works only when the performers listen to each other very carefully.

La caverna (sin alegoría) by Takumi Ikeda
This (strange) title refers to Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave.” However, if the residents of the cave cannot distinguish between a shadow and a reality, then, similarly, it may not matter whether if the title really refers to the Allegory or not. It is this shadow that comes to my mind whenever I think about music. The rhythmic structure of “La caverna (sin alegoría)”, which provides a skeleton for this composition, was written in Japan using a computer program. My choice of instruments and playing techniques evolved in various ways, as I received a lot of advice from Tambuco and actually touched the instruments at their studio. The piece also employs my own technique for live performance, as if I would perform with Tambuco on the score.

Rain Tree (1981) by Toru Takemitsu
If we had to choose the best example in order to describe the relationship between water images and sound, the answer would undoubtedly be the music of Toru Takemitsu, who has found in rain, the ocean, or in a simple waterdrop a genuine form of inspiration which has led him to write a collection of pieces for diverse instrumental combinations titled "Waterscapes." Rain Tree belongs to this series of works, and is dedicated to Sylvio Gualda (percussionist) and Kenzaburo Oe, who wrote a novel called Atama no ii. Ame no Ki, from which Takemitsu chose an excerpt, that moved him to create a piece of fragile and mysterious beauty: It has been named 'rain tree' for its abundant foliage continues to let fall rain drops collected from last night's shower until well after the following midday. Its hundreds of tiny leaves -finger like- store up moisture while other trees dry up at once. What an ingenious tree, isn't it? Rain Tree was premiered in May, 1981, at the Seibu Theatre in Japan.

Moons of Hidden Times by Tomoko Momiyama
On one rainy morning, at a secluded riverside studio inside a rainforest off of Xalapa, my journey with Tambuco started. Surrounded by chatty instruments from all over the world, members of Tambuco and I sat down together. As the instruments listened to us with their curious ears, we told stories of our memories from the past and the future, touched on our fears and struggles, and searched for the moon in each one of us. We went on a truck in a steep mountain, swam in rivers at a temple of silence, met angels on the road and showed the way, got eaten by pigs every morning, and looked into the landscapes of our dreams. A collective narrative surfaced from this sharing, which became the basis for “Moons of Hidden Times.” Composed through two weeks of dialogues with Tambuco and their instruments, “Moons of Hidden Times” is a record of our journey since that morning with the chipi-chipi rain.

 

Elliott Carter Abdiel Gonzalez John Lee Keenan Elissa Johnston

Wednesday, July 15, 2015 Concert at 8:30 p.m. Pre-concert talk begins at 8:00 p.m. Music of Elliott Carter Southwest Chamber Music Tambuco Percussion Ensemble This Elliott Carter program of his works composed between the ages of 100 and 103 combines Southwest Chamber Music and the Tambuco Percussion Ensemble in the West Coast premieres of Carter’s final works for voice and ensemble. Soloists are Abdiel Gonzalez, Jon Lee Keenan, and Elissa Johnston. Elliott Carter Tintinnabulation for 6 Percussion A Sunbeam's Architecture (Jon Lee Keenan, tenor) The American Sublime (Abdiel Gonzalez, baritone) What Are Years (Elissa Johnston, soprano) On Conversing With Paradise (Abdiel Gonzalez, baritone) Invite a Friend Program Notes

LA INTERNATIONAL NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL 2015

We recommend learning more about the concert and performers through these links:

Concert Five

Elliott Carter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliott_Carter

Elissa Johnston
http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/elissa-johnston

Jon Lee Keenan
http://jonleekeenan.com

Program Notes

Tintinnabulation

When the wonderful percussionist, Frank Epstein, suggested I write a percussion piece for his group of six players, a section of the orchestra I had often used as an independent entity, I agreed. Deciding not to use pitched percussion (marimba, vibraphone, etc.) I chose a large range of different sounding instruments. The work is in three important sections - wood, metal and skin - each of the six players has some instruments from each group. These instruments often can be played in different ways, for example with different mallets on different surface locations. The piece was composed in New York City, begun in the Fall of 2007 and finished on April 19, 2008. ----- Elliott Carter

A Sunbeam's Architecture

The choice and ordering of these poems by E.E. Cummings was made to show the poet in a period when the telephone was still a novelty and the First World War (1914-1919) was raging. It begins with a personal expression, then goes to his calling…poetry (A Sunbeam’s Architecture), that is interrupted by the war and ends returning to his personal life. It was composed in the spring of 2010 and is dedicated to my son David and Carol Parks. ----- Elliott Carter

The American Sublime

Wallace Stevens was very concerned that what Americans consider "sublime" lacks spirit. In my musical setting of his poems, I have tried to show that Stevens' many sided poetry is truly sublime. This work is dedicated to the extraordinary James Levine, who has brought my music to life. ----- Elliott Carter, December 20, 2011

What Are Years

Marianne Moore's brilliant poetry with its sharp but personal fascination with life, has held my attention for many years, so I decided to write this song cycle which shows a few of her many sides. "The Being So-Called Human" is the last stanza of The Pagolin, which she published separately wit the above title. The work was composed between February and May of 2009, and completed on June 1, 2009. ----- Elliott Carter

On Conversing With Paradise

Ezra Pound, one of America's leading poets and influences in the early twentieth century, lived in Italy during the Second World War. During that time he was occasionally allowed by the Fascist controlled radio to broadcast in English his rather fanatical ideas that the American bankers and banking system were destroying the US, a country he loved. When the American Army liberated Italy he was arrested as a traitor and imprisoned in a camp near Pisa where he continued to write Cantos that he had worked on for most of his life. Later, at his trial in Washingto, D.C. he was declared insane and interned at St. Elizabeth's Asylum, during which time he was visited by many of the most respected American Poets.

I have set parts of Pisan Canto 81 and unfinished Canto 120, where he despairs of not having written the perfect poem, which to him was paradise. My title is a quote from William Blake that Pound considered as a title for an early book of his own poems. ----- Elliott Carter