Mirror Visions Ensemble Performs OF BEASTS AND BRUTES At Sheen Center

Mirror Visions Ensemble (MVE) - an acclaimed vocal chamber ensemble dedicated to exploring the relationship between music and text - presents its newest program, Of Beasts and Brutes, in the Loreto Theater at The Sheen Center on Monday, March 12, 2018 at 8:00 p.m.

Of Beasts and Brutes playfully and seriously shines light on the human and animal traits that might emerge in an uprising against totalitarianism, as seen in Orwell's Animal Farm. The songs reference animalized brutes since the early Romans, up to and including modern times. Curated by Yale Department of Music professor Richard Lalli, this concert of great music and texts includes three newly commissioned world premieres from Scott Wheeler, Francine Trester, and Christopher Berg, along with Tchaikovsky, Poulenc and Rachmaninoff, among others.

The concert features soprano Vira Slywotzky, tenor Scott Murphree, baritone Mischa Bouvier, and pianist Margaret Kampmeier.

Tickets: General Admission $20.00, Students $15.00 (Plus $2 Facility Fee)
Link: https://sheencenter.org/shows/beasts/

Performers:
Vira Slywotzky, soprano
Scott Murphree, tenor
Mischa Bouvier, baritone
Margaret Kampmeier, piano

Program:
Older Beasts
Bartók Béla (1888-1945) - U?ro?gi kana?szta?nc (The Cricket Marries)

Josquin des Prez (1450-1521) - El grillo (The Cricket)

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) - La cigale et la fourmi (The Grasshopper and the Ant)

André Caplet (1878-1925) - La cigale et la fourmi

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) - La colombe (The Dove)

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) - Le serpent (The Snake)

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) - Le martin-pêcheur (The Kingfisher)

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) - La pintade (The Guinea Hen)

Kodály Zóltan (1882-1967) - Ifju?sa?g mint so?lyommada?r (Youth is like a Falcon)

Kodály Zóltan (1882-1967) - Lúdaim, lúdaim (My Geese, My Geese)

Juaquín Rodrigo (1901-99) - Canción del cucú (Lullaby of the Cuckoo)

Older Brutes
Scott Wheeler (b. 1952) - Et tu, Brute Fanfare (New York Premiere)*

G. F. Händel (1685-1756) - Son nata a lagrimar (I was born to weep)

William Walton (1902-83) - Said King Pompey

Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) - Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte (Excerpt)

Newer Beasts
Francine Trester (b. 1969) - Three from An Oman Odyssey (2015) (New York Premiere)*
American Kestrel - Ringtail Cat - Wolf Head

Richard Pearson Thomas (b. 1959) - Four from A Nash Menagerie (2001)*
The Pigeon - The Pig - The Rooster - The Duck

Intermission

Newer Brutes
Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-75) - Two from Jewish Folk Poetry, Op.79 (1948)

Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-75) - ?????????? ???? ? ???? (Fussy Mummy and Auntie)

Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-75) - ??????? (Happiness)

Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936) - Two from Canciones Populares

Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936) - Las morillas de Jaen (The Moorish Girls from Jaen)

Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936) - Anda, jaleo (Go, Whoopla)

Christopher Berg (b. 1949) - Casida de las Palomas Oscuras (Of the Dark Doves) (New York Premiere)*

Hanns Eisler (1898-1963) - Two from Hollywooder Liederbuch

Hanns Eisler (1898-1963) - An den kleinen Radioapparat (To the Transistor Radio)

Hanns Eisler (1898-1963) - Über den Selbstmord (About suicide)

Birds in the Ukraine
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1849-93) - ??????? (The Nightingale)

Mikhail Glinka (1804-57) - ?????????? (The Skylark)

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1942) - ?? ?????? ??????a (On the Death of a Sparrow)

Tchaikovsky - ?????? (The Cuckoo)

* MVE Commission

Mirror Visions Ensemble (MVE) was founded from a desire to explore the relationship between music and text, initially through the creation of "mirror visions" - settings of the same text to music by different composers. The group's passion for storytelling has produced thematic concerts on surprising subjects, based on scholarly research and laced with humor, leading to the revitalization of art song programming. Featuring soprano, tenor, baritone and piano, often joined by other instrumentalists, MVE's programs take audiences on an imaginative journey through song, showcasing well-known and often-neglected pieces by composers both familiar and new, set to texts by poets and historical figures that encompass published works, correspondence and other anecdotes.

Now in its 26th season, Mirror Visions Ensemble has championed and fostered the work of new composers, providing a platform for their works to be showcased through the commissioning and performance of over 85 works by 28 composers, including Tom Cipullo, Scott Wheeler, and Pulitzer Prize recipient Yehudi Wyner. Dedicated to developing the future catalogue of vocal chamber music, the ensemble launched its first-ever Young Composers Competition in the 2015-2016 season, awarding four commissions to early-career composers.

The ensemble has presented its programs, residencies, and masterclasses both in the U.S. and abroad at concert halls, schools, libraries, and museums. MVE's concerts are often free and open to the public, continuing the ensemble's commitment to education and its tradition of providing access to the arts. Mirror Visions Ensemble has appeared at such venues as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Music Center, Le Poisson Rouge, SubCulture, and Mt. Kisco's Copland House, and at educational institutions including California State University at Fullerton, University of Southern California, New York University, the Longy School of Music of Bard College, Northwestern University, Williams College, and Yale University. Museums in France have become a home for MVE, with many performances at the Musée Carnavalet, Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the Musée Nissim de Camondo, as well as at the American University of Paris.

In recognition of strengthening cultural relationships between the U.S. and France, bringing to life forgotten texts and music from both French and American traditions, and sharing these works through commissions and performances by Mirror Visions Ensemble, Artistic Director Tobé Malawista was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 2008.

MVE's discography includes Américain à Paris (Albany 2003), Secrets (Albany 2004), Cosmic and Domestic Matters (Albany 2008), and The Three-Paneled Mirror (Centaur 2015). Mirror Visions Ensemble was founded by Tobé Malawista, Richard Lalli and Scott Murphree in 1992.

The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture is a forum to showcase works highlighting the true, the good, and the beautiful. Located downtown on historic Bleecker Street, the Sheen Center is a vibrant arts organization that focuses on theater, music, film, and talk. A project of the Archdiocese of New York, the state-of-the-art complex encompasses the 270-seat Loreto Theatre, equipped with five-camera high-definition live-stream capability and a multi-track recording studio; the 80-seat Black Box Theatre; four rehearsal studios; and an art gallery. It was named after the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, best known for his popular, inspirational radio and TV ministry.