brutal arithmetic

for soprano or mezzo-soprano and piano

I. One way to listen
II. Lament
III. On viewing a photograph by Dorothea Lange

    Texts by Christopher Hood

10 minutes

Excerpt from II. Lament:  sound  score (pdf)

Though the three poems set to music in brutal arithmetic were not intended as a set by their author, they are linked to one another by a profound sadness and sense of isolation.  For me, the key theme in these three poems is abandonment: a rabbit caught in a trap, a young child forsaken by a parent, poor children ignored by the society around them.   The songs are linked musically by the almost constant presence of a steady four-note pattern, moving inexorably through and beyond each song, creating a timelessness that underscores the isolation in each poem.

 

brutal arithmetic was commissioned by Chamber Music NOW, and was premiered by soprano Rachel Garcia and pianist Luis Rodriguez in October 2003.

2008: Jean Danton, soprano, Thomas Stumpf, piano, "An American Music Recital:
                Musica Eclectica Concert Series, Eastern Nazarene College, Quincy, Mass.

2005: Sara Bielanski, mezzo-soprano, Delvyn Case, piano, Art and Faith Forum, Andover-Newton Theological
                 Seminary, Newton, Mass., Co-sponsored by: The Lilly Endowment for The Exploration of 
                 Theological Vocation, Andover Newton Theological School, Gordon College, Center for Christian Studies,
                 Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Ockenga Institute 

2005: Sara Bielanski, mezzo-soprano, Delvyn Case, piano, Delvyn Case, composition recital, 
                 Musica Eclectica Concert Series, Eastern Nazarene College, Quincy, Mass. 

2005: Sara Bielanski, mezzo-soprano, Delvyn Case, piano, Meltdown Incentive concert, 
                 Musica Eclectica Concert Series, Eastern Nazarene College, Quincy, Mass.

2004: Cara Tasher, mezzo-soprano, Ana-Maria Dafova, piano, Music04 Festival, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of 
                 Music

2004: Sara Bielanski, mezzo-soprano, Delvyn Case, piano, Boston College Faculty Composers Showcase 

2003: Nancy Leinonen Howells, soprano, Delvyn Case, piano, Benefit Concert for Housing For All, Acton 
                  Congregational Church, Acton, Mass.

2003: Rachael Garcia, soprano, Luis Rodriguez, piano, Chamber Music, Now, Inc. Concert, Philadelphia Ethical 
                  Society