Song reCycle

Inspired by the song cycle, which conveys a unified story or theme across several separate songs, these programs make new art out of the traditional classical repertoire. Song reCycle programs creatively recontextualize classic songs so they can be appreciated anew. The following examples have experimented with different techniques for communicating with a contemporary audience, allowing distant compositions to speak in a fresh way, while respecting the original music.

When Morning Frees my Eyes:

Using only the music of Robert Schumann, this program of carefully selected Lieder tells a rather modern story of complicated love and loss across 11 individual songs. The narrative emerges from a single character’s point of view that connects musical and poetic material, creating a unique story out of this established repertoire.
In this excerpt, we move from a gay man tragically shooting his lover in ‘Der Soldat’ to the same man holding his lover as his life drains away in ‘Dein Angesicht’.

[vimeo 84983908 w=1000 h=567]

[vimeo 85770556 w=1000 h=563]

The Heart of King David:

Built around a poetic narrative of King David’s life, this program explores the dramatic moments of the Biblical King’s life and his inward personal journey, by alternating between English Song and Psalm improvisations. With the help of piano, harp, and narrator, we seamlessly flow between each element gaining one interpretation of this complex and epic character.
In this excerpt, the narrator brings us into the action of David’s battle with Goliath, and weaves together psalms of victory and songs of love.

Skeleton Elegies:

This fully staged Halloween performance was a pastiche of Baroque arias, song, and choruses telling the comic story of two skeletons, a husband and wife. Separated in death, their search for each other reveals same jealousies and insecurities as when they were living.
Intricately staged in a gothic space and set amongst a graveyard, this excerpt shows the main character pining to be with his lost love, before they are reunited in the second act.

[vimeo 85767790 w=1000 h=565]