Program Notes

When Music Sounds, Ronald Perera

When I was invited in 2015 by Prof. Thomas Kelly to compose an original piece of music for his Harvard course “First Nights,” my thoughts turned to a choral work on poems about music. Each of the three poems in When Music Sounds, by Walter de la Mare, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Emily Dickinson, respectively, concerns an aspect of how music affects us. The original version of the piece was scored for chorus with piano accompaniment. This version with string quartet and piano accompaniment was commissioned by the New England Classical Singers.

Walter de la Mare’s poem “Music,” from whose first line the title of the whole composition is taken, expresses the way in which hearing music can alter the way we experience reality, heightening our susceptibility to dreams, visions and “ecstasies,” and making us feel truly alive. In a world where many of us go about our daily life with a musical soundtrack plugged into our ears, the mood altering effects of music are available to us in a way that goes far beyond what Walter de la Mare could have imagined.

Shelley’s 1821 poem “Music, When Soft Voices Die” speaks of the power of music to live in memory long after the sounds themselves have been stilled. Through our sense-memory we can re-experience events in our past and even seem to reawaken people we have loved and who have died. “Musicians Wrestle Everywhere” by Emily Dickinson is characteristic of this poet’s ecstatic and visionary experience of nature. What or who are the wrestling musicians of the opening line is never made explicit. Nor is the nature of the sound – a “silver strife” –that they produce made explicit except it is not from calling birds, a brass band or a church hymn. Rather it seems to emanate from nature itself as some mysterious and pervasive vibration. Perhaps it comes from somewhere else in the universe, or even from heaven. That the source of this silver strife is mystical or spiritual is suggested by the observation that it is a portent of “new life,” and that it may not be finally “ascertained” until the poet has assumed her/his “celestial face” (i.e. has died and gone to join the other “vanished dames and men.”)

It is tempting to wonder if Dickinson was acquainted with the writings of Alexander Von Humboldt, one of the most famous scientists of the 19th century, arguably the inventor of modern ecology, and widely read in America during Dickinson’s lifetime. In Humboldt’s Personal Narrative, written over the period 1819–1829, he wrote:

The beasts of the forest retire to the thickets; the birds hide themselves beneath the foliage of the trees, or in the crevices of the rocks. Yet, amid this apparent silence, when we lend an attentive ear to the most feeble sounds transmitted by the air, we hear a dull vibration, a continual murmur, a hum of insects, that fill, if we may use the expression, all the lower strata of the air . . . A confused noise issues from every bush, from the decayed trunks of trees, from the clefts of the rock, and from the ground undermined by the lizards, millipedes, and cecilias. There are so many voices proclaiming to us, that all nature breathes; and that, under a thousand different forms, life is diffused throughout the cracked and dusty soil, as well as in the bosom of the waters, and in the air that circulates around us.

– Ronald Perera, 2019

In Memoriam: Ronald C. Perera (1941 - 2023)

The Coro Allegro family mourns the recent passing of composer, colleague, and dear friend Ronald Perera. Ron was a gentle, giving soul, and his kindness extended far beyond the world of music. Coro performed many of his choral works, most notably Why I Wake Early - a setting of eight poems by Mary Oliver - for which Coro gave the Boston premiere, performed at the GALA Choral Festival in July 2012, and recorded on the Navona label, all to great acclaim. Coro will also perform his When Music Sounds at the 2024 GALA music festival, a performance that Ron had hoped to attend. Ron and his wife Jay were frequent concert attendees, and avid supporters and ambassadors of Coro. Ron will be sorely missed, but his voice and legacy will carry on through his extraordinary art.

"Music, when soft voices die, vibrates in the memory...And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone, Love itself shall slumber on."
- Percy Bysshe Shelley 1821

Dark Night of the Soul by Ola Gjeilo

Dark Night of the Soul was written in 2010, and premiered that same year by the Phoenix Chorale with Charles Bruffy, myself at the piano and four local string-players. The piece was commissioned by and dedicated to my dear, sweet friend and publisher, Gunilla Luboff, in memory of her husband, choral legend Norman Luboff. The text, three stanzas from St. John of the Cross’ (1542-1592) magical poem “Dark Night of the Soul” was suggested to me by Joel Rinsema, Executive Director of the Phoenix Chorale, and I fell in love with its colorful and passionate spirituality instantly. One of the main things I wanted to do in this piece was to make the choir and piano more equal; usually the piano is relegated to a very generic accompanying role in choral music, as opposed to strings or orchestra, which will often have a much more independent and prominent role where it is allowed to shine as well. So there is a lot of give and take between the choir and piano here; often the piano is accompanying the choir, but sometimes the choir is accompanying the piano (or violin a couple of times), with the choir kind of taking the role of a string orchestra. I just love the sound of voices singing chords on “Ooh” or “Mmm;” it creates a sound that can be so amazingly evocative and warm, especially when doubled by a string quartet. To me, that sound combination has a similar effect to a great synth pad, only it feels more organic and alive. But mainly, what this piece was really about was just the sheer desire to write something that could hopefully convey a lot of the grace and passion that is so strong and pulsating in the poem!

Luminous Night of the Soul by Ola Gjeilo

Luminous Night of the Soul is the brighter, sunnier, sequel to Dark Night of the Soul, published in 2011. Both works are independent pieces that can be performed separately, but they are also conceived as two movements of the same work. Part of the reason for the solo cello passage at the introduction to Luminous Night is that I wanted a quiet respite from the saturated washes of sound that are such a big part of Dark Night. The essential link between the two pieces is a theme that is featured towards the end of both works, but featured in very different ways. While the end of Dark Night is lyrical and romantic, the finale of Luminous Night is exuberant and relentless. Luminous Night incorporates words by Charles Anthony Silvestri, in addition to the two stanzas from St. John of the Cross’ poem “Dark Night of the Soul.” The two pieces are both influenced by a wish to feature the piano more heavily in choral music, not just as generic, unassuming accompaniment, but as an equal partner to the choir, aided and supported by the string quartet. Most of all, I wanted to find ways to compose lush, warm, symphonic-sounding music, while still only scoring for five instruments, in addition to the choir.

– Notes by Ola Gjeilo

LETTER FROM THE COMMISSIONERS of “HERE I AM: I AM HERE” BY ANDREA CLEARFIELD

Today’s performance of Here I Am: I Am Here by Andrea Clearfield marks the public beginning of a project that has been in the works for six years. It was the dream of three altos and a soprano to support the creation of an SATB work by an American woman composer that would challenge Coro, be accessible to audiences, and be within reach for many auditioned choruses. We wanted a piece that would be performed again. And we wanted it to be about a subject that touched us.

A few years ago, Coro Allegro’s Artistic Director David Hodgkins shared Mimi Lemay’s letter (published on Boston.com) to her then five-year-old son whose sex assigned at birth was female. We explored other subjects, but kept coming back to Mimi’s letter. We were utterly moved by the depth of her love, by how hard she and Jacob’s father were willing to struggle to understand who Jacob really was and to help him be who he is.

David later proposed pairing Mimi’s letter with Sam Brinton’s letter to their 12-year-old self who had survived conversion therapy, which their mother made Sam undergo, thinking it would save her son. So – two stories of mothers’ love for their children facing huge challenges in simply being their LGBTQ+ selves in society – and a story of the power of love of self. Clearly important stories for Coro Allegro as Boston’s LGBTQ+ and allied chorus to tell.

To choose a composer to set the letters, we researched and listened to the music of many women composers, ultimately choosing award-winning composer Dr. Andrea Clearfield. We chose her for her contemporary and emotionally accessible writing that moved us – and pleased our ears. Her beautifully crafted text settings let the words speak, which seemed perfect for a piece about families struggling to understand and communicate. Fortunately, she said yes, enthusiastically.

We did not imagine in 2019 when this piece was commissioned, that it would be quite as timely as it is in 2022. We’re sorry – and angry – that this is the case. But we’re glad that Mimi’s and Sam’s letters and their advocacy for LGBTQ+ youth and Dr. Clearfield’s setting of the letters have inspired The Letters Project, a multi-year project aiming to support LGBTQ+ youth. Coro will also have the opportunity to take this work to the 2024 GALA Choruses Festival in Minneapolis, and we are most grateful to GALA’s Executive Director, Robin Godfrey, for joining us in underwriting this commission.

We express heartfelt thanks to David Hodgkins for his many contributions and to Yoshi Campbell, Executive Director of Coro Allegro, who has been instrumental – and spent many hours of her own time – in bringing this piece to fruition and The Letters Project to life. We also thank the Coro Allegro Board of Directors, whose extraordinary efforts kept Coro going through the pandemic so this premiere, which was to happen in 2020, could happen now.

Lastly, the commissioners are deeply grateful to have worked with – and continue to work with on The Letters Project – Andrea, Mimi, and Sam, who have been so generous with their time, encouragement and heart, and whose passion for their work continues to inspire us.
– Alison Howe and Virginia Fitzgerald for the commissioners

FROM COMPOSER ANDREA CLEARFIELD

Here I Am: I Am Here was commissioned by Alison Howe, Virginia Fitzgerald, Leigh Smith, Robin Godfrey, and an anonymous donor, for Coro Allegro, David Hodgkins, Artistic Director, and honors Mimi Lemay and Sam Brinton for their passionate advocacy of the rights of LGBTQ+ youth. The cantata is based on true stories – of Mimi and Jacob Lemay and Sam Brinton – and powerful letters of love that promote understanding, healing and connection. The work is being premiered on Sunday, November 6, 2022 at Old South Church, Boston as part of Coro Allegro’s 31st season, with a second performance in July 2024 at the 11th GALA International Choral Festival at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

The composer wishes to thank the Visby International Centre for Composers in Sweden, Yaddo and the Copland House for providing invaluable time and space to create this work. A very special thank you to Mimi Lemay and Sam Brinton for granting permission to use their stories, selected texts, quotes and interviews.

Special Note:

In the preface of her book, What We Will Become: A Mother, A Son, and a Journey of Transformation, Mimi Lemay explains that the name '"Em" is a pseudonym Jacob and she chose to avoid using his birth name. The pronouns used to refer to “Em”—“she” and “her”—represent Jacob's parents’ initial assumptions about his gender before he declared himself, and like the pseudonym, were used with express permission from Jacob.