chamber ensemble

Composer's note: Marfantasie takes its name from the tiny American Western town of Marfa, which is home to the Chinati Foundation, Donald Judd’s collection of conceptual art, both his own and of like-minded artists. It is a strange conflation of cowboy culture and the avant-garde. In celebration of this incongruous American landscape, both natural and cultural, the two movements: 1) the vast seemingly empty---though actually fantastically active---desert landscape, and 2) the succession of seemingly similar---yet highly detailed, crafted, and varied--- basic forms that make up Judd’s art.

THE SINGING LESSON – Chamber Opera in Three Acts Based on the short stories of Katherine Mansfield (PD) for 2 Lyric Sopranos, 2 Dramatic Mezzo-Sopranos, 1  Contralto, 1 Tenor Buffo, 1 Basso Buffo, and small chamber orchestra: Cl in Bb, Bsn, Tpt in C, Bs Tbn, vln, cb, and Perc (1-2): wind chimes, triangle, sleigh bells, cowbell, tam-tam, vibraslap, wood block, glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba, tubular bells, snare drum, bass drum, and celesta.

ACT ONE / THE GARDEN PARTY: Synopsis: Laura is helping her mother, Mrs. Sheridan, in the preparations for a garden party, when it is discovered that a death has transpired at a nearby working-class neighborhood.  Laura is in favor of canceling the party, but other members of her family are not.  After the party is over, Laura is instructed by her mother to visit the bereaved family, which results in an enormous personal change – or does it?