AMORISMS Music of Paul Moravec

Portara Ensemble ALIAS Chamber Ensemble

1 DE 3470 0 13491 34702 8 AMORISMS Music of Paul Moravec AMORISMS: Love Is a Spirit ♦ How Quick and Fresh Te Course of True Love ♦ Sweet Lovers When Love Speaks

TEMPEST FANTASY: Ariel ♦ Prospero Caliban ♦ Sweet Airs ♦ Fantasia

SACRED LOVE SONGS: Love Endures All Tings A Prayer of St. Francis ♦ Set Me as a Seal Interlude ♦ Greater Love

Total Program Time: 61:36

PORTARA ENSEMBLE ALIAS CHAMBER ENSEMBLE AMORISMS The Music of Paul Moravec AMORISMS (2014) (16:33) Portara Ensemble Shreyas Patel, Conductor 1. I. Love Is a Spirit (2:43) 2. II. How Quick and Fresh (2:35) ALIAS Chamber Ensemble: 3. III. Te Course of True Love (3:04) Zeneba Bowers, Alison Gooding, violins; 4. IV. Sweet Lovers (3:02) Christopher Farrell, viola; Sari Reist, 5. V. When Love Speaks (5:09) ; Lee Levine, clarinet

TEMPEST FANTASY (2003) (30:51)

6. I. Ariel (4:32) ALIAS Chamber Ensemble: 7. II. Prospero (5:33) Zeneba Bowers, violin; Matt Walker, 8. III. Caliban (7:18) cello; Lee Levine, clarinet; 9. IV. Sweet Airs (5:22) Melissa Rose, 10. V. Fantasia (8:06)

SACRED LOVE SONGS (2012) (14:12) Portara Ensemble 11. I. Love Endures All Tings (1:39) Shreyas Patel, Conductor 12. II. A Prayer of St. Francis (3:18) 13. III. Set Me as a Seal (3:27) ALIAS Chamber Ensemble: 14. IV. Interlude (2:34) Zeneba Bowers, Alison Gooding, violins; 15. V. Greater Love (3:14) Christopher Farrell, viola; Sari Reist, cello

Total time: 61:36

2 Amorisms III. Te Course of True Love A ballet for SSATB quintet, clarinet, and (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) string quartet Te course of true love never did run Te idea for this composition came to me smooth. while visiting Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon. Amorisms sets fve IV. Sweet Lovers (As You Like It) Shakespearean aphorisms about love. As this is a dance-piece, I wanted to keep the Sweet lovers love the spring. texts short, simple, and set repetitively so that once the audience gets the idea for V. Wh e n L ove Sp e a k s (Love’s Labour’s Lost) each movement, they can focus more readily on the dancers themselves. Con- When Love speaks, the voice of all the gods ceived for fve voices (SSATB) – the vocal makes heaven drowsy with the harmony. writing is more choral than solo.

Amorisms was commissioned by and is Tempest Fantasy dedicated – with admiration and afec- For violin, cello, clarinet, and piano tion – to ALIAS Chamber Ensemble, Portara Ensemble, and the Nashville Bal- Tempest Fantasy is a musical meditation let. It is heard here in its world premiere on characters, moods, situations, and recording. lines of text from my favorite Shakespeare play, Te Tempest. Rather than depicting these elements in literally programmatic I. Love Is a Spirit (Venus and Adonis) terms, I have used them instead as points of departure for fights of purely musical Love is a spirit all compact of fre. fancy.

II. How Quick and Fresh (Twelfh Night) Te frst three movements spring from the nature and selected speeches of the Spirit of Love, how quick and fresh thou art. 3 three characters afer whom they are St. Francis.” Te fourth movement is an named. Te fourth movement was in- instrumental interlude showcasing the spired by Caliban’s uncharacteristically virtuosity of the accompanying ensem- elegant third-act speech: “Be not afeard; ble. Tis is the world premiere of the the isle is full of noises/Sounds and sweet string quartet version, adapted especially airs, that give delight and hurt not.” Te for the musicians of Portara and ALIAS ffh movement, the most “fantastic” – to whom (along with the Nashville fight of all, elaborates on the various mu- Ballet) this version of the work is fondly sical elements of the earlier movements dedicated. and draws them together into a convivial fnale. I. Love Endures All Tings Tempest Fantasy is dedicated with great admiration and afection to David Love bears all things, Krakauer and the members of Trio Solis- love believes all things, ti, who gave its premiere at Te Morgan love hopes all things, Library in on May 2, 2003. love endures all things. In 2004, Tempest Fantasy was awarded the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in Music. II. A Prayer of St. Francis Lord, make me an instrument of peace. Sacred Love Songs (2012) Where there is hatred, let me sow love; For choir SATBB and string quartet Where there is injury, forgiveness; Where there is discord, vision; Sacred Love Songs began in 2011 as a work Where there is doubt, faith; for the SATBB vocal quintet Calmus and Where there is despair, hope; the recorder collective New Quartet Gen- Where there is darkness, light; eration. Four of the fve movements are Where there is sadness, joy. settings of biblical texts as well as a med- itation commonly known as “A Prayer of Let me seek not so much to be consoled, as to console; 4 To be understood, as to understand; ABOUT PAUL MORAVEC To be loved, as to love. One of the great American musical voic- III. Set Me as a Seal es of our time, Paul Moravec is not only the winner of a Pulitzer Prize (which he Set me as a seal upon thy heart. won in 2004 for “Tempest Fantasy”) but Rise up, my fair one, and come away also the recipient of three awards from with my love. the American Academy of Arts and Let- For lo, the winter is past, ters, fellowships from the Guggenheim the fowers appear on the earth. Foundation, the National Endowment Arise, my love, my fair one, for the Arts and the Rockefeller Founda- and come away. tion, as well as the Rome Prize. Te most Love is strong as death; recent composition in his extensive and jealousy is cruel as the grave. varied catalog is Te Shining, for Minne- Te coals thereof are coals of fre sota Opera. His discography includes fve which hath a most vehement fame. albums on Naxos, an album on BMOP Many waters cannot quench love; Sound, and recordings on RCA Victor, neither can the foods drown it. Bridge, Deutsche Grammophon, Cen- taur, and CRI. He has held long-term IV. Interlude composer-residencies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, Mannes V. Greater Love College of Music in New York, and the American Academy in Rome. He has Love is strong as death. taught at Columbia, Dartmouth, Mannes, Greater love hath no man than this: and , and currently holds Tat a man lay down his life for his the unique position of University Pro- friends. fessor at . His website Greater love believes all things; is www.paulmoravec.com and his works Love hopes all things; are available at www.subitomusic.com. Love endures all things.

5 6 ABOUT PORTARA PORTARA ENSEMBLE SINGERS

Portara Ensemble has quickly become Soprano a creative force in the music scene of Margy Bredemann * Middle Tennessee. Teir innovative pro- Amy Darrow gramming and artist collaborations have Janelle Ganske crossed the boundaries of visual and per- Dawn Foster ˆ forming arts and brought exciting new Lea Maitlen * music to their audiences. Te ensemble’s frst CD, which delves into the deep tra- Alto Elaine Bailey-Fryd Monica Coombs Allissa Floyd Mary Hewlett

Tenor Cory Cox Josh Post Destin Weishaar

Bass dition of hymn singing in the Christian Matthew Clark Church, was lauded by ClassicsToday. Daniel Elder com as “something to celebrate – and Jordan Holland keep close by.” Critically acclaimed for Adam Ketron their “nuance, sensitivity and beautifully Jason Shelton blended sound” (Nashville Scene), Por- Chris Strelecki tara’s thought-provoking thematic cho- ral programs continue to explore a wide * Amorisms only variety of music from around the world. ˆ Sacred Love Songs only

7 ABOUT ALIAS ALIAS’s second CD was the edgy and innovative Boiling Point – Music of Kenji ALIAS Chamber Ensemble is proud to Bunch. present its third recording of modern chamber music, including two world ALIAS is a nonproft chamber ensemble premiere works. Te ensemble’s frst CD, dedicated to an innovative repertoire, Hilos (works by Gabriela Lena Frank), artistic excellence, and a desire to give received a Grammy nomination in 2011 back to the community. ALIAS adopts for Best Small Ensemble Performance. three nonproft partners each season and 8 shares the spotlight with one nonproft at quickly became a major element of Nash- every series performance. Tis “spotlight” ville’s classical music scene and garnered nonproft partner has the opportunity to a Grammy nomination in 2011 for Best share its message with the audience and Small Ensemble Performance on its de- receives 100 percent of the proceeds from but CD Hilos, which Zeneba also co-pro- that concert … no strings attached. duced.

Since its inception in 2002, ALIAS has A native of Arlington, Texas, Chris Far- presented over twenty world premieres rell joined the Nashville Symphony viola of new music, as well as performing hun- section in 1999 and has performed with dreds of familiar and unfamiliar works ALIAS since its inception. Previously, he from the past four centuries. Te en- was a member of the Knoxville Sympho- semble has collaborated with the Nash- ny. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree ville Symphony, Nashville Ballet, and from the University of North Texas and Nashville Opera, and has been featured a Master of Music degree from Indiana on Performance Today. Its wide-rang- University. In addition to performing ing repertoire brings audiences a mix of with and composing for ALIAS, Chris chamber music that cannot be heard any- was the ensemble’s Director of Education where else. Community Programs from 2013-15.

THE MUSICIANS OF ALIAS Violinist Alison Gooding received her CHAMBER ENSEMBLE Bachelor of Music degree from Florida State University, where she studied with Zeneba Bowers, ALIAS’s Artistic Direc- Karen Clarke and Julian Ross. She received tor, earned her Bachelor and Master of her Master of Music degree from the Cin- Music degrees from the Eastman School cinnati Conservatory of Music, where she of Music. She joined the Nashville Sym- studied with Dorothy DeLay and Kurt phony in 1999 and became Assistant Sassmannshaus. Currently a member of Principal Second Violin in 2001. Zen- the Nashville Symphony, she is an active eba founded ALIAS in 2002. Te group teacher throughout the Nashville area.

9 Clarinetist Lee Levine has recorded cham- she appears frequently with the Nash- ber music for the Gasparo Label, orches- ville Ballet and in Summerfest Concerts tral music on the Naxos Label, and popu- in Kansas City. She studied collaborative lar as well as commercial music for many piano with Martin Katz and received of Nashville’s top producers. She recently graduate degrees in piano from the Yale retired from a 30-year orchestral career, School of Music and the University of which included positions as principal Michigan. She is an Associate Professor clarinetist with the Bogota Philharmonic of Piano and Associate Dean at Vander- and the Nashville Symphony, but she con- bilt University’s Blair School of Music. tinues to be an active chamber musician and recording artist. Cellist Matt Walker was a founding mem- ber of ALIAS Chamber Ensemble. He Cellist Sari De Leon-Reist performs reg- served as the group’s executive direc- ularly with ensembles in Nashville and tor from 2009-2011 and co-produced in the recording studio. Sari is a mem- ALIAS’s Grammy-nominated recording ber of the Nashville Opera Orchestra. Hilos. A cellist with the Nashville Sym- In the popular realm, she can be heard phony since 1999, Matt has also appeared on the recordings of Lady Antebellum, on ALIAS concerts playing bass and gui- Kings of Leon, Train, Ben Folds, Carrie tar. He is also a composer whose music Underwood, and countless others. Sari has been heard in the UK and Canada as received her Bachelors of Music degree well as locally and nationally, performed in cello performance from San Francis- by ALIAS and – most recently – by him- co Conservatory of Music. She maintains self, with Yo-Yo Ma. a private teaching studio in addition to teaching at Lipscomb University.

Pianist Melissa Rose has performed in- ternationally and throughout the United States in concerts with both singers and instrumentalists. In addition to ALIAS,

10 ALIAS Chamber Ensemble would like to thank the following for their generous support of this re- cording project: Bill and Shelley Alexander, Ann C. Benson, David and Madelyn Berezov, Kath- leen van Bergen, Georgeann Burns, Ruthie Cherry, Jo and Dan Church, Dee Doochin, Laurie & Steven Eskind, Jan van Eys, Lisa and Bill Headley, Judith Hodges, Lytle A. James, Anne Knauf, John Lewis, Chris Massey, David and Adrienne Piston, Richard Stone, Lawrence M. Lipman, David and Adrienne Piston, Virginia Roberson and Andrew Mongin, Jim Robert and Gary Stew- art, Jonathan Taylor, Matt Walker & Zeneba Bowers, Stacy Widelitz, Herb & Sonia Wiesmeyer, Stephen Wilensky, Harold and Pamela Williams, Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, Metro Arts Commission, Tennessee Arts Commission, Mix 92.9, Nashville Arts Magazine, York and Friends Fine Art, Avenue Bank, Forest Home Media, Jive Printing, Miss Daisy King, Martha Rivers Ingram Foundation, McLemore Auction Co. LLC, Tucker and Tucker, PLLC, Southwest- ern/Great American, and Te Kissinger Foundation. Portara Ensemble would like to thank the following for their generous support of this recording project: Elaine Bailey-Fryd and Martin Fryd, David M Bridges, Elaine Bush, Ben Chapman, Kelly and Bill Christie, Susan Darrow, Suryakant Desai, Susan Dupont, Bonnie and Frank Fekel, Dawn Foster, Dennis and Bev Ketron, Shreekant and Anjani Patel, Donnie Pennington, Lee and Kristen Rector, Kim Redmon, Kurt and Mary Scheib, and Tomas Schnell.

Recorded in Ingram Hall, Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, on June 23-25, 2014 Producer: John Hill Assistant Producers: Matt Walker & Sari Reist Recording Engineers: John Hill & Kevin Edlin Assistant Engineer: Steven Simpson Editing: John Hill & Kevin Edlin Mastering: Dan Shike at Tone and Volume Mastering Ballet Photo Credit: © Heather Torne

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