Tracks 1-6 are from David Evan Thomas\u27 Divine Images collection, based on the poetry of William Blake. Tracks 16-20 are from Brian G. Campbell\u27s collection This is My Letter to the World: Five Emily Dickinson Songs.https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/music_recordings/1014/thumbnail.jp

Campbell, Brian G.

Erickson, Karen L.

Finley, Carolyn

Kent, Patricia

Turley, Edward

English

College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University: DigitalCommons@CSB/SJU

From DIVINE IMAGES       David Evan Thomas Poems by William BlakePiping Down the Valleys WildCradle SongThe Little Boy Lost The Little Boy FoundOn Another’s SorrowLaughing SongPatricia Kent, SopranoEdward Turley, PianoIn a Certain Light Karen EricksonTo Darkness Wynn-Anne Rossi Too Cold to Snow George Maurer If  I Forget Your Face George Maurer Raspberry Island Libby Larsen Carolyn Finley, mezzo-sopranoEdward Turley, pianoLift Me into Heaven Slowly (Cowboy Songs) Libby LarsenInvitation Roderick Phipps-KettlewellNocturne Samuel BarberI Hear an ArmyPatricia Kent, SopranoEdward Turley, PianoTHIS IS MY LETTER TO THE WORLD:  Brian G. Campbell Five Emily Dickinson Songs for mezzo-soprano and pianoI. “This is my letter to the world”II. “There’s a certain slant of  light”III. “Wild nights! Wild nights!”IV. “Look back on time with kindly eyes”V. “Because I could not stop for Death”Carolyn Finley, Mezzo-SopranoEdward Turley, PianoMOSTLY MINNESOTA ART SONG: Songs by Barber, Campbell, Erickson, Larsen, Maurer, Phipps-Kettlewell, Rossi, and ThomasPatricia Kent, SopranoCarolyn Finley, Mezzo-SopranoEdward Turley, PianoOne of  the most rewarding experiences an artist can have is to collaborate with a composer on the premiere of  their work.   As artists of  song, we are re-creators of  the vision set forth on paper by the composer and poet.  This creative venture is much more enjoyable when a performer personally knows the composer and has easy access to them to discuss the intention behind their song.  This has been the case with the majority of  songs represented on this recording.  Patricia, Edward and Carolyn want to thank George Maurer, Brian Campbell, Wynn-Anne Rossi, Karen Erickson, Libby Larsen, David Evan Thomas and Roderick Phipps-Kettlewell for entrusting their beautiful songs to us for this CD project.   Biographies and Program Notes:American composer and concert pianist Samuel Barber (1910–1981) composed works for opera, orchestra, chamber groups, solo piano as well as many memorable songs. Born in Pennsylvania and educated at the Curtis Institute, he is considered one of  the leading composers of  American song. “Adagio for Strings” composed in 1936 is perhaps his best-known work.  Barber was a two-time recipi-ent of  the Pulitzer Prize for his opera Vanessa (1957) and his piano concerto (1962). “Nocturne,” set to a poem by American poet Frederick Prokosch, was published in 1940 and is the first of  four songs in Opus 13. “I hear an army,” published in 1939, is one of  three songs in Opus 10 with text by James Joyce.  The musical settings of  both of  these songs--the first depicting a dream and the second depict-ing a nightmare--illustrates Barber’s genius at text setting, especially given the challenges of  the avant garde text of  Joyce.Brian Campbell teaches music theory and composition at CSB/SJU. He has published and presented research papers on topics ranging from the music of  Arnold Schoenberg to eighteenth-cen-tury musical aesthetics. Dr. Campbell is currently a member of  Amadeus Chamber Orchestra in addi-tion to regularly performering on Pastiche, the CSB/SJU Music Faculty concert series. Past experience as a professional trombonist includes performing with Minnesota Brassworks, the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra, and the Colorado Springs Symphony and Symphony Brass Quintet. He is a graduate of  Oberlin College Conservatory of  Music and holds graduate degrees from the University of  Minnesota.Dr. Campbell writes, “This is My Letter to the World:  Five Emily Dickinson Songs was com-posed with the rich dark sound of  Carolyn Finley’s mezzo-soprano voice in mind.  I am most grateful that she and pianist Edward Turley have made this lovely recording.  The poetry of  Emily Dickinson is subtle, yet filled with passion and wonder—wonder about nature, life and death, and all the nooks and crannies of  the human soul.  Yet she approaches these topics through the concrete here and now—sunlight on a winter afternoon, a sunset, and wind on the sea.  I imagine the same woman sing-ing all of  the songs at different times of  her life, and the five songs are arranged so that there is a progression toward the end of  life.  In the first song, for which the cycle is named, she makes a simple heart-felt plea for acceptance.  In the second and third songs, ‘There’s a certain slant of  light’ and ‘Wild nights! Wild nights!’ she expresses life’s deep sorrow and unquenchable passion, respectively.  ‘Look back on time with kindly eyes’ is a wistful yet resigned reflection on a life that is soon coming to a close.  Finally, the well-known poem ‘Because I could not stop for Death’ is a beautiful meditation on death as the woman’s soul leaves the familiar, yet now unattainable, world behind.  My goal was to compose music that was true to Dickinson’s poetry—to its meaning, its intent, and its spirit.  I like to think of  the poem itself  dictating the music that belongs with it—that is not the way it works of  course, but that is the ideal in my mind.  I hope my listeners will enjoy the songs and find that the music enhances the experiences of  Dickinson’s poetry.” Dr. Karen Lynn Erickson is a writer, composer, and Academic Dean at the College of  St. Benedict / St. John's University. As professor, she has taught courses in French language and literature, Biblical women, and the history of  interpretation. She has always been intrigued by the connections between poetry and music; her compositions include settings of  Shakespeare song texts, medieval verse and her own poetry. Her works have been performed by faculty and students of  CSB/SJU, the St. John’s Boys’ Choir, the Collegeville Consort and other early music ensembles. “In a Certain Light”--composed with Carolyn Finley’s voice in mind—was set to the composer’s poem in memory of  her grandmother, Minnie Ann Erickson.  Erickson writes, “Hearing this poem at a reading, my friend Carolyn said the poem really ‘spoke to her,’ and told me she would gladly sing it if  I set it to music.  Though I had set other poets’ works for choir and soloist, and had written songs for guitar accompani-ment as a young person (mostly with horrible, predictable lyrics), I had never set a poem of  my own.  This poem had provided me with an avenue for grief  at the death of  my grandmother, and it was a poignant challenge to shift from spoken to sung word.  It is an honor and a joy to hear the work brought to life by Carolyn and Ed, such exquisite musicians and wonderful friends.” Libby Larsen is one of  America’s most performed living composers. She has created a cata-logue of  over 500 works spanning virtually every genre from intimate vocal and chamber music to massive orchestral works and over twelve operas. Grammy Award winning and widely recorded, includ-ing over fifty CDs of  her work, she is constantly sought after for commissions and premieres by major artists, ensembles, and orchestras around the world, and has established a permanent place for her works in the concert repertory. As a vigorous, articulate advocate for the music and musicians of  our time, in 1973 Larsen co-founded the Minnesota Composers Forum, now the American Composer’s Forum. A former holder of  the Papamarkou Chair at John W. Kluge Center of  the Library of  Con-gress, Larsen has also held residencies with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Charlotte Symphony, and the Colorado Symphony. Her career has been recognized with several awards including MIT’s McDermott Award, the Peabody Award, and the American Academy’s Arts and Letters Award. The Cowboy Songs, composed by Larsen are three character songs.  Two of  the texts are drawn from cowboy/girl poetry: “Bucking Bronco” with a text by Belle Starr and “Billy the Kid” with an anonymous text.  The third, “Lift Me Into Heaven Slowly,” featured in this recording, is the retitled “Sufi Sam Christian” of  American poet Robert Creeley. “Raspberry Island” is the third and last song of  Raspberry Island Dreaming, a cycle about the Mississippi River commissioned for the inaugural concert of  the Raspberry Island band shell (down-town St. Paul) on Sunday, September 8, 2002 and performed by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Kimberly Barber, mezzo-soprano.  “Raspberry Island”—based on the poetry of  Patricia Hampl--more specifically deals with a small territory of  land below the Wabasha Street Bridge in St. Paul, Minnesota that lies on the Mississippi River, and the memories the poet has of  driving there with her father.   Minneapolis-based pianist George Maurer is best known for his work as a performer, arranger, music director and composer. He has performed with Eric Clapton, shared the stage with Bruno Mars, and his symphonic arrangements have been performed by the Minnesota Orchestra to the Boston Pops, under Keith Lockhart. George is the symphonic music-director and arranger for the Grammy and Tony-awarded original cast of  Broadway’s Jersey Boys in “The Midtown Men.” Originally from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin he is a graduate of  Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, with a BA in Music-Composition. Regarding the two songs, the composer explains, that “Stations of  the Heart was conceived for singer-actor Anne Michels (lead singer of  the George Maurer Jazz Group and well-known on many stages in the Twin Cities, such as Guthrie, Ordway, Chanhassen Dinner Theater and Theater Latte Da).  The premise:  the varied stations and stages of  love and relationship.  Leaving the literary reasons for this to Jim Payne, the musical intent I had was to match varied styles of  jazz and Great American Songbook-type styles to these songs (18 or more of  them by now in the song-cycle, I believe); every-thing from Latin rhumba, tango, blues, bop, swing, torch ballads, and a few, such as If  I Forget Your Face, that seemed to call out for more of  an "art-song-tinged-with-color chords" approach.…I just want to add that its a really special treat to have Carolyn choose these songs to be a part of  this project, and to know that my notes and music are being played by my piano professor from my under-graduate years at the College of  Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University, Ed Turley.  And yet, I lay awake at night, contemplating and wondering if  I’ve left an accidental accidental, or forgot to add some phrasing here and there, or (an even deeper delight) to wonder if  I’m being cursed, softly, for some of  the angles and colors I use in in my art.  I sincerely hope I am!” Jim Payne wrote “Too Cold to Snow” and “If  I Forget Your Face” with composer George Maurer as part of  their larger song cycle, Stations of  the Heart, which has been presented, in various versions, by Theater Latte Da, as part of  its Latte Dark cabaret series, and by Chanhassen Dinner Theaters, as part of  its cabaret series. An alumnus of  Nautilus Music Theater’s Composer/Librettist Studio, Jim has also written, with composer Robert Elhai, three one-act operas — Answered Prayers, Untold Lies, and Twisted Apples— based on the novel WINESBURG, OHIO, each of  which has been presented at the Minnesota Fringe Festival by Nautilus. With composer Leslie Ball, Jim wrote the one-act opera Looking Glass Lake, which was presented as part of  Nautilus’ Ivey Award-winning Sister Stories. London-born pianist Roderick Phipps-Kettlewell received his musical training in England, France and at the Juilliard School and has performed throughout Europe and the United States, most notably at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall.  Roderick’s multifaceted musical career has also included conduct-ing choirs, orchestras and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, playing chamber music, songs from all over the worlds, and collaborating with violinists to saxophonists, and all instruments in between.  He is currently writing a book about how to develop more imagination, creativity and expression in the teaching and learning of  music.  More information can be found at www.amademusic.com. Phipps-Kettlewell writes: “I wrote this song for Patricia Kent, inspired by her rich voice and committed artistry.  My wife Marilène Phipps-Kettlewell wrote the poem “Invitation” and sent it to me by e-mail soon after we met in Concord, Massachusetts, amidst a gathering of  Transcendentalists in the home town of  Emerson.  We were 1400 miles apart, and through the connection of  technology, this poem written for me has always been a significant artistic and personal gesture, as a discreet offering to enter a relationship, which blossomed into marriage, now close to ten years.  The richness of  her imag-ery and language offers musical opportunities which I finally responded to eight years later with this song. Wynn-Anne Rossi is a nationally acclaimed composer whose works have reached audiences throughout the United States, Europe, Iceland and Australia. Commissions include works sponsored by Minnesota Public Radio, the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Composers Forum, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. She has over 100 publications, primarily for piano, which are widely distributed online and in music stores. Her repertoire also includes works for vocal and chamber groups, concert band and orchestra. She has been teaching composition residencies in Minnesota schools since 2003, inspiring hundreds of  students to write their own music. Partnerships have includ-ed: the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the American Composers Forum, and the Cowles Center for Dance and Performing Arts. Rossi has also written two comprehensive series which encourage young pianists to compose. Active as a presenter, Wynn-Anne is known for her innovative lectures, workshops and masterclasses. More: rossi-music.com, Wynn-Anne Rossi Music on Facebook.  Regarding her song, she writes, “’To Darkness’ was conceived as a part of  a larger song cycle of  Winter Passion Poems.  It is a tribute to the heart of  the creative process.”  Composer David Evan Thomas was born in Rochester, New York. He studied at Northwest-ern University, the Eastman School of  Music and with Dominick Argento at the University of  Minne-sota. His work has been commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orches-tra, and he has been honored by the American Academy of  Arts and Letters. He has written eleven song cycles. Divine Images is a collection rather than a cycle, based on poetry of  the English visionary poet William Blake.  The composer writes, “William Blake (1757-1827) was a visionary poet and a gifted paint-er-printer with a humanist outlook.  It’s useful to think of  him as a Beethoven contemporary, and his work has the same iconoclastic quality and creative energy.  The poems—multi-media art, really—were published in “illuminated” books; many of  the texts are accompanied by images, and they are elaborat-ed in fascinating detail.  To see Blake’s work in all its varicolored splendor, visit the William Blake Archive (www.blakearchive.org).   Over twenty years, I composed a collection of  Blake songs I call Divine Images.  What appeals to me is Blake’s love of  the human form and spirit, expressed with a directness that suggests to me unfussy musical language.  “Cradle Song” celebrates the birth in 1995 of  Madeline Clift, daughter of  Mike and Karen Clift.  Soprano Carol Eikum commissioned “laughing Song” the same year; the version recorded here was recomposed a decade later.  Divine Images is dedicated to Patricia Kent, who has been a marvelous advocate and interpreter of  my work.  It is published by Classical Vocal Reprints (www.classicalvocalrep.com).”Performer BiosCarolyn Finley, mezzo-soprano, is an active performer and adjudicator throughout the upper Mid-west. She received two music degrees from the University of  North Texas and a Doctorate of  Musical Arts from the University of  Minnesota. A Texas native, Carolyn was a three-year member of  the Hous-ton Opera Studio where she performed leading and supporting roles in both the Studio and Main House productions for Houston Grand Opera. In the Midwest, she has toured with Nebraska Opera and Midwest Opera Theater, performed with the Plymouth Music Series, Duluth-Superior Orchestra, Rochester Symphony Orchestra, Thursday Musical, Schubert Club, Quite Light Opera Company and Minnesota Center Chorale. She performed as the mezzo-soprano soloist in To Be Certain of  the Dawn, Stephen Paulus’ holocaust oratorio, both locally and in Europe. Carolyn performs regularly with the CSB/SJU faculty chamber music ensemble Pastiche and has produced four art song CD’s with her spouse, Edward Turley (piano).Patricia Kent, Soprano, has performed as soprano soloist with many orchestras including Wooster (OH) Symphony, the Duluth Superior Symphony, the Rochester Symphony, the Metropolitan Sympho-ny, the Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.  She has also performed as soloist with many regional organizations, including the Minnesota Center Chorale, Macalester Festival Chorale, the Oratorio Society of  Minnesota, the Minnesota Chorale and the Bach Society.  Dr. Kent received her MA from Queens College and holds a DMA from the University of  Minnesota, where she won the coveted Schussler Vocal Prize.  Patricia is a featured artist on several recordings, including the Minneso-ta AIDS Quilt Songbook.  She has also recorded All in the Family:  Song of  Fanny and Felix Mendels-sohn with pianist Robert Koopmann and French songs in La Vie Intérieure with Roderick Phipps-Ket-tlewell.  She also recorded songs of  Henry Bryan Hays and Catalan, Brazilian and Spanish songs with Carolyn Finley and Edward Turley.  Dr. Kent is on the faculty of  the College of  St. Benedict/St. John’s University and Macalester College. Edward Turley, piano, holds a Bachelor of  Music degree from Northwestern University and both the master and doctoral degrees from the University of  Colorado, Boulder. Active throughout the Upper Midwest as a recitalist, soloist, accompanist, clinician and adjudicator, he has performed with the Bloomington Symphony, St. Cloud Symphony, Heartland Symphony and in recital for Thursday Musi-cal and the Schubert Club in Minneapolis. Dr. Turley has collaborated on seven CD recordings: Music for Trumpet and Piano, Take Two, and The Invincible Cornet with Dr. Dale White; The Vocal Music of  Bryan Beaumont Hayes, Under These Skies – British and American Art Song, and The Pleasures of  Nature and Youth with spouse Dr. Carolyn Finley (mezzo-soprano) and other colleagues; and Due Cappuccini with Dr. Richard Dirlam (saxophone). He was the recipient of  the Sister Mary Grell Teach-er of  Distinction Award in 1996 and served as chair of  the music department at CSB/SJU for sixteen years. Mechanical royalty fees have been negotiated with the composers represented or through the Harry Fox Agency (Barber songs—License # 2194693 including “I hear an army” and “Nocturne”).  This Project was funded by a CSB/SJU Faculty Development Grant and was recorded in Escher Auditorium in the Benedicta Arts Center, College of  St. Benedict campus by Gerry Stinson Audio.

Mostly Minnesota Art Song: Songs by Barber, Campbell, Erickson, Larsen, Maurer, Phipps-Kettlewell, Rossi, and Thomas

https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=22&article=1014&context=music_recordings&type=additional

Mostly Minnesota Art Song: Songs by Barber, Campbell, Erickson, Larsen, Maurer, Phipps-Kettlewell, Rossi, and Thomas

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College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University: DigitalCommons@CSB/SJU