Vocal
Puppenhaus
for baritone and a large ensemble (2018) '5
text: Pierre Héli Monot
commissioned by and dedicated to Dietrich Henschel
first performance: Konzerthaus Berlin, December 2019, Dietrich Henschel, Ensemble United, Vladimir Jurowsky, conductor
Im Zwischenraum
for soprano and piano (2015) '15
text: Apollinaire, Joyce, Grimm, Solanas
commissioned by Heidelberg Frühling Festival
first performance: Heidelberg Frühling Festival, April 2015, Anna Lucia Richter, Nicholas Rimmer
Hotel room. Afternoon. A girl is waiting impatiently for a call from a man. While waiting for the call, the seven deadly sins pass through in her mind: It begins with Faulheit|Sloth, where she is lying on bed, bored and smoking (Hôtel, by G. Apollinaire). She wakes up and scans the room service menu for Völlerei|Gluttony, gradually looking at the prices and start counting numbers (Geiz|Greed), what turns out to be a phone number. she then ask herself for the first time, “soll ich ihn anrufen?” Then comes Wollust|Lust. As in a train of her thoughts, she recites the famous “Penelope” monologue from Ulysses by James Joyce, expressing her sexual desires. Again, she wonders why doesn’t he call her and if she should call him. Because she doesn’t get any call, she gets very insecure and talks to the mirror (Neid|Envy) the famous dialogue from Brüder Grimm’s Schneewittchen (“Spieglein, Spieglein an der Wand…”). Still, no call. She now gets extremely angry and wishes all men to die, from a text by radical feminist Valerie Solanas (Zorn|Wrath). Then, at last, she thinks again, “soll ich ihn anrufen?”, but because of her pride she does not (Hochmut|Pride).
Mentre Dormi
for counter tenor and chamber orchestra (2014) '6
text: Metastasio
commissioned by Geneva Camerata for Andreas Scholl
first performance: Geneva, April 2014, Andreas Scholl, Geneva Camerata, David Greilsammer, conductor
Lux Aeterna
for clarinet and vocal ensemble (2009) '6
text: Latin
commissioned by Adele and John Gray endowment fund
first performance: Berliner Dom, September 2009, David Orlowsky, SingerPur
Drowning
a song cycle for soprano and piano (2008) '18
text: Camilo José Cela
commissioned by Adele and John Gray endowment fund
“Mrs. Caldwell speaks to her son” (Mrs. Caldwell habla con su hijo) is a wonderful, unique novel by 1989 Nobel prize winner, Camilo José Cela. Written from the view point of Mrs. Caldwell, an elderly English woman who had lost her son in the Aegean seas, the novel consists of 213 short entries in her diary, each one shows another aspect in her life and world and reveals an intense, almost incestuous love to her dead son. I chose 10 of the shorter entries in the book (no. 14b, 155, 9, 4, 63, 14, 44, 178, 210, 213), and slightly edited and adjusted them so they could be used as poetry. Although the novel has no conventional plot and is lacking a strict narrative line, we can observe that Mrs. Caldwell is slowly losing her remaining sanity (as in the strange, surreal song, “The Iceberg”)- as a result, the last 4 entries in her diary, of which I used two, “Air” and “Water”, are written from the Royal Insane Asylum. As each of the poems draws a rich, completely independent world of imagery and expression, the music, as a result, is extremely varied. Each song is a different character piece, sometimes commenting on the previous song, but always true to its unique mood and expression. Scales are present in all 10 songs- going upwards and downwards, hidden and exposed. While they sometime portray her hopes and dreams, scales are also ultimately drowning the heroine in her despair.
Three songs
for a female voice and piano strings (2004) / for a female voice and harp (2009) '14
text: Daniel M
first performance: Marlboro Festival, July 2009, Kiera Duffy, Sivan Magen
A Festa dos Animais
for a children choir and piano (2004) '24
text: Barbara Pires and Monica Santos
commissioned by and dedicated to Maria João Pires
first performance: Montpellier Festival, August 2004, Belgais Choir, Maria João Pires
Lewis Carroll Poems
for a soprano and ensemble (2000) '16
text: Lewis Carroll
first performance: Tel-Aviv University, October 2000, Shirit Lee Weiss, Yonatan Cnaan, conductor
Two songs
for a female choir (1998) '6
text: Dalia Rabikovich
Three Nathan Zach poems
for a mixed choir (1998) '8
text: Nathan Zach
Five Yehuda Amichai poems
for a baritone and piano (1998) '15
text: Yehuda Amichai