Author: debmin

From the Ninth Elegy

text by Rainer Maria Rilke; translated by Graham Good

The inspiration for this piece came in equal parts from the 1987 Wim Wenders film, Wings of Desire (Der Himmel Über Berlin), and from my maternal grandmother, Gudrun Joensen, who passed away in 2006. Wings of Desire appealed to me in its imagery and thematic use of angels existing alongside “earthly” beings; the film is based on the writings of poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926). The text of my piece is taken from Rilke’s Ninth Duino Elegy, which speaks of the transience of being “earthly”, and yet that the fact of having existed once on this earth is irrevocable. Ever since my grandmother passed away, I had been looking for an opportunity to incorporate her essence somehow into one of my compositions. She was a very gentle person, hence the whispered, hushed quality of the beginning of the piece. The very end of the piece uses a quotation of a Danish lullaby she used to sing. From the Ninth Elegy was written specifically for musica intima (12-voice conductorless chamber choir), and given its premiere on March 21st, 2009, as part of Vancouver Pro Musica’s Sonic Boom Festival, at the Western Front, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.  It was also performed by DaCapo Chamber Choir, in Kitchener, ON, on February 27th, 2010, and by the Vancouver Chamber Choir (with guest conductor Michael Zaugg), on April 20th, 2018.

_____________

“But because being here means so much, and because
all of the transient things that are here
seem to need us…
They need us- us, the most transient. Once
for each thing, just once. Once and no more.
Just once for us too… But having been
earthly just this once, even though
it was only once, seems irrevocable.”

Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), translated by Graham Good

_____________

Sheet music is available through the Canadian Music Centre.

Published
Categorised as Choral

Yarilo

This piece is named after the Slavonic sun deity. According to legend, Yarilo returns from the otherworld each year after Shrovetide to usher in springtime and provide a bountiful harvest. He is celebrated in the springtime through the midsummer, but as his life is connected to the agricultural cycle, he is “killed” at the end of summer, along with the harvest of the crops. This piece takes its source material from four traditional Russian folksongs. Beginning with darkness/winter, the piece moves progressively through the yearly agricultural cycle.

  • Yarilo was premiered by Ariel Barnes at “Further East, Further West: Global Pilgrimage” concert of works for solo cello, Heritage Hall, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 29 June, 2007.

_____________

Sheet music is available through the Canadian Music Centre.

Anagrams for November

beaches, babes, heads, cafes—

each faded, deaf,

each sees seas— ages,

ages, faded, dead

 

Anagrams for November was written especially for the Vancouver Miniaturist Ensemble. The alto flute spells out the musical anagrams of this collection of words (in concert pitch), while the viola provides some counterpoint, creating a breathy dialogue between the two parts.

The piece was edited again in 2017, to create a new arrangement for tenor recorder and violin.

 

  • Premiered by the Vancouver Miniaturist Ensemble (in version for alto flute and viola), at the Western Front, Vancouver, 10 December 2007.

 

  • Performed (in version for tenor recorder and violin) by XelmYa at “Klangräume”, St. Thomas Church, Berlin, Germany, July 2, 2017.

 

Sheet music (for both versions) is available through Syrinx Press:

https://elizabethknudson.ca/syrinx-press