(2025)
Cantares (2025) for String Trio
Cantares are Portuguese folk chants, and this work is a collection of imaginary cantares. The idea for this composition arose from research by my mother – a scholar and professor of German Literature at the University of Lisbon – on the writings of Carolina Michaëlis (1851-1925). Michaëlis, a German-Portuguese scholar was a prominent figure in Portugal and the first woman professor at a Portuguese University, whose works on popular traditions include Estudos sobre o romanceiro peninsular: romances velhos em Portugal (Studies regarding the peninsular romancero: old romances in Portugal). Michaëlis’ work was also relevant to the studies of my father – a medievalist and the director of the Center for Oral Traditions at the University of Lisbon – so she represents a shared passion that infuses the life’s work of both my parents.
The musical composition is comprised of five movements played without pause, each featuring a distinct type of chant/wailing. The two outer movements (I and V) feature the trio as a unit, while the middle movements feature each soloist in counterpoint with the others – movement II features violinist Stella Chen, Movement III features violist Matthew Lipman, and movement IV features cellist Brannon Cho. The musical material rotates – what is background in one movement becomes foreground in the next, while musical gestures expand and contract.
- Cantar de gesta (Epic Chant)
- Cantar de despertar –– Para Stella (Chant for the Morning/Awakening)
- Cantar de fim de dia –– Para Matthew (Chant for the End of the Day)
- Cantar de noite –– Para Brannon (Chant for the Night)
- Cantar de romaria (Procession Chant)
The work is dedicated with admiration to Stella Chen, Matthew Lipman and Brannon Cho of the Artaria Trio. It was commissioned by Thomas Krenz and Anja Koffka.