Martha: Francesco, can you share some insights about the Kate Soper work that most of us will hear for the first time? On my first listen, I wasn't sure what to think, but as I studied through repeated listenings, I could understand the emotion and the musical gymnastics you and Lucy had to perform.
Francesco: I was also shocked by the piece myself at first but really came to love it after realizing what all these crazy techniques serve in terms of story-telling, so I'd be happy to get the audience acquainted with this before we shock them :)
Only the words themselves mean what they say by Kate Soper brings both flutist and soprano to the edge of their abilities, requiring the flutist to also alternate between flute, bass flute and piccolo. The audience can look forward to new, unfamiliar and perhaps challenging sounds, but it is clear that only such a piece could bring musical justice to the introspective yet quirky texts by Lydia Davis upon which the piece is based. Both musicians act as one unit as they try to tell - and process themselves - the story being told. Techniques such as gibberish, extreme breathiness and even ventriloquism serve not as mere theatrical stunts but rather to bring out raw emotions like rejection and heartbreak. Soper invites the audience into her own unique world of sounds which transport one into the mind of the narrator, unrestrained by conceptions of “traditional” music performance.
For a preview of this special work, listen to this 2017 recording from Marlboro featuring the same two brilliant young musicians who are performing the work for us.
PCMS Erik Petersons interviewed soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbons in September and you can read his interview here.
Francesco: I was also shocked by the piece myself at first but really came to love it after realizing what all these crazy techniques serve in terms of story-telling, so I'd be happy to get the audience acquainted with this before we shock them :)
Only the words themselves mean what they say by Kate Soper brings both flutist and soprano to the edge of their abilities, requiring the flutist to also alternate between flute, bass flute and piccolo. The audience can look forward to new, unfamiliar and perhaps challenging sounds, but it is clear that only such a piece could bring musical justice to the introspective yet quirky texts by Lydia Davis upon which the piece is based. Both musicians act as one unit as they try to tell - and process themselves - the story being told. Techniques such as gibberish, extreme breathiness and even ventriloquism serve not as mere theatrical stunts but rather to bring out raw emotions like rejection and heartbreak. Soper invites the audience into her own unique world of sounds which transport one into the mind of the narrator, unrestrained by conceptions of “traditional” music performance.
For a preview of this special work, listen to this 2017 recording from Marlboro featuring the same two brilliant young musicians who are performing the work for us.
PCMS Erik Petersons interviewed soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbons in September and you can read his interview here.