I was honored to be asked by my friends in Decorah's premier recorder quartet, Dames' Rocket, to compose a piece for them to play at our annual community holiday/solstice/Christmas concert, Burning Bright (wonderfully organized and conducted by Otter Dreaming and Kathy Reed). The quartet's members are Ellen Macdonald, Suzanne Ernst, Beth Lynch, and Elyse Hawthorn and they were a pleasure to work with.
The recording above is a rehearsal tape from the afternoon of the concert (Saturday, December 21, 2013) so you can hear a voice or two and some pages turning but I really like the sound of the group in this performance. Many thanks to Dames' Rocket for allowing me to share it here.
The title of the piece is from the last line of an early poem by Wendell Berry, simply titled "A Music", which features a blind mandolin player. The music came first, there is no intentional correlation between the poem and the notes, I just like the title.
It was especially fun for me to write a piece for musicians that I know and admire, knowing exactly where it would be performed while knowing that many of my friends and local community members would hear it in the context of a larger concert of mostly choral music.
It's been a busy holiday season but I wanted to get this recording posted before the end of the year. I haven't included the score and parts but, if you are interested, you can contact me through the comments. I hope you enjoy the music!
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