saudades for...

for violin and harp (2014)

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Duration: 9 minutes

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Movements:

1. for... the shadow of a dream

2. for... the shadow of the mother, the shadow of the father

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Program Note:

"Saudade" is a Portuguese word for a compound emotion that includes deep longing for someone or something lost, a desire akin to nostalgia and melancholy. This feeling can be for some past thing or a thing that never was at all. Saudade is an intrinsic part the Portuguese and Brazilian soul, and though I was born in the US into a family that had left behind its heritage for assimilation into a new country, saudade is an emotional state that I understand.

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saudades for…  is a pair of songs-without-words for violin and harp that were written during a difficult transitional period in my life. The music explores minor modes and lyrical melodies and takes inspiration from Cantigas de amigo of medieval Iberia, modern-day Fado, and Mendelssohn’s Lieder ohne Worte.

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Premiere:

Alexey Shabalin, violin; Hyunjung Choi, harp

Providence Premieres New Music Festival

Providence Art Club, Providence, RI

May 29, 2014

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