Empyrean Ensemble

“Preconcert Discussion from 1:15–1:45 pm with composer Yu-Hui Chang and Empyrean director Sam Nichols.”

Program

Harrison Birtwistle: Crowd
Jennifer Ellis, solo harp

This piece is an exploration of resonance, and in the essential nature of the earliest harps. Crowd (etymologically related to the Celtic words crwth, cruit, and crot) was the English term used for instruments of the lyre class, and ultimately for a frame harp from pre-Christian to medieval times.

Maria A. Niederberger: New Work PREMIERE

Yu-Hui Chang: Germinate WEST COAST PREMIERE

Commissioned by Boston Musica Viva (BMV), the oldest professional ensemble in the United States dedicated to contemporary music, Yu-Hui Chang’s Germinate was written for their 50th anniversary in 2019. It is a tribute to BMV for its contribution to the music of our time. Scored for flute, piccolo, bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion. A former UC Davis faculty member, Chang now teaches at Brandeis University.

Jonathan Harvey: Still

Portia Njoku, tuba and UC Davis lecturer in music

Written for solo tuba and electronics, the soloist improvises around a series of eight chords. With these, they gradually build up a sustained background of reverberations.

Lee Hyla: Polish Folk Songs

Another BMV commission, Hyla’s Polish Folk Songs notably uses the melodica and organ to evoke melodies the composer heard in Zakopane, Poland. Hyla notes, “In my composition I have taken a number of the songs commonly heard in the area and recombined them, allowing them to bump heads as well as interact peacefully.”