Instrumentation: 2(A.Fl.)2.(E.H).2(BClr.)2(Cbsn.)-3.1.1.0-1perc-hrp-MezzoSop-str.
Duration: ca. 27 minutes
Using the theme of wine and its many poetic meanings as a point of departure, The Clustered Vine is a meditation on the grief of loss, and the memories that help us to live more at ease with such loss. Though commissioned in memory of a dearly beloved spouse and mother, this work was also inspired by the feelings of loss that I and so many experienced during the pandemic lockdowns and the continuing uncertainty as the world tries to move forward.
Scored for mezzo-soprano and a medium sized orchestra the texts in this five movement work are from Euripides’s Baccahe, the 14th-century Andalusian Sufi poet Al-Shushtari, Rainer Maria Rilke, the early 20th-century Belgian poet Marie Nizet, and the 7th-century Chinese poet Li Po.
The world-premiere is scheduled for August of 2023. Details will be announced early in 2023.