Night of Blue Magic, a story in haiku
Composer: Zae Munn
Libretto: Karen Hesse
Contact: zmunn@comcast.net
Composed: 2012
Synopsis
A woman is held against her will in a secret place in the
center of a lake. A horseman, assigned to guard her and prevent her escape, may
also be the man to whom she has been sold. The woman’s dreams give her a chance
at escape, but the horseman intercedes. A terrible battle ensues as the horseman
seeks to destroy the power of her dreams. Both falter as they “drop into the
soundless lake.” But the struggle and seeming defeat has transformed the
horseman, and they are now able to encounter each other free of the past. The opera ends with the hope of a new
beginning.
Duration: 15 minutes
Tanya Elias, soprano
Mark Lindsey, baritone
Chorus: Priscilla Lindsey, Emily Flanagan, Jason Flanagan, Christopher Wicks
Deborah Butler, piano
_______________________________
Lauber Lieder (1994)
Composer: Zae Munn
Notes
The four songs are
titled The Slowly Opening Rose, I Have Washed And Buttoned Up, Geese
Along The Flowage, and The Sermon. The texts, by Peg Lauber, are all
concerned with the theme of coping with and overcoming the burdens and
challenges of life: the rose blooms but to die and renew; the child uses
the pattern of daily life to cope with the loss of her mother; the
chick struggles to rise from the flowage to go with the flock; and, the
feeling, rhythm and power of a sermon newly inspire us.
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Seven Songs on Poems of Therese of Lisieux
--from the opera I Know That God is Good
Composer: Christopher M. Wicks
Libretto: from the autobiogrphy of Therese of Lisieux
Contact: christophermw@wavecable.com
Composed: 2010-2011
Synopsis
The full version of this work alternates seven songs on poems by St. Therese (1873-1897) with spoken passages drawn from her autobiography, "Story of a Soul." The composer chose and translated the passages from the autobiography according to how essential they seem to the saint's identity and story, and placed them in chronological order. The seven songs then reflect on the themes raised in the readings: the inspiring power of God's creation, the redeeming power of Therese's suffering in the face of her illness and early death, her devotion to the Carmelite order and to Jesus and Mary, and her overwhelming sense of the imminence and omnipresence of the love of God.
Duration: 30 minutes
Alison Seeber, soprano
Deborah Butler, piano
Jenny Gleason, cello
Brett Randolph, trumpet
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