Project: Personae
The live performance of Personae swings between moods; or persona. It has several components. First, the film which was made in collaboration with Jacob Landis-Eigsti. The film is in the form of the poetic sestina which includes six tercets and six overall sections. The concert is also in this form. The concert includes film from Stan Brakage’s The Dante Quartet, two commissioned musical works, and a poem by Jesse Nathan.
Personae, Leslee Smucker, violin
Printemps…George Antheil
“Persona” Stanza One…Jesse Nathan
Madame trop vos me spremes…Le Duc de Bougogne, Ezra Pound, editeur
Fiddle Music, First Suite…Ezra Pound
Stanza Two…Jesse Nathan
Sestina: Altaforte…Ezra Pound
Stanza Three…Jesse Nathan
Sestina (after Pound)…JP Merz
Stanza Four…Jesse Nathan
Plainte pour la Mort du roi Richard Coeur de Lion…Gaucelm Faidit (XII siècle), transcribed for violin by Ezra Pound
The Logical Conclusion…Egemen Kesikli
Al Poco Giorno…Ezra Pound
Stanza Five…Jesse Nathan
Nocturne…Kaija Saariaho
Xenia…Louis Andriessen
I-Sarabande
II-Caccia
III-Song
Stanza Six…Jesse Nathan
Works by Ezra Pound edited by Robert Hughes
“Persona” recited by Lana Smucker
Personae film by Jacob Landis-Eigsti
Personae: Album
This album is divided into “tercets” or groups of three works that include a musical work by Ezra Pound, a stanza from Jesse Nathan’s poem “Personae,” (specifically written for this project) and a contemporary musical work. My intention is for the recording to be one cohesive listening experience, allowing each piece to be a comment on the previous and a transition into the next.
Released by Gega New in 2017, and distributed by Naxos Direct.
Buy the album
David Saemann review from fanfare
Colin Clarke Review from Fanfare
"The CD’s sound engineering is excellent. Personae is a bewitching collection carefully chosen to elicit the poetic qualities in music and words. I found it captivating from the first time I heard it, and now at my fifth listening it strikes me as even more meaningful. I believe it stimulates the hearer to think of the genesis of music and poetic speech, and for this quality must be highly recommended." --David Saemann, Fanfare
