On December 6, American opera singer Briana Hunter (“…a mezzo-soprano of astounding vocal and dramatic range.” — Jennifer Goltz, Opera News) will perform at Merkin Hall in New York City, accompanied by pianist Eric Sedgwick. The program includes the world premiere of the song cycle “Dispersed and Transcendental Chants, Op. 18”, commissioned by Hunter especially for the occasion and composed by minimalist Julián De La Chica and a selection of works by Chausson, Price, Moore, Adams, Gordon, Arlen and Sondheim. The recital is part of the Tuesday Matinees cycle and is presented by the KAUFMAN MUSIC CENTER.
Briana Hunter has been hailed by Opera News as “a mesmerizing mezzo-soprano with a fiery theatrical presence and dynamic vocalism.” She debuted in the past season at the Metropolitan Opera as Ruby/Woman Sinner in a new production of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones, followed by her Carnegie Hall debut with The Orchestra Now in a performance of Julia Perry’s Stabat Mater. She reprises her critically acclaimed portrayal of Mother in Jeanine Tesori’s Blue in February at Seattle Opera and with Pittsburgh Opera in April. On the concert stage, she debuts at the Madison Symphony Orchestra for Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, as well as the Charlotte Symphony for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
But this December 6th, Hunter will put aside the operatic stage and the orchestral accompaniment to take us into the intimacy of the recital format, a unique experience —in my opinion, that offers you the possibility of connecting with the music and its performers, in a very special way—almost spiritual.
The program begins with the world premiere of “Dispersed and Transcendental Chants, Op. 18”, a cycle of 12 pieces, (includes a prelude and a closing), composed by Julián De La Chica, and commissioned by Briana Hunter, especially for the recital. The texts, also written by De La Chica, are based on his exploration of the African diaspora and include poems written by Hunter herself and artist Rae De Vine. “This cycle explores the African diaspora and its cultural, religious and spiritual tradition, from my perspective as a composer. In the musical construction, I tried to find an architecture that, while maintaining my musical aesthetic, would represent different sounds that would evoke the African heritage, but applied to our contemporaneity. The African cultural and ancestral richness is immeasurable, and my idea was to build a catalytic process, almost like a rite or a spiritual practice, where music leads the audience, through that transit and path. After meeting Briana for the first time, and listening to her work, I realized that her figure in the cycle would represent not only female empowerment, but also a maternal, protective part that unites different moments and spaces, and that represents the home, mother earth, our home, and at the same time, that African legacy.” says De La Chica.
Julián De La Chica is a Colombian composer, pianist and producer based in Brooklyn, NY. He is also a visual artist (he has been awarded with two films directed by him) and also an author. He considers himself a minimalist, but his concept also falls into his philosophy of perceiving existence as a path that must commune with a spiritual and self-reflective part. In 2020, during his performance in the Beginner’s Ear’ series, a program presented by WQXR and moderated by New York Times contributing critic Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, De La Chica asked: “How can we talk about what is happening around us, if we do not know, what is happening within us? We need silence.” For De La Chica, silence is the key, and that is why his cycles explore silence in a very accentuated way.
His work has become known in recent years on the music scene due to his constant idea of leading the public to experience intimacy and reflection. De La Chica proposes in his music very personal and raw themes, also every day, and tells them in an elegant and eloquent way.
Reading about his music, I found something that seemed very accurate in the definition of De La Chica’s music. In 2018, after iconic pianist Lisa Moore (musical leader and widely known for her vast list of records discography) released De La Chica’s Preludes, critic Stephen Mould said:“I will also add that I was not initially receptive to what I heard. However, at a certain point, I fell under the spell of this music and came to the conclusion that I was in the presence of a composer who is an extraordinarily deep thinker, someone able to take a listener into mysterious by-ways using very slender means.” I think that is precisely what happens when you listen to De La Chica’s music, and that is that when you enter his world, which often seems simple or intuitive, you begin to find an infinite number of universes that come to you spontaneously, where simplicity it hides, to mutate towards new situations, deeper, perhaps enigmatic and much more complex than they appear at first.
Perhaps, this is what Briana has wanted to capture in the program for her recital next Tuesday, and it is perhaps this combination between the aesthetic minimalism of De La Chica and her empowered vision of giving a voice to new proposals and musical explorations. “I have wanted to commission something new for a long time. I generally don’t do many recitals because I often feel we are just recycling the same beautiful lovely art songs we all adore, but I wanted to see what other subjects and styles could be explored. What voices are still missing? In the rituals in art and in everyday life, how can we honor and hold space for those seldom heard from or recognized in classical spaces? I believe this is a step. And it’s not just about romanticizing or performing trauma but finding ways to connect our past, present, and future. Music has that unique ability to manipulate and affect time itself. We are everyone who came before us and everyone who will be. I think this cycle really achieves this effect. The fact that so much of myself is included makes it even more special, and I hope others will find themselves in it as well.” Says Hunter.
According to De La Chica, deconstruct in the same way the rites, beliefs, to promote them in our daily lives, not as something distant cultural, but on the contrary, present and active elements. “Briana’s voice, powerful, vigorous and with leadership, makes it possible to take the cycle to another level. It is accepting the call and the invitation of the priestess, who invites you to an internal exploration, from her perspective, but open to the perceptions of each listener.”
Briana Hunter plans to record the full cycle Op. 18 in early 2023. The album is scheduled to be released same year under the Brooklyn label Irreverence Group Music.
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