Imaginary Timescapes: Vocal Sounds of Karen Siegel

Innovative composer and vocalist Karen Siegel will present a concert of her works for voice and string quartet, vocal quartet, and soprano duo with electronics on February 16th, 8pm, at the Tenri Cultural Institute (43A W. 13th St., New York, NY) as part of the Composers Now Festival.  Proceeds from the concert will benefit the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund.

Titled “Imaginary Timescapes: Vocal Sounds from Imagined Places in Unknown Times,” the performance will feature Ms. Siegel with vocalists Phillip Cheah, Elizabeth Derham, Suzanne Schwing, and Dennis Tobenski; and the Pur di Muro Quartet (Ms. Derham, Isabel Hagen, Sofia Nowik, and Alex Shiozaki).  Tickets, $20, are available at https://www.artful.ly/store/events/716.

The vocal quartet will perform three of Ms. Siegel’s works for a capella mixed chorus.  The first two are companion pieces—Confessions from the Blogosphere (2006) is a humorous piece drawn from selections from on-line blogs, while Obsessions from the Twittersphere (2009) pokes fun at ridiculous tweets.  The last choral work, Signifying Nothing, (2010) fragments and re-assembles the “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” soliloquy from Macbeth.  The music and text ebbs in and out of existence, only briefly expressing the text so that it can be heard and understood.

On the program are two song cycles by Ms. Siegel for voice and string quartet.  The first, the theatrical Reflections on Espionage, sets poetry by John Hollander from his novel-in-verse of the same title.  Each of the three songs in this cycle is from the perspective of a different spy.   These jazz-influenced atonal songs bring an element of humanity to the controversial subjects of terrorism and treason.

A second song cycle by Ms. Siegel, October in Galicia, is in a style that reflects the influence of folk music.  The surreal text comes from Czech poet Ewald Murrer’s The Diary of Mr. Pinke (translated into English by Alicie Pist’ková.)  Murrer’s poems put a fantastical twist on village life in the historic region that now lies within Ukraine and Poland.  Both song cycles will be premiered in new arrangements (Reflections on Espionage was originally composed in 2005 for soprano and piano; and October in Galicia was originally composed in 2009 for soprano and chamber ensemble).

Finally, also on the program will be Nigun (2012) for two sopranos and electronics.  Taking its title from Jewish folk melodies without words, in this piece Ms. Siegel and Ms. Derham sing folk-like melodies in shifting meters and rhythms while rhythmicized recordings of children playing weave in and out of the live voices.  

Ms. Siegel explores the limits of contemporary vocal and choral composition, using fragmented texts, polyrhythm, and non-traditional harmonies and textures.  More information about Ms. Siegel and excerpts of her music can be found at www.karensiegel.com.