Asiniig - Michael Welsh
Welsh was inspired by a poem by Louise Erdrich, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. The preface for the poem, “Asiniig,” begins: “The Ojibwe word for stone, asin, is animate. Stones are alive. They are addressed as grandmothers and grandfathers. The universe began with a conversation between stones.”
Welsh takes the voices of these stones as the primary musical impetus. “The stones communicate by whispering, speaking in rhythm, and singing — sometimes all three modes of delivery at once,” he says.
Welsh says he's trying to fuse this Native American concept with the textures and timbres of the Baroque instruments.
“The contrast between the choir, percussion and strings opens up huge sonic possibilities,” says Welsh. A versatile composer, he’s versed in both classical and commercial music. Ray-Carter asked for a piece that was sophisticated and accessible, and she describes his work as “highly expressive.”
“To me, [this work] reflects the stones as the original natives of this land in the mind of the poet,” says Ray-Carter. “These stones have spirit and they communicate with one another.”
I am silent - Anthony J. Maglione
"I Am Silent" was commissioned in 2018 by the Kansas City Baroque Consortium as part of their New Music for Old Instruments commissioning initiative. It was conceived as a companion piece to Jean-Phillip Rameau's Quam dilecta tabernacula, performed on the same program.
The composer writes: "I Am Silent" is a setting of a poem by famed Sufi poet Jalal al-din Rumi (1207–1273). I chose this text because it complements the setting of Psalm 84 in Rameau’s grand motet, "Quam dilecta tabernacula", also performed on the program. The final verse of Rameau’s work translates to ‘O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee,’ while Rumi writes, ‘I am silent. Speak Thou, O Soul of Soul of Soul, from desire of whose face every atom grew articulate.’ I believe the Rumi poem illustrates this ‘trust’ in the almighty referenced in Psalm 84 by being silent and waiting for a higher power to provide answers. That is why I chose to set "I Am Silent" with the same voicing and instrumentation as the Rameau motet.”
Text: I am Silent, Jalal al-din Rumi, From the "Divani Shamz i Tabriz”,
“I am silent. Speak Thou, O Soul of Soul of Soul, From desire of whose Face every atom grew articulate.”