September 11, 2022
3pm | The Big Barn
Free admission
Please note our Covid safety protocols below.

Susan Botti, composer/soprano
Mary Bonhag, soprano
Lucy Shelton, soprano
Dan Meyers, recorders, Irish flute, bagpipes, sackbut
Tyler Neidermayer, bass clarinet
Robert Eisenstein, viola da gamba
Alice Robbins, viola da gamba
Sam Zagnit, contrabass
Ayano Kataoka, percussion

Three characters sit by a river. They are sentient and content and intertwined – until their sanctuary is altered by the arrival of “messages” from outside their world. In an allegorical fashion, the story portrays the tension of uncontrolled expression within a community, as well as the healing power of compassion and love.

What of our culture resonates through our language? The texts (which I have created/compiled) are a mix of languages, sounds, "nonsense", and music – in layers of fragmented meaning. From a musical standpoint, this word setting is reminiscent of Medieval motets (which use multiple texts to convey layered meanings); operatic aria (which expresses heightened emotions with minimal text); and “grammelot” (the language of the Commedia dell’Arte).

The vocal writing incorporates aspects of motet, extended techniques, and bel canto, combining with instruments from different musical contexts, including early music and found sound… resulting in a sound world that is familiar yet otherworldly and “timeless”. The music has been created in collaboration with my adventurous and magical vocal cohorts, Lucy Shelton and Mary Bonhag, as well as instrumentalists from the Folger and 21st Century Consorts, and from Yellow Barn.

—Susan Botti

River Spirits is made possible by a commission from the Fromm Music Foundation.