Elysia Ann Arntzen, DMA
Composer, Soprano
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for The Cask of Amontillado, click here.
Israfel is written specifically for my own voice, and the poetry I have chosen involves angels and demons, stars and moons. I have arranged these seven poems to tell a story of a dreamer, who imagines fantasy worlds. First, the dreamer is introduced, as someone who never understood the other children because she was preoccupied with her own imagination. Then, she tells of her trip to “Dream-Land” whose inhabitants include the demon, Night, the Evening Star, and the Moon. The dreamer muses that the Moon is a cold and distant queen, while the Evening Star is kinder and warmer. The dreamer then describes “Fairy-Land,” where there are many moons that revolve around the world like hands on a clock, and where butterflies occasionally visit, carrying moonlight back to earth on their wings. The dreamer stops to reflect on silence, which is both peaceful and unnerving, and for a brief moment, she thinks about loved ones who have died. She muses that the solitude one feels while reflecting on these loved ones is not lonely because she is surrounded by their spirits. Once again, the dreamer turns her attention to the sky, and the angel of music, Israfel. She muses that one's station in life has a profound effect on their talents and opportunities. If she were an angel, and Israfel were mortal, then she would be much more talented than him.
To Whom? is a collection of poems with blank spaces in the titles. The idea for this cycle is inspired by Aaron Copland’s Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson. This cycle is less of a story than the other two, and more a collection of moods a person might go through while in love. The first two songs describe new love that is worshipful, and overdramatic. Then, after the lovers are separated, the only thing that makes him happy is to think of his lost love. Soon, his dismal mood is lifted by a kind “passer by.” The fifth song describes the feeling of being so in love that words aren’t enough to express it. Finally, the lover expresses his feelings for this new person, telling them to never change who they are.
This piece was written in 2013. It is for women's chorus and string quartet. The melodic material is taken from the folk tune "The Ash Grove." The actual tune is treated as a motive, with fragments appearing at various pitch levels and in various modes. The text, however, does not come from the folk tune, but Edgar Allan Poe's poem "A Dream Within A Dream." The inspiration to connect these two things came from a line in "The Ash Grove" - "the friends of my childhood again are before me." I have always enjoyed the supernatural feeling of that line, imagining ghosts from the past who are not really there. The harmonies created, by weaving differently colored threads from a familiar tune, are unexpected but pleasant. Special thanks to my sister Kelsey Arntzen for playing the strings parts and recording our demo, as well as singing with my sister Megan Arntzen and myself.
Grief is a programmatic one-movement suite for four-piece rock band. Each section of the piece represents a different stage of the grieving process, as outlined by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. First is "Denial," with a slow and steady pulse which quickens into "Anger," which is fast and loud. "Bargaining" consists of a few drum set solos which are interrupted by the rest of the ensemble, creating a musical conversation. "Depression" is the slowest section in the dark locrian mode, but once it ends, "Acceptance" changes the mood and grows in volume and texture until the end. Grief is meant to be both a concert piece and a rock piece that can be played and enjoyed by both classically-trained musicians and amateurs alike.
Butterflies in the Stomach was written for solo horn in Fall 2011. I wanted to evoke that nervous feeling that most middle schoolers (and some adults) get when they first develop a crush on someone. The longer notes in the piece swell and relax to represent taking a calm, deep breath. These gestures are interrupted by the “butterflies,” passages of short notes that jump up and down. The dynamics change frequently and range from piano to fortissimo, just as a person’s feelings range from being completely hidden to being worn on their sleeves. To further enhance the jumpy, nervous mood of the piece, I use abrupt meter changes, including a few measures of 7/16, and one measure with an added sixteenth note, which throw it off balance.
Tomorrow was written early in 2009 for a Renaissance-themed sextet that never actually got off the ground. The text is from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and is spoken by Macbeth after his wife dies. I started the piece slow and somber, with a faster and more passionate middle section to express anger and frustration, and then return to a somber mood at the end. Tonally, this is very simple because of the group it was written for. The recording uses 6-part choir rather than sextet.
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