Lisa Bielawa Creates Musical Poetry at The Stone

Composer and Vocalist Lisa Bielawa says she is happiest when she's working with artistic collaborators who are friends. That sentiment is reflected in Lisa's first-ever residency at The Stone this week, where many of the performers are musicians with whom she's worked repeatedly over the years. Bielawa has chosen to use her residency to present a retrospective of her work: from Summer Music for two sopranos, written when she was 14, to a brand new work for cellist Joshua Roman.  

Last night's performance showcased Lisa's relationship with three talented musicians from the contemporary music scene, performing a variety of works inspired by poetry. Cellist Eric Jacobsen opened with Synopsis #6: Why Did you Lie to Me? from Bielawa’s Chance Encounter (2007), originally written for soprano and Jacobsen's chamber orchestra The Knights. Jacobsen played the solo with hard plucking intensity, the resonance amplified by The Stone's bunker-like space.

Next, Bielawa recited an excerpt from Rilke's celebrated prose poem The Lay of the Love and Death, interspersed with emotional solos by the brilliant violinist (and brother of Eric) Colin Jacobsen. Jacobsen's fingering was fluid to the point of being invisible, with an exotic, vaguely Persian sound giving way to a more friendly, down-home feel. 

Graffiti dell'amante for string quartet and soprano was originally inspired by Roland Barthes’ collection of poems A Lover’s Discourse: Fragments, which features various declarations of romantic love. Here, Lisa sang the brief poem "Devotion" in which a male poet unabashedly declares his love for another man. She was accompanied by both Colin and Eric, who premiered the work with their string quartet Brooklyn Rider. 

Pianist Bruce Levingston ended the program delivered an emotional performance of Bielawa's Elegy-Portrait for solo piano (2008), which he commissioned in memory of mezzo-soprano Alexandra Montano, a friend of both Bielawa's and Levingston's who died unexpectedly at the age of 46. (Bielawa, who turns 46 herself this year, said that the work holds deep meaning for her.) The music, which lasted some 20 minutes, felt vaguely French, not unlike some of the more dramatic mediations by Debussy or Messiaen. It ended with three heart-stopping notes on the high end of the keyboard, sending a chill throughout the room. 

Lisa's residency at The Stone continues through Sunday, including two performances of excerpts from her opera-in-progress Vireo and a selection of songs accompanied by Joshua Roman (cello) and Evelyne Luest (piano). Tickets available at the door; more information on The Stone's website.