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Wilson's Ivory-bill (2000)
Lee Hyla:
"Wilson's Ivory-bill is a piece for baritone voice, piano, and a field recording of an ivory-billed woodpecker. The recording used was made in 1935 in Louisiana by a team of scientists from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. The Ivory-bill, the largest North American woodpecker at 20 inches in length, is presumed to be extinct -- the last fully confirmed sighting in the US was in the early 1940's, although unconfirmed sightings continue to be reported every 20 years or so (as recently as April 1, 1999). There was a confirmed sighting in Cuba in 1986. Deforesting, hunting, and its own particularly stubborn inability to adapt are considered the main reasons for its demise.
"The text of Wilson's Ivory-bill is taken from Alexander Wilson's American Ornithology, which was published in several volumes between 1804 and 1814. Wilson was a transplanted Scotsman who traveled in the eastern United States painting and chronicling birds and their habitat several years before Audubon's better known work in this field. Numerous birds, in fact, are named after Wilson, including Wilson's Warbler and Wilson's Storm Petrel. The text describes Wilson shooting, but only wounding the Ivory-bill, taking it to his hotel room in order to paint it for inclusion in his catalogue, and the dire consequences which resulted. It also conveys a sense of Wilson's evolving and intense relationship to the bird. The music also attempts to engage the performers in evolving relationships, at times quite separate and at times unified. The first ensemble appearance of the woodpecker occurs about halfway through the piece with a duo for piano and Ivory-bill which lasts about a minute. This is followed by a series of duos and trios as the action heats up, and these in turn are followed by a return to the voice-piano duo. The piece concludes with a coda for solo piano."
Text for Wilson's Ivory-bill:
Excerpt from American Ornithology (1808-1814) by Alexander Wilson
The first place I observed this bird at, when on my way to the South, was about twelve miles north of Wilmington in North Carolina. There I found the bird from which [my drawing] was taken. This bird was only wounded slightly in the wing, and, on being caught, uttered a loudly reiterated and most piteous note, exactly resembling the violent crying of a young child; which terrified my horse so, as nearly to have cost me my life. It was distressing to hear it. I carried it with me in the chair, under cover, to Wilmington. In passing through the streets, its affecting cries surprised every one within hearing, particularly the females, who hurried to the doors and windows with looks of alarm and anxiety. I drove on, and, on arriving at the piazza of the hotel, where I intended to put up, the landlord came forward, and a number of other persons who happened to be there, all equally alarmed at what they heard; this was greatly increased by my asking, whether he could furnish me with accommmodations for myself and my baby. The man looked blank and foolish, while the others stared with still greater astonishment. After diverting myself for a minute or two at their expense, I drew my Woodpecker from under the cover, and a general laugh took place. I took him up stairs and locked him up in my room, while I went to see my horse taken care of. In less than an hour, I returned, and, on opening the door, he set up the same distressing shout, which now appeared to proceed from grief that he had been discovered in his attempts at escape. He had mounted along the side of the window, nearly as high as the ceiling, a little below which he had begun to break through. The bed was covered with large pieces of plaster; the lath was exposed for at least fifteen inches square, and a hole, large enough to admit the fist, opened to the weather-boards; so that, in less than another hour, he would certainly have succeeded in making his way through. I now tied a string round his leg, and, fastening it to the table, again left him. I wished to preseve his life, and had gone off in search of suitable food for him. As I reascended the stairs, I heard him again hard at work, and on entering, had the mortification to perceive that he had almost entiredly ruined the mahogany table to which he was fastened, and on which he had wreaked his whole vengeance. While engaged in taking the drawing, he cut me severely in several places, and, on the whole, displayed such a noble and unconquerable spirit, that I was frequently tempted to restore him to his native woods. He lived with me nearly three days, but refused all sustenance, and I witnessed his death with regret.
Scott Wheeler on composer Lee Hyla (b. 1952):
"His music finds common ground between the postwar American expressionism of Stefan Wolpe and Elliott Carter and the avant garde jazz style of musicians such as Cecil Taylor, also integrating aspects of rock music, especially punk ... A meticulous attention to pitch organization and dramatic structure allows raucousness to achieve elegance."
Hyla was born in Niagara Falls, New York, and raised in Greencastle, Indiana. He earned degrees in composition at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where he now heads the composition department. Hyla has written for such ensembles as Kronos Quartet (with poet Allen Ginsberg), Lydian String Quartet, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Speculum Musicae, Triple Helix, and many solo artists. He has received commissions from the Fromm, Guggenheim, Koussevitzky, and Naumburg Foundations, Chamber Music America, and Meet the Composer/ Reader's Digest, and honors including the Stoeger Prize from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Goddard Lieberson Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Rome Prize.
Hyla's recent projects include At Suma Beach (2003), based on the Japanese Noh play Matsukaze, commissioned by the Japan Society of New York for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; Zurek (2004) for House Blend, the resident ensemble of The Kitchen in New York City; and Amore Scaduto (2004) for violin and cello, premiered by the Network for New Music and Phrenic New Ballet in Philadelphia. In 2004 he was resident composer at the American Academy in Rome, and in 2005 he was a composition fellow at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France. Hyla's music has been recorded on the Avant, CRI, New World, Nonesuch, and Tzadik labels.
related websites
http://www.leehyla.com
Baritone Mark McSweeney lives outside of Boston, Massachusetts and likes to spend time with his family, play with his dogs and kids, and work with wood and rock.
Pianist Judith Gordon gave her New York recital debut at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's 'Introductions' series. She has performed as a soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Civic Symphony of Boston, and Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Among Gordon's many colleagues in recital and chamber music are cellists Andre Diaz, Yo-Yo Ma, and Rhonda Rider; vocalists William Hite, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, and Lisa Saffer; the Borromeo and Lydian String Quartets; and many members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She has participated in numerous United States music festivals, and has been featured in concerts and on recordings with Boston Musica Viva, Collage New Music, and Essential Music. Gordon is a graduate of the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts.
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