“For the Union Dead” by Gabriel Kahane.

Rob, CJ, Hideaki and Nadia had performed and/or recorded with Gabriel Kahane prior to the creation of “For the Union Dead.”  Kahane was one of the first people to be informed of the existence of yMusic and decided the group’s instrumentation would suit his plans for a commission from the Verbier Festival.  The nine-movement song-cycle features the composer on vocals, piano and banjo and utilizes two of yMusic’s instrument doubles, electric guitar and bass clarinet.  The piece was partially premiered in 2008 at Ars Nova and received its first full performance at (le) Poisson Rouge in January 2009.

In the composer’s words:

“In making the transition from singer-songwriter to art-songwriter, I felt drawn to Robert Lowell’s texts for their preoccupation with broken things and the attendant idiosyncratic operation of memory. Each of the nine poems that I have set deals, in its own way, with nostalgia, memory, or dissolution– qualities that I have always sought to evoke in my own lyrics. In forging a musical vocabulary for the piece, I drew on various textures and harmonic worlds that seemed to suggest New England, a region with which Lowell and his work are inextricably linked. The interplay between folk music and a nascent (for me) modernism was not so much a calculated juxtaposition as it was a stream-of-consciousness response to the various colors that emerge from Lowell’s stunning poems.

“For the Union Dead” was written for yMusic, with specific attention devoted to their ability to move effortlessly between American vernacular forms and more traditional Western concert music.”

The concept of yMusic was vaguely formed upstairs at Frank’s Cocktail Lounge in Fort Greene, February ‘08.  The occasion was an after-party for The National’s “Brooklyn Next” concert at BAM Opera House.  Rob had been hired to play violin, write a new arrangement for “Wasp Nest” and adapt a handful of songs for small chamber ensemble.  CJ dropped by to guest on “Fake Empire,” a song he had helped record before heading off on a one-year tour with Rufus Wainwright.  The two found themselves on the same stage, playing on different songs and standing sixty feet apart.  Something seemed amiss. One night, CJ even wore Rob’s fedora and no one noticed. Everyone felt sad.  In the aftermath, a series of meetings, emails and expensive meals helped launch yMusic.

Fast forward eighteen months and The National’s Dessner twins are preparing for a series of multimedia chamber music concerts featuring new compositions, guest singers (Kim&Kelley Deal, Shara Worden, Matt Berninger) and a video piece by Matthew Ritchie. Rob will be playing violin&guitar, co-writing arrangements and music directing.  Mike, Nadia, CJ and Hideaki will be among the featured performers. (Alex will be on tour with the NY Phil and sorely missed.)

Movements from “Enjoy Your Rabbit” by Sufjan Stevens

CJ, Rob, Alex and Hideaki have all worked extensively with Sufjan Stevens live and on record.  Here are some fun tidbits that will interest even the casual reader:
1) Rob recorded violin tracks for “Illinois” in Marla Hansen’s Washington Heights living room.
2) The “Avalanche” tour was the first occasion in which CJ and Rob knowingly shared a stage.
3) CJ created a brass quintet (including Hideaki) for the ‘06 European tour and between Sufjan and Antony & the Johnsons, CJ and Rob held court at The Barbican for 3 consecutive days.
4) The “BQE” concerts were the second series of shows Rob played at BAM that inspired him to start a chamber ensemble.  Alex’s shredding on the flutey flute was eye-opening.
5) As a founding member of Osso, Rob helped develop string quartet arrangements of Sufjan’s electronic album, “Enjoy Your Rabbit,” penning three of the movements himself.

Conclusion: While the pieces work beautifully for string quartet, the sonic palette of the original cries out for more voices and colors, and to this end, Rob is adapting his arrangements for yMusic.

In an effort to create repertoire for itself, yMusic is turning to its friends and neighbors.  The Brooklyn Library concert in December is the initial target for writing activity as the group plans to unveil a full-length concert program to close 2009.  Maxim Moston, violinist and arranger, has agreed to tailor us a version of Arvo Part’s “Spiegel in Spiegel.”  Gabriel Kahane is creating a new pocket concerto to feature CJ’s brassiness.  Dick Connette, producer of the new Loudon Wainwright record, “High Wide and Handsome,” is cooking up a new piece of contemporary Americana.

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