World premiere: Feb. 26, 2018 Mise-en Place, Brooklyn, NY; Ensemble Mise-en, Moon Young Ha, conductor
As the Circle Opens to Infinity…. was written for ensemble mise-en and premiered by them in New York City followed by a subsequent presentation at the 2018 June-in-Buffalo Festival. The work takes its cue from the first part of the vast poetic cycle, Trilogy, by the poet H. D. (a.k.a. Hilda Doolittle). This first part, entitled The Walls Do Not Fall, describes London during the blitz of World War II through the eyes of the poet, and projects a sense of initial despair, but also hope and determination. The composition itself attempts to capture this wide emotional range through music that is alternately ruminative and restless. There is an extended reflective opening; a second steadier section, though the feeling is of resignation at first, then a gradually building in intensity; a slow, delicate middle section and finally a driving conclusion tempered by a wistful coda.