LUnar Effects

PROGRAM NOTE:

Lunar Effects (Effetti Lunari) – for Voice, Violin, and Wind Ensemble

An exploration of the effect of lunar light on Earth's creatures. From moths to marine creatures to mammals - moonlight casts its magic and alters living things with rich varieties of atmospheres, textures, and movements. The full moon’s effects range from the tidal to the emotional – it calls sandhoppers to emerge on beaches, coral to spawn, and poets to wax. The music will be full of dexterity and colorful interplay between the soloists and the ensemble.
Poetry is from Izumi, Yeats, Shumaker, and Levertov. The voice will be used instrumentally as well as with the texts. 

Duration: 25-30’ (5-6 movements)

Instrumentation:
Soprano solo, Violin solo 
Wind Ensemble (small to medium-sized):  
4 fl (dbl pics, alto fl), 1 ob, 1 Eng Hn, 4 clar, 1 bs clar, 1 bsn, 1 cbsn, 4 saxes, 2 hns, 2 tpts, 2 tbn, 2 Euph, 1 tuba, 1 harp, 3 perc, cbs). 

Commissioned by a consortium of wind ensembles and individuals, Lunar Effects will premiere in Italy in Spring, 2027, at the Conservatorio Messina (Sicily), conducted by Lorenzo Della Fonte. 
Yale University will present the US premiere, conducted by Tom Duffy (date TBA).

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Ten years ago, Airi Yoshioka commissioned a work for the 2 of us (voice and violin). I found inspiration from a Japanese folk tale about a child from the moon – to which I added poetry of Izumi, Yeats, and Saint-Exupéry. This piece, Mangetsu (trans: full moon), became the first of many works we have performed as a duo, 
Duo della Luna. Our repertoire includes a wide range of music from contemporary compositions to folk music to 20th century works by Milhaud and Bartók.

Expanding the palette of sound beyond the voice and violin, I feel that the wind ensemble will complement the soloists in a unique way, and I am excited to explore the timbral possibilities of this combination. (There are, to my knowledge, no concerti for voice and violin with large ensemble, including symphony/chamber orchestra).  

(Susan Botti)

1. Because the wind (Izumi)
2. sandhoppers
3. Where the wave of moonlight (Yeats)
4. Night Dive (Shumaker)
5. corals
6. Alchemy (Levertov)