Concert 7: program notes

The World  Premiere of Brandon composer Kenneth Nichols, The River Merchant’s Wife: A Letter for low  voice, flute and piano will feature Sarah Hall (soprano), Alla Turbanova (piano), and Nancy Hennen (flute). 
Here are a few lines about The River Merchant’s Wife
Ezra Pound’s River Merchant’s Wife is an English adaptation of an original poem by the 8th century Chinese poet Li Po, and reflects the American writer’s deep interest in Chinese literature and culture. The poem follows life of  an innocent young  girl with bangs playing by her gate, to her arranged marriage at age 14, and  through her 16th year, by which time  her initial shyness of her  young husband is transformed into total devotion. In the second part of the poem, it is her husband’s turn to feel awkward, lingering by the gate before setting out on a business trip on the river. The opening music under the poem serves  both places , and the first musical climax, underscoring the wife’s blossoming love, serves at the end to express the deep emotion in her heart as she writes ,in a matter -of -fact manner, of meeting her husband up- stream on his journey home.
best  wishes,
Ken Nichols