Master's Recital — Sospiro — ECCE

In light of the pervasive yet productive insanity I’ve endured over the past few months, I wanted to give a belated shout out of thanks to all those who participated and played in my Master’s Recital last month. Over the course of the next few days I will be going though my site updating recordings with the most recent versions and performances.

Hot on the heels of my personal recital was the Sospiro concert on Nov. 17th, featuring my We Have Caused The Dawn for mixed chorus. The text for the work was excerpted from the last seven lines of a poem by my father, John H. Richards, and which is reproduced in it’s entirety below:

     In the cool, in the fox-tail light,
Stars still dimming,
     There, and there,
We slide, legs naked, brushing, from the down and satin bags
     And dress, cool as the air, fresh as the light.
Fasting, then we step along the creaking wooden path, gray,
     Lean as bone beneath our sandaled feet,
Into the rising ghosts of mist, which drift and swirl
     Above the fishy flowing spring.
The sunlight grazes, hot into the canyon, flashes
     On the ochre grass and burning green, vermillion,
Cobalt, through the standing brush and watercress.
     Tight, and tighter close we hold and as
The priest lifts up the sacred cup, I lift
     Your breasts.
The fire of our gaze, still and just,
     Lights brighter than the rising sun
And our embrace is cooler than the silent fish
     Beneath our feet.
We kiss, unite,
     The sky explodes
And we have caused the dawn.

— John H. Richards

ECCE’s Fall 2009 Concert in Beall Hall on Nov. 23rd, was equally successful. With only four, but potent pieces on the program (James Kallembach’s Two Movements for Cello and Piano, Makia Matsumura’s Hourglass for string quartet, Heather Figi’s Speak, and Mark Knippel’s Do I Really Have To Wait Until I’m Dead . . .) I believe the concert to be one of ECCE’s most successful showings of chamber music to date. In March of 2010 ECCE will be featuring Grayson Fiske as soloist in William Kraft’s Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra, . . . among other things Many more details to come.