Krljavestica!

I think I may have mentioned my newest project in a previous post or two (I'm way too lazy right now to go back and look) so I thought I'd post a little update on the progress of "Krljavestica!".  The first and most amazing thing I think I should write concerns my recent meeting with a CMU alumnus who was visiting to speak in a special seminar on careers in the arts.  He has found success as an actor (apparently leading in the new Mike Myers film yet to be released) and is a trained musician.  Anyway, we got on about discussing our various professional accomplishments and latest projects and I produced the score from under my arm (it's too big to fit in my bag, I have a weird fetish for giant scores) and cleverly showed him the cover page.  

Now, to be sure, when most people are bombarded by the barrage of consonants that is the word Krljavestica, they usually flinch like someone is throwing a haymaker at their forehead.  This fine chap, however, immediately raised a querious eyebrow and said, "is that Serbian?"  

Well, I nearly fainted, and as it turns out he is also in a band with a young Balkan fellow who was once the leading rock singer in Serbia.  Although I would have remained far more impressed had he not told me that bit.

Back to the point.  I have written a large work for choir, soloists, 2 pianos and large percussion ensemble (2 players) which I am producing and conducting under the guidance of Robert Page.  We have hand selected a wonderful group of singers (24 in total) from around Pittsburgh and a fine cast of soloists all of whom I will be cramming those consonants into and forcing them to sing to me in Serbian starting March 5.

On the work itself, the subject matter was revealed to me by JSTOR one day while I was obsessively researching traditional vampire folklore.  Naturally, as "real" vampires are categorized as disturbed ghosts or zombies (a subject for another post) the subject of witches and witchcraft came up as related in my search.  Though there is no mention of vampires, JSTOR produced an article depicting a curious Balkan festival celebrated on the eve of Lent every year and most recently observed by an outsider in the mid 1980s.  It's sort of a "Serbian Mardi Gras" and involves the construction of bonfires, leaping and exclaiming wild incantations, blackening faces with ash, the slaughtering and consumption of an unfortunate hen (representing a witch in her transformed state), all to guard against the influence of witchcraft, as witches are holding their sabbath during that time.  I was immediately reminded of the fantastic paintings of Goya, and indeed reaching further back to various woodcuts from the Nuremberg Chronicles and other wonderful books depicting similar events which clutter my sagging bookcases.  Possessed by the theatrical nature of the idea, I gathered up some lines of Serbian text from the article (only 5 in all) and set to work crafting the piece.  It took me about 4 months to complete the score, and 2 weeks ago Friday I started rehearsing with my ensemble.  This Friday I hope to have a recording of the rehearsal (sans choir) which I will post as a preview, but if you're already thinking Les Noces, Renard or Carmina Burana you're not too far off.  This work I am hoping will be my contribution to the canon of exotic percussion cantatas.

More updates on that in the future.  Rehearsals have been going exceedingly well, needless to say I am crazy excited to hear the choir!