Carving an Alphabet

Direct transcriptions on Renaissance madrigals has been part of the SAKURA cello quintet's (for whom this work was commissioned) core repertoire every since they were created. “Carving an Alphabet” was composed with the expressivity, virtuosity and hyper-extended range for which SAKURA is known. The emotional landscape (lovelorn, passionate, miserable, nature-loving, awestruck, etc.) of the late-16th/ early-17th century madrigal composers and their favorite poets is also reflected here. The composer adapted fragments of poetry from two of his favorite poets, Michael Ondaatje and Czeslaw Milsz, which is used as titles and scenarios for this collection of madrigals-without-voices. Songs: I. Carving an Alphabet, II. A Flute from the Throat of a Loon, III. Somersualts (in Protospace), IV. The Night and its Forces, V. Bells of the Sea, VI. Country of Warm Rains, VII. Solitude Is Not an Absolute, VIII. Painting the Variegated World, IX. By Sunrise or the Rising of the Moon, X. The Honey Gatherers, XI. Arcs of the Heart, and XII. Carving an Alphabet II. “Carving an Alphabet” is designed to be performed as a complete book of madrigals in the order presented above; or, selections in any order can be chosen to fit the needs of a given concert program.