Abel’s fifth Delos album, The Cave of Wondrous Voice, broke new ground for the composer. The recording boasts an impressive cast of players and documents a serious move into chamber music -- a hitherto unheard sector of Abel’s output.
The Clarinet Trio, Intuition’s Dance and The Elastic Hours – are given strong performances by virtuoso players David Shifrin, Fred Sherry and Carol Rosenberger, and by the fine German violinist Sabrina-Vivian Höpcker, up-and-coming American pianist Dominic Cheli and Southern California English hornist Sarah Beck.
While Abel had been known primarily for his vocal works, there is but one on this album – Four Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva, the first setting in English of the great and tragic Russian poet. The 14-minute song cycle is sung by the wonderful soprano Hila Plitmann, and the texts were translated by Tsvetaeva scholar Alyssa Dinega Gillespie.
The Cave of Wondrous Voice was recorded at Oktaven Audio in Mount Vernon, NY, by Ryan Streber, and at Capitol Recording Studios in Hollywood, CA, by James T. Hill and Chandler Harrod. The album was edited and mastered by San Francisco engineer Matt Carr. It's available from Amazon, iTunes, ArkivMusic and Delos. The interior booklet for the record can be found here.
The Clarinet Trio, Intuition’s Dance and The Elastic Hours – are given strong performances by virtuoso players David Shifrin, Fred Sherry and Carol Rosenberger, and by the fine German violinist Sabrina-Vivian Höpcker, up-and-coming American pianist Dominic Cheli and Southern California English hornist Sarah Beck.
While Abel had been known primarily for his vocal works, there is but one on this album – Four Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva, the first setting in English of the great and tragic Russian poet. The 14-minute song cycle is sung by the wonderful soprano Hila Plitmann, and the texts were translated by Tsvetaeva scholar Alyssa Dinega Gillespie.
The Cave of Wondrous Voice was recorded at Oktaven Audio in Mount Vernon, NY, by Ryan Streber, and at Capitol Recording Studios in Hollywood, CA, by James T. Hill and Chandler Harrod. The album was edited and mastered by San Francisco engineer Matt Carr. It's available from Amazon, iTunes, ArkivMusic and Delos. The interior booklet for the record can be found here.
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TIME AND DISTANCE
This strong and multifaceted offering released in 2018 brought Abel’s unique style into its sharpest focus yet. Soprano Hila Plitmann and mezzo Janelle DeStefano are the vocal soloists, with Tali Tadmor and Carol Rosenberger taking turns at the piano. Bruce Carver is percussionist for the concert aria Those Who Loved Medusa, and Mark played organ on the song cycle In the Rear View Mirror, Now. The texts for the five pieces are by L.A. poet and earlier Abel collaborator Kate Gale, San Diego poet Joanne Regenhardt and the composer. Time and Distance finds Abel pushing the boundaries of his previous work with the stark and dramatic Medusa, which Hila Plitmann premiered at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. Gale’s text poetically illuminates what might be considered the original act of sexual harassment. Los Angeles filmmaker Tempe Hale's video production of Medusa (column at right) features Plitmann in a stunning evocation of the mythological maiden-turned-monster. In the Rear View Mirror, Now is a highly personal utterance on a trio of inner landscapes, while The Benediction poignantly focuses on the deeply troubling fault lines in modern America. The Ocean of Forgiveness, sung by Janelle DeStefano, occupies a warmer space, shaded in tones evoking the natural world and celebrating human compassion. This cycle was awarded the Honorable Mention in the 2018 Art Song Competition held by the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Time and Distance was engineered by James T. Hill and recorded in sessions spanning five months of 2017 at The Bridge in Glendale, Ca. The album is available from: Amazon, iTunes, ArkivMusic and Delos. The interior booklet for the record can be found here. |
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Abel’s lucid narrative and vibrant vocal lines … make (Harbor) an affecting experience. … The brilliant soprano Hila Plitmann manages every leap and switch of (Palm Trees') emotional gears with fearless commitment.
–- Gramophone
I am in hopes of seeing (Harbor) performed because its exquisite score cries out for the addition of visual creativity.
-- Fanfare
Palm Trees is very beautiful, with convincing, well-phrased vocal lines that are quite melodious and compelling.
--Opera Lively
Mr. Abel is at the forefront of (California’s) musical life.
-– American Record Guide
These were some of the critical returns from the March 2016 release of a double-CD package showcasing the three-act chamber opera “Home Is a Harbor” and the song cycle “The Palm Trees Are Restless,” a setting of verses by Los Angeles poet Kate Gale sung wonderfully by Grammy-winning soprano Hila Plitmann.
Abel wrote the libretto for "Home Is a Harbor," which runs 103 minutes and is set variously on California’s Central Coast, in New York City and suburban L.A. The piece is a coming-of-age story about two sisters and a commentary on contemporary American issues – from the vagaries of the art and business worlds to the war in Afghanistan.
The soloists -- sopranos Jamie Chamberlin and Ariel Pisturino, baritones Babatunde Akinboboye and E. Scott Levin, mezzo Janelle DeStefano, tenor Jon Lee Keenan and bass Carver Cossey – all breathed an impressive vitality into their roles. Benjamin Makino, the music director of Opera Memphis and former assistant conductor at Long Beach Opera, led the La Brea Sinfonietta, an ensemble composed of some of the L.A. area’s most outstanding players.
Ms. Plitmann, one of the classical world's most sought-after singers of new music, was accompanied on “Palm Trees" by pianist Tali Tadmor. Ms. Gale’s powerful and provocative poems are drawn from her collection "Echo Light."
The texts for “Harbor” and “Palm Trees” can be found in this booklet, along with essays by Abel and Delos annotator Lindsay Koob. Delos produced excellent video trailers for each -- click here for “Harbor” and here for “Palm Trees.” Hila Plitmann's world premiere performance of the complete "Palm Trees" can be see here.
The CD package is available from Amazon, iTunes, ArkivMusic and Delos -- two discs for the price of one!
Ben Makino's account of the recording of "Harbor" can be found here.
–- Gramophone
I am in hopes of seeing (Harbor) performed because its exquisite score cries out for the addition of visual creativity.
-- Fanfare
Palm Trees is very beautiful, with convincing, well-phrased vocal lines that are quite melodious and compelling.
--Opera Lively
Mr. Abel is at the forefront of (California’s) musical life.
-– American Record Guide
These were some of the critical returns from the March 2016 release of a double-CD package showcasing the three-act chamber opera “Home Is a Harbor” and the song cycle “The Palm Trees Are Restless,” a setting of verses by Los Angeles poet Kate Gale sung wonderfully by Grammy-winning soprano Hila Plitmann.
Abel wrote the libretto for "Home Is a Harbor," which runs 103 minutes and is set variously on California’s Central Coast, in New York City and suburban L.A. The piece is a coming-of-age story about two sisters and a commentary on contemporary American issues – from the vagaries of the art and business worlds to the war in Afghanistan.
The soloists -- sopranos Jamie Chamberlin and Ariel Pisturino, baritones Babatunde Akinboboye and E. Scott Levin, mezzo Janelle DeStefano, tenor Jon Lee Keenan and bass Carver Cossey – all breathed an impressive vitality into their roles. Benjamin Makino, the music director of Opera Memphis and former assistant conductor at Long Beach Opera, led the La Brea Sinfonietta, an ensemble composed of some of the L.A. area’s most outstanding players.
Ms. Plitmann, one of the classical world's most sought-after singers of new music, was accompanied on “Palm Trees" by pianist Tali Tadmor. Ms. Gale’s powerful and provocative poems are drawn from her collection "Echo Light."
The texts for “Harbor” and “Palm Trees” can be found in this booklet, along with essays by Abel and Delos annotator Lindsay Koob. Delos produced excellent video trailers for each -- click here for “Harbor” and here for “Palm Trees.” Hila Plitmann's world premiere performance of the complete "Palm Trees" can be see here.
The CD package is available from Amazon, iTunes, ArkivMusic and Delos -- two discs for the price of one!
Ben Makino's account of the recording of "Harbor" can be found here.
TERRAIN OF THE HEART
Abel's second CD for the Delos label showcases three soprano-piano cycles -- the luminous "Rainbow Songs" and, in newly recorded revised versions, "The Dark-Eyed Chameleon" and the "Five Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke." They are performed by three outstanding Los Angeles musicians: sopranos Jamie Chamberlin and Ariel Pisturino, and pianist Victoria Kirsch. Delos' digital booklet contains the lyrics, liner notes by Lindsay Koob and artist biographies.
“Terrain of the Heart” received quite a few positive notices, which appear on this site’s Reviews page. Delos put together a striking YouTube trailer for the record that can be accessed here or by visiting the Audio/Video page. The CD, which was released in March 2014, was produced by Mark and Delos director Carol Rosenberger. It was recorded by Matthew Snyder at his studio in Burbank, Ca.
One of the “Rainbow Songs” – “La Sonnambula” -- was a winner of the 2014 Composition Competition held by the American Composers Forum of Los Angeles (ACF-LA). “La Sonnambula” was then premiered by Jamie Chamberlin and Vicki Kirsch at the Boston Court Performing Arts Center in Pasadena. There are three videos documenting performances of music from “Terrain of the Heart.” They can be found on the Audio/Video page.
“Terrain of the Heart” (DE 3438) is available from: iTunes, Amazon, ArkivMusic and Delos.
Abel's second CD for the Delos label showcases three soprano-piano cycles -- the luminous "Rainbow Songs" and, in newly recorded revised versions, "The Dark-Eyed Chameleon" and the "Five Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke." They are performed by three outstanding Los Angeles musicians: sopranos Jamie Chamberlin and Ariel Pisturino, and pianist Victoria Kirsch. Delos' digital booklet contains the lyrics, liner notes by Lindsay Koob and artist biographies.
“Terrain of the Heart” received quite a few positive notices, which appear on this site’s Reviews page. Delos put together a striking YouTube trailer for the record that can be accessed here or by visiting the Audio/Video page. The CD, which was released in March 2014, was produced by Mark and Delos director Carol Rosenberger. It was recorded by Matthew Snyder at his studio in Burbank, Ca.
One of the “Rainbow Songs” – “La Sonnambula” -- was a winner of the 2014 Composition Competition held by the American Composers Forum of Los Angeles (ACF-LA). “La Sonnambula” was then premiered by Jamie Chamberlin and Vicki Kirsch at the Boston Court Performing Arts Center in Pasadena. There are three videos documenting performances of music from “Terrain of the Heart.” They can be found on the Audio/Video page.
“Terrain of the Heart” (DE 3438) is available from: iTunes, Amazon, ArkivMusic and Delos.
THE DREAM GALLERY: SEVEN CALIFORNIA PORTRAITS is a large-scale song cycle for soloists and chamber orchestra that depicts a group of archetypal Californians and the regions in which they live. Released in 2012 and the product of an intense year-and-a-half of composing, lyric writing and recording, the composition illuminates the state's varied landscape and society, and exposes the fault lines of its characters' internal worlds. The album's seven tracks can be heard here.
The "Gallery" protagonists declaim, complain, rhapsodize, mourn, boast or simply muse about their lives and some of the unique qualities of their hometowns, which range from the North Coast's youth-centered enclave of Arcata to the materialist hustle-and-bustle of suburban San Diego. Several off-the-map spots, like the hardscrabble oil town of Taft, are visited, as well as iconic places such as Berkeley and Los Angeles.
Abel chose a different singer to assume each role in the cycle’s seven movements. The soloists – Mary Jaeb, David Marshman, Janelle DeStefano, Delaney Gibson, Carver Cossey, Martha Jane Weaver and Tom Zohar -- form a fascinating cross-section of the musical life of Southern California. All of them met admirably the challenge of a composition posing unusual demands and requiring a high degree of characterization.
Sharon Lavery, one of the leading conductors in the Los Angeles area, directed the La Brea Sinfonietta, an ensemble of distinguished Hollywood session players, in the recording of “Gallery” for the Delos label (DE 3418). Her ongoing commitment to the project, along with that of co-producer Jeremy Borum, was crucial to its success.
Delos’ digital booklet provides much more information about “Gallery.” Mark discusses the piece in depth in a series of YouTube videos that includes sections of the seven movements and photos of the cities described. These clips can be found on the Audio/Video page. "Gallery" is available from Amazon, iTunes, ArkivMusic and Delos.
“The Dream Gallery” garnered the Award of Excellence for lyrics from the San Diego-based Global Music Awards in 2012. The piece also received the GMA's Award of Merit for creativity/originality.
The "Gallery" protagonists declaim, complain, rhapsodize, mourn, boast or simply muse about their lives and some of the unique qualities of their hometowns, which range from the North Coast's youth-centered enclave of Arcata to the materialist hustle-and-bustle of suburban San Diego. Several off-the-map spots, like the hardscrabble oil town of Taft, are visited, as well as iconic places such as Berkeley and Los Angeles.
Abel chose a different singer to assume each role in the cycle’s seven movements. The soloists – Mary Jaeb, David Marshman, Janelle DeStefano, Delaney Gibson, Carver Cossey, Martha Jane Weaver and Tom Zohar -- form a fascinating cross-section of the musical life of Southern California. All of them met admirably the challenge of a composition posing unusual demands and requiring a high degree of characterization.
Sharon Lavery, one of the leading conductors in the Los Angeles area, directed the La Brea Sinfonietta, an ensemble of distinguished Hollywood session players, in the recording of “Gallery” for the Delos label (DE 3418). Her ongoing commitment to the project, along with that of co-producer Jeremy Borum, was crucial to its success.
Delos’ digital booklet provides much more information about “Gallery.” Mark discusses the piece in depth in a series of YouTube videos that includes sections of the seven movements and photos of the cities described. These clips can be found on the Audio/Video page. "Gallery" is available from Amazon, iTunes, ArkivMusic and Delos.
“The Dream Gallery” garnered the Award of Excellence for lyrics from the San Diego-based Global Music Awards in 2012. The piece also received the GMA's Award of Merit for creativity/originality.
Abel's first two albums are obtainable directly from the composer. They differ from the Delos releases in that the orchestral and keyboard parts were recorded with digitally sampled acoustic instruments. The music was meticulously produced and features excellent vocal performances. The audio from these albums can be heard via YouTube by clicking the titles of the compositions. CD copies are available through this site's Contact page.
JOURNEY LONG, JOURNEY FAR was released in 2008. The cover painting, "The Big Sleep" by the late Southern California artist Jen Trute, coincidentally matches some imagery in "Premonition," the third song on the program.
The composer considers the version of “The Dark-Eyed Chameleon” (2007) heard on this CD noteworthy due to the outstanding performance by Mary Jaeb, the San Diego-area soprano who also appears on “The Dream Gallery.” Jaeb is highly respected as both a teacher and a concert artist, and her work wonderfully combines technical brilliance and the sincere conveying of deep feelings.
The intense emotion and sense of looming, inescapable tragedy suffusing "Chameleon" bring rock-like ideas to the fore in a number of spots. Abel has written: "Mary instinctively understood the balancing act weaved into the vocal writing, and she spans the piece’s varied stylistic territory with great skill." Her rendition of this wrenching catastrophe-set-to-music makes a fascinating contrast with Jamie Chamberlin’s on “Terrain of the Heart.”
“Gentle Spirit" (2008) is a tribute to Holly Popper, Mark's closest woman friend while in his twenties. The two first met in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1968. At the age of 33, Holly was senselessly killed in a New York City street accident.
Abel says of "Gentle Spirit," an 11-minute tone poem for chamber orchestra: "It is not so much a portrait of Holly as an imagining in musical terms of what she might be able to tell us if she was able to return from another world, one where she was able to grow into the fullness of life experience. I wanted to evoke the sense of a visit from a treasured friend who has much to say but can stay for only a little while." The atmospheric music moves between poles of deep poignancy and lighter reminiscences of someone dearly missed. While Holly's spirit seems to materialize from a far-off place in the early measures, the coda is clearly a departure and final farewell.
"The True Believers" (2006) marked the first time Abel employed a male voice, wrote for two singers, and attempted lyric writing in an extended fashion (the piece is in three movements and runs 26 minutes). The soloists are the San Francisco soprano and cabaret singer Katy Stephan, who has appeared with the Oakland East Bay Symphony and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, and the powerful East Bay baritone Richard Mix.
“Believers” is not a song cycle but rather a mini-opera of unusual punch, drama and breadth. The text of this near-cinematic piece derives from unsettling global events and Abel's pondering of them during his extensive career as a journalist specializing in foreign news. He writes: "The intention was to depict the mindset of religion-based terrorists -- in particular, their grandiosity, self-absorption and lack of critical thinking -- in a way that might shed some light on how people with at least a degree of sensitivity can be transformed into self-righteous murderers. The work navigates a wide range of dynamics and emotions and stands apart from my other compositions in a number of ways." Stephan and Mix often achieve a gripping intensity through their embrace of the music’s gravitas and ritualistic qualities, while the lyrics remind us of how little has changed in the world since Abel wrote them.
JOURNEY LONG, JOURNEY FAR was released in 2008. The cover painting, "The Big Sleep" by the late Southern California artist Jen Trute, coincidentally matches some imagery in "Premonition," the third song on the program.
The composer considers the version of “The Dark-Eyed Chameleon” (2007) heard on this CD noteworthy due to the outstanding performance by Mary Jaeb, the San Diego-area soprano who also appears on “The Dream Gallery.” Jaeb is highly respected as both a teacher and a concert artist, and her work wonderfully combines technical brilliance and the sincere conveying of deep feelings.
The intense emotion and sense of looming, inescapable tragedy suffusing "Chameleon" bring rock-like ideas to the fore in a number of spots. Abel has written: "Mary instinctively understood the balancing act weaved into the vocal writing, and she spans the piece’s varied stylistic territory with great skill." Her rendition of this wrenching catastrophe-set-to-music makes a fascinating contrast with Jamie Chamberlin’s on “Terrain of the Heart.”
“Gentle Spirit" (2008) is a tribute to Holly Popper, Mark's closest woman friend while in his twenties. The two first met in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1968. At the age of 33, Holly was senselessly killed in a New York City street accident.
Abel says of "Gentle Spirit," an 11-minute tone poem for chamber orchestra: "It is not so much a portrait of Holly as an imagining in musical terms of what she might be able to tell us if she was able to return from another world, one where she was able to grow into the fullness of life experience. I wanted to evoke the sense of a visit from a treasured friend who has much to say but can stay for only a little while." The atmospheric music moves between poles of deep poignancy and lighter reminiscences of someone dearly missed. While Holly's spirit seems to materialize from a far-off place in the early measures, the coda is clearly a departure and final farewell.
"The True Believers" (2006) marked the first time Abel employed a male voice, wrote for two singers, and attempted lyric writing in an extended fashion (the piece is in three movements and runs 26 minutes). The soloists are the San Francisco soprano and cabaret singer Katy Stephan, who has appeared with the Oakland East Bay Symphony and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, and the powerful East Bay baritone Richard Mix.
“Believers” is not a song cycle but rather a mini-opera of unusual punch, drama and breadth. The text of this near-cinematic piece derives from unsettling global events and Abel's pondering of them during his extensive career as a journalist specializing in foreign news. He writes: "The intention was to depict the mindset of religion-based terrorists -- in particular, their grandiosity, self-absorption and lack of critical thinking -- in a way that might shed some light on how people with at least a degree of sensitivity can be transformed into self-righteous murderers. The work navigates a wide range of dynamics and emotions and stands apart from my other compositions in a number of ways." Stephan and Mix often achieve a gripping intensity through their embrace of the music’s gravitas and ritualistic qualities, while the lyrics remind us of how little has changed in the world since Abel wrote them.
SONGS OF LIFE, LOVE AND DEATH appeared in 2006. It’s a compilation of a series of recordings that got under way in 2002 and were made at Abel's cottage-like house in the hills of East Richmond Heights, Ca.
The 14-minute vocal/orchestral elegy "One Long Peace" (2003) is built around a beautiful poem written by Herbert Steinhouse, a longtime friend of Mark's mother, Corinne Abel, after she took her own life in England in 1991. The music covers a great deal of emotional ground. The composer's description: "It's a sprawling and at times tumultuous work -- qualities, in my opinion, reflective of her life in general -- but is nourished throughout by a strong vein of lyricism, in keeping with her love of beauty and the soaring quality of her humanist spirit. For me, certain moments of this piece remain, many years later, among the most affecting in my output."
The project was Abel's first encounter with Katy Stephan, who brings much power, delicacy and sensitivity to bear in this unique composition. Mark so much admired her artistry that he invited her to record three of the works on these two early CDs.
"Mystic Brave Bird" (2005) is a remembrance of Abel's best friend of three decades, Christian Osborne, a musician of great gifts who played alongside John Lennon in the early 1970s while still in his teens. He died in obscurity in Los Angeles in 2004. Abel says: "Christian was an extremely talented and charismatic guy whose unflagging and often solitary dedication to his art was a great example to anyone seeking to know the elemental truths in life."
The piece's striking, declamatory introduction cycles through tonal fields depicting aspects of Osborne's complex personality before settling into a rock song structure shot through with nostalgic longing. This then dissolves into the pathos of his unexpected passing. Mark wrote most of the words, but several powerful lines are borrowed from individual Osborne songs. The vocal performance by Bay Area mezzo Karen Thomson Hall is excellent throughout.
"Five Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke" (2004) was Abel's first work for piano and voice. He calls it "something of a landmark in that I managed to make every note count to an extent not achieved previously." Katy Stephan's intense performance of this moving and enigmatic piece is marvelous. Two significant changes were made for the later version sung by Ariel Pisturino on “Terrain of the Heart”: The addition of a new middle section for “I Live My Life in Growing Orbits” and a more intricate piano solo for “You Darkness.”
"The Girl Made of Wood: Seven Poems of Pablo Neruda" (2001) is the earliest of the compositions on these CDs. Abel recalls: "The writing of it was for the most part a magical experience, not surprising considering the near hallucinatory qualities of Neruda's gorgeous and moving imagery. In retrospect, the work is probably a bit too long, but in its most poetic moments, 'The Girl' evokes the sense of walking through an enchanted forest."
The soprano is Elizabeth Eshleman, a soloist with the San Francisco Symphony and Pacific Mozart Ensemble who taught for many years at Mills College in Oakland. In Mark's words: “ 'Lizzie' was extremely generous not only with her wonderful vocal talents but with the time she was willing to spend to realize this cycle."
The 14-minute vocal/orchestral elegy "One Long Peace" (2003) is built around a beautiful poem written by Herbert Steinhouse, a longtime friend of Mark's mother, Corinne Abel, after she took her own life in England in 1991. The music covers a great deal of emotional ground. The composer's description: "It's a sprawling and at times tumultuous work -- qualities, in my opinion, reflective of her life in general -- but is nourished throughout by a strong vein of lyricism, in keeping with her love of beauty and the soaring quality of her humanist spirit. For me, certain moments of this piece remain, many years later, among the most affecting in my output."
The project was Abel's first encounter with Katy Stephan, who brings much power, delicacy and sensitivity to bear in this unique composition. Mark so much admired her artistry that he invited her to record three of the works on these two early CDs.
"Mystic Brave Bird" (2005) is a remembrance of Abel's best friend of three decades, Christian Osborne, a musician of great gifts who played alongside John Lennon in the early 1970s while still in his teens. He died in obscurity in Los Angeles in 2004. Abel says: "Christian was an extremely talented and charismatic guy whose unflagging and often solitary dedication to his art was a great example to anyone seeking to know the elemental truths in life."
The piece's striking, declamatory introduction cycles through tonal fields depicting aspects of Osborne's complex personality before settling into a rock song structure shot through with nostalgic longing. This then dissolves into the pathos of his unexpected passing. Mark wrote most of the words, but several powerful lines are borrowed from individual Osborne songs. The vocal performance by Bay Area mezzo Karen Thomson Hall is excellent throughout.
"Five Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke" (2004) was Abel's first work for piano and voice. He calls it "something of a landmark in that I managed to make every note count to an extent not achieved previously." Katy Stephan's intense performance of this moving and enigmatic piece is marvelous. Two significant changes were made for the later version sung by Ariel Pisturino on “Terrain of the Heart”: The addition of a new middle section for “I Live My Life in Growing Orbits” and a more intricate piano solo for “You Darkness.”
"The Girl Made of Wood: Seven Poems of Pablo Neruda" (2001) is the earliest of the compositions on these CDs. Abel recalls: "The writing of it was for the most part a magical experience, not surprising considering the near hallucinatory qualities of Neruda's gorgeous and moving imagery. In retrospect, the work is probably a bit too long, but in its most poetic moments, 'The Girl' evokes the sense of walking through an enchanted forest."
The soprano is Elizabeth Eshleman, a soloist with the San Francisco Symphony and Pacific Mozart Ensemble who taught for many years at Mills College in Oakland. In Mark's words: “ 'Lizzie' was extremely generous not only with her wonderful vocal talents but with the time she was willing to spend to realize this cycle."