Nashville Public Radio looks at the connections between Paul Moravec’s Amorisms and Tempest Fantasy and the bard who inspired them, William Shakespeare:
“[ALIAS Chamber Ensemble and Portara Ensemble]’s new album release got an apt release date: roughly 400 years after the death of the man who wrote their lyrics. Composer Paul Moravec laughs that William Shakespeare is a sort of silent partner who has “been very good to me over the years.” Two of the three works ALIAS and Portara recorded for their album of Moravec’s music, Amorisms and Tempest Fantasy, are based on works by Shakespeare. Moravec says he keeps returning to the bard because his work is universal and timeless, plus,“he makes us smarter as an audience.” In the case of Amorisms, which was commissioned by ALIAS, Portara, and the Nashville Ballet, Shakespeare also gave Moravec what he needed to put together a puzzle of sorts. The composer needed to write engaging music scored for both instrumentalists and a choir, which means he needed to work in words, but not so many words that it would take away from an audience’s appreciation of the ballet’s dancers and choreography. Shakespeare’s sayings about love fit the bill by being short and familiar, but also wise and thoughtful; in other words, they could hold up to repetition by the singers of Portara while still leaving room for the Nashville Ballet’s choreography to add on more interpretation. …”
Read Nina Cordona’s full feature on NashvillePublicRadio.org!
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