If You Go* What: “An Earthen Man.”When and where: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at UTC Fine Arts Center, corner of Vine and Palmetto streets; 7 p.m. Thursday at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 848 Ashland Terrace.Admission: Free.
Two performances of original pieces by Jonathan B. McNair are scheduled Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Thursday’s concert will be followed by an informal wine and hors d’oeuvres reception.
Tuesday night will mark the premiere of “An Earthen Man,” an original work for baritone and string quartet featuring poetry by Wendell Berry set to music by McNair. Ron Ulen will be the featured vocalist.
Also on the concert are three new instrumental works by McNair and a few arrangements of spirituals and art-song for voice and string quartet.
Poet and novelist Berry is a farmer who uses natural methods of soil improvement, plowing, sowing, animal husbandry and land management. His poetry is full of imagery drawn from his connection to the land and to the forested areas around his farm.
“An Earthen Man” begins with “The Mad Farmer Revolution,” an allegory about the transformation of a place through farming. The song cycle includes prayers, terse and witty sayings, humorous musings and a psalm-like meditation on peace, said McNair.
McNair said his music draws inspiration from bluegrass, the blues, the great art-song tradition, opera and a touch of the avant-garde.
“The music seeks to convey the sense of the text through its melodic lines, rhythms, and harmonic and textural colors, thereby supporting the words as they are sung by Ulen,” he said.
“Digressions,” for violin and piano, was commissioned by the Tennessee Music Teachers Association through its Composer of the Year program in 2008. It will be performed by Xiaoqing Yu and Alan Nichols.
The premiere performance of “Danza” is also part of the program. This piece for unaccompanied cello will be played by Hans Anderson. McNair said this piece was inspired by the folk dances of Eastern Europe, some of which have asymmetrical meters.
“Indignation,” for string quartet, is a one-movement work. McNair said the music is by turns edgy, powerful, lyrical and playful — as suggested by its title.
A selection of spirituals arranged by Harry Burleigh, plus an art-song composed by Burleigh, transcribed for baritone voice and string quartet, will close the program.
The concerts are supported by grants from CreateHere.org, the UTC Speakers and Special events fund, and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Counterpoint series.