The Covid-19 lockdown in the spring of 2020 was a time of solitude and silence for most. But amidst the pain and isolation so many felt during these times, composer Stephanie Ann Boyd found joy and hope in birdsongs. Cardinals, mourning doves, and other birds from her childhood found their way back into the empty streets of the city, having previously been drowned out by the bustling urban sprawl.
These birdsongs became the inspiration and impetus behind Boyd’s new double-disc chamber music album, Songbird, featuring the northern Colorado-based flute and piano duo, duo970 (James Hall and Susie Maddocks), alongside guest artists Becky Kutz Osterberg (cello) and Tim Gocklin (oboe). The album art creates a fantastical preamble to the music; the gorgeous and thoughtful collage by Sasha Parfenova depicts flora and fauna intricately cut and woven together.
The eponymous sonata opens with a flutter of solo flute calls, which the piano answers in a rich, nostalgic cluster of lush dissonances, cleverly recalling Papageno’s theme from The Magic Flute. Through a whimsical call and response, Hall and Maddocks create a multicolored universe of birdsongs that are simultaneously blissful and melancholy, including Boyd’s artful depiction of a mourning dove in Hall’s pitch bends. The second movement features vibrant piano chords that Maddocks allows to bloom with adept pedaling and voicing, while Hall takes flight in the third movement; Boyd writes with such sensitivity to the bird calls while also shaping a cohesive piece, highlighting Hall’s technical lightness and agility.
The album also includes previous commissions and collaborations from Boyd’s catalog, next of which is Imogen, originally commissioned for Cincinnati Soundbox’s inaugural concert in 2015. In several made-up folk songs, Boyd explores her Gaelic heritage through dance rhythms and mimicking traditional folk instruments with the flute and piano. Though less adventurous and mature than Songbird, it is interesting to listen to how Boyd’s style has evolved over time, how she has kept certain tonal proclivities to her work while expanding her sound palate over the past decade. The third movement is a highlight: playful hockets between the flute and piano transform into intricate textures that Hall and Maddocks glide through with ease and clarity.
The second disc begins with another flute sonata, Chartreuse, which meditates on Christine Stewart-Nuñez’s poetry about the mystic composer Hildegard von Bingen, who was said to have seen visions that inspired her writing and composition. The titular first movement closely follows text from Stewart-Nuñez’s poem “Veriditas” in its shaping and contour. The second movement, aptly named “Reverie,” is particularly revelatory, opening up into a cavernous piano texture while the flute flows in microtonal adroitness overtop. The final movement, “Colorwheel,” is a carefree yet technically challenging jaunt, showcasing Hall and Maddock’s acuity as it comes to a boisterous finale in the upper register of the flute and stride-like motions in the piano.
duo970 — Photo by Casey Yoshida
The double-LP finishes with Sapiens, a quartet originally written for flutist Brook Ferguson and commissioned by the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (ROCO). The opening notes of the first movement, “Meditation on Before,” are skillfully orchestrated and performed with artful intonation by the quartet of flute, oboe, cello, and piano. “Spark” once again features Boyd’s ability to create hocketted lines that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle traded amongst the instruments. “Evolving” opens with a clearly recognizable quote of the Dies Irae plainchant, followed by cascading upward whole tone passages in all the instruments, perhaps alluding to the extramusical meaning of the piece: what does it mean to be uniquely human and how do we see death and hope in the same breath? It beautifully prefaces the final movement and perhaps the crux of the piece: “The God Particle.” The finale is a vivacious gigue, which encapsulates the essence of our humanity with champagne-like textures that showcase each player’s prowess.
Songbird as a whole is thoughtfully curated, creating a journey of hopefulness, light, melancholy, and reaffirmation. Guest artists Becky Kutz Osterberg and Tim Gocklin add to duo970’s already powerful performances at the end of the album, and Parfenova’s cover artwork ties everything together with her careful collaging and relationships between objects on the page. Through her sensitivity to nature and her craft as a composer, Boyd artfully unfurls our listening journey.
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