Distance Learning Followed by World Première :: Katalin Pocs Evening Song Music Essays

Distance Learning Followed by World Premià ¨re Esti Dal (Evening Song) by Katalin Pà ³cs was written for the Indiana University International Vocal Ensemble and harpist Erzsà ©bet Gaà ¡l in January 2000. The composition received its world premià ¨re conducted by Professor Mary Goetze on April 9, 2000 at IU School of Music, Bloomington, Indiana. Katalin Pà ³cs is one of the leading members of the young generation of Hungarian composers. Her compositions include orchestral and chamber works that have been performed throughout Europe. She has performed some of her own piano music in Berlin, Gdansk, Moscow, Munich, and Vienna. In addition, Pà ³cs has written electronic works that were performed in Canada, as well as works for harp, for example a Septet called Vibrarions and a solo piece called Ballade which were introduced by Erzsà ©bet Gaà ¡l in Hungary and in the United States. In her setting of the folk song Esti Dal, Pà ³cs employs the sounds of mixed choir, harp, and synthesized music. These three elements blend together to express the song's text about wandering, weariness, and a plea to God for rest and shelter. This choral work connects the past with the present by incorporating an ancient tonal Hungarian folk song into a modern texture with harp accompaniment. The addition of an electronic sound track that creates new relationships between consonance and dissonance in the music juxtaposes tradition with present 21st century practices. Mary Goetze is a Professor of Music and Chairperson of the Music in General Studies Department. She founded the International Vocal Ensemble in 1995. The choir specializes in the recreation of music from outside the European and American art traditions. Through the learning process, the choir becomes acquainted not only with the music itself but also with the related aspects of the culture and language. In 1996, Dr. Goetze was awarded a grant from Indiana University for a project entitled "Multicultural Music Education" which allowed her to do research in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Currently she is co-authoring a series of CD ROM's that facilitate the oral transmission of vocal music from diverse sources. In preparation for the first performance, the International Vocal Ensemble had the privilege to work with composer Pà ³cs on her new composition through a satellite hook-up connection between Budapest, Hungary and Bloomington, Indiana that was made possible by the Center for the St udy of Global Change on IU's campus. A technology called interactive compressed video opened the door for the choir and the composer to work together on Esti Dal notwithstanding a difference of six time zones.