On May 17 in coordination with an ongoing celebration of the Faroe Islands, baritone and ASF Fellow Colin Levin and pianist/composer Evan Fein will perform a program of art songs by contemporary composers from the Faroe Islands, including North American premieres of works by Sunleif Rasmussen. Other works in the program will include the song cycle Kung Eriks Visor by Ture Rangström; a performance of Benn Lunn’s And on eorðan, written for Levin; and art songs by Evan Fein and Eli Tausen á Lava.
PROGRAM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Og jeg vil ha mig en Hjertenskjær
Sunleif Rasmussen (b. 1961)
Følv
Handa stóra kavaflykra
Fátækt er mansins hjarta
Tú hevur tær dýrastu perlur
Eli Tausen á Lava (b. 1997)
i loftet hæger disse øjne
Ture Rangström (1884-1947)
Kung Eriks visor
I. En visa om när jag var lustig med Welam Welamsson på Upsala hus och ärkebiskop Lars och doktor Bengt voro utanför och väntade
II. En visa om mig och narren Herkules
III. En visa till Karin när hon hade dansat
IV. En visa till Karin ur fängelset
V. Kung Eriks sista visa
Evan Fein (b. 1984)
Hjartasláttur
I. Úti
II. Snjóblinda
III. Dimma
Ben Lunn (b. 1989)
And on eorðan
Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)
Paiement
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
The 2023-2024 season for Baritone Colin Levin includes a return to Carnegie Hall as the Baritone soloist in Giovanni Battista Martini’s Domine ad adjuvandum me festina with the New England Symphonic Ensemble presented by MidAmerica Productions; the new music festival Nordic Music Days with performances in Glasgow and Edinburgh in the orchestral song cycle New Words/New Instruments/New Duos composed for Levin including composers Stuart MacRae (GB-SCT), Tine Surel Lange (NO), Nino Håkansson (SE), Stefan Sand Groves (DK), and Clare Johnston (GB-SCT); creating the lead role of Elisha Kent Kane in the professional premier of Michael Dellaira’s (US) Opera Arctic Explorations as a co-production between the Cell Theater, New Amsterdam Singers, and members of the Harlem Chambers Players; and Nordic art music recitals with Evan Fein with the Summartónar Festival in the Faroe Islands, a return to Victor Borge Hall at Scandinavia House in New York City, and Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study (SASS) in Seattle, WA including North American art song premieres by Sunleif Rasmussen (FO). Levin frequently performs with composer/pianist Evan Fein in Nordic art music recitals. Appearances include those with the Við Djúpið Festival in Ísafjörður, Iceland, featuring the premier of Halldór Smárason’s song cycle Fjallkonuljóð written for Levin, the 15:15 Tónleikasyrpan in Reykjavík, Iceland, Tónlistarmiðstöð Austurlands in Eskifjörður, Iceland, Victor Borge Hall at Scandinavia House in New York City, and SASS in both Austin, TX and Puerto Rico. Levin additionally has appeared in Nordic art music recitals at the Centre for Scandinavian Studies Copenhagen-Lund-Hankuk in Lund, Sweden, and the Nordisk Sångfestival in Trollhättan, Sweden. Levin is an American-Scandinavian Foundation Fellow.
GRAMMY® nominated composer and collaborative pianist Evan Fein was born in Cleveland, Ohio and currently resides in New York City, where he serves on the faculty of The Juilliard School, a role he has maintained since 2012. He is the composer of over 200 works, ranging from opera, orchestral, and chamber music to music for television and cinema. His music has been performed by organizations including Musica Sacra, Opéra de Poche, The Albany Symphony, The United Nations Chamber Music Ensemble, Marble City Opera, Five Boroughs Music Festival, Juventas New Music Ensemble, The New York Choreographic Institute, and Cleveland Public Theater. Fein was named winner of the American Prize for Composition in 2022, was awarded the 2014 Palmer Dixon Prize for Outstanding Composition, and is the recipient of honors from the ASCAP Foundation, Boston Metro Opera, and the American Scandinavian Society. His debut album “Over/Under” created in collaboration with Australian cellist Luke Severn was released by Move Records in 2023. Fein additionally serves as Trustee for Artistic Initiatives for the Oratorio Society of New York and is the author of Inner Hearing, a sight singing method book published by Theodore Presser Company in 2020.
Photos (center): Colin Levin, Evan Fein (courtesy the artists). Detail of Faroe Islands: Bar Kushnir / @buggykushnir II