Commissioned by the Erato Ensemble
Vancouver, BC, Canada Orpheum Annex 26 May 2018 Erato Ensemble Al Cannon, conductor
"You Dream in Beauty" was selected as the winning proposal for a new piece, in a composition contest sponsored by Erato Ensemble, a Vancouver-based art song/chamber music ensemble. The piece was conceived as a modern reinterpretation of Luys de Narváez’s "Cancion del Emperador", originally written for vihuela, in 1538. Its melodic material is reworked and reimagined here with an expanded instrumentation (two voices, guitar, piano, violin, and cello), and set to a poem written in villanelle form—the villanelle form being something that originated roughly around the same time as the "Cancion del Emperador" was composed. The poem was written specifically as text for this new piece, by Vancouver-based author Fraser Nixon."You Dream in Beauty" received its premiere by Erato Ensemble, at the Orpheum Annex, Vancouver, Canada, on May 26th, 2018.