#vanessalann — Public Fediverse posts

Vanessa Lann: ‘The Pilgrim Fathers “founded” America, but for the Native Americans it was an entirely different matter’

In Far Cries | Distance No Object, premiered in Operadagen Rotterdam in 2020, Vanessa Lann addressed the theme of leave-taking. The show was inspired by the 400th anniversary of the day in 1620 when the Pilgrim Fathers embarked on a voyage across the Atlantic to seek refuge in North America. For the present Delfshaven Festival the composer made a new, somewhat extended version under the title Far Cries 401. Two of the four performances take place on 22 July, the very day the Pilgrims set sail for the New World.

‘In May 2020 I was fortunate enough to receive a small grant as part of the ‘balkonscènes’ (balcony scenes) initiative from the Dutch Performing Arts Fund’, says Vanessa Lann (New York, 1968). ‘This was intended to support freelancers who were affected by the corona crisis, so they could realize small-scale productions in corona-proof settings. For me this meant it was a Do it Yourself venture: I was composer, producer, librettist and marketer all in one. When Operadagen offered me a place in their festival, I gladly accepted, for  I have always been a huge fan of the festival and live and work in Rotterdam.’

Embarkation of the Pilgrims on the Speedwell, 22 July 1620. Painting by Robert W. Weir

The production was premiered to public acclaim in September 2020, yet for the Delfshaven Festival you changed the title to Far Cries 401. Why?

‘The Delfshaven Festival was meant to take place last summer, to celebrate 4 centuries of Dutch-American relations, but had to be postponed due to the pandemic. In 2021 it is exactly 401 years ago the Pilgrims made their historic voyage to the New World. They sailed from Delfshaven, a Rotterdam neighbourhood that to this day is home to people from very different cultures and backgrounds, including myself.’

In the promotion material we read about ‘heartrending goodbyes’, but why did the Pilgrim Fathers leave the Netherlands in the first place? Hadn’t they found refuge here because their Calvinist faith was repressed in Britain?

‘This may seem a bit paradoxical, indeed. The English Pilgrims arrived in the Netherlands in 1608, stayed in Amsterdam for a year and then in Leiden for another 11 years. They were very devout and hard-working people, who lived in near-poverty. At a certain point they realized that their children were growing up and falling in love with Dutch teenagers, whom they considered to be a bit on the “wild” side. They feared the kids, and maybe even their own adult group, were veering further and further away from the mind-set which had brought them to the Netherlands originally.’

‘So eventually they decided to journey to the New World to develop their convictions further, and to set up a colony of likeminded people where they could “start from scratch”. In so doing, they would be the first “families” to journey together to the New World, aiming to establish villages and homes. Up to then only single men had been travelling back and forth across the ocean for business purposes. The decision to travel with entire families inevitably entailed the Pilgrims leave friends, family, and their former communities behind. It was evident the crossing would be difficult and filled with unknown challenges. Though only one of the 102 voyagers died during the passage, only 52 would make it to the following spring.’ 

Instead of focusing on this historic background, you chose to broaden the theme. How?

‘Far Cries 401 explores the feelings of family members when they set sail for distant shores, knowing they will most likely never see their loved ones again. In the production we combine true documentation of the Pilgrims – before, during and after their voyage to the New World – with true stories of people in the Netherlands and the States who recently lost loved ones during the corona pandemic. It’s a collection of stories of enforced “goodbyes”, then and now. Therefore my libretto is both in Dutch and English.’

How did you select the texts?

‘The show is structured around a seven-part song cycle for soprano and piano, based on a text by the American poet Denise Levertov. It involves memory, time, and how we experience patterns, and loss. There is also music for saxophones, clarinets and loop station, incorporating the well-known Emma Lazarus text on the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor…”. In the carillon part I have incorporated recognizable American folk music about loss, memory and hope. The speakers quote from documents and journals by William Bradford, the leader of the English Pilgrims, and memorials in online newspapers written by people who recently lost dear ones to Covid-19.’

You chose for a line-up of soprano/violin/clarinets-saxophones/piano/carillon, as well as three speakers, including yourself. Why this particular combination? 

‘The performers are all good friends, with whom I’ve worked before. There is an element of improvisation in several of the parts, so I chose musicians who could act as co-devisers of the sound world. The carillon is special, because it is site-specific, coming from the tower of the Pilgrim Fathers Church. Also, with its hourly bells it symbolically denotes the passage of time – related to journeying, and memory. Thus the church itself becomes part of the story. For his mis-en-espace Neil Wallace has taken into account its dimensions, energy, resonance and depth, involving it as a ritual place. For after all, the Pilgrims held their last congregation here before leaving the country.’

David Kweksilber in Far Cries | Distance No Object, Pilgrim Fathers Church 2020

How do the performers interact?

‘The soprano and pianist are featured as one unit, performing the song cycle, while the clarinettist/saxophonist and violinist perform notated and non-notated music, in solo form and in combination with each other. The speakers and the musicians interact in a subtle mise-en-espace throughout the piece. By the end of the piece they are a sort of family, from which the soprano is completely excluded. The carillon is a sort of “disruptor”, coming from the outside and being brought into the world inside.’

What kind of audience did the first version attract in 2020 and what was their response?

‘The production attracted largely an Operadagen audience, interested in contemporary music theatre, or story-telling through song and movement. A lot of people were very emotional, as the idea of losing loved ones is universal. A number of visitors were very moved by the energy in the Pilgrim Fathers Church, seated as they were in a corona-proof setting (distanced, but still intimate) in the length of this beautiful and historic building.’

‘I expect Far Cries 401 to attract an audience from outside of the performing arts world as well. People who are interested in the history of the region, the link between America and the Netherlands, and the impact of our present situation.’ 

You are a descendant from a Jewish family that emigrated from Ukraine to the United States, whence you in turn moved to the Netherlands. Do you feel a personal affinity with the theme of leave-taking? 

‘Well, the fact that I am both an American as well as a Dutch citizen, makes the historical significance of this production very close to my heart. For years I’ve wanted to create a piece based on the different parts of my background and my experiences as a double national. I feel very connected to the theme of immigration, and how mythologies are formed by those telling the stories.’

‘Obviously, for many people the “story” of America begins with this historic voyage, and the events which unfolded once the Europeans had reached North American shores. But we must never forget there is another side to every story. – For the Native Americans who considered the American continent their home it was a completely different experience. It’s the multifaceted aspect, and the complexity of all these stories which intrigues me the most and inspired my creative exploration.’ 

Far Cries 401 runs twice on both 21 & 22 July.

#Delfshaven #FarCries401 #NeilWallace #PilgrimFathers #VanessaLann

Vanessa Lann: pianists ‘Vicky Chow and Saskia Lankhoorn can play anything’

Vanessa Lann (c) Teo Krijgsman

On Friday 1 December the piano duo X88 will present the world première of naked, I by Vanessa Lann at a recital in the Amsterdam Bimhuis. The American-Dutch composer wrote it especially for this adventurous piano duo, that performs complex contemporary music as if it were rock. It consists of the Canadian Vicky Chow, pianist in Bang on a Can All-Stars, and the Dutch Saskia Lankhoorn, who is a member of Ensemble Klang.

Like many foreigners, Vanessa Lann (New York, 1968) came to the Netherlands in the nineties, attracted by the vibrant musical life of the time. She is now firmly rooted here, thanks to successful works such as Inner Piece for solo piano (1994), Resurrecting Persephone for flute and orchestra (1999), Illuminating Aleph for cantor, choir and instrumental ensemble (2005), and her opera De Stilte van Saar (Saar’s Silence) in 2013.

Being a pianist herself, she has written many works for grand or toy piano. Four of these can be heard on the portrait cd Moonshadow Sunshadow that was released in 2015. Her work often has a theatrical aspect and Lann likes to fiddle with our expectations. This holds for her new piece for two pianos as well, of which the mere title may evoke confusion. Thus I assumed ‘I’ in naked, I meant the cipher 1, wondering how many pieces there were to follow in this new cycle.

None, Lann tells me. The title refers to the scientific term ‘naked eye’, which describes what the eye can perceive without microscope or telescope. ‘Since there are no electronics, the piece is about the raw/naked/honest expression of two people and two grand pianos. A piano is a big instrument, and the question is whether the two women are in control or not. In an almost ritualistic manner the piece confronts the performers with their capacities, not just as players, but also as individuals.’

Here we touch on a second layer: ‘The prounoun “I” refers to identity, who am I, who are you, how do we relate to each other? Naked, I explores the vulnerability of the players, as well as the power required of them in performance. It is inspired by extremes: when does soft playing become too soft, how long will a certain pattern hold our attention, what is scary, what is funny? In a sense both pianists try to determine who they are in relation to the piano as an instrument, and also to each other.’

Piano duo X88: Vicky Chow & Saskia Lankhoorn (c) Peter van Beek

This links naked, I strongly to De Stilte van Saar: ‘In my opera I address the theme of how we deal with our personal and social media identities. We create a two-dimensional, idealized image on Facebook, which we will eventually meet. Thus, in a way we become our Facebook identity. I composed it for Silbersee and Ensemble Klang, in which Saskia Lankhoorn played the toy piano.’

Lann is thrilled by the energy and virtuosity of Lankhoorn and Chow: ‘They can do absolutely ANYTHING, play ANYTHING, they’re quite fearless. But in this work they are “naked”, for they have to show themselves while playing the simplest of patterns.’

Halfway through they change pianos. ‘Like in my piece Moonshadow Sunshadow for two violins, you then hear the same material as before, played on the same instrument, but by a different performer. In what way does it sound different the second time: does the character of the pianist play a role in how we listen to the raw material? This question intrigues me: what you see is what you get.’

In their recital the duo will also perform premières by Nik Bärtsch, Tristan Perich and Pete Harden. The concert will be repeated in the Red Sofa series of the Rotterdam Doelen on Saturday 2, and in Korzo Theatre The Hague, as part of the Festival Dag in de Branding on Sunday 3 December.

#NakedI #PianoDuoX88 #SaskiaLanhoorn #VanessaLann #VickyChow