Last Cha Cha for July (Johnsen)
At various times in our lives a parent can be our teacher, judge, and confidante — from nurturer to nemesis to friend – until finally the roles of giving and receiving care are reversed in the final days. This piece expresses a daughter’s reflections upon the loss of her mother, after a lifetime spent reckoning with the highs and lows of the evolving relationship. In the end the circle closes; hospiced by her daughter, the mother passes on. And the daughter now must continue her life journey without that most important woman in her life – a hole never to be filled, the journey never to be the same.
In the piece, the daughter is beautifully represented by singer Song Yi Jeon, with a short guitar solo by Aliéksey Vianna, with a backing cha-cha percussion ensemble, symbolizing the spirit of the woman for whom the piece is dedicated, Julia Cota-Dahlstrand. At the beginning and the end, Julia’s own voice can be heard – as if a distant memory — reading in Spanish to her three-year-old daughter the Dr. Seuss book, Are You My Mother?
Eric Johnsen’s Liminality seeks to explore liminal spaces: that space at the threshold of profound change; the state of suspension between the death of what was, and the birth of what will be — or could be.Combining an improvisational chamber ensemble with strings, Liminality weaves together jazz, fusion, and world beats with chamber and orchestral elements. The music ranges from strictly composed to purely improvisational. Textures range from the power of the full ensemble with chamber string orchestra to the delicacies of solo and duet performances. At times the music floats in ethereal spaces; at other times it is rhythmically driving, anchored by American, Indian, and Afro-Cuban influences.
All music composed and produced by Eric Johnsen. For more info: http://ericjohnsenmusic.com
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