What Passions Cannot Music Raise
Marlboro flashbacks in Denver, Handel and Dryden in Orange County, and two world premieres on the horizon
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One of Hawaii’s magical sunsets
A JULY 2026 Newsletter
As evidenced by my recent post about Schubert and timelessness, Time was very much a factor on my mind this past month. Between a mini-vacation that inevitably felt too short and editing the most recent episode of Bach 52, in which my guest Lolly Lewis eloquently pointed out that ephemeral experiences that we share are demonstrably more valuable than the more permanent products we seek to possess, it was impossible to ignore the preciousness of time. Reviewing our conversation in order to prepare the episode for release, it simply made too much sense to pair the chat with one of Bach’s brilliant arias comparing time to a rushing river, water flowing through our fingers, impossible to grasp. Time naturally continues to be at the forefront of my thoughts, as we slide into one of the quasi-quarterly periods that astrologers identify as Mercury Retrograde, in which the pace of time can feel like it slows to that of molasses, and we are forced to move slowly or suffer the consequences.
Performing with the Denver Chamber Music Festival, photo: Kacey Cole
My musical engagements in June were ones borne out of joy and friendship, providing the opportunities of time with dear friends whom I don’t get to connect with often enough. A week at the Denver Chamber Music Festival afforded time with beloved friends from my summers at the Marlboro Music Festival, another idyllic utopia that strives to give musicians the gift of time, built on the philosophy of ensuring that both music and the musicians performing it have as much time as they need to blossom. My summers at the festival were a real turning point for me, as they have been for countless artists for the last 75 years. Personally, they restored me from professional burn-out and were definitive experiences artistically. Such transformative summers forge deep friendships, as well as artistic practices, and it was luxurious to reconnect with important friends, both socially and musically, for an incredibly rewarding week in Denver.
At the end of the month, I joined another friend from the current California chapter of my life, and flew down for a few days to violinist Elizabeth Blumenstock’s Baroque Festival Corona del Mar, in Orange County. I first encountered Elizabeth in her role as concertmaster of Philharmonia Baroque, and have since enjoyed a number of collaborations with her leading groups of various sizes, including some of the sessions and performances for BACH 52. Her approach to music is so imaginative and rich, hearing vivid images and profound emotion in any music she touches. Our program in Orange County centered around two pieces by Handel: his Chandos Anthem, Number 4: Sing Unto God, and the Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day. The pairing was a moving one, the Chandos Anthem imploring us to treat singing as an offering, and the Ode an extraordinary setting of John Dryden’s epic poem about the power of music in our lives. Dryden’s words tie music to the primal beginnings of the universe, pairing the emergence of life with the advent of harmony, going on to pointedly ask: “What passions cannot Music raise and quell?” Rehearsing and performing these pieces against the backdrop of my BACH 52 conversation with Lolly, I could not help but feel the incisiveness of her insights about music’s importance in our lives and the value of engaging with it actively.
The Grape Crusher statue, Napa, CA
The first few weeks in July continue to bring the gift of time, as we begin staging rehearsals that will last for the next few weeks for the World Premiere performance of Jake Heggie’s newest opera, The Judgement of Paris, at Festival Napa Valley. In addition to marking a milestone anniversary for the festival, the piece celebrates the ascendance of California wines by giving a fantastical operatic treatment to the real-life story of the organizers of the infamous 1976 blind tasting in Paris in which Napa Valley wines beat the French wines for the first time. Jake, who is a dear friend (and incidentally, also a treasured neighbor!), has created an extraordinary opera that is not only a joyful and hilarious comedy, but also elegantly expounds on the power of art and the impact creativity has on life and community.
Following the Judgement of Paris, my regular pace of touring resumes with a recital on July 25 at Tanglewood with Myra Huang, which will feature another world premiere performance, this time of Shawn Okpebholo’s new song cycle, The Beautiful. Shawn has stitched together poems by Native American poet Margaret Noodin, Chicago poet Carl Sandburg, and Claude McKay with newly commissioned poems by Tsitsi Jaji, that consider the working-class and immigrant communities upon whose shoulders this country has been built, and asks us to consider the space where we meet and how we mend together our diverse communities that have become increasingly divided. The resulting work is a hopeful and honest meditation on the ever-evolving sense of American identity as we celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary.
As always, I hope to cross paths with you somewhere soon, either in person or online. In the meantime, enjoy the gifts these summer months bring of slowed time and restoration.