Moonrise

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The imagist poetry, “Moonrise” by Hilda Doolittle (aka H.D.), explores ancient themes through a modern lens: the intersection of nature, human ritual, and the divine; the feminine power of the moon through personification and grand scale of measurement, and the parallels between violence and beauty. 

This piece was inspired by the late Stephen Paulus’ work, Evensong, and his beautiful treatment of nature-based texts. After studying and performing his score, I felt compelled to explore a more ethereal and tonally adventurous space to illustrate the lingering mystery about the moon - for example, we have only ever seen one side of her.  Variations in closed and open chordal structures follow the moon’s concealed journey through sunset through her physical ascension - and her audience’s spiritual ascension on Earth - after dusk and into midnight. 

I got to bring this work to the Wizarding School for Composers’ Choral Intensive in the fall of 2024. This work was recorded by Matt Nielsen and Brevitas on February 28, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.