Houston Chamber Choir performs A Measure in Trance
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Brian Cook, Karim Al-Zand
The
Houston Chamber Choir and
Musiqa collaborated on an April 13th concert featuring “Mass Observation” a powerful, large-scale work by
Tarik O’Regan, Also on the program were works by
Marcus Maroney,
Augusta Read Thomas and a performance of my 2001 piece for a cappella choir
A Measure in Trance, with Brian Cook conducting. The work is based on six short poems by the Arab classical poet Ibn Al-Mutazz (861–908 C.E.). Each evokes a single poignant image: the colorful new moon signaling the end of Ramadan; a mysterious performer singing to the accompaniment of a lute; a love-crazed young man; the advent of spring; a woman enjoying a guilty pleasure in music-making. A review of the concert appears in the
Texas Classical Review.