Vocal Works

SELECT RECITATIVES AND ARIAS FROM "THE MEMOIRS OF ANTONINA" [2018-era PIANO/VOCAL PREVIEWS]:

INSTRUMENTS/VOICES: Marie Antoinette (lyric soprano), Antonina (coloratura soprano), Louis XVI (tenor), Jacques Hébert (baritone), piano
‍DESCRIPTION: Three recitatives and five arias from The Memoirs of Antonina, a new opera inspired by the final years of Marie Antoinette’s life. (For more information, please visit the MoA mini-site right here: https://www.marybichner.com/memoirsofantonina )
PREMIERE: TBA (preivew concert performed on September 2nd, 2018 at Central Square Theater [Cambridge, MA, USA])
‍PERFORMED BY: Tim Ribchester (conductor/music director), Helen Zhibing Huang (Marie Antoinette), Emily Thorner (Antonina), Neal Ferreira (Louis XVI), and Juhan Choi (Jacques Hébert)

ARIA: “YOU WILL HAVE THE MOON” (FROM THE ONE-ACT OPERA, THE ALMOND TREE )

Mary Bichner · Aria: "You Will Have The Moon"

INSTRUMENTS/VOICES: The Stepmother (alto/mezzo soloist), 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 3 French horns, 2 trombones (1 bass trombone), harp, celesta, timpani, and string orchestra (violin I, violin II, viola, cello, double bass)
DESCRIPTION: Aria from the forthcoming one-act opera “The Almond Tree”, based on the Grimm’s fairytale of the same name, by composer Mary Bichner and librettist Maureen Fitzgerald. Married to a man still grieving his first wife, the Stepmother dreads the thought of her daughter, Marjorie, growing up without the security of an inheritance. In “You Will Have the Moon”, the Stepmother promises Marjorie that no matter the sacrifice, she will find a way to provide for her.
PREMIERE: TBA
PERFORMED BY: Xiao’an Li (conductor), Mali Sastri (The Stepmother), and the East Coast Scoring Orchestra

ARIA: GARDEN GOSSIP (FROM MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY: SPRING AND AUTUMN SUITES )

Mary Bichner · 5. Garden Gossip [Spring Suite]

INSTRUMENTS/VOICES: soprano soloist, alto soloist, mezzo soloist, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and double-viola string orchestra (violin, viola I, viola II, cello, double bass)
DESCRIPTION: Musical setting of the Frances Sargent Osgood poem, “Garden Gossip”. The key of D major was selected to match the colors found near Mount Auburn Cemetery’s Consecration Dell in the spring. Commissioned by the Friends of Mount Auburn as part of Mary’s two-year composer residency at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
PREMIERE: June 3rd, 2017 at Mount Auburn Cemetery [Cambridge, MA, USA]
PERFORMED BY: Kristo Kondakçi (conductor), Evangelia Leontis (soprano soloist), Mali Sastri (mezzo soloist), Mary Bichner (alto soloist), Katharina Giegling (concertmaster), Sonia Deng (violin), Abby Swidler (violin), Christopher McClain (viola I principal), Minjung Chun (viola I), Carrol Lee (viola II principal), Foxman James (viola II), Aron Zelkowicz (cello principal), and Nash Tomey (contrabass principal)

ART SONG: “996” (FROM MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY: SPRING AND AUTUMN SUITES )

Mary Bichner · 10. 996 [Autumn Suite]

INSTRUMENTS/VOICES: alto soloist, and double-viola string orchestra (violin, viola I, viola II, cello, double bass)
DESCRIPTION: Musical setting of the untitled Emily Dickinson poem referred to as “996” in “The Poems of Emily Dickinson” [Belknap Harvard]. Inspired by watching a beautiful orange sunset over orange-leafed trees while atop Mount Auburn’s Washington Tower. Commissioned by the Friends of Mount Auburn as part of Mary’s two-year composer residency at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
PREMIERE: November 4th, 2017 at Mount Auburn Cemetery [Cambridge, MA, USA]
PERFORMED BY: Kristo Kondakçi (conductor), Mary Bichner (alto soloist), Katharina Giegling (concertmaster), Sonia Deng (violin), Abby Swidler (violin), Christopher McClain (viola I principal), Minjung Chun (viola I), Carrol Lee (viola II principal), Foxman James (viola II), Aron Zelkowicz (cello principal), and Nash Tomey (contrabass principal)

**ART SONG: “WOODLANDS I WANDER” (FROM MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY: SPRING AND AUTUMN SUITES )**

Mary Bichner · 8. Woodlands I Wander [Autumn Suite]

INSTRUMENTS/VOICES: alto soloist and piano
DESCRIPTION: Musical setting of excerpts from the Frances Sargent Osgood poem “On a Landscape by Doughty”. The key of C# was selected to highlight the “crimson and gold” landscape of the poem, as well as the landscape of Mount Auburn Cemetery. Commissioned by the Friends of Mount Auburn as part of Mary’s two-year composer residency at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
‍PREMIERE: November 4th, 2017 at Mount Auburn Cemetery [Cambridge, MA, USA]
PERFORMED BY: Mary Bichner (alto soloist) and Paul Jacobs (piano)

ART SONG: “LOVE-SONG” (FROM MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY: SPRING AND AUTUMN SUITES )

Mary Bichner · 4. Love-Song [Spring Suite]

INSTRUMENTS/VOICES: alto soloist, and double-viola string orchestra (violin, viola I, viola II, cello, double bass)
DESCRIPTION: Musical setting of the James Russell Lowell poem, “Love-Song”. The key of B minor was selected to match the colors of the flowers that bloom near Lowell’s gravesite in the spring. Commissioned by the Friends of Mount Auburn as part of Mary’s two-year composer residency at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
PREMIERE: June 3rd, 2017 at Mount Auburn Cemetery [Cambridge, MA, USA]
PERFORMED BY: Kristo Kondakçi (conductor), Mary Bichner (alto soloist), Katharina Giegling (concertmaster), Sonia Deng (violin), Abby Swidler (violin), Christopher McClain (viola I principal), Minjung Chun (viola I), Carrol Lee (viola II principal), Foxman James (viola II), Aron Zelkowicz (cello principal), and Nash Tomey (contrabass principal)

ART SONG: “TO HELEN”

Mary Bichner · To Helen

INSTRUMENTS/VOICES: alto soloist and piano
DESCRIPTION: Musical setting of the Edgar Allan Poe poem, “To Helen”. The key of Eb (a deep, jewel-toned blue) was selected to mirror the many references to the ocean found in the poem.
‍PREMIERE: October 5th, 2011 at Mount Auburn Cemetery [Cambridge, MA, USA]
PERFORMED BY: Mary Bichner (alto soloist and piano)