Press, audiences praise Kubian premiere

The NJSO gave the world premiere of Darryl Kubian's O for a Muse of Fire across four concerts March 19–22 to both critical and audience acclaim.

The Star-Ledger wrote:

The generosity and respect afforded to the classics also extended to the world premiere of "O for a Muse of Fire" by orchestra violinist Darryl Kubian.

The final performance of the New Jersey Roots Project, a five-year initiative celebrating composers with local ties, the work drew inspiration from "Henry V". As the composer noted in an articulate pre-performance introduction, the music dealt with the conscience of the king, exploring matters earthly and spiritual and taking on sounds of both warfare and contemplation.

The piece began with the war-launching insult from a French prince to the King. Illustrating the box of tennis balls he sent, Kubian used a volleying theme of a few descending notes launching from the first violins to the second violins.

This expanded into a cinematic fabric with deep lower strings and soaring brass. Dissonant threads in sustained chords and warlike percussion contrasted warm, meditative passages. In an earthy alto, vocalist Mary Fahl sang passages of Shakespeare text and keened wordlessly in the work's more impassioned moments. A waterphone added an otherworldly tinge before a frenetic rise and the pound of battle drums led to a fittingly heroic conclusion.

Audience members shared their thoughts on Kubian’s work on NJSO Concert Coda.

Patrons Daisy and Alex wrote: “Kubian was magnificent, very moving and majestic. Excellent piece, the vocalist fit right in.”

Melissa was inspired to experience the program at all four venues in which the NJSO performed it: “Enjoyed the NJSO for the first time at the bergenPAC, and immediately got tickets for Friday, Saturday and Sunday's performances as well. Loved Kubian's piece and the vocalist, Mary Fahl, possesses a voice with such grandeur.. The whole experience was great, the orchestra repeatedly gave beautiful performances I would love to hear again and again.”

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Prior to the world premiere, Kubian spoke with multiple media outlets about his new commission. He told The Times of Trenton:

“What attracted me to ‘Henry V’ is one person’s ability to make a decision that holds people’s lives in the balance,” Kubian says. “He has to make a decision to go to war that he knows will inevitably lead to the deaths of many people. It’s his struggle with that throughout the play, even up until the eve of the battle, that I found really compelling.”

He credits his wife, JoAnna, who also plays in the orchestra, as his own muse.
“Luckily she’s very knowledgeable about Shakespeare. She was an invaluable resource in narrowing down which play would fit what I was trying to say. Reading ‘Henry V,’ I realized it really spoke to me.”

So much so, the composer elected to include some of the Bard’s actual text.
“I thought about using a vocalist,” he says, “not as in a work for soloist and orchestra, but actually integrating the vocal line into the orchestra, so that she becomes part of the orchestra. I mix some of the actual spoken word with her singing ideas that are then developed by the orchestra, as in a kind of call and response.”

The vocal contributions will be provided by singer Mary Fahl. Also notable is the work’s orchestration, which includes unusual percussion instruments, such as the rototom, “bodiless heads” often used in marching bands, and a waterphone.
“It has a tub that you fill with water and there are these tines that go around the edge, and you can bow them or use mallets to strike them,” Kubian says. “They make a very distinctive metallic sound. Depending on how you play it, it can sound like swords or something very ethereal.”

Kubian, who has played in the orchestra’s first violin section since 1991, was commissioned by the NJSO as part of its New Jersey Roots Project. The performances are the final harvest of a five-year program, which has focused on music by composers born in, or who have been influential to, the Garden State.

» RELATED: New Jersey Monthly and Courier News preview Kubian premiere

» Learn more about Kubian.