Yotam Haber is an internationally known composer and has lived in Holland, Israel, Nigeria, and Milwaukee. His prestigious career as a composer has given him many commissions among which include the famous Koussevitzky Commission, and the Fromm Music Foundation Commission. He currently works for the UMKC Conservatory as an Associate Professor of Music Composition.
Estro Poetico armonico is a piece commissioned by the Adele and John Gray Endowment Fund, played by the JACK Quartet and the Quartet New Generation. This four string, four recorder piece is a majestic piece that feels like it combines both very old, yet very new music to create something entirely new and original. I have included the program note that can be found on his website below because I think it really helps to know and understand the thoughts, inspiration, and content behind this composition while listening to it.
“A transcription of a transcription, in a sense. I have taken the 50th and last psalm setting by Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739) – who transcribed and arranged what he heard in Venetian synagogues – and passed it through yet one more filter, one more telephone-game. Visualize an oil painting left out in the rain before it yet has a chance to dry, colors bleeding. I have turned this image into its musical counterpart.”
Estro poetico armonico
We were all is a sinfonietta written for the group Alarm Will Sound performed at the Mizzou New Music Summer Festival. On his website he provides the full score which is fun to look at. In his program note he describes his inspiration as his friend's poem. However, he only includes the last two sentences in the lyrics for the piece. We were all is a fun, energetic piece that has short “bursts” that quickly draw your attention to specific instruments and their individual capabilities. It is a fun piece to listen to as the listener has almost no preview of what to expect and therefore must “lean” in to experience the full potential of the piece.
We Were All
To follow Yotam Haber’s career or to listen to his music please visit his Website or follow him on Twitter. I have also included some links below that follow his career and music.
UMCK’s Personal Profile:
KRONOS Quartet’s Interview Fifty for the Future Composer Interview:
Yotam Haber’s Articles on New Music USA :
To anyone who may need it :
I do not own any of the videos or music that are in this blog post or in any of the other posts that you may find on this blog.
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