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Reena Esmail

Composer

Unlikely Stories

August 31, 2020 by

Violet Theodore playing “…what story down there awaits it’s end?” from Unlikely Stories

Note: This set is designed specifically for young musicians.

Program Notes

Sometimes inspiration comes from going back to the basics.

When I was 24 years old, and already had an undergrad degree from Juilliard in composing, I decided I would learn the violin. I was teaching theory and ear training at Manhattan School of Music Precollege at the time, and decided to study violin with the same teacher as some of my own, elementary school- aged students. I started from the basics: G major scales, Suzuki books, and worked my way up to playing a movement of a Mozart concerto over two years.

Because I was already a composer, I wrote for myself as I learned to play. I wrote pieces that I would find engaging, and that my technique could handle. The last two pieces, “…in a network of lines that enlace…” and “…without fear of wind or vertigo…” are from that time. The first piece, “…what story down there awaits its end?” comes from much more recently, and is an arrangement of a melody from the sixth movement my oratorio, This Love Between Us.

The titles of these pieces are inspired by one of my favorite books, Italo Calvino’s novel If on a winter’s night a traveler. Each of the eleven chapter titles (of which these are three), is a story within itself. But when put together, they create a beautiful long sentence with a new meaning. I hope that over the course of my career, I find music for all of these eleven unlikely stories, and we can connect the dots together.

Recording

“…without fear of wind or vertigo…” (from Unlikely Stories)
Cora Cooper, violin; Amanda Arrington, piano
“…in a network of lines that enlace…” (from Unlikely Stories)
Cora Cooper, violin; Amanda Arrington, piano
“…what story down there awaits its end?” (from Unlikely Stories)
Cora Cooper, violin; Amanda Arrington, piano

Also, check out this lovely recording of Claire Allen’s studio playing “…what story” as an ensemble.

Premiere/Performances

This set was commissioned by Cora Cooper

Related Catalog Items

  • Ram Tori Maya – two Hindustani singers and string quartet (original)
  • The Voyage (trio version)
  • I Wonder as I Wander
  • Who makes a clearing

Unlikely Stories can be purchased at Sleepy Puppy Press

Instrumentation: violin and piano (for young musicians)

Other Versions:
– Acharanga (youth orchestra)
– This Love Between Us, movement 6

Duration: 10′

Year: 2006, 2019

Movements: 3

Commissioned by: Cora Cooper, Sleepy Puppy Press

Program Notes

Recording

Premiere/Performances

Copyright © 2023 Reena Esmail | All Rights Reserved.