Part of Hancher’s 52nd Season

Two luminous musicians shine their collective light on an achingly haunting exploration of grief.

Grammy winner Julia Bullock hails from St. Louis and is among the leading operatic sopranos singing today. Pianist Conor Hanick hails from Iowa City and is among the most inquisitive interpreters of music new and old. The two come together to perform Messiaen’s heartrending Harawi, an hour-long song cycle inspired by Quechua (an indigenous Andean language of Perú and Bolivia) poetry.

Says Bullock of the piece: “Harawi explores dichotomies: life and death, pain and joy, spirituality and sensuality, sacrifice and preservation, fulfillment and loss. Messiaen seems to be asking from a place of personal grief: how do you stay connected to someone you loved while the accumulated memories of your relationship begin to fade or drift? How do you recover and move on?”

“[Bullock is] one of the singular artists of her generation, a singer of enveloping tone, startlingly mature presence and unusually sophisticated insight into culture, society and history.” — The New York Times

“[Hanick is a pianist whose] technical refinement, color, crispness and wondrous variety of articulation benefit works by any master.” — The New York Times

Julia Bullock Website

Conor Hanick Website

PROGRAM:
Olivier MESSIAEN: Harawi (Chant d’amour et de mort)
La ville qui dormait, toi
Bonjour toi, colombe verte
Montagnes
Dondou tchil
L’amour de Piroutcha
Répétition planétaire
Adieu
Syllabes
L’escalier redit, gestes du soleil
Amour oiseau d’étoile
Katchikatchi les étoiles
Dans le noir

HANCHER EVENT PARTNERS
Vernon Hein Fund
H. Dee & Myrene Hoover
Richard & Judith Hurtig