E4TT to Live Stream CD Release Party

The E4TT trio of Dale Tsang, Anne Lerner, and Nanette McGuinness (from the E4TT home page)

Ensemble for These Times (E4TT) is the trio led by soprano Nanette McGuinness performing with cellist Anne Lerner and pianist Dale Tsang. Their 2019/20 concert plans may have been impeded by COVID-19, but the release of their third recording is still on schedule. The title of the recording is Once/Memory/Night: Paul Celan, and the release will commemorate the centennial of the birth of the Romanian poet Paul Celan on November 23, 1920.

The album will feature two settings of Celan texts, both of which were premiered by E4TT in 2018. Die eichne Tür (the oaken door) is a cycle of seven poems composed by David Garner for soprano, violin, cor anglais, cello, and piano. Jared Redmond’s “Nachtlang” (nightlong) sets two Celan poems, “Notturno” (night) and “Einmal” (once) for soprano, cello, and piano. The trio also performs Stephen Eddins’ “A Song on the End of the World,” which sets a poem by Celan’s contemporary, Czesław Miłosz. The album also includes 4 ½, a five-movement suite for solo piano by Libby Larsen.

The Gala will feature performances of two Celan settings, “Notturno” and “Espenbaum” (aspen tree), from Die eichne Tür. The violinist will be Ilana Blumberg, and Laura Reynolds will play cor anglais. Pianist Xin Zhao will also be a guest artist. In addition there will be performances of works by Aleksandra Vrebalov, Vivian Fung, Gabriela Lena Frank, Juliana Hall, Kareem Roustom, and Lajos Delej. The last of those was represented on E4TT’s second album, The Hungarians: from Rozsa to Justus. The Gala will also include interviews with Vrebalov, Fung, Garner, and Frank.

This event will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 19. [updated 6/8, 1:45 p.m.: The date of the event has been changed to Friday, June 26; but the content and the hyperlink will remain the same.] It is expected to last for about 75 minutes. It will be streamed live through both Facebook and YouTube. There will be no charge for “admission;” but registration through a hyperlink will be required to get information about connectivity.