"Berceuse" by Stephen Paulus

"Berceuse" (1983)

from "Divertimento" for Harp and Orchestra

by Stephen Paulus

French: from bercer: to rock, 

from Old French bercier, from bers: cradle

a lullaby.

From the performer:

This is a baby picture of me; can you imagine rocking this monster to sleep? Taken a two days after I had surgery to remove a cyst that was so close to my right eye that they had to bring in a specialist, this picture embodies basically every emotion I wished to portray in my performance of this work.  

I am not a mother.  The idea of a lullaby is not one that I initially connected with in any type of real way.  Of course I have heard spectacular performances of lullabies by impassioned colleagues, but I have never personally experienced what I thought it would take to emotionally portray a lullaby.

"Berceuse" by Stephen Paulus found me in early January of this year.  I say it found me because although I was actively searching for 20th century solo harp music by American composers the moment that I heard this work it seemed to latch onto my soul.  I spent hours playing through the work over and over and over trying to find the perfect timing, spacing, and tone for each note.  It wasn't until I had lived with the work for a few months and had the opportunity to experience the music as I have chosen to portray it in the porch performance.

I see this work as being built upon two basic emotions: love, and the fear that comes along with that love; with an overarching intensity that drives the work forward.  I imagine this is the song that a mother hears as she rocks her baby to sleep at night, embodying the joy, fear, and question that is parenthood.

About the Composer:

Stephen Paulus (1949-2014) was a prolific American composer of classical music.  He wrote over 600 works for chorus, opera, orchestra, chamber ensemble, solo voice, concert band, piano, and organ, receiving premieres and performances throughout the world as well as a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2015.  His musical style has been described by The New York Times as "lush and extravagant," and critics from the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer Opera News, and many others have praised his work.  The New Yorker described him as a "bright, lyrical inventor whose music pulsates with a driving, kinetic energy."  He was a recipient of both NEA and Guggenheim Fellowships.

Paulus was a passionate advocate for the works and careers of his colleagues.  In 1973 he co-founded the Minnesota Composers Forum, now known as the American Composers Forum, the largest composer service organization in the U.S. 

Stephen Paulus passed away in October, 2014 from complications of a stroke, but his music continues to be frequently performed and described by critics as rugged, angular, lyrical, lean, rhythmically aggressive, original, often gorgeous, moving, and uniquely American.

taken from Stephen Paulus' website.

Watch the performance of "Berceuse" by Stephen Paulus

performed by Kristina Finch, harpist