DESCRIPTION:
Braga (2008) by Brent Lee
Ensemble Resonance:
Michelle Todd, soprano
Stan Climie, bass clarinet and electronic sound
Colleen Athparia, piano
Purchase this disc online at: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ensembleresonance
Braga is entitled after a lithograph of the same name by noted Canadian artist John Snow. I knew
John through his association with New Works Calgary, an organization he co-founded in the early
80s. I had the pleasure of composing a short piece on the occasion of John and Kathleen Snow's 50th
wedding anniversary; John presented me with one of his lithographs (Braga) in appreciation.
The text is from a trovador poem entitled Cantiga d'amor written by Airas Nunez in the late 13th
century. The language is Galician-Portuguese, a medieval dialect popular with poets throughout the
Iberian peninsula at that time. . I have tried to capture something of the character of this lithograph
in the composition.
Performed Saturday, October 22, 2011, 7:30 p.m., Whitehorse United Church as part of the Western Canadian Music Awards Classical Showcase concert.