Viddler

Music by Paula M. Kimper,
Poetry by Perry Brass

Marshall Coid - Counter Tenor
Lori Miller - Violin
Melanie Baker - Violin
Eva Gerard - Viola
Jennifer DeVore - Cello

World Premiere, March 16, 2008
St. Marks Church, NYC
Commissioned by
Downtown Music Productions
Mimi Stern-Wolfe, Artistic Director

CONTACT:
paulakimper@hotmail.com

REVIEW:
Q on Stage.com
Stern-Wolfe & Downtown Music Celebrate Women's Works
by Bruce-Michael Gelbert

Maestra Mimi Stern-Wolfe and her Downtown Music Productions (DMP) observed Women's History Month with a concert, at St. Marks-in-the-Bowery on March 16, entitled "Women at Work," consisting of works by women composers and mostly women poets, including several premieres, with many of the creative artists present.

A featured work, and world premiere, was "The Restless Yearning towards Myself," for countertenor and string quartet, with music by Paula M. Kimper, composer of the opera "Patience and Sarah," and words by Perry Brass, which the poet calls, "A Musical Collaboration and a Transformative Work in Healing the Heart." In this opus of lyricism and deep feeling, high strings-violinists Lori Miller and Melanie Baker-then low strings-violist Eva Gerard and cellist Jennifer DeVore-set the tone in an instrumental prelude, somewhat melancholy, but flowing, reflecting the yearning and the restlessness. His singing sweet and eloquent, Marshall Coid limned loneliness-"My adventure has been marvelous/but what good is it without a confidant/to share secrets with at the end?" Warmly and lovingly, he sang of a lover accepting and acknowledging one's flaws and, in the final verse, rushed jubilantly toward welcome reunion with this "bewitching treasure," embracing the long-desired peace and fulfillment.