Media
New Lullaby Project
Hi Aaron,
We loved the concert. Hope to see you soon. Keep on playing - you are so fabulous! I was blown away by the piece with the vocalizations and the whistling [Berceuse by David Vayo].
Dear Aaron,
Thank you so very much for the wonderful recital yesterday evening. It was such an exciting occasion for us both to be there, to hear.
Scott's [Wheeler] Nachtlied and so many other wonderful pieces. George has just told me he particularly appreciated the chance to hear music for solo guitar, particularly contemporary music for the instrument, he was not at all familiar with. I told Scott's sister, whom I met there, that the room seemed to fairly quiver with creative energy, yours and that of the many composers present, aided by the highly attentive audience. We're so glad that the performance was recorded;
Scott told us he would keep an eye out for the CD. George asked me to have a look at the iTunes site for your previous recordings; I did, and will order them immediately as I soon as I dispatch this.
Aaron,
Wonderful concert last night! I think it is so incredible for Terra to get to see her teacher perform, and to learn to respect and be in awe of your work. It was also nice that Ani was able to share it with Terra this time.
I was struck by how clever and creative your project is. In science, the most powerful breakthroughs are often based on seeing through all of the complicated mess of what could be measured and finding a simple explanation. I now see that there is a parallel in music.
My favorite last night was Summertime [by George Gershwin arr. T. Takemitsu], and I also really liked Lullaby for Sam [by Nolan Stolz]. I resonated personally with your realization that Summertime is a lullaby. I don't know how it ever popped into my head that these were lullabies, but I have been singing three songs to my own children as lullabies ever since they were born - Summertime, Amazing Grace, and a lullaby that I made up in Armenian one night when Ani was a few weeks old and began a phase of not being able to sleep unless I walked around holding her in my arms. I wonder if you might also look for a rendition of Amazing Grace for guitar.
Please do let me know what you think Terra can be practicing over the next week, and I'm going to try to get us back on track with practicing daily.
...regarding Aaron Larget-Caplan’s New Lullaby Project
Classical guitarist Aaron Larget-Caplan has embarked on an extraordinarily valuable musical endeavor by commissioning and premiering lullabies for solo guitar by living (and emerging) composers. Larget-Caplan’s concerts integrate these new works with dances and traditional repertory for the guitar in perennially effective programs.
It is rare to witness a young performer who is so unwaveringly committed to placing his full artistic weight behind new work for his instrument. At a recent performance offered to the Composition Seminar at Tufts University (a course currently supporting seventeen young composers working at a variety of undergraduate and graduate levels), Aaron Larget-Caplan presented several new lullabies (by Jacob Mashak, Nolan Stolz, Eric Schwartz, Scott Wheeler, and myself) alongside other, larger modern guitar works. His inspired programming and unique approach to each work captured the imagination of the entire group of composers. A new lullaby by nineteen-year-old Joshua Hahn has already been completed.
Having composed a lullaby for Aaron myself, I can only attest to his continuing devotion to the piece I offered him in 2007. Now that he has performed it four or five times, the subtle changes that accompany its evolution from performance to performance have made it come to life repeatedly. I am indebted to Aaron Larget-Caplan for his continuing search through the guitar, and for his abiding support of young composers through the New Lullaby Project. Larget-Caplan’s work is to be celebrated and supported in every way possible.
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