PARALLELS AND DIVERGENCES: THREE CASE STUDIES IN THE MUSIC OF MICHAEL HERSCH

Abstract

AbstractThis article focuses on three recent works by the American composer Michael Hersch: the script of storms (2018), for soprano and orchestra, the chamber opera Poppaea (2019) and the 11-hour trilogy of works that have the overall title sew me into a shroud of leaves (2001–16). A discussion of aspects of these three scores will consider Hersch's deployment of a stylistically consistent musical language, his involvement with the work of the writers Fawsi Karim and Christopher Middleton and his articulation of often substantial spans of time.