Kaya Songs by Tzu-En Lee, viola; David Oei, piano; Steven Christopher Sacco, piano

Program notes:

Note by the composer.

Kaya Songs was written in 2020 for the violist Kaya Katarzyna Bryla. It premiered at the David Oei Classical Salon on March 20, 2022, with Kaya Katarzyna Bryla and David Oei. The piece is in five movements, all of which are in various song forms - hence the title. In this note, I will focus on writing about only one of the movements. Most, if not all, of my music is purely abstract musical expression—meaning that there are no programmatic elements in my writing, at least in my estimation. In movement III, Dance and Lament for the Little Field Mouse, I make an exception, and not by conscious choice. The piece emerged in this form after a chance encounter with a mouse.

We live in the mountains—a kind of idyll. There are all kinds of wildlife here. Living in the country means a field mouse sometimes makes its way into the house. One day, my daughter trapped one under a drinking glass. She brought it to my studio to show me. I thought the mouse was adorable. I noticed the mouse might have been injured, and I wasn’t sure if he would make it. When we released him he scurried away under the fallen leaves of the forest floor.
When I returned to the studio, this movement of the Kaya Songs just came out in full. The music evokes the joy the mouse exhibited upon release-which is the little dance you hear at the beginning of the movement. Juxtaposed to the dance is the lament, my feeling of sadness in not knowing if the mouse would make it. The laments are rich in sound and filled with loss. The movement alternates between sections of dance and lament. The last dance ends with a question - does the little mouse survive? The answer does not exist; it is unknowable.

Introit, for piano four hands, was written for the dedication concert for St. John’s in the Village, October 1, 2023, celebrating the 45th anniversary of the dedication of the church by Paul Moore, Bishop of New York, on October 1, 1978. Tatjana Rankovich and David Oei performed the premiere.


Note by David Oei.

Tzu-En Lee came into my Alaria chamber music class at the Mannes College of Music in 2009, and through this program, we've stayed musically connected ever since. It gives me great satisfaction that this unassuming young student from Taiwan has ended up as the violist of the Alaria Chamber Ensemble, and you'll excuse me if I'm overflowing with pride about this exciting debut album for Tzu-En. Steven Sacco's Kaya Songs was written for my dear friend, the outstanding violist Kaya Katarzyna Bryla. It's full of beauty, fun, drama, and technical challenges. In short, I believe it's a very serious and welcome addition to the viola and piano repertoire.

American composer Steven Christopher Sacco's work is performed internationally by some of today’s leading soloists and ensembles. Critics praise him for writing “absorbing, poetic and passionate music that easily engages the sympathies and attention of a concert audience.” International tours have seen his work performed in Australia, Asia, Europe and North and South America.

stevensacco.com