Release Date: August 23, 2019
Catalog #: RR8017
Format: Digital & Physical
21st Century
Chamber
Large Ensemble
Piano
String Quartet
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Quaestiones Et Responsa

NEW WORKS FOR CHAMBER ORCHESTRA AND CHAMBER ENSEMBLES

Alla Elana Cohen composer

In celebration of her 30th anniversary of coming to America, Boston based composer Alla Cohen presents a double album of new works for chamber orchestra and chamber ensembles. A graduate of highest honors of the famed Moscow Conservatory, Cohen emigrated to the United States in 1989, first teaching at the New England Conservatory of Music, and for the last 15 years— as a Professor at Berklee College of Music. Her works have been awarded multiple prizes, are raved about in stellar reviews, and have been performed by acclaimed musicians from around the world.

Corresponding with Cohen’s monumental milestone of three decades in the United States as a highly acclaimed composer and sought-after master composition teacher, QUAESTIONES ET RESPONSA is a monumental release. This double album set, compiling Cohen’s recent compositions, very likely will be met with the same acclaim as her previous releases. Cohen’s music is strikingly unique by its style, monumental in scale, yet delicately crafted in every detail. The music is moving and uplifting, emotionally and spiritually, and is visionary and highly imaginative. These are the works of a dedicated master composer whose work and teaching captures the spirit of 20th and 21st-century art music. Cohen’s music is thought through, with painstaking care, yet retains a sense of being unbridled; often, the seemingly more traditional titles (like Partita) completely belie expectations – Cohen expands formal presumptions considerably and takes listeners on a journey to new lands of originality, discovery, and artistic freedom.

Notably, Cohen prides herself on performing her own parts at the piano – and justly so, for who could understand and execute Cohen’s thoughts better than the thinker herself? Hence, all the piano parts on QUAESTIONES ET RESPONSA are played by Cohen, who shines in this respect with empathetic sensitivity and impeccable timing; a skill she undoubtedly passes on to and demands from her other performers.

QUAESTIONES ET RESPONSA is a double album perfectly suited to the distinguished, educated contemporary music fancier. Defying conjectures and conventions, it is nothing less than confident, resolute sophistication, just as Cohen herself. Her music will also appeal to all those who are interested in the directions of art music today.

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Track Listing & Credits

# Title Composer Performer
DISC ONE
01 Partita for Chamber Orchestra: I. Preamble Alla Elana Cohen Elzbieta Brandys, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Eric Huber, vibraphone; Timur Rubinshteyn, tambourine & tambour; Thomas Schmidt, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Emily Rome, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 2:51
02 Partita for Chamber Orchestra: II. Nightingale and Rose Alla Elana Cohen Elzbieta Brandys, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Eric Huber, vibraphone; Timur Rubinshteyn, tambourine & tambour; Thomas Schmidt, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Emily Rome, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 2:26
03 Partita for Chamber Orchestra: III. Stumbling Sarabande Alla Elana Cohen Elzbieta Brandys, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Eric Huber, vibraphone; Timur Rubinshteyn, tambourine & tambour; Thomas Schmidt, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Emily Rome, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 2:13
04 Partita for Chamber Orchestra: IV. Crazy Courante Alla Elana Cohen Elzbieta Brandys, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Eric Huber, vibraphone; Timur Rubinshteyn, tambourine & tambour; Thomas Schmidt, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Emily Rome, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 1:34
05 Partita for Chamber Orchestra: V. Eclogue Alla Elana Cohen Elzbieta Brandys, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Eric Huber, vibraphone; Timur Rubinshteyn, tambourine & tambour; Thomas Schmidt, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Emily Rome, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 2:05
06 Partita for Chamber Orchestra: VI. Gigue Alla Elana Cohen Elzbieta Brandys, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Eric Huber, vibraphone; Timur Rubinshteyn, tambourine & tambour; Thomas Schmidt, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Emily Rome, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 2:11
07 3 Tableau noir: I. Alla Elana Cohen Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Melissa Bull, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 3:48
08 3 Tableau noir: II. Alla Elana Cohen Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Melissa Bull, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 2:44
09 3 Tableau noir: III. Alla Elana Cohen Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Melissa Bull, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 4:09
10 Querying the Silence for Oboe & Cello, Vol. 1, Series 9: I. Alla Elana Cohen Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 2:26
11 Querying the Silence for Oboe & Cello, Vol. 1, Series 9: II. Alla Elana Cohen Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 4:21
12 Inner Temple, Vol. 2, Series 4 "Sacred Triptych": I. Alla Elana Cohen Bianca Garcia, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Jerry Sabatini, trumpet; Timur Rubinshteyn, timpani; Aaron Trant, vibraphone; Matt Sharrock, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Melissa Bull, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 3:58
13 Inner Temple, Vol. 2, Series 4 "Sacred Triptych": II. Alla Elana Cohen Bianca Garcia, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Jerry Sabatini, trumpet; Timur Rubinshteyn, timpani; Aaron Trant, vibraphone; Matt Sharrock, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Melissa Bull, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 5:18
14 Inner Temple, Vol. 2, Series 4 "Sacred Triptych": III. Alla Elana Cohen Bianca Garcia, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Jerry Sabatini, trumpet; Timur Rubinshteyn, timpani; Aaron Trant, vibraphone; Matt Sharrock, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Melissa Bull, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 3:48
DISC TWO
01 Prophecies, Series 4 "Quaestiones et responsa": I. Alla Elana Cohen Elzbieta Brandys, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Timur Rubinshteyn, timpani; Eric Huber, vibraphone; Thomas Schmidt, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Emily Rome, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 2:10
02 Prophecies, Series 4 "Quaestiones et responsa": II. Alla Elana Cohen Elzbieta Brandys, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Timur Rubinshteyn, timpani; Eric Huber, vibraphone; Thomas Schmidt, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Emily Rome, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 2:51
03 Prophecies, Series 4 "Quaestiones et responsa": III. Alla Elana Cohen Elzbieta Brandys, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Timur Rubinshteyn, timpani; Eric Huber, vibraphone; Thomas Schmidt, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Emily Rome, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 2:27
04 Prophecies, Series 4 "Quaestiones et responsa": IV. Alla Elana Cohen Elzbieta Brandys, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Timur Rubinshteyn, timpani; Eric Huber, vibraphone; Thomas Schmidt, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Emily Rome, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello 1:51
05 Querying the Silence for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet & Piano, Vol. 1, Series 9: I. Alla Elana Cohen Bianca Garcia, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Alla Elana Cohen, piano 3:11
06 Querying the Silence for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet & Piano, Vol. 1, Series 9: II. Alla Elana Cohen Bianca Garcia, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Alla Elana Cohen, piano 3:07
07 Querying the Silence for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet & Piano, Vol. 1, Series 9: III. Alla Elana Cohen Bianca Garcia, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Alla Elana Cohen, piano 3:48
08 Prophecies, Series 5 (Version for Chamber Orchestra): I. Alla Elana Cohen Elzbieta Brandys, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Eric Huber, vibraphone; Thomas Schmidt, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Emily Rome, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello; Alla Elana Cohen, piano 2:33
09 Prophecies, Series 5 (Version for Chamber Orchestra): II. Alla Elana Cohen Elzbieta Brandys, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Eric Huber, vibraphone; Thomas Schmidt, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Emily Rome, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello; Alla Elana Cohen, piano 1:39
10 Prophecies, Series 5 (Version for Chamber Orchestra): III. Alla Elana Cohen Elzbieta Brandys, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Eric Huber, vibraphone; Thomas Schmidt, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Emily Rome, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello; Alla Elana Cohen, piano 2:06
11 Prophecies, Series 5 (Version for Chamber Orchestra): IV. Alla Elana Cohen Elzbieta Brandys, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Alexis Lanz, clarinet; Eric Huber, vibraphone; Thomas Schmidt, marimba; Marissa Licata, 1st violin; Emily Rome, 2nd violin; Ervin Dede, viola; Sebastian Bäverstam, cello; Alla Elana Cohen, piano 2:25
12 Inner Temple, Vol. 2, Series 3 "Sacred Diptych": I. Alla Elana Cohen Sebastian Bäverstam, cello; Alla Elana Cohen, piano 6:20
13 Inner Temple, Vol. 2, Series 3 "Sacred Diptych": II. Alla Elana Cohen Sebastian Bäverstam, cello; Alla Elana Cohen, piano 5:50

Recorded 2017—18 at Futura Productions in Roslindale MA and at the Old South Church in Boston MA

Recording, Producing & Engineering John Weston
Editing, Mixing & Mastering Corey Schreppel

“My heartfelt gratitude goes to all my wonderful performers who played my music so brilliantly and with such inspiration and enthusiasm at the recording sessions; to John Weston and everyone at Futura Productions for their wonderful work recording my compositions; to Corey Schreppel for his outstanding work editing, mixing, and mastering my pieces; to Joseph Bachour for his constant friendly support and design input; and of course to PARMA Recordings, by whose amazing efforts the set of my album QUAESTIONES ET RESPONSA is released, and who did such a wonderful job with the final mastering on my album and with the visual design for the set.” — Alla Elana Cohen

All works composed by Alla Elana Cohen
Copyright © 2019 Alla Elana Cohen

Executive Producer Bob Lord

Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
A&R Director Brandon MacNeil

VP, Audio Production Jeff LeRoy
Audio Director Lucas Paquette
Mastering Shaun Michaud

VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Patrick Niland, Sara Warner

Artist Information

Alla Elana Cohen

Composer

Alla Elana Cohen is a distinguished composer, pianist, music theorist, and teacher who came to the United States in 1989 from Russia. Graduating from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory with the highest honors of distinction, Cohen lives in Boston and is a professor at Berklee College of Music.

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Notes

PARTITA FOR CHAMBER ORCHESTRA in 6 Movements is my slightly humorous tribute to the traditional genre of Baroque music. It is not written, however, in the Baroque style, but in my own original idiom. I don’t exactly follow the traditional order of movements in this Partita for three woodwinds, four strings and four percussion instruments.

Movement I “Preamble” is jubilantly and at the same time humorously majestic.

Movement II “Nightingale and Rose,” is, rather than an Allemande, a fable for flute and cello in which the Rose is the cello in high register and the Nightingale (the flute) tries to tell the arrogant and ruthless Rose about his love. The Rose, in a peremptory way, orders him away, and the poor Nightingale expires from the grief of not being loved by her.

Movement III “Stumbling Sarabande” is a humorous epitaph to the dead Nightingale (though traditionally the Courante would have been the third movement!).

Movement IV “Crazy Courante” is ironic and impetuous, with precipitous passages toward the ending as if in a crazy hurry towards the finish of a race.

Movement V “Eclogue” is gently pastoral and humorously naive.

Movement VI “Gigue,” like the first movement, has a jubilant character; like the 5th movement, is slightly rustic and naive, though a bit more “rough;” and like the “Courante” is lively, with precipitous rubato passages in the end.

Almost all the movements have echo effects in which small bits of previous phrases are repeated softly as an echo.

–Alla Elana Cohen

STRING QUARTET “THREE TABLEAU NOIR” is based on material from my chamber opera Inheritance (the libretto for it is written by me, and is based on a short story by the great Indian poet and writer Rabindranath Tagore). The first movement uses material connected with the prologue of my opera. It is tragic, turbulent, and at times sinister in its character.

The second movement is connected with a scene in my opera in which one of the main protagonists, an insane old man, first meets a boy named Nitay. The music is pensive at first, connected to the aria of the old man. Later in the movement, the energy of the music becomes associated with the boy—active and slightly naive. However, what the music conveys is not a joyful, but rather a twisted and doomed childhood, with a shadow of death over it. In the very end, a short, sinister phrase from the cello portends the horrible fate of Nitay.

The third movement is connected with the nightly walk of the old man and the boy through the forest to the ruins of an old temple and with the monotonous prayer of the old man at the vault there, with simultaneous flashes of horror in the mind of the doomed child. In the opera, after the prayer, the old man leaves the vault, taking away the ladder and locking the vault, immuring the child there. This short story by Rabindranath Tagore produced a striking impression on me when I read it as a child through its haunting tragic beauty and highly poetic language.

Both the second and third movements of this piece end very abruptly, as if cut off at the end—like the short life of Nitay.

–Alla Elana Cohen

All my pieces under this title are permeated with a restless spirit of futility of effort—to query the silence means only to listen to the echo of one’s own words and one’s own thoughts. In this work, the echo effect is presented as an echo at a certain temporal distance—as an imitation, as an exchange of material in double counterpoint, and of course, as an immediate echo of a certain short musical idea. The first movement is a passionate, disconsolate utterance with lament-like descending phrases. The second movement has a soothing, serene, slightly naive musical idea in the beginning, which alternates with another lament-like material and ultimately comes to a seemingly peaceful ending—peaceful but with an undercurrent of a question unresolved. I wrote this composition for two brilliant performers: oboist Izumi Sakamoto and cellist Sebastian Bäverstam. Both parts are of challenging difficulty.

–Alla Elana Cohen

In the three movements of this work I sought to convey not only a devotional mood but, first and foremost, all the complexities of humanity’s relationship with the Divine. The first movement is somber and dramatically majestic, balancing “between trepidation and hope” with a somewhat searching mood. The second movement is a bittersweet Hallelujah and an expression of timid love for the Divine, with a smile through tears and regretful acceptance of one’s earthly destiny. The third movement is also majestic, in a more austere yet at the same time more mysterious, enigmatic way than the first movement. It contains an even more pronounced searching, questioning mood, and ends abruptly with a huge question mark.

–Alla Elana Cohen

This composition has a huge rondo-like form which is superimposed upon a four-movement cycle. At the same time, it has features of the Baroque concerto form with its alternation of instrumental groups—concertino and ripieno. Each movement is based on the antiphon principle: there is in each movement a refrain, and the material of the refrain is similar for all movements (it is played by cello solo and cello echoed by marimba, and by marimba and timpani in the first movement; by flute in the second; by two violins and viola always playing pizzicato in the third movement; and by clarinet echoed by marimba in the fourth movement).

The refrain is a “question,” which is returned to several times during each movement. It alternates in each movement with responses, or episodes, which have a certain character throughout each movement. They are soothing and consoling in the first movement; intense, passionate, and sinister in the second movement; pastoral and serene in the third; and forceful, seemingly relentless, but in reality enigmatic in the fourth movement. All the responses are played by the ripieno group. All movements have rubato sections, which always have a very significant role in my music.

–Alla Elana Cohen

In this work, light and bright colors prevail, though as usual in this series there are undercurrents of futile questions which only receive an echo as a response; however, here the spirit of acceptance and hope is dominant. The character of the music is mostly serene, peaceful, at times lyrical, and at times playfully energetic. Sometimes in the first and third movements the music has a devotional character. Like in all the previous compositions on this album, this quartet has echo effects and numerous rubato moments.

–Alla Elana Cohen

Like the previous work titled “Prophecies” on this album, this mysterious composition, with its concise movements, is permeated with the spirit of ritualistic fervor and remains enigmatic until the end. As the veil over the mystery is never really lifted, a big question mark remains, and what is revealed is confusing and difficult to interpret. This is despite a seemingly more clear, lucid, transparent, and even at times more soothing character of music than in the answers in Quaestiones and Responsa. In a way, this work is even more complex and ambiguous in its character.

The first movement is, I would say, enigmatically and deceptively serene. There is something lurking there, under the surface of a quiet pond, and what creates even more confusion is a constant echo in the piano part of each musical phrase.

The second movement has a strange textural contrast (or it is an inner conflict?). It contains a simultaneous combination of turbulent, agitated parts of strings that play dynamically in the background and a choral-like piano part sounding dynamically in the foreground. Structurally, the phrases of the choral-like part are separated in time by ritornellos of string instruments. The meaning of this prophecy is dark.

The third movement is again a study in contrasts. On one hand, there is a refrain—a fervent, ritualistic recitation with its cantillation on repeated notes in small range in its refrain, which with every recurrence becomes more and more insistent, intense, and passionate, thicker in texture and louder in dynamics. On the other hand, there are episodes which soar upward in large range phrases of piano and percussion with pizzicato cello. Once again, all is said, but nothing revealed.

The fourth movement has the most complex semantic undercurrent. It is seemingly bittersweet, Schubertian in character, sorrowfully serene and soothing, like the testament of someone who is reconciled with both life (which is almost behind) and death (which is at hand). Nevertheless, there are still moments (cadences and harmonic turns) which bring about these undercurrents, making the meaning of this prophecy ambiguous and open to interpretation.

–Alla Elana Cohen

Like Sacred Triptych, this composition has a devotional mood. I consider it the most large-scale, monumental work in this set—not in size, but in the character of music, especially the second movement. The first movement is tragic, at times questioning, passionately rebellious, or resigned in character. It is a sorrowful musing on the human condition, on unresolved mysteries of life in this world, and on that tremulous uncertainty of what to expect in the world that is to come “beyond, over there, far away.”

The second movement is written in the form of double variations. It is assertive, epic and monumental, and at times even heroic in character. Here I sought to convey the uplifting of the human spirit, which seeks healing in the miracle of Faith. As a result—because of Faith, on the foundation of Faith—a powerful ray of Hope shines in the end. I intend to create an orchestral version of this piece—a double concerto for cello and piano with orchestra. This piece ends, like others in this album, with the gesture of a question—an ascending melodic seventh, repeated in the cello; is it now just a rhetorical question, as we received the answer to it, or still a question that remains without an answer?

–Alla Elana Cohen