MELIA WATRAS: HERTABUISE
for narrator and violin
or for violin solo (2021)
Photo by Michelle Smith-Lewis
World Premiere: Herbert Woodward Martin, recorded voice; Michael Jinsoo Lim, violin; April 11, 2022, Seattle, WA
Duration: 3:18
Program Notes:
Hertabuise is part of my continued work with poet and friend Herbert Woodward Martin. I had previously showcased his poems in two forms: setting his words in a quasi-sprechstimme style in 5 Poems of Herbert Woodward Martin, and as inspiration for sound worlds in A brazen butterfly alights. I asked Herb if he was interested in a new collaboration, this time with him reading to a single violin, played by Michael Jinsoo Lim. Among the writings he sent, he highlighted Hertabuise. The African, which deeply moved me. In the end, I decided on two versions for Hertabuise: one with Herb’s exquisite words and one for violin alone.
Upon hearing the first performance Mike gave of the piece, Herb said, "I do wish I knew where Hertabuise was after all of these years. I simply wish she could hear Michael's playing. She might think he had a hand on the natural gifts of her life. Divine playing!”
—Melia Watras
Violinist Michael Jinsoo Lim and Herbert Woodward Martin (recorded voice) perform the world premiere of Melia Watras's Hertabuise for narrator and violin (2021); poetry by Herbert Woodward Martin. Recorded live at Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater, University of Washington, Seattle, WA on April 11, 2022. Photo projections by Michelle Smith-Lewis; video of Herbert Woodward Martin by Brigham Fisher.
Melia Watras: Hetabuise for narrator and violin (2021)
Herbert Woodward Martin, recorded voice; Michael Jinsoo Lim, violin