About the Work
The May 10, 2009 performance at Carnegie Hall marked
the work’s World Premiere.
Notes on the
Work
The text of Helen Enfettered is from Christian Bök’s Eunoia
(Beautiful Thinking or Well Mind), in which five chapters of
prose poetry use only one vowel apiece. Chapter E describes the character and
ordeal of Helen of Troy. The excerpts used in Helen Enfettered focus on
her psychological journey from anxiety and wretched despair to spiritual release
and literary immortality, tracing this transformation in language which, despite
the constraint, is rich, surprising, and musical.
—Kate Soper
About the Composer
Kate Soper is a Michigan-born, New York–based composer with a diverse
background. Currently pursuing a doctorate in composition at Columbia University
where she focuses primarily on concert music, Kate has written music for dance,
film, theater, and electronics, in addition to working extensively as a
singersongwriter. Her recent awards and commissions have come from the American
Academy of Arts and Letters, the Fromm Foundation, and Tanglewood Music Center.
She is managing director and vocalist for the new music ensemble Wet Ink, a
group committed to innovative programming across such musical genres as
contemporary classical, experimental, and improvisation.
Bio current as of May 2009