HARP

(HERE Artist Residency Program)

Mosheh • Yoav Gal

Show Description

"Music that is drawn to what's next, rather then what has been." Allan Kozinn, New York Times.

“Yoav Gal takes the Passover Story and turns it on its head.” John Schaefer, WNYC.

MOSHEH is a hybrid opera, which traces the formation of the legendary Biblical figure, Moses. Through immersive video projections and highly stylized music, costuming & movement, MOSHEH brings four females characters to the forefront of the Biblical story: - mother, sister, adoptive mother, and wife - who nurtured and protected the leader from birth. A series of episodes, based on a short narrative in the book of Exodus, trace the evolution of a hero, from infancy through maturation and acceptance of his mission. The female characters highlight ancient pagan traditions hidden in the text, which are often overlooked. Their extensive arias, sung in Hebrew, are punctuated by appearances of God, a jealous and fearsome - at time demonic - father figure, who bestows on Moses a harsh and arduous gift.

The creator of the work, Yoav Gal, has devoted his artistic life to the creation of a new form of Opera, a style that has been called ‘indie opera’ (NY Times, Anne Midgette, “Never Say Die in Indie Opera”). It has evolved in small spaces, often with limited means, and is designs to provide the audience with an “operatic” experience in a concert hall, a black box theater or a gallery, just as well as in a large opera house. It draws on a range of new media: video art and performance art, modern dance, while at the same time relies on the traditional musical and theatrical practices of opera, especially those of Baroque Opera – vocal virtuosity, highly stylized dramatization, and polyphonic settings cast in a clear harmonic language.  These elements are combined in MOSHEH to create a spiritually charged, ancient/futuristic ritual.
 

Artist Bio

I’m a composer and a multidisciplinary artist who specializes in the marriage of music and image. My artistic output falls under the category of “indie opera” (designated by NY Times Critic Anne Midgette). In the past decade I have created, composed and designed a series of mixed-media production in venues such as New York City Opera, Whitney Biennial (Whitney Museum); Merkin Concert Hall; HERE Arts Center; La MaMa ETC.; Galapagos Art Space; Berkshire Fringe Festival and others. I have been commissioned by ensembles and soloist, including Bang on a Can (Dr. KING, 2006); David Cossin (IR SHEL SHALOM, 2007); Real Quiet trio (WE SHALL FIGHT, 2007); Wendy Sutter; Gila Goldstein; Abby Fischer; Ensemble Pamplemousse; International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE); Now Ensemble and the Locrian Chamber Players. NY Times’ Allan Kozinn, described my work as "music that is drawn to what's next, rather then what has been."From an early age I was impressed by the power of music to imbue images with emotional and spiritual meaning, and throughout my evolution as an artist I have immersed myself in both music and the visual arts. In my early twenties I discovered opera, and quickly realized that this art form, which unifies the arts around music, was my calling. The genre of “new opera” – broadly defined - has been the focus of my artistic life ever since.
I was born in Israel, and in 1988 came to New York to study music. After graduating from Manhattan School of Music, I decided that, rather than wait for a rare commission from an opera house, I would rely, instead, on my dual proclivities and develop my own methods to produce my operatic creations. Key to this progression was the advent of computer-based electronic audio and video art, which made it possible to create an “operatic” experience on a very tight budget. Another important influence was my exposure to Minimalism, which offered new musical methods, demonstrated the importance of the composer’s involvement in performance of his own works, and also freed composers such as myself from the tyranny of the dissonance that prevailed in music academies.I became a composer who also creates video imagery, sews costumes, builds sets, and at night supports himself as a toy sculptor. About my early comic opera, (the DWARF), NY Times Anne Midgette, wrote: "…designing a bustle large enough to conceal the tenor who plays Lingus [the dwarf], seemed as much a source of pride to Mr. Gal as writing the piece itself…"
My early works for stage were composed mostly to English text, and included such works as MAO ZEDONG, JEALOUS SON (LaMaMa ETC, 1999). The DWARF (Vertical Player Rep, 2003); VENUS IN FURS, a videOpera (Golden Fleece LTD, 2004) and BERESHIT, (Golden Fleece LTD, 2001. At a certain moment in this progress, however, my Israeli-Jewish identity started to manifest in my work. After more than a decade away from my homeland I began to notice the influences that Christian and Pagan thought had on me, and the new perspective I had developed in relation to the traditions I grew up with. I felt compelled to offer my personal meditation on the seminal biblical narrative: the book of Exodus, and the result was the work MOSHEH, a videOpera. The work was commissioned by Merkin Concert Hall, NYC, in 2006, and is currently in residency at HERE Arts Center, NY, and is also a New York City Opera orchestral reading selection for VOX 2009. MOSHEH has received exposure already as a work in progress, through many concert performances and several radio airings and interviews, including appearances on WNYC, where host John Schaefer described the work as a “Passover Story turned on its head.” MOSHEH is my most ambitious work artistically, and in terms of the required resources. It is the work into which I currently channel all my talents, skills, and my most critical personal message.
Other works I have created in the “Jewish” vain include THE THREE WEEKS, a videOpera (in progress); BERESHIT; and ABSALOM.
In 2006 my “virtual opera” CD, BIT BY BIT, CELL BY CELL - a work which combines digitally processed voice and sounds generated from discontinued Atari 800XL computer, was released on Innova Records. The multimedia CD was hailed by critics, described as "clusters of angels caught in various beams of light and held suspended as their songs bleed through to our world. Quite lovely, listenable, and beautifully packaged as well." by George Parsons of Dream Magazine; "perfectly accessible and often quite beautiful for it." by Tim Rutherford-Johnson; and "A gorgeous work,” that "really pushed the envelope of how much can be asked of the listener" by DaveX of the Startling Moniker. I have also recorded and released my VENUS IN FURS, which is available on CD baby. MOSHEH and THE DWARF have been recorded and are awaiting a commercial release.
I have received grants from the NEA, American Music Center; Harvestworks, Meet the Composer; Franklin Furnace; and BCAT/Brooklyn-Rotunda Gallery.
Born in Israel, I have been a resident of New York since 1988. I have BA in composition from the Manhattan School of Music and an MA from Queens College, and I also studied visual art in Thelma Yelin School for the Arts, in Tel Aviv.
 

Artist Statement

My goal is the unification of the arts in the operatic tradition. The proliferation of new media tools, and a personal history of working within modest means, channeled my work into a hybrid of arts which I term ‘New Opera,’ a dramatic form which draws on an array of old and new mediums.

Next to elements that are usually associated with Opera, such as extreme stylization and vocal virtuosity, I also draw on mediums such as Performance Art, Video Art, and Sampling. Sound and video images are captured from the real world, and then imitated, formalized and stylized. Several of my recent works, such as Dr. King, and We Shall Fight, are based on recorded and “musicalized” speech.

Opera, for me, is a flexible term. The ‘operatic’ experience can be generated on stage, on film, through recording and text, or in any other forms yet to be explored. At the core is the notion that I work in a dramatic form where music is queen.

Press

““Music that is drawn to what’s next, not what has been.” "…since the performance I’ve been curious to hear the rest of the work."”
— Allan Kozinn New York Times
““Composer Yoav Gal Takes the most traditional Passover story, and turns it on its head.” ”
— John Schaefer, Soundcheck, WNYC
“"Gal’s diverse education allows him to do it all – composing, costume design, video art. All that combined has led to the recent creation of a fresh new opera for a small number of musicians and singers… to give the audience a different sort of opera experience.””
— Asi Weinstein - El Al Magazine
“About Mosheh, ...”If the quality of the excerpts reflects the quality of the larger opera, I highly recommend that readers see the full-length production as soon as it opens. I was really impressed with the musical score. … piqued and sustained my interest… distinguishable melodies that guided me through the non-English language opera and served as through lines for the principal characters. Moreover, the seamless combination of pedestrian movement, video projection, and virtuoso singing (especially for "Tinok") was unforgettable. …surreal atmosphere that blurred the boundaries between space and time, and provided a temporary respite from normal life. At the same time, the hybridity of (the opera employed elements from dance, multimedia, music, and theater) facilitated a humanistic exploration of spirituality. I am eager to experience the full-length opera. ”
— - Eric Miles Glover, The New Theater Corps.
“About Bit by Bit, Cell by Cell. "...A gorgeous work for Atari 800XL and soprano voice, this multimedia disc on Innova Recordings really threw me for a loop. There are many layers of meaning here, to the point that its ultimately unclear what’s happened. Nevertheless, this release really pushed the envelope of how much can be asked of the listener. I’m more than certain I’ll be using a large portion of 2007 to continue figuring this album out.”
— –DaveX, startlingmoniker.wordpress.com/2006/12/
“About Bit by Bit, Cell by Cell. "Like clusters of angels caught in various beams of light and held suspended as their songs bleed through to our world."”
— - George Parsons, Dream Magazine, www.dreamgeo.com

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Creating Moses: Revelations in Real Life, the Straddler

Creating Moses: A Conversation with Yoav Gal [Yoav Gal is an Israeli-born, Brooklyn-based composer. His VideOpera Mosheh has been performed at numerous venues, including Merkin Concert Hall, Golden Fleece Opera, Ltd., Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (as part of...

Culturemart Excerpts

Moses is a contemporary young man, alone in the wilderness of a foreign land. He is meditating on an image of a burning bush, which is burning with fire, yet not consumed. A message emanates from this apparition, commanding him...