A Carnival of Miracles: An Interview with Richard Einhorn

1. How would you articulate the basic message of the piece?

I know what A Carnival of Miracles means to me, but people can (and should!) have different responses to both the music and the texts. Rather than deliver one single message, I try to create a musical environment that invites reflection and exploration on a specific topic. It could be female heroism, for example, or scientific discovery. With A Carnival of Miracles, I’m inviting people to explore the notion of freedoms — plural.

2. I’m curious about the genesis of the work. Can you describe the moment of inspiration, and summarize the process you went through from conceiving of the work to its completion?

I was commissioned by John Schaefer’s New Sounds radio show to write a new piece for Anonymous 4, the wonderful all-female quartet who specialized in singing early music.

When I was on tour with them for Voices of Light—a large piece I wrote about Joan of Arc which featured A4—we stopped in Charleston, SC. I was browsing poetry in a local bookstore when I came across a collection of Wisława Szymborska’s poetry. I believe she had just won the Nobel Prize.

The moment I read “Miracle Fair,” her poem about the rebirth of Polish political/cultural freedom after decades of oppression, the structure of the piece I wanted to write for A4 became clear: it would consist of several movements, and each would address different kinds of freedoms.

3. How did you decide which texts to choose? I imagine there were so many considerations. The poetry of the final movement in particular moved me and resonated quite strongly, personally.

Yes, “Miracle Fair” is such a poignant, original, and moving poem!

Once I knew the piece would address multiple freedoms, I made a list of them: religious freedom, scientific freedom, artistic freedom, sexual freedom, cultural/political freedom, etc. As I worked this out, it became clearer to me that while in general, freedoms are, naturally, desirable… in practice, they can get complicated!

For example, freedom of speech is one of our most cherished values, but does that give us the right to scream “Fire! Fire!” in a concert hall?

With this idea in mind — that freedoms can be quite ambiguous and nuanced — I found texts from a host of various traditions and languages. Eventually, they would include:

• An ancient heretical poem to illustrate freedom of religion
• An obnoxious comment by Beethoven to represent artistic freedom
• A telling phrase by Galileo for scientific freedom

I searched for texts that were both beautiful and unusual — and perhaps even funny. And from the beginning, I knew that the piece would end with a setting of Szymborska’s magnificent poem.

After that, I found the original languages for the texts — not just English, but everything from French, German, and Italian to Polish to ancient Coptic — and contacted experts who recorded pronunciation guides for me and the singers. And then I started to compose.

4. Was there a reason you decided to incorporate two cellos, as opposed to one or a cello with another string instrument?

The idea for the two cellos was Anonymous 4’s, an idea I really liked as it would provide a solid foundation for their voices.

5. Do you have a favorite movement?

In keeping with the title, I thoroughly enjoyed writing A Carnival of Miracles!

I had a lot of fun choosing the texts for Mrs Satan Meets the Divine Marquis. Victoria Woodhull, a 19th-century American feminist (who was labeled “Mrs Satan” by her opponents) used language to describe her philosophy of “free love” that was similar — perhaps distressingly similar! — to the Marquis de Sade’s. So I imagined them in the afterlife comparing notes, all in French, the language of amour. (Whether they met in heaven or elsewhere is for the listener to decide…)

I also remember the enjoyment of composing the music to Galileo’s short phrase “and yet, it moves” in The Scientist. I was thinking of the earth orbiting the sun and wanted to illustrate that musically somehow. The result sounds a little like an Italian madrigal, and because I love madrigals, that always makes me smile.

6. Aside from the premiere by Anonymous Four, where else or which other groups have performed it, and when?

A Carnival of Miracles has been performed several times by Anonymous 4 and also by Human Organ, a vocal ensemble, during a contemporary music festival at Ainola, the home of Jean Sibelius in Järvenpää, Finland. A4 also performed The Scientist numerous times around the country before they retired and recorded the entire piece for a limited release by New Sounds.

7. Is there anything else you would like to share with us about your piece?

Recently, we’ve all learned (or re-learned) how fragile and vulnerable our freedoms can be. I think it’s vitally important today that we reflect on how they work and how their ambiguities can be exploited by those who seek only to restrict freedoms, not expand them. Hopefully, A Carnival of Miracles provides a brief opportunity for such reflection. As Justice Holmes suggests in The Court, to guarantee that our freedoms endure, it is essential that we remain “eternally vigilant.”