YousaidShesaidHesaid (2014-present)
Conceived by playwright Christopher Oscar Peña, director Austin Regan, pianist Patrick Jones, and composer Molly Joyce, YousaidShesaidHesaid juxtaposes modern perspectives with Schubert's masterpiece song cycle Die schöne Müllerin. Written to be performed in rep with the classic work, Yousaid traces the same timeline but from the other character in the story, who historically has had no voice – the “girl of the mill” herself.
The new work asks the unresolved question that has existed since Wilhelm Müller wrote the text for Schubert’s original: how does the mill-girl feel about the situation? Yousaid provides a dramatic and musical juxtaposition that deepens understanding of Schubert’s work and its relevance in our time, while offering possibilities for the other character. Composed for a single female voice and pianist, the work utilizes textual and musical elements of the original through textual connections, distortions, and repeated echoes.
The work has been developed through presentations at HERE Arts Center, VisionIntoArt’s FERUS Festival, and Albany Symphony’s American Music Festival. The most recent iteration in Albany featured mezzo-soprano Lucy Dhegrae, pianist Nathaniel LaNasa, and baritone Christopher Dylan Herbert performing selections from YousaidShesaidHesaid and Die schöne Müllerin.
Selected Excerpts:
Past Events:
December 15, 2021
Liederabend / Beth Morrison Projects / National Sawdust
Performance of “East River” from YousaidShesaidHesaid selections feat. soprano Mikaela Bennett as part of 21C Liederabend Op. Sense
National Sawdust, Brooklyn, NY
June 1, 2019
Albany Symphony American Music Festival
Performance of YousaidShesaidHesaid selections feat. mezzo-soprano Lucy Dhegrae and pianist Nathaniel LaNasa as part of Albany Symphony's American Music Festival
The Arts Center of the Capital Region, Troy, NY
March 23, 2014
HERE Arts Center
Performance of YousaidShesaidHesaid feat. mezzo-soprano Ariadne Grief and pianist Patrick Jones as part of HERE Arts Center’s Work With Me Here Festival, an immersive theatrical event comprised of works in and about process.
HERE Arts Center, New York, NY