Victoria Polevá, The Sea of Faith

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Performed by Hans Tashjian, bass-baritone and Jason Wirth, piano
DiMenna Center for Classical Music, New York City
March 14, 2025

From the composer: "I found this poem by Matthew Arnold in Fahrenheit 451, a dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury. Even as a child, I was struck by the image of humanity as a horde of blind men fighting in the dark on the battlefield. My music is a request to return humanity to man. That is why it cannot be performed as an elegy. It must convey grief and despair. And very little hope, but it is there. The voice and piano must merge into one instrument with a common breath. This is very important. You need to start as if from afar, then get closer. The coda should not be played as a piano music. It should be almost unreal. The last high notes, which are not on the piano, simply reveal. The title is translated in Fahrenheit 451 as "The Ocean of Trust," and I like that better than "The Sea of Faith," but let it be as in the original poem."