Collegium Musicum Spring Concert: Leyli’s Sky—Musical Constellations Across Time
Thursday, May 1, 2025 at 9:00pm
Memorial Chapel, 221 High Street, Middletown
Free and open to the public
Inspired by the classical Arabic tale, Leyli and Majnun, as retold by the 12th-century Persian mystical poet Nizami Ganjavi, and by the Old Irish Saltair na Rann (Psalter of the Verses), attributed to the lector Airbertach (d. 1016), Wesleyan’s Collegium Musicum will premiere new pieces that draw on cosmic and historical themes by graduate music student Negar Soleymanifar and Irish composer Seán Doherty in a concert under the direction of Jane Alden, Professor of Music, and Chair and Professor of Medieval Studies.
Read Ensemble to Premiere Works by Iranian, Irish Composers in The Wesleyan Connection.
In the monastic tradition of Compline, a prayer service which takes place just before the community retires for the night, this concert will draw on poetic works invoking prayer, meditation, and contemplation of the night sky. Mystical, opaque texts invite listeners to reflect on themes of infinity, mortality, and the cosmos, as the evening light fades. Alongside the new commissions, we perform ancient chants, radiant and reflective polyphony from Renaissance Europe, and a mystical work by the Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977). Other featured composers include the 12th-century abbess Hildegard of Bingen, Renaissance composers William Byrd, John Sheppard, Thomas Tallis, and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. We also touch on the Baroque with a little gem by the rarely-performed French composer, Guillaume Bouzignac (c. 1587–c. 1643).
The ensemble benefited from a workshop earlier this spring with creative troubadour Muco, a musician of British-Burundian heritage who shared the magic behind some of his reworkings—in Middle and Old English, French, Swahili, and Kirundi—of medieval folk songs, that aim to reflect on cultural interconnections.
Profiles
Seán Doherty is an Irish composer and academic known for his choral, chamber, and orchestral works, blending contemporary techniques with traditional Irish elements. Born in Derry in 1987, he has received commissions from notable ensembles such as the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, Tenebrae, and Chamber Choir Ireland. His music often draws on Irish folklore, myth, and spirituality, evident in pieces like Under-Song and A Nywe Werk. Doherty's works have garnered significant recognition, including awards at the Feis Ceoil and the Seán Ó Riada Composition Competition. Doherty holds a PhD in Composition from Trinity College Dublin. Besides composing, he is also a music professor at Dublin City University, where he contributes to both composition and musicology.
Negar Soleymanifar MA ’25 is part of a new wave of Iranian female artists. She has faced challenges promoting her music in Iran due to cultural and political restrictions but has found support through international platforms and collaborations. Organizations like the Iranian Female Composers Association have played a crucial role in amplifying these artists' voices by organizing concerts, residencies, and collaborative projects worldwide.
Image: Babak Tafreshi, “A Winter Night in the Valley of Stars” (Iran, 2012).