double aria

Program Note:

Double Aria was commissioned by the Morriss Center Dance Institute, Bridgehampton, N.Y., at the request of choreographer (and then New York City Ballet Principal Dancer) Benjamin Millepied, for his troupe of NYCB principals and soloists, Danses Concertantes. The work was composed expressly for violinist Eric Crambes, close friend of the choreographer, who gave the world premiere performances on 20 and 21 September 2003 at the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, N.Y., with dancers Maria Kowroski and Ask la Cour. Double Aria has received further performances in Lyon (in 2004) and New York, joining the NYCB repertory during the spring 2005 season, where it was performed by violinist Tim Fain, who has since recorded it for Image Recordings.

The title Double Aria is borrowed from the 19th-century Italian opera form of the same name and is set in one movement consisting of five sections played without pause: “Introduction – Recitativo I – Aria – Recitativo II – Cabaletta.” Although conceived as a ballet score, the work is perfectly suitable for concert performance and lasts approximately eleven minutes, thirty seconds.