The Esoterics presents PARNOK: In that infinite moment
$15-$25
Unless you are familiar with obscure Russian literature, you have probably never heard of Sophia Parnok. Born in 1885 in Taganrog, on the shores of the Black Sea, Parnok was the daughter of a Jewish pharmacist. Her lifelong frailty resulted from the neurological disorder known as Graves' disease. She also survived a horrific train crash, owned a pet monkey, and was Russia’s first openly-lesbian poet.
After establishing her reputation in Russia’s “Silver Age,” the early 1920s, Sophia chose to live openly and write about her relationships with eight women – to each of whom she dedicated several poems. Parnok’s decision to come out rendered her “lawless,” and as a result, publishers refused to print her work after 1928. After being silenced, Sophia was barely able to scrape together a living as a translator. For several years she was homeless – too proud to rely on anyone else. When Parnok finally succumbed to her illness in 1933, three of her lovers were at her bedside, and her funeral procession of friends and fans that extended 75 kilometers outside of Moscow was nothing short of legendary.
In 2012, Eric Banks was commissioned to compose a “lyric biography” based on Parnok’s verse for Kitka, the Bay Area Balkan women’s octet. Banks’ 72-minute work, I will remember everything, recounts Parnok’s life story through a series of her poems, fragments, and letters. This work will enjoy its Seattle premiere by eight women of The Esoterics. In addition to this work, Banks has composed a 24-minute “song cycle” for 32-voice chorus and soloists that sets another nine of Parnok’s poems. This piece, On this disappearing day, will be performed in the same concert. In both pieces, which will be woven together without interruption, Parnok’s Russian verses will be sung in tandem with Banks’ translations, to create a concert-length choral odyssey: one that celebrates Parnok’s forbidden love, her extraordinary lyric, and her imperturbable courage.
The Esoterics will offer three performances of PARNOK. Please join us!