Stream Were I With Thee on all major digital platforms!
Michelle Areyzaga
and Dana Brown:
“Were I With Thee”
Chicago Soprano Michelle Areyzaga and collaborative pianist Dana Brown are thrilled to present their new album, Were I With Thee, featuring words penned by women and set by American composers. “Were I With Thee” is a line from the Emily Dickinson poem “Wild Nights – Wild Nights,” and this album contains three settings of that poem. Composers include Gwyneth Walker, Patrice Michaels, Richard Pearson Thomas, Lee Hoiby, Wayland Rogers, John Duke, Edouard Lippé, and Leonard Bernstein. With a fusion of influences, this project presents a unique American vision of women’s words set to song.
Buy Now – 1 CD, unsigned – $20
Buy Now 1 CD, signed – $30
Buy Now, multiple CDs – $20 each
To order more than four copies of the CD, you may pay via Venmo, or send a Zelle payment to mareyzaga@yahoo.com; or write a check to Michelle Areyzaga and mail to 1533B N. Arlington Heights Rd. Arlington Heights IL 60004. Once you’ve paid, just send an email to Michelle to confirm your shipping address.
These songs are based on texts written by women authors from a variety of American and Latin American countries:
– USA: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Emily Dickinson, Dorothy Parker, Edna St Vincent Millay
– England: Anne Bradstreet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning
– Chile: Gabriela Mistral
– Puerto Rico: Julia de Burgos
World premiere recordings are Walker’s “Emily” (complete cycle), Rogers’ “Tres Poemas de Gabriela Mistral” two of which were composed for Michelle, Rogers’ “To My Dear and Loving Husband” from “I-Thou”, Walker’s “La Luz” from “La Ternura,” also composed for Michelle, and Duke’s “What Lips My Lips Have Kissed”
The album is released on compact disc as well as digitally.
The purpose of the album is first and foremost to highlight excellence in writing – by featuring art songs with text in Spanish and English language by renowned women authors and music by respected and deserving American composers, including women. It will serve to broaden the reach and influence of these authors and composers nationwide and worldwide – coinciding with a renaissance in interest in American poet Emily Dickinson. This album will serve to introduce these works to young artists with the hope that they will be programmed on future recitals or albums. This is a female-uplifting project in all possible ways.
While this is a Chicago based project, it has definite national and international scope and will be promoted worldwide by our publicist, communications professional Peter McDowell who will lead public relations activities for this album. Further individuals involved in this project include: Maria Lagios, advisor; and for Atlas Arts Media: Shelby Lock, lead engineer, producer Aaron Gottl and recording engineer Matthew Peckham.
All photos © copyright by Elliot Mandel. Cover Art Illustration by Kandice Dickinson
Thursday, May 19th, 2022
Be sure to tune into Chicago’s WWFM (89.1 FM) and listen to
Michelle Areyzaga’s interview on Cadenza with David Osenberg!
You can listen in the Chicagoland area on the radio,
and stream on the WWFM website internationally.
(If you can’t tune in live, there will be a free archive of the episode kept up for quite a while.)