“Fung’s music meets the texts with an often abrasive directness. She gives the quartet brittle writing at high registers, unresolved dissonances that sharpen the anger in the texts and low, grumbling figures that anticipate ominous turns. The Jasper players made those contrasts without overwhelming Phan; his lucid, wide-ranging singing kept the words at the center even when the instrumental writing surged. Lamenting Earth is a bold work that deserves many more hearings.”

Broadcast speech begins at 3:47, live stream of America the Beautiful? World Premiere begins at 6:30.

[Fung’s] piece, she said, grows out of the urgency of the present moment. “I have the responsibility of portraying the message and storytelling that we need. Other people are not taking the responsibility and that void needs to be filled. It’s an important time to be an artist — I see the necessity of it. And there’s a lot of messages across [my work] ­— not all of it is meant to be political. It’s a message about humanity and the age we live in. At times it can become political. But it’s up to us to tell these stories.”

The season opens July 31 with “On Freedom,” a program examining the distance between America’s democratic ideals and lived realities.

The concert also includes two world premieres. Composer Vivian Fung will unveil a new work inspired by “The Star-Spangled Banner” and informed by her experiences as a Canadian-American citizen with Chinese family roots. Portuguese composer Pedro Emanuel Pereira’s new Clarinet Concerto, featuring soloist Carlos Ferreira, blends traditional musical influences with contemporary techniques.

“Insect // Goddess and Five were both written expressly for and in collaboration with the artists who presented them, forming a human bond of friendship and love that was clear in the performance. Having complete mastery over the instrumentation and the music they conveyed a confidence, presence, and sound that enveloped the listeners and drew us into their world of magical mystery and sonic introspection that beckoned exploration of inner self and soul.”

“Fung’s initial inspiration — and the core of the libretto — was Claire Wahmanholm’s poem “O,” using words such as “osprey,” “ocean,” and “ozone” to speak poetically about the deteriorating climate. Wahmanholm also helped shape the student contributions. The result is a text of surprising range and shocking twists: The beautiful “natural” world as first described is revealed to be an artificial replacement; we find ourselves in a harsh, barren reality that humanity could have prevented.

The Jasper String Quartet and pianist Myra Huang provide an illusory lushness reminiscent of Britten in the opening movement, “November Blooming,” with musical hints of trouble on words like “ominous.” This contrasts with the insect-like, threatening scurry of “Lament,” revealing the environmental truth. “O” follows, growing slowly upward from the bottom of the performers’ registers, textured with fast string crossings and burbling piano left hand.”

Composer Vivian Fung talks about her new concerto for violin and percussion, Goddess/Insect, which she wrote for violinist Kristin Lee and Sandbox Percussion.

Released in October 2023, The Jasper String Quartet’s Insects and Machines: Quartets of Vivian Fung will receive the Album of the Year Award…Insects and Machines is Jasper Quartet’s eighth album and the first commercial release of Fung’s first four quartets. It received notable critical acclaim, including from Strings Magazine that praised the album for its “intensely dramatic energy… demonstrating both their advocacy of new music and their transcendent mastery.”