Levinson: Chorale for Nanine, with Birds

(Hommage à Messiaen)

This simple piece was written in 2015 as a birthday present for the composer’s wife, poet and fellow bird lover Nanine Valen, and is a distant sequel to Canons and Chorale, which he wrote for her in 1969. The ornithological character is an affectionate tribute as well to his teacher Olivier Messiaen. The titular birds are a highly stylized chickadee and two song sparrows.