Where Does Love Go?

When a composer is also known as a top-shelf performer, you can be assured his writing is coming from a deep understanding of what the players are going through. Such is the case with Mark Engebretson. He is no stranger to the stage (his sax credentials are impeccable), electronic studio or the manuscript paper. He also hangs out in good company; his circle of friends and fellow performers are no slouch musicians themselves. Here then is Engebretson’s chamber music: intimate, demanding, personal and deep.

Where Does Love Go? is a collection of six small ensemble works written since 1991 combining voice, acoustic instruments and digital media. In keeping with the title (inspired by a poem of Dana Richardson), this is a somewhat bleak world, yet surrounded by warmth, and connected by melody.

The composer’s private compositional devices provide rigor and whimsy to the unfolding lines. One, for instance, is described as “What happens when things happen, versus what happens when they don’t.” Another uses a proprietary technique of “motivic infection.” You don’t need to follow these workings, however, to answer the question of where love goes after love is gone. Listening is enough.

Engebretson has worked, played and taught in the US and Europe from Buffalo to Vienna. He is currently teaching electroacoustic music at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Performers include Susan Fancher, sax goddess; Lorena Guillén, soprano with Stockhausen and Berio in her rep; Scott Rawls, violist with Steve Reich and Musicians; and Guild Trio members Janet Orenstein and Brooks Whitehouse.