Perry Brass' Video

 “I see it as I am rowing on the dark waters
​towards a rock, large and bright—like a moon,
​
​rigged, distant, rising at the end.It is that marker, moorage, beckoning;
​I dreamed of it in the cold, my body rolled,
amphibian-soft, primitive as defense....” 
from The Restless Yearning Towards My Self by Perry Brass. 


​Most people take many detours in the course of their lives, as they follow their goals and ambitions, often finding themselves detracted by a confusion of byways and misleading directions.

​But at the center of their actions (and themselves), lies a psychic/emotional core, that they often lose sight of but the loss of which leaves them with an almost indelible sense of its absence. So, instead of re-discovering this core, they erect “impostors,” stand-ins for their real selves: bright, glowing public figures, of significance, certainly, to them and much of the outside world—while the real “Self,” that almost physical realization of the inner soul, still waits, until some moment of starkest Self recognition, which brings with it an almost uncontainable feeling of contentment and a much longed for, blessed unity. 
​   
“The restless yearning towards my Self” is about realizing this search, and finally achieving its goal, when the Self after years of denial recognizes and claims you; when the deepest part of you speaks to you, and offers you that genuine feeling of achievement and unity most of us seek. It is this great recognition that in many ways powers the most lasting of the Arts, and we have brought to life once more this recognition of the Self by merging the text of a starkly moving poem by poet/novelist Perry Brass (“The restless yearning towards my Self”) to music by opera composer Paula M. Kimper, scored for counter-tenor and string quartet.

This piece premiered a part of the work:
THE DISTAFF SIDE: WOMEN AT WORK
DOWNTOWN MUSIC PRODUCTIONS
mimi stern-wolfe, artistic director
EAST VILLAGE CONCERT SERIES
St Marks in the Bowery  10th street and 2nd avenue
Restless Yearning featured counter-tenor Marshall Coid, and a string quartet. This piece lasts approximately 26 minutes. 
​Also on this program: MADELEINE DRING (Trio for oboe, flute & piano); MARY CAROL WARWICK (premiere) (Viola Sonata); (Song: (Imagination)  (Ilsa Gilbert ) Dan Strba (vla);  & Mimi Stern-Wolfe, piano.MEIRA WARSHAUER (Aecha)  with Downtown Chamber Trio  A. Bolotowsky, fl;; Jeffrey  Hale, oboe; LAURA WOLFE, vocals and guitar with DAVE EGGAR:, cello; (Original songs); MIRA SPEKTOR, (Turn Around) ;Songs:  Maeve Hoglund, soprano.