poem|music
Justin Spenner, Baritone
Carson Rose Schneider, Piano
poem|music has been noted for their “tangible, equal, and beautiful, collaborative energy” (Life in Revue). Their programs excavate and extrapolate historic art music/poetry for our current age of anxiety, prominently featuring composers overlooked by academia and traditional producers.
The duo most recently presented NORSE/NORGE, a centuries-spanning deep dive into isolationism in Scandinavian song/poetry. Featuring Alf Hurum, Agathe Backer Grøndahl, Tallest Man On Earth, and more.
Previous projects include two performances of Schubert’s Winterreise in 2024 - a meditative recital at First UCC in Northfield, and a multi-media concert at The Hive Collaborative in St. Paul. Obviously obsessed with the cycle, poem|music produced an abstract dance film of Winterreise in 2021 called I Enter as a Stranger.
The duo also hosts an ongoing song series curated by B-SidesArt Song at art hubs like galleries, record stores, and coffee houses. What’s next? only restlessness can tell.
poem|music presents their newest curation of old songs for modern times, Like Sun Through Eyelids on 4pm Saturday, June 6 at Northfield First United Church of Christ. Prioritizing the musical/poetic insight of Black American and Female artists, the program features Ralph Vaughn Williams’ Songs of Travel and a slew of post-1940’s American art songs.
This program explores the cycle of growth that comes from introspection, with the message that moving through painful times leads to transcendence. Modern times find us in a culture war, a battle of radical love against radical derision. It’s a philosophical Age of Anxiety in the middle of a capitalist attention economy. When the media vilifies neighborism and identity becomes illegal, where are we to turn for strength and affirmation?
Like Sun Through Eyelids meditates on impermanence, connection to nature, and acceptance of the divine as tools to wade through the mud. Every human has a right to their own life, and realize their potential. No matter where you are in the cycle of grief-to-joy, poem|music is here to nudge you forward. You are on the right path; our hand is on your back.
Come as you are! Bring the loud kids, friends, family, or even an enemy while you’re at it. Let’s take a deep dive into regulating that nervous system.
When: Saturday, June 6 at 4:00pm
Where: Northfield First United Church of Christ
Cost: Pay-as-able $0-$40 (at-the-door; cash/venmo/check/CC)
“Only a line or two from each song is translated into English... but the emotions are clear. And the emotions are heartbreak and desperation.”
“The connection is tangible. Schneider is not just playing piano, but is actively engaged in the drama with Spenner...It is an equal and beautifully matched energy between the two.”
poem|music is available to book! Collaborations could include house concerts, concert series appearances, masterclasses, academic research, community events, just hanging over beers, anything moody, and whatever you dream up with a budget.
Inquiries: justin@barispen.com