The opening of Erik Nielsen’s The Crane Maiden, premiered by the VCME in September 22, 2011. Taryn Noelle is Crane Maiden, Jordan Gullickson is old man, Ruth Walman is old woman. Performance: FlynnSpace, Burlington, Vermont

How the Crane Maiden Came to Be: Program Notes by Erik Nielsen
(1950-)

In 2001, I saw the Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble perform Stravinsky’s l’Histoire du Soldat, a work for instrumental sextet, narrator, two actors and dancer.  I was very impressed and said to the VCME’s Music Director, Steven Klimowski, “Steve, you really ought to take this on tour.  But you need another piece to go with it to make an entire concert.”  Steve said, “Can you do this?”  As any self-respecting composer would do, I said “Sure.”

I knew exactly what work I wanted to set to music. I had loved the Japanese folk tale The Crane Maiden for many years and as early as 1992 had begun work on a version but had never completed it.  So, in 2002, I took months trying to obtain permission from the copyright holder of the only written edition of the story I knew.  What with corporate takeovers and the original publisher’s no longer existing it seemed there was no clear copyright owner.  However, I finally realized this was a folk tale with many versions and a new retelling would be completely without copyright difficulties.  I turned to the best folktale re-writer I knew, my daughter Christina, who had loved the story as a child and turned out a wonderful new version before she left for college.  Having obtained a grant from the Vermont Arts Council that funded part of the work, I completed most of the piece in the fall of 2003.   There it languished for lack of funding for a number of years while I took on other projects.  Finally, in 2009 I received a grant from the Kittredge Fund and completed the work.  I sent it on to Steve who began putting together the calendar for the 2011-12 season and put The Crane Maiden front and center.

For me the story has always tugged at my heartstrings.  This tale of an old couple and the young maiden they invite into their home is beautiful, but also bittersweet.  In the end it shows how sometimes, despite our best intentions, things don’t always work out happily.  Yet in Christina’s version, they work out for the best, as all concerned realize that what must happen is also what ought to happen.

Ethan Bowen | Narrator
Taryn Noelle | Crane Maiden
Jordan Gullikson | Old Man
Ruth Wallman | Old Woman