Program Notes

celebrating the legendary mountain Ceahlau, the “king” of the Carpathian Mountains in Romanian Moldova. In Romanian mythology, Baba Dochia is an old woman associated with the return of Spring. Spring is coming with its thaw and freeze, hope and loss, joy and heartbreak, life, and death.

Thaw at Toaca begins with the compelling beats of “toaca,” a wooden board struck with wood mallets used in Romanian monasteries for the call to prayer. Toaca is also the name of the majestic peak of Ceahlau.

The Lark and Baba Dochia are inspired by the heartbreaking Romanian folk song Lie-Ciocarlie and a sorrowful version of The Story of Baba Dochia.

Finally, after loss and death, the last section resumes the thaw and celebrates the crowning return of Spring on Ceahlau - The Mountain King.