PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Through unveiling an undiscovered aspect of Marc Chagall’s legacy, the Chagall Project offers unique collaborative opportunities to emerging artists.
Marc Chagall is one of the quintessential artists of the 20th century whose legacy is admired, studied and exhibited globally. There is seemingly no aspect of his art that we do not have access to, however, his diary entries included around fifty original poems in Yiddish which have never been published except for limited editions of French and Russian translations.
Chagall’s literary output contains intimate insight on the inner turmoil that the painter experienced throughout his life. His poetry is filled with reflection on war, relocation, religion, love and family delivered via raw, dramatic narration in free verse.
Music served as great inspiration to Marc Chagall, and played an important role in his life as he regularly worked on creating sets and costumes for opera productions. The Chagall Project gives musicians an opportunity to directly contribute to Chagall’s legacy by setting his poems to music and performing them. The composers get to choose which poems by Marc Chagall they want to use for their compositions and what musical ensembles they wish to write for. The performers get to work closely with the composers in order to achieve a common understanding of how they will interpret Chagall’s poems through the prism of music.
The Chagall Project is in the process of creating an international concert series to be held at a variety of venues that span beyond concert halls. Most importantly, performances at museums where Chagall’s paintings are exhibited and at locations where his stained glass is installed will give the audience the deepest level of immersion into the world of Marc Chagall. The first Chagall Project Concert took place at the Union Church of Pocantico Hills in Tarrytown, NY on March 25th, 2023. This historic church features nine Chagall stained glass windows which were commissioned by John D. Rockefeller Jr. The concert included premieres of commissioned works by composers Arseniy Gusev and Robert Piéchaud.
Founded by soprano Elizaveta Kozlova, The Chagall Project received the Marin Alsop Entrepreneurship Award at the Mannes School of Music in 2020. Pieces composed as part of the project have been workshopped at such educational institutions as the Yale School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Soprano Elizaveta Kozlova, pianist Yuliya Basis and violist Hannah Burnett after the Chagall Project concert at the Union Church of Pocantico Hills (Tarrytown, NY) on March 25th, 2023.