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Performances

The Land of Little Rain Suite (2023) [from Why Women Went West]

for flute and cello

I. Water trails of the Ceriso
II. Sacred Mountain
III. Lost Borders-The Walking Woman

Commission/Premiere Info: Commissioned and premiered by Jean Ferrandis, flute, Dominique Williencourt, cello at the Museum Marmotton, Paris, France, on March 15, 2023

The Land of Little Rain Suite tells the story of Mary Austin, pioneer, mystic and writer of the wild west’s journey across the United States to California, from Madsen’s opera Why Women Went West (2022-2023). The work exists in this duo format as well as in a layered format for duo and spatialized deep listening improvisational chamber ensemble, with the deep listening ensemble reflecting the sonic environment of the Desert Southwest.

I. Water Trails of Ceriso is inspired by Austin’s book: The Land of Little Rain (1903)—desert land of California where Mary arrived in the early 20th century—desperate and in search of water to create her new home as a pioneer, writer and mystic—artist who was inspired by nature.

II. Sacred Mountain is inspired by Austin’s book The Land of Journey’s Ending (1924)—about her encounter with the high desert plains in region of New Mexico, United States, indigenous spiritual rituals, experiences facing death, and her acceptance and peace of her journey to the Sacred Mountain.

III. Lost Borders-The Walking Woman is inspired by Mary’s autobiography Earth Horizon (1932) and book of short stories, Lost Borders (1909 and tells the story about her need to leave California in search of a better life and adventures she encounters along the way.

Why Women Went West is a chamber opera that tells the unfolding narrative of a sole woman protagonist and her journey west, with empathy, ritual, and passion they trace Mary’s experiences from her youth in a Midwest small town in the late 19th century to her pioneer days in California, and finally to her wild west days in New Mexico where she eventually confronts death and overcomes the challenges that have plagued her throughout her life. Why Women Went West explores controversies over human rights, water wars, and early 20th-century feminist artist communities through the life of Mary Hunter Austin. Writer, feminist, conservationist, and defender of Native American and Spanish-American rights, Austin’s quest, trauma, and journey uncovered dark mysticism in the American Southwest. Resonating with concerns over the marginalization of indigenous cultures, desecration of women, nature, and women’s escape from conventions through their artistic agency, this work reveals the ongoing trauma of woman’s quest for autonomy. A complex, problematic story of coming to terms with one’s self as a woman in society, Why Women Went West chronicles Mary Austin’s escape from persecution to the transformation of white woman’s privilege and passion for the preservation of nature, history, and indigenous culture.

To purchase the scores and parts, email Pamela Madsen directly at pmadsen@fullerton.edu.

April 12, 2023 | Jean Ferrandis & Dominique Williencourt in Meng Concert Hall, Cal State Fullerton
March 15, 2023 | Jean Ferrandis & Dominique Williencourt in Museum Marmotton, Paris, France.