Melissa Dunphy
Encyclopedia
Melissa Dunphy is an Australian-American composer of classical music
. She is most notable for the Gonzales Cantata
, a 40-minute choral piece in Baroque
style that sets the text of the parts of the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy hearings
in which former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
testified. It was featured on the Rachel Maddow Show
in 2009; Maddow described it as "probably the coolest thing you've ever seen on this show." Dunphy is currently working on her doctoral degree at the University of Pennsylvania
.
in the Lantern Theater Company
's Hamlet
.
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
. She is most notable for the Gonzales Cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
, a 40-minute choral piece in Baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
style that sets the text of the parts of the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy hearings
Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy hearings
The United States House Committee on the Judiciary and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, have oversight authority over Department of Justice . In 2007 it conducted public and closed-door oversight and investigative hearings on the DOJ's interactions with the White House and staff members of ...
in which former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
Alberto Gonzales
Alberto R. Gonzales was the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Gonzales was appointed to the post in February 2005 by President George W. Bush. Gonzales was the first Hispanic Attorney General in U.S. history and the highest-ranking Hispanic government official ever...
testified. It was featured on the Rachel Maddow Show
The Rachel Maddow Show (TV series)
The Rachel Maddow Show is a news and opinion television program that airs weeknights on MSNBC at 9:00 p.m. ET. It is hosted by Rachel Maddow, who gained popularity with her frequent appearances as a liberal pundit on various MSNBC programs. It is based on her former radio show of the same name...
in 2009; Maddow described it as "probably the coolest thing you've ever seen on this show." Dunphy is currently working on her doctoral degree at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
.
Selected works
- The Gonzales Cantata (2008) - Conceived while Dunphy was at West Chester University of PennsylvaniaWest Chester University of PennsylvaniaWest Chester University of Pennsylvania is a public university located in West Chester, Pennsylvania, about miles west of Philadelphia. It is one of the 14 state universities of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education . West Chester was ranked 69th in the Master's Universities ...
, the cantata has a libretto taken entirely from the transcript of the Gonzales hearings, which Dunphy found dramatic. Because Dunphy wished to highlight the fact that the Senate Judiciary Committee was made up entirely of men, with the exception of Dianne FeinsteinDianne FeinsteinDianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
- and also because there are more female opera singers than male - she reversed the genders and cast sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
s as Gonzales and as the male senators. Orrin HatchOrrin HatchOrrin Grant Hatch is the senior United States Senator for Utah and is a member of the Republican Party. Hatch served as the chairman or ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1993 to 2005...
is an altoAltoAlto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
, because he was more sympathetic to Gonzales and it needed "a different vibe"; Feinstein is a male tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
. Characters wore red or blue dresses depending on party affiliation, with tiaras as well as sashes bearing their names. The cantata includes an aria for Gonzales called "I Don't Recall," in which the soprano sings the title phrase 72 times, the same number of times that Gonzales said it in the hearings.
- Julian SanchezJulian SanchezJulian Sanchez is an American libertarian writer living in Washington, D.C.. Currently a research fellow at the Cato Institute, he previously covered technology and privacy issues as the Washington Editor for Ars Technica...
described the cantata as "sort of like Henry PurcellHenry PurcellHenry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
filtered through late John Adams"; other reviewers mentioned its similarity to HandelHANDELHANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
ian opera or to PDQ Bach, or pointed out the use of "CoplandCoplandCopland was a project at Apple Computer to create an updated version of the Macintosh operating system. It was to have introduced protected memory, preemptive multitasking and a number of new underlying operating system features, yet still be compatible with existing Mac software...
esque harmonies when characters were being folksy."
- Dunphy reports that she asked John AshcroftJohn AshcroftJohn David Ashcroft is a United States politician who served as the 79th United States Attorney General, from 2001 until 2005, appointed by President George W. Bush. Ashcroft previously served as the 50th Governor of Missouri and a U.S...
for permission to arrange his song "Let the Eagle SoarLet the Eagle Soar"Let the Eagle Soar" is a song written by former Missouri Senator and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, who is seen singing the song at a Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary function in 2002. The song was sung during President of the United States George W...
" as a "companion piece," but he turned her down on grounds of "artistic differences."
- Black Thunder (2008) - work for baritone, violin, cello, and piano which received an honorable mention in the ASCAP/Lotte Lehmann Foundation 2009 Art Song Competition.
- What do you think I fought for at Omaha BeachOmaha BeachOmaha Beach is the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II...
? (2010) - choral work to the text of public testimony by WWII veteran Philip Spooner in support of Maine's No on 1 campaignSame-sex marriage in MaineSame-sex marriage in Maine is currently unrecognized. A bill to allow same-sex marriages in Maine was signed into law on May 6, 2009, by Governor Baldacci following legislative approval, but opponents successfully petitioned for a referendum on the issue, putting the law on hold before it went into...
, which aimed to preserve same-sex marriage in the state. It won the 2010 Simon CarringtonSimon CarringtonSimon Carrington is a singer, double bass player and conductor. He first performed in the UK where he was born, and more recently in the United States.-External links:* * * * * * * * *...
Chamber Singers Composition Competition.
Acting
Dunphy is also a stage actress. She has played a number of Shakespearean roles for theatre festivals and companies in Pennsylvania, where she has resided since 2003. The Philadelphia Inquirer called her "unquestionably the city's leading Shakespeare ingenue" for her performance as OpheliaOphelia
Ophelia is a fictional character in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, and potential wife of Prince Hamlet.-Plot:...
in the Lantern Theater Company
Lantern Theater Company
Lantern Theater Company is a not-for-profit regional theater founded in 1994 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Led by founding artistic director Charles McMahon and managing director Anne Shuff, the Lantern produces a mix of classics, modern, and original works for the stage, an audience enrichment...
's Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
.