The duo of soprano Zixin Emily Lapin and pianist Jialiang Zhu have released a video of their performance of the cycle, I Never Knew, from their recent presentation, The Power of Words, at the Chalmers Performance Space at the Canadian Music Centre in Toronto. I Never Knew is a cycle of five art songs composed by David Jaeger on poems by Scottish author, David Cameron. Cameron has referred to the five poems which form the basis for the songs, as “domestic poetry.” They are poems which mainly originated in conversations with Cameron’s family members, whether during car rides, on walks, or in intimate situations. Jaeger set the songs for voice and piano in 2018 and 2019 and they were first performed by soprano Christina Haldane with pianist Adam Sherkin.
The Lapin and Zhu duo subsequently chose to perform the cycle in their recent series of recitals under the heading, The Power of Words, which focused on the relationship between poets, composers and performers. The program was presented several times in Ontario communities, concluding with the performance at the Chalmers Performance Space in Toronto.