Poetry set to music in a haunting way

The great Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet (1902-1963) got himself thrown in jail — the first time — for speaking out about the Armenian massacres of 1915 and 1922.

Today, another Turkish writer, novelist Orhan Pamuk, is being threatened with jail for saying exactly the same thing, almost a century later. The outcome may be crucial in Turkey's admission to the European Union.

Though the timing is pure coincidence, Sunday's concert, "New Music for Nazim Hikmet" by Seattle composer Robin Holcomb, couldn't be happening at a better moment.

With the help of a grant from the Mayor's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Holcomb has set six of Hikmet's poems to music for a chamber ensemble — three strings and three winds, plus her own piano and voice. The concert is at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Richard Hugo House, Seattle $5-$10 (206-322-7030 or www.brownpapertickets.com).

Hikmet spent much of his life in prison, but in 1950, after an international protest led by Pablo Picasso, among others, the Turkish poet received the World Peace Prize.

Though Holcomb is best known for haunting, minimalist art songs, you might guess this new project was prompted by politics. She also recently sang in "Joe Hill," the chamber opera about the radical labor leader, by her husband, Wayne Horvitz.

In fact, it was passion, not politics, that sealed the deal.

"I read [Hikmet's poem] 'Things I Didn't Know I Loved' at our wedding, 25 years ago," Holcomb said in an interview earlier this week.

That poem is a long, rhapsodic free-verse train poem, in which Hikmet, Pablo Neruda-like, declares his love for all things elemental, as they fly by the window — sky, flowers, sun, rain.

Its quiet, simple affirmation is characteristic of Hikmet's tone.

"It's settled, in a way," reflected Holcomb, 51. "At peace, with even a very difficult life. Being at peace seemed like a good message to go into the rest of your life with."

A poet before she was a composer, Holcomb discovered Hikmet in the mid-'70s, as a student at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Years later, she found Pete Seeger's famous setting of Hikmet's anti-nuke poem, "I Come and Stand at Every Door" (aka "Hiroshima," also recorded by the Byrds).

Holcomb composed new music for "I Come and Stand" and has been singing it ever since. On Sunday, she'll do it at the piano in her own inimitable style, which combines the simple harmonies of a New England hymnal with the floating dissonances of Satie and Ravel, all churning under her oddly quaking voice. That style is amplified and expanded in the ensemble pieces.

On one of them, "Angina Pectoris," Hikmet explains to a doctor that his chest pain stems from compassion for the struggling poor, not tobacco, hardened arteries or prison walls. Holcomb's setting features upbeat piano dramatic changes of pace and decorative lines from the winds, winding through the melody.

Though Hikmet died in exile, there is a movement afoot to reinstate his citizenship. With Turkey back on the international stage, Holcomb's concert should raise awareness while offering an extraordinarily beautiful musical experience, as well.

Another lovely chamber ensemble is on deck the following night, when Jim Knapp's little big-band performs at 8 p.m. Monday in the L.A.B. performance space at the Seattle Drum School, in Seattle, $5-$10 (206-364-8815). The great jazz French horn player Tom Varner, who recently relocated from New York to Seattle, will be in the band.

Paul de Barros: 206-464-3247 or pdebarros@seattletimes.com