Biography
Mark Abel composes in a wide-ranging manner that draws upon the rock performances marking his earlier years. Later turning toward classical idioms, he simultaneously built a separate livelihood in journalism.
Born April 28, 1948, in Hartford, Connecticut, Abel enrolled briefly at Stanford University in the closing years of the 1960s before relocating to New York and establishing himself within that city’s 1970s rock community. He contributed to recordings by Tom Verlaine and Michael Brown of The Left Banke while also directing ensembles of his own. In 1971 Abel sang in the choir featured on jazz pianist Carla Bley’s three-hour fusion composition Escalator Over the Hill. Returning to California in 1983, he entered journalism and advanced to foreign editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, a post he held until departing in 2003 to concentrate exclusively on music. During his newspaper career Abel explored idioms nearer to concert repertoire than to rock, yet the rock component of his writing has remained constant. His language remains eclectic, reflecting the impact of Ives, Brahms, and Henri Duparc among numerous additional figures.
Abel has presented his works chiefly on discs issued under his own name, six of them completed by 2020 and commencing with Songs of Life, Love and Death in 2006. The Dream Gallery of 2012, a cycle scored for seven soloists and chamber orchestra and setting occasionally satirical lines about everyday Californians (“We love the homeless down on Telegraph, somewhat less on upper Solano”), brought broader notice. Delos director Carol Rosenberger encountered the piece, sponsored a southern-California performance, and subsequently engaged Abel for Terrain of the Heart (2014) and Home is a Harbor (2016). The latter release included Abel’s initial opera, likewise titled Home is a Harbor, together with art songs. Until then his output had centered on vocal music, a focus he maintained by continuing to write songs, frequently in partnership with soprano Hila Plitmann and issuing several on the 2018 album Time and Distance. The 2020 recording The Cave of Wondrous Voice marked a fresh course, consisting primarily of chamber pieces.
Born April 28, 1948, in Hartford, Connecticut, Abel enrolled briefly at Stanford University in the closing years of the 1960s before relocating to New York and establishing himself within that city’s 1970s rock community. He contributed to recordings by Tom Verlaine and Michael Brown of The Left Banke while also directing ensembles of his own. In 1971 Abel sang in the choir featured on jazz pianist Carla Bley’s three-hour fusion composition Escalator Over the Hill. Returning to California in 1983, he entered journalism and advanced to foreign editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, a post he held until departing in 2003 to concentrate exclusively on music. During his newspaper career Abel explored idioms nearer to concert repertoire than to rock, yet the rock component of his writing has remained constant. His language remains eclectic, reflecting the impact of Ives, Brahms, and Henri Duparc among numerous additional figures.
Abel has presented his works chiefly on discs issued under his own name, six of them completed by 2020 and commencing with Songs of Life, Love and Death in 2006. The Dream Gallery of 2012, a cycle scored for seven soloists and chamber orchestra and setting occasionally satirical lines about everyday Californians (“We love the homeless down on Telegraph, somewhat less on upper Solano”), brought broader notice. Delos director Carol Rosenberger encountered the piece, sponsored a southern-California performance, and subsequently engaged Abel for Terrain of the Heart (2014) and Home is a Harbor (2016). The latter release included Abel’s initial opera, likewise titled Home is a Harbor, together with art songs. Until then his output had centered on vocal music, a focus he maintained by continuing to write songs, frequently in partnership with soprano Hila Plitmann and issuing several on the 2018 album Time and Distance. The 2020 recording The Cave of Wondrous Voice marked a fresh course, consisting primarily of chamber pieces.
Albums
