“If Ever There Is” is a setting of “John’s Song,” by American poet Robert Creeley (1926-2005). The poem has a dedication to the poet John Taggart; the style of wordplay and repetition here can also be found in Taggart’s poetry. I hear it as a prayer for peace. In 1967 Creeley signed a “Writers and […]
Composer’s Note: “The Red Wheelbarrow,” an innovative environmental/imagist poem I first read as a teenager, struck me as an alluring and joyful means to immerse in a commission by Austin’s Inversion Ensemble for their Planet Home project. The score blossomed during a fellowship at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, a pastoral setting that […]
“Winter Stars” was written by Pulitzer Prize winning American poet Sara Teasdale (1884-1933) and was first published in 1920 in the collection “Flame & Shadow.” She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, found acclaim while living in New York City, and became disillusioned in her later years. Perhaps she was writing this poem with World […]
Premiered in June 2018 by San Francisco Choral Artists, “Fare Ye Well My Darlin'” is a tender, dramatic arrangement of an American folksong, perhaps dating from the Civil War. A soldier bids farewell to his beloved as he leaves for war. Will he ever return? At a glance Difficulty: moderate For strong univiersity, community, or […]
The text of “In Those Years, No One Slept” is a scene from a time of conflict/war, by Romanian-American immigrant Claudia Serea. The score is at once rhythmic and exciting, haunting and unsettling. It was a winner of the 2018 Uncommon Music Festival Composition Competition. It is accessible for all fine high school, collegiate and […]
The author of the text of this composition, Norbert Čapek (1870-1942) was the founder of the Unitarian movement in what is now the Czech Republic. Originally destined for the Catholic priesthood, he converted to the Baptist faith; however, his views gradually became more liberal, and he was forced to emigrate to the United States. After […]
