Silver Apples
Silver Apples can be heard on the CD Currents by Soprano Ann Moss, available from iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon and other venus.
Liam composed this enchanting song cycle for me and pianist Steven Bailey to premiere on CMASH’s second annual New American Chamber Music program in 2008. Liam and I selected the moon-themed poems together, and Steven and I worked closely with Liam throughout his compositional process, contributing musical ideas along the way that were incorporated into the score. Liam left us a great deal of room for improvisation in these magically whimsical songs, allowing for a fresh perspective in every performance. Working in the studio with Leslie and Dann, the cycle evolved in totally unexpected ways, revealing still new surprises. I am thrilled to be able to share Liam’s inventive story-telling and natural affinity for the lyric coloratura instrument with a broad audience, especially as his budding operatic career is propelled by a recent commission from Washington National Opera. Silver Apples has enabled many new listeners to connect with and find joy in the genre of Art Song.
— Soprano Ann Moss
Imagine Weill and Lotte Lenya zonked on some really good drugs goofing around in a Berlin basement. That’s “Silver Apples.”
— John Marcher, A Beast in a Jungle, 11/19/13
Explore More Music…
Title | View | Voice | Duration | Composer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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for soprano and piano | Soprano | 3'30" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Originally written for the musical The Ghost of Wu, musical that tells the story of Wu Chao, the only female ruler in Chinese history, who ruled in the 8th Century, “The World Rolls On” is, quite simply, a lullaby. More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
for baritone (voice), trumpet in C, and Organ | Baritone ⋅ Organ ⋅ Trumpet | 7' 15" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A dramatic, contemporary setting of the Biblical passage “The Trumpet Shall Sound”, which was also used in Handel’s “Messiah”. The baritone and trumpet dialog throughout with the organ underpinning and expanding the harmonic structure. The trumpet begins and ends using a straight mute, but plays open in middle portions. It is appropriate for memorial services, […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
for Mezzo Soprano, Viola, and Piano | Mezzo-Soprano ⋅ Viola | 6'45" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Over Journey gives voice to the über-Romantic yearnings of 19th Century German poet Novalis (Friedrich von Hardenberg). The poet’s fascination with death, art, and the loss of his young fiancee permeates this piece, as the poet dreams of one day reuniting with his lost love. More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
for soprano and piano | Soprano | 6'30" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I have a confession to make; my pieces come from a very personal, very private place. I know and admire many fellow composers who take a cooler, analytical stance towards their art and aesthetic, and I admire their craftsmanship and outward reserve. But that just doesn’t work for me (no judgement). From a technical standpoint, […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
for Soprano and Piano | Soprano | 8'30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Created as part of my composer residency with San Francisco’s Lieder Alive!, Ich und Du simply would not have been possible without the inspiration, assistance, and sheer joy of working with soprano Heidi Moss. These works are personal to a unique degree, created as they were as a kind of courtship gift to this wonderful woman […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
for soprano and piano | Soprano | 13'40" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
High and Low (2013) is four song cycle on poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay and John Grimmett that in its musical journey brings together several very different sound worlds. From the Laurel Canyon 60s folky opening number “Afternoon on a Hill” to the chilling operatic drama of “distance is crueler…” to the Schubert/ Iron Maiden […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
for soprano solo, chorus and chamber orchestra | Choral ⋅ Orchestra ⋅ Soprano | 25' | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Completed and premiered in 1996, Cycle of Friends is a lush, emotional journey through five texts taken from such diverse sources as Tang Dynasty poetry of China, Sappho and Emily Dickinson, each dealing in its own way with the universal theme of friendship. Cycle of Friends was commissioned and premiered by the Music Group of Philadelphia, Seán […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
for solo voice and piano | 3' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Christmas Time in the Eyes of a Child is a light-hearted secular Christmas song for children, although it could be performed by adults. This version is in Unison throughout, and could be performed as a solo with piano accompaniment, or by a community or children’s choir. There is also a two-part version and a mixed choir (SATB) version […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
for soprano and orchestra | Orchestra ⋅ Soprano | 2' | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chicago Songs is my attempt to musically recreate something of the spirit and people found in Carl Sandburg’s iconic poetry. Sandburg’s world is one filled with the grit of burgeoning industrialization, the earnest hope of immigrant settlers, and the heartache and beauty found in the everyday. His characters are larger than life, yet tragically human […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
for SATB choir and optional Soprano solo | Choral ⋅ Soprano | 7'20" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
“Cantemus in omni die” is a setting of a hymn to the Virgin Mary written by Cú Chuimne Sapiens, an Irish monk active at Iona by the early 8th century (died 747). It is the earliest known Latin hymn to Mary originally composed in the Western Christian Church rather than translated into Latin from earlier […] More info & view score » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||