THE EXPLOSION, AND OTHER TALES (2016)
For Mezzo-Soprano and Piano
Duration ca. 12:00
PROGRAM NOTES
In three movements:
The Explosion
Ignorance
Dublinesque
The Explosion, and Other Tales is a set of three songs to texts by the English poet Philip Larkin. Larkin’s poetry is an astonishing combination of earthy and transcendent - his language deftly elevates events that may seem mundane (a mining accident, a funeral procession) to exceptional, or even mystical. These songs try to capture something of this spirit, utilizing musical language that is sometimes simple and folk-like, and other times ethereal and opaque.
Commissioned by Rachel Selan. Premiered by Rachel Selan and Jing Yang at South Oxford Space, Brooklyn, NY (November 2016).
SCORE PREVIEW
