for soprano, flute, clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, cello, and piano.
texts by Jodi Marchowsky. lyrics used by permission, ©1998 by Jodi Marchowsky.
moderately difficult.
Jodi Marchowsky is a fellow Nashuan, a friend, a former housemate, and a poet. The poems are selected from her collection, Mudseason. I was the flutist in an ensemble performing Arnold Schoenberg's seminal work Pierrot Lunaire (1912), and decided that it would be a wonderful opportunity to write something for the same instrumentation (something just about every composer has thought at some point, since, oh... about 1912 or so). Each poem is a vivid character sketch: a snapshot of someone in a particular moment. I found the various combinations of personality and situation inherently musical. I sketched the vocal line for the last poem, "Quiet," first, while waiting in the laundromat. That melody became the material for all four movements.
ca. 12'
1998.
Contact me for the score.