Woods (2008), for soprano, alto flute, clarinet in B-flat, english horn, basoon, bari sax, and percussion; texts after Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson
Program Notes:
Summarized as tersely as possible, “Woods” is about being naïve. While the whole piece features naïve music, the different movements each exploit very different qualities of naiveté.
There are two general progressions in the piece: the first, a move away from the soprano to the ensemble; the second, a parallel advance from the text to the music. Obviously related, these two sequences serve as a metaphor for the need to incorporate nature in daily life. The general structure of the song cycle serves to highlight this progressive function. With seven movements plus an interlude, the eight total parts may be divided into four pairs: I & II, III & the interlude, IV & V, and VI & VII.
Being the initial movement, I. Sky serves to establish the point of departure for both of the progressions. The music in this first movement is unremarkable and cliché, stressing the dominance of the words over the music. Following suit, there is almost no text painting of any kind. This represents the naïve starting point of childhood – we all start here in one way or another.
Coupled with Sky, II. Sunrise also employs very cliché harmonies and melodies to help convey the supremacy of the text over the music; however, there is a clear development when compared to the former movement: the concept is larger and longer, written for more instruments, structurally more advanced, and the harmonic palette is more complex, albeit still quite trite.
III. Two Rivers opens the doors to further the growth seen between movements I and II through more advanced harmonies and a greater degree and quality of text painting, which foreshadows the shift from text- to music-dominance.
IV. Snow and V. Woods mark the soprano’s pinnacle. For these two movements, she is the star of the show and the ensemble very much supports her in that role. Though the text is still in general more important than the music, the two function mutually to produce a greater end result than was the case in the preliminary three movements. While still in some ways naïve, these two middle movements represent a developmental plateau: growth could stop here and be sufficient, just as the song cycle could conclude here and be a satisfactory whole work – but it doesn’t….
The interlude is a meandering musical walk through the woods. Structurally, it serves two functions: first, it counter-balances the third movement (harmonically in addition to structurally); second, programmatically, the consummation of the subsequent two movements may be seen as a direct consequence of going on a walk through the woods and absorbing the natural splendor surrounding us.
The harmonies of VI. Thaw begin cold and static (recalling IV. Snow), but soon begins to flow at m. 8. For these last two movements, the soprano does not sing, but rather speaks her lines. This is the penultimate step in the progression away from the soprano towards the ensemble. The harmonies beginning at m. 14 are clearly dynamic, contrasting the opening measures, but evade consummation, propelling the cycle to its closing movement.
Once the singer has stated her lines of VII. Waterfall, she must sit down and watch the remainder of the performance. This must not be overdone. She should sit down on stage (as opposed to leaving the stage and joining the audience – this would distract the audience’s attention and thus ultimately contradict the notion of the soprano as a secondary role), but her body language must make it clear that despite being on stage and despite being the soloist, she is no longer a primary part of the performance. The transition from soprano to ensemble is complete. Since the soprano is no longer participating directly, the evolution from text- to music-dominance has likewise concluded.
The texts used in this piece are taken from the poems, essays, journals and other writings of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. I have heavily edited, re-written and compiled the original texts to help fit the structure and syntax I sought in my text setting.
“Woods” was written for and dedicated to Ms. Liz Wilson, whose lyrical voice and beautiful high notes inspired much of this writing.
Summarized as tersely as possible, “Woods” is about being naïve. While the whole piece features naïve music, the different movements each exploit very different qualities of naiveté.
There are two general progressions in the piece: the first, a move away from the soprano to the ensemble; the second, a parallel advance from the text to the music. Obviously related, these two sequences serve as a metaphor for the need to incorporate nature in daily life. The general structure of the song cycle serves to highlight this progressive function. With seven movements plus an interlude, the eight total parts may be divided into four pairs: I & II, III & the interlude, IV & V, and VI & VII.
Being the initial movement, I. Sky serves to establish the point of departure for both of the progressions. The music in this first movement is unremarkable and cliché, stressing the dominance of the words over the music. Following suit, there is almost no text painting of any kind. This represents the naïve starting point of childhood – we all start here in one way or another.
Coupled with Sky, II. Sunrise also employs very cliché harmonies and melodies to help convey the supremacy of the text over the music; however, there is a clear development when compared to the former movement: the concept is larger and longer, written for more instruments, structurally more advanced, and the harmonic palette is more complex, albeit still quite trite.
III. Two Rivers opens the doors to further the growth seen between movements I and II through more advanced harmonies and a greater degree and quality of text painting, which foreshadows the shift from text- to music-dominance.
IV. Snow and V. Woods mark the soprano’s pinnacle. For these two movements, she is the star of the show and the ensemble very much supports her in that role. Though the text is still in general more important than the music, the two function mutually to produce a greater end result than was the case in the preliminary three movements. While still in some ways naïve, these two middle movements represent a developmental plateau: growth could stop here and be sufficient, just as the song cycle could conclude here and be a satisfactory whole work – but it doesn’t….
The interlude is a meandering musical walk through the woods. Structurally, it serves two functions: first, it counter-balances the third movement (harmonically in addition to structurally); second, programmatically, the consummation of the subsequent two movements may be seen as a direct consequence of going on a walk through the woods and absorbing the natural splendor surrounding us.
The harmonies of VI. Thaw begin cold and static (recalling IV. Snow), but soon begins to flow at m. 8. For these last two movements, the soprano does not sing, but rather speaks her lines. This is the penultimate step in the progression away from the soprano towards the ensemble. The harmonies beginning at m. 14 are clearly dynamic, contrasting the opening measures, but evade consummation, propelling the cycle to its closing movement.
Once the singer has stated her lines of VII. Waterfall, she must sit down and watch the remainder of the performance. This must not be overdone. She should sit down on stage (as opposed to leaving the stage and joining the audience – this would distract the audience’s attention and thus ultimately contradict the notion of the soprano as a secondary role), but her body language must make it clear that despite being on stage and despite being the soloist, she is no longer a primary part of the performance. The transition from soprano to ensemble is complete. Since the soprano is no longer participating directly, the evolution from text- to music-dominance has likewise concluded.
The texts used in this piece are taken from the poems, essays, journals and other writings of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. I have heavily edited, re-written and compiled the original texts to help fit the structure and syntax I sought in my text setting.
“Woods” was written for and dedicated to Ms. Liz Wilson, whose lyrical voice and beautiful high notes inspired much of this writing.
| 01_sky_nr.mp3 |
| 02_sunrise_nr.mp3 |
| 03_two_rivers_nr.mp3 |
| 04_snow_nr.mp3 |
| 05_woods_nr.mp3 |
| 06_interlude_nr.mp3 |
| 07_thaw_nr.mp3 |
| 08_waterfall_nr.mp3 |
