VOCALISSIMUS
To the Roaring Wind What syllable are you seeking, Vocalissimus, In the distances of sleep? Speak it. -Wallace Stevens "Currier’s instrumental writing in Vocalissimus is never short of inventive, even orchestral (though there are only six instruments)……….In all, Vocalissimus made for a thoroughly satisfying conclusion to Sunday’s program, a concert that was filled with the sense of musical discovery often sought in contemporary music settings but not always found." -The Art Fuse |
Program Note
My aim in Vocalissimus is to explore the wealth of possible interpretations of a single text. It is unusual in that all 18 songs of the cycle set the same text - each, however, set from a different point of view. Basically, whenever a composer sets a text, the musical choices he or she makes cannot but form an interpretation of the text. There is no such thing as an objective setting of a text. Whether consciously or unconsciously, every word, every phrase, and every idea in a poem must be affected by the composer's highly subjective interpretation before it can take on a musical shape. Vocalissimus is a fantasy on this inherent subjectivity of setting words to music. It uses a short Wallace Stevens poem, To the Roaring Wind, and sets it from multiple vantage points, each with a title suggesting the particular point of view. Entitlement Recluse Formalist Optimist Pessimist Satirist Introvert Extrovert Chameleon Somnambulist Scientist Mystic Interrogator Lunatic Child and Dying Woman Poet Last Call |
Scoring
sopr-fl.cl-vln.vlc-pft-perc(1):glsp/vib/mar/t.bells/crot/3susp.cyms/4tom-ts/SD/temple blks/wind chimes(glass)/tri/tamb/claves/BD.
Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes for the world.
sopr-fl.cl-vln.vlc-pft-perc(1):glsp/vib/mar/t.bells/crot/3susp.cyms/4tom-ts/SD/temple blks/wind chimes(glass)/tri/tamb/claves/BD.
Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes for the world.