Program Notes
Alfred lord tennyson created some of the most memorable poetry of the 19th century. This piece is inspired by four short excerpts from some of his masterworks.
The texts share a common theme of sound, silence, and allusions to music. Exploring these qualities through text painting was enjoyable, as was finding ways to have the voice and violin interact intimately with each other.
The first poem, “Sweet is every sound,” is a beautifully innocent yet subtly deep account of natural sounds and their inherent sweetness. Tennyson deftly describes how the moaning doves and murmuring bees are sweet indeed—but not as sweet as the voice…
“Him who sings” is a requiem for Tennyson’s friend Arthur Henry Hallam who died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage. The violin is thin and ethereal, full of memory; the voice mimics the sweet but melancholic melody with an air of plaintive remembrance.
Movement and harmonic rhythm are important in these settings and the third movement, like the first, employs a rolling ostinato, this time in a compound meter. The voice and violin engage in unabashed text painting when describing the flute, violin, bassoon, and the sudden appearance of silence.
The final movement is the most abstract of the set. The text mentions a “rift within the lute that by and by will make the music mute.” The imagery of a rift is supported by quarter tone bends in the violin and sharp, accented gestures in the voice. Silence again is mentioned and again with the word “mute,” the movement and cycle come to a close.