| Description
A
song cycle for mixed chorus with piano accompaniment
to poems by E. E. Cummings. Difficulty:
4/5. Duration: 25’.
Program Notes
J.A.C.’s
setting of the unique poetry of e. e. cummings,
entitled after the first poem love is the
every only god, is as remarkable for its
allegiance to both the spirit and the letter of
the text as it is for its musical language and
thematic development. About his work, J.A.C. writes,
“I have loved Cummings’ poetry since
I first became acquainted with it as a teenager.
Today’s song cycle is the second one I have
composed to his works. love is the every only
god is a setting of six poems, culled from
a much larger group of candidates, each embracing
the theme of love, both erotic and spiritual.
Through these poems, Cummings speaks of ultimate
things: God and man, knowledge and mystery, light
and darkness, time and timelessness. He reveals
them through metaphors that arise from ordinary
human experience. References to the moon and stars,
the earth and the sea, to clocks and kisses, secrets
and dreams, echo from one poem to another, blossoming
with cumulative resonance like the pealing of
bells. My aim, as a composer, is to illuminate
Cummings’ already potent words, to open
a gate into another dimension of their deep and
terrible beauty.”
–Peter
Rutenberg, Music Director, Los Angeles Chamber
Singers
Texts
1.
love is the every only god
2. what time is it?it is by every star
3. lady will you come with me into
4. white guardians of the universe of sleep
5. now that, more nearest even than your fate
6. silently if,out of not knowable
Commission and Performance
History
love
is the every only god
was commissioned by Peter Rutenberg and premiered
on June 9, 2002 in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles
Chamber Singers with Peter Rutenberg conducting
and Alan Steinberger accompanying.
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| Order
Information |
| Vocal Score |
$12.00 |
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| Recording: Evening Wind CD |
$17.00 |
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