for one singer, B-flat clarinet, violin, piano, and double bass
Duration flexible, approximately 7-9 minutes
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PROGRAM NOTE
With text fragments from Walt Whitman’s “As I Ebb’d with the Ocean of Life,” the lines below conjures mysterious ocean depths, where everything is in an extremely slow state of motion and evolution, very little can be perceived, and everything is trying to hide itself within its surroundings. There is a very high degree of freedom in how it is performed, to convey this sense of there being no one controlling element. Everything is drifting, slowly, imprecisely, unpredictably. Nothing is “wrong” unless it makes itself obvious, opening itself up to danger. Everyone wishes to be “heard” but not noticed; everyone is seeking to make as much of their sound as possible, but without drawing attention. So, as the accumulation of sustained overall sound builds, instruments may play correspondingly louder and still remain hidden within it. The composite texture, color, harmony, and dynamic will thus evolve continuously. Some dynamic indications are given in order to create space for the singer.
Lyric Fest commissioned “the lines below” through a generous gift by Laura Ward and David Newmann.
It was premiered by Lyric Fest on CAROL OF WORDS – Walt Whitman in Song, April 7, 2019 in Philadelphia.
