Three Songs of Hope

Following the complex rhythmic and chromatic writing in my second song cycle, Three Birthday Songs (2010-2012), I was considering writing a new cycle which was simpler and more direct. I was keen to explore how the words can directly influence the musical setting in tone, form and style. This set of three songs on the subject of hope, scored for high voice and piano, was written in 2015 and 2016 as a gift for my friend, soprano Anne Marie Lo.

As Many Stars
This poem by Mathilde Blind (1841–1896) communicates in a positive and delicate tone, describing the many ways that we wish for enduring love. The music is similarly straightforward and direct, featuring a substantially white-note approach in C major. The third and final verse breaks away from the list of “How many ways?” of the first two verses and includes a slightly more impassioned musical style, eventually coming full circle to the original simple piano figuration.

Barter
This expressive poem from Sara Teasdale (1884–1933) is treated to a A-B-A-Coda setting, with stepwise and arpeggiated vocal lines. The middle verse is presented in a remote key following a tritone modulation from E major to B♭ major and back again for the final verse — this presented an interesting compositional challenge!

Peace
The final song in this cycle splices together the words of two Teasdale poems, Peace and Ebb Tide, that struck me as being closely related in imagery — views of the dynamic seashore — but presenting a contrast in sentiment: Peace describes contentment in love and Ebb Tide describes the sadness of separation. The music is similarly contrasting, with the Peace verses underlaid with a constantly moving syncopated figuration in A♭ major and the Ebb Tide verses presenting a lyrical vocal line over more insistent piano figures in F minor. The three verses of Ebb Tide are inserted between the second and third verses of Peace, allowing a return to the gentle opening piano undercurrent for a quiet and gentle conclusion.