Songs of Perished Love was started in 1979 at the request of singer Karen Braunstein who gave me an assortment of poems while I lived in Boston, Massachusetts. The initial musical setting was first performed by mezzo-soprano Jenny Miller and clarinetist Carol Robinson at the Fondation des États-Unis, Paris on 7 May 1981 during my year's residency as a Fulbright Fellow. Forty years later, I revised and completed the songs in Manchester, England: an eye-opening glimpse into a distant, apprehensive life.
I generally avoid setting poems; they already contain music. To respect the intimacy of the poetry, the music asks for only two melody instruments: the voice, and the wistful, plaintive clarinet which constantly searches for consolation and closure. A performance of all three songs is about 14 minutes' duration.
- ISMN: 9790570683383 (M570683383)
