Vocal Music
A Collection of Art Songs
for Soprano or Mezzo Soprano
♦ I'm currently finishing up an exciting project — writing a collection of over 20 art songs for soprano (or mezzo soprano), with piano accompaniment. These songs have a wide variety of styles, moods, and texts, and I'm excited to bring these songs to life!
♦ Most of these songs are suitable for soprano and mezzo soprano, with some songs having two versions, one for each range. Thus, either sopranos or mezzo sopranos can perform the entire collection.
♦ Songs marked with * have more advanced piano accompaniments.
♦ Below are the songs that are currently finished, with brief descriptions of each song, along with a score sample. (Contact me to hear synth demos of the songs.)
♦ ATTENTION, SINGERS: I'm actively looking for a soprano or mezzo soprano to learn and record these pieces. Please contact me if you're interested in learning more about this project.
All the World's a Stage
TEXT: Shakespeare (from “As You Like It”) / DURATION: 5:00
SCORE SAMPLE
DESCRIPTION: This poem is dramatic and a bit silly, so it inspired me to write an almost Broadway-sounding piece. I wrote my music in a laid-back style, as if whatever life throws at us, we keep marching along through it with determination. The singer is encouraged to have fun being a bit overly dramatic, as if putting forth a comical but dramatic song in musical theater.
All Through the Night
TEXT: Traditional Welsh / DURATION: 4:30
SCORE SAMPLE FOR HIGH VOICE
SCORE SAMPLE FOR MEDIUM VOICE
DESCRIPTION: Even though I love the traditional folk tune from Wales, I wanted to create a completely original composition using the well-known text. This new piece is fresh and contemporary sounding, but is still gentle and flowing, as you'd expect from a lullaby.
Away, Delights!
TEXT: John Fletcher (1579-1625) / DURATION: 2:30
SCORE SAMPLE
DESCRIPTION: This song depicts the raw emotions of a lover scorned, set in a somewhat dissonant style.
* Beauty Clear and Fair
TEXT: John Fletcher (1579-1625) / DURATION: 2:00
SCORE SAMPLE FOR HIGH VOICE
SCORE SAMPLE FOR MEDIUM VOICE
DESCRIPTION: This poem is a sumptuous love song, full of passion and exuberant joy. My music captures these ecstatic feelings by featuring an almost non-stop flow of 16th notes in the piano part, which creates an excited and somewhat impressionistic feeling throughout the piece.
Care-Charming Sleep
TEXT: John Fletcher (1579-1625) / DURATION: 3:10
SCORE SAMPLE
DESCRIPTION: A gentle and melancholy setting of John Fletcher's poem. The extended introduction and epilogue flow forth in a mysterious and wandering way, reflecting our pursuit of consoling slumber.
* Description of a Thunderstorm
TEXT: John Clare (1793‐1864) / DURATION: 2:30
SCORE SAMPLE
DESCRIPTION: John Clare was the quintessential Romantic poet. Since this poem is Romanticism at its best, I chose to write my music in an overtly Romantic style. The wildly moving figurations in the piano accompaniment (especially in the left‐hand part) depict the drama of the choppy sea in true “Sturm und Drang” style.
He That Is Thy Friend Indeed
TEXT: Anonymous, published in 1599, from “The Passionate Pilgrim”
(previously attributed to Shakespeare) / DURATION: 2:30
SCORE SAMPLE
DESCRIPTION: In this heartfelt poem, the treasures of a good friendship are extolled. My music should be performed in a way that is not only sweet and caressing, but also emotionally intense, especially at the musical climaxes.
Hymn to Pan
TEXT: John Fletcher (1579-1625) / DURATION: 3:00
SCORE SAMPLE FOR HIGH VOICE
SCORE SAMPLE FOR MEDIUM VOICE
DESCRIPTION: This festive poem inspired me to create an exuberant and celebratory piece, full of joy and energy. I wrote the music in a neo-Baroque style, with some modern touches.
A Hymn to the Moon
TEXT: Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689‐1762) / DURATION: 3:15
SCORE SAMPLE
DESCRIPTION: My music seeks to bring out the glorious sense of mystery found in this poem's beautiful imagery.
* It Was a Lover and His Lass
TEXT: Shakespeare (from “As You Like It”) / DURATION: 2:20
SCORE SAMPLE
DESCRIPTION: This poem is a glorious celebration of young love in springtime. My music shows the ebullience and joy of this love, and is set strophically, with an exuberant ritornello appearing at the opening and ending of the song, and between the verses.
My Heart Is Like a Singing Bird
TEXT: Christina Rossetti / DURATION: 2:40
SCORE SAMPLE
DESCRIPTION: This poem by Christina Rossetti expresses her ecstatic feelings of love and re-birth, expressed in images of nature. My music captures her sense of boundless joy and her overflowing spirit.
Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?
TEXT: Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare / DURATION: 2:15
SCORE SAMPLE FOR HIGH VOICE
SCORE SAMPLE FOR MEDIUM VOICE
DESCRIPTION: For this famous sonnet by Shakespeare, I sought to create a very melodic and expressive setting. There certainly is passion in the text, but there is also a pervading tenderness throughout, and my music seeks to fuse these two elements together in musical terms.
* Storm Fear
TEXT: Robert Frost / DURATION: 2:20
SCORE SAMPLE
DESCRIPTION: This disturbing poem depicts a family huddled together inside their house while a winter storm is raging all around them. The poet likens the storm to a “beast” who is trying to devour them. In my music, I sought to create a vividly disturbing atmosphere, full of fear and anxiety.
Take, O Take Those Lips Away
TEXT: Verse 1: Words by Shakespeare (from “Measure for Measure”)
Verse 2: Words by John Fletcher (1579-1625) / DURATION: 2:00
SCORE SAMPLE
DESCRIPTION: Most composers (like John Weldon, 1676-1736) have set this text in a way that brings out Mariana’s anger at being scorned, but I’ve chosen to emphasize the melancholy love that she still feels toward Angelo, so my music exudes a feeling of warmth and sad resignation instead.
* You Spotted Snakes
TEXT: Shakespeare (from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”)
DURATION: 1:20
SCORE SAMPLE
DESCRIPTION: This enchanting poem from Act II of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” calls for a musical treatment that is mischievous and magical. But in addition to those qualities, I gave my music a humorously macabre touch, especially evident in the piano’s weaving and ghoulish 8th-note ostinatos.
