FOUR SONGS ON POEMS OF SEAMUS HEANEY

FOUR SONGS ON POEMS OF SEAMUS HEANEY

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Scoring & Instrumentation
Soprano, Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, Piano, and Percussion
Alternate Title
HEANEY SONGS
Year Authored (or revised)
Duration (min)
11
Movements
Lightenings iv
The Rain Stick
Lightenings i
Settings xxiv

Files & Media

Audio
[Karchin] Ancient Scenes - III. Celebration (excerpt).mp3
Audio file
Video

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Sample Pages

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Detail

Description

Composer's Note:

Four Songs on Poems of Seamus Heaney was composed in 2012 for three ensembles: Ensemble Périphérie (in Iowa), Magnetic South (in Charleston, South Carolina), and Ensemble Mise-en (in New York). The four poems are taken from several collections of the Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet, and although they are not ostensibly related to each other, in my mind, I constructed a scenario linking them. (Eventually, I filled out this scenario with instrumental movements, forming the seven-movement work, Ancient Scenes.)

I related the various songs to the growth and development of an imagined ancient town by the sea. The first, simply entitled Lightenings iv, takes as its point of departure the roar of a crowd echoing through an ancient coliseum. The second, The Rain Stick, describes (in very accurate detail) a most intriguing percussion instrument, and is set to a dance that might have provided entertainment in an ancient forum. The third song (Lightenings i) reflects on the frailty of the human condition and the fleeting nature of life; the last (Settings xxiv) is a beautiful panorama of a still harbor shimmering in the light. 

Comments

Review:

“Heaney writes, ‘There is no next-time-around. Unroofed scope.  Knowledge-freshening wind.’ Now that’s lyrical, and it could have been so easy for a composer to obscure these magnificent words with music that’s too assertive. Karchin’s music instead, complements the poetry, even with its intense lyricism, angularity and dynamic range. And [soprano Deanna] McBroom delivered, digging into the piece with head and heart.”  

- (From premiere performance by Magnetic South, Charleston, South Carolina)
Adam Parker, The Post and Courier

First Perfomance
Ensemble Périphérie with Michelle Crouch, soprano, John Dangerfield, conductor on tour at Northern Illinois University, March 6, 2013
Recording

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Text Language - Non English

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Text Source/Author
Poems by Seamus Heaney
The Rain Stick, from Spirit Level
Lightenings i, iv, and Settings xxiv, from Seeing Things
Used with permission of Faber and Faber, London.
Title Number
Ensemble Type
solo voice(s)+2 to 6 instruments
Pierrot or Pierrot+
Genre/Theme
poet/author featured
Instrument
Soprano , flute , clarinet , piano , Percussion , violin , cello
Purchase Options
PDF License & Download
PDF Price
Print & Ship
$55.50 score with 6 instrumental parts: ACA-KARC-011
$31.00 score: ACA-KARC-011s
$21.00 piano/vocal score: ACA-KARC-011pv