The Fredösphere

So many things to blog about!  Sunday saw the premiere of The Prophet, my setting of a poem by Aleksandr Pushkin, translated by Babette Deutsch.  Brian Altevogt led the Concordia University Choir in a very thoughtful interpretation.  As I mentioned to Brian, it's very satisfying to hear flesh and blood singers in music that previously had been performed only by a MIDI keyboard.

I believe a recording will show up here at some point; in the meantime, enjoy a bit of the text in all its gory glory:

I dragged my feet through desert gloom
Tormented by the Spirit's yearning,
And saw a six-winged Seraph bloom
Upon the footpath's barren turning.

And as a dream in slumber lies
So light his finger on my eyes
My wizard eyes grew wide and wary:
An eagle's started from her eyrie.

[...]

And to my lips the Seraph clung
And tore from me my sinful tongue,
My cunning tongue and idle-worded;
The subtle serpent's sting he set
Between my lips--his hand was wet,
His bloody hand my mouth begrided.

And with a sword he cleft my breast
And took the heart with terror turning,
And in my gaping bosom pressed
A coal that throbbed there, black and burning.[...]

One quirky detail I'll pass on to you:  Brian programmed me immediately after PDQ Bach.  What an act to follow!

Labels: Composition, Poetry