a song cycle based on the poetry of Samuel Greenberg ( ) for voice and piano Justin Henry Rubin Harvey Music Editions

Transcription

1 a sog cycle ased o the poetry of Samuel Greeerg (19-191) for voice ad piao y usti Hery Rui Harvey Music Editios

2 orard I had ever heard of Samuel Greeerg I had ee deeply ivolved ith the orks of Hart Crae, had set a umer of his poems, ad as eve ispired to rite purely istrumetal compositios ased o some of his fatastic imagery It as through Crae that I stumled upo Greeerg through his documeted praise I foud myself remarkaly egrossed ith these terse orks - their pure surrealist toe (hich atedates the more famous movemet egu after World War I) are imued ith a expressiveess that immediately peetrated my mid My respose as the compositio of a set of sogs for soprao, alto, ad piao (Loose Pages), hich ere ritte i the all of 000, folloed y to catatas ad still more sogs They ere edoed ith a musical character to help covey more tha simply the setimets (if that is ideed possile!) of the texts of the Poet His orks are "orgies of supersesiility" (Louis Utermeyer, 190) herei "ords poured forth ith a ild, chaotic passio" (ames Laughli, 199) ad therefore a arrative structure ould ot have ee a favorale choice of settigs Istead, I try to take a distict, o-arrative musical poit of vie ith them The oly image of Greeerg I ko is that of him at the time of his Bar Mitzvah; the dusty, dark syagogues of early 0 th cetury Ne York istataeously came to mid The uiso rhythmic, declamatory itoatios of eish chat, the cascade of ords as if a supplicatio, the propulsive ature of the poems themselves, the siuous, fleetig emotios that characterize Greeerg's ords, the itimate yet uiversal essece of his utteraces, the quality of the voice of youth tured adult oly to e cut do i premature death, the speed ith hich the texts ere ritte - all of these factors cotriuted to my choice of souds that surroud my settigs of his orks I fid myself returig agai ad agai to Greeerg, choosig poems from his large collectio of soets, alays refreshig, alays ispirig e musical ideas ad setimets Note: Some misspelligs from the origial texts have ee preserved, ut others have ee altered i the musical settigs for ease of readig

3 rom the Sick Sleuth Soets poems y Samuel Greeerg music y usti Hery Rui I Purity Adatemete co ruato poco ad li echo p 11 O to 11 Music Copyright 005 usti Hery Rui All Rights Reserved Prited i USA WARNING: No part of this ork may e reproduced or trasmitted i ay form or y ay meas, electroic or mechaical, icludig photocopyig or ay iformatio storage ad retrieval system ithout permissio i ritig from the pulisher Uauthorized reproductio, i hole or i part, is a violatio of the US Copyright Las

4 15 15 si - lece, here rest Be - poco arms 0 Sea - ted, ce - lest, though much Be - guiles The faur of Hu - ma mo - tio 0 The Lus - tre of lifes stir - rig com - ies poco

5 / lure traits of U - pall'd By keep - ig track a - Not to sim fa - cy ave the se - crets ges - tures safe rom such foot- ig loud li - vig pass of veer molto What a-ig aif

6 5 molto Yet re - calls of plea - sures i - molto ert e - hold rom pait - ig, rom scul - ptures or for - eig mold The case of soud - ig id The case of soud - ig

7 1 1 id The case of soud - ig id By tight - ly shores / sim That treats a ust mids lo - ly moors What a

8 9 9 mad - ess ca ap - ply i such ig - éd Prize as to Be 9 molto 9 ut the hem ski i - deal - - ize

9 11 al fie U U u

10 Odeggiate P II illusive evolutio R P What tra - vel- ig grace halts you to R tur - ig grasp of ko A - N ee - - Ad R use from oes N e - - ver N R Na - tures proof peds a hir - lig - N r sho - R That shades, N N

11 1 1 the lus - tre tree rom - Ki, the tur - a N - - claims of prime That 1 1 hold the et - ter'd hope - ful slime - R N r N - That e - ver reals, - i - to

12 help - ful glee r But kills the - co - lor'd i - dy 9 9 scet through such - mar - vel groths u - et - R By the ri - ches of N shape ad gloss R We hap - py 5 5 feel a lu - sive love rom the state of o - der as - R

13 sume - N - R Ah yet he ho spells rest u told Brigs thi - ther, - the soil of for- eig - N R U mold u U U

14 5 Svelto III ear There fled the o - pe - ig ditch, from sooth What gi - vig pal - pi-tates to hold its loath [loco] U Ó 1 u

15 1 1 The Bul - ky mass of real Bar - re aste Let thee feel a tool, for him the last, P P A - a - ke self co- scious

16 a - ke - ig pride A - gai sus - peds thee for a 0 0 "chick" de - ied 5 5 Ah calls thi - ther the 5 dream of sick - ly look rom hece your heart uilds em - lems to re- uke, tries to

17 5 5 share the pri - so spells That cloms e - eath loves ex- pres - sive 5 5 cells Who leaves a - sers prime of lust de si - red 0 0 [loco] U Ó 1 u To sho the great deeds of o - der lyr'd The ust flit - ters

18 5 N apt 5 for clea - vig lay U P Meo mosso: quasi-recit P Here toil U a-med, u

19 5 5 share's p oe ful ay 90 90

20 Adatemete slight - ly the > fait ply - ig P 15 > up - per r > sim > se - et shade did sim IV Divie Scet What sim stall lead r > U leap'd r > so u > U There, poco shed While P r > hea - vy

21 19 19 u - der this all u - der this all Molto rit e dim u - der this all U U u u Lets P thee em - pty, ot of P 1 1 cause to heed the The sim a - der - ig a - der - ig r > r > poco soul soul claims the kig - doms tear

22 5 5 The ise soul id this Molto rit e dim a - ged eir 9 U 5 9 U u u 5 5 P U u Suito 5 P Ad 5 P 5 the Blid ƒ i - e - ri - at 5 9 spi - rit mere - ly feels, mere - ly feels Wish - es f that 5 5

23 5 5 p all ould rot ad 5 P 5 Quasi-recitative Yet pai speaks for pai peace Bey - od While each N fi - re reels Ó p g tra-vels 5 5 po - er - ful - ly i 5 f vei P Not P ko- ig hat Be - falls the charm he's see through cresc grid- ig tolls that list of sprouts All ho - or cresc

24 1 1 ares its stamp, u - til it ƒ shouts, f it shouts, dim it 5 p shouts, r > > it tide - ig, r > > shouts Ó p g hus - lig Thou fieg of > ee > p glide - ig, U p U

25 Grave V the udertoe (very resoat, allo soorities to overlap) N Ó The sim N cel - lar of the priest, the u - sim N U could sig the sog of the ild kave U N ur - de'd crave N N He Ó That Ó 9 9 thros the Beam - ig sad up - o the u Clime of the su's u - rea - stead

26 11 Ó gloom 11 N 1 1 N 1 1 Ó What as this oy fet - ter'd dry flame- ig zoe r Ad re - mem - er the gaze as ot for N N N r U o, the gaze as ot for o N U u Ó r It Ó R seem'd to tell the lore of los - soms vo

27 1 1 Ad loose o - der strais e - eath, Ó,, 9 Liero: quasi-recit ord that, o let - ter ca place the 9 Tempo I of cre - a - tio's cral y your thrall There seems to N reath sotto voce N N meek te- do to stay a glass col - or'd ill, a glass col - or'd N or seek re- fuge, are it, U (clear all soud) i ill The

28 o - ly taste is this se - su - al N N Molto rit, sor - ro's glo, love, ad the poud - ig thrill fi - re still That N, N Meo mosso X, (pauses of icreasig duratio),,, U u