Just Finished Two New Pieces

I’ve just finished two new pieces for SATB choir and piano called “the moon is hiding in her hair” and “i walked the boulevard.” As you may have guessed from the lack of capital letters, the poetry in both pieces is by E.E. Cummings.

I’m pretty excited to hear these, as I’ve tried a few techniques that I’ve never used before: lots of sparse, open harmonies in the choral writing (there’s hardly a triad to be found, just lots of fourths, fifths and octaves).

Both pieces were commissioned by Distinguished Concerts International New York and will premiere at the June 28 concert in Avery Fischer Hall (NYC). I plan on making them part of a larger set, maybe six or seven E.E. Cummings poems.

Here is a ‘first look’ at page two from each piece (both pieces have piano intros on page one). The poems are posted below.

the moon is hiding in her hair pg 2

i walked the boulevard pg 2

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the moon is hiding in her hair

the moon is hiding in
her hair.
The
lily
of heaven
full of all dreams,
draws down.

cover her briefness in singing
close her with intricate faint birds
by daisies and twilights
Deepen her,

Recite
upon her
flesh
the rain’s

pearls singly-whispering.

E.E. Cummings

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i walked the boulevard

i walked the boulevard

i saw a dirty child
skating on noisy wheels of joy

pathetic dress fluttering

behind her a mothermonster
with red grumbling face

cluttered in pursuit

pleasantly elephantine

while nearby the father

a thick cheerful man

with majestic bulbous lips
and forlorn piggish hands

joked to a girlish bore

with busy rhythmic mouth
and silly purple eyelids

of how she was with child

E.E. Cummings