Description
Perusal Score
Audio
Denton Tobenski, tenor
Katherine Wiegandt, piano
Premiere
Tobenski-Algera Concert Series
Rob Frankenberry, tenor / Marc Peloquin, piano
Church of St. Matthew & St. Timothy / NYC
Commissioner
Range
Text
Songs
2. Looking for Bivalve
3. Fall Semester: First Frost
Program Notes
I wrote the Sweet Briar Songs in April/May 2007, after having returned from a residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in Amherst VA, where I had met poet/writer Patricia Valdata. Pat had given me a copy of her chapbook Looking for Bivalve, and I was instantly drawn to the three poems used in this set of songs.
“Moore’s Garden” is a quasi-recitative that opens reflectively with a meditation on a beautiful garden setting, accompanied by delicate, harp-like arpeggios. As the text and music become more lyrical, the song is interrupted at the words “but for the toad”, where the voice is suddenly alone, and is only joined by a sickly accompaniment at the words “bleeding, in the snake’s mouth.” The descending-scale vocal line of the phrase “fully imaginary” become a unifying motive throughout the entire set.
“Looking for Bivalve” is a short, silly song. The singer is reciting absurd roadside landmarks and map markings. The triplet accompaniment suggests a car in motion on side roads, periodically slowing or stopping to check the map, which we discover at the end, isn’t quite as accurate as our traveler had hoped.
“Fall Semester: First Frost” closes the cycle lyrically, describing the changing of the leaves and the season on a college campus. A little slice of life, the song ends with a quiet moment: “Through the window / pigeons watch ‘ my students take their exam.”
Performance History
Date | Performer(s) | Venue | City/State |
---|---|---|---|
May 18, 2007 | Rob Frankenberry, tenor; Marc Peloquin, piano Tobenski-Algera Concert Series | Bloomingdale School of Music | New York, NY |
November 3, 2007 | Denton Tobenski, tenor; Katherine Wiegandt, piano Denton Tobenski Senior Voice Recital | Kemp Recital Hall, Illinois State University | Normal, IL |
August 29, 2012 | Dennis Tobenski, tenor; Marc Peloquin, piano Conspiracy: The Music of Dennis Tobenski & Nick Norton (excerpts: Looking for Bivalve; Fall Semester: First Frost) | The Duplex | New York, NY |
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