An e. e. cummings Song Cycle (1965)

I. i thank you god
II. no time ago
III. up into the silence
IV. love is the every only god
V. love is more thicker

An e. e. cummings song cycle was the first extended work Peter Dickinson wrote for his sister – the mezzo-soprano, Meriel Dickinson, with whom he gave many concerts, broadcasts and recordings. Dickinson’s study in America brought him into contact with American poets – settings of Emily Dickinson (Winter Afternoons) and Gregory Corso (Extravaganzas) came later. Cummings is a poet of affirmation, celebrating life, love and experience with his own kind of whimsical wit. The first song, ‘i thank You God’, is a hymn to the existence of God; the second, ‘no time ago’, a shattering trance-like encounter with Christ. The last three poems are about love: ‘up into the silence’ is gently erotic; the next more insistent, and the last a charming nonsense poem.

Programme note by Peter Dickinson