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- John Harbison
The Cross of Snow (for voice and violas da gamba) (2015)
- Associated Music Publishers Inc (World)
Commissioned by William John Wartmann in memory of his wife, Joyce Frances Wartmann (1924-2003)
- 4vdga (two treble, one tenor, one bass)
- 2vn, va, vc
- Countertenor[=Contralto]
- 20 min
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- English
Programme Note
Related works:
The Cross of Snow (for voice and violas da gamba)
The Cross of Snow (for voice and string quartet)
Movements:
Prelude
I. The Cross of Snow
II. Suspiria
III. Some day, Some day
Postlude
Composer note:
The Cross of Snow, for counter-tenor (or contralto) and viol consort, was commissioned by William John Wartmann in memory of his wife, Joyce Frances Wartmann (1924-2003). The piece is scored for two treble viols, tenor viol, and bass viol, the latter not to be confused with the orchestral contrabass. An alternate adaptation voice and string quartet has also been prepared.
A fortunate opportunity to meet the commissioner at his country home near Edgerton, Wisconsin offered a chance to discuss his ideas about text and instrumentation, ideas embodied in the final shape of the piece. Every detail of the Wartmann estate suggested a distinctive artistic stance. I was able to see and admire Mr. Wartmann's achievements as painter and sculptor, as well as the paintings by Joyce Wartmann, who was also an accomplished singer.
The project, with so many elements unfamiliar to me, felt like a fortunate place to find myself. Mr. Wartmann's preference for nineteenth-century poetry initially led me toward Hardy, Dickinson, and Whitman, but re-imagining my discussion with him led me instead to Longfellow's "Cross of Snow," largeness of address combined with intimate personal feeling, which led naturally to other poems by the same poet, as well as the rather plain spoken chorale settings which begin and end the piece.
— John Harbison
The Cross of Snow (for voice and violas da gamba)
The Cross of Snow (for voice and string quartet)
Movements:
Prelude
I. The Cross of Snow
II. Suspiria
III. Some day, Some day
Postlude
Composer note:
The Cross of Snow, for counter-tenor (or contralto) and viol consort, was commissioned by William John Wartmann in memory of his wife, Joyce Frances Wartmann (1924-2003). The piece is scored for two treble viols, tenor viol, and bass viol, the latter not to be confused with the orchestral contrabass. An alternate adaptation voice and string quartet has also been prepared.
A fortunate opportunity to meet the commissioner at his country home near Edgerton, Wisconsin offered a chance to discuss his ideas about text and instrumentation, ideas embodied in the final shape of the piece. Every detail of the Wartmann estate suggested a distinctive artistic stance. I was able to see and admire Mr. Wartmann's achievements as painter and sculptor, as well as the paintings by Joyce Wartmann, who was also an accomplished singer.
The project, with so many elements unfamiliar to me, felt like a fortunate place to find myself. Mr. Wartmann's preference for nineteenth-century poetry initially led me toward Hardy, Dickinson, and Whitman, but re-imagining my discussion with him led me instead to Longfellow's "Cross of Snow," largeness of address combined with intimate personal feeling, which led naturally to other poems by the same poet, as well as the rather plain spoken chorale settings which begin and end the piece.
— John Harbison
