Lori Laitman

Komponist

Lori Laitman

Texter

Susan de Sola

Verleger

Enchanted Knickers Music

Genre

Klassische Musik / Lied

Instrumentierung

Klavier, Sopran

Partitur für

Solo, Klavierbegleitung

Art der Partitur

Klavierauszug mit Singstimmen

Länge

6'30"

Sprache

Englisch

Schwierigkeitsgrad

Fortgeschritten

Jahr der Komposition

2020

Beschreibung
two humorous songs for soprano and piano — 

In 2020, when Covid-19 basically shut down the world, Lyric Fest of Philadelphia asked me to compose some humorous songs to premiere in March of 2021. My colleague Dana Gioia recommended the works of Susan de Sola as a potential poetic source, and I was immediately drawn to her ode to a piglet, A Party for Kevin.
Susan brilliantly details the chaotic nature of Kevin’s introduction to human society in Only A Piglet. The song opens with waltzing rhythms and harmonies reminiscent of parlor music. The piano’s frequent use of grace notes contributes to the general humorous atmosphere. A change to a duple meter in the center of the song creates an ambling feeling. The singer’s motif underscoring “only a piglet/he blithely ignores us” is picked up by the piano and runs rampant through various tonal centers, creating an aural representation and reminder of Kevin’s inquisitiveness and insouciance.
Clever Kevin focuses on Kevin’s eventual relocation to a petting farm. I recycle many musical themes from the first song, and in a flight of imaginative fancy, I give Kevin the chance to sing as he begs for an apple. The opening waltz returns to close the cycle, as Kevin is (perhaps) reminiscing about his early days.
The events described in the poem are based on real life — with the exception of a pig’s capacity to sing words.

Datum des Uploads

22.04.2022