The Music of Lori Laitman, now available as PDFs
One Bee and Revery — three Dickinson songs for soprano and piano (priced for 2 copies)
SM-000579500
- Composer
- Lori Laitman
-
Lyricist
-
Emily Dickinson
- Publisher
- Enchanted Knickers Music
- Genre
-
Classical / Song
- Instrumentation
- Piano, Soprano
- Scored for
- Solo, Accompanying piano
- Type of score
- Piano-vocal score
- Duration
- 4'0"
- Language
- English
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Year of composition
- 2003
Description
I composed One Bee and Revery in the summer of 2003 as a present for my mother, Josephine Propp Laitman, for her 85th birthday. The delicate texture of the piano part in song 1 enhances the image of a fluttering butterfly. The voice and piano lines alternate, reaching a climax with an extended vocal melisma on the words “soar away” before coming to a delicate close. In song 2, the uniqueness of Dickinson’s thought “hope is a strange invention” is underscored by quirky harmonies, and the constant rhythmic motion in both voice and piano suggest the “unremitting action.” Lyricism returns in “To Make A Prairie ” where I repeat the opening phrase twice, each time emphasizing the dreaminess of the word “revery” by slowing down the tempo. The piano interlude then reiterates the theme, and Dickinson’s witty ending is reflected by a quickening pace and change in mood.
You can listen to the premiere recording on Albany Records CD "Within These Spaces — The Songs of Lori Laitman"