SONG CYCLE
SOPRANO
fox songs
for PERUSALSCORE
POETRY BY:
ANASTASIA PENNINGTON-FLAX
COMPOSED
BY:
GRIFFIN CANDEY
JANE HIRSHFIELD - CAKI WILKINSON
PERUSALSCORE
1.
Fox Songs
three songs for soprano and piano
Griffin Candey
Three Foxes by the Edge of the Field at Twilight 2. Fox 3. Foxes
fox songs
POETRY
BY:
JANE HIRSHFIELD - CAKI WILKINSON - ANASTASIA PENNINGTON-FLAX
COMPOSED BY:
GRIFFIN CANDEY
PERUSALSCORE
1.ThreeFoxesbytheEdgeoftheFieldatTwilight
Jane
Hirshfield
Oneran, hernosetotheground, arustyshadow neitherhuntingnorplaying.
Onestood;sat;laydown;stoodagain.
Onenevermoved, excepttoturnherheadalittleaswewalked.
Finallywedrewtooclose, andtheyvanished. Thewoodstookthembackasiftheyhadneverbeen.
IwishIhadthoughttoputmyfacetothegrass.
Butwekeptwalking, speakingasstrangersdowhenbecomingfriends.
ThereismoreandmoreItellnoone, strangersnorloves.
Thisslipsintotheheart withouthurry,asifithadneverbeen.
Andyet,amongthetrees,somethinghaschanged.
Somethinglooksbackfromthetrees, andknowsmeforwhoIam.
2.Fox CakiWilkinson
Theyardsgrowghosts.Betweenthelimbsandwings, bleachedstreet-litthings,I’mbestatmovingon. Hunt-heavy,gray,slunkoverlowlikeso muchweightgotintheway,myshape’stheshape ofsomethingmissed,flash-poporemptyframe. ThoughyoucouldsayI’vemadeagameofthis, andthoughmidtrickeryitmightbetrue, wheneveninglingersinthekeyofleaving mysensesswoon.Asynonymforstay, I’malwayscomingback.Ichewthroughtraps. Ilovewhateverdoesn’tgettooclose.
3.Foxes
AnastasiaPennington-Flax
Iheardafoxgavebirthtothemountains beforedecampingtothewoods, tothevalley andbelievedit: believedeverywordabouttheharvest gonesouraftertheirdescent asthoughbeliefwerethesalve andnotthesourceoftheaffliction
It’sarguedthatthevineyardsaren’tlost thattheremustbesomeinfallibleway tochaseofforcatchthem orcallthemlikeusinwanting tobetamed butthere’sawholeworldoutthere forthosewhobothertoraisetheireyes andletthefoxesdotheirownpruning.
3songs—approximately10minutes— completedinMarquette,MIinJanuary2019. Thiscyclecameaboutsomewhataccidentally.Asalong-timedevoteeofMs.Hirshfield’spoetry,InaturallypairedupherThreeFoxesbytheEdgeofthe FieldatTwilightwhenIstumbleduponCakiWilkinson’sincredibleFox andthestrongcontrastbetweenthetwofascinatedme Thewaysin whichtwopoetsweavethesamemetaphorintotheirownsettingsintwocompletelyindividualwaysisalmostlikealitmustestofawriter’svoice— likeaskingafewstylistically-differentartiststopaintthesamestilllife.Whenmyverygoodfriend,sopranoAlexNowakowski,mentionedthatshehad spaceonanupcomingrecitalandaskedifIhadanythingbrewing,thesepoemshadjustfallenintomylap—well-timed.Beyondthat,I’vealwaysbeen anadvocateforsupportinglivingwriters,andhavingworkedwithAnastasiaonabunchofprojectsbefore(allthewaybacktoourgraduateschool days,)Iknewthatthey’dbetheperfectpersontopenthethirdpoemofthiscollection.(Unsurprisingly,theyknockeditoutthepark.)Thisformat satisfiedmesomuchthatIalreadyhadtwoothersetsofpoemsqueuedupbeforeIfinishedthisone. Staytuned. —gc
This cycle began with Jane Hirshfield: a long-time devotee of her work, I had always particularly loved her Three Foxes by the Edge of the Field at Twilight, so when I stumbled upon Caki Wilkinson’s incredible Fox, the two seemed a natural pairing. The contrast between the two fascinated me: the ways in which these two poets position the same metaphor (a fox) in two completely different ways is almost like a litmus test of their voices— like asking stylistically-different artists to paint the same still life. When my very good friends, Ann Moss and Alex Nowakowski, mentioned that they had space on upcoming recitals and asked if I had anything brewing, these poems had just fallen into my lap, and this cycle came to life. To round out these poems, I asked my very good friend Anastasia to complete the set, thrilled to see what they would do with that same image. (Unsurprisingly, they knocked it out the park.) This format—a set of songs that orbit a single metaphor— satisfied me so much that I already had two other sets of poems queued up before I finished this one.
Movements
1. Three Foxes by the Edge of the Field at Twilight
2. Fox
3. Foxes
Instrumentation
soprano and piano
Duration: 12'
First printing, August 2024 Program Note
Copyright ©2018 Griffin Candey. All Rights Reserved. Program Note Copyright ©2018 Griffin Candey. All Rights Reserved Published by Just a Theory Press | www.justatheorypress.com
1. Three Foxes by the Edge of the Field at Twilight
poem: Jane Hirshfeld — composer: Grifn Candey
[ Lunga pausa —— let all of the gathered, pedaled sounds from the past four measures continue to ring; then, proceed quickly. ]
Forlorn, Invisible [ quick, anxious — slower, more deliberate ] [ pedal liberally throughout
poem: Caki Wilkinson — composer: Grifn Candey
?
& ?
Taking a Stance {q = c 72}
[ opening 8 measures in piano can stretch at leisure, lean into gestures, take time, et al. ]
poem: Anastasia Pennington-Flax — composer: Grifn Candey
[ sustain and sof pedal liberally throughout ]
"Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom."
PERUSALSCORE
