A Fantasy is part of a collection of poems called Helen of Troy and Other Poems (1911).
A Fantasy is an ethereal setting of Sara Teasdale’s poem by the same name for a cappella mixed choir. It starts off with drones, in 5ths, stacked above each other, sung by the men. The women perform echoes of the same motif right above the men’s, working to paint the scene of a mystical forest. The piece uses whole tone scales and modal harmony to evoke mysticism and ‘dreaminess.’ It also uses a shapely melodic structure which mirrors the lyricism in Teasdale’s poetry. The poem’s central character, an abstract concept put to life, Quiet, weaves through the forest and goes about her mysterious activities. The climax of the piece happens in a profound proclamation: “Her kisses are the roses that glow while dusk is deep, in Persian garden closes, where Quiet sits and dreams." Purchase the score on MusicSpoke http://bit.ly/1D7YzQY.
