Wilson - The Ballad of Longwood Glen

Richard Wilson The Ballad of Longwood Glen for Tenor and Harp

THE BALLAD OF LONGWOOD GLEN

That Sunday morning, at half past ten, Two cars crossed the creek and entered the glen.

In the first was Art Longwood, a local florist, With his children and wife ( now Mrs. Deforest).

In the one that followed, a ranger saw Art's father, stepfather and father-in-law.

The three old men walked off to the cove.

Through tinkling weeds Art slowly drove.

Fair was the morning, with bright clouds afar.

Children and comics emerged from the car.

Silent Art, who could stare at a thing all day, Watched a bug climb a stalk and fly away.

Pauline had asthma, Paul used a crutch.

They were cute little rascals but could not run much.

"I wish," said his mother to crippled Paul, "Some man would teach you to pitch that ball."

Silent Art took the ball and tossed it high.

It stuck in a tree that was passing by.

And the grave green pilgrim turned and stopped.

The children waited, but no ball dropped.

"I never climbed trees in my timid prime," Thought Art; and forthwith started to climb.

Now and then his elbow or knee could be seen In a jigsaw puzzle of blue and green.

Up and up Art Longwood swarmed and shinned, And the leaves said yes to the questioning wind.

What tiaras of gardens! What torrents of light!

How accessible ether! How easy flight!

His family circled the tree all day.

Pauline concluded: "Dad climbed away."

None saw the delirious celestial crowds Greet the hero from earth in the snow of the clouds.

Mrs. Longwood was getting a little concerned.

He never came down. He never returned.

She found some change at the foot of the tree.

The children grew bored. Paul was stung by a bee.

The old men walked over and stood looking up, Each holding five cards and a paper cup.

Cars on the highway stopped, backed, and then Up a rutted road waddled into the glen.

And the tree was suddenly full of noise, Conventioners, fishermen, freckled boys.

Anacondas and pumas were mentioned by some, And all kinds of humans continued to come: Tree surgeons, detectives, the fire brigade.

An ambulance parked in the dancing shade.

A drunken rogue with a rope and a gun Arrived on the scene to see justice done.

Explorers, dendrologists - all were there~ And a strange pale girl with gypsy hair.

And from Cape Fear to Cape Flattery Every paper had: Man Lost in Tree.

And the sky-bound oak (where owls had perched And the moon dripped gold) was felled and searched.

They discovered some inchworms, a red-cheeked gall, And an ancient nest with a new-laid ball.

They varnished the stump, put up railings and signs.

Restrooms nestled in roses and vines.

Mrs. Longwood, retouched, when the children died, Became a photographer's dreamy bride.

And now the Deforests, with four old men, Like regular tourists visit the glen; Munch their lunches, look up and down, Wash their hands, and drive back to town.

Reprinted with permission of McGraw-Hill from POEMS AND PROBLEMS by Vladimir Nabokov. ŠCopyright 1970 by McGraw-Hill International, Inc. All rights reserved.

RICHARD WILSON, born in Cleveland, Ohio, 1941, was trained in composition at Harvard University, where he studied with Randall Thompson, G. W. Woodworth and Robert Moevs. Following his graduation in 1963 Mr. Wilson went to Europe for further study and concert engagements in Munich and Rome.

Upon his return to the United States Mr. Wilson completed his Master's degree at Rutgers University and subsequently joined the faculty of Vassar College, where he is currently Professor of Music.

THE BALLAD OF LONGWOOD GLEN is a setting of Vladimir Nabokov's narrative of the same title. Consisting of thirty-two rhymed couplets, the poem was written in America, directly in English, and bears the date 1957. The musical version, composed at Yaddo in the summer of 1975, begins and ends with the tenor and harp closely coordinated in the manner characteristic of art songs. The music of these two areas is similar, a reprise being the musical reflection of the return to (apparent) normalcy found at the close of the poem. In the intervening portion of the piece, as the events of the poem become increasingly strange, the performers stray from exact coordination. This independence allows the singer a good deal of freedom in delivering the text.

The first performance was given by Paul Sperry and Nancy Allen at Vassar College on February 1, 1978.

Recorded on CRI SD-437 by Paul Sperry and Nancy Allen.

Duration: ca. 14½ minutes

to Paul Sperry and Nancy Allen

THE BALLAD OF LONGWOOD GLEN Vladimir Nabokov

Richard Wilson

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* Harp harmonics sound an octave higher. © Copyright 1981 by Songs of Peer, Ltd. International Copyright Secured. Printed in U.S.A. All Rights Reserved.

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