RNY 1112 - David Lang - Prayers for night and sleep

david lang

prayers for night and sleep

for soprano, solo cello, string orchestra and percussion or soprano, solo cello, string quintet and percussion full score

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instrumentation

soprano solo cello

percussion – concert bass drum, glockenspiel

strings

CopyrightbyRicordiNewYork

prayers for night and sleep was commissioned by Cello Biennale Amsterdam, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, with support from the Eduard van Beinum Foundation and the Amsterdam Foundation for the Arts.

the duration should be about 14 minutes.

prayers for night and sleep words by

david lang

1. night

when night falls

I can barely see

I can certainly see some people

I can enter it

I can feel the dread coming

I can hear

I can hear it in the distance

I can imagine it

I can light up my whole body

I can move

I can put on whatever I like

I can see the flames

I can walk out into the darkness

I can watch the stars

I can’t fall asleep

I can’t see anything

I feel ashamed

I feel hungry

I feel life is getting shorter

I feel lost

I feel sad and alone

I feel the temptation

I feel uneasy

I feel very much alone

I will be awake

I will be released

I will be with you

I will complete my plan

I will crawl

I will defend

2. sleep

when sleep falls upon my eyes

let me lie down in peace let me rise up again in peace

no evil dreams no sleep of death

no snare no sorrow no terror by night no arrow by day

no thousand at my left no ten thousand at my right

let me lie down in peace let me rise up again in peace let me find my better self

when I go out when I come in when I lie down when I rise up

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I will figure something out

I will go there

I will lead the attack

I will look up to see the new moon

I will seek answers

I will share your company again

I will sneak in

I will tell the stars

I will tell you something

I will wake up

in life in peace now and forever by day by night when I lie down when I rise up

let me lie down in peace let me rise up again in peace

at my right hand at my left hand before me behind m e above me

violoncello solo bassdrum

thevoiceisedgy,scared theaccompanimentisrestrained, oﬀbalance,heldback

1.night

pocoespressivo,butstaybelowthevoice

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