Contemporary
PHILIPS Love Songs of Amy Lowell for Voice and Piano
EP 72206
JULIAN PHILIPS
Love Songs of Amy Lowell for Voice and Piano
ALLE RECHTE VORBEHALTEN
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EDITION PETERS L E I P Z I G · L O N D O N · NEW YORK
Love Songs of Amy Lowell (2011) 1. The Bungler 2. Opal 3. Bullion 4. Giver of Stars 5. A Gift
Completed in July 2011, Love Songs of Amy Lowelll sets a sequence of five poems by the idiosyncratic Bostonian poet, Amy Lowell (1874–1925). Dealing with the dark side of love, most of Lowell’s poems are short and fleeting assembled here to form a short song-cycle that presents snapshots of often bitter experience. The overriding tone is feverish and troubled, with only the fourth song – ‘Giver of Stars’ – breaking the prevailing mood. This impassioned love song transforms Lowell’s highly coloured poetic images into a sustained soprano line coloured by intricate shifting piano textures.
1. The Bungler You glow in my heart Like the flames of uncounted candles, But when I go to warm my hands, My clumsiness overturns the light, And then I stumble Against the tables and chairs. 2. Opal You are ice and fire, The touch of you burns my hands like snow. You are cold and flame. You are the crimson of amaryllis, The silver of moon-touched magnolias. When I am with you, My heart is a frozen pond Gleaming with agitated torches. 3. Bullion My thoughts Chink against my ribs And roll about like silver hail-stones. I should like to spill them out, And pour them, all shining, Over you. But my heart is shut upon them And holds them straitly.
4. The Giver of Stars Hold your soul open for my welcoming. Let the quiet of your spirit bathe me With its clear and rippled coolness, That, loose-limbed and weary, I find rest, Outstretched upon your peace, as on a bed of ivory. Let the flickering flame of your soul play all about me, That into my limbs may come the keenness of fire, The life and joy of tongues of flame, And, going out from you, tightly strung and in tune, I may rouse the blear-eyed world, And pour into it the beauty which you have begotten. 5. A Gift See! I give myself to you, Beloved! My words are little jars For you to take and put upon a shelf. Their shapes are quaint and beautiful, And they have many pleasant colours and lustres To recommend them. Also the scent from them fills the room With sweetness of flowers and crushed grasses. When I shall have given you the last one, You will have the whole of me, But I shall be dead.
Come, You! and open my heart; That my thoughts torment me no longer, But glitter in your hair.
Duration: ca. 11 minutes Commissioned by Presteigne Festival of Music an the Arts Limited with funding from the Arts Council of Wales. First performance took place on 26 August 2011 given by Helen-Jane Howells, soprano, and Huw Watkins, piano, as part of the 2011 Presteigne Festival.
This score refl flects the state of editorial work and correction as at May 2013
Love Songs of Amy Lowell Music: Julian Philips
Words: Amy Lowell
1. The Bungler Fast and urgent q = c.160
4 4
Soprano
4 4 Piano
f pesante
4 4
A 5
f strong and marked
You
glow
in
my
heart
like
mf
9
the
Edition Peters 72206
flames
of
un
coun
ted
Copyright © 2011 by Peters Edition Limited, London
4
2. Opal Fast and urgent q = c.140
Soprano
p
5 4
You
are
5 4 Piano
p
ff marcato
5 4
f
3
ice
and
fire,
f
A little slower
A (q = c.120) 5
pp misterioso
The
pp molto delicato (all slow spreads)
touch
of
you
burns
my
10
3. Bullion Steady but uneasy q = c.120 accel.
Soprano
In tempo q = c.120
4 4
3
4 4 Piano
5
5
4 4
5
pp
ff
5
ff
p
4
My 3
5
sfz
sempre secco
7
3
thoughts
Chink
a 3
3
pp 5
5
5
pp
gainst
my
16
4. Giver of Stars Slow and gentle q = c.50
p 3
3
Soprano Hold 3
3
3
your soul
o 3
3
pp
Piano
5
3
3
3
pen
for my 3
wel
co ming.
3
Let the qui
p dolce espressivo
3
et
3
of your spi rit bathe me
3
pp 3
9
poco rit.
A
p
With its
clear and rip pled cool
ness,
That, loose limbed
p dolce espressivo
pp
and wea ry
I
find
21
5. A Gift
,
Free tempo p
ff
p
Soprano See!
2
A Recitativo q = c.50
f strong, urgent
4 4
I
give my
3
3
self to
you
Be
lov
4 4 4 4 3
f marked and brilliant
f
,
rit. 4
ed!
f
3
4 4
Julian Philips Julian Philips (b. 1969) studied music at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and his compositions have been performed at major festivals and venues including the Proms, the Tanglewood Music Festival, Welsh National Opera and Glyndebourne. A significant composer of operatic music, Philips’ work includes Followers, The Yellow Sofa, and Knight Crew (libretto by Nicky Singer) commissioned by Glyndebourne (2010). Welsh National Opera commissioned two chamber operas, Dolffin and Wild Cat. Other works include two ballets for English National Ballet Les Liaisons Dangereuses and The Snow Queen. Julian Philips is Honorary Fellow of, and was made Head of Composition at, the Guildhall School of Music in 2004. He has also taught at Cambridge.
Photo © Jamie Smith
Julian Philips (*1969) studierte Musik am Emmanuel College in Cambridge. Seine Kompositionen sind bei führenden Festivals und in renommierten Häusern erklungen, darunter die BBC Proms, das Tanglewood Music Festival, Welsh National Opera und das Opernfestival im englischen Glyndebourne. Philips ist ein bedeutender Opernkomponist, und seinen Schaffen umfasst die Bühnenwerke Followers, The Yellow Sofa sowie Knight Crew (2010), ein Auftragswerk für Glyndebourne auf ein Libretto von Nicky Singer. Zwei Kammeropern, Dolffin und Wild Cat, entstanden im Auftrag der Welsh National Opera. Zu weiteren Werken gehören zwei Ballette für das English National Ballet, nämlich Les Liaisons Dangereuses und The Snow Queen. Julian Philips ist „Honorary Fellow“ der Guildhall School of Music, wo er 2004 zum Leiter der Kompositionsabteilung ernannt wurde. Außerdem lehrte er in Cambridge.
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