Description
Soprano and piano
A collection of five art songs
Duration: Approximately 12 minutes
Composed in 2024/2025
Settings of:
– There Will Come Soft Rains by Sara Teasdale
– The Autumn – Elizabeth Barrett Browning (shortened version)
– Winter – Louisa May Alcott
– A Dream of Spring – Marietta Holley
– What Makes The Summer? – Marietta Holley
Shifting Seasons is a song cycle comprising of settings of five texts written by women writers. Like each season, each text has its own pace and feeling which has been reflected in the
music. There will come soft rains is a gentle examining of all-renewing rain, with a piano accompaniment reflecting raindrops. The Autumn is a reminder that each season has its beauty, and though summer may pass, each season has its charm. The setting of Winter reflects its text: bitter rain and snow, and the resolve to be patient and bide your time until the season changes. Next comes A Dream of Spring, a reminder that under the blanket of winter the world is preparing for the season yet to come. The final song – What Makes The Summer? – is a joyful reflection of the important elements of summer – both those more prominent and those more subtle.
The five songs can be performed in any combination and any order – either as solo works or performed with some or all of the others from the cycle. This song cycle was composed across 2024 and 2025 and is approximately 12 minutes in length. The composition of the cycle was generously supported by the Vaughan Williams Foundation.
