Travels

Premiere: Atlanta, GA, 4/28/2006

Travels is a set of short pieces based on five poems by Stephen Crane. "The Universe," "The Wayfarer," and "The Prophet" appear in War is Kind & Other Lines (1899), and "The Desert" and "The Horizon" appear in Black Riders & Other Lines (1905). It is also an homage of sorts to Circles by Luciano Berio, and Ancient Voices of Children by George Crumb, both of which feature similar instrumentation.

The Universe
    A man said to the universe:
    "Sir, I exist!"
    "However," replied the universe,
    "The fact has not created in me
    A sense of obligation."

The Desert
    In the desert I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
    who, squatting upon the ground,
    Held his heart in his hands,
    And ate of it.
    I said, "Is it good, friend?"
    "It is bitter -- bitter," he answered;
    "But I like it
    Because it is bitter,
    And because it is my heart."

The Wayfarer
    The wayfarer,
    Perceiving the pathway to truth,
    Was struck with astonishment.
    It was thickly overgrown with weeds.
    "Ha," he said,
    "I see that none has passed here
    In a long time."
    Later he saw that each weed
    Was a singular knife.
    "Well," he mumbled at last,
    "Doubtless there are other roads."

The Prophet
    When the prophet, a complacent fat man,
    Arrived at the mountain-top,
    He cried: "Woe to my knowledge!
    I intended to see good white lands
    And bad black lands,
    But the scene is grey."

The Horizon
    I saw a man pursuing the horizon;
    Round and round they sped.
    I was disturbed at this;
    I accosted the man.
    "It is futile," I said,
    "You can never--"
    "You lie," he cried,
    And ran on.

Score


Recording personnel: Sindhu Giedd, soprano; Riza Hequibal, harp; Drew Dolan and Caleb Herron, percussion; Ivan Walker, contrabass