They Flee
Jay Vilnai
About this work:
A setting of a poem by Sir Thomas Wyatt, They Flee stands out to me from the rest of Wyatt s work as being very modern - both in subject matter and language. This extremely personal poem of a love gone wrong is equal parts despair and quiet resignation, thankful for what has happened, mournful for its loss and accepting of the inevitability of it all. I found this poem during a turbulent time in my life, and it begged to be set to music. In my setting I tried to capture all these different moods, while also preserving the delicacy and fragility of Wyatt's phrases and images. The harmonic language flirts with tonality while constantly avoiding it with unexpected shifts and extensions, refusing to be pinned down, like the lover in the poem.
Year composed: 2010
Duration: 00:08:00
Ensemble type: Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble:Voice with Chamber/Jazz Ensemble, 2-5 Players
Instrumentation: 1 Clarinet, 1 Percussion (General), 1 Piano, 1 Violin, 1 Cello, 1 Mezzo-Soprano
Instrumentation notes: Glockenspiel, Triangle, Wind Chimes, Tam-Tam