Shakespeare Songs
Jay Vilnai
About this work:
A set of 6 songs from Shakespeare texts that mirror the depth and richness of the language by using various singing techniques and styles, drawing chant, cabaret, sprechstimme and other styles. The songs include:
I - Mourning Song from 'Cymbeline'
The moment of Fidel's death in Cymbeline is rife with irony, as is the whole play. Fidel is not really dead. In fact, he's not really Fidel, but rather the king's daughter, Imogen. And the peasants singing it are actually the king's lost sons. But in spite of all this irony, Shakespeare manages to create a still, poignant moment through a text that is both simple and intricate, and heart-breakingly beautiful.
The first two stanzas are set in an atonal modal style, where the voice uses an 8 note 'mode' while the string use pitches from that mode to form certain chords as an accompaniment.
II - To Dream Again
A setting of Caliban's monologue from The Tempest, To Dream Again is inspired by the fantastical vision of Caliban, as well as by the themes of imprisonment that are such a big part of the play.
III - Sigh No More
Sigh No More imagines Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing channeling Tom Waits banging away at an out of tune piano. The setting changes mood from a stumbling, drunk piano ballad to a soaring romantic song to a demented waltz that doesn't want the sun to rise.
IV - Behind the Door
Puck's penultimate speech from Midsummer's Night Dream brings up the dark underbelly of what is usually thought of as a 'golden' play. The setting is quiet and nocturnal, employing harmonics and col legno playing that evokes the mysterious sounds of night.
V - I Have Drunk and Seen the Spider
As Polinexes goes mad with jealousy, the image of a spider in a cup of wine takes hold of his mind, and the creepy pizz strings underscore that image.
VI - Hey, Ho, the Wind and the Rain
Feste's song from Twelfth Night is a resigned survey of one's life, with it's little joys, big defeats and the rain that 'raineth every day'. The setting is almost folk like, but the viola and cello keep interjecting subtle dissonances that slowly take over the texture and the seemingly simple text.
Year composed: 2011
Duration: 00:20:00
Ensemble type: Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble:Voice with Chamber/Jazz Ensemble, 2-5 Players
Instrumentation: 1 Violin, 1 Viola, 1 Cello, 1 Mezzo-Soprano