Sister of the Sky
Kevin McCarter
About this work:
Sister of the Sky may be performed as a musical setting with speaking voice of four poems from Sara Teasdale’s Rivers to the Sea or as a wordless tone poem inspired by the Teasdale poems. The speaking part may be performed by the players, as indicated in the score, or by a separate narrator. The music begins with the brightness and ebullience of a spring morning when the poet feels like “a child of the shining meadow, / … a sister of the sky.” The theme of the second poem is given in its first lines: “One by one, like leaves from a tree, / All my faiths have forsaken me.” This leads not to darkness but to new light, as summarized in the final lines: “…the little leaves that die / Have left me room to see the sky; / Now for the first time I know / Stars above and earth below.” The third poem delights in a beautiful evening and an aspiration to emulate the spirit of birds singing before nightfall. The final poem celebrates a spring night, “fresh and fearless” and full of newness.
Year composed: 2014
Duration: 00:09:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 6-9 players
Instrumentation: 1 Flute, 1 Clarinet, 1 Percussion (General), 1 Piano, 1 Violin, 1 Cello