American Journal
Theodore Wiprud
About this work:
American Journal
Robert Hayden's poem [American Journal] first appeared in 1978; a revised version came out in 1982, two years after Hayden's death. Nominated for a National Book Award, this was the most extended single work of one of America's greatest poets. The poem is a remarkable piece of social commentary – the alleged journal entries of an extraterrestrial visitor studying America undercover, preparing to report to The Counselors just what an “American” is. Full of both wit and a tragic sensibility, the poem raises questions without answering them. The alien's awkwardness as he tries to fit into American society in various guises suggests several interpretations – an allegory of race in America, or a reflection on the position of the intellectual? American brashness, contrasted with the control exerted by The Counselors, at first repels but gradually attracts the alien investigator. He discovers much; he grows more like his subjects; but ultimately he cannot understand them.
I have approached the poem as the libretto of a one-character opera. The poem's 15 stanzas fall quite naturally into a five-stanza prologue followed by five scenes, each scene comprising a stanza of action and a stanza of reflection. Partly in homage to Samuel Barber’s great Dover Beach, I chose to accompany my baritone with string quartet – in effect a small orchestra, infinitely flexible, full of color. This is my most eclectic score to date, its references to various musical languages (from sci-fi flick to Americana to rock-and-roll) capturing the investigator’s chameleon abilities.
I began setting American Journal in 2000 at the suggestion of baritone Andre Solomon-Glover, who performed Part 1 (prologue and first scene with a short coda) in 2001 in Boston with the Lydian String Quartet and in New York with the Corigliano Quartet. Andre suffered a stroke soon after, putting this project on hold for several years. I continued writing scenes in between other projects, and finally completed the entire work in the summer of 2007 for a 2008 premiere on Victoria Bond’s Cutting Edge Concerts, by the outstanding baritone Stephen Salters with the Lark Chamber Players. During these seven years, I have seen the relevance of the poem grow with every day’s headlines. What, indeed, is an American?
Year composed: 2007
Duration: 00:35:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 2-5 players
Instrumentation: 2 Violin, 1 Viola, 1 Cello, 1 Baritone
Instrumentation notes: baritone and string quartet; various levels of speaking and singing preferred