The Metropolitan Tower and Other Songs
Lori Laitman
About this work:
The Metropolitan Tower, the first art song that I ever composed, was written at the request of Lauren Wagner for inclusion on her debut CD. I listened to many art songs for guidance, and read much poetry. The simple lyricism of Sara Teasdale had an immediate appeal, and I was also attracted to Secret Words and other songs by Paul Bowles. As in Secret Words, melody is the primary force in The Metropolitan Tower, and the piano accompaniment doubles the vocal line. The sparse piano accompaniment in A Winter Night portrays the cold, bare winter. The accompaniment in the middle section hovers between two chords and the underlying rhythmic pattern depicts the “beggars pacing to and fro.” Lusher harmonies appear under “My room is like a bit of June,” before returning to a dirge-like ending. Old Tunes is very atmospheric and the use of the piano pedal deliberately creates sounds that merge and linger in the air, just as “the waves of perfume...float in the garden where no wind blows.” By the time I composed The Strong House, I was starting to get my musical ideas from the words themselves. Shifting harmonies create a feeling of instability as a commentary on the text. Lush harmonies are the hallmark of The Hour, which, like The Metropolitan Tower, is a reflection on a woman's first discovery of love.
The syncopated rhythms and chromatic harmonies in the piano part of To A Loose Woman set a sly background for the dramatic vocal line.
Version: soprano and piano
Year composed: 1992
Duration: 12:00:80
Ensemble type: Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble:Solo Voice with Keyboard
Instrumentation: