In Spring
Instrumentation: Mezzo-soprano, Piano
2002
In Spring cover

In Spring is a song cycle composed on texts by Emily Dickinson. These are the original notes:

Emily Dickinson, popularly known for her bleak poems about death, wrote many verses on
nature, her garden, flowers, and the sun. Three of the poems about Spring used here (A Light Exists in Spring, Spring Comes on the World, and I Cannot Meet the Spring Unmoved) are – in contrast to the expected cheerfulness of the subject – rather somber in mood. Somber because Spring is not yet hNere, or because it has left too soon. To these I added two more on the subject that are joyous (A Little Madness in the Spring and Spring is the Period), one cautionary, the other reverent. The music uses one primary motive throughout all the texts, though it undergoes various transformations as dictated by the moods of the text.

In 2002, Cornerstone University (Grand Rapids, Michigan) received a Bösendorfer piano as a gift. To celebrate the instrument, a recital was organized for April of that year. These songs were written for the occasion. Since this particular Bösendorfer was a model that has an extended lower range (down to F, four more notes) I provided an alternate scoring of two passages that utilize these lower notes. If a Bösendorfer is not available the pianist will use scoring provided for the standard 88 key

Like so many student works, I did not get permission from Dickinson's estate to set these poems so I can't include scores or recordings here. Here are links to the poems I used:
A Light Exists In Spring
A Little Madness in the Spring
Spring Comes On the World
Spring is the Period
I Cannot Meet the Spring Unused

Works Category: Vocal