Battlegrounds (2009)
PURCHASE SCORE
Battlegrounds
soprano and string quartet // ~ 15 minutes
Texts by E. Ethelbert Miller
Premiere: April 4, 2009
Commissioned (Carlos only) by soprano Ann Moss
Program Note:
This cycle began as a single song, Carlos, written for soprano Ann Moss in 2002 when she commissioned several new works for soprano and string quartet. After that, I began reading more poetry by writer and literary activist E. Ethelbert Miller and decided to expand the cycle into a series of songs that would capture more of his beautiful poetry. What resulted was a set of four songs that take us into the hearts and minds of four personal struggles, each poignant and sad in its own way.
Songs
I. Carlos (4:00)
II. Rebecca lets her hair down (3:35)
III. Honey & Watermelons (3:30)
IV. Liberia Fever, 1877 (3:35)
Texts:
carlos
Maria collapsed
by the tree in the yard
her tears told us the news of carlos' death.
I asked for his body and
they laughed
they told me i could have it
if i paid for the bullets
what vultures rule this country
holding maria's hand my mother softly whispered
juan, there are pesos in my room por favor
Rebecca Lets Her Hair Down
I am a victim of my own war
as I stand in the shower watching
my hair fall and swim
Is this worse than cancer
this loss of hair?
Why do I think of balding
men in war camps
and Japanese women
after the bomb?
I love my hair
as much as life
to brush
to comb
to hold
my hair no longer
in my eyes