Finer Points (2016)
PURCHASE SCORE
Finer Points
soprano and percussion // 7:30
Texts by Lisa DeSiro
Premiere: April 2017
Commissioned by Margot Rood
Program Note:
Each of the songs in Finer Points employs a different percussion set-up. “Resilience” uses a combination of pitched and non-pitched instruments, starting with a pulsing heartbeat motif that endures beneath a harmonic framework presented by the vibraphone. Other instruments, including crotales and a few cymbals, help to emphasize important lines in the poem. In the second song, “Indolence,” the playful solo xylophone represents a passive longing to overcome one’s sense of laziness, while a persistently slow tempo assures that indolence wins out. The third song, “Perseverance,” returns to unpitched instruments, making frequent use of bongos, congas, wood blocks, and tom toms. The poetry presents an interesting structure, repeating lines at different locations within each four-line stanza. That structure is supported orchestrationally, with each instrumental combination remaining intact each time a line returns later in the poem.
Songs
I. Resilience (3:20)
II. Indolence (2:05)
III. Perseverance (1:55)
Texts:
Resilience
To recover soon from misfortune, change,
or illness. To be buoyant when the weight
of life is heavy. To persist when strange
or difficult events accumulate.
To stay elastic. To be someone for whom
adversity is faced with grace and laughter.
To be able to bounce back. To resume
your original position after
being bent or stretched compressed.
To maintain a positive attitude
and carry on when you’re put to the test.
To manage to dispel a foul mood
with a smile. To make a fresh start
with an open mind and an open heart.
Indolence
Sometimes she ate popcorn for dinner.
Sometimes cereal. Not to get thinner;
just because cooking for one was a drag.
As was taking out the full garbage bag.
For several days, the dishes kept
piling up in the kitchen sink. She slept
with a pile of laundry on her bed
three nights in a row. At least she fed
the cat. He, completely unfazed,
habitual in his own laziness,
had no problem ignoring both
the dirty dishes and unclean clothes.
He taught her the finer points of sloth
and how it differs from repose.
Perseverance
When you have a purpose, an idea, or a task,
You must remain constant to it and persist,
Adhering to your plan of action, steadfast.
Any inclination to give up, you must resist.
Remain constant to your duty, and persist
In the fact of obstacles or discouragement.
Any inclination to give up, you must resist.
Pressing on day by day with full intent.
In the fact of obstacles or discouragement
Stay the course, keep going, follow through.
Press on day by day with full intent.
Focusing on what you set out to do.
Stay the course and keep going. Follow through,
Adhering to your plan of action, steadfast.
Focus on the thing you set out to do:
Fulfill your purpose, your idea, your task.