Winter Wind (2009)
PURCHASE SCORE
Winter Wind
soprano, alto, flute, viola // 5:15
Premiere: December 12, 2009
Commissioned by Juventas
Program Note:
The famous text by Shakespeare, an excerpt from Act II of "As you Like it," is less amiable than many realize. In this scene the duke, along with his lords and attendants, have been banished to the forest of Arden by the duke's brother, who has just usurped the throne. In the scene which precedes the "Blow thou winter winds" passage, one of the duke's subjects, Jaques, has just lamented the fact that everything in life declines, as we experience absolute loss with the succession of childhood to old age. This sets the stage for the character Orlando, who has been cheated out of his inheritance by a treacherous brother, to join the others in the woods. Upon meeting the duke and establishing a rapport, the men listen to a song, sung by the lord Amiens. As the men endure their banishment to the forest, Amiens sings "Blow, blow, thou winter winds," bemoaning the sting of ingratitude and false friendship.
The flute begins with a meandering line, meant to set the tone for the duke and his subjects, rambling through the woods, lamenting the winter wind and the abandonment they feel after being tossed to the forest. The viola provides a harmonic underpinning to the roving flute line. The vocal parts depict a simplistic tune, reflective of a 16th century ballad but with a grievous undertone.
Texts:
Blow, blow, thou winter wind
from As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII
by William Shakespeare
Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.
Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
That dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remembered not.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly...