Cantor

Instrumentation

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“…their newness is contained in an extraordinary lucidity…”

A.S. Byatt on Willa Cather

I was drawn to the directness and simplicity of this text. Cather herself speaks of an impulse towards “finding what conventions of form and

what detail one can do without and yet preserve the spirit of the whole…”

I draw on three of Cather’s early poems, all set in twilight. Two main songs Stirring and Closing follow in the traditions of the aubade and the

nocturne by being set at dawn and evening. In these texts Cather’s descriptions of the natural world—of light, water and sounds—are

beautifully rendered. Breathing sounds and gestures permeate Cantor, and recurring flaring patterns evoke glowing shafts of light.

Cantor superimposes cycles of lines, waves or impulses, creating a convergence of layers composed of simple elements: musically, the texture is

like a tableau upon which the voice carves its line. In Cantor the woman’s voice is gentle but resilient, as she contemplates her surroundings,

contends with loneliness and finds peace in solitude. Bearing solitude gracefully is a recurring theme: in atmosphere, Cantor is by turns desolate

and intimate. At times the music should be sung or played with spontaneity, as if it is being improvised to oneself. The text for Closing is

littered with ‘m’ and ‘n’ phonemes, recalling mormorando and the use of the voice to soothe and comfort.