Vocalissimus

Wallace Stevens (E)

My aim in Vocalissimus is to explore the wealth of possible interpretations of a single text. It is unusual in that all 18 songs of the cycle set the same text - each, however, set from a different point of view. Basically, whenever a composer sets a text, the musical choices he or she makes cannot but form an interpretation of the text. There is no such thing as an objective setting of a text. Whether consciously or unconsciously, every word, every phrase, and every idea in a poem must be affected by the composer's highly subjective interpretation before it can take on a musical shape. Vocalissimus is a fantasy on this inherent subjectivity of setting words to music. It uses a short Wallace Stevens poem, To the Roaring Wind, and sets it from multiple vantage points, each with a title suggesting the particular point of view.

Entitlement
Recluse
Formalist
Optimist
Pessimist
Satirist
Introvert
Extrovert
Chameleon
Somnambulist
Scientist
Mystic
Interrogator
Lunatic
Child and Dying Woman
Poet
Last Call