Stravinsky, Igor: In Memoriam Dylan Thomas (1954) 6'

Dirge-canons and song for tenor, string quartet, and four trombones

Music Text  
Dylan Thomas (E)

Repertoire Note  
Stravinsky had hoped to compose an opera in collaboration with Dylan Thomas. Thomas's death, he wrote, was "a terrible blow to me as well as to all those who knew Dylan Thomas's genius." Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night," with the refrain "Rage, rage against the dying of the light," is framed by Stravinsky with a dirge for trombones. A potent vehicle for a singing-actor, it is considered by Eric Walter White "one of Stravinsky's most moving compositions."



Reproduction Rights
This programme note can be reproduced free of charge in concert programmes with a credit to Boosey & Hawkes/Joseph Horowitz.

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