Sauntering Songs (2022)

Cantata for 2 sopranos, 2 mezzo-sopranos, 2 tenors, baritone, bass-baritone, and SATB chamber choir, with flute, guitar (electric, acoustic, and classical), piano, and cello. 62 minutes.

Commissioned by Skylark Vocal Ensemble.

Photograph of dirt path through grassy hills, a figure walking in the distance

A love letter to wanderlust, this World Premiere commission weaves together art songs, choral music, and literature into an expansive cantata on the theme of walking.

Influences from rock, folk, and musical theater shine in a lyrical and evocative score by composer/librettist Nell Shaw Cohen, marrying the voices of three-time GRAMMY®-nominee Skylark with an instrumental quartet comprised of guitarist James Moore and musicians from Juventas New Music Ensemble.

From Walt Whitman to the present day, Sauntering Songs celebrates diverse characters who search for freedom and fulfillment through subversive journeys on foot.

Continue reading “Sauntering Songs (2022)”

Revealed in Stone (2009)

Tenor and piano. 11 mins.

Arrangement for tenor and flute (alto flute), oboe (English horn), clarinet (bass clarinet), horn, bassoon, percussion, 2 violins, viola, cello, bass. 11 mins.

A song cycle setting of poems by Michelangelo, adapted by the composer from English translations. Continue reading “Revealed in Stone (2009)”