(Program Notes from the May 1st, 2009 Project 21 Concert premiere.)
The Penultimate Action: Tales of Death and Those who Gather ‘Round is a song cycle that goes through four individuals experiencing death, either of a loved one or of the death of themselves. The first three songs are what I consider unsuccessful attempts at accepting the inevitable.
The Mill Doors features an individual who experiences the death of a loved one who is overworked to their deaths before their time for paltry sums of money. The music is fast; almost too fast for the occasion, chugging along with the monotony of the life of the deceased. The individual never truly gets a chance to lament their loved one’s passing, though there are moments where the voice attempts to break free of this monotony, only to always return to the rigid confines of the accompaniment.
Fear No More is the last movement of the cycle, and the only successful reconciliation with death. This placid movement, set to the poetry of William Shakespeare, presents an individual who casts away the worries of the world and ends his life in peace. He does not cover up his insecurities like in the other movements, nor does he not allow himself to fear his impending death. However, the individual simply accepts this and realizes that all must “come to dust.”
The Mill Doors
You never come back. I say good-by when I see you going in the doors, The hopeless open doors that call and wait And take you then for—how many cents a day? How many cents for the sleepy eyes and fingers? I say good-by because I know they tap your wrists, In the dark, in the silence, day by day, And all the blood of you drop by drop, And you are old before you are young. You never come back.–Carl Sandburg
Fear No More
Fear no more the heat o’ the sun, Nor the furious winter’s rages; Thou thy worldly task hast done, Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages; Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers, come to dust. Fear no more the frown o’ the great; Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke: Care no more to clothe and eat; To thee the reed is as the oak: The sceptre, learning, physic, must All follow this, and come to dust. Fear no more the lightning-flash, Nor the all-dreaded thunder-stone; Fear not slander, censure rash; Thou hast finished joy and moan; All lovers young, all lovers must Consign to thee, and come to dust.–William Shakespeare
I – The Mill Doors
(Video will be posted sometime in the future.)
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IV – Fear No More
(Video will be posted sometime in the future.)
