Programme Notes: Vocal Solos and Song Cycles

OLD LOVE'S DOMAIN Opus 29 (1983)

Duration 21 minutes

This song cycle was composed for the celebrated British tenor, John Mitchinson.  It is a setting of 5 poems by the famous Dorset novelist and poet, Thomas Hardy (1840 -1928), whose writings about the farming area of his home county have a pastoral beauty and at the same time a pessimistic realism throughout.

These 5 poems lament the death of a loved one (Hardy's late wife).  The cycle takes its title from a line in the 4th poem.

Synopsis:

Song 1 The Division begins with the rain beating on the window and the wind howling outside.  The poet thinks of his late beloved and wishes it were only the weather that kept her away from him.  Something more than distance and years irretrievably separates them.

Song 2 Something Tapp'd on the pane of my room... The poet thinks he sees his beloved's face and hears her calling that she is waiting for him. The dream vanishes.  It is a moth tapping on the widow.

Song 3 Where the Picnic was describes 4 people enjoying a summer picnic.  Now it is winter.  Two have gone away and one has "shut her eyes forevermore".

Song 4 At Castle Boterel is again a journey of memories. The poet, trotting up a Dorset hillside, looks back along the road he has travelled, and sees in his mind's eye himself and his loved one climbing the road as they once did.  In the history of that hill, theirs was such a momentary event, but he asks, "Was there ever a time of such quality?"  He feels that the rocks have recorded  the visit made by himself and his loved one.  But his vision shrinks, and he knows he will never traverse "old love's domain" again.

Song 5 The Curtains Now are Drawn begins with the poet back indoors. He hears the sea winds blow outside, while his beloved sings to him that "Death may come, but loving is divine." Then he goes to her grave stone in the rain and finds solace in those same words: "Death may come but loving is divine." 

The following press and other comments sum up the beautiful music which Andrew wrote for these songs:

'These are exquisitely conceived settings written for John Mitchinson, who sang them with his ususal flawless artistry' THE BIRMINGHAM POST

'I liked the lyrical feel of the way you handled the poems. It's very singable, enjoyable music'  Mezzo Soprano Sarah Walker

'This Song Cycle seemed to me particularly beautiful' George Guest , Director of Music St John's College Chapel, Cambridge

'I was delighted with the song cycle which seems to me to catch the essential Thomas Hardy.'  Dorothy Wilson, Senior Music Adviser, West Midlands Arts

'I've just listened to the tape again and marvelled at the atmosphere evoked by your songs' Michael Pollock, accompanist to John Mitchinson. 

John Mitchinson and Michael Pollock gave the premiere of the Cycle on BBC Radio 3 on 28th October 1985.

More info on this work including the Radio 3 performance by John Mitchinson and Michael Pollock.

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SONGS OF LOVE Opus 91 (2006)

Duration 18 minutes

The four songs of this cycle are settings of poetry by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Anne Bradstreet, Emily Dickinson and Eliza Acton

How do I love thee? is a love sonnet written by Elizabeth Barrett to Robert Browning, in which she explores all the ways she loves her husband. The music is full of excitement and breathlessness.

To my dear and loving husband is again sung by a wife.  In the poem, the 17^th century Puritan poet, Anne Bradstreet, reveals that she is at one with her husband. The Puritans believed that since marriage is ordained by God, then it is a gift from God.  The reflective nature of the song has echoes of Lutheran church music, portraying the devotion of the wife towards her husband

One Blessing had I is a setting of the poem by the 19^thcentury writer Emily Dickinson, who never married and lived as a recluse, writing poetry thoughout every night.  It is thought that her verse is addressed to an unattainable figure, perhaps her muse. The music echoes the passion and striving in the poem.

I Love Thee  The early 19^th century English poet, Eliza Acton, mainly wrote poetry of unrequited love.  In this poem she likens her feelings to images of Nature.  The soprano is asked to sing very high to express her longing.  The piano accompaniment has stark passages reflecting the unreturned love, but also waxes lyrical when comparing the poet’s feelings with nature

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Vocal Solo with instrumental accompaniment

DREAM-LAND Opus 42 (1988) 

Duration 20 minutes

This setting of the poem by Edgar Allen Poe was originally composed for soprano voice, soprano saxophone and piano. The soprano saxophone part has been substituted on numerous occasions by clarinet in Bb or violin.

Dream-Land is a very atmospheric work, in which the voice, the saxophone (clarinet or violin) and the piano each add their own dimensions to the moods expressed by the poem on its journey through a night of dreams.
The piano part is characterised by dreamy ostinato passages, percussive and urgent sections or by warm comforting chords.  The soprano is the traveller through the dream, who experiences stark, nightmarish moments, ghosts from the past, nature at its most haunting and glimpses of heaven.  The saxophone (clarinet or violin) further expresses the feelings conveyed by the words, harking back to experiences just gone by, translating the emotions into pure musical form and then leading to the next mood.
The first and last verses have virtually the same words.  At the beginning the setting is abstract and conveys fear of the unknown.  The ending brings comfort and the understanding which the mind experiences when rationalising the turmoil of the night.
CYNTHIA DOWNES

‘The most striking examples of otherworldliness were in Andrew Downes’ Dream-Land (US premier), sung by Deborah Saverance with Paul Cohen on saxophone and David Maiullo on piano, and Leonard Bernstein’s Israfel… These two pieces, in their emotionally astute and beautifully sung arrangements, took Poe’s words far into the realm of the spirit.’                                                                                                                                                                         PLYMOUTH STATE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL, FALL 2003 (Volume IV, no 2)

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