Abstract:
Six Songs of Emily Dickinson is a song cycle written for high voice and piano. The songs are set to selected poems by the nineteenth century American poet. The subject matter of the poems varies, touching on life, death, nature, eternity, and hope. The musical elements—tonality, rhythm, form, texture—vary as well. I envision the song cycle as a dramatic whole, but the songs may be sung individually. Songs III and IV, respectively entitled “I held it so tight that I lost it” and “If I can stop one heart from breaking,” are related especially closely, and performers may desire to pair them. The duration of the cycle is approximately twelve minutes.
