Listen to "The Good Morrow" on MIDI
Listen to "Constancy" on MIDI
Listen to "Break of Day" on MIDI
Listen to "The Message" on MIDI
View samples in PDF form
Constancy is a set of four songs based on poems by John Donne (1572-1631), of "Death, be not proud," and "No man is an island" fame (the latter containing the famous line "Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee"). These four poems are among his love poetry. They're not connected to one another in any way by the poet; I've arranged them in an order which made dramatic sense to me, following a relationship from first blush to deepening feeling, through to failing and finally into adultery and anger. I realize this makes me sound a bit like a cynic; I'm not really, I just happened to like these poems, and they do create a narrative.
For a full text of any of the poems, click on the associated image below.
The Good Morrow is very, very loosely based on serial techniques, specifically that of the repeating tone-row. The singer's line contains the same notes in the same order, varying only in rhythms. The piano line follows it similarly, even picking up the end of the "row" when the singer runs out of words. At some points, there are three instances of the note row going at the same time (including the voice), harmonized by a fourth part in the piano. The piece has a sort of wandering, uncertain feel, contrasting with the certain declarations of love which the singer almost overstates.
Constancy is a Rondo with a repeated refrain - "Now thou hast loved me one full day; Tomorrow, when thou leavest, what wilt thou say?" - which returns four times over the course of the piece with the same music, the "constant" element. (This is not in Donne's poetry, but was my decision in the treatment of the text) Donne's original title for this work was "Woman's Constancy," but I decided that it would be better to leave the title gender non-specific. The piano furnishes an uncertain, inconstant rhythm throughout, reflecting the ironic title.
Break of Day tells the tale of the slow breakdown of the relationship. It's set in a fairly secure five-beat metre with an ever-shifting tonal centre. The singer gets a few moments to herself without the ritornello-like keyboard pattern breaking in. "Business" is the culprit here; the singer claims that it is "The worst disease of love" and that it's as bad as outright adultery to make love when business is at hand. Again, a choice was made with regards to the title; Donne referred to this both as "Break of Day" and as "Another of the Same."
The Message is medieval break-up poetry. The singer is obviously angry with the subject of the poem, and the piano part aims to reflect that. This is the most energetic and vital of the four songs, ending on a strong, impassioned, even furious note, as the singer details what should be done with her (metaphorically) lost eyes and heart, using the request to take a parting shot at her former love.
While these four songs were conceived as a set, they are certainly usable individually or in smaller groups. They're not too difficult for either party; there are some tricky chromatic lines and a fairly broad range for the singer, and some challenging quick passages for the pianist, but these should be fairly readily overcome.
As it stands, this is a cycle for Alto voice and piano; if there are any requests to change the key(s), then a version may be made available for Soprano, as well, or for any voice range at all, if there's someone to sing them.