SONGS OF ISSA

Performance April 11, 2003, Tallahassee, FL, Opperman Music Hall
Barbara Clements, soprano & Jason Smith, pianist

Winner, The Chicago Ensemble 'Discover America IV' Composition Contest
&
Finalist, Auros New Music Composition Competition

PROGRAM NOTE

Songs of Issa (1999). Issa (1763-1827) was the best loved of the Japanese Haiku poets. Generally speaking, his prose reflects two themes: tragedy and nature. In composing the cycle I tried to capture the simple character or meaning inherent in each poem: the off and on of a firefly's light, the heavy burden of loosing a child, the slow movement of a snail, and the grieving over the loss of a mother.

TEXT

Issa (1763-1827)
The Firefly
The first firefly…
But he got away
And I…
Air in my fingers.
The Snail
O summer snail
You climb,
But slowly, slowly
To the mountains summit.
Dew
Dew evaporates
And all our world is dear
So dear, so fresh, so fleeting.
Deep Dark Sea
Mother lost, long gone…
At the deep dark sea,
I stare…
At the deep dark sea.

SELECTED PERFORMANCE HISTORY

-- Premiered August 17, 1999, Tallahassee, FL, Dohnanyi Recital Hall
Julie Gickling, soprano & Joanna Sobkowski, piano
-- March 22, 2000, Austin, Texas, Recital Hall
Jennifer Needham, soprano & Leonard Mark Lewis, piano
-- February 3, 2001, Tallahassee, FL, FSU Festival of New Music, Dohnanyi Recital Hall
Barbara Clements, soprano & Trey Cox, piano
-- June 20, 2001, Cincinnati, OH, Music 2001 Festival, Werner Recital Hall
Valerie Kraft, soprano & Jeremy Rafal, piano
-- February 16, 2003, Chicago, IL, International House
Sharon Quatrin, soprano & Gerald Rizzer, piano - The Chicago Ensemble
-- February 18, 2003, Chicago, IL, Three Arts Club
Sharon Quatrin, soprano & Gerald Rizzer, piano - The Chicago Ensemble
-- April 11th, 2003, Tallahassee, FL, Opperman Music Hall
Barbara Clements, soprano & Jason Smith, piano

SONGS OF ISSA COPYRIGHT © 1999 BY JAMES BARRY. REGISTERED ® 1999 ASCAP.

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