Three Songs of Peril (baritone and piano)

Instrumentation

Baritone
1
Piano
1

Additional Information

These songs were composed in the spring of 2011 to words by the York-based poet Daniela Nunnari.  There is no narrative thread running through the cycle, in fact the order of songs is left to the performer.  But as the title indicates, all three express the thoughts and feelings of people in various precarious situations.  In ‘Snakes and Ladders’ the protagonist explores the similarities between the ups and downs of a board game with life itself.  ‘The Day the Clocks went Back’ is concerned with the ending of a relationship; this is reflected in the music by the fracturing of the metrical relationship between voice and piano (and the pianists’ two hands).  ‘Submersed’ is an extract from a longer poem; the image of the willow is one which occurs repeatedly in the poet’s work.

Three Songs of Peril were first performed by Robert Rice and William Vann in April 2011.  There is also a version for mezzo-soprano and piano.

 

Snakes and Ladders

I trip,

and slip down secret snakes,

that wait for me

to miss a step,

to fall.



I lose my grip,

on scales as smooth as silver tongues,

that spit me out,

undone,

square one.



But when in hell, as Winston says,

you keep on going,

never knowing where each fateful step will lead.



And so I carry on, across the board,

ignored by ladder climbers, clutching, grabbing,

pushing, to the top.

I quietly endure the little boxes,

fingers crossed for lucky numbers

to release me from this trap.



And as I wait my turn,

I scrawl my words on empty spaces,

trying hard to find the meaning

in this place of fate and chance.



While I wander, wondering why and when,

I hear the serpents hiss again and

soon I’m sliding,

right back to the start.



 It always ends with this beginning.

Not quite losing, not quite winning.

Being a good girl makes no difference

in a game where chaos rules.



Guess I’ll face it with a grin, never giving in.

I close my eyes

and shake it twice.

I roll the dice.

 

The Day the Clocks Went Back

The Day the clocks went back,

the Autumn sky bled grey.

Thirteen moths escaped through skin.

Chaos called. We let him in.



The roses lost their heads. The one

you gave me faded on my ribs,

the ink still wet, the flesh still red.

I said goodbye.



The bath ran cold. My eyes ran dry.

The hermit left the house.

 

Submersed

She bows her head and

weeps

over wistful water.

Weeps

like a willow.

Trailing her tangled tendrils,

wet

with tears,

wet

with river.

Slippery, rippling the reflections,

of memories,

A face she’d forgotten.

A place

she once knew.



They leave her,

so sudden.

Dissolve in the depths,

are lost in the

darkness beneath.



Her heavy head

sinks.

She surrenders

to silence.

The sky above

darkens.

The day takes

a breath.



 

Tags

Details

Year
Publisher
Composer
Minutes
13

Recordings

Date recorded
April 2011
Performers
Robert Rice and William Vann
Title
Three Songs of Peril
Venue
Late Music, York