William Carlos William Songs (2019-2022)

I don’t believe I’ll ever move past my love for William Carlos Williams’ poetry. I originally intended to set only three of his poems to music - “To a Poor Old Woman,” “This is Just to Say,” and “The Unknown.” Since then, I’ve felt the desire to add more poems to this particular song cycle, including “The Young Cat and the Chrysanthemums,” “A Flowing River,” and “Sunflower.” Some of the poems are set for vocal trio, some for solo voice and violin, but all have flexible instrumentation and are all open to interpretation. The cycle was premiered in full by the Adelphi Vocal Ensemble on May 7, 2023, directed by Derek Weagle with Susan DelGiorno (clarinet) and myself (harpsichord).