Fragrance
COMPOSER'S NOTE
Fragrance is my second setting of text by choral conductor and poet Mark Riddles. Together with The Mount, the text is from Mark's collection of sacred poems in which he casts famous biblical passages in remarkable sensory language.
I dedicated the piece to my dear friend Sherry Watkins who is a steadfast supporter of the arts in the Washington, D.C. area and throughout the mid-Atlantic.
I recently recorded the piece with soprano Danielle Talamantes at Sono Luminus studios in rural Boyce, Virginia. For some reason or other, I had started looking at Fragrance as a stepchild, perhaps because it was Opus 2 from my catalog, and I thought I had written much better works since then.
I couldn't have been more wrong. When my producer, Erica Brenner, shared the first edit with Danielle and me, a tear streamed down her cheek. It was her favorite track, and I couldn't have been more thrilled!
THE TEXT
In the vale, the blossom opens,
Its petals unfold in the damp of dew.
Its fragrance is released.
Its yearning scent arises as incense,
A prayer to the creator,
A hymn to the eternal.
Flower, frankincense and myrrh,
Even the aroma of Lazarus arisen
Enwraps us and we are quickened
to that which lives forever.
Mark Riddles, b. 1950
Roses by Vincent van Gogh, 1890
DURATION
5¾ minutes
YEAR OF COMPOSITION
2016
CATEGORY
Solo Voice
VERSIONS
High Voice Solo and Piano
PERFORMING RIGHTS
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)
PURCHASE SHEET MUSIC
US: TBA
World: TBA
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