Views from the Plutonian Shore (2013)

Instrumentation: Mezzo-Soprano and Piano

Text By: Edgar Allan Poe

Duration: 20:00

Performances:

Elizebeth Barnes
New Vocal Music Recital
The Hartt School, 2014

Program Notes:

I have always loved the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe, so when it came time to write my first song cycle while studying Larry Alan Smith, it seemed a no-brainer that I would turn to Poe’s poetry to find my text. I selected four poems that deal with death, either overtly, or through subtext to create a common theme throughout the cycle. The title’s “Plutonian shore” comes not from any of these poems, but rather from Poe’s infamous poem The Raven. Through this collection of songs we can look out over the Plutonian shore and grapple with death ourselves.