Mythweaver

A cycle of six songs for soprano and piano.
The 2009 Dorian Le Galliene Prize commissioned work.

The poetry of Sappho has come to us, down through the centuries, primarily through three means: 1) one complete poem, 2) fragments surviving on papyrus, and 3) citation by other authors in instances where the original has been otherwise lost.  We know also of a few other lost works which were mentioned by other writers but not quoted, leaving us with the knowledge of their existence but nothing of their content.

The poetry in this cycle is drawn from citations (Stars Around the Full Moon and Lady Dawn) and fragments (Beautiful Things).  Two of the texts (The Moon Has Set, and Sweet Oil) are the result of combining citations with fragmentary texts of similar theme and tone.   The brackets indicate places where the text has been lost.

In composing Mythweaver, I wanted to find a way of depicting these lost words, or to put it another way, this voice whose words have been lost.  Wanting neither to simply ignore the gaps in the text nor to force upon the singer and listener text that wasn’t Sappho’s, I sought a third option.  (Kevin March)

Composed 2019

• I  Stars Around the Full Moon, c.1'40
• II The Moon Has Set, c.2'15
• III Sweet Oil, c.3'00                                                                                                       
• IV Beautiful Things, c.1'20
• V Lady Dawn, c.1'30
• VI Yes Radiant Lyre!, c.2'10

Download samples

• Mythweaver - sheet music

ISMN 9790720227160

$35.00 for instant PDF download