Commissioned by the William & Mary Symphony Orchestra for Mary Mackenzie, soprano; Grant Gilman, music director. The work was premiered on February 26, 2013 at Phi Beta Kappa Hall, Williamsburg, VA.
Text:
Thoughts from Poems of Sentiment by Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
Published by W. B. Conkey Company in 1906.
Thoughts do not need the wings of words
To fly to any goal.
Like subtle lightnings, not like birds,
They speed from soul to soul.
Hide in your heart a bitter thought –
Still it has power to blight;
Think Love – although you speak it not
It gives the world more light.
Program Notes:
Thoughts, a poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, embodies mystical and metaphysical properties with beautifully imaginative imagery that elevates one to another place. This text reveals the mysterious qualities of thoughts and the influence thoughts have on peoplesʼ actions. Even though the text was written in the early 20th Century, her philosophy of positive thinking remains relevant to contemporary society, supporting many peoplesʼ belief that American culture is too steeped in negativity.
This piece sweeps through various states of mind via episodes of stylistically different musical material. Soloistic woodwind passages interweave with motor-like motivic string passages. Although the solo soprano line functions as the center of attention when it conveys text, there are also moments when the soloist sings timbrally and texturally rather than textually driven lines, blending amidst the orchestral sonorities.
An important structural moment occurs during a brass feature, before the first statement of “love.” This passage of text details the power of love and how even unspoken love can increase the worldʼs light. Wilcoxʼs text is reminiscent of a Biblical passage in John 1: “Lux lucet in tenebris” [Light shines in the darkness]. While these texts hail from differing spiritual points of view, they share philosophical and symbolic associations concerning the essence of thoughts, words, life, love, and light. This literary connection is represented musically through the use of quotation; the chords stated in the horn soli are quoted from a childrenʼs chorus statement of “Lux lucet in tenebris!” in George Crumbʼs Star Child. The placement of these chords parallels the literary association in that Crumbʼs music often addresses themes of light and dark.
Excerpts: