George Tibbits: Five Songs for Voice and Piano (1969) - To Myself (Slessor)

Abstract

"These are songs of death. Fragments of poetry, removed from their larger context, convey their mute, cold poetic content with concentrated detachment. The stylistic diversity and restrained intensity of the music reinforce this detachment. The first fragment is from Kenneth Slessor's Five Bells in which the poet grasps after the memory of a friend. The next and longest fragment is by the Melbourne poet Lynne Strahan and is part of a long surreal lament for a child. The central fragment is by the medieval songwriter Vogelweide. It contrasts the outward beauty of the world with a bleak inner landscape akin to death. The next song, the second of the short passages from Lynne Strahan, summons the memory of a lost child. The final song returns to Slessor and is a lament of beautiful irony in remembrance of endearing foibles. Death silences the living. Anguish and love are carried unspoken in the heart. The songs were written for Lauris Elms who first performed them." -- George Tibbits