WOMBED SOULS

Hardy’s poetry cuts to the core of Victorian and Edwardian life. His profound empathy for the female condition is particularly clear in the three pieces selected for this song-cycle ‘Wombed Souls’. So convincing is his portrayal and use of the feminine voice, that his gender becomes an irrelevance. These women were victims of a society which forced them to relinquish their emotional integrity to meet its contemporary demands of etiquette.

Though each character shows indignance to the hand life has dealt, fatalism prevails and life continues as it began; from the wrenching honesty of ‘To an Unborn Pauper Child’ where a pregnant mother wishes her unborn baby dead in fear of the wretched life of poverty it is destined to live, to the biting irony of ‘The Dark-Eyed Gentleman’ in which a young woman faces social rejection following a tryst which resulted in the birth of a bastard-child. In the final poem, ‘An Orphaned Old-Maid’, a woman who has lived in service to her father and finds herself alone upon his death speaks of her hopelessness and profound sadness as she mourns that which never became.

This work will receive its world premiere in 2013.

A CRADLE SUITE - vol. I

“Wynken, blynken and nod...”

The Lullaby is traditionally the simplest of song forms both structurally and melodically, often belying the sinister nature of the texts set. Themes of night, fear and death all feature, met by the sense of escapism sought through sleep and dreams. The 19th century American poet Eugene Field captures this atmosphere in both lullabies set in this suite; the first ‘A Japanese Lullaby’ with its delicate, contemplative tone and the second ‘A Norse Lullaby’ painted in far grander, elemental strokes.

A CRADLE SUITE - vol. II

“Wynken, blynken and nod...”

The nocturnal realm of fairies, gnomes and elves has long inspired poets and composers; in this instance, to lull children to sleep safe in their mothers’ protective arms. The 19th century American poet Eugene Field has conjured up this kingdom in his three poetic lullabies. Fairies, the mirkland queen, brownies and trolls are evoked in lullabies of Old England, the Orkney Isles and Cornwall.

Kate Royal and Christine Rice have performed and toured the duet song repertoire extensively, earning great acclaim for their vocal blending and artistic sensitivity. The duet scoring of this cycle adds a deeper layer to the story being told in each poem, with the additional voice offering deeper comment, or contrasting subtext to the verses being set.