Soprano Songs

Emily in Love…Emily Alone (2007) for soprano and piano (Emily Dickinson).  Performed here at its premiere by Alice Pierce, soprano, and Tracy Lipke-Perry, piano, on September 8, 2017, in Duluth, Minnesota.

  1. Again – his voice is at the door – 4’37”
  2. He touched me – 2’40”
  3. What would I give to see his face? – 3’40”
  4. What shall I do? – 4’00”
  5. If you were coming in the Fall– 2’15”
  6. I got so I could take his name– 3’40”

Alice Pierce premiered Emily in Love…Emily Alone, In Early Spring, and Quand je me joue a ma chatte.

 

 

“R. Michael Daugherty’s songs for soprano are delightful, whether it be a woman’s journey through life in Passages, or Emily Dickinson settings of Wagtail dances, Emily in Love, or Songs of Eternity.  Tuneful inspiring melodies, thought provoking texts, honest songs you can wear for a lifetime!” – Alice Pierce

 

 

Love’s Shades of Gray (2011) for soprano and piano (Rob Smith).

  1. Beyond Horizons – 3’25”
  2. If I Scare You – 2’20”
  3. Town Gossip – 3’30”
  4. If We Were Children – 3’20”
  5. Quiet Time – 2’00”

Marguerite Krull made the recording of Love’s Shades of Gray with Craig Ketter, piano, in 2011.

 

 

Rob Smith is one of my favorite living poets.  In addition to the poems above, I have set four as choral works – Remembering Clocks, Morning, Winter is so much softer and The Water Talks to Me.

 

 

 

Passages (1987) for soprano and piano (Salvatore Salerno)

Premiered by Beth Cram Porter and pianist Dowell Idol on April 24, 1987.

  1. In Place – 2’35”
  2. All in a Dream – 2’50”
  3. Canzone – 2’00”
  4. On my Shining Hour – 3’50”

 

 

 

 

 

Visions of Eternity (2001) for soprano and piano (Emily Dickinson)

Ayumi Nakamae premiered Visions of Eternity with Marjorie Rahima Hohlstein, piano, on April 26, 2002.

  1. The doomed regard the sunrise – 2’40”
  2. Papa Above – 1’10”
  3. She bore it till the simple veins – 2’30”   
  4. Safe in their Alabaster Chambers – 2’45”
  5. I’ve heard an organ talk sometimes – 1’40”
  6. Going to Heaven! – 2’30”

 

 

Sonnets from the Portuguese (1999) for soprano, oboe and piano ((Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

Ayumi Nakamae premiered Sonnets from the Portuguese with Fumiko Yamashita, oboe, and James Schmidt, piano, in September, 2000.

  1. Unlike are we (Sonnet III)
  2. If thou must love me (Sonnet XIV)
  3. Let the world’s sharpness (Sonnet XXIV)
  4. My Letters! (Sonnet XXVII)
  5. How do I love thee? (Sonnet XLIII)

 

A Wagtail Dance (1974) for soprano or tenor and piano (Emily Dickinson)

Heather Parr premiered A Wagtail Dance with Paul Porreca, piano, in March, 1975, in Columbus, Ohio.

  1. Bee! I’m expecting you – 1’15”
  2. The Pedigree of Honey – 1’05”
  3. A Single Clover Plank – 1’55”
  4. A Bee his Burnished Carriage – 1’30”
  5. Of Silken Speech and Specious Shoe – 1’30”
  6. Bees are Black – 1’30”
  7. We – Bee and I – 2’05”
  8. To Make a Prairie – 50”

 

 

 

Individual Songs

  1. “Madness” (6/28/13) for soprano or alto and piano (Wilma Daugherty) – 3’15”. This song relates a mother’s frustration about household chores when she would rather have adventures wuth her child.  Performed here by Marguerite Krull, mezzo, and Lindsay Garritson, piano, April 7, 2024.
  2. “Music When Soft Voices Die” (2006) for soprano or alto and piano (Shelley) – 3’30”.  This song embraces memory as the way to keep love present even when one’s partner is absent.  Performed here by Marguerite Krull, mezzo, and Lindsay Garritson, piano, April 7, 2024.
  3. “In Early Spring” (1987) for soprano, trumpet & piano (Salvatore Salerno) – 3’30”.  This song follows a cayote dashing across the landscape.  Performed here by Alice Pierce, soprano, Paul Morton, trumpet, and Claire Rozier, piano, May 13, 1989.
  4. “Quand je me joue a ma chatte” (1991) for flute and soprano, commissioned by Philip Dunigan and Alice Pierce at the North Carolina School of the Arts.  Premiered at Weymouth Center, Southern Pines, North Carolina, on March 3, 1991.