Lori Laitman

Beauty — for soprano, bass-baritone, cello and piano (priced for 4 copies, includes score and cello part))

Classical/Song • 2018 • Lyricist: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Beauty — for soprano, bass-baritone, cello and piano (priced for 4 copies, includes score and cello part))

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Beauty — for soprano, bass-baritone, cello and piano (priced for 4 copies, includes score and cello part)): Beauty — for soprano, bass-baritone, cello and piano (priced for 4 copies, includes score and cello part)) by Lori Laitman

Sheet music file
20.00 USD

Seller Lori Laitman

PDF, 4.46 Mb ID: SM-000597314 Upload date: 08 Feb 2024

Instrumentation	Piano, Cello, Soprano, Baritone, Bass
Scored for	Quartet
Type of score	Full score
Publisher	Enchanted Knickers Music
Language	English
Difficulty	Advanced
Duration	4'48

This song was commissioned by The University of Massachusetts Amherst for soprano Jamie-Rose Guarrine and bass-baritone Seth Keeton. Jamie-Rose had requested I use an excerpt from The Poet, an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The essay’s closing passage appealed to me, both for its poetic language (I found the repetition of “wherever” cast an almost-hypnotic spell) and its message of appreciation for beauty everywhere. I began work in July 30, 2017, and after a hiatus, returned to finish in April 2018.
I first wrote the song for two voices and piano, but upon adding the cello, I found its counterpoint and timbre helped to propel the song. Beauty opens with the cello presenting the main “wherever” motive (a rising three note pattern), which is later taken up by the voices. All float above the piano’s two bar rising and falling figuration (suggestive of breathing), which creates a meditative spell with its repetitions. Other word painting is employed — such as the flowing water motive comprised of 32nd notes or the descending vocal lines for “twilight”. Text repetitions and tempo alterations create a contrasting middle section before the song ends with a variation of the opening, concluding wordlessly with cello and piano.

You can hear the premiere recording on the Transparent Boundaries CD.

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