About the piece

“Voice, voice of my beloved!
Behold he comes,
skipping over the mountains,
traversing the hills…”

The text from Vox Dilecti Mei comes from the second chapter of the Song of Solomon, verses eight through ten. The music is built from two contrasting tonalities. The first is a dissonant tonality based around g# minor, supported by fifths in the cello, and the second pentatonic flourishes in the flute and clarinet. In the later half of the piece, the two tonalities merge and come to a resolution. The vocal part is alternately declarative and lyrical with flashes of coloratura, expressing the fluttering fear, yearning and sensuality of waiting for the return of one’s beloved.

Listen

performed by Amanda Kohl, Jessica Lizak, Jing Li, Michael Norsworthy

Instrumentation

soprano, flute, clarinet, cello

Duration

7 minutes

year written

2007

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