1991 3 SONGS (Paul Celan) for soprano & orchestra

3 SONGS (1991), for soprano and orchestra, and …de Origen Volcánico (1992) are the result of my work with a local symphony orchestra in Gloucestershire, whose conductor I was for a period of five years. The orchestra’s format is that of a traditional symphony orchestra. I allowed myself great freedom in the design of these two works, all the while making sure the demands and limitations of this type of orchestra (composed mostly of amateurs) were strictly observed. Debussy was never far from my writing desk when I wrote the songs: the third one opens with a straight quotation from La Mer. They are, however, also studies for an opera I have been waiting to write for years – but probably never will… Studies in text setting, in learning to adapt smoothly to the music already present in the language of the lyrics. In this case from three poems by Paul Celan:

Chanson einer Dame im Schatten

Zu beiden Händen

Oben, geräuschlos

The Songs were first performed by Charlotte Riedijk and the New Stroud Orchestra, with me conducting.