Herstory I
Herstory I
Voice, Vibraphone, and Piano
Composer's Note:
Written in 1975, Herstory I is the first in a dramatic series of song cycles on texts by women poets. Varying in instrumentation from solo voice to use of the complete trio of voice and instruments, the songs relate a woman's life experiences: finding freedom only in madness, coming to her child in the midst of a nightmare, growing older with her partner, expressing bitterness about aging, and dreaming at 80 of her youth.
The texts are highly expressive poetry by contemporary American women poets, some of whom are sometimes called "confessional" poets: Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, Adrienne Rich, and Pam White.
Herstory I received its premiere at the Brookline Public Library with Delores Fox, soprano, and the composer at the piano. There have been many other performances including New England Conservatory and The Contemporary Music Forum at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The cycle has been recorded by the Boston Musica Viva for WGBH-FM with Cheryl Cobb, soprano, Randall Hodgkinson, piano, and Dean Anderson, percussion.
Movements: 1. Noon Walk on the Asylum Lawn (Anne Sexton), 2. Her Kind (Anne Sexton), 3. Side by Side (Adrienne Rich), 4a. For a Child (Adrienne Rich), 4b. Morning Song (Sylvia Plath), 5. Mirror (Sylvia Plath), 6. Old (Anne Sexton), 7. Sleep (Pam White)
Authored (or revised): 1975
Text source: Adrienne Rich, Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, and Pam White.
Duration (minutes): 20.0
First performance: 1975, Brookline Public Library with Delores Fox, soprano; Elizabeth Vercoe, piano
Book format: score + vibraphone part
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