Soprano voice, soprano
saxophone, piano
SKU:
P2.50010
Composed by
Lori F. Ardovino. Chamber
music, 20th century.
Published by Potenza
Music (P2.50010).
Between Walls
is a group of songs on
the poems of William
Carlos Williams for
soprano voice, soprano
saxophone and piano.
Within each movement, the
music helps describe the
text or set the mood of
each of the movements.
The first movement,
Between Walls, is solemn,
without joy or humor,
quiet in nature and
thoughtful. In the text,
where nothing will grow,
the last pitch on grow is
much higher than the
previous pitches, as if
it were to grow. The
soprano and the saxophone
are unison on In which
and then move apart a
step and a third on shine
the ending with a
dissonant minor 2nd on
the word broken, playing
upon the text. Young
Woman at a Window is for
soprano and piano alone.
This movement is also
quite dissonant and the
piano sustains that
tonality by using pedal
through out. The soprano
sings in the lower
tessitura while the piano
moves slowly between
major thirds and minor
seconds to minor thirds
and tritones to the end
of the piece, suggesting
the sadness of the women,
with tears on her cheeks.
The listener is left to
wonder what she and the
child are looking at. The
Nightingales is a
contrast to the first two
movements. The tonality
is more consonant,
lyrical in the saxophone
line and arpeggiated
chords sustained with
pedal throughout most of
the piano line, promoting
a poetic and expressive
premise. In The Thing,
the lines move more
independently and do not
come together as one
until the text bitterly
together, which is
unison, to the last line
moving apart to the M3rd.
As the Cat is sprightly
and jaunty, the piano and
saxophone placing the
beats in an unexpected
manner, the soprano a bit
disjunctive at times,
just as how a cat might
work it's way carefully
over obstacles to find
it's way to it's final
destination.