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About the Composer
Martha Hill Duncan
Graphite Publishing
Quiet
“Wind, cloud, and star: Lovely and far, Make it less lonely.”
voice, piano
This poignant little gem has a nice range, beautiful poetry and just enough surprises. With well placed sustained notes and delicately intertwined piano and vocal lines, it is sure to showcase and inspire sensitive and expressive singing.
“Quiet” was the first song composed by Martha Hill Duncan for her daughter Claire and was the original inspiration for the entire Singing in the Northland collection.
Composer’s Notes
My inspiration for Singing in the Northland began in 1998 when my daughter Claire was about twelve years old. Her voice teacher, Dr. Nadia Izbitskaya, lamented the lack of expressive contemporary vocal music for young singers and presented me with the challenge of writing for my own daughter. As a transplanted Texan, living in Canada, I decided to concentrate on Canadian poetry and the first song I wrote was “Quiet,” with poetry by Marjorie Pickthall. The others in the collection followed over the years as my daughter grew up and continued singing. This collection is dedicated to Claire for her patience, humour, insights and moreover, her beautiful and expressive voice.
Text
Come not the earliest petal here, but only
Wind, cloud, and star,
Lovely and far,
Make it less lonely.
Few are the feet that seek her here, but sleeping
Thoughts sweet as flowers
Linger for hours,
Things winged, yet weeping.
Here in the immortal empire of the grasses,
Time, like one wrong
Note in a song,
With their bloom, passes.
– Marjorie Pickthall
$3.50 per licensed PDF
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