greenbrightness (2019)
soprano voice and piano – 3 min
Program Notes
I utilized four pitch class sets in composing greenbrightness. The first set contains only three pitches, and the next three grow in size: from the second to the third to the fourth. Each aspect of the work, the voice, the humming, the high piano, and the low piano change pitch class sets at a different rate. The text is comprised of six compound words (everfreckle, eversun, everenough, everx16, never, and ever) that come from a larger poem by Jared Murphy. With this work, I try to create a meditative, reflective, and spacious landscape. The full text inspired me to approach the piece this way. I hope with this work to evoke peaceful, nature imagery, and whatever emotion that imagery brings for the listener. I’d like to thank Kim Nguyen for giving me the wonderful opportunity to compose this piece for her!
greenbrightness, shine through
lifecanopy.
longwind touch and everfreckle
all along your great heartwalls...
and headfalls.
*
our feet upon the earth.
every edge of this space has
that WARM lifebuzz you
remember from the days of eversun.
Friend, tomorrow troubles us none.
Even the darkest of past
lets us alone for a while
lets us sleep through, Friend.
lets us sleep through.
and all elements seem to stem from you.
the world moves through you insteadinto
insteadintoinsteadintoinsteadintoinsteadintoinstead
a bed of grass is everenough on a night
like this.
above the small of your back floats
a bioluminescent toadstool
whose crimson glow mates with moon,
merges our tonightspace with
everevereverevereverevereverevereverevereverevereverevereverever
and all and all and all
and your heart
never ever
stops.
written by Jared Murphy