Songs from the End of the World (2015) I. A long time alone II. Raveling III. At sea John Mackey text by A. E. Jaques Coyright 2015, 2017 Osti Music WWW.OSTIMUSIC.COM
Songs from the End of the World text by A. E. Jaques I. A long time alone Dawn draws her rose-red fingers soft across the sleeing sky. Another day unasked-for, light inking flesh untouched. Long ago I loved to watch the water wake when first rays raced the waves. Morning warm-born in a moment. But the sweetest second sours in solitude. Forever is a long time alone. Summer murmurs memory of seasons sweet with cyress. Seabirds basking idle as the fishes dare to doze. I used to sing with the insects answering slee slee whirrus with trilling airs. But that was years ago, before the buzzing buried cicada sounds inside to rattle in the cluttered attic of never-soken thoughts. Even lovely liquid languor soils. Forever is a long time alone. Wade into the wine-dark sea and leave the lonely island; let salt swam tears. Waters hold you for a while. Skin gleams warm. Long-fallow flesh awakens but the ocean's kiss consumes. Soon there is no woman only wave. So the body brought back rushes out again, tide and time-taken as all things are. The sea is not a solace but a cell. Forever is a long time alone. II. Raveling When I found you, or you found me, both of us lost in the endless sea, then I healed you, and you healed me, two tattered souls stitched u lovingly. Seven summers of sun, seven winters of wanting, seven sringtimes as new as the dawn, seven autumns of falling deeer into your breath seven years you are war to my weft. Only now is this aradise aradise. Only now is this living a life. Only now is there greenness and sweetness and air lost and found ones, we two, what a air. As I lose you, and so lose me, finding I never had what I thought was free how can you take what once you gave? I asked only love for the life I saved. Seven years you were war to my weft. Seven years, yet you leave me bereft. Seven years and I have nothing left. You and I, we were bound u together. You and I wove a heaven from scars. You and I turned the darkness and lostness and ain into something worth living again. Only you made this aradise aradise; Only you made this living a life; Only you gave me greenness and sweetness and air All unraveling now, ast reair.
III. At sea Again, alone. Again, forever. Solitude and I, once more, together. And now forget? Or yet remember? If I hold fast will I still surrender? Shall I cling to memory, and olish thoughts like bright stones? But every touch erodes them; to love their light is to lose it. Remembering. Dismembering. Forget, then. Forget him. Forget him. Forget, yes. And cast away the emty oyster shell. Tide take him. But watch who knows what waters wash home? Forget him? Forget, how? This cruel moon brings ghosts in waves now, to haunt me. Too-cruel moon brings ghosts to haunt me, to taunt me now. This tide that gives and takes and tolls the time, the time, the long and longing time alone. I can't forget; I can't remember. The loss remains, so hard, so tender. And all my rhymes are ravings, my words the wailing of a lost one, storm-tossed one. The sea won't hear. The sky won't care. No different to them, my silence or song. No words, so. Unheard, so. Why go on then? Why cry this silence? Alone. Alone. All cast away now. Just ghosts to stay now. Alone, all lost at sea.
Program Note The cycle is insired by a assage in the Odyssey in which Odysseus, shiwrecked and near death, washes u on the shore of an island belonging to the nymh Kalyso. Homer s telling treats the ensuing interlude as just another bit of exotic travelogue, one of many adventures on Odysseus long journey home; these three songs imagine what it meant to Kalyso herself, and are sung in her voice. i. A long time alone Kalyso s island home is beautiful beyond imagining but remote beyond reach. Her immortality is thus an eternal solitude. The first song in the cycle, set before Odysseus arrival, is her lament of this loneliness. Standing on her shore, she remembers long-gone days when she could still delight in her aradise, and tells of the slow erosion of sensation and even sense after endless ages alone. ii. Raveling The second movement begins after Odysseus has been with Kalyso for seven years. She sings as she moves back and forth with a golden shuttle at her loom, weaving a taestry the work of all that time that tells their story. At one end, the luminous threads show the near-dead castaway washed ashore; nearby the nymh nurses him back to health. Flowers and fruit, rie and radiant, tumble through images of the love they found together. But the simle hainess of the scene and the song curdles: Odysseus wants to return to his home, leaving Kalyso to her solitude; nothing she has given or can give means anything to him anymore. She is shattered, but he is cold. So Kalyso returns to her loom, singing again, but now unraveling the taestry, unmaking the document of love. iii. At sea In the final song, Kalyso watches Odysseus sail away on a boat she has given him, born by a breeze she has called u to fill a sail she has fashioned from the unmade taestry. Waves carry him toward the horizon, and her loneliness washes in again. - rogram note by A. E. Jaques (lease credit A. E. Jaques when reroducing rogram note) World remiere November 19, 2015, with Lindsay Kesselman, sorano, and the University of North Carolina Greensboro Wind Ensemble, conducted by Kevin Geraldi.
text by A. E. Jaques Piano 4 8 12 q. = 46, flowing, very freely Dawn draws her rose - red fin - gers soft a - cross the slee-ing sky. A-noth-er day un-asked for, light ink-ing flesh un - touched Songs from the End of the World 1. A long time alone oco for erusal use only John Mackey iano reduction by Liz Ames Coyright 2017 Osti Music WWW.OSTIMUSIC.COM
2 16 m Long a - go I loved to watch the wa-ter wake when first rays raced the waves. 19 23 27 a temo oco m Mor But - ning warm-born in a mo - ment. a little slower the sweet-est sec-ond sours a little slower very freely m m in a temo sol a temo - i - t u d e. For - ev-er is a long time For - ev-er is a long time alongtime very freely 3 for erusal use only 3
31 a - lone a - lone a - lone a - lone a - 3 36 39 42 q. = 46, flowing, very freely lone q. = 46, flowing, very freely m m Sum-mer mur-murs mem-o - ry of sea-sons sweet with cy- ress. Sea - birds bask- ing id - le as the fish - es dare to doze. I q = 60 circa for erusal use only q = 60 circa f 3 3 used to sing with the in - sects an - swer-ing slee slee whir-rus with trill-ing airs
4 45 48 oco oco but that was long a - go a temo ff be a temo oco a oco dim. uer note otional if balance is roblematic f - fore the buzz-ing bur - ied ci - ca - da sounds in - side to rat - tle in the clutt-ered att - ic of nev-er so - ken thoughts Ev oco a oco dim. soils For - en love-ly li-quid lang-uor q= 56, circa 52 m 3 57 q= 56, circa long time a long oco a oco oco a oco - ev - er is a long time For time For allarg. - ev - er is a long allarg. time a - ev - er is a - q. = 46 ff lone. q. = 46 ff f for erusal use only
61 5 66 70 73 allarg. a temo allarg a temo l.v. a temo a temo wine - dark sea and leave the lon - ely is - land; a temo a temo f Wade in - to the oco oco let salt swam tears. Wa - ters hold you for a for erusal use only
6 76 oco while a temo Skin gleams warm; long - fal-low flesh a - wa-kens but the 79 83 87 oco a temo ocean's - kiss con sumes Soon there is no wo- man on - ly wave? m m So the bo - dy brought back rush-es out a-gain tide and time ta - ken as all things are. for erusal use only
92 96 100 106 m The a little slower (brief) sea is not a sol - ace but a little slower very freely 3 3 a For-ev- er is a long time For-ev-er is a long time alongtime very freely a-lone a- lone a- lone a- lone a very slow - - - very slow lone m cell m molto allarg. for erusal use only molto allarg. 3 7
8 Sorano Solo Piano 5 9 q = 66 q = 66 m m When I found you, or you found me, both of us lost in the end-less sea, then I healed you, and you healed me, two II. Raveling m tat-tered souls stitched u lov - ing - ly. Ah m for erusal use only m Se-ven
12 sum-mers of sun, se-ven win-ters of want - ing, se - ven 9 14 16 18 sring-times as new as the dawn, se - ven au-tumns of fall - ing dee-er in - to your breath Se - ven years m you are war oco to my weft. oco a temo a temo m m for erusal use only
10 20 Ah On - ly m 22 q = 60 circa, freely 25 27 now is this a - ra-dise a - ra - dise. On - ly now is this liv - ing a q = 60 circa, freely sweet life On - ly now is there green - ness and - ness and air Lost m and found ones, we for erusal use only
29 32 35 38 two, m oco what a q = 66 air. oco q = 66 m 3 3 m m As m l.v. I lose you, and so lose 3 3 3 3 3 for erusal use only 11
12 41 43 45 47 me, find-ing I ne - ver had what I thought was free how can you take what once you gave? I asked m on m - ly love for the life I saved. m for erusal use only
49 oco m Se a temo - ven years you were war to my 13 51 54 56 oco m weft. cresc. Se a temo - ven years, yet you leave me be - reft. Se - ven m f years and I have no - - thing f f left. ff m ff You for erusal use only and
14 59 62 64 a temo, very free f I, we a temo, very free allarg. were bound allarg. a temo, very free u to - geth - - - er You and a temo, very free I wove a hea - ven from scars. You and I turned the dark- ness and lost - ness and ain ff 67 slower, q = 52 circa, still free in - to some - thing worth liv slower, q = 52 circa, still free ff - ing a - gain On - for erusal use only ly
71 a temo (q = 52 circa) you made this ar - a - dise; ar - a - dise; On - ly you made this liv - ing a life; On - ly 15 75 79 82 a temo (q = 52 circa) una corda you gave me green -ness and sweet-ness and air All un - rav - el - ing now; q = 54 circa ast re - air. Ooo q = 54 circa e = e like a music box slowing down e= e 3 3 for erusal use only 3
16 Sorano Solo Piano 6 11 q =52, rubato A q =52, rubato - gain, a - lone. A-gain, for - ev - er. Sol - i -tude and I, once more, to - Har 1/2 geth - er. And now for - get? Or yet re - mem - ber? If I hold fast will I still sur - ren - der? Shall with a little more motion I norm. cling to mem - 'ry, and ol-ish thoughts like bright stones? But ev - 'ry touch e -rodes with a little more motion III. At sea m for erusal use only m
16 20 24 30 them; to love b'ring Dis - mem - - b'ring q = 84, rubato q = 84, rubato rimarily har voice until m. 34 ob. solo, singing their light is to lose it, Re sim. For m m - mem - - get, then. For - get him. for erusal use only 17
18 33 38 43 48 For - get him. For - get, yes. And (bass izz) cast a - way the em - ty oy - ster shell. Tide take him. But watch who knows what wa m m - ters wash home? - get him? For - get, how? This cru ob. solo For- with increasing urgency for erusal use only - el moon brings with increasing urgency
53 58 63 68 m ghosts in waves now, to haunt me. Too cruel m m m moon brings ghosts to f to haunt me m m taunt me now. This tide that gives and takes and tolls the time, the time, the long and long - ing time a - ob. solo for erusal use only 19
20 72 allarg. q = 84, rubato lone. I can't for - - get, 75 78 81 allarg. ten I m q = 84, rubato can't re - - mem - - ber The loss re - mains, so hard, so - - der. And for erusal use only a temo all a temo m my
84 rhymes are rav - - - - - ings my 21 88 91 94 words the wail - ing of a oco a oco accel. cresc. lost oco a oco accel. cresc. one, storm - - tossed one. f m for erusal use only
22 97 102 106 110 allarg. ff won't ff care. f The h=q (=40) sea q = 60 won't hear. The sky h= q (=40) q = 60 ff m to them, my si - lence or song. heard, so. q = 72, rubato q = 72, rubato m No m No diff - 'rent words, so. Un - for erusal use only
115 120 125 131 q = 52, rubato All q = 52, rubato f m m all Why q = 60, rubato q = 60, rubato Har go on then? Why cry this si - lence? A - lone. A - lone. m cast a - way now. Just ghosts to stay now. A lost at sea. q = 76, oco a oco q = 76, oco a oco for erusal use only molto m crying out, molto esress. m - lone allarg. 23