Two Love Songs
soprano, flute and oboe (or sop. saxophone)
composed 2025
ca. 7½ min.
Full Text:
by Alicia Schmitt “many little things”
Sand in Our Blood
Push sand between toes,
the grit of smashed glass
and curled shells.
It shifts under my suit,
sticks to your hair,
crinkles all of our creases.
Our sand erodes the webbing
of my fingers and gathers
into a stormy white pearl,
a callous I call pretty.
Thief
I love this bed
and the sliding sounds
of rainwater on our roof.
No harm done.
After all, the sun steals
the moon’s white face
each morning, while the thighs
of a thief wrap around me.
Program Note:
Two Love Songs are settings of two poems from “many little things” by Wisconsin poet Alicia Schmitt. While not an eternal love, Schmitt’s depiction of love is one of a multitude of snapshots, singular evocative moments encapsulated in words. The work presents two of Schmitt’s instances as traditional romantic songs, albeit tainted by contemporary life.
Note:
premiered on 23 February 2025 at Beethoven Club Memphis
hosted by National Association of Composers of USA (NACUSA)
written for NeoMosaic Ensemble