for nothing lesse than thee

in three movements

Instrumentation: Tenor, B-flat Clarinet, and Piano

Completed: August 10, 2003

Dedicated to: Zachary Wilder

Duration: 14 minutes

Text: three poems by John Donne (1572-1631)

Premiered: December 10, 2003 by Zachary Wilder, tenor, Gina Guhl, clarinet, and Kevin Chance, piano

Audio

I. The Legacie(Zachary Wilder, tenor; Gina Guhl, clarinet; Kevin Chance, piano)

III. The Dreame(Zachary Wilder, tenor; Gina Guhl, clarinet; Kevin Chance, piano)

Program Note

for nothing lesse than thee opens with “The Legacie,“ in which Donne looks back at his life from beyond the grave (as his “owne executor and Legacie.”). His cold temperament is set with a bare, open, unmoving musical texture. The music fills out (and moves forward) in the second stanza of the poem when Donne suddenly finds himself in present tense, still very much alive and feeling. Then, in the third stanza, the more reserved musical material returns. Throughout the song, the clarinet and piano stay in separate, unsynchronized orbits until they meet briefly at “and therefore, for our losses sad…”. They then separate once again as the poem comes to a close.

“The Sunne Rising” opens with a clarinet interlude, quickly overpowered by jovial, off-balance music. Interspersed among these outbursts are several small recitative-style sections, in which the singer examines the nature of love and honor. The conflict between the fast and slow sections imitates Donne’s perceived conflict between love and the sun-enforced passage of time (“Love, all alike, no season knows…”).

The last song, “The Dreame,” starts quietly with an evocation of Schumann’s “Im Wunderschönen Monat Mai.” This is intended to evoke a reminiscence of love’s beauty, tinged by an uncertain future. A quicker middle section propels Donne through his exploration of love; the tempo slows when he says, “But rising makes me doubt, that now, / Thou art not thou.” The hint of Schumann then returns, closing the piece on an unresolved minor 9th. for nothing lesse than thee is dedicated to Zachary Wilder.

Performances (3)

December 10, 2003, 7:00 pm
(premiere)		Zachary Wilder, tenor; Gina Guhl, clarinet; Kevin Chance, piano

Kilbourn Hall, Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY
February 24, 2007, 3:00 pm
(first song only)		Abby Fisher, mezzo-soprano; Sarah Phillips, clarinet; Kimball Gallagher, piano

Gallerie Icosahedron, New York, NY
November 21, 2009Jorge Toro, tenor; Berginald Rash, clarinet; Nastasa Stojanovska, piano

Steinway Piano Gallery, Boca Raton, FL