From the Heart: Three American Women

Description

Voice, Piano — FROM THE HEART: THREE AMERICAN WOMEN was first published for voice and guitar over thirty years ago.  These songs were my first published works. Since then, I have written many songs for voice and piano, and have often thought of arranging this cycle with piano as well. One evening, I found myself at a concert listening to another composer’s setting of “The Hawthorn Tree,” which is the second song in the final part of my cycle (Willa). That was the impetus to get me moving on this project. Those who are acquainted with the original version for voice and guitar will notice that “Spanish Johnny,” the final song in the original cycle, is not included in the piano version. That song is so closely associated with the guitar (imitating the mandolin) that setting it with piano could not do it justice.The other songs fit nicely in the new setting. While there is an intimacy to songs for voice and guitar, the added texture and dynamics that come with piano accompaniment can certainly be advantageous.I hope you enjoy these new settings of some wonderful poetry.  Sara Teasdale and Willa Cather are giants of American literature and are well known. Susan Laura Lugo may not have the same name recognition, but her wonderfully descriptive poems will touch the listener’s heart. “August” will transport you quickly and easily to the porch on a hot summer’s day, while the emotional pull of the tragic poem “Gone With the Wind” can break one’s heart. More than 30 years after their original publication for voice and guitar, Garth Baxter returned to this beloved song cycle and arranged eight of the nine songs for voice and piano, making these gems of Americana accessible to many more performers. Setting poems by Sara Teasdale, Willa Cather, and Susan Laura Lugo, these pieces are a welcome addition to programs of contemporary art song, or as a change of pace alongside familiar classics of the solo vocal repertoire.