Canticles of Crimson

This five-movement work, scored for chorus, soprano soloist, and piano, are settings of Carl Sandburg poetry. Musically, the work is basically neo-romantic with elements of modern harmony. The settings of these six Sandburg poems present ideas and imaginings about love (requited and unrequited), life cycles (spring through winter and the beginning of life to its end), memories, loss, and, perhaps, reconciliation if not redemption. In short, a journey through the human condition. Each movement might also be summarized as: I. Recollection of love's tender moments; II. Regret for love's missed opportunities; III. Reality of our mortality and life's brevity; IV. Recurrence the cyclical nature of life; V. Remembrance a lifetime of loving memories. Two of the movements can be performed separately (I and III), those which do not include the soprano soloist. The work runs approximately 20 minutes.