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THE POETRY The text of this music was written by the ancient Greek poet Horace. His poem speaks of the cycle of life and death in nature. It ponders how fleeting the moment of a person's existence is. The music sets only the first stanza, which celebrates the advent of life after the cold void of winter. THE MUSIC The words guided the composition of each note. On the words for melting snow, the music shifts from minor to major. When singing of the grass, the singers sing lowly. The idea of trees and their new leaves spawns musical polyphony with swift rhythms and a branching cadence.