Pithy Poetics from the Bard of Avon

Vocal range: D4 – A5 Drawing from brief but memorable lines across several William Shakespeare plays, this compact song cycle reflects on identity, wisdom, illusion, mortality, and fate. Quotations from Hamlet appear most prominently—though notably not the familiar “To be or not to be”—alongside texts from The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, and King Lear. Each movement offers a distilled musical response to Shakespeare’s language, creating a miniature tapestry woven from a handful of the Bard’s enduring words. Texts include: Hamlet — “Brevity is the soul of wit.” Hamlet — “We know what we are, but not what we may be.” The Merchant of Venice — “All that glitters is not gold.” Hamlet — “Give every man thy ear but few thy voice.” The Tempest — “We are such stuff as dreams are made on… rounded with a sleep.” King Lear — “The wheel is come full circle; I am here.” https://www.davidpeoples.com/