Jesper Koch Tombstones (2018–19) Six Epitaphs from the “Spoon River Anthology” for soprano and piano Dur. 20′
Text: Edgar Lee Masters
To Alissa Roca
SCORE
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Edition·S publications are supported by the Danish Arts Foundation / Edition·S udgivelser er støttet af Statens Kunstfond
Jesper Koch Tombstones (2018–19) Six Epitaphs from the “Spoon River Anthology” for sopran og klaver Dur. 20′
Dillard Sissman The buzzards wheel slowly In wide circles, in a sky Faintly hazed as from dust from the road. And a wind sweeps through the pasture where I lie Beating the grass into long waves. My kite is above the wind, Though now and then it wobbles, Like a man shaking his shoulders; And the tail streams out momentarily, Then sinks to rest. And the buzzards wheel and wheel, Sweeping the zenith with wide circles Above my kite. And the hills sleep. And a farm house, white as snow, Peeps from green trees—far away. And I watch my kite, For the thin moon will kindle herself ere long, Then she will swing like a pendulum dial To the tail of my kite. A spurt of flame like a water-dragon Dazzles my eyes— I am shaken as a banner. Jennie M’Grew Not, where the stairway turns in the dark A hooded figure, shriveled under a flowing cloak! Not yellow eyes in the room at night, Staring out from a surface of cobweb gray! And not the flap of a condor wing
When the roar of life in your ears begins As a sound heard never before! But on a sunny afternoon, By a country road, Where purple rag-weeds bloom along a straggling fence And the field is gleaned, and the air is still To see against the sun-light something black Like a blot with an iris rim— That is the sign to eyes of second sight. . . And that I saw! Conrad Siever Not in that wasted garden Where bodies are drawn into grass That feeds no flocks, and into evergreens That bear no fruit— There where along the shaded walks Vain sighs are heard, And vainer dreams are dreamed Of close communion with departed souls— But here under the apple tree I loved and watched and pruned With gnarled hands In the long, long years; Here under the roots of this northern-spy To move in the chemic change and circle of life, Into the soil and into the flesh of the tree, And into the living epitaphs Of redder apples!
J. Milton Miles Whenever the Presbyterian bell Was rung by itself, I knew it as the Presbyterian bell. But when its sound was mingled With the sound of the Methodist, the Christian, The Baptist and the Congregational, I could no longer distinguish it, Nor any one from the others, or either of them. And as many voices called to me in life Marvel not that I could not tell The true from the false, Nor even, at last, the voice that I should have known. Hortense Robbins My name used to be in the papers daily As having dined somewhere, Or traveled somewhere, Or rented a house in Paris, Where I entertained the nobility. I was forever eating or traveling, Or taking the cure at Baden-Baden. Now I am here to do honor To Spoon River, here beside the family whence I sprang. No one cares now where I dined, Or lived, or whom I entertained, Or how often I took the cure at Baden-Baden. Charles Webster The pine woods on the hill, And the farmhouse miles away, Showed clear as though behind a lens Under a sky of peacock blue! But a blanket of cloud by afternoon Muffled the earth. And you walked the road And the clover field, where the only sound Was the cricket’s liquid tremolo. Then the sun went down between great drifts Of distant storms. For a rising wind Swept clean the sky and blew the flames Of the unprotected stars And swayed the russet moon, Hanging between the rim of the hill And the twinkling boughs of the apple orchard. You walked the shore in thought Where the throats of the waves were like whip-poorwills Singing beneath the water and crying To the wash of the wind in the cedar trees, Till you stood, too full for tears, by the cot, And looking up saw Jupiter, Tipping the spire of the giant pine, And looking down saw my vacant chair, Rocked by the wind on the lonely porchBe brave, Beloved!
1. Dillard Sissman To Alissa Roca
Sereno ( = 100)
(semplice e poco rubato)
Soprano The (poco rubato)
5
Piano
6 S. buzz ards wheel slow ly
In wide
cir cles,
5
Pno
11 S. in
a
sky
Faint
5
ly
hazed
5
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 1
rit...........................................................
16
(A tempo) ( = 90)
S. as from
dust
from the
road
Pno
22 S. And
a
wind sweeps through
Pno
accel. p. a p. 28 S. a
pas
ture where I
Bea ting the grass
lie
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 2
in
to long
( = 100) 33 S. My
waves.
dim.
Pno
39 S. kite
is
a
bove
the
wind,
Though now and then
it
Pno
45 (g ) S. wob bles,
like
a
man
sha king
5
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 3
his
shoul
ders;
rubato
50
rit.
S. And the tail streams out mo men ta ri
Then sinks
ly,
Pno
(A tempo) accel. p. a p.
55 S. rest.
Pno
( = 120)
61
cresc.
S. And (
the
buz zards wheel
and
wheel,
)
cresc.
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 4
to
( = 160) 66 S. Swee ping
the
ze
nith
with wide
cir
Pno
71 S. A
bove
my
kite.
Pno
allargando sempre
76 S.
sub. dim.
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 5
cles
( = 100)
83 S.
And the
hills
sleep.
Pno
89 S. And
a farm house,
white as
snow,
Pno
95 S. trees
far
a
way.
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 6
Peeps from green
(non espress)
101 S.
I
And
watch
my
kite,
5
Pno
rall.................................. ( = 90) misterioso
107
espress.
S. For
the
thin
moon
will
Pno
cresc.
accel. p. a p.
114 S. kind
le her
self
ere
long,
Then
she will
cresc.
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 7
120 S. swing
like
a
pen
du
lum
di
al
Pno
( = 160) 125 S. To
the
tail
of
my
kite.
A spurt of flame like a
Pno
130 S. wa ter dra gon
Daz zles
my
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 8
eyes
allargando sempre 135 S. I
am
sha ken
as
4 4
Pno
5
( = 120) 141
(B.C.)
S. (n)
ban ner!
5:3 Pno
148
( = 100)
dim.
S.
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 9
a
2. Jennie M’Grew poco rit.
Agitato
= 80 cresc.
= 84 3
S. Not,
where the
stair way turns in the dark,
A hoo ded fig ure, shri veled
cresc.
Pno marcato
rall.
accel. 4
3
= 84
S. Not yel low
un der a flo wing cloak!
Pno
eyes in the room
at
dim.
( = )
accel. cresc.
sereno
= 60
= 50
7 S. night,
Sta ring
from a sur face
out
cresc. Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 10
of
cob web
( = 120) 10
3
S. gray!
And not the flap of a con dor wing,
Pno
13 S. When
Pno
16 S. roar
of life
in your
ears
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 11
be gins
the
20
rall. sempre
3
S. As a sound heard ne ver be
fore!
Pno
= 80 23 S. But on 3
Pno
rit.
26 S. noon,
By a coun try road,
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 12
a
sun ny
af
ter
= 50 29 S. Where pur ple rag weeds
bloom a long
a stragg ling
fence,
Pno
rit. 32 S. And the field is gleaned,
and the air
is
still,
Pno
A tempo 35
misterioso
S. To see
a gainst
the sun
some thing black,
light
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 13
Like a
38
3
S. blot with an
i
ris rim
That is the sign to eyes
of se cond sight....
dim.
Pno
(poco rit.) 41 S. And
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 14
That I saw!
3. Conrad Siever ( = 50-54) semplice S. Not in that was ted gar den
Where bo dies are drawn in to
grass
that feeds no flocks,
semplice
Pno
4 S. and in
to
e ver greens
That bear no fruit
There where a long the sha ded
3
Pno
7 S. walks
Vain sighs are heard,
And vai ner dreams are dreamed
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 15
Of close comm un
ion
A tempo ( = 54)
poco rit. 10
cresc.
S. with de par ted souls
But
here
un der the app le tree
3
Pno
cresc.
3
3
13 S. I loved and watched
and
pruned With gnar led hands
In the long,
long years;
Pno
16 S. Here
un der the roots
of this nor thern
spy
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 16
To
move
in the che mic change
rit.
A tempo ( = 50)
19 S. and cir cle of life,
In to the soil and in to
the flesh of the tree,
Pno
22 S. And in
to
li
ving e
pi
taphs
Pno
rit.
25 S. ap
ples!
3
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 17
Of red der
4. J. Milton Miles = 84
marcato
= .
S. When 5
s z
Pno
sub.
3 S. e
ver the
Pres
by
te
bell
ri an
Pno
was
rung
by
it
cresc.
.=
5
= .
S. self, loco
5:3
5
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 18
marcato
7 S. I
s z Pno
knew
it
as
the
Pres
by
sub.
.=
= .
9 S. ta
ri an bell. loco 5
5:3 Pno
marcato
11 S.
But
Pno
s z
sub.
when
the
cresc.
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 19
sound
was
ming
led
13 S. with the
sound
of the
Me
tho
dist,
the
loco
Pno
15 S. Chris
tian,
the
Bap
tist
and
the
Con
gre
ga
tio
nal,
Pno
17 S. I could no lon ger dis tin guish it, 3
loco 3
3
cresc.
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 20
19 S. nor
a
from the
ny one
ot
hers,
or
cresc.
Pno
sost. (quieto)
21 S. ei ther of them.
And
as ma ny
loco (“Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”)
lontano e leggiero
Pno
sempre
23 S. voi ces call’d to me in life
mar vel
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 21
not
that
I could not tell the
26 S. true from the false,
nor e ven,
Pno
(senza rit!) 30 S. that I should’ve known
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 22
at last, the voice
5. Hortense Robbins Slow, relaxed jazz ballad (no irony!) poco rit. = 50-54
A tempo (
= 54)
S. My
used
name
to
be
Pno
3 S. in
the
pa
pers dai
ly
As
ha ving dined
some where,
Pno
5 S. Or tra veled some where,
Or
ren ted
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 24
a house
in
Pa
ris,
7 S. Where
I
en
ter
tained
the
no
bi
li
ty.
Pno
poco rit.
A tempo
9 S. I
was for
e
ta king the
cure
ver
ea
ting
or
tra ve ling,
Pno
11 S. Or
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 25
at
Ba
den
Ba
den.
poco rit............... ( 13
= 50) rubato
(accel.)
S. Now
I
am
here
to
do
Pno
(
= 54)
15 S. ho nor
To
Spoon Ri
ver,
here
be side
the
fa mi ly
Pno
17 S. whence I
sprang.
No
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 26
one cares now
where
poco rit. A tempo
19 S. I
dined,
Or lived,
Pno
rit................................. (
= 50)
21 S. or
whom I
en
ter tained,
Pno
rall. 23
(non rit.)
A tempo (
= 50)
S. Or how of ten I took
the
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 27
cure at
Ba den Ba den!
6. Charles Webster Andante mesto, e poco rubato semplice
= 56-60 S.
The pine woods on the
hill,
And
the
legato
Pno
5 S. farm
house
miles
a
way,
Pno
8 S. Showed clear as though be
hind
a lens
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 28
Un der a sky
of
quieto
11 S. pea cock blue!
But a
blan ket of cloud
by af ter noon
Pno
A tempo rall...............
15
= 50
( = 50)
S. Muf fled
the
earth.
Pno
19
(
)
poco rit.
accel.
A tempo
S. And
you walked the
road
and the clo ver
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 29
field,
where the on ly
rit........................................... ( = 56)
( = 60) 22
3
S. sound
Was the crick et’s
liq uid tre mo lo.
Pno
rit......... ( = 50)
rall. sempre
26 S. Then the
went down
sun
be
tween great drifts
Of dis tant storms.
Pno
Furioso 30
( = 120)
marc.
S. For a
Pno
ri sing wind
sub.
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 30
swept clean the sky
rubato
33 S. and blew
Of
the flames
the un pro tec ted
stars;
and
Pno
A tempo
rit. molto
misterioso
( = 92)
36 S. swayed
the rus set
moon
Hang
ing
misterioso
Pno
rit................................ ( = 84) leggiero
40 S. be tween the rim
of the hill
And
the twink ling boughs 3
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 31
of
the
Tempo I
rall. molto
( = 50)
43 S. ap ple or
chard.
You
Pno
accel.
46
cresc.
S. walked
the
shore
in thought
Where the throats of the
Pno
cresc.
( = 84)
49 S. 3
waves
were
Sing
like whip poor wills
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 32
ing,
sing ing be neath the
( = 72)
rit. sempre 52
( = 60)
rubato
S. wa ter
and
cry ing
of the wind
To the wash
in the ce dar trees
rubato Pno
Tempo I
rit........................... ( = 50)
( = 46)
56 S. Till
you stood, too full for tears,
ter,
Tip ping the
by the cot,
And look ing
Pno
60 S. up
saw Ju pi
spire
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 33
of
the
gi ant pine,
And
rit.............. ( = 40)
semplice
64 S. look ing down
saw my
va cant
chair,
Rocked by
Pno
68
A tempo
rall.
( = 50)
desolato
S. on
the lone ly
Be
porch
Pno
72
dolce
S. Be
lo
ved!
Pno
Jesper Koch-Tombstones 34
brave,
the wind