Purgatory Branch (Winter) for mezzo-soprano and flute
Thomas J. Dempster (BMI)
Copyright Š 2015 Thomas J Dempster :: All Rights Reserved
Please report all performances of this work to BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated). Visit the composer’s website at www.thomasdempster.com
Purgatory Branch (Winter) for mezzo-soprano and flute
Thomas J. Dempster
West Columbia, SC January – February 2015
Copyright Š 2015 Thomas J Dempster
Purgatory Branch (Winter) (2015) – Duration: ca. 4 minutes Text (by Thomas Dempster): Frost on towy blades glistens as the Earth yawns And takes its leave once touched by the sun; A single breeze drifts through my fingers, glancing the trees, Shivering in pallid and blank morning light. Cold comes knocking, tapping, On the bones of stubborn cattle and solitary crows perched on tufts of hay The creek keeps moving, tender whispers between the fields disappearing into the shadows of the pines
Program Notes Purgatory Branch is the name of a small creek in northwestern Lee County, NC, not far from where I spent my adolescence. The name is evocative of the space one finds oneself in among rural places, held between the wild and the desolately human. Close to where I grew up, a creek flowed between two large tobacco fields before disappearing into pine forests, reemerging among fields now fallow and overgrown with scrub oak, tall grasses, and pine saplings. The real Purgatory Branch area once held a small, run-down church, a small cluster of mobile homes, farms, and woods; twenty-five years later, it has been subjugated by a highway bypass and suburban sprawl – strip malls, chock-a-block subdivisions, and noise. My poem, the lyrics for this song, is meant to be an impressionistic memorial of a December morning gazing across fields covered in frost under the milky, pale sunrise, light at once familiar and unsettling. This piece was originally composed for mezzo-soprano and bassoon. It was adapted for voice and flute in May, 2015.
Performance Notes The song should be sung somewhat freely, the performers acting in consort as though a light, cold breeze. The singer, at the end of the song, should allow for certain marked syllables (those marked with X noteheads) to become unvoiced whispers or hisses (if the s is extended, marked by “sss”). For the flutist, in measures 30 and 31, in case the performer is unfamiliar with the notation: the repeated G pitch class should be reattacked quickly as a lip pizzicato, with attacks slowing down. For this gesture (paired with “knocking”) the exact number of “knocks” isn’t as important as it is to convey the gesture. Likewise, the gesture should play out before the singer continues (particularly in m. 31). Please note the harmonic in measure 18.
Purgatory Branch (Winter) Thomas J. Dempster Text: Thomas J. Dempster Distant; flexible q = c 72
4 &4
Mezzo-Soprano
& 44
Flute
5
Mezzo
5
Fl.
4 &4
∑
#˙
œœ
Z
P
5
3 4
∑
j j #œ œ œ.
‰
- œ #œ œ œ & ‰ œ# œ œ glis
-
-
-
tens
F
& œ
And
14
Fl.
&
b œ- .
œ œ œ œ œ. takes
‰ Œ
œ œ œ. 3
œ J ‰ Œ
P
14
Mezzo
∑
as the Earth
10
Fl.
4 4
∑
œ .. # œ , œ # œj œ œ œ # œ œ .. œ# ˙ œ. œ œ œ N œ . œ . œœ J 4 R J 46 R 43 4
œ- b œ œ œœ bœ œ œ œ J ‰ 43 Œ & 44 Œ
& œ.
3 4
∑
5
cantabile
∑
10
Mezzo
œœ
œ
6 4
∑
its
˙ .
F
˙ 45
Œ
on tow - y
yawns
œ. 45
j œ 43 ‰ œ œ œ 3 p F
œ œ œbœ œ œ F
3
œ
œ œ
4 . 4 ˙
˙ œ . œj 44
U U 3
once touched by
the
Œ
44 Œ # œ œ œ P
Copyright © 2015 Thomas J Dempster
œ œ‰ J J œ œ. œ P ˙
sun
44 Œ
Œ
blades
p 5 œ œ 4 œ
3 4 ˙
œ.
leave
5
œ œ
Frost
‰
j œ ˙
P legato; lontano j 5 4 #˙ œ ‰ ‰ œj
œ F
œœ
# œ# œ œ œ œ
43 Œ
43
2
3 œ &4 J
17
Mezzo
5 p œ 5 4 ‰ # œJ œ œ œ œ œ
Purgatory Branch (Winter)
n.
‰
Œ
Œ
o #œ. œ ˙ 17 #œ œ œ œ 3 5 &4 œœœ 4 - # 5 cold; senza vib. harm.
A sin
5
Fl.
4 & 4 #œ œ. œ #œ
Mezzo
fin
-
# œ- œ # œ
gers,
˙ 4 &4
20
Fl.
j & œ œ ‰ Œ
Mezzo
46
23
œ 6 & Œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ Jœ ‰ 4 3 3 p F f 26 3 U U & #œ #˙ Œ œ œ œ 23
Fl.
Mezzo
blank
26
Fl.
&
29
Mezzo
&
œ J ‰ Œ
∑
œ N œ # œ- #Uœ- œ- œ Œ &Œ 3 P 3
29
Fl.
˙
morn - ing
light
gle breeze
, # œ-
# œ- œ œdrifts
œ , œ # œ œ # œ œ- œ
through
# œ œ # œ-
œ
œ 44 J
my
4 4
sotto voce
P
5 4
∑
œ #œ #œ œ œ.
#œ
π 3 4
˙
20
˙
-
œ. œ
#œ #œ
œ #œ
œ aœ
œ
# œ . œ œ # œ œ œœ Œ #œ 43 45 5 F3 piangendo 3 F P S S P F 3 3 j Œ œ #œ œ Œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ ˙ #˙ #œ Shiv' - ring, shiv' in pal - lid and - ring , Ÿ Ÿ # œ ~~ œ- œ œ œ œ- œ ~~~ œ œ œ˙. œ >œj ˙ J ‰ frozen f 44
glan
-
cing
Brighter, a little faster
‰
œ.
π 11 œ . 8
j #œ
luminous
A tempo, come prima
Cold
118
œ J
comes
trees,
∑
œ œ œ # œ 44 œ œ Œ œ F
the
œ J ‰
j # œ œ# œ œ œ # œ œ- œ- œ œ œ #œ
œ
F
3
3
3
3
œ œœ
œ
3
Œ
5 4
Œ
45
knock - ing
‰
Lip Pizz.
f
œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ.
5 &4
31
Mezzo
œ œ
U
œ
œ
knock
-
4 &4 œ -
4 &4 œœ
33
œ
ping
#œ œ œ œ œ œ
& 44 # œ . 4 &4
36
Mezzo
-
f ˙
39
&
Mezzo
on
tufts
. .. & ‰ œJ Œ # œ œ ‰ & 43
Fl.
-
ping
tap
-
œœ
f #˙.
œ
œ
On
the
œ ˙ J
-
-
3
4 4
Œ
ping
‰
œœ
f
∑
45
œ œ #œ œ
œœ
œœ
of
sol - i
of
‰ 43 œ œ œ œ œ œ > >
hay
˙ 46 Œ P ∑
-
ƒ ˙ 45
y
5 4
45
œ œ œ
crows
>œ œ œ >œ œ œ
tar -
stub
-
f
œœ -
œœœœ 5 œœœœ 8
‰ # œj 43 œ. . œ. . œ. . n œ. . and
j 4 5 8 œ œ œ œ œ 4
œ
bones
œœœœœœ
tle
39
43
-
P tranquil œ # œ # œ 46 N ˙ œ Œ
perched
Fl.
-
>œ œ œ œ > œ œ >œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
cat
Fl.
#œ.
œœ œ
3
œ œ J
36
Mezzo
tap
#œ
tap
Fl.
ing
Purgatory Branch (Winter)
U œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœœœ œœ 4 ‰ œœœœœœœœ‰ œœœœ ‰ 4 ........ F staccato f
& 45
33
Mezzo
,P œ.
Lip Pizz.
31
Fl.
colla parte
-
born
œœ
‰ 44
œ~~~ # œ ˙ œœœ
œ œ ‰ œ. œ. ‰ œ. œ. Œ
44
∑
∑
43
œ # œ œ >œ œ œœ 3 > #œ œ œ # œ- œ- œ œŒ 44 œ Œ 45 œ4 3 3 f 3 ƒ desperate for warmth f 43
>œ . # œ 43 œ œ œ œ œ- œ- . œ- ˙ U JŒ 5 3 œ & 43 4 J 4 5 P
∑
44
∑
43
∑
46
j >œ . œ œ œ . œ œœ œœ œ œ œ 6 J ‰ 44 œ œ J 43 œ œ 4 œ œ 3
P
6 &4 bœ œ. œ œ
& 46
48
Fl.
F 6 ˙ &4
Mezzo
mov
-
-
-
-
-
œœœ œ œ 6 œœ Œ &4 œ
51
Fl.
U
6 &4 œ
slight
Mezzo
U œ
whis
& 46
53
Fl.
-
Œ
#œ
pers
œœœ
‰
& 45 # ˙
œœ
P
56
Mezzo
œœœ
Œ
p
dis
Mezzo
&
(sss)
60
Fl.
&
# œ- œ-
3 π lontano
œ- œ- œ œ ˙ - -
-
Œ
-
-
P
4 4
-
pitchless;
∑
π
œ
#œ
the
j œ ‰ Œ n.
˙ pines
‰ 46 6 4
œ.
-
-
der
œœ 6 #œ œ 4 5 4
j j œ œ #œ. -
pear -
45
‰ #˙
in - to the shad - ows
# œ œ œ œJ œ . œ
keeps
p 3 46 œ œ œ ˙
ap - pear - ing
6 4
œ
œ œ œ #œ
dis - ap
whispered j œ #œ
of
3
44 ‰ ‰ b œ p
œ
œ . œ œ ‰ 43 œ œ ‰ œ œ # œ œ œ 44 œ 3 3 π p
44 œJ ‰ Œ
5
3 4 ˙
fields
œŒ
44 œ.
Œ
# œ- œ- œ œ œJ œ . 5 Œ œ &4 pitchless; whispered
the
meno voce
56
60
ten
œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œŒ
be - tween
U
œœœœœ 44 œ œ œŒ
ing,
3
œ
œ
œ œ.
the creek
œ ˙
F 4 4 #˙
œ
œ #œ ˙
3
ing
Fl.
œ
F
F
53
bœ P
bœ
œ ˙
œ bœ ˙
51
˙
The creek
œ œ. œ œ Œ Œ p
P
P ‰ œj ˙
Œ
∑
48
Mezzo
PU 4 ‰ N œj 4 ˙
Purgatory Branch (Winter)
4
#˙
œ 46 J ‰ Œ pitchless; whispered
U
(sss)
U
∑
ca. 4:00 West Columbia, SC Feb. 18, 2015