Six Rilke Songs, for high voice and piano (18')
on texts by Rainer Maria Rilke
Premiere: Charlene Canty, soprano; Inessa Beylin, piano
Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Pittsburgh, PA

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I. I am, O Anxious One

The first song of the cycle deals with the problem of Man-God relationship; the need of a man to be seen and encouraged by Him; the man's eternal longing to fulfill His vision.

II. Lament

The second song conveys a symbolic sense of existential loneliness, fear and confusion.

III. The Knight

The third song is an allegory of the destructive desires inherent in man and, at the same time, man's being the victim of those desires. While confined within an armor of a black knight, death seeks to free itself for the outer world.

IV. Wilted

The fourth song portrays the whimsical aspects of aging, and outwardly light and charming preoccupation of an old woman with her self-image, both mental and physical.

V. The Swan

In the fifth song, the metaphor of a staggering swan reflects the misery and uncertainty of the human life, which, however, acquires its dignity and beauty in death.

VI. Death of the Beloved

The six song exposes man's confrontation with and acceptance of the inevitable End through the death of his beloved woman.