O Sun
Text by Walt Whitman
for tenor, flute clarinet, soprano sax, violin, cello, marimba, and piano
Premiered May 29, 2019 at the Cortona Sessions for New Music
Matthew Shorten, Tenor
Sarah Brady, Flute
Nikhil Bartolomeo, Clarinet
Robert Hess, Soprano Sax
Olivia Ward, Violin
Kivie Cahn-Lipman, Cello
Maddy Dethloff, Marimba
Brendan Jacklin, Piano
Written for the 2019 Cortona sessions, O Sun sets lines from a poem by Walt Whitman. Like the poem, I sought to first express the sun’s light as a metaphor for peace and truth. As the text and music progress, however, the sun descends, and its warmth and light become scalding and blinding.
Andrew Dana 