KC Calling by Daniel Morel

Composed by Robert Schumann

Arranged by Jennifer Oliverio

Songs for Two

Hochlanders Abscheid

Excerpt for "L'Italiana in Algeri" by Gioacchino Rossini

Arranged by Jennifer Oliverio

Ah Come Il Cor Di Giublio

Composed by Camille Saint-Saëns

Arranged by Jennifer Oliverio

La Brise

Written for the 2012 Seasons Festival.

Premiered October 19, 2012, by Hal Ott (flute) and Brent Hages (oboe).

Lament

Recorded by Kelly Morel (mezzo-soprano) and John Livingston (piano) in 2019.

Program Notes:
Emily Dickinson’s love of nature is almost as renowned as her poetry. her horticultural leanings are prevalent throughout her collected works. Flora represents just a few of her many poems on flowers and botany. Each song progresses in a journey as the singer pontificates on flowers and the relationship they hold with people.

The first song dives right into cheerful praise, examining how flowers brighten our lives (no matter how small). Dickinson builds our excitement, citing vibrant and joyous images. The levity in this poem dances across in a whirling delight of staccato notes.

The joy of the first song is still present in the second, but offset with remorse. Dickinson contemplates that, although the singer treasures the flower, so do others. And while it may be borrowed, the flower is too fragile to give. Motives from the first song reappear.

Having started the cycle in an excited spirit, the singer is coming to a final realization of a world without flowers – without nature. In this poem, Dickinson ponders a world bereft of nature’s joy. She alludes to lying idle “in Auburn,” a dated reference to solitary confinement in prison. Accompaniment shifts into minor and more dreamlike tonalities as the singer ponders these final somber thoughts.

Flora I We Should Not Mind So Small A Flower

Daniel Morel is a Kansas City-based composer who energizes his music with spectral lyricism. His works are permeated with the Western sensibilities of his Colorado upbringing, drawing on influences ranging from prairie thunderstorms to classic American poetry. As an advocate of new music, Mr. Morel has previously served as director of the much acclaimed Women Composers Festival of Hartford and Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra.

Flora I We Should Not Mind So Small A Flower

DanielEricMorel

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